China: from Empire to People’s Republic, 1900-49
Michael Lynch
Chapter 2: Civil Strife in China, 1900-34
1. What was the reform package known as the “100 Days”?
a. 1898 program to modernize civil service, education and industry
b. Reaction against foreign intervention and defeat by Japan in 1895
c. Proposed by Emperor Guangxu
2. Why did it fail?
a. Opposition from Empress Dowager Cixi and other court conservatives
b. Lack of unity among advocates of reform
3. What was the Boxer Rebellion?
a. Collection of loosely related peasant attacks again foreign and Christian presence in China
b. Encouraged and assisted by Empress Cixi
4. Why did it fail?
a. 9 nations organized an army to invade Beijing and liberate the Legation Quarter
b. Empress Cixi’s calls for provincial aid to the rebellion were ignored
c. Provincial warlords usually cooperated with foreigners
5. What were the consequences of this failure for the Manchu Dynasty?
a. China was saddled with enormous reparations
b. Destruction of arsenals and fortifications
c. Permanent occupation by foreign troops near Beijing
d. Manchu Dynasty had lost virtually all prestige
6. Why did Empress Cixi’s reform program meet with opposition?
a. Progressives were unwilling to believe in the sincerity and competence of the Manchu Dynasty
b. Required much higher taxes
7. For what reasons did the imperial system begin to collapse in the first decade of the 20th century?
a. Imperial system was too conservative and incompetent to cope with modern reforms
b. Chinese progressives were inspired by the modernizing example of Japan
c. Moderate reforms only led to demands for more thoroughgoing reforms
8. Who was Sun Yatsen and what did he believe?
a. Opponent of the Manchus
b. Only a republican China can modernize
c. Sent into exile from 1895 to 1911
d. China must adopt Western political and economic practices to modernize
9. What were his “3 Principles of the People”?
a. Rejuvenate Chinese nationalism by driving out all vestiges of imperialism
b. Democracy and freedom should be a national attribute, not an individual one
c. The government should address poverty by protecting and promoting domestic industries
10. Describe the change of power that took place in 1908.
a. The Emperor and Dowager Empress both died suddenly
b. New Emperor Pu Yi was 2 years old
c. His uncle Prince Chun served as Regent
d. Fired General Yuan Shikai
11. Why did the government’s nationalization of railroads fail?
a. Foreign investors were outraged because they weren’t fully compensated
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b. Businessmen were outraged because the government took out huge foreign loans to pay the
foreign investors
What happened in the 1911 Revolution?
a. Troops in Wuhan refused to follow orders on October 10, 1911
b. Local dissidents joined them and declared independence
c. Similar incidents almost immediately occurred throughout southern and central China during
October and November
d. In November representatives met in Nanjing, declared a republic and invited Sun Yatsen to
become President
What happened when Yuan Shikai was dispatched with the Beijing army to suppress the revolt?
a. He won easy victories early on
b. He then negotiated with the revolutionaries and agreed to help them if they appointed him
President
c. They agreed and Yuan forced the Regent and Dowager Empress to abdicate
How complete was the Chinese Revolution of 1911-12?
a. Imperial family abdicated but remained living in the Forbidden City
b. Corrupt and incompetent imperial officials continue to dominate administration
c. Representative government was not established
d. The real revolution was not a victory of one set of ideologies over another but a victory of
regionalism over the central government and of the military over the imperial family
What was the Guomindang?
a. Sun Yatsen’s political party which evolved out of the Alliance League
b. Power was concentrated in the southern provinces
c. Overly intellectual and politically naïve
In what ways did Yuan Shikai subvert republicanism?
a. Entrenched himself in power in Beijing, not Nanjing
b. Borrowed heavily from foreign governments without popular consent
c. GDM impeached him in 1915 for exceeding his presidential powers
d. Bribed provincial commanders into remaining loyal
e. Personally led the Beijing army to suppress revolutionaries
f. Sun Yatsen fled to Japan in 1913
How did Yuan Shikai consolidate his hold on power?
a. Permanently suspended parliament
b. Banned several parties including the GMD
c. Abolished regional assemblies
d. Centralized tax collection
e. Established control over local officials
f. Declared himself emperor on January 1, 1916
What was the reaction to his self enthronement?
a. Many provinces declared independence
b. Many generals refused to serve him
c. Yan renounced the throne after 10 weeks
Was Yuan Shikai a good or bad leader?
a. Bad: seemed primarily intent on consolidating his own power; continued China’s dependence
on foreign loans
b. Good: did initiate important administrative reforms; recognized the need for central power to
reform China
In what ways was the republican government weak after Yuan died?
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a. Many rival factions competed for power but put forth only vague political programs
b. Lost control of the army and of provincial administrators
c. Local military governors often created their own private armies and established total power in
their region
Why did the Republic fail?
a. Inability to establish effective central administration
b. Vast majority of people had no practical experience of democracy
c. Lack of nationalistic feeling among the people
d. Vast regional differences with diverging interests
e. Government had to cooperate with warlords to achieve anything
f. Foreign governments sometimes worked directly with the most powerful warlords
What benefits did some of the warlords bring?
a. Some promoted industrial and agricultural development
b. Some instituted worker training
c. Others improved local services
d. Chinese radicals gradually developed a more uniform nationalistic outlook that served as the
basis for more organized political action in the future
e. Literary and cultural renaissance in the 1920s
What was the May 4th Movement?
a. Resurgence of anger and nationalism in response to China’s humiliation at the Paris Peace
Conference, especially at the hands of Japan
b. Reaction to the failure of revolution and republicanism to achieve reform
What exactly happened?
a. Protestors filled the streets of major cities
b. Government ministers were attacked
c. Anti-Japanese boycotts were organized
d. Students went on strike and organized large demonstrations
e. Later in the 1920s the CCP and GMD actively organized these protests
Why did the example of Bolshevik Russia appeal to many radical Chinese?
a. It was a successful popular uprising against a corrupt ruling class
b. Bolsheviks had renounced imperialism and materialism
How did the Communist Party of China (CCP) emerge?
a. Communist cells were established all over China in 1919-20
b. 1921: 20,000 communists met in Shanghai and founded the CCP
What was the United Front?
a. Alliance of GMD and CCP in 1923 to destroy warlords and drive out foreigners
b. Had internal disagreements about ideology and policy
What was the May 30th Incident?
a. British forces opened fire on a crowd of angry Chinese demonstrators in Shanghai, killing 12
b. United Front organized massive strikes, riots and attacks on foreign legations
Who was Chiang Kaishek?
a. Leader of the Nationalists
b. Commander in Chief of a major military academy and National Revolutionary Army
c. Assumed leadership of the GMD in 1925 after Sun Yatsen died
What was the significance of Chiang Kaishek’s leadership for the GMD?
a. Strengthen the conservative, military, middle class, and business interests within the party
b. Moved decisively away from the CCP
c. Purged the GMD of all CCP influence in 1926
31. What was the Northern Expedition?
a. A United Front military campaign to subdue warlords throughout China and established
control
b. Captured Beijing in 1928 and established legitimate rule
32. What was the White Terror?
a. Trade unions help considerable power in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities, threatening the
power of the GMD
i. Zhou Enlai had created an effective workers army in Shanghai
b. April, 1927: Chiang’s troops massacred thousands of communists and trade union leaders in
Shanghai and other cities
c. CCP was dispersed and leadership was pursued into mountainous western China and
suppressed
33. Who was Mao Zedong and what were his ideas?
a. Librarian from Hunan Province
b. Had always argued that the CCP must remain an independent and highly centralized political
entity
c. Cooperation with the GMD held no promise for the CCP
d. CCP must concentrate on mobilizing the 88% of rural poor
34. Why did Mao preach the important of the rural peasantry to the CCP?
a. Constituted 88% of the population
b. Contradicted Marxist emphasis on the urban proletariat
c. He stridently disagreed with other CCP leaders who held to orthodoxy
35. Describe Mao’s activities in the Jiangxi Soviet after 1928.
a. Heavily recruited peasants into the party
b. Violently suppressed Red Army officers suspected of GMD sympathies, killing 3000
c. Demonstrated cold political calculation and decisive leadership
d. Extensively employed secret police to root out opposition
36. How did Chiang try to defeat the Reds?
a. Employed increasingly tight blockades on CCP strongholds to attack their supplies
b. Mao and the Jiangxi communists decided to flee north to Shaanxi or they would be defeated
Chapter 3 – Civil Strife in China: 1934-49
1. What was the Long March?
a. CCP members and families fled from Jiangxi to Yanan in 1934-35
b. Year-long trek seeking political safety with communists in the north
c. 100,000  only 20,000 survived
d. Pursued by GMD troops the entire time
e. Hugely defining experience for the CCP that tested and refined their organization and
dedication
f. Mao emerged as the main communist leader after the march
2. How did Mao consolidate his leadership during this odyssey?
a. Won a key voting affirming his rural/guerilla approach vs. the urban/battle approach
b. His northern route strategy proved more successful
3. How did the Japanese invasion “save” the CCP?
a. Chiang had to fight both the Japanese and CCP, and prioritized the CCP
b. CCP gained popularity by preaching the priority of defeating the Japanese
c. Chiang believed that China was too large for Japan to occupy and would exhaust Japan
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d. Opposition to this policy within the GMD was widespread and much effort had to be devoted
to suppressing internal revolt by GMD troops
What was the Xian Incident?
a. 1936: Chiang was captured during a trip to Xian and forced by the CCP to agree to prioritized
resistance to Japan
b. He then formed a United Front (GMD-CCP) and pledged war against Japan
c. CCP gained major prestige by demonstrating restraint and nationalism and undermined respect
for the GMD
How did Mao apply his ideology during the years in Yanan (1936-45)?
a. Preached the idea of a peasant proletariat and a non-ideological form of communism
b. Gained credibility over the urban revolutionary school within the CCP
c. Honed his use of secret police and informers to root out opposition
How did the Red Army consolidate regional control?
a. Occupy a village
b. Drive out or kill all landowners
c. Redistribute land among all the peasants
d. Rigorously egalitarian rules
How did Mao shape the Red Army during this time?
a. Applied a strict code of conduct for his soldiers to as not to alienate the peasants
Describe Mao’s program of New Democracy.
a. Defined revolution as not between classes but a national revolution
b. Played down classist element by only targeting landowners who collaborated with the Japanese
c. Forced down excessive rents and prohibited high interest loans
d. Empowered local peasant associations to solve such problems
e. Introduced literacy programs among the peasants
f. Red Army grew from 40,000 to 1,000,000 by 1945
What atrocities did the CCP commit?
a. Discipline and authority were very strictly applied
b. Mao began to enforce a rigorous adherence to ideological purity
c. Mao’s rectification campaign forced party members to adhere to his ideas and criticize
themselves
d. Mao began to develop a personality cult around himself
How complete was Nationalist control of China during this period?
a. Never controlled more than 1/3 of the country
b. GMD policies were often not enforced on the provincial level, leading to dissatisfaction
c. Some warlords were allowed to continue
d. Japan controlled large parts of China
Why was the GMD so weak?
a. Most leaders and supporters were capitalists and urban merchants with little sympathy for
peasants
b. 90% of revenue came from Shanghai
How did the GMD lose the support of most Chinese?
a. Almost all expenditure was devoted to the war and not social programs
b. GMD reluctance to share power with business gradually lost their support
i. Nationalized banks and imposed high taxes
ii. Had to borrow large sums from abroad
c. Hugely inefficient bureaucracy
d. Openly sought influence with American financiers and political leaders
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Chang claimed to be a Christian
Much lip service but little action were given to democracy and welfare
CCP gained a reputation for dedication opposition to Japan and fair treatment of the peasants
Treatment of soldiers within the Nationalist Army was appalling leading to high rates of
desertion and marauding
Why did Chang believe the war ended too soon?
a. He had hoped for a longer war that would involve American troops in China to fight Japan who
would also suppress the CCP
b. Japanese troops mostly surrendered to the CCP in 1945
c. USSR occupied Manchuria
When Civil War resumed in 1945 what advantages did each side possess?
a. GMD
i. 4 to 1 advantage in troops
ii. Major material support from the US
b. CCP
i. Much higher morale
ii. Better military strategy – adopted a guerilla strategy
iii. Support of the rural people
Why did the Nationalist war effort fail?
a. Desertions became increasingly common
b. War weariness among residents
c. Often seized property and money and forced conscription
d. Protesters were arrested and summarily executed
e. GMD split into 2 rival factions
f. GMD lost 3 key battles in 1948-49
How did the war end?
a. GMD lost 3 key battles in 1948-49
b. Mao declared People’s Republic of China in Beijing on October 10, 1949
c. Nationalist remnant fled to Taiwan and claimed to be the legitimate government of China
How did the Communists win?
a. CCP had decisively won the hearts and minds of the peasants by 1945
b. United large parts of China in resistance to Japan
c. Provided effective rural administration
d. Direct democracy on the village level
e. CCP distinguished itself in battle against Japan
f. GMD demonstrated profound incompetence and inefficiency
In what ways was the CCP not as principled as some suppose?
a. Mao’s rectification program amounted to brainwashing and terror
b. Encouraged peasants to violently seize land from the rich
c. Communist principles were applied differently in different areas depending on the local
political circumstances
What role did economics play in the downfall of the GMD?
a. Inflation soared beginning in 1937
b. GMD was unable to pay soldiers, pay foreign debts and provide social programs