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Nationalists Overthrow Qing Dynasty
Sun`s Yixian Revolutionary Alliance, succeeded in overthrowing the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Sun becames president. -
Yuan Shikai tooks control
Sun turned over the presidency to Yuan Shikai, a general. Yuan quickly betrayed the democratic ideals of the revolution. -
Yuan Shikai becomes a dictator
Yuan started ruling as a military dictator. His actions created local revolts. -
Yuan died and Chaos
Yuan died and chaos start. China remained divided so civil war broke. Sun tries to reorganize his Kuomintang but all power fell in hands of provincial Warlords who terrorized the countryside. Roads and bridges fell into despair and crops were destoryed, famine arose. -
China declares war to Germany
Government in Beijing hoping for an allied victory delcared war to Germany. China's leader believes that the Allies would return control of China to the Chinese poeple. -
The May Fourth Movement
Under the Treaty of Versailles, the allied leaders gave Japan the territories that had belonged to Germany. When news of this Treaty reaches China, outrage swept the country. Over 3,000 students gathered in the center of Beijing and shouted "Down with the European imperialists!" It then converted in a national movement. -
Chinese Communist Party is Founded
A group met in Shangai to organize the Chinese Communist Part based in Marx's revolutionary beliefs. Mao Zedong was among the founders. -
Lenin Befriends the Nationalist Party
Sun Yixian and his Nationalist Party set up a government in south China. lenin started sending military advisers and equipment to the Nationalists in return they had to allow the Cinise communists to join the Kuomintang. -
Sun Yixian died
Sun Yixian died and after his death, Jiang Jieshi heade the Nationalists. He succesfully fought the warlords with the Communists. Then he turned against the Communist Party. -
Nationalists nearly wiped out the Communist
Nationalists troops moved into Shangai and killed as many Communists leaders and trade union members. Similar killings took place in other cities. -
Jiang takes control
Jiang became president of teh Nationlaist Republic of China. Some countries recongnized the new government while other like the Soviet Union, as a result of the Shangai massacre, did not. -
Civil War Rages
Series of wars began between Nationalists and Communists. Peasants that supported the Communist Party, joined the Red Army. Nationalists attacked Communists but with Mao's great tactics, Nationalists failed to drive them out. -
Japan Invades Manchuria
Japanese forces took advantage of China's situation. They invaded Manchuria in the northeast of China. This attack signaled the onset of the World War II in Asia. -
The Long March
After being surrounded by 700,000 Nationalist men, the Communist Party leaders realized they faced defeat. They began a 6,000 mile journey in where Mao's Red Army crossed many rivers, climbed many mountains and fought several battles. It lasted more than a year and only 10,000-30,000 reached safety. -
Japan's all-out invasion of China
Japanese had held control of a large part of China. Thousands of Chinese were killed and there was starvation. Nationalists and Communists temporaly united to fight the Japanese. -
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Civil War in China
After Japan's invasion Nationalists and Communists resumed their war. At first Nationalists had much advangtage since they were more people and because US provided them with aid but they did little to win popular support. Chinas mayor cities fell to the Red Army one by one. Finally Mao gets control of the country and proclaims it People's Republic of China. -
Agrarian Reform Law
Mao seized the holdings of landlords and divided them among the peasants. His forces killed more than a million landlords that resisted this policy. -
Great Leap Forward
Mao proclaimed this type of plan that called for still larger collective farms called communes. Peasants lived under squad leaders, they lived a communal life and ownwed nothing. Peasants had no incentive to work. This program, was an inneficient, crop failures then created famine. Approximately 20 million people died. -
Period: to
The Cultural Revolution
Mao launched a new campaign "learn revolution by making revolution." Millions of high school and college students responded Mao's called and formed the Red Guards. The goal of the revolution was to establish a society of peasants and workers in which they are all equal. Intellectual and artistic people were considered dangerous. They shot down colleges and schools and targeted anyone who seemed to have priviledges. Thousand of people were executed or died iin jail. Chaos developed.
