Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Tuan Ch'i-jui

Marshal Tuan Chi-jui.

段祺瑞字芝泉

Marshal Tuan Chi-jui was born at He-fei Hsien, Anhui province, in 1864. He graduated from the Tientsin Military Academy in 1885. In 1889 he was sent to Germany where he worked for one year in an arsenal and also studied artillery science. Upon his return to China, he joined Yuan Shih-kai's camp. In 1895 Yuan Shih-kai started to train modern troops at Hsiao-Chan and gave one regiment of artillery units to Marshal Tuan to command. At the same time he was Director of the Military College at Hsiao-Chan. Marshal Tuan was retained by Yuan Shih-kai as a Senior Training Officer of his army the Right Wu-Wei-Chun. He was concurrently Director of the several departments and training halls. During the Boxer Trouble, when Yuan Shih-kai was Governor of Shantung commanding the Right Wu Wei Chun, Marshal Tuan rendered valuable service in assisting him to prevent the Boxer Movements from spreading southward. In 1901 Yuan Shih-kai succeeded Li Hung-chang as Viceroy of Chihli. Beginning from 1902 Yuan Shih-kai devoted full energy to train modern army divisions. At Paotingfu the training headquarters were established consisting of three departments, the Ordnance, the Staffs and the Education. Marshal Tuan was Chief of the Staffs Department. In 1903 two divisions were completely organized. In December that year Mershal Tuan was promoted to be Senior Commandant of the Training Headquarters and was given the brevet rank of Lieutenant General, in 1904. Marshal Tuan was ordered to be concurrently a Brigadier Commander of the third division. In 1905 the Right Wu Wei Chun was reorganized to become the Fourth Division of the Regular Ariny with Marshal Tuan as its Commander-in-Chief. He was Chief Commander of the northern army participating in the First maneuver held at Ho-Chien Fu, Chihli in the autumn of 1905. The London Times paid a very high tribute to the participating units. In February 1906 Marshal Tuan was transferred to be Commander-in-Chief of the Third Army Division holding concurrently the post of Director of the Peiyang Military College. In March 1906 he was appointed Tsung-Ping (Brigade-General) of T'ing Chow Chen, Fukien Province. In 1907 he became Director-General of all the military colleges and also Deputy-Lieutenant General of Chinese Units of the Bordered Yellow Banner Division. (Manchu Military Organization). Marshal Tuan was the Grand Jury of the Imperial Examinations for military students returned from Japan, for three times, namely, 1908, 1909 and 1901. In December 1909 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Sixth Army Division. In December 1910 he was transferred to be the Provincial Commander-in-Chief (ti-Tu) of Kiang-per, the most honored military position un the Ching government. Upon the outbreak of the First Revolution in October 1911, Marshal Tuan was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Second Army Corp to fight against the revolutionary troops. Later, acting upon the instruction of Yuan Shih-kai, then Prime Minister in Peking, Marshal Tuan took the lead in a telegram requesting the Manchu Emperor to abdicate. It was dated January 26, 1912 and February 12, occurred the abdication. Dr. Sun Yat-sen resigned from the Provisional Presidency on the following day and on the 15th the Nanking Provisional Assembly elected Yuan Shih-kai to succeed Dr. Sun. In March 1912 Marshal Tuan was appointed Minister of War and

in September 1912 made a Full General. In October 1912 he was awarded the Order of Merit, and also Second Class Chiaho Decoration. Shortly afterwards he was given the First Class Chiaho. From May to July, 1913 he acted as Prime Minister. In October 1913, upon Vice-President Li Yuan-hung coming to Peking, Marshal Tuan was appointed Tutu, Military Governor, of Hupei, still holding the post of War. In February 1914 he was transferred to be Tutu of Honan and in April 1914 he returned to Peking resuming the War post. In June 1914 he was made Shang Chiang-chun, Marshal, with the “Chien-Wei” as special title and simultaneously appointed to hold concurrently the post of President of the College of Marshals. In the spring of 1917, over the question of War Participation, the President and then Prime Minister Tuan began to quarrel. On March 4th, after an interview with the President in which he requested the Chief Executive to order the Chinese Ministers in Allied countries to negotiate conditions of China's Participation with the respective governments and the request was rejected by the President on the ground that it had to be referred to the Parliament first, Marshal Tuan left for Tientsin. Vice-President Feng Kuo-chang then personally called upon him at Tientsin as a mediator. On March 6, Marshal Tuan returned to Peking, resuming his duty. On May 19, the House of Representatives, which on the previous day had been threatened by a large group of mobs demanding the adoption of the Participation Bill, passed a resolution to defer the discussion of the bill. On the same day the various Tuchuns, who were at Peking attending the Military Conference called by Marshal Tuan, demanded the dissolution of the Parliament. On May 21, they all left Peking in a body. On the 23rd President Li Yuan-hung dismissed Marshal Tuan from the Prime Ministership. On 29th the Tuchuns declared independence of Peking establishing headquarters at Tientsin to oppose the Peking government. On July 14. Marshal Tuan entered Peking, assuming the Prime Ministerships Li Yuan-hung left the Japanese Legation resigning from the Presidency; and Feng Kuo-chang became Acting President. The following day the Marshal was appointed to the Minister of War as a concurrent post. On August 4, 1917 China declared war on Germany and Austro-Hungary. But in the meantime the southern leaders distrusting Marshal Tuan and supporting the dissolved Parliament lined up against the north. On August 25, the Extraordinary Parliament was inaugurated at Canton. It subsequently elected Dr. Sun Yat-sen the Generalissimo of the Opposition government. Marshal Tuan at once laid out plans to challenge the south. But his plans did not work. In November 1917 he resigned from the Premiership and the War post. In December 1917 Marshal Tuan was appointed Director-General of the War Participation Bureau. In March 1918 he was reinstated as Prime Minister. In April he visited the northern troops in Hupei which had recaptured several important cities from the south. In the meantime his followers organized the Anfu Club to run for the election of the New Parliament. The new Legislature was convoked in August 1918 and it elected Hsu Shih-chang President in September. About the same time the commanders of the northern troops in the south started the peace movement, overruling Marshal Tuan's "Unification by Force” policy. Therefore in October 1918, he resigned from the Prime Ministership. In October Marshal Tuan in the Military Conference in which practically all the northern leading militarists attended. In this conference it was decided to end the civil strife, to call an internal peace conference, and to make a stand in the coming World Peace Conference. In July 1919 the War Participation Bureau was abolished and in its place a Frontier Defence Bureau was created with Marshal Tuan still as Director-General. In September 1919 he was awarded the Grand Order of Merit. In July 1920, after the overthrow of the Anfu Club as the result of the Chihli-Anfu War, Marshal Tuan was relieved of the Directorship of the Frontier Defence and also of the Presidency of the College of Marshals. Late in 1924 following the defeat of the Chihli faction by the Anfu-Fengtien party, Marshal Tuan was prevailed upon to accept the Provisional presidency being assured of the support of Marshal Chang Tso-lin and General Feng Yu-hsiang. One of the conditions which Marshal Tuan made for his acceptancy to the position was the calling of a National Reorganization Conference, which met in February 1925, in Peking, for the purpose of reorganizing the government and bringing about a reunification of the country.