Second Constitutional Protection Movement

Second Constitutional Protection Movement
Conflict	Second Constitutional Protection Movement
Partof	Warlord Era
Date	1920–1922
Place	Southern China, Guangzhou, Hunan, Jiangxi
Result	Military stalemate; political fragmentation; eventual reunification under Northern Expedition

Second Constitutional Protection Movement The Second Constitutional Protection Movement was a southern Chinese political and military campaign centered in Guangzhou opposing northern authorities during the early Warlord Era. It involved competing claims by regional leaders tied to the legacy of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, the Provisional Constitution (1912), and factions of the Kuomintang (KMT), with intersections among figures from Sun Yat-sen, Cai E's circle, and northern generals. The movement combined armed campaigns, rival administrations, and constitutional arguments that influenced subsequent events including the First Zhili–Fengtian War and the Northern Expedition.

Background and Origins

The movement emerged from the collapse of the Beiyang Government and the fragmentation after the 1913 Second Revolution and the retreat of revolutionary leaders to the south, including networks around Sun Yat-sen, Chen Jiongming, and remnants of the Republic of China (1912–1949)'s revolutionary apparatus. Tensions rose after the 1917 Constitutional Protection Movement's failures, the rise of the Zhili Clique, and contests with the Fengtian Clique and commanders such as Cao Kun and Zhang Zuolin. Regionalism in provinces like Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi combined with rivalries involving Liang Qichao-aligned intellectuals and military leaders from the Tongmenghui generated a context for renewed southern resistance. International factors including the Treaty of Versailles, foreign concessions in Shanghai and Tianjin, and diplomatic posture of United Kingdom and Japan shaped elite calculations.

Key Figures and Factions

Principal actors included southern politicians and generals: supporters of Sun Yat-sen such as Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei, and military allies including Chen Jiongming (initially) and regional commanders like Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting. Opposing southern factions involved federalist or federal military leaders tied to the Old Guangxi Clique and the New Guangxi Clique. Northern counterparts encompassed leaders from the Zhili Clique—including Wu Peifu—and the Fengtian Clique under Zhang Zuolin; influential intellectuals like Li Dazhao and clerks from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics also intervened politically. Foreign envoys and commercial interests—representatives from the United Kingdom, France, United States, and Japan]—engaged with these figures through legations in Guangzhou and consulates in treaty ports like Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Major Events and Military Campaigns

Key military episodes included clashes around Guangzhou and operations in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. The movement featured sieges, counteroffensives, and shifting alliances similar to engagements in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War and the skirmishes that presaged the Northern Expedition. Notable battles and campaigns involved forces led by Chen Jiongming against Sun Yat-sen's loyalists, regional campaigns by Tang Jiyao and confrontations with units commanded by Lu Rongting. Naval and riverine actions on the Pearl River and operations near Hankou echoed earlier river campaigns of the 1911 Revolution, while guerrilla warfare in the Jiangxi hills recalled insurgencies associated with figures from the Communist Party of China early cells, such as Mao Zedong's contemporaries. Logistics and arms flows were influenced by foreign arms dealers and the legacy of the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) modernizations.

Political Objectives and Constitutional Claims

Proponents asserted restoration of the Provisional Constitution (1912) and legitimacy of rival assemblies tracing to the Republic of China (1912–1949). Southern leaders framed their aims in terms used by Sun Yat-sen—nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood—but fused those with concrete demands for provincial autonomy championed by figures like Lu Rongting and federalists associated with Liang Qichao. Competing legislatures in Guangzhou and earlier in Wuhan made legalistic appeals to the Beiyang Court's failures, citing precedents from the Temporary Provisions debates and invoking the legacy of the Xinhai Revolution to justify emergency measures and extraordinary military commissions.

Domestic and International Response

Domestically, provincial elites in Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi split between backing southern constitutionalists and local strongmen, provoking realignments among factions like the Old Guangxi Clique and New Guangxi Clique. Urban elites and business houses in Shanghai and Canton reacted by lobbying foreign consulates and banking houses including Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for neutrality or protection. Internationally, diplomatic missions from the United Kingdom, France, United States, and Japan pursued recognition strategies, while foreign warships at treaty ports enforced neutrality during blockades. The movement intersected with global debates after the Paris Peace Conference and affected foreign investment negotiations involving companies like the Imperial Japanese Army-linked firms and Western concession authorities.

Outcomes and Legacy

The movement failed to produce a durable southern polity but contributed to the fragmentation that cleared the way for the Kuomintang-led Northern Expedition and the consolidation under Chiang Kai-shek. It shaped constitutional discourse rooted in the Provisional Constitution (1912) and influenced later constitutional experiments during the Nanjing Decade and the wartime Second United Front. Military lessons regarding coalition warfare and regional logistics informed commanders in later conflicts such as the Central Plains War and the Chinese Civil War. Politically, the episode reinforced the decline of Beiyang authority represented by figures like Cao Kun and Duan Qirui and accelerated realignments among provincial cliques including the Zhili Clique and Fengtian Clique.

Category:Warlord Era