The Duan Qirui Regime

The Yuan clan ruled the country, then came China after Yuan. A long-forgotten manuscript is reborn after catastrophe. One of the most chaotic periods in modern Chinese history was the so-called Warlord Era in the early years of the Republic. In fact, it only truly began after Yuan Shikai’s death. Before the fall of the monarchy, the Beijing government under the Yuan clan could still issue orders across the country. Local military strongmen could not yet disregard the law and act as they pleased. Ambitious politicians inevitably formed factions for personal gain, but within a unified nation, they still had to think twice before maneuvering for power. Only after Yuan’s death did the bonds of authority truly break: the entire country was up in arms, politicians jockeyed for power, and modern Chinese history entered what came to be called the “Warlord Era.” Yuan Shikai, who became emperor on a whim; Duan Qirui, who turned pale at the mention of parliament; Li Yuanhong, a solitary figure with no faction of his own; Zhang Xun, the braid-wearing marshal who seemed like a bodhisattva but hid a calculating mind; Cao Kun, an illiterate president with the bearing of a born leader; Cai E, the “Flying General” whose brilliance dazzled all; Zhang Zuolin, who started out as a bandit and eventually ruled the central government; Zhang Xueliang, who vowed never to fight another civil war; Yan Xishan of Shanxi, adept at reading the winds; Feng Yuxiang, the nationally renowned “Turncoat General”; Sun Hongyi, the old politician skilled in maneuvering; Xu Shuzheng, who handled official business on behalf of his superiors in the old bureaucratic fashion; Liang Qichao, unarmed; and Zhang Taiyan, the renowned scholar whose madness was known far and wide...