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Book No. – 52 (History)
Book Name – Modern World History (Norman Lowe)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. REVOLUTION AND THE WARLORD ERA
1.1. Background to the revolution of 1911
1.2. The 1911 revolution and the twenty-one demands (1915)
1.3. The warlord era (1916-28)
2. THE KUOMINTANG, DR SUN YAT-SEN AND CHIANG KAI-SHEK
2.1. The Kuomintang
2.2. Chiang Kai-shek
3. MAO ZEDONG AND THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY
3.1. The early years
3.2. Why did Mao and the communists gain support?
4. THE COMMUNIST VICTORY, 1949
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LANGUAGE
China from 1900 to 1949
Chapter – 19
Table of Contents
- China had a long history of national unity, ruled by the Manchu or Ch’ing dynasty since the mid-seventeenth century.
- In the 1840s, China entered a troubled period of foreign interference, civil war, and disintegration, lasting until the communist victory in 1949.
- The last emperor was overthrown in 1911, and a republic was proclaimed.
- The period from 1916 to 1928 is known as the Warlord Era, marked by chaos as generals seized control of different provinces.
- The Kuomintang (KMT), or Nationalists, tried to govern China and control the fighting generals.
- Key KMT leaders were Dr. Sun Yat-sen and, after his death in 1925, General Chiang Kai-shek.
- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921, initially cooperating with the KMT in their struggle against the warlords.
- As the KMT gained more control over China, they felt strong enough to exclude the CCP and tried to destroy them.
- The CCP, led by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), reacted vigorously, escaping KMT forces and embarking on the Long March (1934-1935), a 6000-mile journey to establish a new power base in northern China.
- Civil war continued, complicated by Japanese interference, culminating in a full-scale invasion in 1937.
- After World War II, Japan was defeated, and the KMT and CCP continued fighting for control of China.
- Chiang Kai-shek received support from the USA during the conflict.
- In 1949, Mao Zedong and the communists triumphed, and Chiang and his supporters fled to Taiwan (Formosa).
- Mao quickly established control over the whole of China, remaining the leader until his death in 1976.
REVOLUTION AND THE WARLORD ERA
Background to the revolution of 1911
- In the early nineteenth century, China kept itself separate from the world, with life continuing peacefully since the Manchus took over in the 1640s.
- By the mid-nineteenth century, China faced numerous crises, including a rapid population increase: from 140 millionin 1741 to 410 million in 1841.
- The population growth made food production difficult, forcing many peasants to resort to robbery and banditry for survival.
- The chaos prompted foreigners, especially Europeans, to force their way into China, seeking trading opportunities.
- Britain was the first to intervene, defeating China in the Opium Wars (1839–42) and forcing China to give up Hong Kong and open certain ports for trade.
- Other Western nations followed, securing rights and concessions in around 80 ports and towns.
- The Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) was a mix of Christian religious and political reform movements, aiming to establish a Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (Taiping Tianguo).
- The rebellion was defeated not by the Manchu government, but by newly formed regional armies, weakening the Ch’ing dynasty and highlighting the failure of government forces.
- The Manchu dynasty became dependent on regional armies they did not control, starting a process where provincesasserted independence, leading to the Warlord Era (1916–28).
- China was defeated by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), losing territory including the large island of Formosa (Taiwan).
- By the end of 1898, Britain, Germany, France, and Russia had leased large areas of land from China, effectively treating them as foreign territory.
- There was a story of a sign outside a British-run park in Shanghai reading “No Dogs or Chinese,” symbolizing the resentment of ordinary Chinese towards foreign intrusion.
- The Boxer Uprising (1898–1900) was an anti-foreign movement that was defeated by an international army, and Empress Tz’u-hsi had to pay heavy compensation for damage to foreign property.
- China lost more territory to Japan following the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), leaving China in a weakened state.
- In the early twentieth century, many young Chinese traveled abroad for education and returned with revolutionary ideas to overthrow the Manchu dynasty and westernize China.
- Some revolutionaries, like Dr. Sun Yat-sen, advocated for a democratic state modeled after the USA.
The 1911 revolution and the twenty-one demands (1915)
- The government attempted to respond to new radical ideas by introducing reforms, promising democracy, and setting up elected provincial assemblies.
- These reforms led provinces to distance themselves further from the central government, which became extremely unpopular.
- The revolution began in Wuchang in October 1911, and most provinces declared themselves independent of Beijing.
- The government, ruled by child emperor Puyi (five years old), sought help from retired General Yuan Shikai, who had influence over the generals.
- Yuan made a deal with the revolutionaries to become the first president of the Chinese Republic in exchange for Puyi’s abdication and the end of the Manchu dynasty.
- Yuan ruled as a military dictator from 1912 until 1915, supported by the army.
- Meanwhile, Japan sought to take advantage of the upheaval in China and the outbreak of the First World War.
- Japan demanded that Germany hand over rights in the Shantung Peninsula to Japan, shortly after the war began.
- In January 1915, Japan presented its Twenty-One Demands to China, divided into five groups:
- Chinese approval of Japanese concessions in Shantung, including the right to build railways and develop mines.
- Similar rights in South Manchuria.
- Rights in Hanyehping to develop coal mines at Wuhan.
- Similar rights in Fukien province.
- The acceptance of Japanese advisers in political, economic, and military matters, and joint police forces in some large cities.
- The demands led to widespread anti-Japanese feeling and a boycott of Japanese goods.
- Yuan delayed accepting the demands until Japan dropped the final group, and an agreement was signed on 25 May 1915, which mainly reaffirmed previous concessions.
- Group five revealed Japan’s real motives, as it would have reduced China to a colony or protectorate of Japan.
- Japan secretly promised to support Yuan’s desire to become emperor in exchange for accepting the demands.
- Yuan announced in December 1915 that he would become emperor on 1 January 1916.
- The monarchical return was seen as a backward step, causing his support to dwindle rapidly.
- The army turned against him and forced him to abdicate; he died in October 1916.