Warlordism

DESCRIPTION:
 * lasted between 1916 to 1927
 * warlords began emerging after fall of Qing Dynasty
 * during this time, many people were dying of starvation and warfare
 * various warlords held different strengths of power
 * some had armed troops
 * three major cliques in china at the time:
 * Anhui Clique -- leader: Duan Qirui
 * Zhili Clique-- Feng Guozhang
 * Fengtian Clique-- Zhang Zuolin
 * during the warlord era, china was economically and politically unstable
 * warlords:
 * some received relied on tax from local population
 * others had ties with foreign powers present in china
 * military and financial support

HOW IT HELPED MAO'S RISE: During the warlord era, many people support the rising communists because they were for the communists principles (ex: law of equality). Mao eventually came to power because during the warlord era, the fearful people of the stool were hoping the principles the communists proposed would not fail them.