Duan Qirui.

Duàn Qíruì (段祺瑞) (Wade-Giles Tuan Ch'i-jui) (1864 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, commander in the Beiyang Army, and the Provisional Chief Executive of Republic of China (in Beijing) from November 24, 1924 to April 20, 1926. Wade-Giles (ˌweɪdˈʤaɪlz) sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system (phonetic notation and Transcription) for the Mandarin Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National A warlord is a person with power who has military control over a subnational area due to Armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority The Beiyang Army ( meaning "North Western Army" was a powerful Western-style Chinese military force created by the Qing Dynasty government The President of the Republic of China ( is the Head of state of the Republic of China (ROC (commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was arguably the most powerful man in China from 1916 to 1920.

Early Life

Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui (段啟瑞), his courtesy name was Zhiquan (芝泉). Hefei ( literally "Junction of the (South Fei Rivers " former names Ho-fei Luzhou Luchow is a Prefecture-level city and the provincial capital of A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name ( zì) is a given name to be used later in life His grandfather was Duan Pei (段佩), an officer in Li Hongzhang's privately raised army called Huai Army (Huai Jun, 淮军). Li Hongzhang, Marquis Suyi of the First Class, GCVO, ( February 15, 1823 &ndash November 7, 1901) was a Chinese Duan Qirui's father died early and Duan Qirui was raised by his maternal grandmother.

Career

Military

In 1885, Duan Qirui entered Tianjin military academy (天津武备学堂) specializing in artillery, and graduated in 1889. Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common After graduation, he was sent to Lushun to oversee the construction of artillery fortifications, and soon, Li Hongzhang sent him to study military science in Germany, and after returning to China, he was first named as a commissioner of Beiyang Armory (北洋军械局) and then as an instructor of Weihai military academy. Lüshun city or Lüshunkou or (literally Lüshun Port ( formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town located at the extreme southern Li Hongzhang, Marquis Suyi of the First Class, GCVO, ( February 15, 1823 &ndash November 7, 1901) was a Chinese Military Science is the process of translating National defence policy to produce Military capability by employing Military scientists including The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Administrative divisions The Prefecture-level city of Weihai administers 4 county-level divisions, including 1 districts and 3 county-level cities In early 1896, Yuan Shikai named Duan Qirui as the artillery commander of his new army and inspector general of training, so Duan had become one of Yuan Shikai's top lieutenants. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Yuan Shikai ( Courtesy Weiting 慰亭 Pseudonym: Rong'an 容庵 ( September 16, 1859 &ndash June 6, Yuan Shikai ( Courtesy Weiting 慰亭 Pseudonym: Rong'an 容庵 ( September 16, 1859 &ndash June 6,

Politics

Duan later opposed Yuan's bid for monarchy - he expected to succeed Yuan in the presidency, but the imperial gambit was seen as a betrayal. The Emperor of China ( refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of Duan tried to play the intermediary between the rebels and Yuan, just as Yuan had done during the Xinhai Revolution. 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 Xinhai Revolution or Shinhai Revolution ( also known as the 1911 Revolution or the Chinese Revolution, began with the Wuchang Uprising Their friendship never repaired even after he was given the premiership, because Yuan shrewdly stripped that office of its powers. This article is a list of the Premiers of China since 1911. According to Chinese historical records the first premier of China was appointed in about 1130 BC He served as premier intermittently from 1912 to 1918 under several governments as part of shaky coalitions that often collapsed. Duan formed the Anhui clique when the Beiyang army fractured after Yuan's death, and was the strongest supporter of China's entry into World War I, but was unwilling to send any of his own troops abroad since it would weaken him against his rivals. The Anhui clique ( was one of several mutually hostile Cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China 's Warlord era World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

After being fired by President Li Yuanhong for obtaining secret Japanese loans in 1917, he regained his office by toppling Zhang Xun's Qing restoration attempt of Puyi. Li Yuanhong ( Traditional Chinese: 黎元洪 Pinyin: Lí Yuánhóng courtesy Songqing 宋卿 1864 - June 3, 1928) was For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Zhang Xun ( 1854-1923 Qing -loyalist general who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in 1917 Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China Puyi ( ( February 7, 1906 &ndash October 17, 1967) of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro ruling family was the last Emperor He was also engaged in a power struggle against his archrival, President Feng Guozhang, over the war with Sun Yat-sen's rival government. Féng Guózhāng, ( courtesy: Huafu 華甫 or 華符 ( January 7, 1859 - December 12, 1919) a native of Hejian Sun Yat-sen ( November 12, 1866 &ndash March 12, 1925) was a Chinese Revolutionary and political leader often Duan wanted a military solution while the president advocated negotiating. He is most noticeable for his frequent collaboration with the Japanese in return for military and financial aid. His promise of giving Japan German concessions in Shandong was one of the reasons for the May Fourth Movement in Beijing. ( is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. The May Fourth Movement ( was an anti- imperialist, cultural and political movement in early modern China. He was held responsible for granting Japan its 21 demands in 1915, one of which was the Shandong issue. The were a set of demands made by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu sent to the nominal government of the Republic of ( is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. With his popularity gone, other warlords led by Cao Kun sided against him and on July 14, 1920, Duan's troop clashed with troops of Zhili clique. A warlord is a person with power who has military control over a subnational area due to Armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority Cao Kun ( Traditional Chinese: 曹錕 Simplified Chinese: 曹锟 Pinyin: Cáo Kūn Wade-Giles: Ts'ao K'un Courtesy name: Zhongshan Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar The Zhili clique ( was one of several mutually hostile Cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique during the Republic of China 's Warlord After a merely four days, Duan suffered a decisive defeat and he was forced to retire. Duan fled to Japanese settlement in Tianjin and became an apartment landlord. While out of power, his Anhui clique allies were rapidly losing ground. In 1923, he joined the chorus against Cao Kun's assumption of the presidency. Zhejiang, the last Anhui held province, fell in the summer of 1924. Zhejiang ( is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China.

1 yuan, silver commemorative coin of President Duan Qirui, minted in 1924

He was called out of retirement in November 1924 after the Beijing coup and put in charge of a provisional government after an agreement with Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang. The Beijing coup ( Pinyin: beijing zhengbian) refers to the 1924 Coup d'etat by Feng Yuxiang against the Beiyang government of Zhāng Zuòlín ( Traditional Chinese: 張作霖 Simplified Chinese: 张作霖, Pinyin: Zhāng Zuòlín Wade-Giles: Chang Tso-lin Feng Yuxiang ( (1882&ndash1948 was a Warlord during Republican China. Duan, Zhang, and Feng were negotiating with Sun Yat-sen on national reunification until the latter succumbed to cancer in 1925. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled With his clique's military power in shambles, his government was hopelessly dependent on Feng and Zhang. Knowing that those two had poor relations, he tried to play sides secretly. On March 18, 1926 he ordered his troops to gun down protesters, killing dozens in what became known as the March 18 Massacre. Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The March 18 Massacre was a massacre that took place on March 18, 1926 amid an anti- warlord and anti-imperialist demonstration in Beijing, The next month, Feng deposed Duan who then fled into Zhang's hands. Zhang, tired of his double-dealings, refused to restore Duan after capturing Beijing. Most of the Anhui clique had already sided with Zhang. He fled to Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai where he died. ( Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is the second largest city in northern coastal China. Shanghai ( 上[[wikt 海|海]] is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest urban areas in the world with over 20 million

Go, Buddhism and vegetarianism

Duan was also well known as a player and patron of weiqi (Go). He usually won because his opponents feared defeating him, with an exception of his own son, who was also a patron of weiqi and was not afraid of defeating his own father. After Duan's complete defeat, he became a devoted Buddhist, built a worship hall within his own home, and prayed every morning. Many of his former subordinates frequently came to pray with him. On the first and the fifteenth days of each month (lunar calendar), Duan would go to temples to participate in various Buddhist events. Duan became a vegetarian; douchi was his favorite food and was served at every meal. Douchi ( Cantonese dao si also called Chinese fermented black beans, is a Flavoring most popular in the Cuisine of China, and is used to make black Duan also kept a hen farm at home to provide him with eggs, but kept no roosters, as he claimed that without fertilization, the eggs remained vegetarian.