生平

早年

段祺瑞祖父及叔父皆为淮军将领，且与李鸿章同乡。基于家学渊源与同乡背景，段祺瑞在1885年考入由李鸿章创设的天津武备学堂，习炮兵科。1889年毕业时，天津武备学堂择选5位毕业生派赴德意志帝国学习军事，段祺瑞获选为其中一员。段祺瑞在德国柏林陆军学院留学期间继续深造炮兵相关知识，隔年（1890年）回国。回国后，段祺瑞先短暂任职北洋军械局委员，1891年改任威海随营武备学堂教习兼炮兵统带，曾参与威海卫之战。

1894年甲午战争，北洋舰队全灭后，1895年12月段祺瑞进入袁世凯幕府，于小站练兵，担任炮兵队统带兼随营学堂监督，成为袁的亲信，其宦途也跟随著袁世凯扶摇而上。

经历

1899年，袁世凯编练的新军开赴山东省镇压义和团；1901年，段祺瑞升任武卫右军各学堂总办，因袁世凯升官担任直隶总督兼北洋大臣，武卫右军更名常备军移驻保定；1902年6月，段祺瑞升任北洋军政司参谋处总办，负责北洋新军所有编装与训练任务。

1903年10月，清朝政府决定设立练兵处，统辖新军训练，同年12月袁世凯兼任练兵处会办大臣，因袁世凯推荐，段祺瑞升任练兵处军令司正使、加副都统衔；此时段祺瑞与冯国璋、王士珍并称为「北洋三杰」（亦被称为龙、虎、狗；王为龙，段为虎，冯为狗）。1904年，段祺瑞兼任常备军第三镇翼长署理；1905年2月正式升任新军陆军第四镇统制，驻军天津马厂，同年进行的河间秋操演习段祺瑞担任北军总统。

1906年，段祺瑞改任陆军第三镇统制兼北洋武备学堂督理，1906年3月被任命为福建省汀洲镇总兵，段祺瑞南下赴任。5月8日，陆军行营军官学堂在保定成立，段祺瑞任督办。段祺瑞在北洋军系影响力是基于他长期主掌军队训练及养成，新军逐渐编练成形的同时，段祺瑞也逐渐在军队中植入属于他专属的伦理性影响力。

1909年1月2日，袁世凯一度失势，遭清政府下令「著即开缺，回籍养疴」，袁临别前将北京私宅赠与段祺瑞。段祺瑞则在同年12月回任陆军第六镇统制。

1910年5月25日，清廷以段祺瑞督办北洋陆军学务有功，赏头品顶戴。12月18日加侍郎衔，外放任江北提督，驻江苏淮安清江浦，负责本地治安。

1911年武昌起义爆发后，清朝政府重新启用袁世凯，袁世凯将段祺瑞召回北京，10月25日段升任清军第二军军统；第二军随后开拔南下与第一军（军统冯国璋）一同清剿革命党，清廷增封段祺瑞为湖广总督。由于袁世凯与革命党间持续进行谈判，南下清军并未尽全力扫除武汉当地之敌；待11月13日袁世凯担任内阁总理大臣取得职权后，段祺瑞除湖广总督之位外会办抚剿事宜；由于冯国璋攻克武汉三镇进度过顺，11月28日袁世凯任命段祺瑞调任第一军军统，第二军军统换由冯国璋担任。12月5日，段祺瑞下令第一军退出汉阳，开始进行南北议和，革命军黄兴、孙文等同意，倘能促使宣统退位，可由袁世凯担任中华民国临时大总统。

1912年1月26日，在袁世凯授意下，段祺瑞等北洋军五十位将领联名发布徐树铮起草的《北洋五十将乞共和电》，向隆裕太后逼宫，不久，段祺瑞又发表《乞共和第二电》，直接挑明「谨率全军将士入京，与王公剖陈利害」，直接以武力恐吓隆裕太后，隆裕于2月12日颁降懿旨，接受优待条件，溥仪退位，中华民国正式成立。

中华民国成立后，1912年3月10日袁世凯出任中华民国临时大总统，段祺瑞同时出任陆军总长。

1913年7月，段祺瑞代理国务总理，组成段祺瑞临时内阁，调兵镇压二次革命；12月陆军总长一职由周自齐接任。此后又署理湖北都督兼领河南都督，镇压白朗起义。

1914年2月，袁世凯段祺瑞召回北京述职，其湖北都督由段芝贵、河南都督在4月由田文烈接任；1914年5月，袁世凯增设海陆军大元帅统率办事处，试图收回由陆军部主控的军权，段祺瑞担任陆军总长；段祺瑞因不满这个调任，在陆军总长一职任内主要业务都由亲信徐树铮定夺；1914年，日本军队占领青岛，段主张对日本决一死战。

1914年后，袁世凯与段祺瑞的不和日趋浮上台面；1915年5月「二十一条」签订后，段祺瑞告病辞职，赴西山养病；其陆军总长一职由王士珍接任。袁世凯在1915年底推行洪宪帝制时，段表示不拥护帝制。

1916年3月袁世凯被迫取消帝制，恢复共和制，邀请段出山任国务总理，最终段祺瑞回任参谋总长兼陆军总长。6月袁世凯病逝，黎元洪接任大总统，段祺瑞担任国务总理。之后段祺瑞成为北洋政府派系内的皖系领袖。

1917年，与大总统黎元洪之间因参与第一次世界大战问题引发府院之争，引发由张勋领导的溥仪复辟。复辟历时十二日后即被段于天津马厂誓师镇压。在继任的冯国璋总统任期内，就解决南北分裂，统一中国的方式问题，与冯发生第二次府院之争，1917年8月14日，对德国及奥匈帝国宣战，正式加入一战，并派华工到欧洲，及换取列强对中国如大国的待遇。于1917年11月22日辞职。

1918年3月22日复职。同年10月10日，冯国璋大总统的任期届满，安福国会选举徐世昌为大总统。段与冯约定共同下野。段祺瑞通过安福系继续在幕后操纵政权。1920年7月在直皖战争中失败，退隐天津。

1924年10月23日，冯玉祥发动甲子兵变，推翻大总统曹锟，先邀请孙中山北上，后与奉系妥协，请段祺瑞出山，任中华民国临时政府的临时执政（国家元首）。

1925年4月24日，段正式下取消法统令，废除断续运行12年的中华民国第一届国会，由中华民国临时参政院替代之。

晚年

1926年3月18日，发生北洋政府镇压北京学生运动的三·一八惨案，同年4月9日被鹿锺麟驱逐，避入东交民巷法使馆。后联奉军不成，20日下台，退居天津日租界当寓公，潜心佛学，自号「正道居士」。1928年7月3日蒋抵北平后，听闻段祺瑞之安福系在天津活动之说，乃以学生身分致书段氏，劝其爱惜令名：「弟子蒋介石谨致敬于芝泉夫子座前，而问起居……中正与先生别垂二十三年，知先生或忆当年弟子中有蒋志清其人者。此二十三年中，先生几度秉国大政，备极喧赫；而中正始终追随先总理，奔走革命，致力扑灭奉先生为领袖之北洋军阀，历尽艰苦，而未尝偶一修音问者公也。今燕云收复，北伐即告完成，中正身临旧都，未遑宁处，上书敬候居者私也。公私之间，截然有鸿沟在。……中正对于先生已往翊赞共和之勋绩，深知尊重，无敢或忘；并深愿先生爱惜令名，善用勋望，以固革命之基，而奠共和之实，使天下后世皆知先生救国爱民之真诚，而不终为奸邪宵小之所误，是则公私之幸也。语曰：君子爱人以德。辄敢以弟子之私，布其诚悃，惟希鉴察。」

1931年九一八事变后，因日本军队占领中国东北，拒绝与日本人往来，颇有民族操守。

至1933年1月，日军攻占山海关，华北情势危急，蒋恐段祺瑞为日人利用，乃请交通银行董事长钱新之作为特使，持其亲笔函赴天津，往见段氏，邀请南下；段氏亦恐遭日人劫持，经思考后决定接受，于1月21日凌晨离开天津南下，1月22日抵达南京，蒋亲自于下关码头迎接，执弟子礼。1月23日，蒋复陪同段氏往谒中山陵，向孙致意，并「与之畅谈辛亥年要求共和通电以前之历史」，谓：「此老骨格与精神，求之当世不可多得也」，午夜蒋送段氏登车赴上海定居。2月段祺瑞移居上海。

1935年被任命为国民政府委员，但没有就职。

逝世

1936年11月2日，段氏病逝于上海。11月3日，蒋致电中央，以其「赞成共和与再造之功，殊不可没」，地位「实为元勋」，建议予以「国葬」，并指示军事委员会及军政部派员协助治丧；且亲撰挽联，于审视国民政府褒扬令后，悼念曰：「段氏对于国家确有不没之功，于己之师生关系尤无任哀悼也。」

段氏葬于万安公墓，享年71岁。

段临终遗言有「八勿」，即：「勿因我见而轻起政争，勿尚空谈而不顾实践，勿兴不急之务而浪用民财，勿信过激言行之说而自摇邦本。讲外交者，勿忘巩固国防；司教育者，勿忘保存国粹；治家者，勿弃国有之礼教；求学者，勿鹜时尚之纷华。」

历代内阁

1916年段祺瑞第一次内阁

1916年4月23日成立。国务总理段祺瑞，外交总长陆徵祥（后由曹汝霖兼署），内务总长王揖唐，财政总长孙宝琦，陆军总长段祺瑞兼，海军总长刘冠雄，司法总长章宗祥，教育总长张国淦，农商总长金邦平，交通总长曹汝霖（大半由梁士诒决定），参谋总长王士珍，审计院长庄蕴宽。1916年6月30日改组，1917年5月23日因府院之争结束。

国务总理段祺瑞，外交总长唐绍仪（唐未到前由陈锦涛兼署，9月唐抵达，因督军团通电反对，旋即辞职，伍廷芳接任），内务总长许世英，财政总长陈锦涛，陆军总长段祺瑞（兼任），海军总长程璧光，司法总长张耀曾（张耀曾未到前由张国淦兼署），教育总长孙洪伊（次长吴闓生代理，范源濂继任总长，孙洪伊改任内务总长，原内务总长许世英改任交通总长），农商总长张国淦，交通总长汪大燮。

1917年段祺瑞第二次内阁

1917年7月17日成立，11月22日因第二次府院之争结束。国务总理段祺瑞、外交总长汪大燮、内务总长汤化龙、财政总长梁启超、陆军总长段祺瑞兼、海军总长刘冠雄、司法总长林长民、教育总长范源濂，农商总长张国淦、交通总长曹汝霖。

1918年段祺瑞第三次内阁

1918年3月29日成立，12月13日因新国会（安福国会）成立结束。国务总理段祺瑞、外交总长陆徵祥、内务总长钱能训、财政总长曹汝霖兼，陆军总长段芝贵、海军总长刘冠雄、司法总长朱深、教育总长傅增湘、农商总长田文烈、交通总长曹汝霖、机密院院长曹泾沅。

西原借款

西原借款为1917年至1918年间段祺瑞政府和日本签订的一系列公开和秘密借款的总称。

1917年7月，段祺瑞重任中华民国国务总理后，为推行「武力统一」政策，镇压孙中山倡导的护法运动，以中国权利为抵押品，向日本大量借款。1917-1918年，段祺瑞共向日本借款5亿日元。其中由西原龟三与段祺瑞政府的曹汝霖、陆宗舆、章宗祥商办议定的有吉会铁路、满蒙四铁路、吉林、黑龙江两省的森林和金矿、有线电信、参战、交通银行等八项借款，共计1.45亿日元。

通过这一借款，段祺瑞把中国山东和东北地区的铁路、矿产、森林等权益大量抵押给日本。

西原借款所得款项，日后用于财政性支出占65.22%，军费占总支出占25.40%。

中日协定

1918年5月16日，日本陆军少将与段祺瑞政府代表靳云鹏，在北京秘密签订《中日陆军共同防敌军事协定》。19日又签订《中日海军共同防敌军事协定》。

「协定」的主要内容是：中国与日本采取「共同防敌」的行动；日本在战争期间可以进驻中国境内；日军在中国境外作战时，中国应派兵声援；作战期间，两国互相供给军器和军需品。

通过「协定」，日本派出大批军队进入中国东北，日本迅速取代了沙俄在东三省北部的侵略地位，中国则面临沦为日本附属国的局面。

轶事

段祺瑞笃信佛教，平日多半吃斋、念佛、朝夕烧香、礼佛，能解《金刚经》、《法华经》。

段祺瑞一生酷爱围棋，与其子段宏业、侄子段宏纲皆是围棋高手。据说段祺瑞少年时曾与刘铭传下过围棋，段祺瑞执政时资助过大批围棋好手（包括顾水如、吴清源等），被称作「中国围棋的大后台」，段祺瑞长子段宏业是国手级的大师，段祺瑞屡战屡败，故往往生气不语，皆是由段宏纲劝解。

段祺瑞也喜欢打麻雀，赌注不大，却是麻雀高手，往往一夜多胜。

段祺瑞之后统治中国的蒋介石，自称在保定读军校时，军校总办是段祺瑞，故蒋介石自认为「段祺瑞学生」，亲自致赠礼金，加上同样反共，故段祺瑞晚年与蒋介石关系不差。北洋三杰即段祺瑞，冯国璋与王世珍，外界评三人才能高下，即神仙，老虎，狗，神仙王能力最好，次是段如虎，冯最后，三人皆袁世凯提拔起，1911年10月辛亥武昌革命，袁即派出段与冯领清新军近五万，当周即自直隶南下，大战南方军至1912年1月中，国父孙中山自美国搭轮船赶回国，调停即南北始停战。

评价

后人评论段祺瑞者甚多，赞扬其品质高尚，爱国有心，组织才能非凡，善于利用政治手腕和军事手腕维护政权。虽为军阀，但人格正面，为人严肃刻板，不苟言笑，生活朴素，清廉如水，无积蓄、无房产，不抽、不喝、不嫖、不赌、不贪、不占，人称「六不总理」，享誉于世。也骂其军阀习气，刚愎自用，迷信武力，倾心权术，在军事上并无出色战功和理论，喜用私人为将领。

1924年3月，北京大学纪念25周年活动中，大学生进行国内大人物票选，段祺瑞与胡适同居第四名，前三名为孙中山、陈独秀和蔡元培。

段祺瑞因致电要求清帝退位、抵制洪宪帝制和讨伐张勋复辟这三件事，有「三造共和」的美誉。梁啓超评价段祺瑞：「其人短处固所不免，然不顾一身利害，为国家勇于负责，举国中恐无人能比。」吴佩孚：「天下无公，正未知几人称帝，几人称王，奠国著奇功，大好河山归再造；时局至此，皆误在今日不和，明日不战，忧民成痼疾，中流砥柱失元勋。」

1924年，冯玉祥发动北京政变，段祺瑞被推为中华民国临时执政。1926年，中国国民党与中国共产党联合发动学生抗议，北京军警镇压请愿学生，造成「三·一八惨案」，旋被冯玉祥赶下台。「三一八」惨案发生后，有说法认为段祺瑞随即赶到现场，向死者长跪不起，并决定终身食素，至死都没有违背这一决定。根据当时新闻档案，段祺瑞根本没有去「三一八」惨案现场，也没有出现在「悼念三一八惨案死难同胞大会」，并且段政府称示威学生为「暴徒」。有回忆者称段祺瑞在三一八之后在家中也吃荤，在其他场合吃素只是与信佛有关。

国民政府褒扬令︰前临时执政段祺瑞，持躬廉介，谋国公忠。辛亥倡率各军赞助共和，功在民国。及袁氏僭号，洁身引退，力维正义，节概凛然。嗣值复辟变作，誓师马厂，迅遏逆氛，卒能重奠邦基，巩固政体，殊功硕望，薄海同钦。兹闻在沪溘逝，老成凋谢，惋悼实深，应即予以国葬，并发给治丧费一万元。生平事迹，存备宣付史馆。用示国家笃念耆勋之至意。此令！

著作

段祺瑞晚年喜好吟咏，有《正道居诗》、《正道居诗续集》、《正道居感世集》、《正道居感世续集》等，后合编为《正道居集》，计有文八篇，诗三十五题五十四篇，可惜流传甚罕。香港学者陈炜舜积数年之力，在《正道居集》的基础上补辑逸作，包括文（联、颂）三十二篇、诗十题十篇，集合近三十位青年学人撰写解题、注释，附以〈剪影集锦〉与〈公文电报选辑〉，编成《段祺瑞正道居诗文注解》（台北：万卷楼，2020年3月），俾广大读者了解这位雄杰之士不为人知的「好文」一面，进而对民初史有更深入的认知。

影视作品

• 赵本山：2011年中国电影：《建党伟业》

• 戴志伟：2009年香港无綫电视：《蔡锷与小凤仙》

• 马仑：2003年中国电视剧：《走向共和》

• 郑榕：1986年中国电影：《直奉大战》

Early life

Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui (段启瑞), his courtesy name was Zhiquan (芝泉). His grandfather was Duan Pei (段佩), an officer in Li Hongzhang's privately raised Huai Army (Huai Jun, 淮军). His father died early and he was raised by his maternal grandmother.

Early career

In 1885 Duan Qirui entered Tianjin Military Academy (天津武备学堂), specializing in artillery, and graduated at the top of his class. After graduation, he was sent to Lüshun to oversee the construction of artillery fortifications and came to the attention of Li Hongzhang, who sent him to study military science in Germany for two years. After returning to China he was first named as a commissioner to the Beiyang Armory (北洋军械局) and then an instructor at Weihai military academy. Soon he was able to gain the sponsorship of Yuan Shikai, who named him an artillery commander in the New Army.

Duan first saw action in the Boxer Rebellion, where he served Yuan in Shandong province and distinguished himself in combat against the Boxers. Yuan then gave him command over a Beiyang army division in 1904. In 1906 he was appointed director of the Baoding Staff College, which allowed him to begin recruiting his own clique of loyal junior officers. Yuan arranged for the marriage of his niece, whom he had adopted, to Duan in an effort to consolidate his power and solidify Duan's loyalty.

After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 against the Qing dynasty, Duan commanded the loyalist Second Army Corps against the revolutionary army in the Battle of Yangxia and succeeded in taking back Hankou and Hanyang. After Yuan Shikai altered the course of the Xinhai Revolution by forcing the emperor to abdicate, Duan supported him. For his loyalty Yuan appointed him military governor of both Hunan and Hubei provinces. He was further named to Yuan's cabinet as minister of war in 1912, then premier in 1913 while also keeping his position was war minister. Because he had publicly supported the Emperor's abdication while serving as an envoy of the central government in 1911, Duan's promotions were supported by the Kuomintang.

Politics

Duan rose to power as a close ally of Yuan Shikai, but the two came to increasingly disagree with each other over various issues as time went on. One of the main problems was that Duan began to amass influence over the Beiyang Army as minister of war, thereby undermining Yuan's own control over the soldiers. Realizing his growing power, Duan became more independent and gradually challenged the President over appointments and reforms in the military. As both had volatile tempers, their quarrels became ever more heated, and Yuan eventually started to counter Duan's rise. Using Duan and the Beiyang Army's failure to suppress the Bai Lang Rebellion as reason, he initiated reforms to purge the military of Duan's followers and raise a new army which was supposed to be more capable than the Beiyang Army while also being loyal to Yuan himself. As Duan fell sick in late 1914, he was unable to stop the President's plans, and he was thus dismissed as minister of war in May 1915.

Having expected to eventually succeed Yuan in the presidency, Duan thus came to oppose Yuan's attempt to declare himself Emperor in late 1915. After several provinces declared independence from Yuan's government, Duan tried to play the intermediary between the rebels and Yuan, just as Yuan had done during the Xinhai Revolution. Their friendship never recovered, even after Duan was given the premiership, partially because Yuan had shrewdly stripped that office of its powers. Duan served as premier intermittently from 1913–18, under several governments, as part of a series of shaky coalitions (which often collapsed). Yuan's attempt to establish his own dynasty had destroyed the unity of China, and many provinces had achieved de facto independence from Beijing as early as 1915.

State Premier

In 1916, when Yuan Shikai was on his deathbed, he called several of the most important political and military figures in his government, including Duan, to hear his last political testament. Yuan was only able to say two words: "the Constitution", which no one was able to interpret. Yuan's 1914 constitution stipulated that, in the event of the impending death of China's president, the president would place the names of three men to potentially succeed him after his death. After his death, the box would be opened and one of the men named would be elected.

Yuan died on June 6, 1916. When the box was opened, Duan Qirui, Li Yuanhong and Xu Shichang were named. None initially wanted to take the presidency. Duan consulted with other senior military leaders of northern China, calculated that Li was the weakest and least popular of the three and then successfully pressured him to take the presidency, possibly under the rationale that a weak, unpopular president would be easier to manipulate. Duan served under Li as premier, but dominated him—and the rest of the government—and ruled for a time as the effective dictator of northern China, challenged mostly by semi-independent warlords. Neither Duan nor Li ever attempted to submit Li's appointment as president to a parliamentary or general election, indicating Duan's general contempt for constitutional reform.

Duan Qirui, in his appointment as Premier, refused to recognize the old 1912 constitution. He was opposed by both President Li Yuanhong and Vice President Feng Guozhang, the second most important Beiyang military commander after Duan himself. On June 15, 1917, the admiral of the Chinese First Fleet, Li Tingxin, along with China's most senior naval commanders issued a statement supporting the 1912 constitution and threatened to ignore orders from Beijing if the constitution was not restored, declaring their solidarity with the "National Protection Army" in the southwest, which also claimed to support the constitution. Eventually Feng was able to persuade Duan to relent and the dissident government in the south agreed to dissolve itself when Parliament was reconvened. Nevertheless, the parliament and the country remained as divided as ever between north and south. Duan and the other Beiyang leaders refused to be dictated to by southern parliamentarians, composed mostly of Sun Yat-sen's Guangdong-based Kuomintang party, backed by southern armies outside Beiyang control. Duan decided to take action against southern military commanders by reassigning them to other posts and thereby breaking their control. In order to do this he decided to oust the pro-Kuomintang military commander of Hunan; however, his cabinet refused to do so. In spite of this, Duan's right-hand man and Cabinet Secretary, Xu Shuzheng, issued orders on his own initiative to launch an attack on Hunan.

World War I

In Europe World War I had reached a crucial point by 1916–17. Duan saw an opportunity to ingratiate China with the European powers and the US by declaring on the side of the Allies against Central powers. However, Duan was opposed again by both the president and vice-president, along with most of the parliament. He was impatient to gain parliament's approval through negotiation and resorted to bullying tactics with organized mobs. In response, president Li Yuanhong in May 1917 dismissed Duan as premier after parliament had voted to ask for his resignation.

At this juncture a monarchist general, Zhang Xun, marched his army into Beijing and announced the restoration of the Qing dynasty on July 1, 1917. Outraged, the other Beiyang generals, led by vice-president Feng Guozhang, mobilized their forces and ended the short-lived restoration attempt. Duan was returned to power while Li Yuanhong, having had enough of Beiyang politics, resigned the presidency. A few days later, on August 14, 1917, China entered the First World War on the side of the Allies. Duan declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary Empire and took back Germany's settlement and Austria Hungary's settlement in Tianjin. By entering the war, Duan hoped for some quid pro quo from China's new allies, such as the cancellation of many of the indemnities and concessions that China had been forced to sign in the past. He also hoped that China could gain international prestige by involving itself in "The Great War".

Duan's strategy now was to negotiate financial loans with Japan, in exchange for concessions, to fund a military buildup for the conquest of the south. The political cover for this army was the entry of China into the First World War. With the poor state of the government's credit and European wartime expenses making both Western and domestic financing impossible, he secretly negotiated the first of the Nishihara Loans with Japan on September 29, 1917. In exchange he offered Japan the right to station troops in Shandong province as well as the right to build and run two new Shandong railroads. There would be a high political price to pay when these negotiations came to light later on, but in the meantime Duan got the money for his army. This later became part of the reason for the Shandong Problem.

Anhui clique

After Feng Guozhang had restored him as premier, Duan Qirui quickly began preparations to mobilize troops for conquest of the south. The south responded by forming another rival government against the north and organizing the Constitutional Protection Movement. Duan dispatched two former subordinates of Feng Guozhang to the south to conquer Hunan, the linchpin of central China; one of these commanders was Wu Peifu. Wu supported Feng's preference for peaceful reconciliation with the south and refused to fight. Embarrassed by this fiasco, Duan was forced to resign a second time as premier in November 1917.

Nevertheless, Duan still exercised enormous influence in Beijing due to the various military commanders who were still loyal to him. Feng Guozhang was forced to reappoint him to the cabinet as Minister of War, and once again Duan dispatched troops to the south. He also ordered Zhang Zuolin, military ruler of Manchuria, to send troops to Beijing as a ploy to further pressure Feng to restore him to the premiership. However, Wu Peifu once again refused to follow his orders to invade the southern provinces. Faced with the threat from Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's coalescing "Zhili clique," Duan attempted to strengthen his position by forming his own political party called the "Anhui clique." He also used the funds from the Nishihara Loans to build up his military forces, employing Japanese officers to train his troops.

President Feng Guozhang's term expired on October 10, 1918; in an attempt to placate the south, he agreed not to seek re-election provided Duan also vacate the office of premier on the same day. Duan's position was also weakening as rumours of his secret dealings with the Japanese began to surface. When the Nishihara Loans were exposed, along with the secret treaty between the Allies and Japan to transfer Shandong to the Japanese, at the Versailles peace conference, Beijing and the rest of the nation exploded in protest in what came to be known as the "May Fourth Movement" on May 4, 1919. Duan's rivals Cao Kun and Wu Peifu of the Zhili clique moved to corner him by organizing an alliance of military leaders, including Zhang Zuolin, who opposed Duan. They also engineered the dismissal of Duan's key subordinate Xu Shuzheng on July 4, 1919. In retribution, Duan forced the new president to dismiss both Cao and Wu even though there was no possible way to actually remove them from their posts. He also renamed his army the "National Pacification Army" and mobilized them for war with the Zhili clique and its supporters.

The bombing of the Forbidden City

Aisin Gioro Puyi was restored to the Emperor's throne at the Forbidden City by the warlord and Qing loyalist Zhang Xun in July of 1917, and ordering his army to keep their queues in loyal service to the Qing emperor. However, there was extensive opposition across China to return to imperial monarchy, and as a show of force, Duan Qirui ordered a Caudron Type D aircraft, piloted by Pan Shizhong (潘世忠) and bombardier Du Yuyuan (杜裕源) from Nanyuan airbase to drop three bombs over the Forbidden City, causing the death of an eunuch, but otherwise minor damage. This is the first recorded instance of aerial bombardment by the early-Republican era Chinese Air Force

Fall from power

The conflict came to be known as the Zhili–Anhui War and lasted from July 14 to July 18, 1920. Although Duan's army had been equipped and trained by Japan, it succumbed easily to Wu Peifu-led Zhili forces and their allies. His military power shattered, Duan fled to a Japanese settlement in Tianjin and became an apartment landlord. The Anhui clique began to lose its coherency, as some of its members became affiliated with either the Zhili clique or Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian faction. Only Zhejiang remained in the hands of the Anhui clique, although it eventually fell in 1924. Shandong was allowed by the Zhili clique to later be taken over by an Anhui warlord under strict conditions of neutrality. Nevertheless, some Anhui clique politicians remained active in government as the Zhili clique and Fengtian faction began to maneuver against each other. Jin Yunpeng, who had been a protege of Duan, was appointed premier in August 1920. Other Anhui members secretly mediated between Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang, an important leader in the Zhili clique, when the latter decided to revolt against his former allies in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War.

Return as chief executive

Feng Yuxiang's defection resulted in the defeat of Wu Peifu and the Zhili clique and forced them to withdraw to the south. The victorious Zhang Zuolin unpredictably named Duan Qirui as the new Chief Executive of the nation on November 24, 1924. Duan's new government was grudgingly accepted by the Zhili clique because, without an army of his own, Duan was now considered a neutral choice. In addition, instead of "President" Duan was now called the "Chief Executive," implying that the position was temporary and therefore politically weak. Duan Qirui called on Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang in the south to restart negotiations towards national reunification. Sun demanded that the "unequal treaties" with foreign powers be repudiated and that a new national assembly be assembled. Bowing to public pressure, Duan promised a new national assembly in three months; however he could not unilaterally discard the "unequal treaties," since the foreign powers had made official recognition of Duan's regime contingent upon respecting these very treaties. Sun died on March 12, 1925 and the negotiations fell apart.

With his clique's military power in a shambles, Duan's government was hopelessly dependent on Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin. Knowing that those two did not get along, he secretly tried to play one side against the other. On March 18, 1926, a protest march was held against continued foreign infringement on Chinese sovereignty and a recent incident in Tianjin involving a Japanese warship. Duan dispatched military police to disperse the protesters, and in the resulting melee 47 protesters were killed and over 200 injured, including Li Dazhao, co-founder of the Communist Party. The event came to be known as the March 18 Massacre. The next month Feng Yuxiang again revolted, this time against the Fengtian clique, and deposed Duan, who was forced to flee to Zhang Zuolin for protection. Zhang, tired of his double-dealings, refused to restore him after re-capturing Beijing. Most of the Anhui clique had already sided with Zhang. Duan Qirui exiled himself to Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai where he died on November 2, 1936.

Personal life

Duan gained a reputation as tough and authoritarian, but without a great love for public office. He was observed to have a "Buddhist inclination", and enjoyed solitude. He delegated great authority to his subordinates, and generally supported their decisions. His chief professional interest was the training of soldiers. In government, he favored a cabinet system, in which decisions were made among a small group of powerful men, rather than either the one-man dictatorship favored by Yuan Shikai or the open, consultative form of government proposed by Sun Yat-sen.

Duan was also well known as a player and patron of weiqi (Go). He usually won because his opponents feared defeating him, with the exception of his son-in-law, who was also a patron of weiqi and was not afraid of defeating his father-in-law. Duan had four daughters. After Duan's retirement from politics he became a devoted Buddhist, built a worship hall within his own home and prayed every morning. Many of his former subordinates frequently came to pray with him. On the first and the 15th days of each month (lunar calendar), Duan would go to temples to participate in various Buddhist events. He supposedly became a vegetarian after the March 18 Massacre to repent for his involvements in the massacre. Douchi was his favorite food and was served at every meal. Duan also kept a hen farm at home to provide him with eggs, but kept no roosters, as he claimed that without fertilization, the eggs remained vegetarian.