Background and
Chiang Kai-shek in 1924 at the opening of
Guangzhou's
Whampoa Military Academy on
Changzhou ,
governor of Guangdong , commander of the Canton Merchants' Corps In 1911, during the period of
Xinhai Revolution, society was in chaos. Merchants in
Guangzhou (
then known as "Canton") established a volunteers corps for self-defense and security.
Chen Lianbo (), also known as Chan Lim Pak, was elected commander, and also Director of Finance at the Canton Merchants' Public Safety Organization (). Chen supported the volunteer corps and lent funds for the corps to buy weapons. In 1917, Chen, as leader of the CMPSO, continued to provide weapons for the corps. In August 1919, he served as its regimental commander. The size of the corps reached 13,000 in 1924. The Corps maintained a neutral attitude during this period of frequent regime changes in Guangzhou. For their protection of merchants' interests and public security, the Corps were welcomed by many citizens in Guangzhou. In 1923, allying with the
Yunnan and
Guangxi cliques,
Sun Yat-sen's army defeated
Chen Jiongming and occupied Guangzhou. However, Sun broke the promises of his
Constitutional Protection Movement to govern along the lines of the old Chinese constitution. Instead, a conscription law was passed and property from temples was confiscated for sale by the state, both angering many citizens. The government also began issuing large sums of money, driving up inflation. The huge military expenses forced the government to re-legalize gambling, drawing considerable ire from the locals. In January 1924, after
its first national conference, the Nationalists
entered an alliance with
Soviet Union and the Communists. Worrying that Sun would eventually adopt communism in Guangzhou, the merchants changed their attitudes towards the government. In May, the Nationalists announced a law of "unified road ownership" to impose a new tax and caused further dissatisfaction. In August, many strikes happened in Guangzhou. The Canton Merchants' Corps established its "Defense Headquarters", in which Chen was the commander and
Deng Jieshi () and
Chen Gongshou () vice-commanders. After further negotiations, the government decided to withdraw the road ownership law and the strike was suspended.
Uprising ("Canton") in the 1920s On August 10, 1924, the British-registered ship
Harvard arrived in Guangzhou, carrying some 9000 guns, 40 machine gun, and 3 million rounds of ammunition purchased by the merchants' corps from a British company. The merchants' corps had already been approved for the weapon purchase, but the ship was immediately detained by
Chiang Kai-shek's
Jianggu (). The government claimed that both the quantity of weapons and their arrival date did not match what had been stated. On August 12 and 15, about a thousand of the Canton Merchants' Corps marched to Sun's office and appealed to the government to release their weapons. Sun refused and the merchants' corps called a strike all over the
Guangdong Province. On the afternoon of October 10, the
Communists appointed labor unions, peasant unions, and younger unions with a total of over 50,000 people, joined for a "Double 10 Warning Day".
Zhou Enlai conducted the meeting and sent a public warning to the merchants' corps. After the meeting, the CCP held a demonstration and chanted "Beat the Merchants' Corps, Kill Chen Lianbo, and Support the Revolutionary Government". When the crowd came to South Taiping Road (present-day South Renmin Road), they clashed with the merchants' corps, resulting in the death of more than 20 and another 100 injured. The merchants' corps established defense positions in
Xiguan, blockaded thoroughfares, and posted notices that "Sun Yat-sen should retire" and "Beat Sun's government". During that night, Chen Lianzhong, Chen Lianbo's brother, met Deng Jieshi, Li Songshao, and other leaders of the merchants' corps. It was decided to congregate all the soldiers in Xiguan at on 14 October and take over governmental agencies the morning after. Chen had to leave for
Hong Kong. During this battle, the business areas in Xiguan were seriously damaged by a great fire.
Aftermath File:仁安街灾情.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:十三行被焚状况1.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:回龙桥灾情.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:故衣街被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:新豆栏被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:普济桥被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:桨栏街灾情.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:沙面桥附近的难民.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:灯笼街被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:西口被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:西濠口被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:西门口被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:长寿东街被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city File:长寿西街被焚状况.jpg|Ruins after burning of the city Financial losses during this conflict was close to
HK$50 million. About two thousand people were killed. Afterwards, the Nationalist government collected protection fees from the merchants, seized their weapons, and levied a $200 fine on each of the participators. The government warned those who failed to comply that the "government cannot be held responsible if soldiers loot or capture anybody". After this incident, some businessmen in Canton tended to support Chen Jiongming instead of Sun. However, with the support of
Soviet Union, Sun eventually defeated Chen. When Sun died in
Beijing, the government in Beijing decided to hold a
state funeral for him. The Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce () and Cantonese Autonomous Council () held a joined protest against the decision. ==See also==