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The overthrow of the Manchu dynasty
Chinese government felt increased tension when the death of the Emperor and succession of two year old Pu Yi in 1908, alongside the ever-growing sensation of imminent 'Westerinisation.'
Prince Chun ruled in regent, his incompetence saw the dismissal of Jiang Jieshi, and he increased taxation, contributing to socio-economic downturn.
In 1911, the dynasty was overthrown in a revolution known as the Double Tenth and a republic was created. -
Regionalism (The Warlords)
-Triggered by the death of Yuan Shikai
-Therefore, China was split into provinces, governed by the warlords (A.K.A. Land lords)
-Warlords ran their areas independently, they collected taxes and had their own laws and currencies -
The rule of Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was military dictator from 1912 to 1915. His military dictatorship was the key obstacle in uniting China.
Sun's party reformed to become the Guomindang (GMD) in 1912.
To win the political battle for China, a military was required; a lesson learnt by the GMD and the Chinese communists.
In an attempt to undermine the influential Yuan Shikai's rule, Sun tried moving him from his power base in Beijing to Nanjing. -
Period: to
Causes of the Chinese Civil War timespan
Including long and short term causes -
The May Fourth Movement
-Caused because of the Warlords
-In a nutshell, it was a student movement that had the objective of protesting against the warlords
-Held in Beijing
-China joined the allies as sort of a "Rebirth"
-The main problem was imperialism
-It also protested against the decisions taken in the Paris peace conference.
-Expected to withdraw the 21 demands -
The First United Front
-The GMD and the CCP wanted to unify China
-A.K.A. get rid of the Warlords
-GMD and CCP did the Northern Expedition to get rid of the Warlords, which was a succesful movement -
The GMD attacks on the CCP
-Their alliance was only because of convenience -
White Terror
-Jiang's first attack -
Start of the Chinese Civil War
-The GMD continued attacking the CPP
-But the government of the leader of the GMD (Jiang) was tr4sh so it was not convenient for the chinese -
Socio Economic Factors
Peasants under the rule of the Manchu Dynasty were poor, worked on land, lived a hard life, and paid all the taxes.
Their population grew by 8% but the land cultivated increased only by 1% in the second half of the 19th century, and this imbalance caused famines.
Peasants, often driven to the cities by their poverty, had to pay up to 80% of their harvest to landlords, and usually struggled with unemployment and debt due to cheap Western technology. -
Japanese Invaded Manchuria
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Political Weakness
China's destabilised economy was exploited and humiliated through Western imperialism after the mid 19th century Opium Wars and the great Chinese empire had been "carved up into spheres of influence."
China had been forced to sign unequal treaties, maintain extra-territorial courts for foreigners who disobeyed Chinese laws, saw inflation, corruption, and financial chaos from imperialist powers.
