ABSTRACT
Most recently the popular masses of Beijing and Shanghai have risen up to oppose Duan [Qirui] and Zhang [Zuolin]. Guo Songling turned his dagger in the same direction, 1 and the popular masses of all the major provinces and regions, recognizing that this coup d’état was a manifestation of the national revolution throughout the whole country, have joined together in a response throughout the country. For this war shows us, on the one hand, that the nationwide high tide of opposition to the Fengtian clique has already forced the warlords of the Fengtian clique to split up and crumble, making it easy for the movement to oppose the Fengtian clique and overthrow Duan Qirui to succeed; it also shows, on the other hand, that the popular masses have not engaged in positive armed actions, so as to turn the Zhili-Fengtian war into a bloodless success of the people over the warlords. The result was that the people could not grasp political power and regain their position as masters of the state. Taking stock of this, the popular masses in various places are rising up to engage in violent demonstrations. Following the sudden outbreak in Beijing, a furious tide of revolution immediately arose in Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Wuchang, and Changsha that has shaken the entire land. As the revolution was consolidating its foundations in the high tide of the nationwide movement against the Fengtian clique, Guangdong, the vanguard of the Chinese revolution, responded and immediately followed up by leading the people of the whole country in carrying out a great revolutionary movement to unite the entire country. Because of this, the various large people’s groups, such as the All-China General Labor Union, the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Strike Committee, the Workers’ Congress, the Guangdong Peasant Association, the Young Soldiers’ Association, the Revolutionary Youth Association, the Guangzhou Students’ Association, the New Student Society, the Hong Kong Student Association, and the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce, together asked 331the Central Executive Committee of the Guomindang to hold a march against Duan Qirui and also to supervise speeding up the national government’s preparations to raise troops for the Northern Expedition, since it is necessary to overthrow the traitorous government of Duan Qirui, which brings calamity to the people, to establish a united national government in the whole country, to abolish all the unequal treaties, and bring the national revolution to a successful conclusion within a short period of time. All the groups held several preparatory meetings, decided on December 20 as the date for the march, and issued propaganda guidelines as follows:
