In 1936, China was in the clutches of a political crisis. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China was detained in Xi’an by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, two of his own generals. This event is known as the Xi’an Incident or Sian Incident in Chinese history.
Zhang was commander of the forces in Northeast China – also known as Manchuria- while Yang served as the commander of the forces stationed around Xi’an in north-western China. Chiang wanted to continue fighting the Chinese communists rather than channelling the resources to fighting the Japanese, who had invaded northern China. Both Zhang and Yang opposed Chiang’s policy. Chiang was released on 25 December, 1936, only after the formation of the second communist-Nationalist United Front against the Japanese.
The Xi’an incident captured the attention of the world. But the incident could only bring about limited co-operation between the communists and the Kuomintang against the Japanese.
Picture Credit : Google
