The Fengtian Government () was the faction that supported warlord Zhang Zuolin during China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support. However, the clique quickly came to control all of the Three Northeastern Provinces. The clique received support from Japan in exchange for protecting Japanese military and economic interests in Manchuria. The Fengtian Army frequently intervened in many of the conflicts of the Warlord Era.
Following the Zhili–Anhui War of 1920 and 1921, the Fengtian and Zhili cliques exercised joint control of Beijing and the Beiyang Government. Tensions soon began building between the two, resulting in clashes for control of Beijing known as the First Zhili–Fengtian War (1922). The Second (1924) Zhili–Fengtian War started later over the Zhili invasion of the remnants of the Anhui clique, which had become allies of the Fengtian Clique, which resulted in a Fengtian victory, with the Zhili clique retreating as far south as Henan. The power of the Fengtian Clique began to decrease in the midst of the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition. In 1928, Zhang Zuolin was killed by his Japanese sponsors who blew up his train while he was retreating North. After Zuolin's assassination, his son, Zhang Xueliang, took over the leadership of the clique. He preferred to work with the Kuomintang rather than the Japanese and symbolically pledged allegiance to the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. In practice, the Fengtian clique continued to independently govern Manchuria until the Japanese invasion in 1931.
Foundations of the Fengtian clique
During the late Qing Dynasty, Manchuria was organized as the Viceroyalty of the Three Northeastern Provinces, consisting of Jilin, Fengtian, and Heilongjiang. The capital was at Shenyang (then known as Mukden) in Fengtian. When the Wuchang Uprising broke out, revolutionaries established networks in the Manchurian New Army. Unlike other provinces, the revolution had much less support from the populace. Governor Zhao Erxun and the local militia forged an alliance, collaborating with local elites and constitutionalists. After Puyi abdicated the throne in 1912, Manchu nobles in the area tried to establish an independent Manchu state, an attempt that failed.Zhao Zhongfu, “Xinhai geming qianhou de dongsansheng,” Bulletin of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Vol. 11 (Jul, 1982), 117. Huang Xing, commander-in-chief of the Republic of China, was willing to cede Manchuria to Japan and mentioned the concept of China proper when asking for support from the empire.Yang Tianshi, Haiwai fangshi lu (1998), 100. (Previously, Manchuria had been the location of the Russo-Japanese War fought inside Qing territory, while the Three Northeastern Provinces hosted the politically tense Chinese Eastern Railway, a Russian concession, whose southern half had been ceded to Japan in 1905. This geopolitical context influenced political and economic decisions in Manchuria.)
In a conference between the Manchurian revolutionaries, provincial assembly, Viceroy Zhao Erxun with local officials, and the constitutionalist Wu Jinglian proposed that the Revolution was irresistible. They determined that Chinese of Manchuria should not blindly join in the domestic conflict, and instead stand guard against Japan and Russia. Song Gong and border patrol leader Zhang Zuolin pursued this policy of restraint. When Yuan Shikai was declared first President of the new Republic of China, Zhao pledged the Three Northeastern Provinces' loyalty to the Republic. Manchuria thus stayed as a part of China.Zhao Zhongfu, “Xinhai geming qianhou de dongsansheng,” 123Li Peiji, “Xinhai Guanwai geming cimoji,” Zhou Kangxie (ed.), Xinhai geming ziliao huiji, Vol. 4 (1980),
Zhang Zuolin, who had pacified the provincial assembly with the threat of force, was made the commander of the 27th Division. This Division would gradually grow into the Fengtian Army. During Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the Empire of China, Yuan tried to gain Zhang's support by promoting him to the position of military governor of Fengtian. When Yuan died in 1916, Zhang seized the opportunity to expel the military governor of Manchuria, Duan Zhigui. Instead of being punished for his subtle threats of force and expulsion of the military governor, Zhang was promoted by Duan Qirui, as he needed Zhang's cooperation, to the Inspector General of the Three Northeastern Provinces by late 1918.Chang Cheng, “Zhang Zuixiang shengping lueshu,” Zhang Tingfan, Zhang Wenge.
Many local elites of Fengtian, such as Yuan Jinkai and Yu Chonghan, who were beneficiaries of political chaos, supported Zhang Zuolin in order to wrest power from their political enemies. Zhang and these elites formed an alliance against orders and appointments from the central government.Hōten mantetsu kōsho, “Shinnin minseichō no hyōban,” 3/11/1913, GK, JACAR, Ref: B03050178000, slides 58–59; Kantō totokufu rikugun sambōbu, “chō dai 466 gō,” 6/11/1913, GK, JACAR, Ref: B03050178000, slide 71; Sai Hōten sōryoji Ochiai Kentarō, Hōtenshō This alliance between Zhang, military figures, and the local elite became known as the Fengtian Clique. The elite in the Northeast formed different "political parties", such as the Democratic Party (Minzhudang). Zhang exploited anti-tax protests to strengthen his local civil authority and his position to the Central Government. In 1916, Yuan Jingkai discussed with Zhang to expel Duan Zhigui. Zhang was assisted after his rise to power by local bureaucrats and civilian elites. However, he also invited people from the rest of China to Manchuria to serve as officials and officers.
Zhili–Anhui War With Duan Qirui's Anhui clique using some funds from the Nishihara Loans to invade Outer Mongolia and build up his army, the Fengtian and Zhili cliques, feeling threatened by growing Anhui dominance, created an alliance and banded with the Southern Warlords to take down the Anhui Clique. On July 12, 1920, the warlord coalition officially denounced the Anhui Clique.Min-chʻien Tuk Zung Tyau, "China Awakened"
The Zhili–Anhui War lasted for a week, with the remnants of the Anhui clique escaping to Zhejiang and Shanghai. While the Fengtian clique contributed little to the victory of the coalition, Zhang Zuolin did notably attack Shanhai Pass in the Great Wall. The Fengtian clique was allowed to form a joint government in Beijing with the Zhili Clique.
Shortly after, the Washington Naval Conference was held, leading to the Nine-Power Treaty and agreements that the foreign powers hoped would dictate the new order in East Asia and the Pacific. The Washington Conference also agreed on the implementation of the "Washington System", headed by the US, a system that would have guaranteed more customs revenue for China, strengthened its government, and dismantled grievances against foreigners. For a time, the Washington System was a system many in the West thought would be implemented. However, this never happened, partly due to wars, and, more importantly, due to the "Gold Franc Dispute", where some countries insisted that China pay its Boxer indemnity payments through gold specie instead of the Franc, which had by then depreciated in value,Arthur Waldron, From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924–1925, 31–32. a demand that V. K. Wellington Koo rejected adamantly, leading to France refusing to ratify the treaties.
Politics
As Inspector-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, Zhang oversaw civil and military affairs for Manchuria. Additionally, he was both the civil and military governor of Fengtian Province. After the First Zhili–Fengtian War in 1922, Zhang distanced himself heavily from the Zhili clique who dominated Beijing and the National Government, creating the Three Northeastern Provinces Defense Headquarters (Dongsansheng Baoan Silingbu), merging the position of Inspector-General and the Fengtian Military Governor. Wang Yongjiang was given control of the civilian government of Fengtian Province. The military governors of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces became deputy commanders-in-chief. Civilian governors were also put in Jilin and Heilongjiang so as to distribute power within their provincial governments.Hao Bingrang, 34–5.
The Fengtian Army consisted of, at first, a tight-knit group of militia commanders. After Zhang Zuolin took power, new officers were brought in, all with different military and educational backgrounds. One of these, Yang Yuting, brought other Shikan Gakkou graduates to Fengtian, and became Zhang's Chief of Staff. Other officers were brought in from the Staff College of Beijing, their informal leader being Guo Songling. The officers broke into their own internal cliques – the "Shikan Clique" and the "Staff College Clique".Hu Yuhai, 129–30, 132–4. The Shikan Clique wanted to intervene in Chinese politics more directly and actively, while the Staff College Clique opposed many military ventures. In 1924, Guo was given no posts in China proper, and rebelled in November 1925, causing the Shikan Clique to take control of military affairs and Manchurian politics until the execution of Yang Yuting and Chang Yinhuai.Nishimura Nario, “Nihon seifu no chūka minkoku ninshiki to Chō Gakuryō seiken,” Yamamoto Yūzō, Manshūkoku no kenkyū (1995), 12–20.
This civil–military system was rearranged in 1926 afted Fengtian victory in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War and the Anti-Fengtian War, with the establishment of the Anguojun (National Pacification Army). The Anguojun Headquarters was very similar to the Three Northeastern Provinces Defense Headquarters, with its main difference being that it was located in Beijing instead of Mukden. In June 1927, Zhang Zuolin was appointed Grand Marshal (Generalissimo) of the Republic of China (Dayuanshuai, not to be confused with Chiang Kai-shek's title of Teji shangjiang). The Anguojun headquarters was reorganized into the Grand Marshal Government. The Three Northeastern Provinces Defense Headquarters was reorganized into the Grand Marshal Headquarters and was expanded to control the Anguojun under Yang Yuting. The Ministry of War controlled the operations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.Hao Bingrang, Fengxi junshi, 61–2. However, Zhang had the final say in everything, while power was delegated to his subordinates in these organizations, something which said subordinates exploited.
Administration and economy In 1918, Zhang Zuolin revived the provincial assemblies, which allowed the elite to identify their interests with the state, with authorities representing bureaucratic, commercial, and educational interests. The local population of Manchuria participated in these assemblies too, as a way to advance their positions and receive government bribes.Hōten kōshochō, “Hōten jōhō dai 102gō,” 5/9/1927, GK, JACAR, Ref: B02031766600, slides 204-5. Bribery played an important part in the elections, with regulations and institutionalization of it. In 1927, 800,000+ people were allowed to vote, electing 64 members to the provincial assembly. A county within the Kwantung Leased Territory also asked to join.