WU P'EI-FU

born April 22, 1873, Shantung Province, China died Dec. 4, 1939, Peking Pinyin Wu Peifu Chinese warlord who dominated Peking from 1917 to 1924. The son of a tradesman, Wu joined the famous Peiyang Army of Yan Shih-k'ai, the leading general of the Ch'ing dynasty (16441911/12) and the first president of the Republic of China, and rapidly rose to high position. After Yan's death in 1916, Wu became the chief bulwark of the shaky Peking government. In 1922 Wu came into conflict with Chang Tso-lin, the Manchurian warlord who had begun to extend his control into North China near Peking. Wu secured his position in central China and then in a series of battles drove Chang Tso-lin's army back to its Manchurian base. As a result he became the dominant figure in North China and began to prepare for a campaign to unify all of the country by force. But his stern attitude toward his military associates and his ruthless suppression of a workers' strike on the HankowPeking Railroad in 1923 lost Wu much of his popularity, and he was never able again to consolidate his position. In 1924 Chang Tso-lin launched a new attack and defeated Wu in a great battle near Tientsin.