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Quiz about Chinas Warlords
Quiz about Chinas Warlords

China's Warlords Trivia Quiz


The warlords were a colorful cast of characters who loomed large in Chinese politics between 1912 and 1949. How well do you know them?

A multiple-choice quiz by Guiguzi. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Guiguzi
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
360,449
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
192
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Question 1 of 10
1. Yuan Shikai has been called "the father of the warlords". He sold out the Qing dynasty to support the Republic in 1912, then used bribery, assassination, and military power to turn the Republic into his personal dictatorship. Advised by a past president of the American Political Science Association, he then made a serious political misstep. What was it? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This warlord was a leading figure in the Zhili militarist clique. He tried to uphold Confucian values, cracked down on Communists and labor organizers, and was rumored to have British backing. He won the first Zhili-Fengtian War in 1922, but lost the rematch in 1924. Who is he? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Feng Yuxiang was considered by many to be a relatively "progressive" warlord, not only because he taught his soldiers to read but also for his religious commitment. He was known by what name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Zhang Zuolin started his career as a bandit, rose to become the Japanese-backed military ruler of Manchuria, and even dominated the national government in Beijing for a season. His career ended in 1928, but how? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Of all the warlords, none was more colorful than this one! His daddy was a barber and his mom was an exorcist. He grew up to be a fierce warrior six feet tall and was accompanied by a trainload of more than forty concubines when he ruled Shandong province. They called him the "Dog-Meat General", but what was his real name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Yan Xishan was sometimes called the "model warlord". Educated in Japan, he governed his province from the Republican revolution of 1911 until the Communist takeover in 1949 -- and then ended his days as an exile in Taiwan. But which province did he govern? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Some of China's military men had talented offspring. Which of these short story collections was written by the son of a prominent warlord? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Zhang Xueliang inherited control of Manchuria from his father in 1928 and was known as "The Young Marshal". But what would be his real claim to fame? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. General Cai Tingkai led his troops against the Japanese at Shanghai in 1932 and, perhaps because he was not a member of the Central Army associated with Chiang Kai-shek, was celebrated as a national hero in the left-wing press. What intrepid force did this heroic leader command? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Some would find this man's inclusion in a list of warlords to be politically incorrect and downright objectionable. But he did begin his military career as an officer in the Yunnan Army, and was even an opium addict for awhile. A study tour in Europe and some meetings with a man named Zhou Enlai changed his life. He died in the same year as Chairman Mao, his close comrade-in-arms. Who is he? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Yuan Shikai has been called "the father of the warlords". He sold out the Qing dynasty to support the Republic in 1912, then used bribery, assassination, and military power to turn the Republic into his personal dictatorship. Advised by a past president of the American Political Science Association, he then made a serious political misstep. What was it?

Answer: He tried to make himself emperor of a new dynasty

Yuan was born in 1859 and had risen to the top of the Qing military by the early years of the 20th century as commander of the Beiyang Army. His American advisor was Frank Goodnow, first president of APSA (1903) and later president of Johns Hopkins University (1914-1929). Both Yuan and Goodnow reasoned that the Chinese people weren't ready for democracy and needed a strong figure at the helm, clothed in traditional garb. Unfortunately for Yuan, the Chinese people thought otherwise. The most articulate sectors of public opinion reacted very negatively, and even some of Yuan's closest associates were alienated by his move. He died in June 1916, a few months after backing down from his imperial venture.

Further reading: Ernest P. Young, "The Presidency of Yuan Shih-k'ai" (University of Michigan Press, 1977).
2. This warlord was a leading figure in the Zhili militarist clique. He tried to uphold Confucian values, cracked down on Communists and labor organizers, and was rumored to have British backing. He won the first Zhili-Fengtian War in 1922, but lost the rematch in 1924. Who is he?

Answer: Wu Peifu

Wu Peifu (1874-1939) was an officer in Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army who emerged as a key figure in the Zhili Clique, one of the main factions that emerged from the breakup of Yuan's political-military machine.

Further reading: Odoric Wou, "Militarism in Modern China: The Career of Wu P'ei-fu, 1916-39" (Dawson, 1978).
3. Feng Yuxiang was considered by many to be a relatively "progressive" warlord, not only because he taught his soldiers to read but also for his religious commitment. He was known by what name?

Answer: The Christian General

Feng Yuxiang (1882-1948) was baptized by Methodists in 1914. Rumor had it that he in turn baptized his troops with fire hoses, but hard evidence for this chestnut is lacking. Feng also had a reputation as a turncoat; it was his defection that led to Wu Peifu's defeat in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. Feng had rather better connections with the Chinese Communists and the USSR than most warlords did. He died under still not fully explained circumstances, in a fire that broke out aboard the ship on which he was traveling to the Soviet Union.

Further reading: James E. Sheridan, "Chinese Warlord: The Career of Feng Yü-hsiang" (Stanford University Press, 1966).
4. Zhang Zuolin started his career as a bandit, rose to become the Japanese-backed military ruler of Manchuria, and even dominated the national government in Beijing for a season. His career ended in 1928, but how?

Answer: His train was blown up by rogue Japanese officers

Zhang Zuolin (1875-1928) was the leader of the Fengtian Clique and dominated China's national government in Beijing for several years after he defeated Wu Peifu in 1924. Evicted from Beijing by the Nationalist (KMT) Northern Expedition in 1928, Zhang was assassinated by Japanese officers who hoped his death would provide a pretext for Japan to seize all of Manchuria.

Further reading: Gavan McCormack, "Chang Tso-lin in Northeast China, 1911-1928" (Stanford University Press, 1977).
5. Of all the warlords, none was more colorful than this one! His daddy was a barber and his mom was an exorcist. He grew up to be a fierce warrior six feet tall and was accompanied by a trainload of more than forty concubines when he ruled Shandong province. They called him the "Dog-Meat General", but what was his real name?

Answer: Zhang Zongchang

Zhang Zongchang (1881-1932) was the poster-boy "bad warlord". A protégé of Zhang Zuolin, he was characterized by Cai Yuanpei (the president of Peking University) as having "the physique of an elephant, the brain of a pig, and the temperament of a tiger". He was eventually assassinated by the nephew of a man he had killed years before.

He was also known as "Old 63". That would be a stack of 63 Yuan Shikai silver dollars. Any additional explanation would not be appropriate for a family site such as this, but the curious cannot be prevented from consulting John King Fairbank, "The Great Chinese Revolution, 1800-1985", page 175.
6. Yan Xishan was sometimes called the "model warlord". Educated in Japan, he governed his province from the Republican revolution of 1911 until the Communist takeover in 1949 -- and then ended his days as an exile in Taiwan. But which province did he govern?

Answer: Shanxi

Shanxi is a mountainous, coal-rich province located roughly southwest of Beijing.

Yan Xishan (1883-1960) was quite eclectic, reflecting both Confucian and Marxist influences. He had a difficult relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, and his position was greatly weakened during the Sino-Japanese War when much of his province was occupied by either the Japanese or the Chinese Communists.

Further reading: Donald G. Gillin, "Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province, 1911-1949" (Princeton University Press, 1967).
7. Some of China's military men had talented offspring. Which of these short story collections was written by the son of a prominent warlord?

Answer: Taipei People

Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (or Bai Xianyong), born in 1937, is a prominent writer associated with Taiwan (although he has spent much of his life in the United States). His influential short story collection "Taipei People" (Taibei ren) was published in 1971.

Bai's father was the Muslim general Bai Chongxi (1893-1966), a member of the military triumvirate that ruled Guangxi province from the late 1920s through the 1940s.

Further reading: Diana Lary, "Region and Nation: The Kwangsi Clique in Chinese Politics, 1925-1937" (Cambridge University Press, 1974).
8. Zhang Xueliang inherited control of Manchuria from his father in 1928 and was known as "The Young Marshal". But what would be his real claim to fame?

Answer: He kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek in 1936

Zhang Xueliang (1901-2001) was the son of Zhang Zuolin. Ejected from the Northeastern provinces by Japanese invasion in 1931, he was eager to fight the Japanese instead of the Chinese Communists. His detention of Chiang Kai-shek at Xi'an in December 1936 precipitated the formation of a new United Front with Communists and Nationalists joining forces to resist the Japanese.

But Zhang's success came at a price. He spent four decades under house arrest in Taiwan, though was eventually released, emigrated to the United States, and died in Honolulu.
9. General Cai Tingkai led his troops against the Japanese at Shanghai in 1932 and, perhaps because he was not a member of the Central Army associated with Chiang Kai-shek, was celebrated as a national hero in the left-wing press. What intrepid force did this heroic leader command?

Answer: 19th Route Army

Cai Tingkai (1892-1968) and his men were later moved south into Fujian province, where they launched an unsuccessful revolt against Chiang Kai-shek in November 1933. Cai ended up supporting the Communists in 1949.
10. Some would find this man's inclusion in a list of warlords to be politically incorrect and downright objectionable. But he did begin his military career as an officer in the Yunnan Army, and was even an opium addict for awhile. A study tour in Europe and some meetings with a man named Zhou Enlai changed his life. He died in the same year as Chairman Mao, his close comrade-in-arms. Who is he?

Answer: Zhu De

Zhu De (1886-1976) was closely associated with Mao Zedong during the revolutionary wars from 1928 on, and was first in precedence among the ten Communist military leaders who were made marshals of the PLA in 1955.
Source: Author Guiguzi

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