History

The warlord era in China preached patriotism and nationalism in order to  legitimize its military actions  (Sheridan 319). However, the era dismally failed for it was not able to live upon its words. Instead of patriotism and nationalism, the warlord era perpetuated constant fear in China due to exploitation, misgovernment, and constant violence (Sheridan 318).

Warlordism emerged in the first few years of the Republican period of China (1912-1949), and it caused a lot of harmful effects on the Chinese society in the form of violence. Apparently, the warlord era consisted of constant wars between armies, and Chinas civilian population was extremely affected by the armies and soldiers. The violence which the warlord era perpetrated took various forms and had a lot of negative effects on China and its people (Lary and MacKinnon 18).

Most of the immediate victims suffered several losses, such as those involving health, property, and even their lives. The wars within China had serious economic implications, for these involved the periodic disruption (if not destruction) of various industries, agriculture, trades, and transportation. It is said that the Chinese society suffered a  psychological insecurity  (Lary and MacKinnon 18), for the Chinese people were in constant fear of the threats of violence that the warlord soldiers may inflict upon them. In fact, military violence was so frequent and seriously damaging that the era was referred to as a  military disaster,   junzai,  or  bingzai  (Lary and MacKinnon 18).

Warlordism in China brought exploitation and terror to the Chinese society (Fairbank and Twitchett 317). It demanded astonishing amounts of taxes from it people to fund its growing military (Sheridan 318). Apart from this, the warlord era encouraged the occurrence of famine to its people as it forced the production of opium instead of food crops. Also, the warlord soldiers would steal animals from the people, leading to further problems with farming (Sheridan 318).  

The kind of militarist regime that existed during the warlord era caused a lot of problems. Apparently, the new soldiers recruited by warlord regimes were basically trained to kill as well as to be  desensitized to the use of violence and could be as easily turned against civilians as against enemy soldiers  (Lary and MacKinnon 24). Apart from this, the military found that it would be better to recruit bandits to become soldiers, for these people were said to be experienced in fighting. They were also easily coerced to become soldiers with offers of regular payments, pardons, and  a chance to loot with official approval  (Lary and MacKinnon 25). Since the troops of the warlord armies were composed of individuals with backgrounds as bandits, there was a lack of discipline and training, which eventually led to a lack of  inhibition against using violence against the civilian population  (Lary and MacKinnon 25).

There were eyewitness accounts of the deaths inflicted by the soldiers during the warlord regime. One account states that there was a village just outside Zhuzhou wherein around forty-six civilians were trapped in the battle instead of trying to help these civilians, they were summarily executed. Soldiers raped women and a  pregnant woman was disemboweled and her fetus impaled on a pitchfork  (Lary and MacKinnon 23) men were beheaded, stabbed, or shot and  had their genitals cut off and stuffed in their mouths  (Lary and MacKinnon 23). These are but some of the horrifying events that occurred due to the kind of training warlord soldiers were given.

The impact of the horrific actions of the military during the warlord period was said to have gone  beyond the physical or psychological effects on their immediate victims.  They were intensely damaging to the public memory of the Chinese. Such events had left a scar that can never heal as the era had created a living condition in China which, ironically, was almost impossible to live in (Lary and MacKinnon 18).

In summary, it could be said that the warlordism period was the darkest era in Chinas republican history (Leung 59). As seen in the aforementioned information, the warlord era involved an exploitation of its people, countless horrifying deaths, and other forms of physical and psychological pains.