Anhui clique

Anhui clique. The Anhui clique was a powerful political and military faction that dominated the Beiyang government in Beijing during the early Warlord Era of the Republic of China (1912–1949). Named for the home province of its principal leader, Duan Qirui, it emerged following the death of Yuan Shikai and competed for national supremacy against rival regional factions. The clique's advocacy for a strong central government and its controversial foreign policy ultimately led to its military defeat and collapse in 1920.

Origins and formation

The faction coalesced around senior military officers and politicians from Anhui province who were loyal to Duan Qirui, a prominent Beiyang Army commander and former Premier of the Republic of China. Its formation was a direct consequence of the power vacuum created after the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916, which fragmented the unity of the Beiyang government. Key members included veterans of the Xinhai Revolution and the National Protection War, who consolidated control over several northern provinces and critical government ministries. The clique's power base was firmly established in the capital at Beijing, where it controlled the National Assembly (Republic of China) and much of the administrative apparatus.

Key figures and leadership

The undisputed leader was Duan Qirui, who served multiple terms as Premier of the Republic of China and was the central figure in the clique's political and military strategies. Other prominent military figures included Xu Shuzheng, a formidable general known as "Little Xu," and Duan Zhigui, who commanded crucial forces. Important political and financial operatives were Cao Rulin, who handled foreign affairs and finance, and Wang Yitang, a key negotiator and politician. The clique also relied on the support of generals like Ni Sichong, who controlled strategic territories, and the diplomatic efforts of figures such as Lu Zongyu.

Political and military activities

Politically, the faction was known for its refusal to reconvene the dissolved National Assembly (Republic of China) and its establishment of a rival, pro-Duan parliament. Its most controversial action was signing the Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement and securing the Nishihara Loans from Japan, which financed its military expansion but sparked the May Fourth Movement. Militarily, it insisted on a forceful unification policy against southern separatists, leading to the Constitutional Protection War. The clique's armies, often better equipped with Japanese aid, clashed repeatedly with forces of the opposing Zhili clique and the southern Constitutional Protection Army in conflicts across Hunan and Hebei.

Relationship with other cliques

The Anhui clique's primary rival was the Zhili clique, led by Feng Guozhang and later Cao Kun, with tensions rooted in personal animosity and strategic disagreements over dealing with the South China government. It maintained a complex, often antagonistic relationship with the Fengtian clique of Zhang Zuolin, which alternated between alliance and opposition based on expediency. The faction generally opposed the Guangxi clique and the Yunnan clique, which supported the Kuomintang-led Constitutional Protection Movement in Guangzhou. These inter-clique conflicts defined the unstable political landscape of the Warlord Era, with shifting alliances centered on Beijing.

Decline and dissolution

The clique's decline began with rising public anger over the Nishihara Loans and the concessions made to Japan, culminating in the massive protests of the May Fourth Movement. Its fate was sealed during the Zhili–Anhui War in July 1920, when the allied forces of the Zhili clique and the Fengtian clique defeated Duan Qirui's armies in a brief but decisive conflict. Following the defeat, Xu Shuzheng was executed, Duan Qirui was forced to retire from active politics, and the clique's military units were disbanded or absorbed. The victory cemented the ascendancy of the Zhili clique in Beijing, effectively ending the faction's existence as a coherent political force, though some former members later reemerged in other coalitions.

Category:Warlord factions of the Republic of China Category:Political history of China Category:1916 establishments in China Category:1920 disestablishments in China