The Xi'an Incident compelled Chiang Kai-shek to halt the civil war and form the Second United Front with the CCP against Japanese aggression.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 12–26 December 1936 (14 days)
- Hostage held
- Chiang Kai-shek, leader of Nationalist government
- Arresting commander
- General Zhang Xueliang, Northeastern Army
- Zhang Xueliang house arrest
- Held until 1990 (over 50 years)
- Key negotiator (CCP)
- Zhou Enlai
- Outcome
- Verbal agreement on Second United Front against Japan
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ongoing conflict between Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government and the Chinese Communist Party left China vulnerable to Japanese expansionism. General Zhang Xueliang, whose Northeastern Army had formed a secret alliance with the CCP, repeatedly urged Chiang to cease the civil war and focus on resisting Japan. When Chiang issued an ultimatum demanding Zhang either attack the Communists or accept reassignment, Zhang resolved to take matters into his own hands.
On 12 December 1936, soldiers of the Northeastern Army arrested Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an while he was reviewing troops. Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng demanded a ceasefire in the civil war and a united Nationalist-Communist front against Japan. After weeks of negotiations involving Zhou Enlai and Soong Mei-ling, Chiang verbally agreed in principle to the terms. On 25 December he was released, with Zhang accompanying him back to Nanjing.
Upon returning to Nanjing, Chiang had Zhang Xueliang arrested and placed under house arrest, where he remained until 1990. Publicly, Chiang renounced the terms agreed in captivity, but privately he continued negotiations with Zhou Enlai. These talks ultimately produced the Second United Front between the Nationalists and the CCP, formally consolidating after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War and redirecting both sides toward resisting Japan.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng, Zhou Enlai.
Side B
1 belligerent
Chiang Kai-shek, He Yingqin, Soong Mei-ling.