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Anhui Clique
皖系 Wǎn Xì
Active	1916–1926
Disbanded	1926
Country	Republic of China
Allegiance	Beiyang government
Type	Warlord faction
Size	300,000–500,000 (Estimate at peak)
Engagements	Zhili–Anhui War Occupation of Mongolia Constitutional Protection Movement
Commanders
Premier	Duan Qirui
General	Xu Shuzheng

The Anhui clique (Chinese: 皖系; pinyin: Wǎn Xì) was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its generals–including its founder, Duan Qirui–were born in Anhui.

The clique's main members were Duan Qirui, Duan Zhigui, Jin Yunpeng, Wang Yitang, Lu Yongxiang, Zhang Jingyao, Wu Guangxin, Chen Shufan, Zheng Shiqi, Xu Shuzheng, etc.

The Anhui Clique was largely a collection of military officers with connections to Duan Qirui, either due to family ties such as Wu Guangxin, being from the same locality such as Duan Zhigui, or having a teacher-student relationship such as Xu Shuzheng or Jin Yunpeng. However, the Anhui Clique would grow to be defined by the policy of Unification By Force, which would was the strategy of uniting North and South China through military conquest rather than peaceful negotiation. Their rivals in the Zhili Clique were opposed to Unification By Force, fracturing the Beijing governments of 1916 to 1920.

Because the Anhui clique organized itself very early, it was more politically sophisticated than its warlord rivals, with an associated civilian wing being organised as the Anfu Club.

The Anhui clique had an uneasy co-existence with the Zhili clique and Fengtian clique in the politics of the Beiyang government, often finding itself at odds with the two cliques.

History

During the National Protection War (1915–1916) Duan Qirui gave his support to the Kuomintang revolutionaries against Yuan Shikai. In 1916, after the death of Yuan Shikai and ending of the Constitutional Protection War, Premier Duan Qirui would become Premier of the Republic, with Li Yuanhong serving as the President of the Republic, Li Yuanhong acted as a puppet of Duan Qirui due to him being easily manipulated essentially giving the Anhui Clique almost complete control over the Beiyang Government.

With Japanese support and the suppression of the Manchu Restoration in 1917, the Anhui clique became the most powerful faction in China from 1916 to 1920.

The Anhui clique advocated for a hardline approach during the Constitutional Protection War, giving the revolutionaries his political support as Duan Qirui sought to become the President of the Republic.

After the death of Yuan Shikai and his abdication of the Hongxiang Emperor the Beiyang government was restored to which Duan Qirui served as premier under the presidency of Li Yuanhong; Effectively giving Duan Qirui the leadership of China by controlling the weak President, the Clique would only rise in terms of power until 1920.

In 1919 the May Fourth Movement weakened their influence and eventually led to the Zhili–Anhui War in 1920 which saw the surprise defeat of the Anhui clique.

In 1920 Duan Qirui resigned and the clique lacked national leadership for the next four years when all their provinces were eventually annexed by the Zhili clique by the summer of 1924. (Shandong was an anomaly, the Zhili clique appointed an Anhui general in 1923 there provided he remain neutral, see Shandong Problem. Zheng Shiqi ruled until 1925 when he transferred it to Fengtian's Zhang Zongchang per agreement with Duan.)

After the Beijing Coup, Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin picked Duan to lead a provisional government. Lacking any significant military power, he and his few remaining supporters played Feng and Zhang against each other, they removed him from power and his last followers joined the Fengtian clique.

Political wing

The Anhui clique also had a political wing known as the Anfu Club (literally, Peace and Happiness Club, after a Beijing lane where they met; folk etymology claims it was a pun on Anhui and Fujian) which consisted of politicians that threw their fortune in with Duan.

Formed on 7 March 1918 by Xu Shuzheng and Wang Yitang, it ran for elections for the northern National Assembly and won three-fourths of the seats primarily because Anhui warlords bought the votes.

The Anfu Club was a highly disciplined party created to push Duan Qirui's agenda through legal means such as electing fellow party member Xu Shichang as President of the ROC.

Before the Zhili–Anhui War, it was also supported by the Fengtian clique, Xinjiang clique, and Shanxi clique.

The Anfu Club was later destroyed after the Zhili-Anhui War when the Assembly was disbanded.

Financial wing

Their financial wing was the New Communications Clique (1916–1919) led by Cao Rulin, it was the rival to Liang Shiyi's Old Communications Clique.

Cao's conduct during the Paris Peace Conference led to the May Fourth Movement and his dismissal.

Military

The Anhui Clique, as opposed to their civilian partners in the Anfu Club, was primarily an association of generals and military governors.

Duan Qirui commanded an army independent from the Ministry of War, originally named the War Participation Army, which was funded and trained by the Japanese and consisted of around 50,000 troops. Qu Tongfeng commanded the 1st Division, Ma Liang commanded the 2nd Division, and Chen Wenyuan commanded the 3rd Division. There were also five additional mixed brigades, stationed in Luoyang, Zhangjiakou and the suburbs of Beijing.

Within the Central Army, the official national army of the Beijing Government, several generals and their divisions were loyal to the Anhui Clique. The 9th and 13th Division stationed near Beijing were led by Anhui Clique generals, Wei Zonghan and Li Jincai respectively, and the 15th Division led by Liu Xun would defect to the Anhui Clique following the death of Zhili Clique leader Feng Guozhang. Additionally, in 1919, the 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Divisions were led by Anhui Clique officers and were stationed in Anhui Clique-loyal provinces, along with several other mixed brigades.

The last significant component of the Anhui Clique was the provincial military governors and local armies. Wu Guangxin commanded the Upper Yangtze Garrison, which controlled several brigades and a division in Western Hubei. Lu Yongxiang governed Zhejiang through the Zhejiang provincial army and He Fenglin served as the Military Commissioner of Shanghai. Chen Shufan, the nominal governor of Shaanxi, controlled most of the South of his province with several local armies under his command. The military governors of Shandong were subservient to Duan Qirui, although it was plagued by intra-clique rivalries due to Jin Yunpeng's influence in the province and Jin's rivalry with Xu Shuzheng, who had subordinates such as Ma Liang and Qu Yingguang in the province. Ni Sichong, governor of Anhui, was a major contributor to the Anhui Clique, and he controlled two armies in Anhui and Northern Jiangsu. The provinces of Gansu, Fujian and Zhang Jingyao's Hunan were reliant on the Anhui Clique and led by Anhui Clique governors. Other provinces such as Xinjiang, Shanxi, and Fengtian were politically associated with the Anhui Clique during 1918-1919 as their provincial delegations in the National Assembly were part of the Anfu Club.

The Anhui Clique armies fought during the Constitutional Protection War, Zhili-Anhui War of 1920 and the Occupation of Outer Mongolia.

The Anhui Clique has received aid in the form of military equipment, advisors and more mostly from the Japanese, they had also received aid from the French and British, most notably in the form of warplanes and armoured cars.

The Anhui Clique purchased weaponry such as bolt-action rifles and ammunition from the United States, France and others.

France provided planes used in the bombing of the Forbidden City.

Known Members

Name		Years Present in the Clique	Notes
Duan Qirui 段祺瑞		1916–1926	- Premier: 1913, 1916–18; President: 1924–26 - Negotiated the Nishihara Loans with Japan in exchange for Shandong Concession, triggering the May Fourth Movement
Xu Shuzheng 徐樹錚		1916–1925	- Duan Qirui's right-hand man - Led expedition that reconquered Mongolia and temporarily brought it back under control
Duan Zhigui 段芝貴		1916-1925	- Minister of War: 1917–1919
Jin Yunpeng 靳雲鵬		1916-1920	- Premier: 1919–1921
Wang Yitang 王揖唐		1916-1926	- Chairman of the House of Representatives 1918–1920
Lu Yongxiang 盧永祥		1916-1926	- Ruler of Zhejiang and Shanghai, his refusal to hand over Shanghai caused the Second Zhili–Fengtian War
He Fenglin 何丰林		1916-1926	- Military Commissioner of Shanghai: 1919-1924 - Subordinate of Lu Yongxiang
Zhang Jingyao 張敬堯		1917–1920	- Governor of Hunan noted for his exceptional brutality - Assassinated in 1933 after he became involved with the Japanese plot to enthrone Puyi as emperor of Manchukuo
Wu Guangxin 吳光新		1917–1926	- Commander of the Upper Yangtze River Garrison: 1917-1920 - Governor of Hunan: 1920
Ni Sichong 倪嗣衝		1916-1920	- Governor of Anhui Province 1917-1920
Qu Tongfeng 曲同豊		1916–1926	- Commander of the 1st Division of the Border Defence Army/National Stabilisation Army: 1919–1920
Chen Shufan 陳樹藩		1916–1922	- Governor of Shaanxi: 1916–1921
Zhang Guangjian 張廣建		1916–1920	- Governor of Gansu: 1914–1920
Li Houji 李厚基		1916–1921	- Governor of Fujian: 1914–1923
Yang Shande 杨善德		1917–1919	- Governor of Zhejiang: 1917–1919
Wang Yongquan 王永泉		1917–1923	- Division Commander stationed in Fujian - Governor of Fujian: 1922
Ma Liang 马良		1917–1919	- Commander of the 2nd Division of the Border Defence Army/National Stabilisation Army: 1919–1920 - Creator of New Wushu form of Martial Arts
Zheng Shiqi 鄭士琦		1916–1925	- Military governor of Shandong (1923–25) and Anhui (1925).
Yang Yuting 杨宇霆		1918–1920	- Chief of Staff of the Fengtian Army Headquarters in Tianjin - Staff Officer of the Northwest Frontier Defence Army

References

1. ^ Gao, James Z. (2009-06-16). Historical Dictionary of Modern China (1800-1949). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6308-8.
2. ^ Andrew J Nathan (1976). Peking politics, 1918-1923: factionalism and the failure of constitutionalism. University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies. ISBN 978-0-89264-131-4.
3. ^ Anthony B. Chan (1 October 2010). Arming the Chinese: The Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-28, Second Edition. UBC Press. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-0-7748-1992-3.
4. ^ 印鋳局官書課 編『職員録』中華民國八年三期　3,印鋳局発行所,民国8. 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1912146 (参照 2024-05-31)
5. ^ Guo, Tingyi. 中華民國史事日誌 (in Chinese). 中央硏究院近代史硏究所. ISBN 9789860459210. Archived from the original on 2019-06-04.
6. Edward A. Mccord, The Power of the Gun, The Emergence of Modern Chinese Warlordism, University of California Press, Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford © 1993 The Regents of the University of California
7. 保定士官学校第三任校长--曲同丰
8. Rulers Index Z Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
9. Shenyang Local Chronicles Office, Shenyang Chronicles 17 People, Shenyang Publishing House, 2000.04, p.44

See also

• Warlord Era
• List of Warlords
• History of the Republic of China
• Huai Army, also known as the Anhui Army

v t e Warlord Era and warlordism during the Nanjing decade
1915–1924 1925–1934 Factions 1911–1914 Bai Lang Rebellion 1913 Second Revolution 1915 Twenty-One Demands 1915–1916 Empire of China (Yuan Shikai) National Protection War 1916 Death of Yuan Shikai 1917 Manchu Restoration 1917–1922 Constitutional Protection Movement 1917–1929 Golok rebellions 1918–1920 Siberian intervention 1919 Paris Peace Conference Shandong Problem May Fourth Movement 1919–1921 Occupation of Outer Mongolia 1920 Zhili–Anhui War 1920–1921 Guangdong–Guangxi War 1920–1926 Spirit Soldier rebellions 1921 1st National CPC Congress 1921–1922 Washington Naval Conference 1922 First Zhili–Fengtian War 1923–1927 First United Front 1923 Lincheng Outrage 1924 Second Zhili–Fengtian War Canton Merchants' Corps Uprising Beijing Coup 1925 Yunnan–Guangxi War May Thirtieth Movement 1925–1926 Anti-Fengtian War Canton–Hong Kong strike 1926 Zhongshan Warship Incident 1926–1928 Northern Expedition Nanjing–Wuhan Split Nationalist-Communist Civil War 1927 Nanking incident of 1927 1927 Shanghai Commune of 1927 1927 Shanghai massacre 1927 July 15 Incident 1927–1930 Muslim conflict in Gansu 1928 Jinan incident Huanggutun incident Looting of the Eastern Mausoleum Northeast Flag Replacement 1928–1929 Third Red Spears' uprising in Shandong 1929 Chiang-Gui War Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong (incl. Beijing Revolt) Sino-Soviet conflict 1930 Central Plains War 1930–1932 Sino-Tibetan War / Qinghai–Tibet War 1931–1935 Kumul Rebellion / Soviet invasion of Xinjiang 1932 Han–Liu War 1932 Two-Liu war 1934 War in Ningxia Beiyang Anhui Zhili Fengtian (National Pacification Army) Zhili Army Shanxi Guominjun Ma Xinjiang Yunnan Sichuan Old Guangxi New Guangxi Guangdong Guizhou Kuomintang (KMT) Communist Party (CCP)
Republic of China (1912–1949)

• Anhui clique
• 1920 disestablishments in China
• Warlord cliques in Republican China