Chinese Civil War Who's Who

Dai Li

• Jiang Jie Shi’s spymaster and political enforcer

• controlled 50,000 agents in Chinas and a network of spies and informants, including those in overseas Chinese communities

• the Juntong 军统 became one of the most feared intelligence organisations

• he was considered by many to be the “most feared man in China”

Song Ailing

• eldest Song sister, married to H. H. Kung, the wealthiest man in China and the finance minister for the GMD

Song Mei Ling

• married Jiang Jie Shi

• later known as “Madame Chiang” and Jiang’s partner in power

• China’s most visible ambassador during World War II, and significantly toured the US to gather public support

Song Qing Ling

• married Sun Zhong Shan, who was significantly older than her

• She broke with her family to support the communists during the civil war

Bo Gu and Otto Braun (Li De)

• Cominterm backed communist leaders from Shanghai

• they implemented land policies similar to those in Stalinist Russia in the Jiangxi Soviet, where redistribution was controlled by the party center, more closely monitored, and conducted more ruthlessly

• they condemned Mao’s land policies as too moderate and bourgeois

• when under attack from Nationalists, they initiated more determined frontal assaults on Nationalist positions as opposed to Mao’s Guerilla warfare

New Leadership after Zun Yi conference

Mao Zedong, Zhou En Lai, Zhu de

Hans von Seeckt

an official German military advisor to Jiang Jieshi from 1933 to 1935 and devised the Encirclement Campaign strategy.

Sun Zhong Shan

• leader of the 1911 Xinhai revolution

• elected provisional president

• quickly stepped aside in favor of Yuan Shikai, as he was unable to unify China without the Beiyang army

• exiled from China in 1913

Yuan Shi Kai

• became president of China and quickly proclaimed himself emperor, outlawing Sun Zhong Shan

Beiyang government

members of Yuan’s Bei Yang army set up governance, but China was mostly ruled by regional strongmen and warlords.

Sun’s Three Principles

民主 – nationalism, strong and united China to end foreign exploitation

民权 – democracy after brief period of dictatorship

民生 – economic security for all (socialism)

Chiang Kai Shek

• founding member of GMD in 1912

• developed close ties with underworld Green Gang led by “Big Ears” Du

• Sun’s trusted aid and protector, courted Sun’s sister in law Song Mei Ling

Chen Du Xiu and Li Da Zhao

founders of CCP

Zhou En Lai

• recruited for CCP while in Europe

• later the political commissar of Whampoa

Mao Ze Dong

• born to a prosperous peasant family in Hunan

• strict upbringing and arranged marriage made him turn against traditional confucian ways

• led Hunan branch of CCP and was director of propaganda and then head of Peasant training institute

• re-interpreted communism with peasants as its foundation

Mikhail Borodin

• in charge of organising and training the GMD

• Soviet tactics such as propaganda, military and civilian training, land reform

Zhang Zuo Lin

• warlord in control of Manchuria in the Fengtian clique

• assassinated by Japanese agents, who hoped his son Zhang Xue Liang would be compliant

Zhang Xue Liang

• son of Zhang Zuo Lin

• pledged loyalty to Jiang Jie Shi instead of Japanese agents after his father’s assassination

• from Manchuria

• eventually arrested Jiang in 1936 and forced him to cooperate with the CCP to confront Japanin a second united front

Wu Pei Fu

• Jade Marshal, led the Zhi Li clique

• Held control of Central China

• his protege Sun Chuan fang controlled Eastern China

Duan Qirui

• leader of Anhui Clique

Yan Xishan

• leader of Shanxi clique

• often swung between sides depending on factions

• eventually sided with Jiang

Feng Yu Xiang

• “Christian Warlord”

• frequently changed sides

• eventually allied witih Jiang