“Suppressing bandits”: Social policing of warlord government in Manchuria, 1918-1928

Xu, Luming

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116279 Copy

Description

Title

“Suppressing bandits”: Social policing of warlord government in Manchuria, 1918-1928

Author(s)

Xu, Luming

Issue Date

2022-07-21

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Shao, Dan

Department of Study

E. Asian Languages & Cultures

Discipline

E Asian Languages & Cultures

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Bandit Suppression
• Manchuria
• Warlord Politics
• Security Apparatuses

Abstract

Banditry was a constant threat to the social security of Chinese society during the Republican period, Manchuria (Northeast China) was one of the regions that had been most seriously afflicted. In order to maintain social order in Manchuria, the Fengtian Clique Government, a warlord regime that ruled Manchuria from 1916 to 1928, launched a series of “bandit suppression” (jiaofei, 剿匪) campaigns to eradicate bandits within its territory. However, the number of bandits in Manchuria increased significantly under the high pressure of suppression during this time, which marked the failure of the Fengtian Clique government’s security apparatuses. This thesis will examine the factors that contributed to the eventual failure of the Fengtian Clique government’s “bandit suppression” campaigns by focusing on the institutional history of the Fengtian Clique government’s social policing system. I argue that the intense relationship between the Fengtian Clique government and Manchurian local societies, the factional divisions within the Fengtian Clique government, Japanese and Russian colonialism in Manchuria during the early twentieth century were the main factors that damaged the effectiveness of the security apparatuses of the Fengtian Clique government. The study of the Fengtian Clique government’s “bandit suppression” campaigns reflects the importance of a steady policing institution and independent national sovereignty in maintaining social security. Bandits were often accepted into the military or policing institutions by the government, they were also used by the colonial authorities in Manchuria to overthrow the rule of Chinese regime. Facing the power struggles among warlords, the conflicts within the government, and Japan and Russia’s encroachment of China’s sovereignty, the ability of the Fengtian Clique government to maintain social security was impaired. The “bandit problem” thus was never rooted throughout the Fengtian Clique government’s reign in Manchuria.

Graduation Semester

2022-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Luming Xu

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