Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Ch'en Chiung-ming

General Ch'en Chiung-ming

陳炯明字號存

General Ch'en Chiung-ming was born at Haifeng Hsien, Kuangtung Province, in 1875. He received a thorough education in Chinese and obtained while still a young man the literary degree of Chu-j'en, Provincial Graduate, through the Competitive Examination in the Ching Regime. General Ch'en attended the Government Law School of Kuangtung and was a member of the Provincial Council of Kuangtung representing Haifeng Hsien when the Ching Dynasty inaugurated the first item of constitutional government in China in its last days. Upon the outbreak of the Revolution in October 1911, at Wuchang, General Ch'en echoed at Huichow, Kuangtung, by getting hold of the Garrison troops stationing there and declaring independence, therefore the whole Province of Kuangtung was won over by revolutionists. Hu Han-ming was elected Tutuh and General Ch'en Chiung-ming Assistant Tutuh, of Kuangtung. In January 1912 Dr. Sun Yat-sen was elected president of the Provisional government in Nanking and Hu Han-ming left the position of Tutuh to become chief secretary to the President. Ch'en Chiung-ming became Acting Tutuh. In July 1912 Hu Han-ming returned to Canton and was elected Tutuh of Kuangtung. General Ch'en was entrusted with the work of reorganizing the troops and in December 1912 he was appointed by the Peking government the Hu-Chun-Shih, or Director of Military Affairs, of Kuangtung under the Tutuh. In June 1913 Hu Han-ming was appointed Pacification Commissioner to Tibet and General Ch'en succeeded his as Tutuh of Kuangtung. In July 1913 General Ch'en declared independence in Kuangtung in response to the Second Revolution in defiance of Yuan Shih-klai. In August 1913 General Ch'en fled from Canton when the Revolution had proved a failure and the Peking government had appointed General Lung Chi-kuang to the post of Tutuh of Kuangtung. General Ch'en stayed in the South Sea Islands for several years. General Ch'en returned to Canton in 1915 when Yuan Shih-kai had launched his monarchical movement. He participated in the several attempts to recover Kuomingtang's power in Kuangtung. In June 1917 the First Parliament was for the second time dissolved in Peking. Kuangtung and Kuangsi immediately declared independence. General Ch'en accompanied Dr. Sun Yat-sen to Canton when the latter commenced his constitutional struggle against Peking. A new government in which Sun Yat-sen, Tang Shao-i and Wu Ting-fang took the leading role, was formed there. The ex-Parliamentarians proceeded to Canton and in August 1917 the Extraordinary Parliament was inaugurated. In May 1918 a military government of seven directors, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, late Dr. Wu Ting-fang, Admiral Ling Pao-h’si. T’sen Chun-hsuan, Tang. Shao-i, General Lu Yung-ting and General Tang Chi-yao-was establish at Canton. General Ch'en was given the portfolio of War. Subsequently he was ordered to lead an expeditionary force to Fukien in order to assist the Fukien Constitutionalists to be independent of Peking, but he only reached Changchow, Fukien, remaining in his occupied territory until the summer of 1920. At one time most of the Southern and South-Western Provinces were in revolt against Peking, and in sympathy with Canton. Soon, however, quarrels occurred among the Southern leaders. In the spring of 1920 Sun Yat-sen and his associates were ousted from power by the Kuangsi faction under General Lu Yung-ting, and his nominee, Mo Jung-hsin, assumed control of Kuangtung. In summer of 1920 General Ch'en received Sun Yat-sen's order from Shanghai to send his forces to wedge an attack on Kuangtung to oust the Kuangsi regime. General Ch'on arrived at Canton early in November 1920, after General Mo Jung-hsin had cleared the way for him. In December 1920 Sun Yat-sen, and his associates returned to Canton again. In April 1921 Sun Yat-sen was elected by the Extraordinary Parliament the President of China. General Ch'en was appointed Civil Governor of Kuangtung and concurrently Commander-in-Chief of the Kuangtung Troops. Subsequently General Ch'en personally led the Cantonese expedition against the Kuangsi militarists. In August 1921, he disarmed the best equipped soldiers in Kuangsi and refused to assume any military or civil office in that province and returned to Canton, leaving the province of Kuangsi to Kuangsi people. During the winter 1921-22 a military and political coalition, with General Chang Tso-lin as the leader, was formed. All of the forces under Sun Yat-sen in Kuangtung and Kuangsi, with the exception of the three Kuangtung Divisions under General Ch'en Chiungming, were for this movement. Dr. Sun personally led his forces to Kueilin, the capital of Kuangsi, during the winter. In February 1922 a step was made in the direction of the north. To this General Wu Pei-fu paid no attention thus Dr. Sun failed to attain his object of dividing Wu's strength and attacking him on many sides.

In the meanwhile in Canton city General Ch’en Chiung-ming was obstinately withholding his support. Early in 1922, Dr. Sun seeing his positions hopeless abandoned Kuangsi and retreated into Kuangtung. His troops took up a new position at Shaochow on the North River, thence menacing the province of Kiangsi, while Dr. Sun himself returned to Canton to force General Ch'en to give him support. This led directly to a breach of relations. In April 1922 General Ch'en was removed from the posts of Civil Governor and the Commander-in-Chief. He at once took his troops to Waichow. Dr. Sun took command in Canton, attempting to direct an advance through Kiangsi. In the meantime Wu Pei-fu had won the war in the north with Chang Tso-lin badly defeated. His northern units were released for the defence of Kiangsi before Dr. Sun could have made any headway in that province. Sun's power thus declined rapidly and he was eventually driven from Canton by General Ch'en's commanders in August 1922. In September 1922 General Ch'en assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief in Canton. In February 1923 the Kuomingtang generals became active in Kuangtung again. General Ch'en was finally overrun by them and obliged to return to his stronghold at Waichow. Canton once again went to the hands of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Since the begining of the summer 1923, the Kuangsi generals made a fresh attack upon Sun Yat-sen. General Ch'en desiring to take advantage of this opportunity to take revenge, sided with the Kiangsi forces by attacking Sun Yatsen from Waichow. However the Kiangsi forces were not successful. Since July 1923 the city of Waichow has been besiged by Dr. Sun Yat-sen's forces.