The Republic of China 1911-1949
In the 20th Century China was to undergo two revolutions that changed the government and society:
1911: When Puyi, the ‘Last Emperor’ of the Qing Dynasty was forced to give up power (‘abdicate), thereby ending the dynastic system that had ruled China for 3,000 years
1949: When Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), took control of the country after winning the civil war against the Guomindang Nationalists .
We are now going to look at the time period BETWEEN these two revolutions, 1911-1949. This is known as the Republic of China (as opposed to the Communists founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949
CONCEPTS
Class: A group of people who share a common economic situation
Civil War: A war between regions or groups of people (factions) within one country
Communism: An economic and social system in which economic and social classes are eliminated and the people and the state own all property and means of production
Guerrilla Warfare: Fighting by small mobile groups of irregular soldiers using hit-and-run tactics
Ideology: A system of beliefs that reflect the desires of a group or class of people (or individual)
Imperialism: The domination and extension of nation's authority over a territory of another nation. In the 20th century Japan was the imperial power that posed the greatest threat to China.
Nationalism:
Definition 1: A desire for national independence and to free one's country from foreign domination. Both the Guomindang (GMD) and Communist Party (CCP) were nationalist and wanted to end foreign imperialism in China.
Definition 2: A strong sense of patriotism which, in its extreme form, leads to a feeling of superiority over other countries.
Maoism: An ideology developed by Mao in which peasants would play a major revolutionary role in overthrowing society. Mao believed that widespread peasant support of and participation in guerilla warfare-a 'people's war'-against the GMD was essential to the success of the communist revolution
Republic: A country in which the head of state is not a monarch (emperor or king), but is instead an elected or appointed official. Most republics hold elections, but a republic is not necessarily a democratic state.
Time frames to help analyze the Republican Period:
Dates / Overview / Events1911-1927 / · Rise and fall of Yuan Shikai (would-be Emperor)
· Warlord period
· China fragmented
· Rise of GMD
· Founding of CCP
· 1st United Front / · May 4th movement (1919)
· rise of nationalism
· Northern Campaign/ alliance between GMD and CCP
1927-1937 / · Split between GMD and CCP
· Chiang Kaishek in control of central China
· CCP retreats to rural areas (Jiangxi Soviet) / · Slaughter of Communists in Shanghai
· Extermination Campaigns
· Long March
· Japanese invade Manchuria (Manchurian Incident)
· Xian incident (kidnapping of Chiang)
1937-1946 / · War with Japan
· 2d United Front alliance between CCP and GMD / · Japanese control
· Rape of Nanjing
1946-1949 / · Japan surrenders
· Civil War between CCP and GMD
1949 / · Victory of CCP / Founding of the People’s Republic of China