The Power of the Gun: The Emergence of Modern Chinese Warlordism

by Edward A. McCord

This detailed study offers a new interpretation of the emergence of warlordism in early twentieth-century China. Focusing on the provinces of Hunan and Hubei, Edward McCord shows how the repeated use of the military to settle disputes over the structure and allocation of political power in the early Republic ultimately thwarted the consolidation of civil authority. Warlordism flourished as military commanders took advantage of the growing militarization of politics to establish their dominance over early Republican government.

McCord's study brings into sharp focus the social and political context of warlordism and is an essential bridge completing the narrative of events between two revolutionary eras. With the role of the military in modern Chinese politics receiving renewed attention today, this work is especially timely.

Genres: China, History

384 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 1993

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revolutions by their nature defy understanding, and the Chinese Revolution has a narrative more convoluted than any. In its search for the guiding genius of the Revolution, its Washington, Robespierre, Lenin, or Villa/Zapata, the popular mind has gravitated to Sun Yat Sen, who was out of the country when the Wuchang uprising toppled the Qing dynasty, spent little time in power, failed in an uprising against the most powerful post-Qing leader (Yuan Shikai), and died 25 years before the Communists finally consolidated a stable post-Qing government. In some ways, the Chinese Revolution was a rebellion of the provinces against the center, a movement that Yuan Shikai failed to control (in part because of his abortive attempt to crown himself Emperor), and its short term was a nation of provinces governed by the warlords. McCord's book examines the early years after Wuchang in two key southern provinces, the strategically positioned Hubei (where Wuchang is located) and Hunan, which stand between the north and Canton (Guangong). He chronicles the central role of the Qing army in the early rebellion, the struggles of the Hubei and Hunan elites to build a post-Qing political structure, and their further strife with the northern government. It's micro-history, but micro-history in the end often has more to say than the standard patriotic narrative that peoples invent for themselves.