-
Double Tenth Revolution
A revolution produced by the oppression of the Manchu Dynasty. The goal was to finally modernize China in which the Manchu Dysnasty grew weak as a two years old boy inherited the royal power. It became the declaration of the Republic of China. It brought a political exile: Sun Yixian. -
Sun Yixian becomes President
He becomes the first president of the Republic of China. He was struggling to unite the people under his three principles which became the groundworks of the GMD. The three principles were nationalism, democracy, and the people's livihood. He wanted to get rid of all foreign influences, allow people to be educated so they can rule themselves, and redistribution of land and economic development. He gave his power to Yuan Shikai and formed the GMD. -
Yuan Shikai gains dictatorship
After Sun Yixian turned over his power to the military general Yuan Shikai as it was an agreement to stop the rebellions that broke out after the revolution. Regions were seperated and Yuan tried to reclaim the land as the Republicans didn't have enough strength. Sun tried to undermine Yuan's power by trying to unify the south. Yuan lost his power when he declared himself Emperor when the military didn't support him anymore. -
May 4th movement
Students rose up and made a mass demostration at Bejieng against warlords. It expressed nationalism as Germany's former ports in China, went to Japan considering that they both fought on the same side in WWI. It encouraged a renewed China that would be proud and independent from outside influences. It promoted the GMD's strength rapidly compare to the years before. -
Formation of the CCP
Created after the May 4th, it was created by the Leninism and was made of intellects which lacks military strength, it made a fragile alliance with the GMD for mutual defense. The CCP stands for the Chinese Communist Party which supported land reforms and other communist ideas, transforming it into ideas that fits the peasantry. -
Jiang Jieshi takes power
After Sun's death, a commited nationalist general by the name of Jiang Jieshi took control of the GMD. He had military training before WWI in Japan and was taught by the Soviets. The GMD didn't have any military power outside the south and in which Jiang tries to continue implent Sun's 3 principles but in the end fails against Mao and his CCP. -
The Northern Expedition
To the agreement between the CCP and the GMD to unify China, they created the First United Front against the warlords. They crushed central and northern China. They took Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing in 1927 and took Beijing in 1928. It allowed the GMD to move the capital to Nanjing. -
Shanghai Massacre
As the Northern Expedition ended, the new conquered land gave local support to the CCP and they also got support from industrial workers. In which a rise that one of the Communists organized a strike in Shanghai. Jiang gained support from landlords and middle class. Due to increase of peasant revolts led by communists. Jiang created a purge of communists and it reached it's heights at the Shanghai massacre. 5,000 communists were shot and quarter million people were killed by the purge. -
Period: to
Chinese Civil War
The time span of the first phase to the end of the second phase -
Communists at Jiangxi
Due to the Purge, the CCP were sent to Jiangxi. Mao stated that cooperation with the GMD was to end the CCP's power and changed the course of how the revolution should be based on the peasantry compare to the Soviet idea of industrial workers. It allowed the CCP to focus from the 12% of China to the 88% of the population. Mao used the council to shift the base of the revolution which altered the course of war. -
The Encirclement campaigns
Jiang failed to elimate the communists that made their home at Jiangxi so he issued his 'Encirclement Campaigns.' The GMD was to surround the CCP and cut them from supplies. In retailation, the CCP focused on survival and built the Red Army. Mao stated that on how they fight as 'the enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy halts, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.' Using the same strategy, 4 of the 5 campaigns was a failure to the GMD. -
Japanese attacks
The GMD was hunting down the CCP but were fighting the Japanese at the same time. Jiang allowed Japan to take over Manchuria in spite of the Manchuria Crisis. He believed that the communists were the bigger threat compare to the Japanese. Due to the failures at Shanghai, the Japanese and GMD made a truce which allowed the Japanese to move up to the Great Wall in 1933. -
The Long March
With the success on the GMD's 5th campaign, the CCP was forced to break the GMD's lines and make a new base. The Red Army was to march 9,600km to Shaanxi. It took 368 and 90% of the communists died on the journey. At the Zunyi Conference, the CCP took the town and discredited the 28 Bolsheviks for their failure at the Xiang River and gave Mao leadership. It gave the CCP a base and a propaganda victory in which helped them. -
The Second United Front
Mao called for a 'United Front' to fight the Japanese. However the Comintern sought it as the chance for the two parties: GMD and the CCP to make an alliance. It was called a 'National War of Resistance.' It gave the communists the perception of being the 'true nationalists.' It rallied the oppressed population inside Japanese owned land, even the warlords revolt. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
The United Front fought against the Japanese. The GMD moved their capital more inland and didn't fight the Japanese so much as they expected the Americans to defeat the Japanese. It was a horrible morale booster for the GMD. The GMD became unpopular with the constant problems it faced, The CCP liberated 678 out of the 914 towns under the Japanese control. Mao promoted the modernization of China as it conducted it's duties. -
Anhui Incident
It was an open battle between the two factions as each side blamed each other for the incident with the New CCP Fourth Army. It dissolved the Second United Front. The CCP stated that the GMD ordered one of their armies at Anhui. Unlike the GMD, they stated that the CCP were attacking the GMD and never issued that order. -
Failure of US diplomacy
America tried to fix the conflicts between the two parties. The plan was to set up a coalition government, form a temporary state council, unite their armies into a new National Army and have free elections. The agreements would've work but both parties sent their armies to recapture Manchuria. It continued the Chinese Civil War with the attempt of the US trying to stop it. -
FIght for Manchuria
As the final stage of full out fighting lasted in Manchuria, the GMD with a bigger army and better weapons were winning in the beginning against the CCP, making the CCP to be defensive. Due to the Yalta Conference, the Soviets invaded Manchuria and gave japanese weapons to the CCP. The GMD won Manchuria but agreed to a ceasefire because of the US and it allowed the CCP to recover and finish the war in their victory. -
Mao enacted land reforms
Due to the failure in Manchuria, the Red Army which is now called People's Liberation Army reverted back to guerilla warfare. The GMD in confidence, marched all the way down to Yan'an to elimate the CCP. Due to the isolated state of Manchuria, the PLA were able to cut the GMD from their supplies and won Manchuria. In order to gain more manpower, Mao performed land reforms, stating that if they win, they keep the land they are given by the communists. -
Battle of Huai-Hai
After the retaking of Manchuria, the PLA fought conventially again. In the same month of January, the PLA captured Tianjin and Beijing, giving the CCP the whole north of China. They besieged cities and due to the lack of GMD stockades. Men defected to the CCP in promise of an aquedate life. The CCP made a few more campaigns that allowed them to have central and northern China. Due to the weak resistance in the south, the GMD fled to Taiwan, thus ending the war. -
Establishment of the People's Republic of China
'Our nation will never again be an insulted nation. We have stood up.' Mao proclaimed this as he brought an establishment to the new China. Society became militarized and Mao was considered a god. The government is still effective presently. Mao tried to help the people with the idea of the Great Leap Forward which promotes steel production. Sadly it caused a famine and the plan became a failure. In redemption to continue his power, Mao started the Cultural Revolution which ended old China.
