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Hundred Days of Reform (pre-study design)
- Instigated by Emperor Guangxu
- Aimed to reform education, political, industry, finance and law sectors of Chinese society.
- Failed when Dowager Empress Cixi took over administration (significant power struggle) - coup supported by Confucian conservatives.
- Highlighted imperial era deficiencies (inefficiency in education, military/farming practices, flaws in Confucian thinking, decadence/bureaucracy in imperial life).
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Boxer Rebellion (pre-study design)
- Led by 'boxers' who sought to overthrow the 'Foreign Devils' (Britain, France, Germany, Japan, US, Austria, Russia and Italy).
- Their defeat resulted in national humiliation, forced reforms, economic reparations, foreign occupation of Beijing and Manchuria, destruction of 25 Chinese military forts and free access to China for Christian missionaries.
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Yuan Shikai presidency
- Succeeded Sun Yat-sen.
- Forced ministers to resign from parliament, retained military control and didn't want parliament to impede authority.
- Secured loans from foreign banks ($100mil) without parliament's approval to reorganise country.
- GMD tried to suppress him for 'reorganisation loan' so Yuan took over with military force and banned GMD (Sun-Yat-sen fled to Japan).
- Declared himself emperor in 1916; many advisors/followers refused to follow. Died 6/6/16 "from eating bitterness".
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New Cultural Movement and May 4th Movement
- Sought to articulate new cultural identity by asking what it meant to be Chinese.
- Emerged during WWI. Young intellectuals/scholars led, students adopted.
- Questioned Confucian traditions, writing styles and ideas of China's future.
- Influenced or involved many Chinese revolutionary figures.
- M4M = specific aspect of NCM: nationwide protests by students/intellectuals/workers in response to poor treatment of China in Treaty of Versailles. Many people turned to Marxist revolutionary ideas.
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Warlord Era
- Yuan's failure divided China into provinces led by uncompromising warlords.
- Warlords: Sun Chuanfang, Zhang Zuolin, Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang. Fought for control over Beijing to be recognised as official government.
- Ordinary citizens felt fearful and unsettled by the uncertainty as warlords struggled for power/control of provinces.
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Treaty of Versailles
- Did not address China's grievances so they refused to sign it.
- Students and academics were outraged by this, making Western philosophical values more appealing to many of the populace (triggered M4M).
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Founding of CCP
- Formed by writers/political activists involved in M4M seeking alternative party for China's political development.
- Based on Marx's writings and Bolshevik example.
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First United Front
- GMD and CCP join forces to end warlordism.
- Formed the National Revolutionary Army that set out on the Northern Expedition.
- Unsustainable because both parties had their own aims
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Northern Expedition
- Military campaign led by GMD
- Aimed to take control of China by ending rule of Beyond govt. and warlords. Not expected to succeed.
- Nationalist Revolutionary Army had 85,000 troops, 6,000 Huangpu officers and Chiang Kai-shek as its commander.
- Led to end of warlord era, reunification of China and establishment of Nanjing govt.
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Nationalist Decade
- Started when Chiang was elected Chairman of the Nationalist govt.
- Relative govt. stability and nominal unification of China.
- Chiang garnered hope for a better, unified future.
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Shanghai Massacre and White Terror
- Chiang wanted to eliminate CCP before they grew powerful enough to oppose him.
- GMD forces massacred 5-10,000 Communists and trade unions in Shanghai; purge then spread nationwide.
- Ended First United Front, expelled Communists from GMD ranks, facilitated the Nationalist Decade and created GMD/CCP tension (led to Civil War).
- Destroyed CCP's urban support base and forced it to adapt. Led to CCP shifting to focus on peasant revolution in countryside
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Encirclement Campaigns
- Launched by GMD against CCP in hopes of isolating/destroying rapidly-developing Red Army.
- Five campaigns; first 4 unsuccessful, 5th succeeded due to cooperative effort between GMD and Nazi Germany.
- Direct trigger of Long March **Start day not supposed to be there, just November 1930
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Jiangxi Soviet
- Established by Mao to support his growing Red Army.
- Implemented progressive reforms to win support of Jiangxi peasants.
- Land Reform: redistributed land from landlords to poor peasants.
- Education campaigns: aimed to improve literacy and class consciousness.
- Women's rights: no-fault divorce, anti foot-binding, quotas for women in CCP/local govt.
- Showed effectiveness of Mao's model of peasant revolution, army/party grew, served as model of later Yan'an Soviet
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New Life Movement
- Initiated by Chiang
- Aimed to battle corruption and 'moral rejuvenation'.
- 96 campaigns that outlined 'offences' eg. gambling, smoking, spitting in public, opium use.
- Also encouraged certain things eg. personal hygiene, vaccinations, frugal living.
- Had little impact as people were more concerned with trying to survive.
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Long March
- Military retreat: 100,000 Communists left Jiangxi Soviet and embarked on the Long March (only 7,000 of these survived).
- CHALLENGES: too many supplies slowed them down, all-time-low morale, Battle of Xiang River (only 30,000 survivors), Luding Bridge.
- People believed Red Army were essentially immortal.
- Mao's guerrilla tactics prove to be effective, becomes leader of Red Army at Zunyi Conference 1935.
- Mao credited with 'saving' CCP
- CCP could rebuild in Yan'an Soviet
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Second United Front
- CCP and GMD unite again to fight against Japan in Sino-Japanese War.
- Sparked by Xi'an Incident, where Chiang was arrested by Marshal Zhang Xueliang.
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Sino-Japanese War
- Skirmish between Chinese and Japanese troops on Marco Polo Bridge 7/7/37; China refuses to apologise, Japan launches full-scale invasion.
- As Japan advanced in strength China withdrew south, but Japan threw everything they had into the offensive "to smash China".
- Chiang drew Japan into a war of attrition and the Nationalists outlasted Japan.
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Civil War
- CCP victory, GMD defeat.
- GMD: mostly conscripted, poor training, low morale, often surrendered en masse, overextended armies, used terror to secure support, narrow support base.
- CCP: mostly volunteers, indoctrinated with Communist ideology, high morale, fought flexibly, abandoned territory when necessary to preserve armies, secure support through promises of social revolution/land reform, progressive alternative.