Chapter 23: Reassessing Chen Jiongming: Opposing Sun Yat-sen’s Northern Expedition, Provincial Federalism, Gradual Unification

Chen Jiongming (1878–1933), a native of Haifeng, Guangdong, advocated first establishing democratic constitutional governance in Guangdong, modeled on the United States, and building a federal democratic state. He proposed beginning with provincial autonomy and gradually moving toward peaceful national unification. Sun Yat-sen, by contrast, insisted on launching a military Northern Expedition to seize power for himself. Whether the Nationalists or the Communists, both sought to monopolize power and impose dictatorship, and therefore branded Chen Jiongming a “traitor.”

I. Following Liang Qichao’s Ideas of “Constitutional Autonomy” and “Federal Provincial Autonomy”

Chen Jiongming was the Guangdong leader who put into practice Liang Qichao’s earlier proposal of “federal provincial autonomy.” During his administration of Guangdong from 1920 to 1923, he sought to build Guangdong into a model province and to unite twelve southwestern and southern provinces into a federal autonomous government, thereby transforming China. His grand plan was thwarted by the Soviet-supported Nationalist–Communist alliance and the launching of the Northern Expedition. Nevertheless, his advocacy of “constitutional autonomy” left China with a precious political legacy.

II. Orphaned at Three, Xiucai at Twenty-One, Top Graduate in Law and Politics

Chen Jiongming was born in 1878 in Haifeng County, Guangdong. He lost his father at the age of three and grew up in poverty. At twenty-one he passed the imperial examination and became a xiucai. In 1906 he enrolled in the Guangdong Law and Political Academy for two years and graduated at the age of thirty as the top student. After graduation he returned to his hometown to promote local self-government, established the Haifeng Local Autonomy Association and an anti-opium bureau, and founded the Haifeng Autonomy Gazette.

In 1909, at the age of thirty-one, Chen was elected a member of the Guangdong Provincial Consultative Council, where he successively proposed social reform bills such as the “Proposal to Eliminate Abuses in Government Offices,” the “Proposal for Urban and Rural Local Self-Government,” and the “Proposal to Prohibit All Gambling.”

III. Huanghuagang Uprising: Leader of a Suicide Squad

In March 1911, during the Guangzhou Huanghuagang Uprising, Chen Jiongming served as captain of the fourth suicide squad. He secretly participated in the uprising while, in his capacity as a council member, protecting the preparatory work of the revolutionaries. After the uprising failed, Chen fled to Hong Kong, obtained overseas Chinese funding, and organized local armed forces in Haifeng.

After the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, Chen led his troops to occupy Huizhou, then entered Guangzhou and persuaded Qing general Long Jiguang to surrender his forces for unified command. When the Guangdong Military Government was established, Chen was elected deputy military governor and soon became acting military governor.

IV. Minnan New Policies, Governor of Guangdong, Inviting Sun Yat-sen Back to Guangzhou

In 1913, after Nationalist leader Song Jiaoren was assassinated, Sun Yat-sen launched a war against Yuan Shikai. Long Jiguang sided with Yuan and defeated Chen Jiongming. Chen fled to Hong Kong, then traveled to Singapore and France for study and observation.

In 1916 Chen secretly returned to eastern Guangdong and organized the Guangdong Republican Army to oppose Yuan Shikai’s attempt to restore monarchy. In 1917 he led his forces back into Guangzhou and was awarded the title “General Dingwei” by President Li Yuanhong. Chen also supported Sun Yat-sen and was soon dispatched by Sun to Fujian. Chen occupied Tingzhou, Zhangzhou, and Longyan, establishing the “Minnan Constitutional Protection Zone.” He built roads, set up a munitions factory in Shanwei, and implemented new policies in southern Fujian for more than two years.

In November 1920 Chen returned to Guangzhou, assumed the governorship of Guangdong, and took full control of military and civil affairs. He was warmly welcomed by the public, received generous donations, and overseas Chinese donated twelve airplanes. Chen invited Sun Yat-sen to return to Guangdong, and Sun soon returned from Shanghai to Guangzhou.

V. Opposing Sun Yat-sen’s Illegal Assumption of the Presidency

In March 1921, Sun Yat-sen convened an extraordinary session of a portion of the parliament and had himself elected “Extraordinary President.” Chen Jiongming opposed this move, arguing that under the law the president must be elected by a joint session of both houses of parliament, with at least two-thirds attendance—about 580 members—whereas only slightly more than 200 members were present in Guangzhou. Was this not the destruction of the law itself? How could one still speak of “protecting the constitution”? How was this different from the constitutional violations of the northern government? The inevitable result would be renewed war between north and south.

Chen refused to attend Sun’s presidential inauguration, greatly angering Sun. However, Sun lacked real power at the time and still depended heavily on Chen.

VI. Chen Advocates Guangxi Autonomy; Sun Orders Chen to Join the Northern Expedition

In June 1921, Chen was appointed commander-in-chief and led forces to repel Guangxi troops advancing into Guangdong, then counterattacked and entered Nanning. He planned to help Guangxi emulate Guangdong’s local autonomy by establishing provincial assemblies and local governments. Sun, however, ordered Chen to return his troops for the Northern Expedition and demanded that Chen raise five million yuan for expeditionary funds.

VII. Sun Orders the Assassination of Chen’s Chief of Staff

On March 21, 1922, Deng Keng, chief of staff of Chen Jiongming’s Guangdong Army, was assassinated upon returning to Guangzhou from Hong Kong. The assassination was carried out by Nationalists sent by Sun Yat-sen. Deng Keng’s death greatly widened the rift between Sun and Chen.

VIII. Chen Refuses the Northern Expedition; Sun Removes Him as Governor

In April 1922, Chen refused to go to Wuzhou, Guangxi, to discuss the Northern Expedition with Sun, believing Guangdong lacked the strength to confront the north. Sun then ordered Chen’s removal as governor of Guangdong and commander-in-chief. Chen retired to Huizhou.

In May 1922, Ye Ju, a subordinate of Chen, led more than sixty battalions of Guangdong troops into Guangzhou under the banner of restoring Chen to office. Moderate officers urged Chen to return immediately, while hardliners believed Chen had been too soft on Sun and insisted Sun must first be expelled. Telegrams urging Chen’s return flooded in, envoys traveled incessantly to Huizhou, and even Chen Duxiu went there, urging Chen to join the Communist Party and lead the South China revolution.

IX. Sun Breaks His Promise to Resign

On June 2, 1922, President Xu Shichang in Beijing announced his resignation. Sun Yat-sen had repeatedly declared that he too would step down once Xu resigned, opening the door to ending civil war and achieving peaceful unification. On June 3, more than 200 prominent figures including Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi jointly telegraphed Sun, urging him to honor his promise. Sun refused, deeply disappointing all sectors of society and exposing his attachment to power. On the same day, Ye Ju declared martial law in Guangzhou.

X. Chen’s Forces Attack the Presidential Palace; Sun Flees to a Warship and Bombards Civilians

On the night of June 15, 1922, senior Guangdong officers met urgently and decided to launch a coup to force Sun Yat-sen from office. From Huizhou, Chen Jiongming sent a personal letter urging restraint, but Ye Ju threw it to the ground, saying the moment could no longer be delayed.

In the early hours of June 16, Ye Ju first telephoned Sun, urging him to flee, not wishing to capture him. After Sun left the palace, Guangdong troops surrounded it and demanded surrender. When this failed, they fired three warning shots from crude artillery.

Sun boarded the warship Yongfeng and declared war on the rebels. He personally directed the artillery and even operated the guns himself, indiscriminately shelling Guangzhou and killing more than a hundred innocent civilians. This event is known as the “June 16 Incident.”

Sun then retreated to Shanghai. In August, Chen Jiongming returned to Guangzhou and resumed governance.

XI. Sun Allies with Yunnan and Guangxi Warlords; Chen Withdraws to Huizhou

In January 1923, Sun issued a telegram denouncing Chen and bought the support of Yunnan and Guangxi troops as well as pro-Sun Guangdong forces under Xu Chongzhi to attack Chen. On January 15 Chen announced his resignation and withdrew to Huizhou. Sun returned to Guangzhou in February.

From May onward, Sun besieged Huizhou. Chen’s forces held out. In October Chen counterattacked to the outskirts of Guangzhou, resulting in a stalemate. During the 1924 Guangzhou Merchant Corps Incident, public opinion hoped Chen’s forces would return to expel Sun, but Sun’s Soviet-backed military superiority eventually forced Chen’s troops back to Huizhou.

XII. Sun Brutally Suppresses the Merchant Corps; Chen Unable to Save Them

The October 1924 Guangzhou massacre was a brutal act by Sun Yat-sen’s authoritarian government against the city’s merchants and civilians. After regaining power in 1923, Sun expanded taxation, legalized gambling, imposed heavy levies and fines, introduced miscellaneous taxes, and tolerated gang extortion. Overburdened merchants launched strikes and shutdowns.

Since the 1911 Revolution, instability had led merchants to form self-defense corps. In May 1924 the Merchant Corps imported 9,600 firearms, which Sun ordered confiscated. When they petitioned for their return, Sun falsely accused them of plotting rebellion, ordered the arrest of their leader Chen Lianbo, and attacked Foshan. Martial law spread across Guangdong.

In October, with Soviet arms arriving, Sun ordered a full-scale suppression. Armored vehicles, artillery, aircraft strafing, arson, looting, and mass killings followed. More than 2,000 shops were looted and burned, over 1,800 civilians were killed, and Guangzhou burned for days.

XIII. Sun Celebrates Victory; Chen Powerless

While Sun celebrated victory, rumors spread that Chen was marching on Guangzhou, reflecting popular hope rather than reality. Chen remained isolated in Huizhou.

Sun’s October 15 massacre surpassed even the 1989 Beijing massacre in brutality. The U.S. consul remarked that Guangzhou’s citizens were “stunned and terrified by Sun Yat-sen’s cruelty.”

XIV. Chiang Kai-shek’s Eastern Campaign; Guangdong Army Collapses

In 1925 Chiang Kai-shek launched two eastern campaigns against Huizhou, defeating Chen’s forces. Chen fled to Hong Kong.

XV. Three Years of Reform in Guangdong

During three years in power, Chen implemented judicial independence, abolished gambling and opium, reduced bureaucracy and military forces, drafted a provincial constitution, founded China’s first modern city—Guangzhou—and promoted infrastructure and industry.

XVI. Emphasis on Education; Appointing Chen Duxiu

Chen prioritized education, appointing Chen Duxiu as head of provincial education, increasing education spending to 10% of revenue, promoting coeducation, workers’ night schools, women’s education, and overseas study.

XVII. Japan Courts Chen; Chen Demands Return of Manchuria

After the 1931 Mukden Incident, Japan tried to enlist Chen, who instead demanded the return of the three northeastern provinces. He rejected an 80,000-yuan bribe.

XVIII. Death in Poverty and Illness at Fifty-Five

Chen Jiongming died in poverty and illness in Hong Kong in 1933, aged fifty-five.

XIX. Moral Integrity and Courage, a National Model

Shenbao wrote: “Chen was resolute and courageous, taciturn, and of exemplary private morality.”

Zhang Taiyan praised him as “morally incorruptible beyond his peers.”

Sun Yat-sen admitted Chen “did not pursue women, comfort, or luxury, but lived frugally.”

Kung Sheung Daily News concluded: “The Nationalist Party lost an enemy; China lost a good man.”