The Strategic Value of Salt in Early 20th-Century China

Salt was far more than a dietary necessity in early Republican China—it was a geopolitical weapon. As the country fragmented after the 1911 Revolution, regional warlords recognized that controlling salt production and taxation meant controlling the lifeblood of military financing. Nowhere was this struggle more intense than in Sichuan, home to the legendary Zigong salt wells, which alone generated over 90% of the province’s salt revenue. By 1911, salt taxes accounted for one-third of Sichuan’s total tax income, making these brine fields the ultimate prize in the Southwest’s power struggles.

This article examines how salt transformed from a humble commodity into the catalyst for decade-long conflicts between Yunnan’s militarists and Sichuan’s local forces—a struggle that would shape the careers of future Chinese leaders and redefine regional power structures.

The First Salt Clash: Yunnan’s 1911 Gambit

The salt wars began immediately after the Xinhai Revolution. On November 14, 1911, Yunnan’s newly independent military government dispatched the “Aid Sichuan Army” under the pretext of supporting revolutionary forces. Their true objective became clear when they eliminated Zhou Hongxun’s local militia and seized control of the Zigong salt wells by early 1912.

Sichuan’s response was swift. The elite 1st Division—formerly the Qing Dynasty’s 17th Brigade—under Japanese-trained commander Zhou Jun engaged the Yunnanese at Jiechangbei, 30 kilometers from the salt fields. Though both forces were evenly matched (Yunnan officers trained at the prestigious Yunnan Military Academy, future alma mater of Zhu De and Ye Jianying), the Yunnanese eventually withdrew due to supply shortages. Their retreat wasn’t empty-handed—they extorted 50,000 silver dollars from local merchants and looted 300,000 taels of silver from salt revenues, foreshadowing future conflicts.

The National Protection War: Salt and the Anti-Monarchy Movement

The salt struggle reached new heights during the 1915-16 National Protection War against Yuan Shikai’s imperial ambitions. When Yunnan’s revolutionary leader Cai E led the National Protection Army into Sichuan, salt revenue became the unspoken prize. Tang Jiyao, the Yunnan warlord, initially sent only 3,000 troops to support Cai but flooded Sichuan with reinforcements after Yuan’s defeat—not for patriotism, but for salt.

By 1916, Yunnan forces had ballooned to 30,000 troops in Sichuan (10 times their initial contingent), all funded by Zigong’s salt tax revenue of 5.7 million silver dollars annually—enough to finance five full divisions. As Cai E lay dying of illness in Japan, his successor Luo Peijin implemented a brutal “Strengthen Yunnan, Weaken Sichuan” policy:
– Dismantling the Sichuan 4th Division
– Seizing control of Sichuan’s armories
– Diverting salt taxes exclusively to Yunnan troops

This overreach triggered the 1917 Liu-Luo War, where Sichuan commander Liu Cunhou defeated Luo in just seven days of fighting that left 8,000 civilians casualties and 3,000 homes destroyed in Chengdu.

The 1917-20 Salt Wars: Tang Jiyao’s Expansionist Campaign

Undeterred, Yunnan’s Tang Jiyao launched the Sichuan Pacification War under the banner of “Constitutional Protection.” His 40,000-strong Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces captured Chongqing and Luzhou by December 1917, eventually installing ally Xiong Kewu as Sichuan’s governor.

The September 1918 “Three-Province Alliance Plan” revealed Tang’s true intent:
1. Direct control over Sichuan’s arms factories and mints
2. Exclusive claim to salt, wine, and mining taxes
3. Occupation of all wealthy districts including Zigong

When Xiong Kewu refused to sign, Tang simply took the salt revenues by force. The conflict reached its climax in 1920 when Sichuan forces under Yang Sen—a former Yunnan protégé—betrayed his mentor Zhao Youxin, seized the Zigong wells, and emerged as a new Sichuan warlord.

The Nationalist Era: Salt’s Role in State-Building

After the Northern Expedition, the Nanjing government centralized salt tax collection, making it a pillar of state finance. By 1937, salt taxes ranked third in national revenue after customs and opium. The elite Tax Police Corps—equipped with German rifles and even armored vehicles—guarded major salt-producing regions like Haizhou in Jiangsu.

During the Anti-Japanese War, both Communist and Nationalist forces relied on salt:
– The New Fourth Army headquartered in the salt-producing city of Yancheng
– Chen Yun’s salt speculation operations funding Communist activities
– Nationalist salt taxes financing wartime expenditures

Global Parallels: Salt as a Tool of Empire

China’s salt wars mirrored global patterns:
– Venice built its medieval wealth on Mediterranean salt trade
– The Dutch East India Company inflated salt prices 30-fold in the Moluccas
– British colonialists extracted £80 million from Indian salt monopolies

From Sichuan’s brine wells to Venetian salt pans, control of this “white gold” repeatedly shaped the rise and fall of empires—a testament to salt’s enduring power beyond the kitchen.

Legacy: How Salt Shaped Modern China

The salt conflicts left indelible marks:
1. Military Careers Forged: Future PLA marshals Zhu De and Liu Bocut gained experience in these battles
2. Warlord Economics: The model of funding armies through resource monopolies persisted until 1949
3. State-Building Lessons: Both Communists and Nationalists learned to prioritize control of strategic commodities

Today, as China’s last traditional salt wells fade into history, they stand as monuments to an era when control of a simple seasoning could make or break armies and change the course of nations.