Tang Jiyao was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of early Republican China.
18 Facts About Tang Jiyao
2.
Tang Jiyao passed the Imperial examination in 1903 and was selected by the Qing government to study military theory at Tokyo Shimbu Gakko in Japan the following year.
3.
Tang Jiyao replaced Cai E as military Governor of Yunnan in 1913.
4.
Tang Jiyao agreed with Cai E that the military was the most important institution in China and should play a major role in government, leading to the Yunnan army remaining a major force.
5.
When Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor of China in December 1915, Tang Jiyao announced the independence of Yunnan with the support of Cai E, Li Liejun and others.
6.
Tang Jiyao was a prominent leader of the army against Yuan Shikai during the National Protection War, and with Yuan's death Tang emerged as one of the most powerful military leaders in southern China and extended his power base into Guangxi and Sichuan provinces.
7.
Tang Jiyao had a cousin, Tang Jiyu, who was a general.
8.
Tang Jiyao sought to use propaganda to gain publicity for himself on the national stage in China.
9.
Tang Jiyao smuggled confiscated opium to Shanghai, but the local Green Gang informed the British authorities and much of the opium ended up on the black market.
10.
Tang Jiyao Jiyu avoided Shanghai during the trial against officials involved in the opium deal in 1916.
11.
Tang Jiyao set up an opium trafficking scheme in Yunnan, with monopolies, taxes and licenses, and succeeded in producing large amounts of opium from poppy plants, which were suited to Yunnan's climate.
12.
Tang Jiyao transported opium via Indochina to Haiphong, which was a port, from where it was sent to China via the coast.
13.
When Sun Yat-sen was appointed Grand Marshal of the military government in Guangzhou, Tang Jiyao was promoted to the rank of Marshal.
14.
Tang Jiyao assisted Sun in defeating the Old Guangxi Clique, when it tried to seize the Yunnan Army and remove Tang as its leader in 1920.
15.
Six days after Sun's death in 1925, Tang Jiyao claimed to be Sun's successor and head of the Kuomintang; however, the party rejected his claims.
16.
Tang Jiyao then invaded Guangdong and Guangxi but was defeated by Li Zongren in the Yunnan-Guangxi War.
17.
Tang Jiyao later became vice premier of Chen Jiongming's China Public Interest Party.
18.
Tang Jiyao died of illness in May 1927 in Kunming, one month after he was ousted by Hu Ruoyu and Long Yun in a military coup and lost all of his power in Yunnan.