Whampoa Military Academy The Kuomintang Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy , was a military academy of the Republic of China ( ROC ) which produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China ' s conflicts in the 20th century , notably the Northern Expedition , the Second Sino - Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War . The military academy was officially opened on May 1 , 1924 under the Kuomintang ( KMT ) , but the first lessons began on June 16 , 1924 . The inauguration was on Changzhou Island offshore from the Whampoa ( Huangpu ) dock in Guangzhou , thus earning its name . During the inaugural ceremonies , Sun Yat - sen delivered a speech that was later to become the lyrics of the national anthem of the Republic of China . Establishment . After the death of Yuan Shikai , China fragmented into numerous fiefdoms ruled by warlords . Sun Yat - sen attempted in 1917 and 1920 to set up a base in his native Guangdong to launch a northern campaign to unite China under his Three Principles of the People . However , his government remained militarily weaker than local warlords armies . Calls by Sun for arms and money were ignored by the western powers . Then in 1921 the representative of Comintern , Henk Sneevliet ( using the name Maring ) , met with Sun in Guangxi . He proposed setting up a military academy to train the revolutionary army , which confirmed Sun ' s ideas and he eventually accepted . The Chinese Communist Party sent Li Dazhao and Lin Boqu ( 林伯渠 ) to discuss with Sun and his party on how to set up the academy . In 1924 , in the 1st National Congress of Kuomintang , the policy of alliance with the Soviet Union and CCP was passed as guidance for KMT . As a result , the final decision of establishment of a military academy was made and preparatory committee was set up accordingly . The money necessary for the construction and support of the Academy in 1924 - 1925 was provided by the Soviets . Organization , training and students . In the beginning , the Academy had only one department which provided soldiers with basic training . While the main Academy goal was preparation of infantry units , it also provided special classes for artillery , engineering , communication , logistical and machine gun units . A special department for preparation of political agitators was established later . The academy concentrated the revolutionary military talents at the time . Sun took the job of Premier of this academy in person although it was just an honorary title . Sun ' s favorite and rising star Chiang Kai - shek was appointed the first commandant of the academy . Liao Zhongkai ( 廖仲愷 ) , the famous leftist in the Kuomintang and Sun ' s treasury secretary , was appointed as representative of KMT to the academy . Zhou Enlai , Hu Han - min and Wang Ching - wei were one of the instructors in the political department . He Yingqin and Ye Jianying were once military instructors . The serious lack of expert teachers was the biggest problem for the Academy . That is why lectures delivered by Soviet officers were extremely popular with students . A . S . Bubnov , G . I . Gilev , M . I . Dratvin , S . N . Naumov prepared lectures which explained the development of military thought throughout human history and the division between western and Soviet schools of military thought . Soviet officers taught different military subjects in the Academy using their broad experience gained during the Russian Civil War . Among them were I . Vasilevich ( Janovsky ) , N . Korneev , M . Nefedov , F . Kotov ( Katyushin ) , P . Lunev , V . Akimov . Galina Kolchugina ( wife of Vasily Blyukher who was Commander - in - Chief of all Soviet volunteer forces sent to China ) read a course of lectures on political agitation . The first two groups of students prepared by the Academy became the core for the formation of the first two National Revolutionary Army regiments ( V . A . Stepanov was an advisor provided by the Soviet Union to help in this matter ) . The first two prepared groups of students included 500 officers , the third one had 800 officers and the fourth group had 2000 . Legendary graduates include Nationalist commanders Chen Cheng , Du Yuming , Xue Yue , Hu Zongnan , Hu Lian and Guan Linzheng and Communist commanders Lin Biao , Xu Xiangqian , Zuo Quan , Liu Zhidan and Chen Geng . The young cadets first showed their training and courage in the war against local warlord and dissident of Sun , Chen Jiongming and later the unification of Guangdong province . Then they made greater contributions in the Northern Expedition . The Muslim Ma clique General Ma Zhongying , who commanded the 36th Division ( National Revolutionary Army ) , attended the Whampoa military academy in Nanjing in 1929 . Influence . The Whampoa Military Academy plays an important role in Chinese history . Although it is primarily a military academy aiming to train military elites like the United States Military Academy , it has exhibited a broad influence on Chinese history . It not only supplied many military commanders for both the KMT and CCP , but also its graduates have much more influence on both parties ' policies and governance . Especially for Chiang and KMT , the Whampoa Clique was pivotal for his governance . It competed with other cliques of KMT such as the New Guangxi Clique led by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi , CC Clique led by Chen Lifu and Chen Guofu , Politics Research Group led by Yang Yongtai ( 楊永泰 ) and Zhang Qun ( 張群 ) . At the same time , when the CCP built its first Red Army after the Nanchang Uprising in 1927 most of its commanders were from Whampoa , and in the following two decades , the CCP trained its army in the Whampoa way . The motto of the academy " Camaraderie " ( ) was proclaimed by Sun Yat - sen at the opening ceremonies . The irony is that during the Chinese Civil War both the commanders from KMT and CCP were trained and educated in Whampoa . They fought for different beliefs and ideals although they used to live and study together like brothers in arms . The academy also had significant influence over the 20th century history of other Asian countries . The fourth term of the Academy saw students not only from all parts of China , but also from different parts of Asia enroll . For example , there were 30 Koreans among them . Some of them were brought up in China , others were active participants during the national liberation movement of Korea in 1917 - 1926 and emigrated to China later only to take up arms for struggle for freedom of their country after their education was over . A large number of students were originally from Vietnam . This group was led by the exiled leader to - be of the Communist Party of Vietnam and future leader of the Vietnamese struggle for independence , Ho Chi Minh . Relocations . The original Whampoa Military Academy existed from 1924 to 1926 , over 6 terms it enrolled more than 7000 . However , after Chiang Kai - shek purged the Chinese Communist Party during the Northern Expedition , the academy was moved to the newly established capital in Nanjing after the defeat of the warlords in 1928 . The academy moved again to Chengdu during the Japanese invasion . Republic of China Military Academy . In 1950 , after the Communist victory on mainland China and the establishment of the People ' s Republic of China , the academy was re - established in Fengshan , Kaohsiung County ( now part of Kaohsiung City ) as the Chinese Military Academy ( 陸軍官校 ) and changed its name in 2004 to the Military University ( 軍官大學 ) . The site of the original academy in Guangzhou is now a museum .