The Xi'an Incident

On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang (1901-2001) and Yang Hucheng (1893-1949), two patriotic KMT generals, seized Chiang Kai-shek by force in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province, in an effort to pressurize him into resisting the Japanese aggression. This was known as the Xi'an Incident, or the Double 12th Incident.

In 1935, in the face of expanding Japanese imperialist aggression, the CPC published a An Appeal to All Fellow Countrymen for Resistance Against Japan and for National Salvation (the August 1st Declaration). This advocated a national united front against the Japanese. The call reinvigorated the campaign against the Japanese occupiers, and support for Chiang Kai-shek's slogan of "internal pacification before resistance to foreign invasion" withered. 

Zhang Xueliang had more than once tried to persuade Chiang to stop the civil war and join the fight against the Japanese, but every one of his calls had been rejected by Chiang. In early December 1936, Chiang flew to Xi'an and ordered Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng to attack the Red Army in northern Shaanxi. Zhang and Yang decided to resort to force.

Before dawn on December 12, the Northeast Army under Zhang's command and the KMT 17th Route Army under Yang's command detained Chiang, and took into custody dozens of KMT officers and officials from Nanjing such as Chen Cheng (1898-1965) and Wei Lihuang (1897-1960). Zhang and Yang then sent an open telegram to the nation about the mutiny, and made eight proposals including reorganizing the Nanjing government and stopping the civil war. The whole of China and the rest of the world were astounded at this incident.

The CPC had no prior knowledge of the Xi'an Incident. On the very night after the incident, Zhang Xueliang telegraphed the CPC Central Committee calling for consultations. Based on an analysis of the situation at home and abroad, and putting the interests of the Chinese nation above everything else, the CPC leadership agreed to the principle of peaceful settlement of the incident. 

On December 17, a CPC delegation headed by Zhou Enlai arrived in Xi'an. They had a sincere discussion with Zhang and Yang, and met with various other interested parties in an effort to achieve peaceful resolution of the incident.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Zhou, Zhang and Yang, and after days of negotiation, Chiang was forced to make six promises. These included commitments to end the suppression of the Communists, and to ally with the Red Army to resist Japan.

The Xi'an Incident occurred just as the objective conditions for renewed KMT-CPC cooperation were ripening, and it helped push those conditions to fruition. The peaceful settlement of the incident saw a dramatic change in the situation in China. The 10-year civil war came to an opaque end, and China turned its gaze from a domestic war to nationwide resistance against the Japanese aggression.

西安事變

1936年12月12日，國民黨愛國將領張學良、楊虎城在陜西西安發動“兵諫”，逼迫蔣介石抗日，史稱西安事變，亦稱“雙十二事變”。

面對日本帝國主義的步步緊逼，1935年，中國共產黨發布《為抗日救國告全體同胞書》（即《八一宣言》），提出抗日民族統一戰線的主張。全國人民的抗日運動進入新的高潮，蔣介石的“攘外必先安內”的政策更加不得人心。張學良曾多次勸諫蔣介石停止內戰、一致對外，都被拒絕。

1936年12月初，蔣介石到西安迫令張學良、楊虎城立即率部開赴陜北前線“剿共”。在這種情況下，張學良、楊虎城決定發動“兵諫”。12月12日凌晨，東北軍和第十七路軍協同行動，扣押了蔣介石，囚禁了陳誠、衛立煌等幾十名國民黨軍政要員，隨即通電全國，提出改組南京政府、停止一切內戰等八項抗日主張。這便是震驚中外的西安事變。

中國共產黨在事變前沒有與聞此事。事變爆發后，張學良當夜致電中共中央，希望聽取中共意見。中共中央分析了國內外形勢，以中華民族利益的大局為重，確定了用和平方式解決事變的方針。12月17日，以周恩來為首的中共代表團到達西安，與張學良、楊虎城懇切會談，并接見各方人士，力爭和平解決西安事變。由于周恩來與張學良、楊虎城的共同努力，經過談判，迫使蔣介石作出了“停止剿共，聯紅抗日”等六項承諾。

西安事變在國共兩黨重新合作的客觀形勢漸次成熟的時候，起了促成這個合作的作用。西安事變的和平解決，成為時局轉換的樞紐。從此，中國十年內戰的局面基本結束，中國由此實現了從國內戰爭到全國抗戰的偉大轉變。