Liang Shiyi was premier of China's Beiyang government

Beiyang Government

The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...

 from 1921 to 1922.

Biography

Liang Shiyi was born in Sanshui

Sanshui

For the style of Chinese painting, see Shan ShuiSanshui District , formerly Sanshui City, is a district with about 120,000 inhabitants in Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China...

, Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 in 1869. In the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, he was put in charge of railways, the most profitable ministry of the government. This allowed him to create the influential Communications Clique

Communications Clique

The Communications Clique was a powerful interest group of politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, businessmen, engineers, and labour unionists in China's Beiyang government . It is also known as the Cantonese Clique because many of its leaders hail from Guangdong...

. He was a close supporter of Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China , and his short-lived...

, served as his finance minister, and supported Yuan during the National Protection War

National Protection War

The National Protection War , also known as the anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. The cause of this war was Yuan Shikai's proclamation of himself as Emperor. Only three years earlier, the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, had been overthrown...

.

After Yuan's death, President Li Yuanhong

Li Yuanhong

Li Yuanhong was a Chinese general and political figure during the Qing dynasty and the republican era. He was twice president of the Republic of China.- Early history :...

 ordered the arrest of the eight top monarchists of Yuan's regime, this caused Liang to flee to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. He returned in 1918 to run for the National Assembly of the Republic of China

National Assembly of the Republic of China

The National Assembly of the Republic of China refers to several parliamentary bodies that existed in the Republic of China. The National Assembly was originally founded in 1913 as the first legislature in Chinese history, but was disbanded less than a year later as President Yuan Shikai assumed...

.

His Communications Clique was a distant second compared to Duan Qirui

Duan Qirui

Duan Qirui was a Chinese warlord and politician, commander in the Beiyang Army, and the Provisional Chief Executive of Republic of China from November 24, 1924 to April 20, 1926. He was arguably the most powerful man in China from 1916 to 1920.- Early life :Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui , his...

's Anfu Club but nevertheless he became speaker of the Senate. He then became premier when Jin Yunpeng

Jin Yunpeng

Jin Yunpeng was a Chinese General and politician of the Warlord Era of the Republic of China. He served as both Minister of War and then Premier of China several times....

 was forced to resign in December 1921.

His month-long premiership was the subject of dispute between his supporter, Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...

, and his detractor, Wu Peifu

Wu Peifu

Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu , was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916 to 1927.- Early career :...

. When Wu forced his resignation on January 25, 1922, it caused the First Zhili-Fengtian War

First Zhili-Fengtian War

The First Zhili–Fengtian War was a 1922 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili and Fengtian cliques for control of Beijing. The war led to the defeat of the Fengtian clique and the fall of its leader, Zhang Zuolin, from the coalition Zhili-Fengtian government in Beijing...

. Liang was fortunate to avoid the war himself in that he left Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 under the excuse of illness as soon as he resigned. The Northern Expedition forced him to flee once again to Hong Kong in 1928 ,then he shuttled between Shanghai and Hongkong for coping with the Japanese invaded Manchuria 1931, for tired of those,he died at Shanghai in 1933.