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Period: to
Qing dynasty
The last of the imperial dynasties in China. -
the beginning of revolution
–The Qing Dynasty has fallen
Sun Yixian (Sun Yat Sen) takes over as President – he hopes to build China through –The people, Nationalism and Democracy. -
The beginning of the Republic under Sun Yixian, the founder of the Republic and founder of KMT
Once again – Internal and External Factors affect this.
The Warlords of Tribal China
Foreign Powers trying to take power
Eventually the Army (Koumintang -KMT) took control. -
The Warlord Era, warlords fought for power
The Warlords continued to fight.
The army were divided and no-one was in control.
Foreign Powers were taking control of China’s economy.
Japan were slowly trying to take control of Chinese land.
Around the world WW1 was raging.
Communism and Fascism were growing in the west. Their influence was spreading. -
Jiang Jeishi takes control of the KMT
In 1926 Jiang Jeishi took control of the Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang -KMT) and smashed the Warlords – his aim was to unite China.
He needed the Chinese Communist Party to help. -
The Long March, The communists escape the Nationalists
The NATIONALISTS continually attacked the Communists who retreated.
This became known as the Long March. -
World War 2. The KMT and Communists fought the Japanese
The Chinese were united in their battle against Japan –the invading foreigners. The civil war was forgotten. After WW2 – Communism grew in Eastern Europe and support for the Chinese communists grew, more and more Chinese joined the communist party. -
The communists take power and the Nationalists escape to Taiwan
In 1949 the Communists defeated the Nationalists.
The Nationalists escaped to Taiwan to set up their own Nationalist government. -
The First 5 year plan
After world war 2 the world was becoming more industrial, China had a Five Year Plan to increase industry and develop agricultural production. (1953-57) By 1956, the number of people living in cities had almost doubled from before the communist takeover, and there were shortages of food, housing and consumer goods.
There was public dissent about these living conditions, though they were rarely given voice. -
The Hundred Flowers Campaign
So, on February 27, 1957, Mao made an unusual request.
He called for the nation's intellectuals and asked them to engage in open criticism of the Party.
Some believe this was a trick. Between 300,000 and 550,000 individuals, mostly intellectuals and academics, were identified as ‘Rightists’. -
The Great Leap Forward (The 2nd 5 year plan)
The Great Leap Forward was Mao’s attempt to modernize China’s economy.
One that, by 1988, would rival America.
Forced farmers to work in “communes” instead of for themselves A huge failure
China’s economy actually experienced negative growth.
As a result there was not enough food for the country.
18 million to 45 million people died between 1958-62.
Most starved; some murdered by the government.
Many Chinese fled to neighbouring countries. -
The Cultural Revolution
After the Great Leap Forward, Mao was unpopular - he lost control of the party.
The Cultural Revolution was Mao’s attempt to regain power over the government.
This was a time of very little freedom in China.
Mao staged public rallies involving thousands of young supporters.
He calculated correctly that the young wouldn't remember much about the failure of the Great Leap Forward and the millions of deaths. -
Chairman Mao Zedong dies
After Mao’s death, China went into a different direction
China started to change its economic policies to become more capitalist
This change in policy perhaps says something about the failure of Mao’s leadership