Ep. 332 | The History of Yunnan Province (Part 5)

Here's the final episode in the Yunnan history series. In this episode, we pick up in 1875 in the wake of the Margary Affair and take the story through the end of the Qing and into the Warlord and Republican era. Warlords Cai E, Tang Jiyao, Long Yun, and Lu Han, all make appearances. Part 5 runs almost 49 minutes which is 15-20 minutes longer than I like these CHP episodes to be. The series concludes a bit prematurely, a hundred years later in 1975. Sorry to end on such a downer as the Cultural Revolution and the Shadian Incident of 1975. I really don't have enough material to make a Part 6. So let's just leave it at that. I hope it was informative and helpful.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Yúnnán云南A landlocked province in the southwest of the PRC. Population is around 50 million. The capital of the province is Kunming. Yunnan borders the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Tibet as well as Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.
Diān Kingdom滇国The Dian Kingdom, established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian language was likely one of the Tibeto-Burman languages. The Han Empire's annexation of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC eventually led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery. Dian culture started from at least the 8th century BC, until it fell under the control of the Han dynasty in 109 BC
Qīng Dynasty清朝The last dynasty of imperial China, lasting 1644-1912
Panthay Rebellion杜文秀起义Also known as The Du Wenxiu Uprising. This was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (Muslim as well as non-Muslim) ethnic groups against the Qing dynasty in southwestern Yunnan, as part of a wave of Hui-led multi-ethnic unrest. The name "Panthay" is a Burmese word, which is said to be identical with the Shan word Pang hse. It was the name by which the Burmese called the Chinese Muslims who came with caravans to Burma from Yunnan. The name was not used or known in Yunnan itself
Huí回族An East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. The Hui are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2011 census, China is home to approximately 10.5 million Hui people. Ouside China, the 110,000 Dungan people of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also considered part of the Hui ethnicity
Kūnmíng昆明Capital of Yunnan Province and location of Lake Dian and the ancient Dian Kingdom
Hékǒu Uprising河口起义An uprising that took place in southern Yunnan in April 1908. This was one of Sun Yat-sen’s many failed early uprisings. Hékǒu was right on the border with Vietnam
Bǎodìng Military Academy保定军校A military academy based in Baoding, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China, in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a time, it was the most important military academy in China, and its cadets played prominent roles in the political and military history of the Republic of China. The Baoding Military Academy closed in 1923, but served as a model for the Whampoa Military Academy, which was founded in Guangzhou in 1924.
Whampoa Military Academy (Huángpǔ Jūnxiào)黄埔军校This was the military academy produced that commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. The military academy was officially opened on May 1, 1924
Cài È蔡锷1882-1916, was a Chinese revolutionary leader and general. He was also an influential warlord in Yunnan (Yunnan clique),and is best known for his role in challenging the imperial ambitions (Hongxian emperor) of Yuan Shikai during the Anti-Monarchy War.
Húnán湖南Province in central China with its capital in Changsha
Liáng Qǐchāo梁启超1873-1929, Liang was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. He inspired Chinese scholars and activists with his writings and reform movements. His translations of Western and Japanese books into Chinese further introduced new theories and ideas and inspired young activists
Guǎngxī广西Province in southwest China with its capital at Nanning
Tóngménghuì同门会A secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed from the merger of multiple late-Qing dynasty Chinese revolutionary groups
Xīn Jūn新军the modernised army corps formed under the Qing dynasty in December 1895, following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. It was envisioned as militia fully trained and equipped according to Western standards
Yuán Shìkǎi袁世凯1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912
Zhū Dé朱德1886-1976, was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. He served as commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army during the Chinese Communist Revolution, and the People's Liberation Army after liberation
Yè Jiànyīng叶剑英1897-1986, was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China.
Wǔchāng Uprising武昌起义An armed rebellion against the Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan),Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty
Táng Jìyáo唐继尧1883-1927, was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of early Republican China. He was military governor of Yunnan from 1913-1927
Kunming Wūjiābà Airbase昆明巫家坝Was first established into a military airbase and flight-training institute under the supervision of local warlord General Tang Jiyao in 1922
Kunming Chángshuǐ International Airport昆明长水国际机场The new airport in Kunming that opened in 2012
Sòng Jiàorén宋教仁1882-1913, was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the KMT. He led the KMT to electoral victories in China's first democratic election. Historians have concluded that provisional president, Yuan Shikai, was responsible for his assassination on March 20, 1913
Yúnnán Clique / Diān Xì滇系One of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Government in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was initially led by Cai E and based in Kunming
Zhílì Clique直隶系Another clique during the Warlord Era named for the general region of the clique's base of power, Zhili Province, now Hebei, and during its height also controlled Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hubei
Ānhuī Clique皖系A military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its generals–including its founder, Duan Qirui–were born in Anhui
Fèngtiān Clique奉系The Warlord faction that supported The Manchurian Warlord Zhang Zuolin during the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support, but quickly came to control all of the Three Northeastern Provinces
Shānxī Clique晋系Another one of several military factions that split off from the Beiyang Army during China's warlord era. It was led by Yan Xishan.Though a close associate of Duan Qirui, Yan did not join Duan's Anhui clique. He kept his province neutral from the various civil wars. It remained known as the Shanxi Clique
Guǎngxī Clique桂系The "Old Guangxi Clique" was a clique of Chinese warlords by Lu Rongting up to the early 1920s. They were followed by the "New Guangxi Clique" led by Li Zongren
Qūjìng曲靖市A prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan, bordering Guizhou province to the east and Guangxi to the southeast
Guìzhōu贵州A province in southwest China
Lù Róngtíng陆荣廷1859-1928, was a late Qing/early Republican military and political leader from Guangxi. Lu belonged to the Zhuang ethnic group
Guangzhou广州Capital of Guangdong Province, once known as Canton
Big Ears Dù杜月笙1888-1951, also known as Du Yuesheng, nicknamed "Big-Eared Du", was a Chinese mob boss who spent much of his life in Shanghai. He was a key supporter of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang in their battle against the Communists in the 1920s
Lǐ Zōngrén李宗仁1890-1969, was a prominent Guangxi warlord and KMT military commander during the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. He served as vice-president and acting President of the Republic of China under the 1947 Constitution
Bái Chóngxī白崇禧1893-1966, was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and a prominent Chinese Nationalist leader. He was of Hui ethnicity and of the Muslim faith. From the mid-1920s to 1949, Bai and his close ally Li Zongren
Huáng Shàohóng黄绍竑1895-1966, was a warlord in Guangxi province and governed Guangxi as part of the New Guangxi Clique through the latter part of the Warlord era, and a leader in later years of the Republic of China
Guangdong-Guangxi War粤桂战争The Guangdong–Guangxi War, or the 1st and 2nd Yue-Gui Wars, occurred between the Kuomintang and the Old Guangxi Clique. Chen Jiongming of the KMT, in October 1920, captured Guangzhou and drove the Guangxi warlords out of Guangdong
Chén Jiǒngmíng陈炯明1878-1933, was a Chinese lawyer, military general, revolutionary, and politician who was best known as a Hokkien revolutionary figure in the early period of the Republic of China
Hú Ruòyú胡若愚1894-1949, was governor of Yunnan in 1927. During the Warlord Era Hu was a member of the Yunnan clique, one of whose actions, together with Long Yun, was to expel Yunnan Gov. Tang Jiyao from office.
Lóng Yún龙云1884-1962, Long was governor and warlord of Yunnan from 1927 to October 1945, when he was overthrown in a coup (known as "The Kunming Incident") under the order of Chiang Kai-shek
Yí people彝族The Yi ethnic minority people of Yunnan. Also called the Nuosu people. Historically known as the Lolo, the Yi are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Numbering nine million people, they are the seventh largest of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the PRC. They live primarily in rural areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, usually in mountainous regions
tǔsī土司Tusi, often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties
Yuan dynasty元朝Imperial dynasty founded by Kublai Khan that lasted 1271-1368
Fujian福建Coastal province in southern China
Guangdong广东Coastal province in southern China, west of Fujian
Chóngqìng重庆Formerly a city in Sichuan province, now a municipality east of Sichuan
Dàhòufāng大后方The Great Rear Base
Jiangxi Soviet (Mǐn-Gàn Sūqū)闽赣苏区This Fujian-Jiangxi Soviet base was the largest territory of the Chinese Soviet Republic, an unrecognized state established in November 1931 by Mao Zedong and Zhu De during the Chinese civil war.
Guólì Xīnán Liánhé Dàxué / Liándà国立西南联合大学 / 联大National Southwestern Associated University. Today's Yúnnán Shīfàn Dàxué 云南师范大学, Yunnan Normal University
Sìchuān四川Province in southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. It bordered Yunnan to the north
Peking University北京大学Today one of China's premier universities, it was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter by the Guangxu Emperor as part of the Hundred Days' Reform
Qīnghuá University清华大学After receiving a crushing penalty following the Boxer Rebellion, Qing ambassador Liang Cheng and US president Theodore Roosevelt obtained approval from the US Congress in 1909 to reduce the indemnity payment on the condition that the funds would be used as scholarships for Chinese students to study in the United States. Using this fund, the Tsinghua College (清華學堂; Qīnghuá Xuétáng) was established in Beijing, on 29 April 1911 on the site of a former royal garden to serve as a preparatory school for students the government planned to send to the United States
Nánkāi University南开大学A university based in Tianjin that was founded as a private institution in 1919
T.D. Lee / Lǐ Zōngdào李宗道Born in 1926, T.D. Lee is a Chinese-American physicist, known for his work on parity violation, the Lee–Yang theorem, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons, and soliton stars. He was a University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University in New York City, where he taught from 1953 until his retirement in 2012. In 1957, at the age of 30, Lee won the Nobel Prize in Physics with Chen Ning Yang[2] for their work on the violation of the parity law in weak interactions, which Chien-Shiung Wu experimentally proved from 1956 to 1957, with her legendary Wu experiment
C.N. Yáng / Yáng Zhènníng杨振宁Born in 1922, also known by the English name Frank Yang, he is a Chinese theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrable systems, gauge theory, and both particle physics and condensed matter physics. He and Tsung-Dao Lee (see above) received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on parity non-conservation of weak interaction
Jiànxióng Wú吴健雄1912-1997, was a Chinese-American particle and experimental physicist who made significant contributions in the fields of nuclear and particle physics. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project
Wú Dàyóu吴大猷1907-2000, was a Chinese physicist and writer who worked in the United States, Canada, China and Taiwan. He has been called the Father of Chinese Physics.
Lú Hàn卢汉1895-1974, was a Chinese general of Yi ethnicity, who served in important military and political positions under both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. Alsoi a prominent warlord of Yunnan, he was closely associated with Long Yun, who was first an ally and then a rival, although both ended up collaborating with the Communist Party of China.
Yuitsu Tsuchihashi土橋 勇逸1891-1972, was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.
Sòng Rénqióng宋任穷1909-2005, was a general in the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China and one of the Eight Elders of the Chinese Communist Party.
Chén Gēng陈赓1903-1961, was a Chinese military officer who served as a senior general in the People's Liberation Army.
Lǐ Mí李弥1902-1973, was a high-ranking Nationalist general who participated in the anti-Communist Encirclement Campaigns, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. He was one of the few Kuomintang commanders to achieve notable victories against both Chinese Communist forces and the Imperial Japanese Army. Following the founding of the PRC in 1949, he withdrew his forces to Burma and Thailand, where he continued to carry out guerrilla raids into Communist-held territory.
Emperor Wǔ of Hàn汉武帝156-87 BC, born Liu Che (劉徹),he was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years
Bái people白族An East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. They constitute one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China.
Hāní哈尼族Also known as the Ho people are a Lolo-speaking ethnic group in Southern China, Northern Laos, and Vietnam
Dǎi people傣族One of several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of China's Yunnan Province. The Dai term can apply to groups in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar when Dai is used to mean specifically Tai Yai, Lue, Chinese Shan, Tai Dam, Tai Khao or even Tai in general
Zhuàng壮族a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in Guangxi. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the PRC. Their population, estimated at 18 million people, makes them the largest minority in China.
Miáo苗族The Miao are a group of linguistically-related peoples living in Southern China and Southeast Asia. The Miao live primarily in southern China's mountains, in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan. Some sub-groups of the Miao, most notably the Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia. Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France, and Australia.
Sānxiàn Jiànshè三线建设The Third Front Movement, a Chinese government campaign to develop industrial and military facilities in the country's interior.  The campaign was motivated by concerns that China's industrial and military infrastructure would be vulnerable in the event of invasion by the Soviet Union or air raids by the United States
Guìyáng贵阳The capital of Guizhou Province
Chéngdū成都The capital of Sichuan Province
Zhào Jiànmín Tèwu’àn赵建民特务案The Zhào Jiànmín Spy Case
Zhào Jiànmín赵建民a PLA general with impeccable credentials, fought in all the battles, a commander in the Eighth Route Army. A Party member going back to the 1930’s.
Kāng Shēng康生1898-1975, was a CCP official, best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was posthumpously expelled from the party
Jiāng Qīng江青1914-1991, also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communistrevolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao and best known for playing a major role in the Cultural Revolution and for forming the radical political alliance known as the "Gang of Four
Shādiàn Incident沙甸事件An uprising of Muslim Hui people during the Cultural Revolution which ended in a military-led massacre. The massacre took place in seven villages of Yunnan Province, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu City, in July and August 1975; most sources estimate the number of the deaths around 1,600 (half from Shadian),including 300 children, in addition to the destruction of 4,400 homes
Gèjiù City个旧市a county-level city in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
Zhōngfā中发a Party Central Committee Notice
Hóng Hé Hāní and Yí Autonomous Prefecture红河哈尼族彝族自治州Hóng Hé Hāní and Yí Autonomous Prefecture, located just south of Kunming

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Ep. 331 | The History of Yunnan Province (Part 4)