A Brief History of the Tujia: Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Feudal Struggles (Part 4)
IV. Tujia Participation in Bourgeois-Led Revolutionary Struggles — In the early 20th century, imperialist aggression deepened the national crisis. The Qing court, representing landlord-comprador interests, completely capitulated to imperialism and intensified oppression of all ethnic groups.
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IV. The Tujia People's Participation in the Revolutionary Struggles Led by the Bourgeoisie
At the beginning of the 20th century, the frenzied aggression of imperialism against China further deepened the national crisis. The Qing court, representing the interests of the landlord and comprador classes, completely threw itself into the arms of imperialism, shamelessly sold out national sovereignty, and strengthened its suppression of all ethnic peoples. The unprecedented national crisis and the continuous resistance struggles of all ethnic peoples propelled the revolutionary struggles led by the bourgeoisie and its intellectuals into vigorous development. The Tujia people actively threw themselves into the torrent of revolutionary struggles led by the bourgeoisie and made their due contributions.
In November of the 29th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1903), Huang Xing returned from Japan to organize revolutionary forces. He established the Huaxing Society in Changsha and separately set up the Tongchou Society, specifically to unite secret societies and carry out anti-Qing struggles. In September 1904, Tan Renfeng invited the leaders of various branches of the Hunan secret societies to gather in Changsha with the aim of unifying their name, regulations, and actions. As early as the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign (1854), the remnants of Peng Gainan of Yongshun and Li Hui of Sangzhi, who had been suppressed by the Qing government, also sent representatives to attend the meeting, planning a major uprising together. In August 1905, the Tongmenghui was established, and Peng Shidi, a Tujia among the students studying in Japan, also joined. The Tongmenghui dispatched Sichuan-born members from Japan back to Sichuan to organize revolutionary forces and prepare for armed uprisings.
Following the armed uprisings launched by Tongmenghui members in Pengxian, Jiangyou, Chengdu, Longchang, Guang'an, and other places in Sichuan, in January of the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1911), Tongmenghui member Wen Chaozhong (Tujia) and others launched an armed uprising in Qianjiang and Pengshui of Sichuan and Xianfeng of Hubei, opposing the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty. Even while studying, Wen Chaozhong harbored great ambitions, read widely, and sought to understand the principles behind the changes in the world. In 1904, urged by relatives and friends, he passed the imperial examination at the xiucai level. When relatives and friends congratulated him, he considered it "a trap set by the monarch" and a disgrace, not worthy of honor. He was also skilled in medicine and happy to help others: "He treated patients regardless of distance, in cold or heat, wind or rain, arriving as soon as called." In 1906, when he went to study in Chengdu, he was introduced by Cheng Zhixuan, a native of Qianjiang, to join the Tongmenghui. Thereafter, he traveled extensively throughout Sichuan, Guizhou, and the two Huguang provinces, "exploring the strategic passes of mountains and rivers and seeking out heroes among the common people," gathering revolutionary forces and preparing for armed uprising. He also took a master to learn bomb-making, which was unsuccessful, and then practiced swordsmanship.
After Wen Chaozhong returned to Qianjiang, he and Huang Yushan, a Tujia from Xianfeng County, and others exposed the crimes of the Qing court in colluding with imperialism to inspire the people. He also advocated the reform of customs, urging people to give up opium smoking, men to cut their queues, and women to unbind their feet. He went deep into various villages, giving speeches everywhere and propagating revolutionary principles, and "many people came to understand." Inspired by Wen Chaozhong's spirit of dedication to the revolution, Huang Yushan and Wang Keming, Tan Maocai, and others from Qianjiang County were all willing to contribute their family fortunes to assist, and secretly purchased weapons. Soon, he, together with Wang Keming, Huang Yushan, Tan Maocai, Wang Yunli, Wang Feiran, and others, established the "Iron and Blood Heroes Society" at Xiaonanhai at the border of Qianjiang and Xianfeng. Tujia and Han people from Xianfeng, Qianjiang, Lichuan, Youyang, Pengshui, and other counties joined in numbers exceeding ten thousand, and more than ten thousand copies of Zou Rong's "Revolutionary Army" were distributed. They also set up secret liaison points in Daluba of Xianfeng County and Lijiaying of Pengshui County (present-day Qianjiang). After three or four years of organization and propaganda work, the revolutionary ranks rapidly expanded, and "among the nearby towns, those who did not join his party were very few indeed."
In 1909, in order to liaise with revolutionaries in various places and strengthen revolutionary forces, Wen Chaozhong and others reorganized the "Iron and Blood Heroes Society" into the "Sichuan-Hubei-Hunan-Guizhou Iron and Blood Allied Heroes Society," explicitly putting forward the political program of "uniting heroes in righteousness, harmonizing all nations, overthrowing the Manchu Qing, defeating the foreign powers, reviving the Han people, and implementing a republic."
Wen Chaozhong's revolutionary activities in the Sichuan-Hubei border region caused extreme panic among the Qing rulers, and the Shihe Circuit of Hubei issued a wanted notice. Wen Chaozhong then assumed the alias Kong Baohua and went to various villages to liaise with revolutionaries and prepare for an uprising. At that time, imperialism was stepping up its expansion of aggressive rights and interests in China, and Japan and Russia were dividing their spheres of influence in Northeast China; the Qianjiang "County Magistrate Wang Chichang also used pretexts to levy harsh taxes," wantonly squeezing the people. Foreign aggression and domestic troubles made Wen Chaozhong deeply grieved and filled with righteous indignation. In December 1910, he and Wang Keming, Huang Yushan, and other revolutionary patriots gathered at Fengchi Mountain in Pengshui County (present-day Qianjiang) to discuss uprising plans. Unexpectedly, the secret was leaked and discovered by Wen Baichuan, who quickly reported it to both Xianfeng and Qianjiang counties. The Xianfeng County Magistrate Xu Pei, being a student who had studied in Japan, sympathized with the revolution and "was not moved to act." The Qianjiang County Magistrate Wang Chichang immediately gathered landlords and gentry to plot suppression, sending troops to assemble in the areas of Dayakou and Bamianshan, attempting to wipe out the revolutionaries in one sweep.
The situation was extremely urgent, so on January 3, 1911, Wen Chaozhong gathered more than two hundred people, cut off their queues, and swore an oath to launch an uprising. Wen Chaozhong clearly declared that the purpose of the uprising was to overthrow the reactionary rule of the Qing Dynasty and "sweep away tyrannical officials and save the people from fire and water." He also established discipline: no harm to the common people whatsoever, and "no firing of cannons without orders." The uprising army advanced toward Qianjiang in two routes. One route, led by Pei Congyuan, crossed Bamianshan, raising flags and firing cannons to pin down the Qing troops; the other route, personally led by Wen Chaozhong with more than two hundred people, struck directly at Dayakou and killed Zeng Jizhi, the brigade commander of Qianjiang County. On March 7, the rebel army, holding high the banner "Eliminate the tyrannical, pacify the good, protect the nation and the race, sweep away the Qing and destroy the foreigners — Wen," captured Qianjiang County town. Qianjiang County Magistrate Wang Chichang and the local gentry abandoned the city and fled by night. After occupying the county town, the rebel army destroyed the Catholic church, opened the prisons, released prisoners, and confiscated government property. Wen Chaozhong gathered the people of the town and delivered a speech, exposing "the tyranny of the autocratic system and the corruption of officials everywhere," and giving voice to "the sufferings of the people," and "those who heard were moved to tears."
In order to expand their ranks and gather revolutionary forces, the rebel army voluntarily withdrew from the county town and dispersed to various villages to rally comrades. "Seven or eight thousand responded, gathering at Lianghuiba." Wen Chaozhong immediately reorganized the troops: every ten men formed a peng, ten peng formed a dui, five dui formed a ying, two ying formed a biao, and four biao formed a shi, each with officers. The masses elected Wen Chaozhong as Commander of the National Army, Wang Keming as Chief of Staff, and Huang Yushan as Deputy Chief. All soldiers were ordered to cut off their queues, wear white armbands, and have "National Army" written in white powder on the front and back of their outer garments as identification.
Facing this uprising army active on the Sichuan-Hubei border, the Qing rulers were extremely panicked and in constant fear. When the rebel army captured Qianjiang County town, the Qing government hastily telegraphed the governors of Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou to quickly dispatch nearby Qing troops to "join forces in encirclement and suppression" to prevent the spread. Yang Zhaorong, the prefect of Youyang Prefecture, led Qing troops to Shaba and Wanliudi west of Qianjiang city and fought fiercely with the rebel army. The rebel army was defeated and retreated along the Wuling Mountains to Zhangjian. The Qing troops pursued closely, and the rebel army fought a hard, protracted battle with the Qing forces at Zhangjian, suffering heavy casualties. However, the rebel army fought bravely and resisted tenaciously, "advancing wave upon wave, with none showing the will to retreat." Seeing the unfavorable situation, Wen Chaozhong led his troops in retreat to Poshuiqing in Xianfeng County, with Yang Zhaorong following behind. At this time, large numbers of Qing troops from Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou arrived one after another, surrounding the rebel army on all sides and attacking from multiple routes. At this critical moment of danger, someone advised Wen Chaozhong to break through the encirclement and plan for another uprising. Wen Chaozhong, disregarding life and death, calmly said: "He who leads the affair should face its difficulties — why flee!" He insisted on fighting to the bloody end. When the Qing troops tightened the encirclement and launched fierce attacks, Wen Chaozhong, to protect his followers from being massacred, burned the roster and rushed alone to the front of the Qing troops, shouting loudly: I am Wen Chaozhong, "everything was done by me alone, it has nothing to do with others." After being captured, when Yang Zhaorong, the prefect of Youyang, interrogated him, Wen Chaozhong bitterly denounced Yang for "doing his utmost for the enemy" and having lost all conscience, and then went to his death calmly, sacrificing himself heroically. At the critical juncture of life and death, Wen Chaozhong displayed great moral courage and faced death unflinchingly, demonstrating the lofty integrity of a revolutionary. The half-month-long armed uprising on the Sichuan-Hubei border, due to inadequate preparation and a hasty launch, and because after the uprising it fought alone without external support and without a clear battle plan and objectives, ultimately failed under the encirclement and suppression by the Qing army's superior forces.