July 15 Incident
TheJuly 15 Incident(Chinese:Thất nhất ngũ sự biến), known by theChinese Communist Party(CCP) as theJuly 15 counter-revolutionary coup(Chinese:Thất nhất ngũ phản cách mệnh chính biến), and as theWuhan–Communist split(Chinese:Võ hán phân cộng) by theKuomintang(KMT), occurred on 15 July 1927. Following growing strains in the coalition between theKMT government in Wuhanand the CCP, and under pressure from the rivalnationalist governmentled byChiang Kai-shekinNanjing,Wuhan leaderWang Jingweiordered a purge of communists from his government in July 1927.
Background
[edit]During theNorthern Expedition(1926–1928) to reunify afragmented China,Kuomintang policy was one of "allying with Russia and tolerating the communists" (Chinese:Liên nga dung cộng) under theFirst United Frontbetween the KMT and CCP. However, after the anti-communist faction of the KMT led byChiang Kai-shekorganized amassacre of communists and leftistsin April 1927, thenationalist government in Wuhan,led byWang Jingwei,denounced Chiang, who established his own government inNanjing,marking the start of theNanjing–Wuhan split.The Wuhan government initially maintained the alliance with the CCP but later, tension escalated between them. Warlords such asFeng Yuxiang,who commanded large military forces, also called for severing of ties with the Communist Party.
KMT leftist–CCP relations remained close after the "Shanghai massacre"purge of communists by Chiang Kai-shek on 12 April, and joint KMT–CCP conferences continued to be held frequently.[1]Workers and farmers' movements continued to grow, but some KMT generals and soldiers, especially those from landowning or merchant families, were disturbed by an increase inclass warfarekillings.[2]Xu Kexiang,the KMT regimental commander of the 33rd regiment, 35th army launched an operation to disarm the communists on 21 May (Chinese:Mã nhật sự biến), and before long,Xia Douyin,the commander of the 14th Independent Division, also led an anti-communist mutiny. Although the Wuhan government had ordered their suppression, under the protection of warlordHe Jianand other officials, they succeeded in defecting to the Nanjing government, which led to Wuhan losing control of parts of Hubei and most of Hunan.[3]On 29 June, Wuhan garrison commanderLi Pinxianand He Jian openly declared their support for the anti-communist cause, and dispersed the Hankou strikers and their militant forces. As disruption and discord continued at Wuhan, theCommunist International(Comintern) issued a series of orders known as the "May Instructions" on 1 June, which Wang thought would destroy the KMT. Under increasing pressure, Wang decided to break with the communists and the Soviet Union.
Events of 15 July
[edit]On 15 July, Wang Jingwei held a meeting within KMT, during which he formally publicised the content of the "May Instructions" and condemned CCP's decisions, though he maintained the position that non-violent methods should be used to remove the communists from Wuhan. This proposal met with approval from most members; the only one who protested and walked out wasSoong Ching-ling's representativeEugene Chen.In the end, the meeting passed the "Policy of Uniting the Party", a statement that was directed against CCP's declaration, requesting that all the communists within the KMT and the army immediately declare their withdrawal from the CCP or face immediate suspension. Additionally, the Wuhan government sent envoys toMoscowto discuss how to bilaterally guarantee the freedom and safety of the communists who were about to withdraw. After Wang was made aware of the CCP declaration of 13 July, on the following day, in the name of the political committee presidium, he accused the communist party of having "ruined the revolution", and suspended all the communists from the Wuhan government.[4]
Chief Soviet advisor to the Wuhan governmentMikhail Borodinleft Wuhan secretly sometime between 13 and 16 July. Upon hearing of his having left, General He Jian opened fire on Borodin's former headquarters, and martial law was declared. KMT forces loyal to Chiang Kai-shek gradually began to take over the city, and Jian's troops raided leftist strongholds and arrested or killed those who had not fled.[5][6]Soviet military advisorVasily Blyukherescaped an assassination attempt as he left the city for Shanghai, where he bid farewell to Chiang, who allowed him to escape to Russia.[6]By the 18th, Wuhan was awash in anti-communist, anti-Soviet, and anti-Borodin propaganda posters.[7]Although the Wuhan government was purging communists, this did not immediately mean that their confrontation with Chiang Kai-shek had ended, and they persisted in regarding him as "the only enemy to our country and party".[8]
In response to the purge, CCP forces launched theNanchang uprisingagainst the KMT Wuhan government on 1 August, beginning theChinese Civil War,and on the 19th, the Wuhan government reconciled with the Nanjing government.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^《 lý tông nhân hồi ức lục 》, 333 hiệt
- ^Lý thủ trung (2010).Trung quốc nhị bách niên: Tòng mã kiết nhĩ ni phóng hoa đáo đặng tiểu bình nam tuần 1793-1992.Viễn lưu xuất bản. pp. 321–322.ISBN978-957-32-6620-4.
- ^《 trung tô quan hệ sử cương 》 đệ nhị chương tô liên viện trợ hạ đích quốc dân cách mệnh “Ngũ nguyệt chỉ kỳ” dữ quốc cộng phân gia
- ^Quách đình dĩ 《 cận đại trung quốc sử cương 》 ( hạ sách ) đệ thập ngũ chương đệ tam tiết, hương cảng trung văn đại học xuất bản xã 1996 niên bản,ISBN962-201-352-X,562 hiệt.
- ^*Jacobs, Dan N. (1981).Borodin: Stalin's Man in China.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p.284.ISBN0-674-07910-8.
- ^abPakula, Hannah (3 November 2009).The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China.Simon and Schuster. p. 163.ISBN9781439154236.
- ^*Jacobs, Dan N. (1981).Borodin: Stalin's Man in China.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p.285.ISBN0-674-07910-8.
- ^《 tưởng giới thạch tam thứ hạ dã bí lục 》, 76 hiệt
- ^"Nanchang uprsing"(PDF).
