Yang Zengxin

Yang Zengxin (Chinese: 楊增新/杨增新, 1859-1928), born in Mengzi County in Yunnan in 1859, was the ruler of Xinjiang after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 until his assassination in 1928. Yang came to power after he defeated the revolutionaries that caused the last Qing dynasty governor to flee. President Yuan Shikai recognized his rule and in return he supported Yuan's revival of the monarchy by inviting anti-Yuan rebels to a banquet and decapitating them on New Year's Day, 1916. In 1917, President Li Yuanhong assigned Fan Yaonan (樊耀南) to observe him and, if possible, replace him. Yang always recognized which ever faction was in power in the Beiyang government to avoid trouble. Yang's rule kept the region relatively peaceful, compared to other parts of China which were war-torn. However, he ruled dictatorially and executed many dissidents. On July 1, 1928 he recognized the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. Six days later he was killed in a coup attempt by Fan Yaonan during a banquet. Fan had risen high into Yang's regime but Yang never trusted Fan. The motive seems to be Yang's denial of the pro-Nationalist Fan into a Nationalist advisory council designed to keep Xinjiang in check. Yang's death was avenged by Jin Shuren almost immediately. Lacking resources to oust Jin, Nanjing recognized his succession to the governorship.