List of warlords and military cliques in the Warlord Era
The Warlord Era is the time period of China beginning from 1916 to the mid-1930s, when the country was divided by various military cliques, following the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916. Communist revolution broke out in the later part of the warlord period, beginning the Chinese Civil War. The era nominally ended in 1928 at the conclusion of the Northern Expedition with the Northeast Flag Replacement, beginning the "Nanjing decade". However, "residual warlords" continued to exist into the 1930s under de jure Kuomintang rule, and remained until the end of the Communist victory in 1949.
The warlords and military cliques of the Warlord Era are generally divided into the Northern factions and the Southern factions. The following is a list of cliques within each faction, and the dominant warlords within that clique.
Northern factions
The cliques in the North emerged from the fragmentation of the Beiyang Government/Army. Most of them were generals under Yuan Shikai. After the death of Yuan, they separated and formed cliques in their own sphere of influence.[Anhui clique]
The Anhui clique was so named because many of its most influential members were from Anhui, including founder Duan Qirui. It had a affiliated political party, the Anfu club, and a financial wing, the New Communications clique, under Deputy Foreign Minister Cao Rulin.The clique had close ties to Japan, granting heavy concessions in exchange for funding and military training, and advocated war against the German Empire as part of the First World War, as well as military suppression of the Kuomintang.
The clique was removed from power after the Zhili–Anhui War and slowly faded from prominence.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Duan Qirui 段祺瑞 | 1916–1926 | Premier: 1913, 1916–18; President: 1924–26: Negotiated the Nishihara Loans with Japan in exchange for Shandong Concession, triggering the May Fourth Movement | |
| Xu Shuzheng 徐樹錚 | 1916–1920 | Duan Qirui's right-hand man; led expedition that reconquered Mongolia and temporarily brought it back under control | |
| Duan Zhigui 段芝貴 | Minister of War: 1917–1919 | ||
| Jin Yunpeng 靳雲鵬 | Premier: 1919–1921 | ||
| Wang Yitang 王揖唐 | Chairman of the House of Representatives 1918–1920 | ||
| Lu Yongxiang 盧永祥 | Ruler of Zhejiang and Shanghai, his refusal to hand over Shanghai caused the Second Zhili–Fengtian War | ||
| Zhang Jingyao 張敬堯 | 1917–1920 | Governor of Hunan noted for his exceptional brutality; assassinated in 1933 after he became involved with the Japanese plot to enthrone Puyi as emperor of Manchukuo | |
| Wu Guangxin 吳光新 | 1917–1920 | Governor of Hunan | |
| Ni Sichong 倪嗣衝 | former supporter of Yuan Shikai's Empire; eliminated in the Zhili–Anhui War | ||
| Qu Tongfeng 曲同豊 | |||
| Chen Shufan 陳樹藩 | 1916–1921 | ||
| Zheng Shiqi 鄭士琦 | 1923–1925 | Military governor of Shandong and Anhui. | |
| Zhang Huaizhi 張懷芝 | 1912–1924 | Viceroy of Shandong. Former supporter of Yuan Shikai's Empire; eliminated in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War | |
| :zh:王永泉|Wang Yongquan 王永泉 | 1918–1924 | Military Governor of Fujian Province. |
[Zhili clique]
was the province surrounding Beijing, now the province of Hebei.The Zhili clique was formed by officers disgruntled with the Anhui clique and rallied around Feng Guozhang. It was aligned to Western powers.
The clique took power after the Zhili–Anhui War but lost it after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War.
It was largely wiped out during the Northern Expedition.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Feng Guozhang 馮國璋 | 1916–1919 | Served as President 1917–1918. Died in 1919 and was succeeded by Cao Kun | |
| Cao Kun 曹錕 | 1919–1924 | Bribed his way to the presidency and served from 1923 to 1924; arrested and imprisoned during the Beijing Coup by Feng Yuxiang | |
| Wu Peifu 吳佩孚 | 1919–1927 | Military commander and strategist of the Zhili clique credited with the victories that pushed Zhili to power but ultimately failed hold onto power in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War | |
| Sun Chuanfang 孫傳芳 | 1919–1927 | Controlled most of the Lower Yangtze but defeated in the Northern Expedition | |
| Lu Jianzhang 陸建章 | supporter of Yuan Shikai's Empire, killed by Fengtian clique in 1918 | ||
| Li Chun 李純 | |||
| Wang Zhanyuan 王占元 | Hubei warlord | ||
| Chen Guangyuan 陳光遠 | |||
| Wang Chengbin 王承斌 | Ethnic Manchu | ||
| :zh:彭壽莘|Peng Shoushen 彭壽莘 | –1924 | ||
| :zh:寇英傑|Kou Yingjie 寇英傑 | –1927 | ||
| :zh:齊燮元|Qi Xieyuan 齊燮元 | 1920–1924 | Inspector-general of Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui Provinces. Later Japanese puppet, executed after the war. |
[Fengtian clique]
is the former name of Liaoning province, and was the political center of Manchuria.The Fengtian clique controlled most of Manchuria up to Shanhai Pass and had an uneasy, close relationship with Japan. Its civilian branch was the Communications Clique, under Premier Liang Shiyi.
It took power in Beijing after the Second Zhili–Fengtian War but could not stop the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition, and was driven from Manchuria after the Mukden Incident and merged with the Kuomintang.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Zhang Zuolin 張作霖 | 1916–1928 | Leader of the Fengtian Army, ruler of Northeast China; Assassinated by a Japanese military officer for his failure to halt the expansion of the Kuomintang | |
| Zhang Xueliang 張學良 | 1928–1937 | Son and successor to Zhang Zuolin, he eventually reconciled the Fengtian clique with the Kuomintang | |
| Guo Songling 郭松齡 | 1920–1925 | General in the Fengtian Army. Rebelled during the Anti-Fengtian War but was defeated and killed in action | |
| Zhang Zongchang 張宗昌 | 1925–1928 | Ruler of the Shandong province | |
| Zhang Haipeng 張海鵬 | |||
| Zhang Jinghui 張景惠 | Afterwards Prime Minister of Manchukuo | ||
| Li Jinglin 李景林 | |||
| Tang Yulin 湯玉麟 | |||
| Wan Fulin 萬福麟 | |||
| Wu Junsheng 吳俊陞 | Commander of Fengtian Cavalry | ||
| Yang Yuting 楊宇霆 | Executed by Zhang Xueliang for his part in the assassination of Zhang Zuolin | ||
| Liu Zhennian 劉珍年 | "King of East Shandong"; defected to KMT during the Northern Expedition, defeated by Han Fuju | ||
| :zh:许兰洲|Xu Lanzhou 許蘭洲 | 1895–1928 | originally a Qing general, later served under Zhang Zuolin |
[Shanxi clique]
Formed in the aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution, the Shanxi clique was limited to Shanxi province only.Although affiliated with the Anhui clique, Yan Xishan remained neutral until the Northern Expedition, during which he sided with the Kuomintang.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Yan Xishan 閻錫山 | 1911–1949 | Military ruler of Shanxi; Joined the Kuomintang but later rebelled against Chiang Kai-shek in the Central Plains War. Defeated by the Communists in 1949, withdrew to Taiwan | |
| Fu Zuoyi 傅作義 | 1927–1949 | ruler of Suiyuan; defected to the Communists in 1949 | |
| Shang Zhen 商震 |
[Guominjun]
Also known as the Northwestern Army, it was formed from disgruntled Zhili clique officers during the Second Zhili–Fengtian War, through the Beijing Coup.Although originally sympathetic to the Kuomintang, it rebelled in the 1930 Central Plains War and was defeated. It was closely aligned to the Soviet Union.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Feng Yuxiang 馮玉祥 | 1924–1934 | Leader of the Northwest, initially Zhili warlord | |
| Yang Hucheng 楊虎城 | 1918–1936 | Shaanxi ruler from 1926, helped kidnap Chiang Kai-shek in the Xi'an Incident. | |
| Sun Yue 孫岳 | 1924–1928 | ||
| :zh:劉鎮華|Liu Zhenhua 劉鎮華 | Originally Anhui clique, then defected to the Zhili clique, then Guominjun and finally to the KMT. | ||
| Hu Jingyi 胡景翼 | 1924–1925 | Military governor of Henan | |
| Deng Baoshan 鄧寶珊 | Subordinate of Hu Jingyi, later Communist governor of Gansu, killed in the Cultural Revolution. | ||
| :zh:岳維峻|Yue Weijun 岳維峻 | |||
| Bie Tingfang 別廷芳 | Henan warlord; switched to KMT | ||
| Sun Dianying 孫殿英 | Henan bandit; allied with Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zongchang | ||
| Song Zheyuan 宋哲元 | 1927–1930 | Defected to KMT in 1930, warlord of Chahar Province and Rehe Province | |
| Jing Yuexiu 井岳秀 | 1913–1936 | Northern Shaanxi warlord, cooperated with various other cliques. | |
| Han Fuqu 韓復榘 | 1930–1938 | Chairman of the Shandong Province; Defected to KMT in 1930. arrested and shot after abandoning his province when the Second Sino-Japanese War started. | |
| Shi Yousan 石友三 | 1912–1940 | Chairman of Anhui province, 1929. Known as the "Defector General" for his repeated defections between various warlords, KMT factions, communists and Japan. | |
| :zh:樊锺秀|Fan Zhongxiu 樊鍾秀 | 1911–1931 | served many different factions successively, killed in the Central Plains War | |
| Ji Hongchang 吉鴻昌 | Later joined the Communist Party, executed by the KMT. | ||
| :zh:張之江|Zhang Zhijiang 張之江 |
[Ma clique]
The "Three Mas of the Northwest" originated in the Kansu Braves militia formed during the Dungan revolt. All Ma Clique Generals were Hui Chinese Muslim Kuomintang members. Fought against the Guominjun during the Central Plains War.Attempted to destroy the Xinjiang Clique during the Kumul Rebellion but was defeated by Soviet Red Army intervention.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Ma Anliang 馬安良 | 1912–1918 | Ruler of the Gansu province, Outranked all the other Ma Clique generals. | |
| Ma Fuxiang 馬福祥 | 1912–1928 | De facto leader after Ma Anliang; Ruler of Ningxia and Suiyuan | |
| Ma Hongbin 馬鴻賓 | 1921–1928 | brief acting Chairman of Gansu Province and Ningxia Province | |
| Ma Hongkui 馬鴻逵 | 1923–1949 | Army commander then ruler of Ningxia Province from 1932 | |
| Ma Zhongying 馬仲英 | 1929–1934 | Chief of the 36th Division and ruler of Gansu and Southern Xinjiang | |
| Ma Hushan 馬虎山 | 1934–1950 | Chief of the 36th Division and ruler of Southern Xinjiang | |
| Ma Zhancang 馬占倉 | served under Ma Zhongying | ||
| Zhang Peiyuan 張培元 | 1929–1934 | Han Chinese Commander of Ili, allied with the Ma Clique against the Xinjiang Clique | |
| Ma Qi 马麒 | 1915–1931 | Ninghai Army ruler of Qinghai province, influential in Gansu province | |
| Ma Lin 馬麟 | 1931–1938 | Ninghai Army ruler of Qinghai province | |
| Ma Bufang 馬步芳 | 1938–1945 | Ninghai Army ruler of Qinghai province | |
| Ma Buqing 馬步青 | Ninghai Army |
[Xinjiang clique]
Under Yang Zengxin, the clique organized the defence against the Soviet encroachment, but later closely affiliated with the Soviet Union.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Yang Zengxin 楊增新 | 1912–1928 | Ruler of the Xinjiang province from the Qing era. Always recognized whichever government was dominant. | |
| Ma Fuxing 馬福興 | 1912–1924 | Titai of Kashgar, Military Commander of Southern Xinjiang | |
| Ma Shaowu 馬紹武 | 1924–1937 | Executed Ma Fuxing on Yang Zengxin's orders, then replaced him as Tao-yin of Kashgar, Military Commander of Southern Xinjiang | |
| Jin Shuren 金樹仁 | 1928–1934 | Ruler of the Xinjiang province. | |
| Sheng Shicai 盛世才 | 1933–1944 | Ruler of the Xinjiang province and Soviet puppet |
Southern factions
The military cliques in the South are generally regional revolutionary leaders that took over after the fall of Qing dynasty in Xinhai Revolution.[Kuomintang]
The Nationalist Party of China, derived from the Tongmenghui revolutionary organization, it established a rival government of the Republic of China in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in the 1913 Second Revolution and in the 1917 Constitutional Protection War. Its military arm was the National Revolutionary Army.The party nominally reunified China in 1928 after defeating most Northern factions during the Northern Expedition, governing the country from Nanjing.
Run as a Dang Guo, or Party-State, along the lines of the organisational principles of Leninism, the party's ideology was based on Socialism and Nationalism. Initially Soviet-backed, after the Shanghai massacre it allied with Germany.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Sun Yat-sen 孫中山 | 1912–1925 | Founder of the Republic of China and leader of the Kuomintang | |
| Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 | 1926–1975 | Military leader of the Kuomintang and later President | |
| He Yingqin 何應欽 | 1926–1950 | Senior General in the Kuomintang | |
| Hu Hanmin 胡漢民 | 1925–1936 | Leader of the right wing faction of the Kuomintang | |
| Liao Zhongkai 廖仲愷 | 1923–1925 | Architect of the First United Front with the Chinese Communist Party | |
| Wang Jingwei 汪精衛 | 1925–1944 | Leader of the left wing faction of the Kuomintang, later Japanese collaborator during World War II | |
| Yu Youren 于右任 | 1918–1922 | Shaanxi revolutionary commander, later headed the Control Yuan. |
Communist Party">Communist Party of China">Communist Party
The Communist Party of China, formed in 1921 in the aftermath of the May Fourth Movement. Its military arm eventually became the People's Liberation Army.The party was allied with the Kuomintang during the first phase of the Northern Expedition, but the two sides split following the Shanghai massacre in 1927. The two parties would then fight a decades long civil war, which ended with the Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan and the founding of the People's Republic of China on the mainland.
| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 | 1921–1927 | Party co-founder and first General Secretary, ousted after the Shanghai Massacre | |
| Li Dazhao 李大釗 | 1921–1927 | Party co-founder, captured and executed by Zhang Zuolin during the Northern Expedition | |
| Zhou Enlai 周恩来 | 1924–1976 | Senior party leader, later Premier of the People's Republic of China | |
| Mao Zedong 毛澤東 | 1935–1976 | Party activist, later party chairman and Chairman of the People's Republic of China |
[Yunnan clique]
The Yunnan Military Government was established on October 30, 1911, with Cai E elected as the military governor. This marked the beginning of the "Yunnan clique".| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Cai E 蔡鍔 | 1911–1916 | Leader of the Yunnan Army | |
| Zhu De 朱德 | 1911–1920 | protege of Cai, later Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Red Army | |
| Tang Jiyao 唐繼堯 | 1913–1927 | Military governor of Yunnan | |
| Hu Ruoyu 胡若愚 | 1927 | Governor of Yunnan | |
| Long Yun 龍雲 | 1927–1945 | Governor of Yunnan | |
| Lu Han 盧漢 | 1937–1949 | Ethnic Nuosu and cousin of Long Yun, defected to communists in 1949. |
[Guizhou] warlords
Guizhou Province was dominated by a series of successive autonomous warlords.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Liu Xianshi 劉顯世 | –1920 | originally a Qing dynasty commander, neutral between the Beiyang and KMT, overthrown by his nephew Wang Wenhua. | |
| :zh:王文華 |Wang Wenhua 王文華 | 1920–1921 | KMT-supporting warlord, assassinated by Yuan Zuming. | |
| :zh:袁祖銘|Yuan Zuming 袁祖銘 | 1921–1927 | Initial aligned to the Beiyang government, nominally acknowledged the KMT government in 1926, but assassinated a year later. | |
| Wang Jialie 王家烈 | 1929–1935 | Nominally acknowledged KMT rule, deposed by KMT during the pursuit of the Long March. |
[Old Guangxi clique]
province announced its independence on November 6, 1911. Originally, the revolutionaries supported the Qing Governor to remain in position. However, he later left the province, and Lu Rongting succeeded his position.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Cen Chunxuan 岑春煊 | 1916–1920 | Qing dynasty Governor and Military Governor of Guangdong | |
| Lu Rongting 陸榮廷 | 1912–1922 | ||
| Chen Binghun 陳炳焜 | 1916–1921 | ||
| Shen Hongying 沈鴻英 | 1923–1925 | Military governor of Guangdong |
[New Guangxi clique]
After the Guangdong–Guangxi War, the Old Guangxi clique was no longer effective, and was replaced by the New Guangxi clique. Supported the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition but rebelled during the Central Plains War.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Li Zongren 李宗仁 | 1923–1949 | ||
| Bai Chongxi 白崇禧 | 1923–1949 | Muslim, Head of the Chinese Islamic National Salvation Federation, widely considered successor-designate of Chiang. | |
| Huang Shaoxiong 黃紹竑 | 1923–1949 | ||
| :zh:夏威|Xia Wei 夏威 |
[Guangdong] warlords
was independent on November 8. The Guangdong Army was in the early 1920s mostly dominated by Chen Jiongming. In the 1930s, Chen Jitang was chairman of the government.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Long Jiguang 龍濟光 | 1911–1918 | Qing commander, supporter of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China, later affiliated with the Anhui Clique | |
| Chen Jiongming 陳炯明 | 1911–1924 | Initially allied to KMT, defected to Zhili clique in 1922 but defeated by Chiang Kai-Shek | |
| Ye Ju 叶擧 | 1929–1936 | Initially Long Jiguang's deputy, then Chen Jiongming's deputy | |
| :zh:鄧本殷|Deng Benyin 鄧本殷 | |||
| Chen Jitang 陳濟棠 | 1929–1936 |
[Sichuan clique]
During the period from 1927–1938, Sichuan was in the hands of multiple warlords. No warlord had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Yin Changheng 尹昌衡 | 1912–1913 | Tongmenghui revolutionary, founder of the clique | |
| :zh:劉存厚|Liu Cunhou 劉存厚 | Qing dynasty commander, joined the KMT in 1928. | ||
| :zh:熊克武|Xiong Kewu 熊克武 | Revolutionary, eliminated in 1925. | ||
| Li Jiayu 李家鈺 | |||
| :zh:羅澤洲|Luo Zezhou 羅澤洲 | |||
| Liu Xiang 劉湘 | 1921–1938 | ||
| Yang Sen 楊森 | |||
| Liu Wenhui 劉文輝 | later warlord of Xikang Province, defected to the Communist Party | ||
| Tian Songyao 田頌堯 | |||
| Deng Xihou 鄧錫侯 |
[Hunan] warlords
Hunan Province was ruled by successive autonomous warlords.| Name | Years of dominance | Notes | |
| Tan Yankai 譚延闓 | 1912–1920 | Kuomintang politician | |
| Zhao Hengti 趙恆惕 | 1920–1926 | friendly to the Zhili Clique | |
| Tang Shengzhi 唐生智 | 1926–1927 | Defected to Chiang during the Northern Expedition, rebelled against Chiang during the Central Plains War | |
| Peng Dehuai 彭德懷 | subordinate of Tang; later Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Red Army | ||
| He Long 賀龍 | Began his military career under a Hunan warlord, later joined the Kuomintang and then the Chinese Red Army | ||
| He Jian 何鍵 | 1927- | ||
| Cheng Qian 程潛 | KMT commander for Hunan |