1. Fall of the Empire and the Warlord Period
China #
Fall of the Empire and the Warlord Period

2. Last Days of the Dynasty

3. Long term weaknesses Opium Wars - Treaty of Nanking 1842
Role of foreigners
Taiping Rebellion 1860
Boxer Rebellion 1900
Dynastic weaknesses
Economic and Technological weaknesses

4. Collapse of Manchu Dynasty
Lost war with Japan in 1895
Emperor Guangxi and Empress Dowager Cixi in power
Boxer Rebellion 1900
Rebellion crushed by foreigners (provincial governments did support them militarily)
Emperor and Empress Dowager embarrassed and lose even more power to foreigners...Reforms follow, but too little too late for any real change or support

5. Sun Yatsen & Republicans
Sun Yatsen had been exiled because of his anti-imperial views from Much of this time he had lived in Japan, planning his revolution to change China from an empire to a republic.

6. The Regency
Nov saw the death of both the Emperor Guangxu and Empress Cixi within 24 hours
2 year old Pu Yi is now emperor, with his Uncle Chun acting as Regent
One of Chun’s first acts was to dismiss General Yuan Shikai, commander of the Beijing army...Yuan vowed retribution for this
In 1911 Chun nationalized the railroads in China, but had to take out a foreign loan to pay the railroad owners for it (at less than they were worth)...this further hurt the Regency

7. Pre-Conditions of the Civil War
> 1936

8. 1911 Double Tenth Revolution (10/10/11) --> Qing Dynasty overthrown
Began in Wuhan (Heibei)
Provinces south of Beijing declare independence
--> Sun Yatsen (Nationalist) elected President - he was in States and had done nothing.
--> removed Imperial system
--> introduced a Republic for the first time

9. 1911-1912 Regent asks Yuan Shikai to restore order
He re-takes the provinces, stops at Wuhan
Negotiates the abdication of Qing Dynasty
Mandate of Heaven from Machus to Republic
Sun gives up Presidency to Yuan
--> feared civil war, wanted to avoid bloodshed
--> still influential in government

10. 1912-16 Alliance League becomes GMD
Yuan maintains his power despite a rebellion in 1913
WWI begins
--> Yuan accepted Japan’s 21 Demands
--> Japan occupied German leases in Shandong province
Yuan appointed himself Emperor in 1916

11. 1916
Yuan Shikai dies
--> Sun returned to China from Japan to re-est. Republic
Warlords controlled many cities and provinces
--> warred with each other over land
--> peasants conscripted to fight
Dams/irrigation ignored, trade restricted, modernization ceased

12. 1919
May 4th Movement
--> socio-political-intellectual revolution aimed at achieving national independence
--> massive rallies/demonstrations against giving Shandong to Japan
--> as a result, China refused to sign Treaty of Versailles

13. 1921-24 Chinese Communist Party formed (1921) 1st United Front (1923)
--> Sun admitted CCP into GMD
Sun introduced ‘3 Principles of the People’
--> Nationalism, Democracy, People’s Livelihood
--> promised to provide land, irrigation and colonization systems

14. 1925 Sun Yatsen died during attempts to negotiate with warlords
Jiang Jieshi succeeded Sun

15. 1926
Mao Zedong convinced the CCP that Marxism-Leninism is not suitable for China
--> they should focus on the peasants
Northern Expedition
--> GMD set out to overthrow warlords
--> they had been resisting Nationalists
--> peasants had been organized by CCP and disarmed and killed landlord officials themselves (greatly disturbs GMD)

16. 1927
Shanghai Massacre
--> 1st Nationalist attempt to exterminate CCP
--> GMD roamed streets looking for ‘telltale’ sign - red neck indicated the person had worn the cheaply-made red scarf of the CCP
--> all CCP in GMD were killed

17. 1928-31 Warlords of Beijing expelled - Northern Expedition over (1928)
Jiang sets out on 1st Extermination of Bandits Campaign (of Communists) (1930)
Japan invades Manchuria
--> Jiang forbids any retaliation
--> CCP attack Japanese with guerrilla tactics
--> Chinese people angry at GMD for focusing on CCP rather than Japanese