Practicing 1a
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The solution lies in enlarging the
agricultural units . . . and in
changing the agricultural base of
our national economy. . . .the
Socialist way, which is to set up
collective farms and state farms
which leads to the joining together
of the small peasant farms into
large collective farms, technically
and scientifically equipped, and to
the squeezing out of the capitalist
elements from agriculture. . . . Now
we are able to carry on a
determined offensive against the
kulaks, to break their resistance, to
eliminate them as a class and
substitute for their output the
output of the collective farms and
state farms.
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- Stalin, 1929
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What are some messages of this
source?
Practicing 1B
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What are some messages of
this cartoon?
Background
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Deep political and
cultural history

Often dealing with
divisions, manifested in
the Civil War

Reasons why influence
of Europeans was easily
felt

Political chaos for the
first half of the 20th
century
Long-Term Causes
Socio-economic Factors
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1900, China ruled by the imperial
Manchu dynasty
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Population was mostly peasant
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Hard life, most extremely poor,
subsistence farmers
Paid the taxes for imperial court
Faced starvation through floods
Population grew by 8 percent in
second half of 1800s, land
cultivated only by 1 percent

Famines more frequent
Land reduced, rents increased
Some driven to the cities where
there was already high
unemployment
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Improved technology and
western imports
Political Weakness and
Influence of Foreign Powers
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Century before the Civil War
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Europeans had humiliated and
exploited China
Totally destabilized the rile
Manchu regime
Britain had defeated China in the
mid 19th century Opium Wars
China had been carved up into
spheres of influence

America and Japan joined in
China forced to sign unequal
treaties over trade, territory,
sovereignty
Foreigners established their own
courts after not abiding Chinese
laws
Missionaries attempted to spread
Christianity
Inflation and corruption amongst
local officials
Political Weakness and
Influence of Foreign Powers

1850 Taiping Rebellion throughout
southern China
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Lasted until 1864, was both religious and
political
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Put down by regional armies
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Attempts to resist Western control by
sections of educated elite in China
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A sign of loss of central control
Moving towards an era of warlords
Self-strengthening movement divided
Manchus did not support reform
Defeated by Japan in 1895
Lost more territory after Russo-Japanese
War in 1905
Boxer Rebellion in 1899
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Doomed to fail without modern weapons
Overthrow of
the Manchu Dynasty
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China in such a desperate
condition that there had been
talk of overthrowing the
Manchus as early as 1900s
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China could be Westernized
Political weakness was
intensified with the death of
the Emperor
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Pu-Yi was the successor,
two years old
Prince Chun ruled as regent,
his Uncle, incapable of
reform
Dismissed all opposition,
increased taxation and
frustrated the business
classes
Overthrow of
the Manchu Dynasty
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October 1911, Double Tenth Revolution,
republic created
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Government lost control of the military,
soldiers revolted and rebellion spread
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Most provinces declared themselves
independent of Beijing
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Impact of imperialism, anti-foreignism
and political weakness, cause of the
rebellion, will be cause of the Civil War
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November 1911, delegates from
independent provinces gathered in
Nanjing to declare the creation of a
Chinese Republic, Dr Sun Yixian asked
to lead, had been in exile in US
Overthrow of
the Manchu Dynasty
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Imperial government attempted to use a
leading general, Yuan Shikai to
suppress the rebellion
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Double-crossed them, arranging a
deal with Sun Yixian
Sun agreed to allow Yuan to be
President of the new republic in
exchange for end of the Manchu rule
February 12, 1912 Pu Yi abdicated
Revolution was incomplete
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No real introduction of democracy
Officials kept their positions
Had not been led by the middle
classes
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Military first, then radicals
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Revolt of the provinces
towards the center
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Central autocracy vs. local
autonomy
Rule of Yuan Shikai
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Ruled China as a military
dictator from 1912 until 1915
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Regionalism continued
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Sun’s party reformed as the
Guomindang in 1912 and
declared itself a
parliamentary party
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Three guiding principles
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Nationalism
Democracy
People’s Livelihood, land
reform and economic
development
Rule of Yuan Shikai
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Sun agreed to Yuan’s rule in order to avert
the possibility of Chinese Civil War
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Republicans not powerful enough at this
stage to take on the military
Lesson that both the GMD and Chinese
communists would learn – needed military
power
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Sun attempted to undermine Yuan’s power
by moving him from Beijing to Nanjing to
set up a new government
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At this point, the GMD only a regional
power in the southern provinces,
republicans were not organized enough to
resist Yuan
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Second revolution failed and Sun fled to
Japan in 1913
Yuan took himself down
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Abolished regional assemblies, tax revenues
were strictly controlled, proclaimed himself
Emperor in 1916 and lost the support of the
military, stood down, died three months
later
Short-term Causes
Political Weakness:
The Warlords 1916 - 28
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Lack of unity in the country by the second
decade of the 20th century, regionalism a
major factor
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Death of Yuan meant China lost the only
figure of unity
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Broke up into small states and provinces,
each controlled by a warlord and private
army
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Ran territories independently, organizing
and taxing, own laws and currencies
Sought to expand power, peasants who
suffered in continuous wars
None of the warlords was willing to
relinquish his armies or power to central
government
This period increased Chinese humiliation,
coupled with desire to get rid of foreign
influence, led to increased nationalism
May Fourth Movement
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Two political movements developed in
response
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May Fourth Movement in 1919
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Students led a mass demonstration in
Beijing against the warlords, traditional
Chinese culture and the Japanese
Hostility had been ignited by the Versailles
settlement, which had given Japan the
Shandong province
China like Italy in that sense
Movement was dedicated to change and
rebirth
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Inspired by the Bolsheviks
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Stage that led to Chinese
communism
Also inspired by the GMD nationalist party,
which had grown much stronger during the
warlord period
Two groups, communists and nationalists,
were to come together in an alliance in 1922
Communists and
Nationalists
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Sun died in 1925, GMD had made little
progress towards fulfilling Three
Principles
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Limited by lack of power beyond the
south, fact they had to rely on alliances
with warlords due to to weakness of
military power
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General Jiang Jieshi took over the GMD,
committed nationalists
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Military training in Japan and USSR
Soviets had begun to invest in GMD
Other revolutionary party emerged,
Chinese Communist Party
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Mostly intellectuals, no military
strength
Reasons the GMD and CCP would
cooperate together
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Also suggested by the USSR
Attempts to Unify:
The First United Front
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Both the GMD and CCP wanted a united
China
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Jiang was not a communist, removed a lot
of them from the GMD
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Agreed they must get rid of warlords,
formed the First United Front
Also to get rid of foreign imperialist powers
Did not break the alliance, needed the CCP
at first
First United Front set out on Northern
Expedition in 1926 to crush the warlords of
central and northern China, great success
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1927, had captured Hangzhou, Shanghai,
Nanjing
1928, Beijing
Took two years, GMD declared itself the
legitimate government and new capital was
at Nanjing
Immediate Causes
GMD Attacks the CCP
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Had only been a friendship of
convenience
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War against warlords was over,
ideological differences remained
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Communists had promised land
to peasants along Northern
Expedition
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Gave them support, also had it
front industrial workers
Their popular support made
Jiang decide he could no longer
tolerate them in the GMD
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Jiang was far more to the right
than Sun had been
CCP needed to be crushed
before China could be unified
GMD Attacks the CCP
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Jiang expelled all communists,
implemented “White Terror” in
April 1927
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Employed triads and gangsters,
5,000 killed
Became known as the purification
movement
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Victims were communists,
trade unionists, peasant
leaders
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Attempts to resist were
futile, CCP was nearly
crushed by the end od 1927
Comintern asked the CCP to retain
United Front
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CCP instead flees to the
mountains of Jiangsi
GMD pursued them, civil war had
begun