Feng Yuxiang and Residual Warlordism in Early Nationalist China

This article explores Feng Yuxiang’s relationship to the central government at Nanjing in order to analyze the concept of “residual warlordism” in the early Nationalist period. As a former warlord turned Nationalist military commander, Feng pursued the contradictory goals of protecting his military and political autonomy while also supporting the authority of the Nanjing government, which reveals the central problem that residual warlords faced after 1928. Feng’s diary provides evidence of this difficult situation, with insights into how he understood his new position after 1928, how certain issues complicated his relationship to the central government, and how he justified his decision to break with Chiang Kai-shek. In analyzing Feng’s decision to revolt against Chiang Kai-shek in 1929, this article illustrates the difficulty of reconciling the contradictory impulses inherent in the residual warlordism of the Nanjing Decade.