Spirit Soldier rebellions (1920–1926)

The Spirit Soldier rebellions of 1920–1926 were a series of major peasant uprisings against state authorities and warlords in the Republic of China's provinces of Hubei and Sichuan during the Warlord Era. Following years of brutal suppression, civil war, and excessive taxation, the rural population of central China was restive, and susceptible to militant salvationist movements. One spiritual group, the so-called Spirit Soldiers, promised the peasants that they could gain protection from modern weaponry through protective magic. Tens of thousands consequently rallied to join the Spirit Soldiers, and successfully revolted in the mountainous and isolated areas of Hubei and Sichuan. At its height, the Spirit Soldier movement numbered over 100,000 fighters, and controlled about forty counties.

The Spirit Soldiers had early military victories, but, relative to their opponents, lacked organization, a cohesive ideology and modern weaponry. As a result, they could not prevail in the face of concentrated counter-offensives by the Chinese warlord armies. The Spirit Soldiers’ main armies were defeated and dispersed in 1926. Despite this, the movement remained active and continued to spread into neighboring provinces. Several Spirit Soldier factions consequently allied themselves with the Chinese Communist Party, providing crucial support to the latter's nascent insurgency in central China.