Dong Fuxiang

Dong Fuxiang (1839–1908), a Han Chinese, was born Gansu, China. He commanded an army of Chinese Muslim soldiers, which included the later Ma clique generals Ma Anliang and Ma Fuxiang. According to the Western calendar, his birth date is in 1839.

Religion
Dong Fuxiang was a non Muslim Han Chinese General who commanded Muslim soldiers. Conflicting accounts were given about his religion and ethnicity. Contemporaneous Western sources claim he was a Muslim, which was a mistake, but modern Western sources either say he was not Muslim, or don't mention his religion at all when talking about him, and some mistakenly still say he is Muslim. The only thing that was clear about him was that he was familiar with the Muslim militia of Gansu, and commanded Muslim troops in battle. The confusion over his religion was cleared up by Jonathan Neamen Lipman who noted that westerners had made the mistake of assuming that Dong was a Muslim since he commanded Muslim soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion, and the mistake was repeated by later western encyclopedias and works on Islam and on the Boxer Rebellion.

The Chinese Muslim armies of Dong Fuxiang were known as the Kansu Braves and they fought against the German Army and the other 8 nation alliance forces, repeatedly at the First intervention, Seymour Expedition, China 1900. It was only on the second attempt in the Gasalee Expedition did the Alliance manage to get through to battle the Chinese Muslim troops at the Battle of Peking. However, Kaiser Wilhelm II was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops that he requested the Caliph Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire to find a way to stop the Chinese Muslim troops from fighting.

Military career
Dong participated in the Dungan revolt, and defected to the Qing dynasty side, along with Ma Zhanao. He was not a fanatic or even interested in rebellion, he merely had gathered a band of followers during the rebellion and fought, just as many others did. He joined the Qing army of Zuo Zongtang in exchange for being appointed Mandarin. He acquired large estates.

In 1890 Dong Fuxiang was stationed at Aksu, Kashgaria and was a Brigadier.

In 1895–1896, he led his Muslim troops in crushing a Muslim rebellion called the Dungan Revolt in Gansu and Qinghai. Dong Fuxiang was the Commander in Chief of Kashgaria (kashgar), and he received an order by telegram that he and General Ma Pi-sheng rush their army into rebelling districts via forced marching their troops.

Rebel Chinese Muslims and Turkic Salars had revolted, and his loyalist Chinese Muslim troops led by officers like Ma Anliang, Ma Guoliang, Ma Fuxiang, and Ma Fulu crushed the revolt, reportedly cutting off the heads and ears of rebels. During this rebellion he again indulged in plundering his fellow Muslims. He received the rank of Generalissimo.

In 1898, Dong and 10,000 of his Muslim troops were transferred to Beijing in preparation for war against foreigners, and Dong's troop was renamed: Wuwei Rear Troop. While they were stationed there, the Wuwei Rear troops repeatedly attacked foreigners in their legations, the railways, and in churches. It was reported that the Wuwei Rear troops were going to wipe out the foreigners to return a golden age for China. A Japanese citizen, Sugiyama Akira, was shot to death on 11 July by the Wuwei soldiers. Other Europeans and Westerners were killed as well. Ma Anliang, Tongling of Ho-Chou joined him in fighting the foreigners.

The Boxer Rebellion broke out in 1900, and Dong and his Wuwei Troops joined the Boxers in declaring war on the Eight-Nation Alliance. They formed the rear division, and the westerners called them the "10,000 Islamic rabble". They were the most effective attackers on the foreign legions, and struck fear into the minds of the westerners. His troops were responsible for so much trouble that the United States Marine Corps had to be called in.

Dong was a sworn brother to Li Lai chung, another Boxer supporter and anti foreigner.

The Wuwei Rear troops were organized into eight battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, two brigades of artillery, and one company of engineers. The Wuwei Rear troops reportedly intimidated the Western forces. The Wuwei Rear Troops were reportedly eager to join the Boxers and attack the foreigners. They killed a Westerner outside Yungting gate. At Zhengyang Gate, Wuwei Rear troops engaged in combat against British forces.

On 18 June, Wuwei Rear troops stationed at Hunting park in southern Beijing, attacked at the Battle of Langfang. The troops were cavalry – about 5,000 men – armed with new, modern magazine rifles.

His mere presence was menacing to the foreigners; some of them considered him to be an ogre. His Wuwei Rear troops were also reported to be ferocious. Summary of battles of General Dong Fuxiang: Ts'ai Ts'un, 24 July; Ho Hsi Wu, 25 July; An P'ing, 26 July; Ma T'ou, 27 July. He defeated the Westerners during the Battle of Langfang.

When the Qing Court decided to retreat, the Wuwei Rear Troop escorted the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu to safety in Xi'an. The westerners suffered so much at the hands of his Wuwei Rear troops that they demanded Dong be executed. The Qing Court refused to kowtow to the foreigner's demands, and Dong was not executed but instead was exiled to Gansu and all of his positions and honors accorded to him were removed. After General Dong lost all of his official positions, he still was permitted to command his personal army of 5,000 men in Gansu.

Aided by his appealing personality, Dong Fuxiang became a national hero in China for combating the foreigners.

During his exile in Gansu, he held a great deal of local political power while protected by his bodyguards, local decisions had to be made with his consent. Two fortresses and many estates were at his disposal. After he died in 1908, all the ranks which were stripped from him due to the foreign demands were restored.

Dong Fuxiang's family, his wife Tung Chao-shih (Dong Zhaoshi), nephew Tung Wen (Dong Wen), and grandson Tung Kung (Dong Gong) fought for the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 in Gansu.