Lü Chao (March 9, 1890 July 20, 1951), born in Xuzhou Fu,

Yibin County Xuzhou District (), formerly Yibin County () is a district of the city of Yibin, Sichuan, Sichuan Province, China, bordering Yunnan province to the south. It is the northernmost county-level division of Yibin. Administrative divisions Xuzhou Distr ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

, was a military and political figure in the early

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...

, active in his home province of Sichuan. He is known for fighting against Liu Cunhou and the Beijing Government and being one of the strongest supporters of

Sun Yat-Sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

in Sichuan.

Early life

Lü Chao was born to a family originating in

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

province in 1890. He entered the first phase of the Sichuan Army Elementary School, graduating in 1909. He entered the Fourth Middle School of the Army in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. During his time there, he picked up revolutionary ideals and sympathies, causing him to join the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...

. In spring 1910, he joined the

Baoding Military Academy Baoding Military Academy or Paoting Military Academy () was 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 ...

. In October 1911, with the beginning of the

Wuchang Uprising The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan) in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthr ...

, Lü went to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Under orders from

Chen Qimei Chen Qimei (; 17 January 1878 – 18 May 1916), courtesy name Yingshi (英士) was a Chinese revolutionary activist and key figure of the Green Gang, close political ally of Sun Yat-sen, and early mentor of Chiang Kai-shek. He was one of the fo ...

, he headed North with

Li Shizeng Li Shizeng ( zh, t=李石曾, w=Li3 Shih2-tseng1, p=Lǐ Shízēng; 29 May 1881 – 30 September 1973), born Li Yuying, was an educator, promoter of anarchist doctrines, political activist, and member of the Chinese Nationalist Party in early R ...

and

Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...

(then known as Wang Zhaoming), where he founded the Beijing-Tianjin Tongmenghui Branch in Beijing. In February 1912, under the orders of

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 ...

the

3rd Division of the Beiyang Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

destroyed the Beijing-Tianjin branch of the Tongmenghui. Lü fled back to Sichuan. After returning to Sichuan, Lü Chao joined the Sichuan Army under the command of

Xiong Kewu Xiong Kewu ( zh, s=熊克武, p=Xióng Kèwǔ; December 26, 1885 – September 2, 1970), courtesy name Jinfan, was a Chinese general and warlord during the Republican period of China and a politician of the People’s Republic of China. Biogra ...

, commander of the 5th Division of the Sichuan Army. In 1913, Lü was promoted to the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 5th Army. He participated in the Second Revolution and fled to Shanghai after it failed. He left for Japan to study, where he joined the Haoran Society. In 1914, while

was organizing the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

in Japan, Lü joined. In December of the same year, he secretly returned to China and started participating in Anti-Yuan Shikai activities.

Chaos in Sichuan

In 1915, with the breaking out of the

National Protection War The National Protection War ( zh, t=護國戰爭, s=护国战争, p=Hù guó zhànzhēng), also known as the Anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. Following the overthrow of the Qing dynasty three yea ...

, Lü Chao served as the commander of revolutionary forces in Southern Sichuan, where he fought with

Cai E Cai E (; 18 December 1882 – 8 November 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and general. He was born Cai Genyin () in Shaoyang, Hunan, and his courtesy name was Songpo (). Cai eventually became an influential warlord in Yunnan ( Yunn ...

's 1st Division against Yuan Shikai. In June 1916, Lü was made the commander of the 58th Regiment of the 5th Division. In February 1918, Sun Yat-Sen appointed Lü as the commander of the Sichuan Jingguojun. Shortly after, Lü attacked

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, defeating the Beijing Government-appointed military governor Liu Cunhou, expelling him from the province. Xiong Kewu replaced him as military governor, with Yang Shukan as civilian governor and Lü being appointed commander of the 5th Division. In 1919, Xiong Kewu started to advocate for

Chinese Federalism Chinese federalism refers to political theories which argue that China's central government should share sovereignty with regional entities under a form of federalism. Such proposals were made in the early twentieth century, in connection with th ...

with

Chen Jiongming Chen Jiongming ( zh, t=陳炯明, p=Chén Jiǒngmíng, w=Ch'en Chiung-ming; 18 January 187822 September 1933) was a Chinese statesman, military leader, revolutionary, and a key figure in the Federalism in China, federalist movement during the W ...

Tang Jiyao Tang Jiyao () (August 14, 1883 – May 23, 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. Life Tang was born in Huize county in 188 ...

, and

Zhao Hengti Zhao Hengti (; 12 January 1880 – 23 November 1971), was a general and warlord in Hunan during the Warlord Era of early Republic of China. Biography Zhao was a native of Hengyang in Hunan Province. He was sent to Japan in 1904 to study at the T ...

, opposing Sun Yat-Sen. In April 1920, Lü Chao and other Kuomintang forces launched the "Anti-Xiong War", leading to the expulsion of Xiong Kewu from Chengdu, with Lü taking the position of commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army. However, Xiong and his former enemy Liu Cunhou reconciled and fought back, expelling Lü, who, in September, was defeated and fled to Shanghai.

Return to Sichuan and later years

As a direct subordinate of Sun Yat-Sen, Lü Chao was responsible for negotiations with political and military factions such as the

Guominjun The Guominjun (), also known as the Kuominchun, abbreviated as GMJ and KMC, was a military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era. The KMC had control of much of Northwest China, including Shaanxi ...

. In May 1923, Lü was promoted by Sun to the Generalissimo's Chief of Staff. In June, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Anti-Thief (referring to political opponents) Army, directly leading its 1st Army. He was responsible for fighting the pro-Beijing warlords

Yang Sen Yang Sen ( zh, t=楊森, p=Yáng Sēn; 20 February 1884 – 15 May 1977) was a warlord and general of the Sichuan clique who had a long military career in China. Although he was a provincial warlord, he served Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuominta ...

and Liu Xiang. In March 1924, Xiong Kewu was defeated. Lü remained in Sichuan to fight against Governor of Sichuan Yang Sen. In November 1926, Lü was appointed High Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan by the National Government, an echo of the beginning of the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

. After the end of the Northern Expedition, Lü Chao joined

Li Zongren Li Zongren ( zh, c=李宗仁, p=Lǐ Zōngrén; 13 August 1890 – 30 January 1969), also known as Li Tsung-jen, courtesy name Delin (Te-lin; zh, p=Délín), was a Chinese warlord, military commander and politician. He was vice-president an ...

New Guangxi Clique The New Guangxi clique (), led by Li Zongren, Huang Shaohong, and Bai Chongxi, was a warlord clique during the Republic of China. After the founding of the Republic, Guangxi served as the base for one of the Old Guangxi clique, one of the mo ...

. He fought against Chiang Kai-Shek but lost. In October 1939, Lü established the Chinese Anti-Japanese Reclamation Society in Chongqing to promote reclamation of territory from Japan. In January 1948, he started serving in the Supervisory Committee of the

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan. Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...

. In 1949, he helped the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

in organizing defections of Kuomintang officers in Sichuan. In 1950, he was made a member of the Southwest Military and Political Committee of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. On July 20, 1951, Lü Chao died in Chongqing at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Chao Sichuan clique generals Tongmenghui members Members of the Kuomintang Republic of China warlords from Chongqing 1890 births 1951 deaths People from Yibin