Modern China Second Midterm - Part 1

Puyi (1906 - 1967)

Final emperor of China, chosen to reign by Empress Dowager Cixi after the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir

Republic of China (1912 - 1949)

Founded after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and ended China’s imperial rule. Later becomes the People’s Republic of China

Yuan Shikai (1859 - 1916)

First elected President of the Republic of China who was a former military leader and statesman who played a critical role in the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. Attempted to become emperor at the end of his life, which led to his downfall and is commonly viewed as a major setback for Chinese democracy

Sun Yat-sen (1866 - 1925)

A Chinese revolutionary and intellectual who founded the Republic of China and its first political party, the Kuomintang (KMT)

Twenty-one Demands (1915)

Set of demands that Japan made to China in 1915 resulting in Japan controlling Manchuria, Shandong, and the Han-Ye-Ping mining base in central China. Japan also gained access to Chinese harbors, bays, and islands, as well as controlling Chinese political affairs through advisers

China in WWI (1917 - 1918)

China fought with the Allied Powers by sending laborers abroad to Europe, which ended up being the largest non-European workforce in WWI

Treaty of Versailles (June 1919)

The treaty that ended WWI and impacted China through the decision to cede the Shandong Province to Japan (an occupied territory during the war) leading to the May Fourth Movement protests against. China eventually decided to refuse the treaty

May Fourth Movement (1919)

Chinese cultural and anti-imperial political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. The students were protesting the contents of the Paris Peace Conference (Treaty of Versailles).

Lu Xun (1881 - 1936)

Born Zhou Zhangshou. Chinese writer, literary critic, lecturer, and leading figure of Chinese literature. Regarded as the most influential Chinese writer who was associated with the May Fourth Movement.

Hu Shi (1891 - 1962)

Chinese academic, writer, and politician who participated in the May Fourth Movement and New Culture Movement. He was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese

Warlords (in China)

Military commanders who controlled parts of China during the Warlord Era, a period of history of the Republic of China when control of the country was divided between rival military cliques

Zhang Zuolin (1875 - 1928)

Chinese warlord who ruled Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 before becoming the leader of the Beiyang government (Republic of China) and declared Generalissimo of the Republic of China

Zhang Zongchang/The Dogmeat General

Chinese warlord who ruled Shandong from 1925 to 1928, notorious for his brutal and ruthless behavior. Known as the Dogmeat General due to a fondness for the gambling game pai gow, or “eating dog meat”

Chinese Communist Party (est. 1921)

Founded on July 1, 1921 with the help of the Bolsheviks and Far Eastern Secretariat of the Communist International

Chen Duxiu (1879 - 1942)

Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher and author who co-founded the Chinese Communist Part with Li Dazhao

Li Dazhao (1889 - 1927)

Chinese intellectual and revolutionary who participated in the New Culture Movement and co-founded the Chinese Communist Party with Chen Duxiu

Comintern

The Communist International, a.k.a. the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism

Nationalists (Guomindang; est. 1912, 1919)

A.k.a. Kuomintang, is a political party in the Republic of China founded by Sun Yat-sen

Chiang Kai-sek (1887 - 1975)

Chinese politician, revolutionary, and general who led the Republic of China from 1928 until his death in 1975

Whampoa Academy (Canton, 1924)

A military and political school established by Sun Yat-sen which served to train officers for the Chinese government.