Biography in English

Liu Hsiang (1890-22 January 1938), Szechwanese militarist who sporadically held supreme authority in Szechwan in the 1920's and 1930's. Little is known about Liu Hsiang's family background or early years except that he was born in Tayi, Szechwan. He was graduated in 1910 from the Szechwan Short-Term Military Academy, where one of his classmates was Yang Sen (q.v.), and he began his military career in 1912, when he joined the forces of Chang Lan (q.v.). By 1917 Liu had become a brigadier general and a company commander in the Szechwanese forces, and by mid-1918 he had received command of a division. In May 1920 Hsiung K'o-wu (q.v.), the military governor of Szechwan, assumed leadership of the province's military commanders in demanding the evacuation of the Yunnan and Kweichow armies of T'ang Chi-yao (q.v.) from Szechwan. A long and bitter campaign began, and the "guest armies" finally were ejected from the province late that autumn. In December, the provincial military leaders declared Szechwan independent and autonomous, and Hsiung K'o-wu resigned the governorship. Liu Hsiang, who had been serving as commander of the Second Army, was elected commander in chief of all Szechwan armies at a rehabilitation conference. Yang Sen succeeded Liu as commander of the Second Army.

Liu Hsiang did not move quickly to consolidate control of Szechwan; rather, he allowed several militarists to retain jurisdiction over the areas they already dominated. This failure to act increased the already strong potential for civil strife in the province. In May 1921 Liu took action against Hsiung K'o-wu, forcing him to flee the province, and in July he assumed office as civil governor of Szechwan. Soon afterwards, he sent forces into western Hupeh in support of that province's drive for autonomy. However, this move was opposed by Wu P'ei-fu (q.v.), a more powerful warlord than Liu, and the Szechwan forces were defeated near Ichang in September. The campaign ended in October when Wu P'ei-fu, Chao Heng-t'i (q.v.), and Liu Hsiang made a peace agreement on the basis of the territorial status quo. The Szechwan forces returned home in November.

Civil war continued to threaten in Szechwan, and in May 1922 Liu Hsiang announced that he was resigning in favor of Wang Ling-chi. This announcement proved to be a smokescreen for his intended campaign against the commander of the First Army, Tan Mou-hsin. At the beginning ofJuly, Yang Sen's Second Army attacked Tan. In response, a coalition was formed which was headed by Liu Ch'eng-hsun and which included Tan Mou-hsin, Teng Hsi-hou, Lai Hsin-hui, T'ien Sung-yao, and Liu Pin. In mid-July their armies advanced on the Liu Hsian^-Yang Sen strongholds of Chungking and Luchow. By August, Liu and Yang had been driven out of Szechwan. They went to Hupeh, where Yang entered the service of ^ u P'ei-fu, reorganized his remnant forces as a mixed brigade, and established headquarters at Ichang. Liu Hsiang served as his director of reorganization.

Liu and Yang did not have to wait long for an opportunity to return to Szechwan. Early in February 1923 strife developed between Liu Ch'eng-hsun, who had become civil governor of Szechwan, and Teng Hsi-hou. A week later, Yang and Liu, with the support of W u P'ei-fu's forces, advanced into eastern Szechwan. The attackers made rapid progress, forcing Tan Mou-hsin out of Chungking in April. Tan called Yunnan and Kweichow forces to his aid, and Hsiung K'o-wu returned to Szechwan and occupied Chengtu in May and Chungking in October. Yang and Liu, now reinforced by Yuan Tsu-ming, recaptured Chungking in December 1923 and Chengtu in February 1924. Hsiung K'o-wu was driven into Kweichow. Soon afterwards, Liu Ts'unhou, who had been military governor of Szechwan in 1917, resumed office.

In May 1924 Ts'ao K'un (q.v.), who then held the presidency at Peking, reorganized the Szechwan power structure. He abolished the military governorship and made Liu Ts'un-hou Szechwan-Shensi border defense commissioner. Liu Hsiang, who had been serving as pacification commissioner of Szechwan since July 1923, was made a full general and was given the post of Szechwan-Yunnan border defense commissioner. Yang Sen became Szechwan military rehabilitation commissioner. Yang's protector, Wu P'ei-fu, fell from power in Peking late in 1924, and in the spring of 1925 Liu Hsiang took steps to diminish Yang's power in Szechwan. In March, Liu's uncle Liu Wen-hui (q.v.), supported by Teng Hsi-hou and Lai Hsin-hui, clashed with Yang Sen. In May, Tuan Ch'i-jui (q.v.), then the chief executive at Peking, ordered Liu Hsiang to investigate and stabilize the Szechwan military situation. Liu recommended that Yang Sen be transferred to I Peking, and in mid-May he was appointed to succeed Yang as military rehabilitation commissioner. Yang resisted the proposed transfer of authority and undertook peace negotiations. When these broke down in mid- July, the anti-Yang forces organized an army under the over-all command of Yuan Tsu-ming and drove Yang from Szechwan. Liu Hsiang convened a conference in Chengtu in December at which it was decided that he should be tuchtin [military governor] of Szechwan, with Liu Wen-hui as his deputy.

In February 1 926 Liu Hsiang was confronted by the new alliance of Teng Hsi-hou and Yuan Tsu-ming, who supported the return of Yang Sen to Szechwan. Heavy fighting began in March and ended soon afterwards when Liu agreed to Yang's return to power. In May, Wu P'ei-fu, who had consolidated control in central China, appointed Yang Sen civil governor of Szechwan, with Teng Hsi-hou as tuchtin and Yuan Tsu-ming as Szechwan- Kweichow border defense commissioner. In the autumn of 1926 Liu Hsiang declared allegiance to the Nationalists, and in the spring of 1927 he and Yang Sen sided with Chiang Kai-shek against the Nationalist regime at Wuhan. He was appointed commander in chief of the Fifth Route Army in June, with Yang as field commander. After Chiang Kaishek went into retirement later in 1927, Liu and Yang received command of the Sixth and Twentieth armies, respectively. When Chiang resumed office in January 1928, he ordered Liu Wen-hui and Liu Hsiang to take command of Yang Sen's forces.

In October 1928, the Northern Expedition having ended and a new National Government having been established at Nanking, Liu Wenhui Was appointed governor of Szechwan, with Liu Hsiang as a member of the provincial government and chairman of a Szechwan- Sikang military reorganization group that included Yang Sen (who had been restored as commander of the Twentieth Army), Teng Hsihou, Liu Ts'un-hou, T'ien Sung-yao, Lai Hsinhui, and Kuo Ju-tung. On 20 December, Yang Sen and others issued a public telegram denouncing Liu Hsiang and Liu Wen-hui which was, in effect, a declaration of war. The first battle was fought by the forces of Liu Hsiang and Yang Sen. A few days later Liu requested that the National Government take action against Yang, Lai Hsin-hui, and Lo Tse-chou. At the end of December, when the war was going badly for the two Lius, the situation was saved for them by the defection of Kuo Ju-tung to their side. Yang Sen was forced to evacuate his Wanhsien stronghold, and in mid-January 1929 he was dismissed from his offices by the National Government.

A long struggle between Liu Hsiang and Liu Wen-hui soon began. Late in 1932 Liu Hsiang, with the support of Yang Sen and Teng Hsi-hou, began a strong drive to win control of Szechwan. He was appointed commander in chief for bandit-suppression in Szechwan in July 1933, but he did not assume this post until October, by which time Liu ^Ven-hui had been driven into Sikang. In 1934 Liu Hsiang assumed office as governor of Szechwan. That November, he made his first trip outside Szechwan in an attempt to get aid from Chiang Kai-skek. In his capacity as bandit-suppression commissioner, Liu was faced With combatting the activities of Communist units, especially those of Hsü Hsiang-ch'ien (q.v.). He forced Hsü to retreat into the Szechwan-Hupeh border region, but Hsü returned to Szechwan in February 1935 with a stronger force. At the same time, Chinese Communist forces on the Long March were approaching Szechwan from the south. Liu Hsiang was given the concurrent posts of peace preservation commissioner for Szechwan. Thanks to his efforts and those of Teng Hsi-hou, Szechwan weathered the critical year 1935, with the Chinese Communist forces passing on to the north.

The National Government had used the socalled bandit-suppression campaign of 1935 as an occasion for endeavoring to strengthen its influence in the loosely controlled provinces of west China, including Szechwan. Liu Hsiang, however, was less than willing to cooperate in the diminishing of his authority, although he accepted Nanking's commissions and assistance in overcoming local enemies. Because of other conflicts, the National Government was not in a position to force the issue until 1937. By that time, Liu Hsiang, having eliminated so many of his Szechwan rivals, lacked the means and local support to resist Nanking's pressures. Moreover, his province was in financial straits. Accordingly, agreement was reached for the "rehabilitation" of Szechwan in June 1937. The agreement provided for the withdrawal of Szechwan forces from their commanding positions at Ichang, Wanhsien, and Chungking, reorganization of these forces as Nationalist units, transfer to the National Government of "the training of the people," reorganization of provincial taxes, and the construction and control of highways by the National Government. Ho Ying-ch'in q.v.) was appointed chairman of the Szechwan-Sikang military rehabilitation commission, with Liu Hsiang as vice chairman. The first meeting of the commission was held at Chiang Kai-shek's provisional headquarters at Chungking on 7 July 1937, the day the Sino- Japanese war broke out. Because of the war, the commission held its closing session on 9 July, reaching the decision (authorized by Nanking) that no large-scale disbandment of Szechwan- Sikang forces should be undertaken at that time. Only old and unfit troops should be weeded out of the armies. Ho Ying-ch'in found it necessary to return to Nanking because of the national emergency, but he left Ku Chu-t'ung (q.v.) in Szechwan to work with Liu Hsiang in nationalizing the Szechwan-Sikang forces. Liu was made a member of the State Council, the Military Affairs Commission, and the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee. Liu Hsiang led the Szechwan forces during the defense of Nanking against the Japanese. With the retreat from that sector in December 1937, he entered a hospital at Hankow. He died on 22 January 1938, and the National Government proceeded with actions designed to bring Szechwan fully under its authority as a wartime territorial base.

Biography in Chinese

刘湘

字:甫澄

刘湘(1390—1938.1.22),四川军人,二十年代、三十年代中,在四川断断续续地拥有最高权势。

刘湘的家世和他早年情况不详,只知道他出生在四川大邑,1910年毕业于四川陆军速成学堂,同学中有杨森,1912年后从军,参加张澜的部队。1917年成了一名准将,1918年中升为师长。

1920年5月,四川督军熊克武任川军总司令,要唐继尧的滇黔军撤出四川,经长期艰难战斗,“客军”于是年秋被逐,12月,四川军界领袖宣布独立自治,熊克武辞去省长职,第二军军长刘湘在善后会议上被选为川军总司令,杨森继刘湘任第二军军长。刘湘并不立即采取行动巩固自己对四川的控制,相反,他却让一些军阀继续管辖原先支配的地区。这种迟迟不采取行动的情况助长了省内争权夺利的斗争。1921年5月,刘湘反熊克武,熊逃走,7月,刘湘任省长,不久,又派军队进鄂西支持湖北独立,但为有力的军阀吴佩孚所反对,9月刘部在宜昌为吴部所败。10月,战争结束,吴佩孚、赵恒惕、刘湘议和,各自保持原状,11月川军撤回。

1922年5月,四川内战危机又起,刘湘辞职,举王陵基为省长,此举不过是意在袭击第一军但懋辛的烟幕。7月初,杨森的第二军攻但懋辛。以刘成勋为首组成包括但懋辛、邓锡侯、赖心辉、田颂尧、刘斌等人的联军进行反击,7月中旬,联军进入刘、杨的据点重庆和沪州,8月,把他们逐出四川,刘、杨到湖北,杨森投奔吴佩孚,收集残军改編为一个混合旅,设司令部于宜昌,刘任编遣主任。

不久,刘、杨又获得返川机会,1923年2月初,四川省长刘成勋和邓锡侯相争,一周后,刘、杨由吴佩孚的军队支持进入川东,他们进展迅速,于4月间迫使但懋辛离开重庆,但懋辛求援于滇黔军,熊克武回川,5月占成都,10月占重庆。刘、杨又由袁祖铭支援,于1923年12月再占重庆,1924年2月再占
成都,把熊克武赴到贵州,不久,1917年曾任四川督军的刘存厚恢复原职。

1924年5月,北京总统曹锟改组四川权力结构,取消督军,任刘存厚为
川陕边防督办,自1923年7月起担任四川绥靖公署督办的刘湘被授予上将衔并担任川滇边防督办,杨森被任命为四川军务善后督办。1924年底杨森的后台吴佩孚再北京倒台,1925年春刘湘即着手消灭杨森在四川的势力。3月,刘湘的叔父刘文辉由邓锡候、赖心辉支援与杨森开战。5月,北京执政段祺瑞命令刘湘调査并稳定四川局势,刘湘推举杨森去北京任职,5月中旬,刘湘继杨森任四用军务善后督办。杨森拒不接受调迁并与刘进行和平谈判,谈判未果,7月中旬,反杨各部由袁祖铭统率逐走杨森,12月,刘湘在成都召集会议,决定刘湘为四川督军,以刘文辉为副手。

1926年2月,邓锡候、袁祖铭联合支持杨森回川,3月,双方开战,不久刘湘同意杨森回川而结束战争。5月,吴佩孚势力又控制了华中,任杨森为四川省长,邓锡候为督军,袁祖铭为川黔边防督办。

1926年秋,刘湘宣布忠于国民党,1927年春,刘湘、杨森支持蒋介石反对武汉政府,6月,任刘湘为第五路军司令,杨森为前线指挥。1927年底,蒋介石辞职,刘湘任第六军军长,杨森任第二十军军长。1928年1月,蒋介石复职,下令刘文辉,刘湘接管杨森所率的部队。

1928年10月北伐结束,新政府在南京成立,刘文辉任四川省长,刘湘任省政府委员,同时任川康整编军队委员会主席,该委员会有杨森(此时已重任二十军军长)、邓锡侯、刘存厚、田颂尧、赖心辉、顾祝同等人。12月20日,杨森等通电谴责刘湘、刘文辉,事实上即对他们宣战,刘湘、杨森之间首先开战,几天后,国民政府应刘湘之请对杨、赖心辉、罗泽洲采取行动,12月底,战局对二刘不利,后因顾祝同倒戈而有转机,杨森披迫撤出万县;1929年1月中旬国民政府解除其职务。

二刘间长期内战接着就开始了,1932年末刘湘由杨森、邓锡候协助控制了四川,1933年7月,他就任四川省剿匪总司令,但直到10月才就任,那时刘文辉已被驱赶到西康去了。1934年,刘湘任四川省主席,11月,他第一次出省去请求蒋介石给以支援。

刘湘作为剿匪司令,他面对共产党部队的活动,尤其是徐向前的部队。他曾一度迫使徐向前撤离川鄂边区,但1935年2月,徐又率领了更强大的部队回到四川。那时,中国共产党的长征部队从南边逼近四川。刘湘当时兼任四川绥靖公署主任,由于他和邓锡候的努力,共产党军队途经四川北上时,四川得以度过1935年这个困难的年头。

国民政府利用所谓剿匪企图加强其对四川等各省的控制,刘湘虽然接受了国员政府的委任并得到援助,以制服内部敌手,但却很不愿意因此减弱本身的权力。国民政府由于还存在着其他的纠纷,1937年前还不能对四川施加压力。当时,刘湘已消灭了省内的众多敌手,这样,他也就得不到当地人的支持来与南京抗衡了,而且,那时的四川在财政上又有困难。1937年6月,就有关四川“善后”事宜双方达成协议,其内容有川军撤出宜昌、万县、重庆等要地,改编川军为国军,将“调练民众”之责转归国民政府,改革省内税则,由国民政府负责修建和管理公路。

何应钦被任命为川康整军会议主席,以刘湘为付主席,第一次会仪于1937年7月7日在重庆蒋介石行营召开,中日战争恰在那天爆发。由于战争关系,会议于7月9日结束,作出了由南京批准的决定,对川康部队暂不作大规模编遣,只有老弱不适宜作战的部队才予以淘汰。何应钦因国难当前,即回南京,把改编川康部队为国军的工作交给了顾祝同。刘湘被任命为国府委员、军事委员会委员和国民党中央执行委员。

刘湘率川军参加保卫南京,1937年12月撤离南京后,他在汉口进了医院,1938年1月22日死去,国民政府即采取行动,控制全川,准备作为战时后方基地之用。

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