Comprehensive Study Notes: China and Japan 1912-1945

Learning Objectives for the Study of China and Japan 1912–1945

The primary goals of this study are to understand the growth of Chinese nationalism between $1912$ and $1945$, and to analyze the reasons for and implications of the increasing popularity of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from $1912$ to $1927$. Furthermore, it is essential to explore the rivalry between the KMT and the CCP during the period of $1927$ to $1945$. On the international stage, students must assess the failure of democracy in Japan and how this impacted Japan, China, and global relations.

Historical Timeline of Key Events

The period is marked by significant transitions. In October $1911$, the Revolution in China began, leading to the abdication of the last Chinese emperor in January $1912$. The Kuomintang was established in August $1912$. During the First World War ($1914$-$18$), Japan issued the Twenty-One Demands to China in January $1915$. The post-war era saw the May Fourth Movement starting in $1919$ and the formation of the Chinese Communist Party in July $1921$. International efforts to stabilize the region included the Washington Naval Conference ($1921$-$22$). Following the death of Sun Yat-sen in March $1925$, Chiang Kai-shek began the Northern March in July $1926$.

By March $1927$, the Kuomintang's Purification Movement began, and by December $1928$, KMT forces took control of Peking. The $1930$s saw increased aggression; Japan invaded Manchuria in September $1931$, and Mao Tse-tung was elected Chairman of the Soviet Republic of China in November $1931$. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in February $1933$. The Long March occurred in $1934$. In November $1936$, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany. The Sino-Japanese War lasted from $1937$ to $1945$. In late $1941$, following the German invasion of the USSR (June $1941$), Japan broke off diplomatic relations with the USA in November and attacked Pearl Harbor in December, subsequently declaring war on the USA and Britain.

The Collapse of Imperial China and the Rise of Warlordism

China's decline began in the mid-$19$th century due to external challenges from Western powers and internal large-scale rebellions. By $1912$, the abdication of the last emperor ended a system of government that had lasted for millennia. However, the new republic failed to prevent disintegration. China fractured into provinces controlled by warlords—regional chieftains with private armies who competed for territory. This instability created a power vacuum in East Asia, which Japan viewed as both a threat (fearing Western exploitation) and an opportunity for regional supremacy. Japan had already established a presence via the First Sino-Japanese War ($1894$-$95$) and the Russo-Japanese War ($1904$-$05$), securing Taiwan in $1894$, South Manchuria in $1905$, and Korea in $1910$. While Japan appeared to compromise at the Washington Naval Conference ($1921$-$22$), it eventually descended into a military dictatorship by the $1930$s.

Internal Pressures and the Boxer Rebellion

In the late $19$th century, the Manchu (Ching/Qing) dynasty's authority was eroded by foreign trade exploitation and internal reformist rebellions. Empress Tzu-Hsi (Cixi Taihou) opposed reform, purging her government of modernizers and using warlords and foreign powers to suppress uprisings. The Boxer Rebellion ($1898$-$1901$) was an armed nationalist movement against foreign influence. Though initially opposed to the Boxers, the Manchu government eventually supported them and declared war on foreign powers. An eight-nation alliance (Britain, Russia, Japan, France, the USA, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary) suppressed the rebellion, looted the region, and forced the Manchu government to pay compensation for foreign property damage.

Modernization and the Revolution of 1911

Despite political weakness, China underwent significant cultural and industrial shifts. Western-style education replaced the traditional Confucian examination system in $1905$. Industrialization brought coal mines, iron foundries, cotton factories, and new transport infrastructure. These changes fueled demands for political reform. Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian), a doctor turned professional revolutionary, was a central figure. He founded the Revive China Society ($1894$) and later the Tongmenhui (Revolutionary Alliance) in $1905$. Sun aimed to establish a republican government based on Western democratic and industrial models. In October $1911$, the Xinhai Revolution broke out in Wuchang, sparked by resentment over the government's continued payments to foreigners. This led to most provinces declaring independence from Peking (Beijing).

The Presidency of Yuan Shih-kai and Political Disintegration

In December $1911$, Sun Yat-sen was elected 'Provisional President of the United Provinces of China' in Nanking. To avoid civil war between the Nanking government and the Peking-based Manchu government (backed by Yuan Shih-kai and the Beiyang army), Sun negotiated with Yuan. It was agreed that Yuan would arrange the emperor's abdication in exchange for the presidency of a unified republic. China formally became a republic in March $1912$, but Yuan Shih-kai quickly established a military dictatorship. After the KMT won the popular vote in $1913$, KMT chairman Sung Chiao-jen was assassinated, an act widely attributed to Yuan. Sun Yat-sen fled to Japan. Yuan banned the KMT, dismissed parliament in $1914$, and issued a constitution granting him absolute power. His popularity collapsed after accepting Japan’s Twenty-One Demands ($1915$) and declaring himself emperor in December $1915$. He resigned after $83$ days and died in $1916$, leaving a power vacuum.

The Warlord Era (1916-1928)

Following Yuan's death, China dissolved into hundreds of small states ruled by warlords. The total size of warlord armies grew from $500,000$ in $1916$ to over $1$ \text{ million}$by$1918$and$2$\text{ million}$ by $1928$. Warlords financed their armies through increased taxes, looting, and seizing businesses. By $1925$, the number of unemployed Chinese had reached $168$ \text{ million}$. While most warlords were corrupt and violent, exceptions existed, such as Yan Xishan (Yen His-Shan) of Shanxi Province, who introduced reforms like improved education for girls. Sun Yat-sen returned in$1917 to form a KMT government in Canton but remained dependent on local warlords.

The May Fourth Movement and Intellectual Revolution

The New Culture Movement, formed in 1915$, argued that China's weakness stemmed from outdated traditions. Students at Peking University, through publications like <em>New Youth</em> and <em>New Tide</em>, advocated for Western democracy and science. On$4$May$1919$, roughly$5000$students gathered in Peking to protest the Paris Peace Conference decision to award German territories in Shantung Province to Japan. They demanded a boycott of Japanese products and the resignation of officials accused of collaborating with Japan. After a general strike of$100,000 workers in Shanghai, the government released arrested students and refused to sign the peace treaty. Though warlords later made secret deals with Japan, the movement significantly boosted Chinese nationalism and paved the way for both the KMT and the CCP.

The First United Front and Russian Influence

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921$by intellectuals like Chen Duxiu, with fewer than$20$people at the first meeting and less than$1000$members by$1925$. The Soviet-led Comintern encouraged a union between the CCP and the KMT to spread communist ideology in Asia. In$1923, the First United Front was formed. Soviet Russia provided financial aid, organizational structures, and military training, helping establish the Whampoa Military Academy. Sun Yat-sen appointed Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi), who had received military training in Japan and Moscow, to lead the academy. Sun's political philosophy, the Three Principles, formed the KMT's ideological basis: Nationalism (unity and independence), Democracy (elected government and education), and Social/Economic Reform (land redistribution without mass confiscation).

The Northern Expedition (1926-1928)

After Sun Yat-sen died in March 1925$, Chiang Kai-shek consolidated power by purging communists from key positions in the KMT (the Canton Purge, March$1926$). In July$1926$, the Northern Expedition began with the National Revolutionary Army (NRA). The NRA grew from$100,000$in July$1926$to over$250,000$by the end of the year. Successful factors included detailed planning, Soviet military advice, and the superior equipment and training of the NRA compared to disorganized warlord mercenaries. Despite a leadership split in$1927$between Chiang (in Nanchang) and Wang Ching-wei (in Wuhan), KMT forces captured Shanghai, Nanking, and finally Peking in$1928$. While Chiang claimed unification, his authority was challenged by resurgent warlords (Central Plains War,$1930$) and Japanese aggression, such as the Jinan Incident ($1928$$) where thousands of KMT soldiers and civilians were killed.