Study On Political Changes Of Guizhou In Early Republic Of China(1911-1913)

The Xinhai Revolution,as a great revolution,ushered in a modern national democratic revolution in the full sense of the word in China.However,it failed to fundamentally change China due to various factors.Guizhou,despite its isolated location,was also involved in this dramatic revolution.Under the influence of the Xinhai Revolution,Guizhou established the Dahan Guizhou military government,but it was then plunged into rapid political turmoil.After the establishment of the military government,the conservative forces in Guizhou,seeking political power,seized de facto control of the military government by staging the February 2nd Incident.Later,in order to further destroy the remaining revolutionary forces in the province and the Qian army outside the province,they stepped up their efforts to invoke the Yunnan army to enter Guizhou.The Yunnan army joined forces with the conservative forces to reorganise the Guizhou military government,which became a tool for both sides to enforce warlord dictatorship.Compared to other provinces anyway,the early years of the Republic saw not only more political turmoil in Guizhou,but also more complex causes.The political turmoil in Guizhou at the beginning of the Republic of China first originated from the intense political factional struggles in the province.Because Guizhou had long been politically,economically,ideologically and culturally stunted,it was unable to develop a strong bourgeoisie and military power.After the implementation of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty,political factions such as the New Army,the Autonomous School and the Constitutionalism emerged in Guizhou.With the rapid development of the revolutionary situation,these political groups joined the revolutionary wave.After the establishment of the military government,a conservative camp led by the Constitutional School and a revolutionary camp represented by the Autonomous School Society and the New Army gradually formed under the demand of power.Out of the demand for political power,coalitions and splits gradually arose between different political forces,thus providing an opportunity for the conservative camp to seize power,and the February 2nd Incident occurred.Inter-provincial factional struggles were another important cause of political turmoil in Guizhou.After the Wuchang Uprising,due to the attack of the Qing army and local stubborn forces,the military governments of various provinces successively asked Guizhou for help.In order to respond to the call of the revolution and promote the development of the revolution,Guizhou successively organized the new army to aid Sichuan,Hubei,and Hunan Provinces.After the new army left Qian,the revolutionary force was greatly weakened.After the departure of the Aid E Qian Army,it was forced to stay in Changde because of the beginning of the peace talks between the north and the south.During this period,Guizhou was also undergoing violent political turmoil.After the February 2nd Incident,the conservative forces intensified their collusion with the Dian army.When Tang Jiyao led his troops into Guizhou,he joined forces with the conservative forces to reorganise the Guizhou military government and suppress the revolutionary forces in the province,while at the same time stepping up efforts to eliminate the Qian army in Hunan.As a result,the two sides were at loggerheads and the Qian army was at odds with each other.The Qian army’s stagnation in Hunan posed a threat to Hunan,which led to conflicts between the two sides.In addition,the political changes in Guizhou were closely linked to the change of central government.After the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing,the head of the Qian army in Hunan,Yang Jincheng,went to Nanjing to visit Sun Yat-sen to gain support.At this time,the feudal forces led by Yuan Shikai and the revolutionary forces represented by Sun Yat-sen were engaged in a fierce struggle for central power,which changed after Yuan Shikai succeeded him as Provisional President.At the same time,the political situation in Guizhou changed again when Tang Jiyao led the Dian army to occupy Guizhou.After the Dian army took over Guizhou,Tang Jiyao gained control of Guizhou by defecting to Yuan Shikai,who supported him to stop the development of revolutionary forces and also to achieve local control.On this basis,Tang Jiyao’s attitude towards the return of the Qian army to Guizhou became increasingly assertive.In order to prevent the conflict between tthe Qian army stranded in Hunan and the Dian army entered Qian,the Treaty of Hongjiang was signed by the parties concerned through the efforts of Tan Yankai and Li Yuanhong.However,this treaty was strongly opposed by Tang Jiyao as it was detrimental to his interests.Tang Jiyao not only refused to implement it,but also intensified his attempts to destroy the Qian army stranded in Hunan.After waiting for a long time to mediate fruitlessly,the Qian army decided to return to Qian by force,but it failed due to the disparity in strength.The political changes in Guizhou during the early Republic of China had an important impact on the political situation in Guizhou,southwest China,and the whole country.For Guizhou,the establishment of the Yunnan army in Guizhou was not only the beginning of the formation of the Qian warlord rule by the conservative forces in Guizhou,but also the beginning of Guizhou’s political and military dependence on Yunnan;for southwest China,Tang Jiyao used Guizhou as a political spring board to take control of Yunnan after Cai E left Yunnan and then became a major warlord with significant influence in southwest China;For the country as a whole,Tang Jiyao became an important political force in the development of the early Republican period with his strong military power.Tang Jiyao’s repeated jumps in revolutionary positions were the political manifestations of local warlords during this period.The political changes in Guizhou during the early Republic were the result of the struggles and games of various political forces,and they also profoundly influenced the political development of Guizhou,Yunnan,southwest China,and even the whole country.