Fall of the Qing

  • The 19th century was known as China’s “century of humilitation”
    • Foreign influence in China grew
      • 1839 - Opium Wars
      • 1895 - First-Sino Japanese War
    • Peasant rebellions weakened the power of the Qing government
      • 1850 - 1864 - Taiping Rebellion
      • 1899 - Boxer Rebellion
    • China failed to modernize

Revolution of 1911

  • Sun Yat-sen plotted to overthrow the Qing dynasty and turn China into a republic
    • Three Principles of the People:
      • Nationalism
      • Democrazy
      • Livelihood
    • Failed 7 times from 1906 - 1908
  • 1911 - Army units rebelled against Qing
    • The last emperor, Puyi, abdicated
    • Sun Yat-Sen joined the rebellion and became the first president

World War I

  • Warlords took control in China during WWI
  • China joined WWI on the side of the Alies
    • Provided labor on the Western Front
    • Did not send troops to battle
  • May 4th 1919 - Student protests took place in Beijing at Tiananment Square
    • Outraged that Paris German colonies in China were transferred to Japan at the PPC
    • Led to a growth in communism, as people turned to radical solutions

Chinese Civil War

  • The nationalist party (KMT) and the Communist party (GCP) worked together to unify China
    • 1919 - Sun Yat-Sen formed the KMT
      • Succeeded by Chiang Kai Shek
    • 1921 - Mao Zedong became leader of the CGP
  • Mao Zedong established his own Chinese Soviet Republic in southeastern China
    • Controlled 1 million people
    • Red Army has 200k troops
  • 1934 - The KMT attacked the Communists forcing the on a 6,000 mile retreat, the Long March:
    • Lasted 370 days
    • Crossed 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers
    • Only 8,000 survived
  • 1937 Japan invades ending Chinese Civil War