Guided Visit: "The Beiyang Warlords: War and Politics 「北洋軍‧政‧歲月」展覽" (in Cantonese)

「北洋軍‧政‧歲月」展覽導賞

北洋軍閥是中國近代史上一個影響深遠的軍事政治集團，其歷史始於1895年袁世凱在天津小站練兵，他一方面擴充軍事力量，同時又在中央和地方安插親信，逐漸形成以袁世凱為首的北洋軍閥集團，左右清末以至民初的朝政。袁世凱於1916年死後，缺乏有實力和威望的人代替他統馭這個集團。由於權力鬥爭，北洋軍閥遂分裂為皖、直、奉系三大勢力，內戰使各系輪流執政。直到1928年國民革命軍北伐成功，北洋軍閥才結束管治。北洋軍閥的興衰，有助理解近代中國政局的複雜發展。

展覽包括天津博物館、香港歷史博物館、東華三院及本港藏家所借出的珍貴文物，例如牌匾、勳章、指揮刀、旗、文件和明信片等。導賞將由一位研究北洋軍閥勳章達三十年及借出藏品作今次展覽的本會會員以廣東話主講，重點集中於北洋軍閥勳章的發展及趣聞。

The Beiyang warlords were extremely influential military and political powers in modern Chinese history which started in 1895 with Yuan Shikai’s trained soldiers in Xiaozhan, Tianjin.  He expanded his influence through military build-up while placing his trusted aides in the central and local governments.  Over time, the Beiyang warlords headed by Yuan Shikai were powerful enough to influence the politics of the late Qing and early Republican periods.  Following Yuan’s death in 1916, no one with the same strength and imposing reputation could take his place as leader.  Power struggles among the Beiyang warlords led to the formation of the Anhui, Zhili and Fengtian cliques, with each taking turn to rule the north.  The Beiyang warlords ceased to exist as a viable political force when the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army succeeded in 1928.  The rise and fall of the Beiyang warlords shed light on the complex development of the political situation of modern China.

The exhibition is comprised of various invaluable relics such as plaque, orders and medals, swords, flags, documents and postcards, etc., from the Tianjin Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, as well as Hong Kong collectors.  Our guided tour will be led by a member of the HKU Museum Society whose collection forms part of this exhibition.  He has been researching the orders and medals of Beiyang warlords for 30 years. His talk will be conducted in Cantonese with interesting stories related to the development of these orders and medals.