CHINA IN THE 20TH CENTURY
A French political cartoon of
1899 represents the carving of
China into spheres of
influence
TWILIGHT OF THE QING DYNASTY


Boxer Rebellion left no doubt
about need for reform
Empress Cixi accepted reforms
 New education system based
on Western model
 Provincial & national
legislatures
 Not allowed to pass laws
 Reforms did not improve
economic conditions
 Emerging middle class
impatient with pace of reform
Empress Cixi chills out at the Summer Palace
SUN YAT-SEN





Republican & anti-Qing activist
Educated in US and lived in Japan
Founded Chinese Revolutionary
Alliance in 1905
Popular with overseas Chinese,
reformers, and young military officers
Three Principles of the People:
 Nationalism: overthrow the
Manchu Dynasty and end foreign
hegemony
 Democracy: establish an elected
republican government
 People’s livelihood: implement a
mild form of socialism to aid the
common people
Sun Yat-sen celebration
Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 2005
1908
- Empress Cixi died
- Pu Yi became
emperor at age 3
XINHAI REVOLUTION (1911-12)






October 1911: discontented army units
in Wuhan overthrew the local govt after
an anti-Qing plot was discovered
Similar uprisings from army units and
Revolutionary Alliance groups followed
throughout China
15 of 24 provinces declared
independence
January 1912: Sun Yat-sen elected
first President of the Republic of China
by independent provinces
General Yuan Shikai joined the
rebellion and turned on the Qing govt
February 1912: Emperor Puyi
abdicated
Revolutionaries hang flags in the streets
of Shanghai during the revolution
A poster commemorating
Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen
Long live the Republic!
EARLY REPUBLIC






Republic of China was established in
Nanjing on January 1, 1912 with Sun
Yat-sen as Provisional President
All effective power, however, was
possessed by General Yuan Shikai in
Beijing
To prevent civil war Sun Yat-sen
resigned in favor of Yuan Shikai in
March 1912
Yuan’s military power overshadowed
that of political parties and
parliament
Yuan became increasingly dictatorial
In August 1912 the anti-Yuan
Kuomintang won a majority of seats
in parliament
REBELLION & CHAOS





Relations between Yuan and the
Kuomintang deteriorated in 191213
In July 1913 7 southern provinces
rebelled
Rebellion was swiftly suppressed
by Yuan and a compliant
parliament elected him President
Most countries formally recognized
Yuan’s govt
Yuan agreed to autonomy for Outer
Mongolia and Tibet and special
privileges for Russia and Britain
CHINA UNDER YUAN







Small bandit armies wreaked havoc
throughout the provinces
In 1914 Yuan substantially enlarged
the powers of the President
Political parties, provincial leaders,
and the public grew steadily more
disenchanted with Yuan
In December 1915 Yuan declared
himself emperor of China
Several southern provinces declared
independence
In March 1916 Yuan abdicated as
emperor
He died in June 1916
21 DEMANDS


In 1914 China declared war on
German and seized property
In 1915 Japan issued the 21
Demands to the Yuan govt





Japanese economic control in
Shandong, Manchuria & Fujian
Yuan to appoint Japanese advisors to
key posts
Would essentially make China a
protectorate of Japan
China rejected most demands but
accept Japanese control over parts
of Shandong & Manchuria
Concessions were extremely
unpopular with the public but a
sign of the govt’s weakness
WARLORD ERA (1916-27)




After Yuan’s death in 1916 no new
national govt was able to assert
control over the provinces
Regional warlords fought each other
for control in a series of constantly
shifting alliances
In 1917 Sun Yat-sen became
President of a rival govt in southern
China
Both northern and southern govts
were highly reliant on regional
warlords and were unsuccessful in
unifying the country
1916-28: China was
essentially divided
among warlords
constantly fighting
one another
MAY 4TH MOVEMENT






In 1917 China declared war on
Germany in hopes of recovering
Shandong from Japan
In May1919 the Great Powers at
Versailles decided to allow Japan to
retain Shandong
This sparked massive demonstrations
throughout China against Japan and
the West
China refused to sign the Treaty of
Versailles
Students, intellectuals and reformers
became disillusioned with the West,
democracy and liberalism
The May 4th Movement defined
China’s aspirations as nationalistic
and anti-Western
ECONOMIC CHANGES


European & American traders brought
changes to China’s coastal cities
 Growth of industry
 Rise in imports and exports
 China increasingly linked to world
market
 Improved transportation and
communications systems
 Improved banking system
 New crops raised food production
Negative impacts
 New factories destroyed existing
local industries
 Profits went to foreigners
SHANGHAI IN 1920
CULTURAL CHANGES





35,000 foreigners lived in
Shanghai and shared their culture
with the new Chinese urban middle
class
Western literature, art, clothing,
and music became popular
Some reformers condemned
Chinese traditions as barbaric
Young people were drawn to
Western ideas
 Individualism
 Women’s rights
These cultural changes hardly
reached most Chinese in rural
areas
Cigarette advertisements
CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY






Founded in 1921 in Shanghai
Most Chinese communists believed
that the revolution must come from
the tiny urban proletariat
Mao Zedong believed that the
peasantry must be the source of
revolution
Party remained very small and weak
during 1920s
Comintern agents were sent by
Moscow to help organize the CCP
In 1923 they orchestrated a United
Front with the Kuomintang (KMT)
KUOMINTANG






Largest opposition party during the
1920s
Led by Sun-Yatsen until his death in
1925
Advised by the Comintern to ally
with the CCP
Chiang Kai-shek was an ally of Sun
Yat-sen and rose through the ranks
to become the head of the
Whampoa Military Academy
Was quickly seen as Sun’s
successor
Had a more right-wing and
nationalist set of beliefs than Sun
CHIANG CONSOLIDATES POWER (1925-27)






In 1925 Chiang’s National
Revolutionary Army (KMT) embarked
on the “Northern Expedition” to defeat
warlords and unify China
By 1926 half of China was under KMT
control
Chiang became increasingly
suspicious of the loyalty of the CCP to
the alliance
In April 1927 Chiang initiated the
Shanghai Massacre in which most of
the CCP leadership was killed or
arrested
The alliance was destroyed and the
CCP was severely weakened
Chiang was now undisputed leader of
the KMT
KMT CONSOLIDATES POWER




By 1928 KMT controlled most of
China and moved capital to Nanjing
Recognized by foreign govts
1928-36: time of relative stability
Nationalist govt initiated reforms










Legal and penal systems
Banking and currency
Railroads and highways
Hospitals and schools
Industry and agriculture
Reduced foreign concessions
Newspapers and radio proliferated
Promoted women’s rights
KMT reduced political freedom and
opposition movements
Throughout much of China KMT still
heavily relied on cooperation of
regional warlords and generals
China received significant
industrial and military aid
from China from 1928-36
CIVIL WAR (1927-34)






Shanghai Massacre (1927) is start
of the Chinese Civil War
Remnants of the CCP flee to rural
areas of southern China and work to
foment peasant rebellions
All revolts are small and quickly
crushed by KMT
Mao creates the Jiangxi Soviet based
on communist principles
1930-34 KMT repeatedly launches
unsuccessful raids to crush it
KMT encirclement in 1934 forces
CCP to flee Jiangxi and trek north to
unite with other CCP forces
LONG MARCH (1934-35)




90,000 CCP members and families
trek west and north over 12,500 km
to unite with CCP group in Yenan
province
Arrive in Yenan after 1 year
KMT and warlords attack Red Army
all along the route
Extreme cold, hunger and fatigue
take heavy toll



Only 8,000 survived the trek
During this ordeal Mao shows good
judgment and consolidates his
position as leader of the CCP
By 1936 the CCP has been all but
annihilated and quarantined within
China by the KMT
MANCHURIAN INCIDENT (1931)






In 1931 Japan invades Manchuria
and establishes puppet state of
Manchukuo
Motivated by desire for raw materials
and industry
League of Nations fails to respond
effectively
1932-36 Japanese forces slowly
extend control into coastal provinces
KMT preoccupied with war against
CCP
Public is increasingly disillusioned
with Nationalists’ priorities,
corruption, incompetence, and
Westernism
SECOND SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1937-45)






1936: Chiang is kidnapped and
forced to ally with the CCP in order to
fight the Japanese as the term of his
release
1937: skirmishes at the Marco Polo
Bridge near Beijing lead to full-scale
warfare between China and Japan
KMT and CCP declare the Second
United Front
Japanese army rapidly advances into
coastal China and captures Nanjing
Rape of Nanjing
KMT retreats and continues the war
from central China
KMT army marches through Burma during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
THE CCP IN YENAN (1937-45)





Second United Front gives CCP a
chance to consolidate hold in Yenan
and grow
CCP allows KMT to do bulk of
fighting against Japan
From 1940 KMT-CCP conflicts
become more frequent
Administrative, land and tax reforms
in Yenan prove highly popular with
peasants
During this period Mao becomes
undisputed leader of CCP and
expounds his interpretation of
communism based on a peasant
proletariat
1945






Japan surrenders in September 1945
Much of eastern and China has been
destroyed
Hyper-inflation, starvation, and
homelessness
Floods and war create a refugee crisis
Nationalist govt infamous for
corruption, profiteering and hoarding
Soviet troops occupy Manchuria


Mr. & Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek with
American advisor Joseph Stilwell (1942)
Remove most industrial infrastructure
to USSR
Allow CCP to access military equipment
of retreating Japanese Army
AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT







During WW2 US sees China as a key
ally against Japan
Send high level advisors and billions of
$ in military aid
US is repeatedly disillusioned by
corrupt and ineffective Nationalist
regime
In 1945 US forces occupy Beijing and
adjacent areas
Provide logistical support to KMT to
help govt consolidate control over all
China
Increasing unpopularity of Nationalist
regime and rising size of the CCP Red
Army by 1947
US suspends weapons shipments and
combat support in 1947; extends
massive economic aid
“WAR OF LIBERATION” (1946-49)







Red Army expands in size, skill and
technology by 1946
1946: negotiations fail and Chiang
attacks CCP stronghold in north
Red Army adopts “passive defense”
to avoid open battle
High attrition and desertion in KMT
army as the Red Army grows in size
1947-48: Red Army launches
offensives in north and east China
and gradually wears down the KMT
1949: Red Army captures Beijing
and invades southern China
Nationalists gradually retreat south
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRC (1949-50)





Mao proclaims People’s Republic
of China in Beijing on October 1,
1949
Chiang and 2 million Nationalists
flee to Taiwan
Isolated pockets of resistance in
western China are quickly
subdued
Chiang proclaims Taipei as
temporary capital of the Republic
of China
Mao considers Taiwan a
rebellious province
WHY DID THE CCP WIN THE WAR?
1.
CCP won the hearts and minds of
the Chinese
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Reduced taxes, rents and interest
on the peasants
Redistributed land to peasants
Helped raise agricultural production
Provided effective administration in
rural areas
Encouraged peasants to participate
in local govt
Proved willing to cooperate with the
KMT to fight Japan
2. KMT proved corrupt and ineffective
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Nationalist bureaucrats were known
for incompetence and corruption
Nationalist leaders were seen as
culturally Westernized and beholden
to Western economic and political
interests
Nationalists proved unable to provide
effective governance in provinces
Unwilling to make modest social
reforms to win popular support
Shouldered most of the fighting
against the Japanese
Brutish behavior of KMT troops
alienated the peasantry
In-fighting amongst Nationalist
generals
WHY DID THE CCP WIN THE WAR?
3. Mao’s leadership proved effective
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
used brainwashing and terror to keep
CCP members in line
Allowed peasants to violently seize
property from landlords
Allied with local gentry when
circumstances dictated
Encouraged Red Army to show
exemplary conduct towards peasants
Long-term ability to guide the CCP
through constant danger to victory
was seen as messianic
4. Economic mismanagement of the
Nationalist regime
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Hyperinflation afflicted China from
1937 onward
Heavy borrowing to finance the war
Debasing the currency
KMT army requirements left little
money for social spending or debt
payments
Economic collapse discredited the
regime
WHY DID THE CCP WIN THE WAR?
5. Uneven foreign support
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Soviets gave Japanese weapons to
CCP in 1945
Soviets allowed Red Army to occupy
most of Manchuria in 1945-46
US advisor Joseph Stilwell had
horrible relationship with Chiang Kaishek
US would sell but not give weapons to
the KMT
US withdrew all combat support in
1947