Xi'an Incident

The Xi'an Incident of December 1936 (traditional Chinese: 西安事變; simplified Chinese: 西安事变; pinyin: Xī'ān Shìbìan) was an important turning point in Chinese modern history, took place in the city of Xi'an during the Chinese Civil War between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the insurgent Chinese Communist Party and just before the Second Sino-Japanese War. On 12 December 1936, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Kuomintang was arrested by Marshal Zhang Xueliang, a former warlord of Manchuria, and Commander of the North Eastern Army who had fought against the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and subsequent expansion into Inner Mongolia by the Japanese and troops of the puppet state of Manchukuo that had been created in Manchuria.

The incident led to a truce between the Nationalists and the Communists so as to form a united front against the threat posed by Japan. Some facts about the incident still remain unclear today as most of those involved died without revealing details. Before the Xi'an incident, the Chinese Communist Party had established itself in Shaanxi province following being driven from Jiangxi and other regions in southern China in 1934. Japan had invaded North-East China in 1931 only coming to a temporary halt in 1933 having captured the province of Rehe. Chiang Kai-shek's response to the invasion had been weak and he had failed to support commanders such as Marshal Zhang who had fought back to halt their advance.

He Yingqin, a pro-Japanese senior general in the Kuomintang, was preparing to lead military forces to Xian from the KMT capital, Nanking at the time of the incident. This appeared to be putting more of northern China at risk of conquest by the Japanese, something which was to come true in 1937. Some believe the steps taken by Marshal Zhang were inspired by the Soviets led by Joseph Stalin, but there were sufficient grounds for Zhang and Yang Hucheng to act on their own behalf in order to develop an effective resistance to the Japanese invasion.

The Xian Incident is seen as turning point for the Chinese Communist Party as before the incident the party itself was facing a new round of assaults by Kuomintang forces. Chinese nationalism had been roused by the Japanese invasion, but potential Chinese resistance was strengthened by Xian Incident leading to the United Front of Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party. Ultimately it would benefit the Chinese Communists once the Chinese Civil War revived after the defeat of Japan in 1945. However, Stalin always remained ambivalent in his support of the Chinese Communist Party and he and its leader Mao Zedong became hostile to each other by the early 1950s.