General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Cao Kun (;

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

: Zhongshan () (December 12, 1862 – May 15, 1938) was a Chinese warlord and politician, who served as the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, also known as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. Republic of China (1912– ...

from 1923 to 1924, as well as the military leader of the

Zhili clique The Zhili clique () was a military faction that split from the Republic of China's Beiyang Army during the country's Warlord Era. It was named for Zhili Province (modern-day Hebei), which was the clique's base of power. At its height, it also ...

in the

Beiyang Army The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...

; he also served as a trustee of the Catholic University of Peking.

Early life and rise to leadership

Cao was born to a poor family in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

. During the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

in 1894, he went with the army to fight in

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. After the war was over he joined

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

to participate in the training of the New Army (known as the

). Admired by Yuan, Cao managed to rise very quickly. By the time of the 1911

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

he commanded the Beiyang 3rd Division. He was made a general in the

and led the Zhili clique after the death of

Feng Guozhang Feng Guozhang (; 7 January 1859 – 12 December 1919) was a Chinese general and politician in the late Qing dynasty and early republican China who was Vice President from 1916 to 1917 and then acting President of the Republic of China from 1917 ...

. During the 1918 election he was promised the vice-presidency by Duan Qirui but the office remained vacant after most of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

left, depriving it of a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

. He felt betrayed by Duan and defeated him in battle in 1920. After forcing the resignations of both

Xu Shichang Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was a Chinese politician who served as the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only p ...

and

Li Yuanhong Li Yuanhong (; courtesy name ; October 19, 1864 – June 3, 1928) was a prominent Chinese military and political leader during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the Provisional Vice President of the Republic of China from 191 ...

, and engaging in bribery, he became

president of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, also known as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. Republic of China (1912– ...

(in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

) on 10 October 1923, serving to 2 November 1924. In March 1922, Cao attempted to launch an airline, "Beijing-Han Airlines", with a

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...

aircraft (likely a modified HP O/400). Unfortunately, the airline's 3-day trial tour ended in disaster: the plane crashed on approach to Beijing, killing all 14 onboard. Cao had a family connection to the Chinese Muslim military commander Ma Fuxing, who resided in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

"Bribing president"

Cao Kun infamously acquired the presidential office by openly bribing assembly members with 5,000 silver dollars each. That episode brought disrepute to the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

and the National Assembly, which lacked a quorum even to hold elections. It also turned all the rival factions against him, and his own clique began suffering from dissension. Relations with his chief protégé,

Wu Peifu Wu Peifu (also spelled Wu P'ei-fu) (; April 22, 1874 – December 4, 1939) was a Chinese warlord and major figure in the Warlord Era in China from 1916 to 1927. Early career Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Wu initially rece ...

, soured and there were rumors of an impending split within the Zhili clique, but they stayed together to fight against the

Fengtian clique The Fengtian clique () was the faction that supported warlord Zhang Zuolin during Republic of China (1912–1949), China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support. However, the clique quic ...

. One of his first acts as president was to promulgate the 1923 Constitution of China. Hastily drafted by the guilt-ridden assembly, it was deemed the most democratic and progressive charter yet, but like previous charters, it was ignored completely. During a war against

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin; courtesy name Yuting ( zh, c=雨亭, p=Yǔtíng, labels=no) and nicknamed Zhang Laogang ( zh, c=張老疙瘩, p=Zhāng Lǎo Gēda, labels=no) (March 19, 1875June 4, 1928) was a Chinese warlord who ruled Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 ...

in October 1924, Cao was betrayed and imprisoned by one of his own officers, General

Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. A ...

, in the Beijing coup. Feng occupied

and forced Cao to resign. His brother, Cao Rui, committed suicide while he was under house arrest. In 1926, Cao Kun was released from captivity as a goodwill gesture by Feng to Wu Peifu. Cao died in his home at

in May 1938.

References

Citations

Sources

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Kun 1862 births 1938 deaths Beiyang Army personnel Presidents of the Republic of China Republic of China warlords from Tianjin 20th-century Chinese heads of government Trustees of educational establishments Members of the Zhili clique Empire of China (1915–1916)