Bie Tingfang
Encyclopedia
Bie Tingfang was a Lieutenant-General in the National Revolutionary Army
of China.
, Nanyang, Henan
in 1883. After numerous persecutions by the local landlords, Bie was forced into joining one of the gangs of bandits. Unlike other bandits, Bie Tingfang had a great ambition and used this opportunity to his advantage by becoming a local Robin Hood
for the poor. At the same time, Bie Tingfang also realized that in order to dominate the region, he must obtain the support of from local landlords as well. Luckily, the most powerful landlords were not at good terms with those less powerful landlords who persecuted Bie, so Bie carefully cultivated his good relationships with the largest local warlords by orchestrating a ghost event.
The largest local landlord Zhou had a serious family problem: his fourth concubine committed suicide by hanging herself because she could not take Zhou's wife's pressure. Bie Tingfang ordered his followers to hide outside the windows of the rooms of Zhou's residence, faking the crying of the dead concubine, which threatened the wife, who was directly responsible for the concubine's death. Zhou's wife obviously had nerve break-down and Zhou was disparate to find a solution. Bie Tingfang offered his service to rid of the fourth concubine's ghost from Zhou's residence, and after an elaborate ceremony, Bie Tingfang begun his so-called supernatural services by acting alone, while others were only too happy to oblige. Bie Tingfang entered the room in which the fourth concubine hanged herself and then the wife's bedroom, and soon reappeared, claiming the ghost was destroyed for good. The ghostly crying of the fourth concubine stopped the very same night (Of course, Bie had simply ordered his followers to stop).
The most powerful landlord was of course grateful and promised Bie anything he wanted. Bie took this advantage by asking financial support to purchase repeating rifle
s, getting legitimacy by becoming the local security force, and making peace with those less powerful landlords who previously persecuted him. As a result, Bie Tingfang managed to turn his former enemy into allies while making more powerful friends, and due to his highly disciplined troops, he also maintained his peasantry support by eliminate other bandits who robbed the poor. From this humble beginning, Bie eventually developed into and remained a powerful warlord in Henan
by switching to different sides between Feng Yuxiang
and Chiang Kai-shek
.
Bie Tingfang was able to maintain his control in Henan
regardless of his Kuomintang
superiors because he was a capable and ardent anti-communist. Bie was instrumental in defeating Zhang Guotao
and completely wiping out Zhang's communist base in Henan
, forcing Zhang to fled to Sichuan
and establish new base there. For his successful anti-communist campaigns, neither Feng Yuxiang
nor Chiang Kai-shek
would want to replace him because they would rather have a warlord they could bribe instead of communists. Furthermore, before the total defeat of Guominjun
, both sides needed Bie's support or at least, neutrality in their fights.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War
he was Commandant of the Self-Defence Army (militia) in the Henan
6th District from 1938 to 1939. Chiang Kai-shek
had become Bie's last boss and planned to remove him after completely defeating Feng Yuxiang
. However, Bie proved to be a tough nut to crack, and his force readily and soundly defeated Chiang Kai-shek
's force, and its commander, Tang Enbo was forced to disguise as an army cook to escape from Henan
in order to evade capture. Following the Japanese success in the Battle of Wuhan
and Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang
he became a Guerrilla Commandant in the Hubei
-Henan
-Anhui
border area until he died of disease in 1940. In his last years, Bie Tingfang made a drastic turn in his political preference by cooperating with communists to fight the Japanese invaders, thus becoming an ally or at least, a sympathizer of communists from the original ardent anti-communist.
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
of China.
Biography
Bie was born into a poor peasantry family in Neixiang CountyNeixiang County
Neixiang County is a county of Nanyang, Henan, China, has an area of 2,465 square kilometers and a population of 610,000 as of 2002.-External links:*...
, Nanyang, Henan
Nanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...
in 1883. After numerous persecutions by the local landlords, Bie was forced into joining one of the gangs of bandits. Unlike other bandits, Bie Tingfang had a great ambition and used this opportunity to his advantage by becoming a local Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
for the poor. At the same time, Bie Tingfang also realized that in order to dominate the region, he must obtain the support of from local landlords as well. Luckily, the most powerful landlords were not at good terms with those less powerful landlords who persecuted Bie, so Bie carefully cultivated his good relationships with the largest local warlords by orchestrating a ghost event.
The largest local landlord Zhou had a serious family problem: his fourth concubine committed suicide by hanging herself because she could not take Zhou's wife's pressure. Bie Tingfang ordered his followers to hide outside the windows of the rooms of Zhou's residence, faking the crying of the dead concubine, which threatened the wife, who was directly responsible for the concubine's death. Zhou's wife obviously had nerve break-down and Zhou was disparate to find a solution. Bie Tingfang offered his service to rid of the fourth concubine's ghost from Zhou's residence, and after an elaborate ceremony, Bie Tingfang begun his so-called supernatural services by acting alone, while others were only too happy to oblige. Bie Tingfang entered the room in which the fourth concubine hanged herself and then the wife's bedroom, and soon reappeared, claiming the ghost was destroyed for good. The ghostly crying of the fourth concubine stopped the very same night (Of course, Bie had simply ordered his followers to stop).
The most powerful landlord was of course grateful and promised Bie anything he wanted. Bie took this advantage by asking financial support to purchase repeating rifle
Repeating rifle
A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition. These rounds are loaded from a magazine by means of a manual or automatic mechanism, and the action that reloads the rifle also typically recocks the firing action...
s, getting legitimacy by becoming the local security force, and making peace with those less powerful landlords who previously persecuted him. As a result, Bie Tingfang managed to turn his former enemy into allies while making more powerful friends, and due to his highly disciplined troops, he also maintained his peasantry support by eliminate other bandits who robbed the poor. From this humble beginning, Bie eventually developed into and remained a powerful warlord in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
by switching to different sides between Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
and Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
.
Bie Tingfang was able to maintain his control in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
regardless of his Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
superiors because he was a capable and ardent anti-communist. Bie was instrumental in defeating Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
and completely wiping out Zhang's communist base in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, forcing Zhang to fled to Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
and establish new base there. For his successful anti-communist campaigns, neither Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
nor Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
would want to replace him because they would rather have a warlord they could bribe instead of communists. Furthermore, before the total defeat of Guominjun
Guominjun
The Guominjun , a.k.a Nationalist Army, KMC, or Northwest Army , refers to the military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era. It was formed when Feng betrayed the Zhili clique during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War with the Fengtian clique in 1924...
, both sides needed Bie's support or at least, neutrality in their fights.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
he was Commandant of the Self-Defence Army (militia) in the Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
6th District from 1938 to 1939. Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
had become Bie's last boss and planned to remove him after completely defeating Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
. However, Bie proved to be a tough nut to crack, and his force readily and soundly defeated Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's force, and its commander, Tang Enbo was forced to disguise as an army cook to escape from Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
in order to evade capture. Following the Japanese success in the Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
and Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang
Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang
The Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang , also known as the Battle of Suizao was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.- The battle :...
he became a Guerrilla Commandant in the Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
-Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
-Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
border area until he died of disease in 1940. In his last years, Bie Tingfang made a drastic turn in his political preference by cooperating with communists to fight the Japanese invaders, thus becoming an ally or at least, a sympathizer of communists from the original ardent anti-communist.
External links
- Bie Tingfang with photo