Abstract
During and after the Northern Punitive Expedition (1926-1928) to expel China of warlordism, the Right wing of China's Nationalist Party, the Guomindang, chose to work with regional powers and fringe groups to aid their struggle towards national unification. In Shanghai, an area economically and politically significant for the Guomindang (KMT), the Right encountered a situation where it was the most beneficial for them to deliberately employ the help of the Green Gang, the city's premier secret society and criminal organization. In order to achieve their ends, Chiang Kai-shek and the conservative faction of the KMT sidelined party ideology, long-held biases, and alliances to better pursue a realistic and pragmatic strategy for national unification. This project will examine the motivations behind the Guomindang's deliberate choice to work with Shanghai's underworld (among other groups in Shanghai) and the methods and strategy used to recruit similar potential regional allies.
Advisor
Wang, Rujie
Second Advisor
Washington, Garrett
Department
Chinese Studies; History
Recommended Citation
Federman, Mark Samuel, "Warlordism, Opium, and Party Purges: the Guomindang's Use of Shanghai's Green Gang in Efforts of National Unification During the Late 1920s" (2013). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 5.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/5
Disciplines
Asian History | Chinese Studies
Keywords
republican china, guomindang, chiang kai-shek, green gang, secret society, warlord, chinese, modern china, history, opium, communism, gangster, national unification, shanghai, 1920s
Publication Date
2013
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2013 Mark Samuel Federman