China in the 20th Century

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China in the 20th Century
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A French political cartoon of 1899 represents the
carving of China into spheres of influence
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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

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Empress Cixi chills out at the Summer Palace
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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
• Peoples livelihood implement a mild form of
  socialism to aid the common people

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Sun Yat-sen celebration Tiananmen Square,
Beijing, 2005
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• 1908
• Empress Cixi died
• Pu Yi became emperor at age 3

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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

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Revolutionaries hang flags in the streets of
Shanghai during the revolution
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A poster commemorating Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen
Long live the Republic!
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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
• Yuans 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

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Rebellion Chaos

• Relations between Yuan and the Kuomintang
  deteriorated in 1912-13
• In July 1913 7 southern provinces rebelled
• Rebellion was swiftly suppressed by Yuan and a
  compliant parliament elected him President
• Most countries formally recognized Yuans govt
• Yuan agreed to autonomy for Outer Mongolia and
  Tibet and special privileges for Russia and
  Britain

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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

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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 govts weakness

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Warlord era (1916-27)

• After Yuans 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

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1916-28 China was essentially divided among
warlords constantly fighting one another
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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 Chinas aspirations
  as nationalistic and anti-Western

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Economic changes

• European American traders brought changes to
  Chinas 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

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Shanghai in 1920
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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
• Womens rights
• These cultural changes hardly reached most
  Chinese in rural areas

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Cigarette advertisements
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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)

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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 Suns successor
• Had a more right-wing and nationalist set of
  beliefs than Sun

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Chiang consolidates power (1925-27)

• In 1925 Chiangs 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

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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 womens rights
• KMT reduced political freedom and opposition
  movements
• Throughout much of China KMT still heavily relied
  on cooperation of regional warlords and generals

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China received significant industrial and
military aid from China from 1928-36
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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

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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

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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

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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

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KMT army marches through Burma during the Second
Sino-Japanese War
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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

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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
• Remove most industrial infrastructure to USSR
• Allow CCP to access military equipment of
  retreating Japanese Army

Mr. Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek with American advisor
Joseph Stilwell (1942)
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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

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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

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Establishment of the pRC (1949-50)

• Mao proclaims Peoples 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

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Why did the CCP win the war?

• CCP won the hearts and minds of the Chinese
• 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
• 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

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Why did the CCP win the War?

• 3. Maos leadership proved effective
• 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
• 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

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Why did the CCP win the war?

• 5. Uneven foreign support
• 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 Kai-shek
• US would sell but not give weapons to the KMT
• US withdrew all combat support in 1947