By presenting themselves as allies and equals of the common people in times of hardship, the communists were able to rise to power and unite all of China
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Period: to
Yuan Shikai in Power
LONG TERM: Yuan's control happened over a span of a few years.
EQ: Nationalism
Yuan Shikai kicked out the Guomindang and apoointed himself Emperor, causing mass hysteria. Military commanders took over provinces and claimed them to be independent, leading to war between the states, therefor splitting up China's power and disunifying the nation. This sparked a need to reunify the nation and the CCP would have a chance to fill that role. -
May Fourth Movement
SHORT TERM: This movement happened on one day.
EQ: Imperialism
The Treaty of Versaille granted all of Germany's colonial posessions in China to Japan. The people of China responded with mass protests, boycotts, student and labor unions, etc. The movement iteslf may have only been for one day, but after it, the people of China started to think more and more about change and future leaders, like Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek, were affected by this. -
Period: to
First United Front
Long Term: The CCP and Gupmindang cooperated fought together for multiple years.
EQ: Politics, Nationalism
Once the front reached Shanghai, the nationalists purged the Communists, giving the nationalists all of the power over the reclaimed territory, and creating a conflict between the Guomindang and the Communists. While this may seem to be more of a detractor to Communist power, it may have given the CCP a driving force to overcome the Guomindang. -
Chiang Kai-Shek on the New Life Movement
DOCUMENT
EQ: Economics/Nationalism
Chiang Kai-Shek explains that China's poverty is caused by 'parasites', those who consume and don't produce. From a peasant's perspective, such as Wang's, I would be inclined to side with the CCP after reading this, as Chiang blames the people for being poor which wouldn't make sense to nor help an impoverished peasant. When your family has to sell you off to pay a debt, how can somebody tell you that it is just because of lazy villagers? -
Period: to
The Long March
LONG TERM: The Long March happened over the span of an entire year, and multiple smaller events took place along the way.
EQ: Politics and Economics
Over the course of the Long March, tens of thousands of communist troops died. However, this event also allowed the CCP to spread their political ideas to the isolated towns and villages that they passed through on their journey, thus expanding Communism's sphere of influence to otherwise isolated villages. -
Xi'an Incident
SHORT TERM: Chiang's imprisonment only lasted a couple weeks.
EQ: Politics
Zhang Xueliang's decision to go against the orders of Chiang, the Guomindang leader, kept the CCP from being eliminated and also displayed that many people didn't want to follow the orders of the Nationalists, and instead helped the Communists. -
Period: to
Second United Front
LONG TERM: The Second United Front lasted for years.
EQ: Politics, Nationalism
The outcome of the Xi'an Incident was that all of the warring entities of China stopped fighting one another so they could focus on repelling the Japanese. This helped the Communists because, without the threat of being destroyed by the Guomindang, they were able to recuperate and build their reputation through fighting the Japanese. -
Mao on The Economy of New Democracy
DOCUMENT
EQ: Economics/Nationalism
Mao says that all enterprises will be owned and controlled by the state. This is so that the government will be able to properly control and distribute the wealth for the people of China, rather than let the very few control the people. He also talks about the equilization of land ownership. All of these ideas are very enticing to the people, as many Chinese have lived in poverty and in the shadows of the rich landowners. -
United Front Crumbles
SHORT TERM: The breaking of the alliance happened in a fairly short time period.
EQ: Nationalism
Although it would seem that the broken alliance would be an obstacle for the Communists, it actually helped; the Communists remained very focused on fighting the Japanese, whereas the Nationalists were not as concerened. Many Chinese joined the CCP because they wanted to support the resistance against Japan, especially after experiencing the Nanjing massacre.