The Yunnan–Guangxi War was a war of succession fought for control of the
Chinese Nationalist Party after the death of
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
in 1925. It was launched by the
Yunnan clique against the party leadership and the
New Guangxi clique.
On 18 March 1925--six days after Sun's death--
Tang Jiyao, leader of the Yunnan clique, claimed to be the rightful leader of the Kuomintang against acting generalissimo
Hu Hanmin and party executives.
He had been a revolutionary since the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and was one of the most prominent leaders of the
National Protection War against
Yuan Shikai, co-founded the
Constitutional Protection Movement and assisted Sun during the
Guangdong-Guangxi War and
Chen Jiongming's rebellion. Despite this, his relationship with Sun was not solid. He had previously negotiated with the
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
and other northern warlords, resisted Sun's call for the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
and was unwilling to provide the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
long-term shelter during the Guangdong-Guangxi War. Sun had also recognized the authority of
Gu Pinzhen, who had briefly overthrown Tang in 1921.
Given that he was the most accomplished and famous general in the Kuomintang, Tang believed he was the natural leader of the national revolution. He justified his claim by noting that Sun had named him his "deputy generalissimo" in 1924. In actuality, Tang had declined this position when he learned it was inferior to Hu Hanmin's "vice generalissimo" rank. The party leaders denounced Tang as a usurper. Frustrated, he rallied his allies in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
and
Guizhou
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to lead an expedition to
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
. Hu Hanmin requested the
New Guangxi clique to form a defense.
Li Zongren successfully routed Tang's invading armies during the summer. His stature rose as a result of the war, and he later became the acting
president.
The fortunes of the previously obscure
Chiang Kai-shek also rose during the war. In August, the right-wing Hu Hanmin was blamed for the assassination of fellow party executive
Liao Zhongkai and was arrested and exiled by Chiang and
Wang Jingwei. Chiang took over Gen. Xu Chongzhi's role as commander of the KMT's military, since Xu was suspected of either taking part in the assassination, knowing about it or was simply incompetent in providing security (Xu was a replacement for his mutinous superior, Chen Jiongming). Many KMT right-wing leaders were demoted, like
Lin Sen and
Dai Jitao. This effectively made Chiang the second most powerful person in the KMT after Wang Jingwei.
In September Chen Jiongming launched his final rebellion in Guangdong, which was crushed by Chiang. Chen and Tang became allies and were elected premier and vice premier, respectively, of the new
China Public Interest Party in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on October. The party advocated
federalism
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
and multi-party democracy; it moved its headquarters to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in 1926.
Chiang Kai-shek eventually ousted Wang Jingwei following the
Zhongshan Warship Incident in the spring of 1926. After the Nationalists' successful Northern Expedition, many of Tang's generals wanted to realign themselves with the Kuomintang.
Long Yun forced Tang into retirement in February 1927. Tang died three months later at the age of 43.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yunnan-Guangxi War
Wars involving the Republic of China
Warlord Era
1925 in China
Military history of Guangxi
Military history of Yunnan
Conflicts in 1925