Feng Yuxiang | |
|---|---|
馮玉祥 | |
 | |
| Vice Premier of China | |
| In office 28 October 1928 – 11 October 1930 | |
| Premier | Tan Yankai T. V. Soong (acting) |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | T. V. Soong |
| Minister of War | |
| In office October 1928 – 1929 | |
| Premier | Tan Yankai |
| Preceded by | He Fenglin |
| Succeeded by | Lu Zhonglin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1882-11-06)6 November 1882 |
| Died | 1 September 1948(1948-09-01) (aged 65) |
| Party | Kuomintang |
| Awards | Order of Rank and Merit Order of the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain Order of Wen-Hu |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Qing dynasty  Republic of China Empire of China |
| Branch/service | .svg) Huai Army Beiyang Army National Revolutionary ArmyChahar People's Anti-Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1893–1945 |
| Battles/wars | Xinhai Revolution Bai Lang Rebellion National Protection War Manchu Restoration Constitutional Protection Movement Second Zhili-Fengtian War Beijing Coup Anti-Fengtian War Northern Expedition Central Plains War Actions in Inner Mongolia (1933–1936) |
Feng Yuxiang (simplified Chinese:冯玉祥;traditional Chinese:馮玉祥;pinyin:Féng Yùxiáng;IPA:[fə́ŋỳɕi̯ɑ́ŋ]; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948),courtesy nameHuanzhang (焕章), was a Chinesewarlord and later general in theNational Revolutionary Army. He served asVice Premier of China from 1928 to 1930.[1]
At the start of the1911 Revolution, Feng was an officer in the ranks ofYuan Shikai'sBeiyang Army. He initially joined forces with the revolutionaries, but came to supportYuan's regime. In 1914, he converted to Christianity, earning him the nickname the "Christian General". He became a warlord in Northwest China, based inShaanxi, and rose to a high rank within theZhili clique, a powerful warlord faction. In 1924, during theSecond Zhili-Fengtian war, Feng launched theBeijing Coup, which knocked the Zhili out of power, and re-organised his troops as theGuominjun. He broughtSun Yat-sen to Beijing for negotiations on re-unification, but this was not realized. In 1926, Feng was defeated by the Zhili andFengtian cliques in theAnti-Fengtian War, and he retreated to the northwest. In 1926, Feng joined theKuomintang's successfulNorthern Expedition. He later resisted Chiang's consolidation of power in theCentral Plains War and was forced to retire, but in 1933 organized a new army which successfully drove theJapanese Army out ofChahar. In the 1930s, Feng held positions in theNationalist government, including brief army commands at the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese War in 1937. He spent his later years supporting the anti-ChiangRevolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang[2] before his death in 1948.
Feng was born inXingjizhen, Zhili province. His father was Feng Yumou, an officer in theHuai Army.[3] Feng spent his youth immersed in military life. He joined the Huai Army when he was 11 as a deputy soldier (Fu Bing, 副兵), the lowest rank in the army, he received a uniform and food, but no salary, unlike regular soldiers. By the age of 16 he had proved himself and became a regular. Unlike other soldiers who gambled away their pay, Feng saved his salary and used a portion of it to help out other soldiers in need, especially those deputy soldiers (Fu Bing, 副兵), like he had once been, and so he was popular among his comrades-in-arms. Feng was hard-working and motivated, and in 1902 he was reassigned toYuan Shikai's newly establishedBeiyang Army.
During theXinhai Revolution of 1911 Feng joined theLuanzhou Uprising against the Qing Court and supported the revolutionaries in the South. The uprising was suppressed by the Beiyang Army and Feng was imprisoned byYuan Shikai. In 1914 he regained military rank and spent the next four years defending Yuan's regime. In July 1914, as a brigade commander, he participated in the suppression of the Bailang Peasant Uprising inHenan andShaanxi. During theNational Protection War of 1915–16 he was sent toSichuan to fight the Anti-Yuan National Protection Army, but secretly communicated with revolution leaderCai E. In April 1917 he was stripped of his military rank but still led his old troops in the campaign againstZhang Xun and was restored to his rank. In February 1918 he was ordered to suppress theConstitutional Protection Movement, but proclaimed his support for peace talks inHubei and was stripped of titles but permitted to stay in command of his forces. The capture ofChangde in June earned him back his titles. By August 1921 he was promoted to command a division and was based in Shaanxi.
Feng, like many young officers, was involved in revolutionary activity and was nearly executed for treason. He later joinedYuan Shikai'sBeiyang Army and with the help and advice of Chinese diplomatWang Zhengting, converted toChristianity in 1914, being baptized into theMethodist Episcopal Church.[4]
Feng's career as a warlord began soon after the collapse of the Yuan Shikai government in 1916. Feng, however, distinguished himself from other regional militarists by governing his domains with a mixture of paternalisticChristian socialism[5] and military discipline. He forbade prostitution, gambling and the sale of opium and morphia.[6] From 1919 he was known as the "Christian General".[7]
In 1923 British Protestant Christian missionaryMarshall B. Broomhall said of him:
He was reputed to have likedbaptizing his troops with water from afire hose. However, no such incident is mentioned in Sheriden's detailed biography,[9] or in Broomhall's account.[10] Both Broomhall and Sheriden say that baptism was taken very seriously and that not all of Feng's troops were baptized.[7] JournalistJohn Gunther, in his 1939 bookInside Asia, specifically denied that such mass baptisms took place.
In the early 1920s, Feng rose to prominence in theZhili clique of warlords, named so because their base of power was centred aroundZhili Province. This Zhili clique defeated theFengtian clique, headed byZhang Zuolin, father ofZhang Xueliang, in theFirst Zhili–Fengtian War in 1922. It was at this time that Feng also began to move closer to theSoviet Union.
Within the Zhili clique Feng was demoted byWu Peifu and sent to guard the southern suburbs of Beijing. In 1923 Feng was inspired by Sun Yat-sen and secretly plotted withHu Jingyi andXue Yue to overthrow Wu Peifu andCao Kun, who controlled theBeiyang government. When theSecond Zhili–Fengtian War began in 1924, Feng was in charge of defendingRehe against the Fengtian clique. However, he switched sides and seized the capital in theBeijing Coup on 23 October 1924. This turnabout promptedShandong warlordZhang Zongchang to join theFengtian and led to a decisive defeat of the Zhili forces. Hence, Feng's coup brought far-reaching political changes in China. Feng imprisoned Zhili-leader and president Cao Kun, installed the more liberalHuang Fu, evicted the last EmperorPuyi from theForbidden City and invited Sun Yat-sen to Beijing to resurrect the Republican government and reunify the country. Despite being severely ill already, Sun came to Beijing and died there in April 1925.
Feng renamed his army theGuominjun or the National People's Army. To counter pressure from the Zhili and Fengtian factions, he invitedDuan Qirui to take on the presidency. Nevertheless, Feng was defeated by a Zhili–Fengtian alliance in theAnti-Fengtian War in January 1926. He lost control of Beijing and retreated toZhangjiakou, where his army became known as the Northwest Army.
In April 1926, Sun Yat-sen's successor,Chiang Kai-shek, launched theNorthern Expedition fromGuangzhou against the northern warlords. Feng threw his support behind the Nationalists in the Northern Expedition and merged hisGuominjun with theNational Revolutionary Army. The Nationalists vanquished the Zhili faction in the south and Feng asserted control over much of north-central China. Zhang Zuolin was forced to withdraw the Fengtian forces back to Manchuria. In August Feng went to theSoviet Union and returned in September.
In early July 1927, Feng Yuxiang allied with Chiang to form a new government in Shaanxi and implemented theWhite Terror there.[11]: 17 By September 1927, they had killed 496 people including students.[11]: 18 The Communist central authorities ordered the Shaanxi party branch to respond with peasant revolts.[11]: 18 These early responses failed and in March 1928 theWeihua Uprising began.[11]: 18
In October 1928, Feng Yuxiang was appointed as Vice President of theExecutive Yuan and War Minister of theRepublic of China by President Chiang Kai-shek.[12][13] Feng's patriotism was a basic motivation. Because of atrocities he saw Japanese soldiers commit during theSino-Japanese War of 1895, Feng promised that he would fight the Japanese to death if he ever became a soldier. Every year from 1915 onward, on the anniversary of Japan's21 Demands, he and his officers wore belts on which was written "In Memory of the National Humiliation of May 7th".[14]
By early 1929, Feng grew dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek'sNationalist government in Nanjing. He joinedYan Xishan andLi Zongren to challenge Chiang's supremacy, but was defeated by Chiang in theCentral Plains War. Chiang then incited anti-Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang sentiments among theChinese Muslims and Mongols, encouraging them to topple their rule.[15]
Stripped of his military power, Feng spent the early 1930s criticizingChiang Kai-shek's failure to resist Japanese aggression. On 26 May 1933, Feng Yuxiang became commander-in-chief of theChahar People's Anti-Japanese Army Alliance, withJi Hongchang andFang Zhenwu as frontline commanders. Ji Hongchang's army, numbering over 100,000 men according to Feng, pushed againstDuolun, and by July 1933,drove the Japanese andManchukuoan troops out ofChahar Province. By late July Feng and Ji Hongchang established, atZhangjiakou, the "Committee for Recovering the Four Provinces of the Northeast". Chiang Kai-shek, fearing thatCommunists had taken control of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army, launched a concerted siege of the army with 60,000 men. Surrounded by Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese, Feng Yuxiang resigned his post and retired toTai'an in Shandong.
Between 1935 and 1945, Feng Yuxiang supported the KMT and held various positions in the Nationalist army and government. In October 1935, Chiang invited him to Nanjing to serve as the vice-president of theMilitary Affairs Commission. He held the nominal position until 1938 and remained a member of the council until 1945. During theXi'an Incident, when Chiang Kai-Shek was held prisoner by rebellious warlords, Feng immediately called for Chiang's release.[16] After theSecond Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, he briefly served as Commander-in-Chief of the 3rd War Area. In this capacity Feng led Chinese forces early in thedefense of Shanghai, but he was quickly relieved in favor ofZhang Zhizhong and later Chiang himself.
AfterWorld War II, he traveled to theUnited States, where he was an outspoken critic of the Chiang regime and of theTruman administration which supported it. For several months, he stayed inBerkeley,California, as avisiting scholar.
Although he was never a Communist himself, he was close to them in his final years.[17]
He died in 1948, in a shipboard fire on theBlack Sea while en route to the Soviet Union, along with one of his daughters. Some believe he was murdered by his political adversaries, while others reject this theory.[17] Allegedly, those who claimed to know the details of that fateful night had reported that Feng and his daughter perished because their cabin door was locked from the outside.
Chinese Communists, underMao Zedong, classified Feng as a "good warlord", and his remains were buried with honors in 1953 at the sacredMount Tai[18] inShandong. His tomb is located immediately to the east of Tianwai Village square (36°12′25.86″N117°6′7.95″E / 36.2071833°N 117.1022083°E /36.2071833; 117.1022083). His widowLi Dequan served asMinister of Health of the People's Republic of China.
Many of Feng Yuxiang's former subordinates joined or merged into KuomintangNational Revolutionary Army and fought with distinction in theSecond Sino-Japanese War. They includeSong Zheyuan,Tong Linge,Zhao Dengyu,Sun Lianzhong,Liu Ruming,Feng Zhi'an,Yang Hucheng,Ji Hongchang andZhang Zizhong. Notable exceptions wereSun Liangcheng andQin Dechun, who collaborated with the Japanese.[19] Other generals, after serving a lengthy term in the warlord era, retired to live a life of pleasure.
Sir Richard Evans, author ofDeng Xiaoping and the Making of Modern China, described Feng as "an honest man" in his book.[20] Peter R. Moody wrote in theAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science "Many of Feng's allies might dispute this, since he betrayed every one of them."[20]
