China

Republican Revolution Sun Yat-sen named "Provisional President" Yuan Shi-kai brokers Qing "surrender” Republican Revolution little resistance

Nationalism in China In 1911 Chinese nationalists took part in the uprising that overthrew the Qing Dynasty (last Chinese empire) and established a Chinese republic. Chiang Kai-shek became a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (known as the Kuomintang or KMT), founded by Sun Yat-sen.

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military and political leader for five decades and was head of state of the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1949. 1927 Chiang initiated civil war against communists although he re-joined forces with the Communists to fight Japan in World War II. He was briefly elected the first president under a liberalized constitution in 1948

Enemies Chiang Kai-shek greatest enemy was Mao Zedong who supported communism Mao Zedong's experience of oppression led him to join the emerging Chinese Communist Party as a founder member in the 1920s

Mao Zedong’s Rise to POWER The revolutionary Red Army came into being in August 1927 The Long March, 1934 Mao gained unchallenged command of the Communist Party. One hundred thousand soldiers and party leaders braved bitter conditions through 11 provinces, 18 mountain ranges, and 24 rivers. Only 28,000 marchers reached Shaanxi province, where they established a new headquarters at Yan'an. The marchers' legendary discipline increased party prestige, and the movement grew rapidly. 1949 overthrows nationalist and China becomes communist

The Red Army Theory of People’s War The revolutionary Red Army came into being in August 1927. It had both a political and social role: from distributing propaganda among the masses to arming them and helping them establish revolutionary political power. During both the civil war, and the campaigns against the Japanese, guerilla warfare was waged according to Mao Zedong's Ten Principles of War.

Question of the Day

On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China

Great Leap Forward In an attempt to break with the Russian model of Communism and to catch up with more advanced nations, Mao proposed that China should make a "great leap forward" into modernization. He began a militant Five Year Plan to promote technology and agricultural self-sufficiency. Former farmers had no idea how to actually use the new factories and what was once fertile crop land went to waste on a disastrous scale. The Great Leap Forward was held responsible for famine in 1960 and 1961. Twenty million people starved. Mao encouraged rapid population growth (see quote below). "A larger population means greater manpower," reasoned Hu Yaobang, secretary of the Communist Youth League, at a national conference of youth work representatives that April. "The force of 600 million liberated people is tens of thousands of times stronger than a nuclear explosion."

Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a ten-year political campaign. While others were removed from office, Mao was named supreme commander of the nation and army. Ideological cleansing began with attacks by young Red Guards on so-called "intellectuals.”. Millions were forced into manual labor, and tens of thousands were executed. The result was massive civil unrest, and the army was sent in to control student disorder. At the 1977 11th Party Congress, the Cultural Revolution was declared officially to have ended.

One Child Policy In 1979 they introduced a policy requiring couples from China's ethnic Han majority to have only one child. The one-child policy relies on a mix of sticks and carrots. Depending on where they live, couples can be fined thousands of dollars for having an additional child without a permit, and reports of forcing people to abide are common. The law also offers longer maternity leave and other benefits to couples that delay childbearing. Those who volunteer to have only one child are awarded a "Certificate of Honor for Single-Child Parents, economic incentives, medical care incentives, schooling incentives” Despite rumors in early 2008 that the one-child policy would be overturned, in May of that year China's top population official said it would not be eliminated for at least a decade.

Tiananmen Square Beijing, 1989 100,000 students peaceful protest in support of democracy Gov. breaks up protest thousands injured and killed