| Fengtian clique | |
|---|---|
| 奉系 Fèngxì | |
.svg) The Fengtian clique flew the flag of the Beiyang Government until 1928.[a] | |
| Active | 1911–1928 |
| Disbanded | 1928 |
| Country |  Republic of China |
| Allegiance | Beiyang government (1911–1927) |
| Type | Warlord faction |
| Engagements | First Zhili–Fengtian War Second Zhili–Fengtian War Northern Expedition |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief (1920–1928) | Zhang Zuolin |
| Commander-in-Chief (1928–1928) | Zhang Xueliang |
The Fengtian clique (Chinese: 奉系军阀; pinyin: Fèngxì Jūnfá; Wade–Giles: Feng-hsi Chün-fa) was the faction that supported warlord Zhang Zuolin during China's Warlord Era. It took its name from Fengtian Province, which served as its original base of support. However, the clique quickly came to control all of the Three Northeastern Provinces. The clique received support from Japan in exchange for protecting Japanese military and economic interests in Manchuria. The Fengtian Army frequently intervened in many of the conflicts of the Warlord Era.
Following the Zhili–Anhui War of 1920 and 1921, the Fengtian and Zhili cliques exercised joint control of Beijing and the Beiyang Government. Tensions soon began building between the two, resulting in clashes for control of Beijing known as the First Zhili–Fengtian War (1922). The Second (1924) Zhili–Fengtian War started later over the Zhili invasion of the remnants of the Anhui clique, which had become allies of the Fengtian Clique, which resulted in a Fengtian victory, with the Zhili clique retreating as far South as Henan. The power of the Fengtian Clique began to decrease in the midst of the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition. In 1928, while he was retreating North, Zhang Zuolin's Japanese sponsors blew up his train, killing him. After Zhang's assassination, his son, Zhang Xueliang, took over the leadership of the clique. He preferred to work with the Kuomintang rather than the Japanese and symbolically pledged allegiance to the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. In practice, the Fengtian clique continued to independently govern Manchuria until the Japanese invasion in 1931.
- ^ Fairbank, John; Reischauer, Edwin; Craig, Albert (1978). East Asia: Tradition and Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 758. ISBN 978-0-395-25812-5.
- ^ "MANCHURIA JOINS NANKING REGIME; Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang Announces Decision to Hoist Nationalist Flag Today. NO RESERVATIONS ARE MADE Move Is Reversal of Policy of Father, Who Fought Advancing Southern Chinese". The New York Times. 1928-12-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
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