The Republic of China Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: A Short History of the World Images as cited.

For most of its history as a republic, China was in a state of chaos and disunity, with different forces competing for control. At first, there were signs that China might develop into a modern democratic state. history.cultural-china.com

The revolutionaries who had engineered the downfall of the Qing formed themselves into a political party called, the Kuomintang (KMT), and the new president, Yuan Shikai, issued a constitution. But Yuan soon moved to expand his personal power, dismissing the parliament and outlawing the KMT. en.wikipedia.org

While Europe was preoccupied with the Great War, Japan seized the opportunity to expand its influence in China. lanceolsen.hubpages.com

In 1915, President Yuan permitted, among other concessions, the transfer of German territories in Shandong to Japan. After Yuan’s death in 1916, central authority crumbled and, although presidents continued to hold office in Beijing, for the next decade real power devolved to warlords in the provinces. rocmp.org

In 1917, the Beijing government, under the control of northern warlords, entered World War I on the side of the Allies, hoping to win influence at the peace talks and check Japanese expansionism. affordablehousinginstitute.org

But the Treaty of Versailles confirmed Japanese control of Shandong, causing widespread student demonstrations against the government and Japan. The demonstrations evolved into a national awakening known as the May Fourth Movement. thechinabeat.org

This was part of a broader intellectual movement that had been building since the early 1910s. Thousands of young Chinese had become influenced by Western culture and ideas and were now determined to reform China. history.cultural-china.com

The May Fourth Movement contributed greatly to the growth of Chinese nationalism. Many of its supporters were recruited into Sun Yat-Sen’s nationalist KMT, which in 1917 had set up a rival government in Guangzhou, supported by southern warlords. gulfmanncollection.blogspot.com

Other student activists were attracted to communism, inspired by the Russian Revolution of In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in Shanghai. xtimeline.com

In 1923, the Soviet Union persuaded the CCP to join with the KMT, as it believed the latter had the best chance of taking and holding onto power in China. The alliance was an uncomfortable one, because the KMT drew much of its backing from rich landowners and the CCP supported redistribution of wealth. chinadailymail.com

Sun Yat-Sen died in 1925 and leadership of the KMT passed to its military commander Chiang Kai-shek. In 1926, the KMT, supported by the CCP, launched an attack on the northern warlords. smnmcshannon.hubpages.com

The following year, Chiang turned on his CCP allies, killing labor union members and communists. CCP survivors took refuge in Jiangxi in southern China. In 1928, Chiang’s forces captured Beijing and reunified most of China under KMT rule. history.cultural-china.com

Chiang’s KMT attempted some modernizing reforms, but most of the government’s energies were directed at establishing its authority throughout China, parts of which still remained under the control of the warlords, Japan and the communists. healinghandsdallas.org

By 1931, the CCP had set up a number of bases in Jianxi and had organized a peasant army. ibhistory.weebly.com

In 1934, KMT attacks forced the communists to evacuate their bases and embark on the ‘Long March’ (9600 miles) north to the city of Yan’an in Shaanxi. people.cohums.ohio-state.edu

Of the 100,000 communists who began the march, just a few thousand survived. Among them was Mao Zedong, who emerged as the new leader of the CCP. ebay.com

In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria. Chiang, unprepared to fight both Japan and the communists, did not resist the occupation and accepted Japanese demands to extend their influence in northern China. althistory.wikia.com

Chiang’s appeasement provoked protests by students and opposition within the military. When Manchurian forces kidnapped Chiang in 1936, he reluctantly agreed to join with the communists to fight the Japanese. gettyimages.com

In 1937, Japan launched a major offensive against China, capturing Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. By 1938, they controlled most of north-eastern China and the KMT was forced to withdraw inland to Chongqing in Sichuan. sakuramochi-jp.blogspot.com

After the U.S. entered World War II, in December 1941, Americans sent aid and advisors to China and Chiang was able to build a modern army. However, he left most of the struggle against Japan to the U.S., concentrating instead on preparing the ground for a post-war showdown with the CCP. ktelontour.blogspot.com

The CCP, meanwhile, focused on building up their membership and their ‘Red Army’, recruiting mainly from peasants in the Japanese-occupied north and east. By 1945, they had over a million members, and were receiving arms from the Soviet Union. superstock.co.uk

Civil War between the KMT and CCP broke out shortly after Japan’s surrender. The KMT was now weaker. Rampant inflation, food shortages and official corruption had made it unpopular, and damaged morale among its forces. histclo.com

Despite receiving arms from the U.S., the KMT was never able to gain a military advantage against the well-organized CCP, who had mass support among the peasantry. By 1948, the momentum had passed to the communists. marxist.com

In January 1949, the communist PLA (People’s Liberation Army) captured Beijing and the following October, Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. larousse.fr

In December, Chiang and his followers fled to the island of Taiwan. kingsacademy.com