The Warlord Era has to be one of the most interesting and under-covered historic eras on youtube. Also, woop woop for Zhang Zongchang, clearly the best poet of the warlords ^^ .
You're not joking. I'm a history but, and I never even heard of the warlord era until I found this channel last year. I'd heard of a few individuals who were called warlords, but not it being a era.
@@TheGreatWar 远看泰山黑糊糊，上头细来下头粗。 如把泰山倒过来，下头细来上头粗。 From a distance, Mount Tai is black and cloudy, the top is thin and the bottom is thick. If Taishan is turned upside down, the bottom is thin and the top is thick.
@@TheGreatWar 1. "Lightning Song": Suddenly I saw a chain of fire in the sky, as if the Jade Emperor wanted to smoke. If the Jade Emperor doesn't smoke, why is it a chain of fire again? 1.《咏闪电》： 忽见天上一火链，好象玉皇要抽烟。 如果玉皇不抽烟，为何又是一火链。
The problem with these videos is that they try to draw Chinese map as small as possible. There are warloads in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tebit, but they do not draw them.
@@skinnydogkewthe fact is they did. For example the ma family was still very influencial and supported the KMT. the Tibetan also clashed with the war lords in southern China
Jesse and The Great War always do a great job on topics I don't know much about. They catch those events in history that normally slip through the cracks and don't get covered. And if they do it is never in much detail. Another enthusiastic endorsement for a video from Jesse and Co!
I really love how this channel has become more of a broad history channel for the interwar period. It's one of the most fascinating eras in recent human history, yet it gets so overshadowed by the 2 Great Wars and the Cold War.. Keep up the great work!!! :)
I do believe OP may have made a date typo in the title as the warlord era really started in 1912 not 1922. It’ll then be within WWI (and indeed, Republic of China will declare war on Germany and Ottoman Turkey by 1917) and even more pertaining to the channel’s mission.
Not all warlords were bad and harsh, but this period is definitely one of the darkest in Chinese history. People hail Mao as the liberator because the pre-Mao time was infernal for Chinese people, and Mao brought hope and enthusiasm to Chinese people.
It's no surprise the CCP won in the end. No-one else could solve the warlords problem. You can't stand still in a revolution. You have to go all the way or you'll get swept away by those more radical, or you'll fall into the hands of the counter-revolutionaries you failed to disarm and expropriate because you wanted to be moderate. The communists understood the situation better. The only hope of consolidating the revolution was to destroy the warlords, and that required maintaining the left alliance, because the popular forces, such as the unions and hungry peasants, were too strong to stamp on and couldn't otherwise be controlled. For the communists it was easy to know what to do, because not only was revolution their whole textbook, but they knew who the forces in play were from the Russian Revolution. The warlords were the White generals - counter-revolutionaries who you can't work with and who will certainly try to kill off the revolution, and you with it. So who was Sun Yat Sen, vacillating between left and right, trying to bring everyone together when that was impossible and could only drive people further apart? Kerensky, and the right of the Mensheviks. Trying so hard to keep the bourgeois liberals happy and make them a liberal constitution that he ended up flirting with counter-revolutionaries even though they were drifting towards proto-fascism and talking about a military dictatorship, while his support among the now armed poor was collapsing. When there's no centre, if you try and stay there you get torn apart. So the communists knew what the class forces were, and the fact they were going to start hostilities against each other. Sun Yat Sen jumped the wrong way, trying to please people who ultimately didn't want a revolution at all, both the warlords and the foreign colonialists.
No matter who won the civil war China will finally turn to a nationalist, authoritarianism plus conservatism state , that's the only thing people on this land want, since many young ppl in China are disappointed by current pro capitalist policy because it's so different from the communist education they rcceived through out school years, many ppl saying that maybe it's time to throw that communism signboard away just like Russians did, since it only turns our kids to discontents and potentially harmful to society, we should go full on nationalist instead.
Great to see a video on this. The Warlord Era has been partially covered in previous episodes, glad to see it getting something a little more comprehensive. Can't understate how crucial this period is though in modern China's development into what it eventually became, and gives a lens through which one might understand why someone like Chiang Kai-Shek was as much of a ruthless cutthroat as he was.
at the very least it gives you an understanding why "harmony" is such an important credo of the CCP. What they consider harmonic is, of course, quite a bit off from our definition, but the need for stability and order is influenced from this period.
@@TheGreatWar I agree. My family is from China, my great grandparents grew up in the Warlord Era (great grandfather ended up becoming an officer in the ROC air force). Very few people who ended up joining the CCP were convinced Communists. People just joined whichever side they thought was winning, because they wanted the decades of bloodshed, destruction, starvation, and instability to end. Didn't hurt that the Communists were the most appealing to common folk either.
Even the majority of the people who know a thing or two about history in China would just go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when this era gets discussed since it was such a messy and confusing clusterf**k.
the same scenario happen in the history of mainland china every change of a dynastic rulership... it is why enlightened peoples learned scholars old peoples do their best to put a current ruling class leadership in the right tracks so as to maintain peace and stability in the whole big picture as long as could be...
I love the consistent attention to linguistic pronunciations. I feel it’s often a last thought when it comes to history lectures but, not on this channel. Keep up all the great work!
Actually it’s all anglicized pronunciations, one of many examples: Canton is not pronounced the way it is said in the video by any regional dialects nor standardized mandarin.
My favorite Warlord is Yan Xishan... who isn't mentioned in the video, because he intentionally avoided joining cliques, and went so far as to ensure that his railroads were on a different gauge than the rest of the country. He ruled Shanxi, kept it out of most of the wars of the period (he's the northern grey enclave in the sea of tan on the video's maps), and when he did have to fight, he fought bravely and well, against the Japanese and Communists. His last political actions were trying to stop infighting in the collapsing KMT.
He played it like a short-sighted merchant, waited until Chiang destroyed potential rivals one by one, even sold out his ally Feng Yu Xiang the first time around, then when he was forced to fight Chiang Kai Shek seriously, he can no longer find a strong ally.
Thank you so much for this. I am fascinated by the Warlord era and how it created the political foundation for the events to come. The individual warlords themselves are incredibly interesting and I can only recommend everyone to read up on them and their shifting alliances further. There are some more factions and sub-factions that were missing here, but for a 30 minute documentary, this was just excellent.
The warlord era look fantastic now, but do remember all names of the warlords mentioned in the video are no better than bandit lords: most of them ruled their region with bandit-like soldiers and peasant conscripts, lake both equipments and will to fight, which is why KMT's Northern Expedition is a success.
some of those regions prospered far better than the decades that came before and after them, but this is politically sensitive because such a theory undermines the ccp
@@mcb4067 U kidding right? I know people who live through warlord era who hate CCP and Mao, says even the CCP era is still better than warlord era, because most regions under warlord regime suffer famine, opium, bandit, harassed by thug soldiers,general instability and constant skirmishes.
@@zsaint4931 some provinces did, but for many provinces for a time at least, more democratic than many comparable countries in Europe with considerable stability and continuity in local government even if the central government was weak, at the time a mass amount of chinese were going overseas to study, and penal administration, and judicial reform at the provisional level. while it is true 100,000+ died during this time, we must remember china is big - many provinces mostly went on with life unchanged. only after mao zedongs changes did millions of people die, but after him that is when reform opened up again.
I'm not sure what it is about your videos, but they pack so much information into such a short space, and your photos and videos are always second to none. Keep it up.
Thank you for posting this video. I'm presently researching the life of a prominent Chinese man who lived during this era and this video clarified the confusing history of this period.
This is the 1st time I've seen more than a mention of the Warlord Era and it's essential in understanding the development of China in the modern era. Thank you !
It's interesting to realise that in the warlord post-Qing China the former Entente countries, Italy and Japan, supported different factions in their advantages.
It's interesting how China's history repeats itself: from several provinces to one empire, the empire breaks up into several states then a new uniofication and then a new break. This era resembles the past just that we don't have kings but warlords
@@mikerodrigues9822 that would be the oldest empire, not nation. And in fact that might not even be true considering its an empire that has been conquered several times and was essentially someone else's empire.
Well it is for about the same reason. Being a very big geopolitical region that is too big to effectively rule from a center, but bound to unite due to geography. Grrm's Westeros is also too big , but is one continent. Fictional or not , such a place will have a lot of local rulers , all trying to have everything.
Thank you for uploading this interesting video. This is one part of China's history that is so poorly covered but yet so pivotal in the history of modern China. It is critically important to understand the psyche of Chinese politics as she will become the next (or by some measure has become) superpower as we enter Cold War version 2. The warlord period, covers the transition from imperial China to the failed experiment of other forms of government and why China became communist. But the questions should be - what kind of communism and how it differs from the Soviet Union? The West and in particular the US never understood (apart from a few US China experts that were shunned and later persercuted under McCarthyism) China.
there were many areas in the warlord period that prospered far better than what came before and after them, but for political reasons it isnt highlighted.
@@mcb4067 I wouldn't say many. But the Sichuan region really prospered back then. My history is nearly 3 decades old and I can barely remember. But the general idea is that, most warlords were trying to be kings of their own, and it was the ideology of Sun Yat San, our true Father of China to reunite all of China in one nation. The northward military expedition was to fulfill that dream.
Most accurate comment that explains why China embraces the communist ideology. The excesses of the bourgeoisie warlord system pushed China's poor peasants to the brink and seek for a relief from the oppression, much like the well-known French Revolution.
The Warlord Era was a period in the history of the Republic of China when control of the country was divided among former military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions from 1916 to 1928. In historiography, the Warlord Era began in 1916 upon the death of Yuan Shikai, the de facto dictator of China after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1912. Yuan's death created a power vacuum that spread across the Mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan and Xinjiang. The Nationalist Kuomintang government of Sun Yat-sen based in Guangzhou began to contest Yuan's Beiyang Government based in Beijing as the legitimate government of China. The Warlord Era was characterized by constant civil war between different factions, the largest of which was the Central Plains War which involved more than one million soldiers.[1] The Warlord Era ended in 1928 when the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek officially unified China through the Northern Expedition, marking the beginning of the Nanjing decade. Several of the warlords continued to maintain their influence through the 1930s and the 1940s, which was problematic for the Nationalist government during both the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War.
And arguably a lot of the warlords started by 1912 (definitely true with Yan Xishan and his turf in Shanxi) they just don’t make too much noise while Yuan Shikai was still alive. And then of course as you pointed out, Yuan croaked in June 1916 and we have a power vacuum in the most populous nation on earth.
The 1906 opium prohibition was a significant factor for the political chaos China went through that time. Without all the money raised from opium taxation, the government did not have the means to stop the Republican revolution and the warlords. So much so, that by 1923 the Chinese Government was "contemplating an opium monopoly, as the only means of raising funds, disbanding the large provincial armies, and saving the country" (Some Truths About Opium, Herbert Giles). Also, opium prohibition "failed to provide farmers with sufficient alternatives to opium. There is some evidence to suggest that the intervention weakened the Imperial regimes’ authority in (ex-)opium producing areas. A similar resentment may have been felt for the Republican regime. For example, according to Samuel Adshead (1966: 92; 1984), opium suppression in Sichuan Province resulted in negative 'structural alterations of the first magnitude' which undermined the provincial government, both economically and politically. One of the unintended consequences of the intervention being that farmer's discontent with their treatment was a factor in the significant number of rural peoples lending their support for the 1911 Republican revolution (Adshead, 1966, 1984). It is likely that when the state fragmented in 1917 many disgruntled farmers provided their support to warlords, and other local power holders, promising the repeal of prohibition" (Harms caused by China's 1906-17 opium suppression intervention, James Windle). This can be contrasted to how the 1858 opium legalisation was fundamental so save the Emperial government from the rebelions of the time: "Even after this tax-purpose legalisation, the Qing government maintained its moral opposition to opium, arguing that legalisation helped them monitoring opium. The State probably would not have been able to start the industrialization of China without those taxes. Moreover it would have most likely die without the help of the money to crush the many rebellions that were threatening him in the 1850’s-1870" (Opium and the State in China, from the late 15th century to Mao takeover, Alban Landré). In conclusion: "Considering the huge contribution of opium taxation to the national treasure of some countries, and the extent to which official monopolies over opium and tobacco financed Government institutions in yet other parts of the world, there can be little doubt that the course of China's history would be profoundly different had it not switched to a disastrous policy of strict prohibition after the Sino-Japonese war of 1894-1895" (Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China, Frank Dikötter, Lars Peter Laamann, Xun Zhou)
@@dboy2462 bro we get it, you wasted tons of time and likely money “educating” yourself and now you are supreme gatekeeper of all things UA-cam commentary in your small area of expertise. This is your time to shine. Shine on you crazy diamond!
I'm really glad the Great War Channel made another video revisiting and expanding on this topic, China's Warlord Era really is a fascinating period in history! I was also glad to see Feng Yuxiang discussed in more detail, he was certainly one of the more unique and interesting characters to me! He along with Wu Peifu are my two favorite personalities of the Warlord Era!
This is the worst era in China, full of hunger, war and poverty. The West and Japan took the opportunity to invade China and occupy China's land. What a sad past! This is also the reason why the Taiwan government was abandoned by the Chinese people, because they are also evil warlords! This is also the reason why the Chinese support Mao. He made China truly unified, so that the Chinese would no longer be bullied, and the Chinese would have dignity.
Erm... its just another repeated cycle within one of China's endless dynasties... Really there were always tonnes of factions coming out of China each time the dynasty collapses.
I know I'm one year late, but hey it doesn't matter. Chinese here that is really interested into history, but of the books I have read on Chinese history, the warlord era was basically a one-liner. Heck, 上下五千年, a famous Chinese history book, stopped entirely at the revolution in 1911 that overthrew the Qing dynasty. 20th century Chinese history is crimminally underrated, thanks for covering this area of history!
As a Kaiserreich fan, it's nice to get an in-depth understanding of the warlord period in China and how and where the Kaiserreich time line diverts from our own. This enables me to better appreciate the lore around China in this alternate timeline
@@younes2415 Alternate timeline as in an event happening differently or not happening compared to our own reality. In Kaiserreich's ( a historical fiction based on a mod for the game hearts of iron) timeline, the Central powers won the Great War instead of the Entente) which affected many places around the world besides Europe
Although it's probably one of the better UA-cam videos for understanding the Chinese warlord period, this has a few odd errors - mainly with regard to details. Don't treat it as definitive.
10:30 Just a correction: Shanghai had long been geographically classified as part of Zhejiang province although it had been held by Jiangsu warlord Qi Xieyuan. The plan for Zhejiang commander Lu Yongxiang was to advance and take the major port city before Qi could contact help from his Zhili allies.(my source says fengtian but that doesnt seem right sincezhang would make a coalition with Lu in the Second zhi-feng war) Both sides had around 65000 soldiers and fighting began in late August and ended mid-October. Even though fighting consisted of brutal close combat in the buildings of the city, the battle concluded in typical warlord fashion, Qi bribing each Zhejiang soldier with 10 Yuan to leave Shanghai. So i guess it wasnt really the anhui remnants
The worst part? There were alot of small petty warfare between rival factions or differences and usually they would just force draft peasants at gunpoint
Before my great grandmother left on a ship to Indonesia in 1925, a generation before lived under a decade of a warlord, a generation witnessed the Sun revolution, and a decade before her live the last of the Qing dynasty. My great-grandmother wasn't Chinese but was born a ship to Indonesia however my great-great-grandmother and grandfather were and they used to live in the county-level city of Fujian Province, China. I must imagine what was life like under Anhui Clique then another clique and how lucky they were escaping war.
@@TheZachary86 Life under Suharto well let's say there was a split view on it, my father's family side said it was grateful for its capitalist policy and allowing education while on my mother's family side it had one of the worst period of secret police, discrimination, and almost being killed by the army for being suspected of being a communist
@@dirtyslurricane Actually i dunno she was burn during on a ship otw to Indonesia which mean she was born on the sea not on the mainland, do please help me and research does being born on a international ocean in 1925 make her both something?
If anyone is interested in learning more about this period, and even trying your luck as a warlord yourself, I suggest the PC game, "Rise of the White Sun". It's been around a few years, and is a whole lot of fun, as well as full of detailed historical info.
The Great War, you did a fantastic job to tell this part of China's history. The only thing I would like to add is: 1) after Sun Yat-sen's death, Chiang dreamed to be the king of China and he dislike poor people, so he betrayed Sun Yat-sen's new three principles of the people: "To ally with Russia, the Communist Party, to aide farmers." 2) after the victory of the North Expedition two parties both clearly knew that they could not work hand in hand toward one goal since KMT fought for the bourgeois and CCP fought for the proletariat. Therefore, they had to start planning their own goals (two different goals) early.
Yep, Chiang carried out the massacre on April 12, 1928, shooting more than 5,000 innocent people without any trial, simply because they were suspected of joining Communist party.
@@TsunamiMT Yeah, but did Sun Yat-sen ever actually say anything about these "New Three Principles of the People", or did Mao Zedong just make those up or "interpret" them into existence, possibly as late as 1940? (It's also a bit ironic if Mao Zedong actually made "to ally with Russia" a "principle of the people", since he's the one lead China to cut ties with the Soviet Union, calling them "counterrevolutionaries" after Krushchev changed things from how Stalin did them.)
Unfortunately for the KMT, they would struggle later on due to the lack of a clearly defined ideology and lack of ideological fervor which made them weak against the Communists. Chiang started the New Life Movement but it was a sad meme of an ideology and was too steeped in rituals about being clean as to actually inspire people.
As a history major who took a couple of Chinese courses I was always impressed with how the Chinese managed to survive their revolutions to become one of the most powerful world superpowers at the turn of the 20th century
@@t545yslaves, maybe, but at least now they have enough money to feed their families and some of em are rich enough to go to western countries and act like they own the place. 🤣
Fun fact: 10:29 After 20+ years, Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, which was and now still is a province of China. However under western propaganda, quite a few people mistakenly think Taiwan is a independent country.
People think it is a state because it has its own goverment, state aparatus and the people dont want to be ruled by the CCP or from Peking without their consent. It is simple ammunition for the Western media who is anti china( only if its befitting them, they are controlled by financial interests)
Western govermnents assisted Taiwan in 1954 and 1958, when China tried to take Taiwan by force; the US even thought (openly) about using nukes against China in 1958...
Sure, and the KMT did some atrocious things to hold on to power too, but nonetheless Taiwan is for all intents and purposes independent today, having declared that and being recognised. And if mainland China were to invade there would be rightful response to such a display of force. As for the non violent methods employed to attempt “reunification” they might be concerning, but so is a lot of geopolitics. While there is a long list of things to be critical of the CCP for, China also catches a lot of flak for doing the same thing other nations/superpowers do.
I've always been frustrated by how many quite in depth histories of China seem to skip right from the abdication of Yuan Shikai to the northern expedition, like there wasn't a decade in between. I do wonder if there weren't two Chinese civil wars, one which established a national government and one which decided the nature of said government
I would really appreciate it if you would put the colour-coded names on screen every time you say one of them. Having quite a bit of difficulty remembering exactly who is who. Great video though!
The name of the Dogmeat General was Zhang Zongchang. Chinese historiography generally remembers him as a violent and brutish, but foreign observers noted his genial nature and clever wit. He kept a harem of concubines including a large number of White Russian refugees. Zhang had many vices, including two different things that might have been the basis for his nickname, Dogmeat. One is the liqueur he drank, called Dogmeat and believed to enhance his sexual prowess; the other was the card game he played. Foreigners believed Zhang ate dogs to enhance his sexual prowess as well, so the name stuck. His men were highly loyal and capable and seemed to love him, but in the end he was forced into exile where another exile from the former imperial house shot him. He is by far my favorite personality of this era.
The poems are interesting on a few different levels. They are rude, very often vulgar, but some are quite clever in their punning. Chinese has many homonyms so political poetry in particular is rich in double meanings. It is equally possible that many, maybe most, of the poems aren't by Zhang at all but were attributed to him by his rivals in an attempt to make him look bad. In any case, he was widely mourned and had many people show up to his funeral well after he lost his power and station, so there must have been something about the man that made him special.
Until I saw the dates it was actually difficult for me to know which period he was talking about. China has a depressing amount of civil wars. It's a little unfortunate that out of the 10 biggest wars in history (in terms of death toll) the majority are actually Chinese civil wars
@@taejo4975 I guess you haven't heard of Qin Shi Huang, Book burnings, familial executions & having Capital punishment for A LOT of minor things. There's a reason why his dynasty barely lasted after his death
@@zennoix9984 based on murica propaganda, yes CCP is authoritarian. Better you other media source than western media propaganda, so you can judge by yourself
I really enjoyed the content but the pronunciations of the names made it quite hard to follow. Had to go back and rewatch many parts. If this is challenging, I recommend using the full names of key people. Also recommend keeping maps longer onscreen. Thanks!
Really nice video on the Warlord periods in China following the Great War, so many different factions strived for national prominence and control over China
The lesson of this era is the perfect motivation for the current regime on the mainland since 1949 to suppress any attempt to change the eventual regime that will emerge in just 21 years from the end of the warlord era.
You are right. As a Chinese, any force want to make our homeland disturbance is our enemy. Stability is priority . No prosperity without a stable circumstance.
As Chinese I’m hard to follow, so many conflicts and too complex, it might be an interesting time and piece of history to other audiences but definitely NOT to my grandparents
@@glacieAardens I'm sure that the Northern Expedition War, the Cliques, the United Front and April 27 Massacre was in the History Curriculum of Grade 8 (Republican Era) for 1 or 2 lessons, but not more. Because then there were more turbulence awaiting China then: the 1st KMT-CPC war (the Long March), Sino-Japanese War and the 2nd KMT-CPC war (the Liberation War). The Warlord times was a time full of miseries, we even don't need to know it from the textbook, as we all have grandparents from that era. And then the Chinese ourself killed the Chinese ourselves for the interests of warlords, maybe that's why there are not so much details in the textbook as in this video.
@@lestanovvasily278 I see, civil wars like this were always hurtful to watch (it seems all the warlords were still after the position of the president, instead of declaring independence). Not a history nerd myself but just as a causal HOI player, I found the video informative and easy to follow. What's your thought on this video? Does it leave out any key event?
like him or hate him this man managed to unite one most populated country of it time under one rule and one flag this is amazing consider the lack of technology and resource back then ,
1920 warlord map is VERY generous to Zhili and ignores a lot of nuance. For example, although Fengtian was de jure supervising Suiyuan, it was really under the control of the Ma Fuxiang who was both patriarch of the Mas and member of Zhili. Also Chen Shufan in Shaanxi was definitely not Zhili, although he paid a few bribes after Zhiwan.
The power of the Beijing government at that period was more like the power of the nowadays Mogadishu government meanings that it barely controls some territory.
Sun's statement: The people do not necessarily love the KMT, but they surely hate us." carries the same energy as Hirohito's later statement: "The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage."
Again, KMT was never against foreigners who conquered some cities in China (invaders). But CCP did, so we most Chinese supported CCP. Again, CCP was never against those foreigners who supported China and Chinese people.
So from China perspective, Mao is definitely a great leader who not only united the nation, but also drove out all foreign influences. That's why China has been isolated by the West because they are no longer able to influence China.
What you are seeing is the 60s view on Mao, except the old red guards, not much Chinese prefer Mao to be honest. His funeral even removed from the museum.
The most interesting warlord I have read about was Liu Wenhui of Sichuan, who even became a Minister in Mao's communist government after 1949 (he switched sides at exactly the right moment!)
It is not surprised for example, Fu Zuoyi and Feng Yuxiang (if he had not died)also can be the minister level. Mao Zedong was once a senior leader of the Kuomintang, vice minister of propaganda, at that time, his rank was higher than Chiang Kai-shek
Thanks for having closed caption options. The pronunciation is definitely not very accurate and there was a difficulty hearing difference between the way you pronounced Zhang and Chiang.
If u know the history of this sad period, you will know why Chinese love CCP in United China now.. KMT lost their way with all their corruption.. My family was split with KMT and CCP. Chinese regain our dignity after CCP Victory, but we lost all our lands at the hands of CCP and some of my grand uncles who were KMT officers were all incarcerated n banished by CCP after 1948..abandoned by the Americans ... some are in Taiwan.. so Taiwanese will not trust Americans anymore.. and have respected that CCP did a great job to unite China.. the same goal Chiang Kai Shek n KMT wanted for China. If u know this, you will understand us Chinese.
The Young Marshall sent one of his sons to the Cate School in California, class of 1948. And i know that because my father graduated in the same class.
There is a report i read from wikipedia basically it said that, some of these warlords are rich, filthy rich. but doesnt really have any disciplined army, so there is a story where a russian mercenaries battalion was charging a warlord's position. the position looks tough, the warlords deployed machine guns, but it was said that the army the warlord had was so inexperienced that those machine guns were useless because the warlord's ragtag army cant properly handle the recoil, thus the position was easily overrun.
Sun Yat Sen united the people mainly by uniting with Russia and accommodating the Communist Party. Chiang Kai Shek's right leaning slogan was to eliminate the Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of Party members with political disunity in the party were eliminated, many of whom died unjustly. The purpose of going north is to crack down on warlords, but in fact, the young dragon slayer has become a dragon. Many people do not know that the earliest KMT platform was drafted by the Communists. Because of this incident, Mao Zedong and others saw clearly the reality that a party without its own armed forces could not change the fate of the Chinese people. In fact, the Soviet Union had always looked down on the Chinese Communist Party during this period of time. Even if the Chinese Communist Party was nearly destroyed by Chiang Kai Shek, the Soviet Union still asked the Chinese Communist Party to support KTM
Stalin want Chiang to hold Japanese force while he focus on the West. Not just Chinese communist party, Soviet looked down on ALL communist party other then them.
The Warlord Era has to be one of the most interesting and under-covered historic eras on youtube. Also, woop woop for Zhang Zongchang, clearly the best poet of the warlords ^^ .
we are waiting for a collected edition of his poetry
You're not joking. I'm a history but, and I never even heard of the warlord era until I found this channel last year.
I'd heard of a few individuals who were called warlords, but not it being a era.
They ask me how many women I have.
To be honest, I don’t know either.
Yesterday, a boy called me dad.
I don’t know who his mother was.
@@TheGreatWar
远看泰山黑糊糊，上头细来下头粗。
如把泰山倒过来，下头细来上头粗。
From a distance, Mount Tai is black and cloudy, the top is thin and the bottom is thick.
If Taishan is turned upside down, the bottom is thin and the top is thick.
@@TheGreatWar 1. "Lightning Song":
Suddenly I saw a chain of fire in the sky, as if the Jade Emperor wanted to smoke.
If the Jade Emperor doesn't smoke, why is it a chain of fire again?
1.《咏闪电》：
忽见天上一火链，好象玉皇要抽烟。
如果玉皇不抽烟，为何又是一火链。
The problem with these videos is that they try to draw Chinese map as small as possible. There are warloads in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tebit, but they do not draw them.
They had no influence in this historical period
@@skinnydogkewthe fact is they did. For example the ma family was still very influencial and supported the KMT. the Tibetan also clashed with the war lords in southern China
@@skinnydogkewin fact china in this period actually had
Maybe its because they dont want to get cancelled by china
These cliques were pretty insignificant though
Jesse and The Great War always do a great job on topics I don't know much about. They catch those events in history that normally slip through the cracks and don't get covered. And if they do it is never in much detail. Another enthusiastic endorsement for a video from Jesse and Co!
Well said !
I really love how this channel has become more of a broad history channel for the interwar period. It's one of the most fascinating eras in recent human history, yet it gets so overshadowed by the 2 Great Wars and the Cold War.. Keep up the great work!!! :)
I do believe OP may have made a date typo in the title as the warlord era really started in 1912 not 1922. It’ll then be within WWI (and indeed, Republic of China will declare war on Germany and Ottoman Turkey by 1917) and even more pertaining to the channel’s mission.
@@davidw.2791 Nah, this video was Part 2, since they covered the first 10 years of the Warlord Era (1912-21) in a previous video from 2021
@@extrahistory8956 Thank you! Do you still remember the title for part one? 👍🏼
Before the CCP wiped out all the non Han Chinese China was a lot more divided
@@Rays_Bad_DecisionsI am a minority, but I have never heard of the CCP engaging in genocide. Please stop your spreading rumors
Not all warlords were bad and harsh, but this period is definitely one of the darkest in Chinese history. People hail Mao as the liberator because the pre-Mao time was infernal for Chinese people, and Mao brought hope and enthusiasm to Chinese people.
Except that later it was proven that such a glimmer of hope was false.
@@Schinshikss 当然了 阻止了美军入侵越南和朝鲜，阻止了苏联支持的印度入侵西藏，对于美国来说那是相当难受的。
@@Schinshikss 那不是你外国人说了算的。我说你痛恨耶稣痛恨你国的所有总统也是真的了？
one of the greatest tricks of all time, and the chinese paid for it big time. Always beware of revolutions, regardless of the ideals or goals.
@@AR15andGOD without the Communist revolution there will be no economic miracle afterwards. Nothing exists in isolation, like it or not.
This was very informative on a part of history that isn't covered in detail nearly enough. Really enjoyed it.
It's no surprise the CCP won in the end. No-one else could solve the warlords problem. You can't stand still in a revolution. You have to go all the way or you'll get swept away by those more radical, or you'll fall into the hands of the counter-revolutionaries you failed to disarm and expropriate because you wanted to be moderate. The communists understood the situation better. The only hope of consolidating the revolution was to destroy the warlords, and that required maintaining the left alliance, because the popular forces, such as the unions and hungry peasants, were too strong to stamp on and couldn't otherwise be controlled. For the communists it was easy to know what to do, because not only was revolution their whole textbook, but they knew who the forces in play were from the Russian Revolution. The warlords were the White generals - counter-revolutionaries who you can't work with and who will certainly try to kill off the revolution, and you with it. So who was Sun Yat Sen, vacillating between left and right, trying to bring everyone together when that was impossible and could only drive people further apart? Kerensky, and the right of the Mensheviks. Trying so hard to keep the bourgeois liberals happy and make them a liberal constitution that he ended up flirting with counter-revolutionaries even though they were drifting towards proto-fascism and talking about a military dictatorship, while his support among the now armed poor was collapsing. When there's no centre, if you try and stay there you get torn apart. So the communists knew what the class forces were, and the fact they were going to start hostilities against each other. Sun Yat Sen jumped the wrong way, trying to please people who ultimately didn't want a revolution at all, both the warlords and the foreign colonialists.
如果孙中山活得再久一点，那么国民党可能可以完成共产主义的改造。
No matter who won the civil war China will finally turn to a nationalist, authoritarianism plus conservatism state , that's the only thing people on this land want, since many young ppl in China are disappointed by current pro capitalist policy because it's so different from the communist education they rcceived through out school years, many ppl saying that maybe it's time to throw that communism signboard away just like Russians did, since it only turns our kids to discontents and potentially harmful to society, we should go full on nationalist instead.
Finally a grounded take.
Identifying the contradiction.
Great insight. The communists were really close to the grass roots.
Great to see a video on this. The Warlord Era has been partially covered in previous episodes, glad to see it getting something a little more comprehensive. Can't understate how crucial this period is though in modern China's development into what it eventually became, and gives a lens through which one might understand why someone like Chiang Kai-Shek was as much of a ruthless cutthroat as he was.
at the very least it gives you an understanding why "harmony" is such an important credo of the CCP. What they consider harmonic is, of course, quite a bit off from our definition, but the need for stability and order is influenced from this period.
@@TheGreatWar I agree. My family is from China, my great grandparents grew up in the Warlord Era (great grandfather ended up becoming an officer in the ROC air force).
Very few people who ended up joining the CCP were convinced Communists. People just joined whichever side they thought was winning, because they wanted the decades of bloodshed, destruction, starvation, and instability to end. Didn't hurt that the Communists were the most appealing to common folk either.
Even the majority of the people who know a thing or two about history in China would just go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when this era gets discussed since it was such a messy and confusing clusterf**k.
the same scenario happen in the history of mainland china every change of a dynastic rulership... it is why enlightened peoples learned scholars old peoples do their best to put a current ruling class leadership in the right tracks so as to maintain peace and stability in the whole big picture as long as could be...
People like Chiang Kai Shek are the kind of people that the West always supports.
I love the consistent attention to linguistic pronunciations. I feel it’s often a last thought when it comes to history lectures but, not on this channel. Keep up all the great work!
Actually it’s all anglicized pronunciations, one of many examples: Canton is not pronounced the way it is said in the video by any regional dialects nor standardized mandarin.
What? His Chinese pronunciation is very poor. Half the sounds he is making don't even exist in Chinese. Then there's his tones...sigh.
Honestly, if people research enough history of the Warlord Era, they will understand Modern China's history without much complication.
Too bad, half of the world understand china, from facebook and youtube by the west
@@lastchangdepapa1247 the rest of the sorld don't like the west dude. ESPECIALLY THE USA. Are you that ignorant?
@@lastchangdepapa1247 Cry about it I guess.
Your troubled history is not an excuse to inflict your problems on other countries today, lol.
My favorite Warlord is Yan Xishan... who isn't mentioned in the video, because he intentionally avoided joining cliques, and went so far as to ensure that his railroads were on a different gauge than the rest of the country. He ruled Shanxi, kept it out of most of the wars of the period (he's the northern grey enclave in the sea of tan on the video's maps), and when he did have to fight, he fought bravely and well, against the Japanese and Communists. His last political actions were trying to stop infighting in the collapsing KMT.
He's worth the praise as his ruling in his territory is better then the others and being the longest surviving warlord
And his control of his turf, Shanxi province, basically was the top limit in terms of longevity: 1912 to 1949.
yea ok man
He played it like a short-sighted merchant, waited until Chiang destroyed potential rivals one by one, even sold out his ally Feng Yu Xiang the first time around, then when he was forced to fight Chiang Kai Shek seriously, he can no longer find a strong ally.
that's my great great grandfather lol
Thank you so much for this. I am fascinated by the Warlord era and how it created the political foundation for the events to come. The individual warlords themselves are incredibly interesting and I can only recommend everyone to read up on them and their shifting alliances further. There are some more factions and sub-factions that were missing here, but for a 30 minute documentary, this was just excellent.
The warlord era look fantastic now, but do remember all names of the warlords mentioned in the video are no better than bandit lords: most of them ruled their region with bandit-like soldiers and peasant conscripts, lake both equipments and will to fight, which is why KMT's Northern Expedition is a success.
some of those regions prospered far better than the decades that came before and after them, but this is politically sensitive because such a theory undermines the ccp
@@mcb4067 U kidding right? I know people who live through warlord era who hate CCP and Mao, says even the CCP era is still better than warlord era, because most regions under warlord regime suffer famine, opium, bandit, harassed by thug soldiers,general instability and constant skirmishes.
@@zsaint4931 some provinces did, but for many provinces for a time at least, more democratic than many comparable countries in Europe with considerable stability and continuity in local government even if the central government was weak, at the time a mass amount of chinese were going overseas to study, and penal administration, and judicial reform at the provisional level. while it is true 100,000+ died during this time, we must remember china is big - many provinces mostly went on with life unchanged. only after mao zedongs changes did millions of people die, but after him that is when reform opened up again.
@@mcb4067 老实说，你很愚蠢，那是我们民族的耻辱时代，任何一个中国人都不会想念那种时代。
@@mcb4067 yeah that is just straight up bullshit
I'm not sure what it is about your videos, but they pack so much information into such a short space, and your photos and videos are always second to none. Keep it up.
Thank you for posting this video. I'm presently researching the life of a prominent Chinese man who lived during this era and this video clarified the confusing history of this period.
He made factual error when he said "intervention" by Japan in the conflicts ...
What Japan did was INTERFERED .
He made factual error when he said "intervention" by Japan in the conflicts ...
What Japan did was INTERFERED .
This is the 1st time I've seen more than a mention of the Warlord Era and it's essential in understanding the development of China in the modern era. Thank you !
It's interesting to realise that in the warlord post-Qing China the former Entente countries, Italy and Japan, supported different factions in their advantages.
Wow u must a genius
It's interesting how China's history repeats itself: from several provinces to one empire, the empire breaks up into several states then a new uniofication and then a new break. This era resembles the past just that we don't have kings but warlords
Chinese Warring State period where the war end in Chu-Han Contention between Chiang Kai Shek and Mao Zedong
well in the whole chinese history they've broke up four times only.
@@SublimeHurdle Tbh that are more times then other nations that exist today.
@@Athrun82 China is also the oldest nation.
@@mikerodrigues9822 that would be the oldest empire, not nation. And in fact that might not even be true considering its an empire that has been conquered several times and was essentially someone else's empire.
China's got so many Game of Thrones moments. Basically their entire history is Game of Thrones.
lol
Well it is for about the same reason. Being a very big geopolitical region that is too big to effectively rule from a center, but bound to unite due to geography. Grrm's Westeros is also too big , but is one continent. Fictional or not , such a place will have a lot of local rulers , all trying to have everything.
but it had centuries of unification and peace too
Never watched it. It's that fricken dwarf.
Man, this channel makes history class exciting!
Thank you for uploading this interesting video. This is one part of China's history that is so poorly covered but yet so pivotal in the history of modern China. It is critically important to understand the psyche of Chinese politics as she will become the next (or by some measure has become) superpower as we enter Cold War version 2. The warlord period, covers the transition from imperial China to the failed experiment of other forms of government and why China became communist. But the questions should be - what kind of communism and how it differs from the Soviet Union? The West and in particular the US never understood (apart from a few US China experts that were shunned and later persercuted under McCarthyism) China.
there were many areas in the warlord period that prospered far better than what came before and after them, but for political reasons it isnt highlighted.
@@mcb4067 I wouldn't say many. But the Sichuan region really prospered back then. My history is nearly 3 decades old and I can barely remember. But the general idea is that, most warlords were trying to be kings of their own, and it was the ideology of Sun Yat San, our true Father of China to reunite all of China in one nation. The northward military expedition was to fulfill that dream.
Lol imagine splitting communist hairs to decide the “better” method … you mean, should they starve their people with guns or starve them with tanks? 😅
Most accurate comment that explains why China embraces the communist ideology. The excesses of the bourgeoisie warlord system pushed China's poor peasants to the brink and seek for a relief from the oppression, much like the well-known French Revolution.
The Warlord Era was a period in the history of the Republic of China when control of the country was divided among former military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions from 1916 to 1928.
In historiography, the Warlord Era began in 1916 upon the death of Yuan Shikai, the de facto dictator of China after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1912. Yuan's death created a power vacuum that spread across the Mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan and Xinjiang. The Nationalist Kuomintang government of Sun Yat-sen based in Guangzhou began to contest Yuan's Beiyang Government based in Beijing as the legitimate government of China. The Warlord Era was characterized by constant civil war between different factions, the largest of which was the Central Plains War which involved more than one million soldiers.[1] The Warlord Era ended in 1928 when the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek officially unified China through the Northern Expedition, marking the beginning of the Nanjing decade. Several of the warlords continued to maintain their influence through the 1930s and the 1940s, which was problematic for the Nationalist government during both the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War.
And arguably a lot of the warlords started by 1912 (definitely true with Yan Xishan and his turf in Shanxi) they just don’t make too much noise while Yuan Shikai was still alive.
And then of course as you pointed out, Yuan croaked in June 1916 and we have a power vacuum in the most populous nation on earth.
The 1906 opium prohibition was a significant factor for the political chaos China went through that time. Without all the money raised from opium taxation, the government did not have the means to stop the Republican revolution and the warlords. So much so, that by 1923 the Chinese Government was "contemplating an opium monopoly, as the only means of raising funds, disbanding the large provincial armies, and saving the country" (Some Truths About Opium, Herbert Giles).
Also, opium prohibition "failed to
provide farmers with sufficient alternatives to opium. There is some evidence to suggest that the intervention weakened the Imperial regimes’ authority in (ex-)opium producing areas. A similar resentment may have been felt for the Republican regime. For example, according to Samuel Adshead (1966: 92; 1984), opium suppression in Sichuan Province resulted in negative 'structural alterations of the first magnitude' which undermined the provincial government, both economically and politically. One of the unintended consequences of the intervention being that farmer's discontent with their treatment was a factor in the significant number of rural peoples lending their support for the 1911 Republican revolution (Adshead,
1966, 1984). It is likely that when the state fragmented in 1917 many disgruntled farmers provided their support to warlords, and other local power holders, promising the repeal of prohibition" (Harms caused by China's 1906-17 opium suppression intervention, James Windle).
This can be contrasted to how the 1858 opium legalisation was fundamental so save the Emperial government from the rebelions of the time: "Even after this tax-purpose legalisation, the Qing government maintained its moral opposition to opium, arguing that legalisation helped them monitoring opium. The State probably would not have been able to start the industrialization of China without those taxes. Moreover it would have most likely die without the help of the money to crush the many rebellions that were threatening him in the 1850’s-1870" (Opium and the State in China, from the late 15th century to Mao takeover, Alban Landré).
In conclusion: "Considering the huge contribution of opium taxation to the national treasure of some countries, and the extent to which official monopolies over opium and tobacco financed Government institutions in yet other parts of the world, there can be little doubt that the course of China's history would be profoundly different had it not switched to a disastrous policy of strict prohibition after the Sino-Japonese war of 1894-1895" (Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China, Frank Dikötter, Lars Peter Laamann, Xun Zhou)
@@dboy2462 bro we get it, you wasted tons of time and likely money “educating” yourself and now you are supreme gatekeeper of all things UA-cam commentary in your small area of expertise. This is your time to shine. Shine on you crazy diamond!
I'm really glad the Great War Channel made another video revisiting and expanding on this topic, China's Warlord Era really is a fascinating period in history! I was also glad to see Feng Yuxiang discussed in more detail, he was certainly one of the more unique and interesting characters to me! He along with Wu Peifu are my two favorite personalities of the Warlord Era!
This is the worst era in China, full of hunger, war and poverty. The West and Japan took the opportunity to invade China and occupy China's land. What a sad past! This is also the reason why the Taiwan government was abandoned by the Chinese people, because they are also evil warlords! This is also the reason why the Chinese support Mao. He made China truly unified, so that the Chinese would no longer be bullied, and the Chinese would have dignity.
And xushuzheng, who tried to conquer Mongolia. Unfortunately, he was cruel and made Mongolia and Russia unite
Not that fascinating for the people living in that ear.
@@alisontaylor4013 Era , not ear .
No, I'm not a English teacher .
Just wanted to let you know .
It's sad that the warlord period is often overlooked or simplified to communist vs nationalists when so many factions were involved
In warlord period communist adn nationalists are allies, you are talking about 1930s Chinese era.
It did become that later on but at this point it was still a mess.
only to those who does not understand China at all.
Erm... its just another repeated cycle within one of China's endless dynasties... Really there were always tonnes of factions coming out of China each time the dynasty collapses.
@@flyingburningman4602 I think he thought the general people thought Warlord Era was just that. Thats what Micahistory probably meant.
Ah my youth spent studying early 20th Century Chinese history finally coming back to life. keep up the great work team
Smedley Butler's reappearance at 21:25 actually got me hyped!
I know I'm one year late, but hey it doesn't matter. Chinese here that is really interested into history, but of the books I have read on Chinese history, the warlord era was basically a one-liner. Heck, 上下五千年, a famous Chinese history book, stopped entirely at the revolution in 1911 that overthrew the Qing dynasty. 20th century Chinese history is crimminally underrated, thanks for covering this area of history!
As a Kaiserreich fan, it's nice to get an in-depth understanding of the warlord period in China and how and where the Kaiserreich time line diverts from our own. This enables me to better appreciate the lore around China in this alternate timeline
Alternate?
@@younes2415 Alternate timeline as in an event happening differently or not happening compared to our own reality. In Kaiserreich's ( a historical fiction based on a mod for the game hearts of iron) timeline, the Central powers won the Great War instead of the Entente) which affected many places around the world besides Europe
@@jamessmitgaming9091 Ah alright, you meant on the game
Although it's probably one of the better UA-cam videos for understanding the Chinese warlord period, this has a few odd errors - mainly with regard to details. Don't treat it as definitive.
@@flamefang Hey! Didn’t expect to see you here.
This is the best among none-Chinese media covering this part of Chinese history. Congratulations!
Somehow still a better ending than the GoT final season
more qualified show runners ;)
@@TheGreatWar cant even say shots fired, dems the facts
did you watch it?
@@micahistory did you NOT watch it?
@@sorcierenoire8651 yes
10:30 Just a correction: Shanghai had long been geographically classified as part of Zhejiang province although it had been held by Jiangsu warlord Qi Xieyuan. The plan for Zhejiang commander Lu Yongxiang was to advance and take the major port city before Qi could contact help from his Zhili allies.(my source says fengtian but that doesnt seem right sincezhang would make a coalition with Lu in the Second zhi-feng war)
Both sides had around 65000 soldiers and fighting began in late August and ended mid-October.
Even though fighting consisted of brutal close combat in the buildings of the city, the battle concluded in typical warlord fashion, Qi bribing each Zhejiang soldier with 10 Yuan to leave Shanghai. So i guess it wasnt really the anhui remnants
The Russian Civil War and the Warlord Era are my favorite topics in history. Thanks for this video!
And those two are extremely interconnected, imperialists Russian officers trained Chinese warlord in urban warfare and cavalry tactics
2 years have been past since I search this specific topic in these great channel. And now I have it
we also made a video about the first phase of the warlord era, it's linked at the end of this video.
@@TheGreatWar Oh yes, I saw it!
The worst part? There were alot of small petty warfare between rival factions or differences and usually they would just force draft peasants at gunpoint
Before my great grandmother left on a ship to Indonesia in 1925, a generation before lived under a decade of a warlord, a generation witnessed the Sun revolution, and a decade before her live the last of the Qing dynasty. My great-grandmother wasn't Chinese but was born a ship to Indonesia however my great-great-grandmother and grandfather were and they used to live in the county-level city of Fujian Province, China. I must imagine what was life like under Anhui Clique then another clique and how lucky they were escaping war.
How was life under Suharto?
@@TheZachary86 Life under Suharto well let's say there was a split view on it, my father's family side said it was grateful for its capitalist policy and allowing education while on my mother's family side it had one of the worst period of secret police, discrimination, and almost being killed by the army for being suspected of being a communist
Bro sorry if this is a stupid question but how was both of your great grandmothers parents Chinese but she wasn’t??
@@dirtyslurricane Actually i dunno she was burn during on a ship otw to Indonesia which mean she was born on the sea not on the mainland, do please help me and research does being born on a international ocean in 1925 make her both something?
@阿孚 Fair enough but i don't know the rule of being born in the sea during the escape to Indonesia make's her both or something
I am really glad I came across your channel! Wonderfully composed impartial factual historical information. Thank you!
Thank for covering a part of history that is often overlooked, looking forward to more
What a fascinating and relatively little known part of history. Thanks for this.
I’ve been waiting for more China warlord stuff. It must be my lucky day. 🍀
You brought up an interesting point, that Borodin was sent to China mainly because Soviets feared Japanese incursion and influence into China.
If anyone is interested in learning more about this period, and even trying your luck as a warlord yourself, I suggest the PC game, "Rise of the White Sun". It's been around a few years, and is a whole lot of fun, as well as full of detailed historical info.
The Great War, you did a fantastic job to tell this part of China's history. The only thing I would like to add is: 1) after Sun Yat-sen's death, Chiang dreamed to be the king of China and he dislike poor people, so he betrayed Sun Yat-sen's new three principles of the people: "To ally with Russia, the Communist Party, to aide farmers." 2) after the victory of the North Expedition two parties both clearly knew that they could not work hand in hand toward one goal since KMT fought for the bourgeois and CCP fought for the proletariat. Therefore, they had to start planning their own goals (two different goals) early.
Yep, Chiang carried out the massacre on April 12, 1928, shooting more than 5,000 innocent people without any trial, simply because they were suspected of joining Communist party.
Weird, last time I checked the principles were: nationalism, welfare and democracy; which Republic Of China seems to have achieved
@@Furman2137 There is The Three Principles of the People, then there is the NEW Three Principles of the People.
@@TsunamiMT Yeah, but did Sun Yat-sen ever actually say anything about these "New Three Principles of the People", or did Mao Zedong just make those up or "interpret" them into existence, possibly as late as 1940? (It's also a bit ironic if Mao Zedong actually made "to ally with Russia" a "principle of the people", since he's the one lead China to cut ties with the Soviet Union, calling them "counterrevolutionaries" after Krushchev changed things from how Stalin did them.)
@@Mr.Nichan no, Sun didn't. There is nothing ironic there, circumstantial merely. There are politicians and leaders, not philosophers.
It's important to know the power of ideological fervour, this is certainly what Sun Yat Sen and Chang Kai-Shek attempted to get advantage of.
Unfortunately for the KMT, they would struggle later on due to the lack of a clearly defined ideology and lack of ideological fervor which made them weak against the Communists. Chiang started the New Life Movement but it was a sad meme of an ideology and was too steeped in rituals about being clean as to actually inspire people.
As a history major who took a couple of Chinese courses I was always impressed with how the Chinese managed to survive their revolutions to become one of the most powerful world superpowers at the turn of the 20th century
By Chinese I assume you mean the Beijing government. If you focus on the people i think it's more like super slaves of new century
@明李 You are a super slave controlled by western media thought
@@t545yslaves, maybe, but at least now they have enough money to feed their families and some of em are rich enough to go to western countries and act like they own the place. 🤣
Fun fact: 10:29 After 20+ years, Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, which was and now still is a province of China. However under western propaganda, quite a few people mistakenly think Taiwan is a independent country.
People think it is a state because it has its own goverment, state aparatus and the people dont want to be ruled by the CCP or from Peking without their consent.
It is simple ammunition for the Western media who is anti china( only if its befitting them, they are controlled by financial interests)
@黃俄子孙·中共人 好家伙，大陆属于台湾😄 自信点，整个地球都是台湾的，台湾南玻万~~
Western govermnents assisted Taiwan in 1954 and 1958, when China tried to take Taiwan by force; the US even thought (openly) about using nukes against China in 1958...
ROC is independent to PRC
Sure, and the KMT did some atrocious things to hold on to power too, but nonetheless Taiwan is for all intents and purposes independent today, having declared that and being recognised. And if mainland China were to invade there would be rightful response to such a display of force. As for the non violent methods employed to attempt “reunification” they might be concerning, but so is a lot of geopolitics. While there is a long list of things to be critical of the CCP for, China also catches a lot of flak for doing the same thing other nations/superpowers do.
Really recommend the movie called 'let the bullets fly'(让子弹飞), that was set in the warlord era.
很多中国人都看不懂，外国人就更难。
I've always been frustrated by how many quite in depth histories of China seem to skip right from the abdication of Yuan Shikai to the northern expedition, like there wasn't a decade in between. I do wonder if there weren't two Chinese civil wars, one which established a national government and one which decided the nature of said government
一直内战从未停止过，直到新中国建立，西藏回归
@@kemuyun5554 你是不是忘了國民政府推倒台灣
Amazing video! 🎉
What a shame that this amazing work is si underrated just 104,100 views. I loved this channel & I wish the best for your channel
Most of us loyal "followers", left when he sacked Indy Nidel...
here at 26:34, when the host said "Japanese running dog", it's a literal translation that means "lackey"
This post is crucial to understand today’s China. Bitter struggles led to hardened attitudes, and concentrated visions.
One of my favorite historical eras, amazing to see some footage of it
I would really appreciate it if you would put the colour-coded names on screen every time you say one of them. Having quite a bit of difficulty remembering exactly who is who.
Great video though!
Same. Hard to follow along with names and locations I'm not familiar with
Outstanding content and production!
The name of the Dogmeat General was Zhang Zongchang. Chinese historiography generally remembers him as a violent and brutish, but foreign observers noted his genial nature and clever wit. He kept a harem of concubines including a large number of White Russian refugees.
Zhang had many vices, including two different things that might have been the basis for his nickname, Dogmeat. One is the liqueur he drank, called Dogmeat and believed to enhance his sexual prowess; the other was the card game he played. Foreigners believed Zhang ate dogs to enhance his sexual prowess as well, so the name stuck.
His men were highly loyal and capable and seemed to love him, but in the end he was forced into exile where another exile from the former imperial house shot him.
He is by far my favorite personality of this era.
Also some of his poets, according to historian are just, rude and childish
The poems are interesting on a few different levels. They are rude, very often vulgar, but some are quite clever in their punning. Chinese has many homonyms so political poetry in particular is rich in double meanings.
It is equally possible that many, maybe most, of the poems aren't by Zhang at all but were attributed to him by his rivals in an attempt to make him look bad.
In any case, he was widely mourned and had many people show up to his funeral well after he lost his power and station, so there must have been something about the man that made him special.
Zongchang was easily the most colourful of all the warlords.
with the pace and intensity , something never seen before.
Until I saw the dates it was actually difficult for me to know which period he was talking about. China has a depressing amount of civil wars. It's a little unfortunate that out of the 10 biggest wars in history (in terms of death toll) the majority are actually Chinese civil wars
Most wars in China tend to be "total wars" where entire populations are engulfed in wars, not just the ruling regimes or armies.
I wonder why is the CCP so authoritarian today?
@@zennoix9984 Not that Authoritarian compared to Mao Zedong's time, plus the country prospered after centuries of chaos.
@@taejo4975 I guess you haven't heard of Qin Shi Huang,
Book burnings, familial executions & having Capital punishment for A LOT of minor things.
There's a reason why his dynasty barely lasted after his death
@@zennoix9984 based on murica propaganda, yes CCP is authoritarian.
Better you other media source than western media propaganda, so you can judge by yourself
This channel is a treasure with the likes of Lemmino, Vsauce, and Knowing Better
I always found the Chinese Warlord Era interesting because of how complicated and chaotic it was
But for the Chinese, it was a nightmare.
@@canpek545 yes
It's really interesting for foreigners, but it's very bad for Chinese people in that era
@@Maxwell-uu1er well that's how all wars are
@@canpek545that actually isnt true for every provinces in china, some provinces did far better than what came before and after them
Learned more about this era here than I ever did in school.
As a Chinese,I needed to study Chinese history which include this in the following exam….thx,I learned much much more
I'm from the Philippines, my country is about to be doomed. Watching to learn something from this.
This was a great video, my family was part of the Fengtian warlords. My grandmother use to tell me stories about this time.
Peasants
Man I love these Alexander narrated documentaries.
I really enjoyed the content but the pronunciations of the names made it quite hard to follow. Had to go back and rewatch many parts. If this is challenging, I recommend using the full names of key people. Also recommend keeping maps longer onscreen. Thanks!
So interesting, Thank you!
Really nice video on the Warlord periods in China following the Great War, so many different factions strived for national prominence and control over China
I've read quite a lot of Chinese history, but never really got into the details of the Warlord era. So this overview was a helpful introduction.
Stalin: Alright who are we supporting in China today? *puts on blindfold and pulls name out of a hat*
Awesome thanks
The lesson of this era is the perfect motivation for the current regime on the mainland since 1949 to suppress any attempt to change the eventual regime that will emerge in just 21 years from the end of the warlord era.
You are right.
As a Chinese, any force want to make our homeland disturbance is our enemy.
Stability is priority .
No prosperity without a stable circumstance.
Thanks for uploading
As Chinese I’m hard to follow, so many conflicts and too complex, it might be an interesting time and piece of history to other audiences but definitely NOT to my grandparents
dude seriously? how was the national curriculum's coverage on this part of history?
老外除了最高层那帮学者和官员，其他99%以上都是对中国根本不了解，而且是完全脱离真实情况还在那里信以为真的状态！
@@glacieAardens I'm sure that the Northern Expedition War, the Cliques, the United Front and April 27 Massacre was in the History Curriculum of Grade 8 (Republican Era) for 1 or 2 lessons, but not more. Because then there were more turbulence awaiting China then: the 1st KMT-CPC war (the Long March), Sino-Japanese War and the 2nd KMT-CPC war (the Liberation War). The Warlord times was a time full of miseries, we even don't need to know it from the textbook, as we all have grandparents from that era. And then the Chinese ourself killed the Chinese ourselves for the interests of warlords, maybe that's why there are not so much details in the textbook as in this video.
@@lestanovvasily278 I see, civil wars like this were always hurtful to watch (it seems all the warlords were still after the position of the president, instead of declaring independence). Not a history nerd myself but just as a causal HOI player, I found the video informative and easy to follow. What's your thought on this video? Does it leave out any key event?
Thank you so much for posting your sources!
Crazy how all this happened only 100 years ago. Like my great grandparents lived through this
like him or hate him this man managed to unite one most populated country of it time under one rule and one flag this is amazing consider the lack of technology and resource back then ,
1920 warlord map is VERY generous to Zhili and ignores a lot of nuance. For example, although Fengtian was de jure supervising Suiyuan, it was really under the control of the Ma Fuxiang who was both patriarch of the Mas and member of Zhili.
Also Chen Shufan in Shaanxi was definitely not Zhili, although he paid a few bribes after Zhiwan.
Oh, and I love how the Zhiwan war is represented to have happened in Zhejiang and Fujian. Like okay, there’s no excuse for that.
@@miguelk4198Chen was part of Anhui and got deposed by Zhili in 1921 I believe
@@z.z3842 Thats right, but the map at the start is 1920, a time when half the map should be Anhui Red
@@miguelk4198 that is true
Amazing .. its like a huge puzzle - from stories of old, and now making a lot more sense. Thanks.
The power of the Beijing government at that period was more like the power of the nowadays Mogadishu government meanings that it barely controls some territory.
Sun's statement: The people do not necessarily love the KMT, but they surely hate us." carries the same energy as Hirohito's later statement: "The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage."
Again, KMT was never against foreigners who conquered some cities in China (invaders). But CCP did, so we most Chinese supported CCP. Again, CCP was never against those foreigners who supported China and Chinese people.
Bloody brilliant. Thank you so much
So from China perspective, Mao is definitely a great leader who not only united the nation, but also drove out all foreign influences. That's why China has been isolated by the West because they are no longer able to influence China.
What you are seeing is the 60s view on Mao, except the old red guards, not much Chinese prefer Mao to be honest. His funeral even removed from the museum.
@@TheStudio-div you definitely have no clue.
Great, great presentation.
The most interesting warlord I have read about was Liu Wenhui of Sichuan, who even became a Minister in Mao's communist government after 1949 (he switched sides at exactly the right moment!)
It is not surprised for example, Fu Zuoyi and Feng Yuxiang (if he had not died)also can be the minister level. Mao Zedong was once a senior leader of the Kuomintang, vice minister of propaganda, at that time, his rank was higher than Chiang Kai-shek
Zhou EnLai was once the director of KMT military cadet school. So these KMT generals have their own ideology to side with whom.
Great work as usual. Thank you.
Thanks for having closed caption options. The pronunciation is definitely not very accurate and there was a difficulty hearing difference between the way you pronounced Zhang and Chiang.
This era was chaotic and makes my head spin.
It really helps understanding modern China and it's foreign policy
Great video
If u know the history of this sad period, you will know why Chinese love CCP in United China now.. KMT lost their way with all their corruption..
My family was split with KMT and CCP. Chinese regain our dignity after CCP Victory, but we lost all our lands at the hands of CCP and some of my grand uncles who were KMT officers were all incarcerated n banished by CCP after 1948..abandoned by the Americans ... some are in Taiwan.. so Taiwanese will not trust Americans anymore.. and have respected that CCP did a great job to unite China.. the same goal Chiang Kai Shek n KMT wanted for China. If u know this, you will understand us Chinese.
你不能代表除你以外的任何中国人。
他确实不代表所有中国人，但是代表了绝大部份中国人
I think the communist party is also very successful in developing Chinese economy
Actually it restores the greatness of the Chinese people
Realizing how fucked up China was before Mao only makes me appreciate him even more.
ikr, glad he starved 45 million more to death. love mao zedong and his great leap of nothing
This is a part of history i didn't really know about this is really great! Thank you!!!
The Young Marshall sent one of his sons to the Cate School in California, class of 1948. And i know that because my father graduated in the same class.
I finally found this channel 😁
There is a report i read from wikipedia
basically it said that, some of these warlords are rich, filthy rich.
but doesnt really have any disciplined army, so there is a story where a russian mercenaries battalion was charging a warlord's position. the position looks tough, the warlords deployed machine guns, but it was said that the army the warlord had was so inexperienced that those machine guns were useless because the warlord's ragtag army cant properly handle the recoil, thus the position was easily overrun.
Damn that’s tough, but you know what have you ever looked into the Iraqi 2003 invasion?
Sun Yat Sen united the people mainly by uniting with Russia and accommodating the Communist Party. Chiang Kai Shek's right leaning slogan was to eliminate the Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of Party members with political disunity in the party were eliminated, many of whom died unjustly. The purpose of going north is to crack down on warlords, but in fact, the young dragon slayer has become a dragon. Many people do not know that the earliest KMT platform was drafted by the Communists. Because of this incident, Mao Zedong and others saw clearly the reality that a party without its own armed forces could not change the fate of the Chinese people. In fact, the Soviet Union had always looked down on the Chinese Communist Party during this period of time. Even if the Chinese Communist Party was nearly destroyed by Chiang Kai Shek, the Soviet Union still asked the Chinese Communist Party to support KTM
Stalin want Chiang to hold Japanese force while he focus on the West. Not just Chinese communist party, Soviet looked down on ALL communist party other then them.
Soy venezolano y admiro al pueblo China no entiendo el idioma pero si se que La República de China es Gran Nación Gracias
Listening to this at work. Too bad I cannot watch this awesome rare footage. Great War/Great Channel.
Back to form I see. I'm so glad we are back to the interwar period, and starting it with on heck of an episode.