Xi'an Incident

Xi'an Incident

Zhang Xueliang, Yang Hucheng, and Chiang Kai-shek two months before the incident
Date	12 December – 26 December 1936
Location	Xi'an, Republic of China
Participants	Zhang Xueliang Chiang Kai-shek Yang Hucheng Zhou Enlai others
Outcome	Chiang released Zhang arrested by Chiang Negotiations to create the Second United Front were accelerated
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	西安事變
Simplified Chinese	西安事变
Postal	Sian Incident
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xī'ān Shìbiàn (Xi'an Incident) Wade–Giles Hsi-an Shih-pian (Hsi-an Incident)

The Xi'an Incident^[a] was a Chinese political crisis that lasted from 12 to 26 December 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government of China, was arrested in Xi'an by soldiers of the Northeastern Army under the command of General Zhang Xueliang. Zhang demanded that Chiang agree to a ceasefire in the Chinese Civil War so that the Nationalist government could ally with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Japanese expansionism. Negotiations were held between Chiang and the CCP, resulting in verbal agreement on the broad outlines of an alliance. After Chiang was released, he publicly renounced the terms he had agreed to in captivity, but secretly continued the negotiations that would result in the Second United Front.

The Xi'an Incident followed months of secret negotiations between the CCP and the Nationalists. Only minor progress had been made by December 1936. However, the CCP had also been negotiating directly with the Nationalist armies that surrounded it, including the Northeastern Army. These negotiations had been much more successful. The CCP formed a secret alliance with Zhang's Northeastern Army and Yang Hucheng's Northwestern Army that aimed to see the civil war ended and a war of national liberation begun against Japan. With encouragement from the CCP, Zhang repeatedly but unsuccessfully pressured Chiang to agree to a ceasefire with the CCP. After Chiang gave Zhang an ultimatum to either attack the Communists or be reassigned, Zhang decided to take Chiang hostage and force a settlement.

Chiang Kai-shek's sudden capture was shocking news. The CCP was ecstatic, believing that an agreement with Chiang was no longer necessary now that he was in the custody of their ally, and they recommended he be put on trial and executed. Joseph Stalin, however, was worried that executing Chiang would make an alliance with the Nationalist government impossible, and ordered the CCP to bring the incident to a peaceful resolution. The CCP accepted this directive and instructed Zhou Enlai to begin negotiations. The Nationalist government was thrown into disarray and was at first unsure at how to react. A full military assault on Xi'an was nearly carried out by General He Yingqin before Soong Mei-ling (Chiang's wife) and other leaders of the "peace faction" prevailed. Soong and other close advisors to Chiang flew to Xi'an and convinced him to begin negotiations with the Communists. After a few weeks of slow progress, Chiang had agreed in principle to a ceasefire and a united front against Japan.

On December 26, Zhang agreed to release Chiang and accompany him back to Nanjing. Upon arrival, Chiang immediately had Zhang arrested—he would remain under house arrest for the next 50 years. Chiang publicly reneged on his agreements, but in private he invited Zhou Enlai to come to Nanjing. Negotiations on the specifics of an alliance continued until shortly after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at which point the two sides were able to finalize their terms.
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