World History I Study Guide

1911 Revolution

The uprising that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, ending over 2,000 years of imperial rule.

Puyi

The "Last Emperor" of China; abdicated as a child in 1912, later becoming a puppet ruler for the Japanese.

Sun Yatsen

The "Father of Modern China" and founder of the Guomindang (GMD). He aimed to modernize China based on his "Three Principles of the People."

Yuan Shikai

A powerful general who became the first official President of the Republic but tried (and failed) to declare himself Emperor, leading to chaos.

Warlord Era

A period of anarchy following Yuan Shikai's death where local military leaders (warlords) fought for control of different regions.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Founded in 1921; focused on organized labor and, later, the peasantry. Led eventually by Mao Zedong.

Guomindang (GMD)

The Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-Shek after Sun Yatsen’s death.

First United Front

An alliance between the GMD and CCP to defeat the warlords and unify China.

Northern Expedition

The military campaign launched by the United Front to reclaim China from the warlords.

Shanghai Massacre (1927)

Chiang Kai-Shek’s violent purge of the CCP, ending the First United Front and starting a civil war.

Long March

The CCP’s 6,000-mile tactical retreat to North China to escape GMD encirclement; it established Mao as the undisputed leader.

2nd Sino-Japanese War

Full-scale war beginning in 1937 when Japan invaded China's heartland.

Manchuckuo

The puppet state established by Japan in Manchuria with Puyi as its figurehead.

Nanjing (Massacre)

A six-week period of mass murder and rape committed by Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing.

Second United Front

A fragile, "forced" alliance between the GMD and CCP to fight the Japanese invaders.

People’s Republic of China (PRC)

Name of new China/ proclaimed by Mao on October 1, 1949, after the CCP defeated the GMD in the Civil War.

Soviet Union (USSR)

Initially the PRC's main ally, providing the blueprint for Industrialization and economic planning.

Marriage Law of 1950

A massive social shift that banned concubinage, allowed women to divorce, and forbid arranged marriages.

Land Reform / Agrarian Reform Laws (1950)

The seizure of land from wealthy landlords to be redistributed to peasants.

"Speak Bitterness" (Struggle Meetings)

Public rallies where peasants were encouraged to denounce and punish their former landlords.

Collectivization

The process of moving from private farming to state-controlled group farming.

Mutual Aid Teams

Small groups of families sharing tools (Step 1).

Agricultural Producers Co-operatives

Larger groups pooling land (Step 2)

Communes

Massive, self-sustaining units where thousands lived and worked together (Step 3).

Great Leap Forward (1958–1962)

Mao’s ambitious plan to rapidly modernize China’s economy. It failed disastrously.

Four Noes

A campaign to eliminate pests (rats, flies, mosquitoes, and sparrows). Killing the sparrows caused an ecological imbalance.

Great Famine

The result of the Great Leap Forward's failures and bad weather; led to the deaths of tens of millions.