Duan Qirui

Duan Qirui (Chinese: 段祺瑞; pinyin: Duàn Qíruì; Wade–Giles: Tuan Ch'i-jui, pronounced [twân tɕʰǐ.ɻwêɪ]) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese statesman and general who controlled the Beijing Government during the late 1910s. He was the Premier of China on four occasions between 1913 and 1918, and from 1924 to 1926 he served as acting Chief Executive of China in Beijing. As the last leader of the Beiyang Army, Duan was highly respected among the warlords and people of China, and was the founder of the Anhui Clique.

A graduate of the Tianjin Military Academy, Duan studied military science in Germany and became a prominent artillery commander under Yuan Shikai. Following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and the fall of the Qing dynasty, he became minister of war and premier in the Yuan cabinet. He opposed Yuan's restoration of monarchy in China and, upon Yuan's death, continued as premier and took effective control of northern China. His tenure was marked by political infighting as well as conflict with southern parliamentarians under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen.

In 1917, Duan took part in suppressing another attempt to restore the monarchy, and spearheaded China's involvement in the First World War on the side of the Allies. He also negotiated a series of loans with Japan, with which he built up the Anhui clique and prepared for a conquest of the south. His secret dealings with the Japanese (including the 1918 Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement) later came to light which, along with the Treaty of Versailles's decision to transfer Shandong to Japan, paved way for the May Fourth Movement in 1919. His position weakened, Duan was eventually ousted from power after his defeat in the 1920 Zhili–Anhui War. He came out of retirement in 1924 to head Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang's Beiyang government, but was again deposed after Zhang's victory over Feng in the Anti-Fengtian War. Duan subsequently retired to Tianjin before settling in Shanghai, where he died in 1936.

Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui (Chinese: 段啓瑞), his courtesy name was Zhiquan (Chinese: 芝泉). His grandfather was Duan Pei (Chinese: 段佩), an officer in Li Hongzhang's privately raised Huai Army (Huai Jun, Chinese: 淮軍). His father died early and he was raised by his maternal grandmother.

In 1885 Duan Qirui entered Tianjin Military Academy (天津武備學堂), specializing in artillery, and graduated at the top of his class. After graduation, he was sent to Lüshun to oversee the construction of artillery fortifications and came to the attention of Li Hongzhang, who sent him to study military science in Germany for two years. After returning to China he was first named as a commissioner to the Beiyang Armory (北洋军械局) and then an instructor at Weihai military academy. Soon he was able to gain the sponsorship of Yuan Shikai, who named him an artillery commander in the New Army.

Duan first saw action in the Boxer Rebellion, where he served Yuan in Shandong province and distinguished himself in combat against the Boxers. Yuan then gave him command over a Beiyang army division in 1904. In 1906 he was appointed director of the Baoding Staff College, which allowed him to begin recruiting his own clique of loyal junior officers. Yuan arranged for the marriage of his niece, whom he had adopted, to Duan in an effort to consolidate his power and solidify Duan's loyalty.

After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 against the Qing dynasty, Duan commanded the loyalist Second Army Corps against the revolutionary army in the Battle of Yangxia and succeeded in taking back Hankou and Hanyang. After Yuan Shikai altered the course of the Xinhai Revolution by forcing the emperor to abdicate, Duan supported him. For his loyalty Yuan appointed him military governor of both Hunan and Hubei provinces. He was further named to Yuan's cabinet as minister of war in 1912, then premier in 1913 while also keeping his position as war minister. Because he had publicly supported the Emperor's abdication while serving as an envoy of the central government in 1911, Duan's promotions were supported by the Kuomintang.

Duan rose to power as a close ally of Yuan Shikai, but the two came to increasingly disagree with each other over various issues as time went on. One of the main problems was that Duan began to amass influence over the Beiyang Army as minister of war, thereby undermining Yuan's own control over the soldiers. Realizing his growing power, Duan became more independent and gradually challenged the President over appointments and reforms in the military. As both had volatile tempers, their quarrels became ever more heated, and Yuan eventually started to counter Duan's rise. Using Duan and the Beiyang Army's failure to suppress the Bai Lang Rebellion as reason, he initiated reforms to purge the military of Duan's followers and raise a new army which was supposed to be more capable than the Beiyang Army while also being loyal to Yuan himself. As Duan fell sick in late 1914, he was unable to stop the President's plans, and he was thus dismissed as minister of war in May 1915.