-
Period: to
Imperial Manchu Dynasty
China was in a desperate condition. There was a political weakness and also many socio-economic problems; he Manchus had inflation and corruption which also affects the financial status.
China has the influence of foreigners powers and they have faced the humiliation of defeat against China and also against European powers.
The impact of the imperialism, the anti foreign sentiment and the political weakness of the country can be consider causes of the Chinese Civil War. -
Period: to
Opium Wars
This wars involved China and Britain.The war started due to China's sovereignty and the British trade of opium.
Britain defeated China in this wars. Causing an anti foreign sentiment along China. Also, affecting the political status of the Manchu dynasty.
This is consider as a cause of the Chinese Civil War due to the fact that it reflects the weakness of the Chinese regime during this time. Also, because it destabilized the Manchu dynasty. -
Taiping Rebellion
It lasted until 1964 and it was a part religious movement and part political reform movement. This involvement of regional armies began the move away from centralized control.
It is a cause of the Chinese Civil war because ideas of the moving away the centralized control would result in the Warlord era. Also, it can be consider a cause because in this rebellion we can see the unconformity of the Chinese population. -
Double Tenth Revolution
It was the revolution that ends with the Manchu Dynasty. It began when the government lost control of the military.Soldiers revolted and rebellion spread quickly. Provinces started to declare themselves independent of Beijing. Those provinces will later declare the Creation of a Chinese Republic.
The Double Tenth Revolution was a triumph of regionalism and this had an influence that it will be later seen in the Warlord Era due to the division of power in the Country. -
Period: to
The rule of Yuan Shikai "First Republic of China"
Yuan ruled as a military dictator. GMD was formed by Sun in order to obtain the residence of China but it was dismiss by Shikai. In 1916, he proclaims himself as Emperor and at this point he lost the support of the Military and stood down.
Shikai had the support of European powers but the provinces have now military governors and this acted as an obstacle to unify China.
The bad rule of Shikai is a direct cause for the Warlord Era and as an indirect cause of the Chinese Civil War. -
Period: to
Warlord Era
It started after the abdication and dead of Yuan.
China was broke into small states and provinces, each controlled by a warlord and his private army. The warlords were made up of leaders with very different aims and ambitions, so they fought each other for the control of China. The Chinese population suffered with the continuos war.
This was a cause of the Civil War because the people were suffering and also because it was an obstacle to unify China. -
May Fourth Movement
Students and Intellectuals led a mass demonstration in Beijing against the Warlords, traditional Chinese Culture and the Japanese. This Movement was dedicated to the change and rebirth of China and it was inspired by revolutionary ideology.
This movement reflects what the Chinese population wanted and demonstrate that the people wanted a change which is a reason of the Chinese Civil War. -
Chinese Communist Party set up in 1921
The CCP was a party directed by intellectuals and that was initially military weak. Thy made an alliance with the GMD in order to remove the warlords.
It is important to mention this event because it demonstrate the division of ideologies in China. It is a cause of the Civil War because it was one of the factions that fought during the Civil War. -
First United Front
It was the allience between the CCP and the GMD. It was agreed that in order to unify China it was need of get rid of the warlords. They also agreed that China needed to be free of foreign imperialist powers. In 1926, the front set out the Northern Expedition in order to crush the warlords of central and northern China.
In 1928, they took Beijing and with this they have destroyed the warlords.
It is a cause of the Civil War because after this the problems between CCP and GMD started. -
White Terror and the Purification Movement
Jiang expelled all communist from the GMD and in Shanghai 5,000 communist were shot during the White terror. After this the GMD carried similar attacks in other cities by the purification movement. This involves that a quarter of a million people were killed.
The CCP was nearly crushed by the end of 1927, so they decided to flee into the mountains of Jiangsi.
With this the Chinese Civil War started.
