Canton Coup
| Canton Coup | |||||||
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The Zhongshan under steam. | |||||||
| Zhongshan Incident | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中山艦事件 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中山舰事件 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Zhongshan Warship Incident | ||||||
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| March 20th Incident | |||||||
| Chinese | 三二〇事件 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | 3/20 Incident | ||||||
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The Canton Coup of 20 March 1926, also known as the Zhongshan Incident or the March 20th Incident, was a purge of Communist elements of the Nationalist army in Guangzhou (then romanized as "Canton") undertaken by Chiang Kai-shek. The incident solidified Chiang's power immediately before the successful Northern Expedition, turning him into the paramount leader of the country.