The Yunnan–Guangxi War was a war of succession fought for the control of the Chinese Nationalist Party after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. It was launched by the Yunnan clique against the party leadership and the New Guangxi clique.
On 18 March 1925, six days after Sun's death, Tang Jiyao, leader of the Yunnan clique, claimed to be the rightful leader of the Kuomintang against acting generalissimo Hu Hanmin and the party executives. He had been a revolutionary since the Qing dynasty, was one of the most prominent leaders of the National Protection War against Yuan Shikai, co-founded the Constitutional Protection Movement and assisted Sun during the Guangdong-Guangxi War and Chen Jiongming's rebellion. Despite this, his relationship with Sun was not solid. He had previously negotiated with the Beiyang government and other northern warlords, resisted Sun's call for the Northern Expedition and was unwilling to provide the National Assembly long-term shelter during the Guangdong-Guangxi War. Sun had also recognized the authority of Gu Pinzhen, who had briefly overthrown Tang in 1921.
Given that he was the most accomplished and famous general in the Kuomintang, Tang believed he was the natural leader of the national revolution. He justified his claim by noting that Sun had named Tang his "deputy generalissimo" in 1924. In actuality, Tang had declined this position when he learned it was inferior to Hu Hanmin's "vice generalissimo" rank. The party leaders denounced Tang as a usurper.