China Key Facts - first half of course

Qing Dynasty

- Manchurian-> seen as foreigners by majority Han population

- 1898 Emperor Guangxu tried to do 'Hundred Days Reform'-> Cixi opposed

- Weak, imperial government

European influence

- Opium trade + wars that Britain won

- Missionaries sought to replace Confucianism and Buddhism with Christianity

What years did the Boxer Rebellion take place?

1899-1900

Who stoked the fire of attacks during the Boxer Rebellion?

Cixi, to divert attention from the weak Qing dynasty

How many Christians died during the Boxer Rebellion?

30,000

What was the financial consequence for China after the Boxer Rebellion?

They had to pay £67 million in reparations

Self-Strengthening Reforms

- 1902-1911

- Tried to add democracy-> only 0.4% can vote still in 1909

- 1908 dismissed Yuan Shikai as part of army reforms

- More education abroad leads to growing radicalism influenced by Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen

- Born 1866

- Nationalist + supporter of Republican democracy

1911 revolution

- 10 Oct 1911 Han soldiers mutiny

- Yuan Shikai joins revolution to get revenge

- Sun Yat-sen is named president but stands down -> Yuan has real power

Yuan Shikai in power

-1912-1916

- GMD win vote with 43%

- 1913 crushes GMD uprising

- May 1915 accepts 21 demands of Japan as has no money

Yuan Shikai dies

June 1916

Era of the Warlords

1916-1927

- Had high taxes on peasants and didn't care - millions die in 1920-21 famines

Warlord dedicated to confucian thought

Wu Peifu

Violent and liked splitting heads open

Zong Zongzhang

Two governments

- Nominal republican government led by Duan Qirui in Beijing

- GMD government in Guangzhou

May the 4th movement

- 1919

- 10,000 students arrange a protest at Tiananmen Square on 4 may (duh)

- Due to Treaty of Versailles not overturning 21 demands

Return of the GMD

1919

- 3 principles of the people in 1923

- Comintern agents like Borodin sent

Sun Yat-sen dies

Mar 1925

- Of liver cancer

Rise of Chiang Kai-Shek

- 1925

- Borodin made CKS leader of Whampoa training academy

- Overall GMD was becoming more military

CCP created

1921

- Due to Chen Duxiu leader of New Culture Movement turning to Marxism

- Inspired by soviet rev

- Created in shanghai with help of Comintern agents

1st United Front

- 1924-25

- To remove Warlords

- CCP was too small-> only had 50 members when started

- The GMD's three principles of the people were communist adjacent

- First step toward proletariat revolution

Northern Expedition

- 1926

- Mao makes propaganda getting peasants on side

- CKS allied himself with Feng (Christian one) and Yan Xishan (model governor)

- Made deals with Zhang Xueliang (Manchu)

CCP popularity after warlords

- 58,000 members by 1927

- Integration of CCP into GMD led to split between right and left

- Left side led by Wang Jing Wei-> cared about the poor

Shanghai massacres

- On 12 April 1927 The White Terror starts-250,000 killed

- CCP try to launch revolution in Nanchang in Aug- Sep 1927 that is easily crushed

- Escape to Jianxi province

Extermination Campaigns

- 5 in total- Von Seeckt does 5th

- Braun (comintern agent) changed Mao's tactics to fight pitched battles

- Reds lose 60,000 soldiers in October 1934

When did the Long March start?

October 1934

When did the Long March end?

October 1935

What was criticized at the Zunyi Conference in January 1935?

Braun's tactics of moving in straight lines and carrying too much kit.

Who replaced Braun for tactics during the Long March?

Mao and General Zhu-De

What tactic was employed to evade the GMD during the Long March?

Splitting up and moving unpredictably.

How long did the Long March last?

368 days

What was the distance covered during the Long March?

9000 km

How many rivers did the Long March cross?

24 rivers

How many mountain ranges did the Long March cross?

18 mountain ranges

What challenges did the marchers face during the Long March?

Difficult terrain and continual attacks by the GMD

How many soldiers survived the Long March?

Less than 10,000 soldiers

Japanese appeasement in 1930s

- Occupied Manchuria 1931 and spread down to Rehe, Hebei and Chahar

- Took control of Shanghai + caused 200,000 to flee

Chiang Kai-Shek captured

- Dec 1936

- Tried to impose authority on Zhang Xueliang

- Zhang kidnapped for 2 weeks and only released him if he made a 2nd united front

War with Japan starts

7 Feb 1937

- Clash at Marco Polo bridge-> CKS forced to begin war

What years did the war with Japan take place?

1937-1945

Which major cities did Japan take control of between 1937 and 1938?

Beijing and Shanghai/ all major cities in the east

What was the status of Japanese divisions in China in 1941?

34 out of 50 divisions were in China and still struggled to hold it.

What event led to Japan's surrender in 1945?

The dropping of atomic bombs.

Pearl Harbour

- Dec 1941

- Japanese attack

- USA enter war and supply CKS with weapons

- By 1945 USA had invest $1b in Chinese war effort

Red Army in Japanese war

- Chinese do not fight Chinese

- Yanan base allows them to advance where Japan retreats

- Myth of the Long March

- By 1945 CCP control 95m people

GMD in Japanese war

- 1941 kill/injure 10,000 red army troops in attack

- Blueshirts arrest communists

- Chongqing was bombed 268 times from 1938-43

CCP strengths in civil war

- PLA grew to 4m despite no Airforce or navy at beginning

- 1m landlords killed during civil war-> peasants were dedicated

- Chain of command is clear, and Lin Biao is v good at guerilla warfare

GMD weaknesses in civil war

- CKS constantly disagreed with Fu Zuoyi

- Conscription army-> 1.5m desertions from NRA to PLA

- USA cut GMD off in 1949- spent $3 billion

Survival of CCP in manchuria

- July 1946-May 1947

- Drove CCP out of base at Yanan in March 1947

- But Lin Biao fought an effective guerilla war using the peasants from 1946

- Isolated GMD in cities

Counterattack

- May 1947-Nov 1948

- Lin Biao switches to conventional warfare

- CKS refuses to retreat -> GMD loses 500,000 troops and CCP gains all of Manchuria

- Meant GMD felt needed to make a stand to avoid PLA advancing further

Huai-Hai campaign (CCP)

- Nov 1948-Jan 1949

- Mao orders immediate surprise attack using deserters/prisoners -> 1m men

- On Xuzhou w loudhailers + scorched earth policy

Huai-hai Campaign (GMD)

- December 1948 Generals tell CKS they need to retreat

- Refuses then January 1949 500,000 die/captured before tanks arrive

Mao announces creation of People's Republic of China

October 1949