Modern China (textbook) Flashcards
(41 cards)
Why was China ripe for revolution?
- Foreign countries controlled its trade and economic resources
- Modernization + nationalism = key for survival
Who was the Kuomintang?
- Nationalist Party
- Pushed for modernization and nationalization
Who was Sun Yixian?
- Leader of Nationalist Party
- Led the overthrow of the last Chinese emperor of Qing dynasty (1911)
- Became president of the new Republic of China (1912)
- Lacked the authority and military support to secure national unity
What were the “Three Principles of the People”?
Sun Yixian hoped to establish a modern government based on:
1) nationalism- an end to foreign control
2) people’s rights- democracy
3) people’s livelihood- economic security for all Chinese
Who did Sun Yixian turn his presidency over to and what happened then?
- Yuan Shikai
- Betrayed the democratic ideals of the revolution- sparked revolts
- Died in 1916- civil war broke out
- Warlords + military leaders ruled the territories
What was the Versailles Treaty of WWI?
- Chinese government in Beijing declared war against Germany
- Some people believed that China participating would allow them to gain control of Chinese territories previously belonging to Germany
- Treaty gave Japan those territories
What was the impact of the Versailles Treaty of WWI?
- People outraged
- May Fourth Movement:
- 1919, 3,000 angry students gathered in Beijing
- Became a national movement including workers, shopkeepers, and professionals
- Showed the Chinese people’s commitment to the goal of establishing a strong, modern nation
Who was Mao Zedong?
- Assistant librarian at Beijing University
- Among the founders of the Chinese Communist Party (1921)
- Believed he could bring revolution to a rural country where peasants could be the true revolutionaries
Who was Lenin and what did he believe?
- Soviet communism
- Organization in Russian cities
- Sent military advisers + equipment to Nationalists in return for allowing Chinese Communists to join the Kuomintang
Why did Sun ally the Kuomintang with the newly formed Communist Party?
- Both became unhappy with the Western democracies that refused to support his struggling government
- Hoped to unite all the revolutionary groups for common action
Who was Jiang Jieshi? (Chiang Kai-shek)
- After Sun Yixian died in 1925, headed the Kuomintang
- Son of middle-class merchant
Who were Jiang’s followers and what did they fear?
- Bankers and business people
- Feared the Communists’ goal of creating a socialist economy modeled after the Soviet Union’s
Why did the peasants align with the Communists?
- Jiang had promised democracy + political rights to all Chinese
- His government became less democratic and more corrupt- did little to improve peasants’ lives
What were the causes and effects of the Nationalists trying to wipe out the Communists in April of 1927?
- Jiang soon turned against the Communists
- Nationalist troops moved into Shanghai and killed many Communist leaders (nearly wiped out Communist Party)
- 1929 Jiang became president of Nationalist Republic of China
- Great Britain + US recognized new government
- Soviet Union did not because of the Communist slaughter
- Jiang’s treachery also led to a civil war because of Communist rage
What was the Long March?
- Jiang gathered large army of 700,000 men
- Surrounded Communists’ mountain stronghold
- Communists outnumbered- 100,000 Communists fled 6,000 miles
- Thousands died hunger, cold, exposure, battle wounds
- After more than a year, Mao + 7-8 thousand survivors settled in caves in northwestern China
- Gained new followers
Why was the civil war suspended?
- Japanese took advantage of China’s weakness/struggles
- Invaded Manchuria (industrialized province in northeast China)
- All-out invasion: bombings of villages + cities killed thousands
- Destruction of farms- starvation
- Controlled large part of China
- Threat forced uneasy truce between Jiang and Mao
- Temporarily united to fight Japanese
How did Mao and the communists fight the Japanese?
Peasants used guerrilla warfare
How did communists win the peasants loyalty under Mao?
- Promoted literary
- Improved food production
Why did the US send Nationalists money (1.5 billion)? What happened to the money?
- To help them fight the Japanese
- Supplies + money often ended up in the hands of a few corrupt officers
Why didn’t the Nationalists fight too many battles against the Japanese?
They saved their strength for the coming battle against Mao’s Red Army (kept fighting after Japan surrendered)
Who had the advantage in the Civil War at first?
- Nationalists- army outnumbered them 3 to 1
- US continued to provide money (2 billion)
Why did thousands of Nationalist soldiers join the Communists?
- China economy collapsing
- Inflation
Who won the civil war in 1949 (why)? What was its new name? Where did the other side retreat to?
- Communists enthusiastic about Mao’s promise to return land to the peasants
- Well trained Red forced gained control of major cities
- Communists called China the People’s Republic of China
- Nationalists retreated to Taiwan (Formosa)
What were they two Chinas and where were they located? What was the effect of this?
- Nationalist China- Taiwan
- People’s Republic of China- mainland
- Intensified Cold War
