Zhili clique warlord, the "Jade Marshal", who crushed the Beijing–Hankou railway strike and fell to the Northern Expedition
From Shandong, he joined Yuan Shikai's New Army and after Yuan's death in 1916 became a leading commander of the Zhili clique. His victories in the wars of 1920 and 1922 earned him the name "Jade Marshal" and control of the Beijing government. In 1923 he sent troops against the Beijing–Hankou railway strike, killing 35 workers. Brought down by Feng Yuxiang's Beijing Coup in 1924, he recovered with a base in Hunan, Hubei and Henan, but in 1926 the Northern Expedition beat him at Heshengqiao and took Wuchang, and he retired in 1927. He refused to head a Japanese puppet government in North China and died in 1939, reportedly of sepsis.
Also known as: Wu Pei-fu
Activities and affiliations
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1902–1911
Qing dynasty state institutions
Military command -
1916–1927
Beiyang government and warlordsZhili clique commander-in-chiefMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1915Commander of the 6th Brigade
- 1920Commander-in-chief against the Anhui clique
- 1922Wins the First Zhili–Fengtian War and dominates Beijing
- 1923Crushes the Beijing–Hankou railway strike
- 1926Defeated by the Northern Expedition; loses Wuchang
- 1927Retires to Sichuan
Related historical events
- 1911–1916The 1911 Revolution and the birth of the RepublicZhili-clique warlordAfter Yuan Shikai’s death he led the Zhili clique with Cao Kun, took Beijing and crushed railway strikes with executions.
- 1915–1921May Fourth and the founding of the Chinese Communist PartyZhili warlord behind the February Seventh MassacreBanned the Beijing–Hankou railway union and crushed the strikers by force on 7 February 1923.
- 1924–1927The first united front, the Northern Expedition and the catastrophe of 1927Zhili clique warlord, the expedition's first targetBeaten at Tingsiqiao and Heshengqiao in 1926 and lost Wuchang.