List of warlords and military cliques in the Warlord Era

Major Chinese warlord coalitions as of 1925

The Warlord Era is the common term that refers to the time period of China beginning from 1916 to the mid-1930s, when the country was divided by various military cliques. Followed by the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916, and nominally ended in 1928 at the conclusion of the Northern Expedition with the Northeast Flag Replacement, beginning the "Nanjing decade". However, the division continued to exist into the 1930s, and remained until the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The warlords and military cliques of the Warlord Era are generally divided into the Northern Faction and the Southern Faction. The following is a list of cliques within each faction, and the dominant warlords within that clique.

Northern Faction

The cliques in the Northern Faction are evolved from the Beiyang system. Most of them were generals under Yuan Shikai. After the death of Yuan, they separated and formed cliques in their own sphere of influence.

Anhui clique

• Anhui is the name of a province in southern China.
• The Anhui Clique was so named because many of its most influential members were from Anhui, including founder Duan Qirui.
• It could be considered a legacy of Anhui native Li Hongzhang's influence on the Beiyang Army.
• The clique was removed from power after the Zhili-Anhui War and slowly faded from prominence.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Duan Qirui		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		1916–1920	- Duan Qirui's right-hand man - Led expedition that reconquered Mongolia and temporarily brought it back under control
Duan Zhigui			- Minister of War: 1917-1919
Jin Yunpeng			- Premier: 1919-1921
Wang Yitang			- Chairman of the House of Representatives 1918-1920
Lu Yongxiang			- Ruler of Zhejiang and Shanghai, his refusal to hand over Shanghai caused the Second Zhili–Fengtian War
Zhang Jingyao		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

Zhili clique

• Zhili was the province surrounding Beijing, most of its territory is now in the province of Hebei.
• The Zhili clique was formed by officers disgruntled with the Anhui clique, they rallied around Feng Guozhang.
• The clique took power after the Zhili-Anhui War but lost it after the Second Zhili-Fengtian War.
• It was largely wiped out during the Northern Expedition.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Feng Guozhang		1916–1919	- Served as President 1917-1918 - Died in 1919 and was succeeded by Cao Kun
Cao Kun		1919–1924	- Bribed his way to the presidency and served from 1923 to 1924 - Arrested and imprisoned during the Beijing coup by Feng Yuxiang
Wu Peifu		1919–1927	- Military commander and strategist of the Zhili Clique - Credited with the victories that pushed Zhili to power but ultimately failed hold onto power in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War
Sun Chuanfang		1919–1927	- Controlled most of the Lower Yangtze - Defeated in the Northern Expedition

Fengtian clique

• Fengtian is the former name of Liaoning province, and was the political center of Manchuria.
• The Fengtian clique controlled most of Manchuria up to Shanhaiguan and had an uneasy relationship with Japan.
• It took power in Beijing after the Second Zhili-Fengtian War but could not stop the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition.
• Was driven from Manchuria after the Mukden Incident and merged with the Kuomintang.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Zhang Zuolin		1916–1928	- Leader of the Fengtian Army, ruler of Manchuria - Assassinated by a Japanese military officer for his failure to halt the expansion of the Kuomintang
Zhang Xueliang		1928–1937	- Son and successor to Zhang Zuolin - Eventually reconciled the Fengtian clique with the Kuomintang
Guo Songling		1920–1925	- General in the Fengtian Army - Rebelled during the Anti-Fengtian War but was defeated and killed in action
Zhang Zongchang		1925–1928	Ruler of the Shandong province
Zhang Haipeng
Zhang Jinghui			Afterwards Prime Minister of Manchukuo
Tang Yulin
Wan Fulin
Wu Junsheng			- Commander of Fengtian Cavalry
Yang Yuting			- Executed by Zhang Xueliang for his part in the assassination of Zhang Zuolin

Shanxi clique

• Formed in the aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution, the Shanxi clique was limited to Shanxi province only
• Although affiliated with the Anhui clique, Yan Xishan remained neutral until the Northern Expedition
• Most territory was lost to Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Yan Xishan		1911–1949	- Military ruler of Shanxi - Joined the Kuomintang but later rebelled against Chiang Kai-shek in the Central Plains War - Defeated by the Communists in 1949, withdrew to Taiwan

Guominjun

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Feng Yuxiang		1924–1934	Leader of the Northwest
Sun Yue		1924–1928
Hu Jingyi		1924–1925	Military governor of Henan
Song Zheyuan		1927–1930

Ma clique

All Ma Clique Generals were Kuomintang members.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Ma Anliang		1912–1920	Ruler of the Gansu province, Outranked all the other Ma Clique generals.
Ma Qi		1915–1931	Ruler of the Qinghai province, influential in Gansu province
Ma Lin		1931–1938	Ruler of the Qinghai province
Ma Fuxiang		1912–1928	Ruler of Ningxia
Ma Bufang		1938–1945	Ruler of the Qinghai province
Ma Hongbin		1921–1928	Ruler of Gansu Province
Ma Hongkui		1923–1949	Army commander then ruler of Ningxia Province from 1932
Ma Zhongying		1929–1934	Chief of the 36th Division
Ma Hushan		1934–1950	Chief of the 36th Division

Xinjiang clique

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Yang Zengxin		1912–1928	Ruler of the Xinjiang province.
Ma Fuxing		1912–1924	Titai of Kashgar, Military Commander of Southern Xinjiang
Ma Shaowu		1924–1937	Tao-yin of Kashgar, Military Commander of Southern Xinjiang
Jin Shuren		1928–1934	Ruler of the Xinjiang province.

Southern Faction

The military cliques in the Southern Faction are generally regional revolutionary leaders that took over after the fall of Qing Dynasty in Xinhai Revolution.

Yunnan clique

The Yunnan Military Government was established on October 30, 1911, with Cai E elected as the military governor. This marked the beginning of the "Yunnan clique".

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Cai E		1911–1916	Leader of the Yunnan Army
Tang Jiyao		1913-1927	Military governor of Yunnan
Hu Ruoyu		1927	Governor of Yunnan
Long Yun		1927-1945	Governor of Yunnan

Old Guangxi clique

Guangxi province announced its independence on November 6, 1911. Originally, the revolutionaries supported the Qing Governor to remain in position. However, he later left the province, and Lu Rongting succeeded his position.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Lu Rongting		1912–1922
Chen Binghun		1916-1921
Shen Hongying		1923-1925	Military governor of Guangdong (1923-1924)

New Guangxi clique

By 1924, the Old Guangxi clique was no longer effective, and was replaced by the New Guangxi clique.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Bai Chongxi		1923–1949
Huang Shaoxiong		1923–1949
Li Zongren		1923–1949

Guangdong

Guangdong was independent on November 8. The Guangdong Army was in the early 1920s mostly dominated by Chen Jiongming. In the 1930s, Chen Jitang was chairman of the government.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Chen Jiongming		1911–1924
Chen Jitang		1929–1936

Kuomintang

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Sun Yat-sen		1912–1925	Founder of the Republic of China and leader of the Kuomintang
Chiang Kai-shek		1926–1975	Military leader of the Kuomintang and later President
He Yingqin		1926–1950	Senior General in the Kuomintang
Hu Hanmin		1925–1936	Leader of the right wing faction of the Kuomintang
Liao Zhongkai		1923–1925	Architect of the First United Front with the Chinese Communist Party
Wang Jingwei		1925–1944	Leader of the left wing faction of the Kuomintang, later Japanese puppet
Han Fuqu		1930–1938	Chairman of the Shandong Province; Was arrested and shot after abandoning his province when the Second Sino-Japanese War started.

Sichuan clique

During the period from 1927–1938, Sichuan was in the hands of five warlords. No warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another.

Name		Years of dominance	Notes
Liu Wenhui
Liu Xiang		1921–1938
Yang Sen
Tian Songyao
Deng Xihou

References