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Feng Guozhang | |
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| President of China Acting | |
| In office 6 August 1917 – 10 October 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Li Yuanhong |
| Succeeded by | Xu Shichang |
| Vice President of China | |
| In office 7 June 1916 – 1 July 1917 | |
| President | Li Yuanhong |
| Preceded by | Li Yuanhong |
| Succeeded by | Post abolished |
| Governor of Jiangsu | |
| In office 16 December 1913 – 1 August 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Zhang Xun |
| Succeeded by | Li Chun |
| Governor of Zhili | |
| In office 8 September 1912 – 16 December 1913 | |
| Preceded by | Zhang Xiluan |
| Succeeded by | Zhao Bingjun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1859-01-07)7 January 1859 |
| Died | 12 December 1919(1919-12-12) (aged 60) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Party | Zhili clique |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Party |
| Alma mater | Tianjin Military Academy |
| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1886–1919 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | |
Feng Guozhang (simplified Chinese:冯国璋;traditional Chinese:馮國璋;pinyin:Féng Guózhāng;Wade–Giles:Feng Kuo-chang; 7 January 1859 – 12 December 1919) was a Chinese general and politician in the lateQing dynasty and earlyrepublican China who served as the actingpresident of China from 1917 to 1918. He had also served as thevice president from 1916 to 1917, thegovernor of Jiangsu from 1913 to 1917, and thegovernor of Zhili from 1912 to 1913. He emerged as one of the senior commanders of theBeiyang Army and was the founder of theZhili clique, one of the main factions during theWarlord Era in China.
Feng was a first degree holder of theimperial examination and graduated from theTianjin Military School. He served in northeastern China before and during theFirst Sino-Japanese War, and afterward was China'smilitary attaché to Japan in 1895. His reports on the Japanese military reforms were brought to the attention ofYuan Shikai, who made Feng an officer in what later became theBeiyang Army. Feng rose through the ranks during the last decade of the Qing dynasty, serving as a division commander, the director of the military school for Manchu princes and nobles, and as the superintendent of the General Staff Council.
He led Beiyang Army troops against theWuchang Uprising during the1911 Revolution, and under his command they retook the cities ofHankou andHanyang from the rebels. By that time Yuan Shikai, the prime minister, started negotiating with the revolutionaries and later arranged the Qing emperor's abdication. In theearly Republic of China, Feng Guozhang became thegovernor of Zhili from 1912 to 1913 and thengovernor of Jiangsu from 1913 to 1917. By the time of Yuan's death, he andDuan Qirui were considered the most powerful generals in the Beiyang Army.
Feng Guozhang was born to a peasant family inHejian,Zhili on 7 January 1859. His family had fallen on hard times and was forced to sell its properties to educate its sons; however being the fourth son, Feng was unable to complete his education due to costs. Despite this, he had been able to receive some education in theConfucian Chinese classics in preparation for theimperial examination. He reportedly had to survive part of his early life by playing the violin in theatres, before in 1886 becoming an orderly to one of his great-uncles, a battalion commander inLi Hongzhang'sHuai Army. His relative recommended him as a good student to Li'sTianjin Military Academy, and he did well there during his first year.[1][2] The academy was part of Li Hongzhang's effort to create a modernized army in China, teaching subjects such as military drill, engineering, surveying, and mathematics, as opposed to traditional Chinese literary examinations or physical tests.[3]
In 1888 Feng took a break from his studies there to take and pass theshengyuan or basic degree exam, but later he failed thejuren or provincial exam, at which point he decided to return to the military academy. He graduated from the Tianjin academy in 1890.[2] Feng Guozhang was briefly an instructor at the military academy in Tianjin until 1891, when he was assigned toNie Shicheng's unit inPort Arthur, northeast China. During that time he traveled extensively acrossManchuria and became familiar with the region's geography, which became useful when he was serving under the command of Nie Shicheng in theFirst Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. After the war, Feng was recommended by Nie Shicheng to serve asmilitary attaché to Japan when Yukeng was sent there by the Qing dynasty as theChinese minister in Tokyo.[2]
While he was in Japan in 1895, Feng became acquainted with notable Japanese army officers, such asFukushima Yasumasa, who was later the director of theImperial Japanese Army Academy. He spent several months observing the Japanese military modernization program, especially their training methods, and recorded this information in a notebook that he later gave to Nie Shicheng, who sent it toYuan Shikai. Yuan, who was at that time organizing his Newly Created Army (the futureBeiyang Army), was impressed with Feng's work and appointed him to be the head of training on his staff.[2] From 1896[4] Feng Guozhang was part of the officer corps of thisbrigade-size force, which became the nucleus of the Beiyang Army and also included other prominent future leaders.[5]
When theBoxer Rebellion broke out in 1899 and Yuan Shikai was appointed as governor ofShandong to maintain order in that province, Feng was also there and was tasked with taking part in the suppression of Boxer rebels near the province's border with Zhili. After theEight Nation Alliance suppressed the rebellion and Yuan Shikai was appointedViceroy of Zhili in 1901, he started establishing military schools atBaoding, which became known as theBaoding Military Academy. Feng Guozhang had a major role in founding the academy as the director of training and instruction at the Zhili provincial military department.[2]
During the last decade of the Qing dynasty his career took off, and he became one of Yuan Shikai's closest allies.[2][6][7] Feng Guozhang served on the Military Training Bureau of the Army Reorganization Commission that was created in December 1903.[2] After the Beiyang Army was expanded in 1904–05,[8] Feng became the commander of the Beiyang 3rd Division in 1905, the commander of the 6th Division in 1906,[9] and the superintendent of the General Staff Council in July 1907.[4] The latter position made him the director of the main administrative agency of the newMinistry of the Army,[4] and his role also included advising theNew Army divisions being formed across China on matters of training and organization.[6]
In addition, he was also the director of the Military School for Princes and Nobles[2] from January 1906, and in that role was given the rank of acting deputy lieutenant general of the MongolPlain Yellow Banner.[10] It was a military middle school that mostly accepted sons of Manchu hereditary princes,imperial clan members, and military or civil officials.[11] Feng Guozhang had good relations with the Manchu imperial court as well as with Yuan, and was also an acquaintance of the Manchu noblemanTieliang, having gone with him on his trip to Japan in 1903.[1][11] When Yuan Shikai was removed as Beiyang Army commander in 1907 and then dismissed from all posts in 1908, Feng remained in his influential position on the General Staff Council.[1][6] In July 1909 it was reformed as the General Staff Office, separate from the Ministry of the Army and answering directly to the emperor, to follow the Prussian model rather than the French model. Two Manchu princes,Zaitao and Yulang, were placed in charge of it by theprince regent,Prince Chun. But they were inexperienced in military affairs and Feng was kept in a subordinate position to them as a military specialist.[12]
After theWuchang Uprising broke out inHubei on 10 October 1911 withNew Army soldiers, the Beiyang Army was sent by the Qing toput down the rebellion.[13] On 14 October Feng was appointed by the imperial court to command the 2nd Corps, consisting of two divisions and one brigade, which was held in reserve.[14] On the 27th, he replaced the Manchu nobleYinchang as the commander of the 1st Corps, which had been deployed to lead the attack on the rebels at the city ofHankou, by the imperial court at the request ofYuan Shikai. Yuan had been named the commissioner of all imperial forces in Hubei by Prince Chun, and appointed his old associates Feng andDuan Qirui to lead the 1st and 2nd Corps, respectively. Feng arrived and took command on 30 October, as troops under Yinchang's command were completing their takeover of Hankou from the republicans, and oversaw the assault against some holdouts in a district along the Yangtze river, opposite ofHanyang. Fires caused by artillery during the attack destroyed many buildings in the city and turned much of the population into refugees. The assault was a military success and forced the remaining rebels to cross the river to Hanyang by 1 November, but Feng's actions caused protests from theNational Assembly.[15]
After this Yuan Shikai ordered Feng to wait before attacking Hanyang and Wuchang, ostensibly because the army needed rest, but in reality Yuan wanted to make use of the developing situation to negotiate with the Qing. Uprisings had broken out in several other provinces of the empire by the time Hankou was retaken by the Beiyang Army.[16] After a break of two weeks, during which political reform was being discussed,[17] Feng's troops fought off a rebel counterattack on 17 November and then crossed the Yangtze into Hanyang on the 20th usingpontoon bridges built by his engineers.[18] They retook the entire city on 27 November after a week of intense combat, and Feng made a second class baron by the imperial court. Yuan Shikai, who was in talks with the revolutionary leaderLi Yuanhong, ordered Feng not to proceed to Wuchang. At the end of 1911 Feng was ordered to leave the front, with Duan Qirui assuming command of the 1st Corps, and return to Beijing.[17] In the last days of the Qing dynasty, Yuan Shikai replaced the Manchu princeZaitao as commander of the 3rd Corps, consisting of the 1st Division and the Imperial Guards, with Feng taking his place, because he was on good terms with the Manchu officers from his previous experience. Feng also expressed regret at the abdication of theXuantong Emperor and made sure that the Manchus' demand for the good treatment of the imperial household was included in the letter of abdication. The Imperial Guard would become part of his power base in later years.[19]
Feng broke withYuan Shikai when he later attempted tomake himself emperor. Yuan Shikai made Feng a duke, but Feng declined. Yuan then sent an admiral to assassinate Feng but the admiral was himself murdered. Feng then moved toNanjing, where he joined theNational Protection War. His name was prominently missing from the list of proposed successors in Yuan's will.
Feng then served as vice president underLi Yuanhong. During the occupation ofBeijing byZhang Xun, Feng served as acting president, a position he kept when Li formally resigned.
He was sworn in aspresident of the Republic of China on August 1, 1917, but his constitutionalitywas challenged as theNational Assembly was not reconvened to recognize it.
On August 14 China enteredWorld War I on the side of the Allies after growing evidence of theGerman Empire's support for Zhang's coup was uncovered, as well as intense lobbying by PremierDuan Qirui. He sent about 135,000 men inlabor battalions to theWestern Front,Mesopotamia andGerman East Africa. Troops were sent into Russia to assist theAllied intervention in Russia's civil war.Sun Yat-sen set up a rival government inGuangzhou during September 1917 and also declared war later that month in a failed attempt to get international recognition. Feng wanted to peacefully resolve thenorth-south conflict, which led to Duan resigning in protest. Due to pressure from theAnhui clique, he brought Duan back into the premiership. Feng finished the five-year term started by Yuan in 1913 on October 10, 1918, and died inBeijing of illness.
He was given a state funeral and buried in his nativeHejian county ofCangzhou,Hebei. Half a century later his tomb was desecrated during theCultural Revolution.
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| Preceded by | President of China 1917–1918 | Succeeded by |
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