Xi'an Incident

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The Xi'an Incident otherwise known as the Xi'an Incident of the 1936 was an event where Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng arrested Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an to pressurize Chiang into preparation for the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Background

During the 1920's as well as the 1930's, China was in a constant state of political turmoil. The Nationalist Party, commonly referred to as the KMT was lead by Chiang Kai-Shek and their goals was the unification of the country and the creation of a strong central government. The KMT faced opposition from numerous factions included the CPC that was led by Mao Zedong.

The Incident

In 1936, China was fighting a protracted war against the Japanese empire known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek was the leader of the Nationalist forces against the invading Japanese. However, discontent grew within the KMT regarding Chiang's Leadership ability as well as his treatment of the CPC. The Communists were seen by many KMT members as key allies in the fight against the Japanese Onslaught.

On 12/12/1936, Generals Zhang Xueliang and General Yang Hucheng, who previously served under Chiang, helped orchestrate a daring plan to kidnap Chiang while he was in a meeting in Xian. The Generals Goals were to force Chiang into create a United Front with the Communists against the Japanese Invaders.

Consequences

The Xi'an incident had profound implications in Chinese History. Both Zhang and Yang held Chaing captive for 2 weeks during his captivity negotiations took place. These negotiations resulted in Chiang being persuaded to agreeing with a temporary truce with the CPC to fight against the Japanese.

This incident highlighted the realization that was growing among Chinese Nationalists that unity was necessary to confront their Common Enemy that was Japan. This popular front as it was called helped serve as a catalyst for the temporary cessation of hostilities between the Nationalists and the Communists. This uneasy alliance helped the unified Chinese Resistance against the Japanese to gain strength and provided a crucial foundation for future cooperation efforts by the KMT and the CPC.

Despite the truce that was created between these two Factions, there were still underlying differences between the KMT and the CPC as well as tensions. After the two factions both defeated the Japanese, this causing the restarting of the Chinese Civil War in 1946 resulting in the CPC winning the war in 1949 and exiling the Nationalists to Taiwan and the establishment of the PRC.

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