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Fall of the Qing Dynasty
The Wuchang Uprising resulted in the end of the Qing Dynasty. This marked the end of imperial rule in China and the end of a nearly 300 year old dynasty. Following the uprising, Sun Yat-Sen was elected as the President of the newly formed Republic of China, and was tasked with finishing the fight against the remaining Qing Dynasty opposition and to strengthen the new Republic of China. -
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Reign of Yuan Shikai
Sun Yat-Sen, founder and first president of the Republic of China appointed Yuan Shikai as president. Yuan Shikai, a former Qing Dynasty general was to use his considerable skills as a general and a politician to defeat the remaining Qing warlords that were terrorizing China. Yuan Shikai instead created an autocracy and attempted to revive Imperial rule. After his death, left behind a power vacuum which caused considerable chaos. -
May Fourth Movement
Following the Treaty of Versailles, japan received Chinese land, specifically territories in Shandong. Many Chinese citizens were upset with this result and believed that the government had not protested strongly enough. In a show of their grievances, Chinese students from several universities banded together in show of protest against both the Treaty of Versailles and the dispute over the land. This spurred on an increase in nationalism within china and led to doubts over the effectiveness of w -
Mao Zedong discovers Marxist writings
While he was in Beijing, Mao Zedong found several pieces of Marxist Literature that had recently been translated into Chinese. In particular Karl Marx' Communist Manifesto influenced Mao Zedong heavily and would lead to his founding of the Chinese Communist Party -
Founding of Communist Party of China
Following the events of the May Fourth Protests, several Chinese intellectuals lost faith in Western Democracy and instead supported the Soviet Union and their Communist Ideals. Spurred on by this shift in beliefs, the Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921, they fought against the Republic of China in a series of civil wars spanning from 1922 to 1949. Eventually, the Chinese Communist Party was victorious and became the primary political organization of China. -
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First United Front
The First United Front, known alternatively as the KMT-CPC Alliance, was formed in 1923 with the end goal of ending warlordism in China. The Communist Party wished to use the influence of Nationalist Party to further spread communism. The Nationalist Party on the other hand wished to keep an eye on Chinese Communist Party activities in order to keep them under their control. Due to the opposing goals of the side, the First United Front ended in civil war. -
Chinese Communist Party rebels
In Nanchang, Jiangxi, the Chinese Communist Party began their revolt against the Nationalist government. Communist forces occupied the city of Nanchang, and were able to survive the attack of the Nationalist troops, they would later retreat through the Jinggang Mountains. -
Inauguration of Jiang Jieshi as president
The Republic of China’s Nationalist government was led by Jiang Jieshie, a knowledgeable and respected general who had been instrumental in fighting against the incursion of Communists. From 1927 to 1950, he fought against the Communist party led by Mao Zedong. Despite superior numbers and financial backing, the Republic of China was forced into Taiwan in 1949. -
Japan Invades Manchuria
Following the Mukden Incident, in which a Chinese attack against Japan was staged, Manchuria was invaded by Japanese soldiers. Japan sought the raw materials Manchuria held, in order to fuel their industry and alleviate the depression they were suffering from. A puppet state, Manchuko was established in Manchuria, and under the policy of appeasement, Japan was allowed to control Manchuria until eventually being forced out by Chinese soldiers. -
The Long March
The Long March refers to the 370 day long retreat carried out by the Chinese Communist Party during the Civil War. Mao Zedong stood out during the retreat due to his leadership, this led to an increase in his reputation and allowed him to secure the support of the troops and their approval of a new leader. As Mao’s influence grew, he was able to gain the admiration of several generals and led to his election as the leader of the Communist National Party, which he eventually led to victory agains -
Chinese Communist Party Elects leaders
On this day, Mao Zedong was elected the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He would go on to lead the Chinese Communist party until his death in 1976. -
December 9th Movement
The December 9th Movement was a mass protest which was led by students in Beiping. The protestors requested that the Nationalists to fight back against the Japanese attacks. Despite police enclosure lines inhibiting their progress, the protesters were able to issue demands to the Nationalist government. The December 9th Movement would serve as inspiration for students throughout China. -
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Second Unite Front
During the second Sina-Japanese War the Japanese Army had invaded China and was steadily defeating the Nationalist Army. With this in mind the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party agreed to ceasefire and join together to fight the Japanese Threat. -
Battle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai was the first engagement fought between the Nationalist army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Despite advice against fighting, Jiang Jieshi dispatched the Nationalist army in defense of Shanghai from the Japanese. The Nationalist Army was defeated in 3 days and Shanghai was captured in 3 months. Jiang Jieshi believed that the defense would result in Western involvement. The crushing defeat did not result in the involvement of the League of Nations and left the Nationalist A -
Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking was the destruction and desecration of the former capital city of the Republic of China, Nanking. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, soldiers of the Imperial Army murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians. This event is one of the single largest civilian losses of life during wartime. It led to several tribunals that resulted in sentences for the war criminals that participated in the genocide. -
Battle of Taierzhuang
The Battle of Tai’erzhuang was fought between the Nationalist Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. It was the first major victory for the Chinese during the war. It dispelled the notion of the invincibility of the Japanese soldiers and resulted in a marked increase in Chinese moral. -
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Arming of Chinese Communist Soldiers by Soviet Union
The Soviet Union supplied the Chinese Communist Army with weapons taken from Japanese Soldiers. With the ability to outfit an incereasing number of soldiers, the Communists were able to push the Nationalist Army back and led to a Communist Victory. -
Victory of Communist Party of China
Following 20 years of battles, Mao Zedong succeeded in forcing the Chinese Nationalist Army from China into Taiwan. With their final victory, the Communist Party was left as the most powerful government in china and led to the creation of the People’s Republic of China. -
Retreat of Republic of China and founding of Taiwan
Following their defeat by the Communist forces, the Nationalist Army was pushed back to Taiwan. Following evacuation of government by Jiang Jieshi to Taipei where a wartime capital was established. From this point forward, the Kuomingtang was reduced to controlling Taiwan.
