1921-1927 Flashcards
1
Q
Event: Sun-Joffe Declaration
A
- TF: August 1922 - discussions start between Sun and Russian Comintern
- Sun’s failures in creating a successful revolutionary, united gov’t (September 1917, May 1921) led him to seek assistance from foreign powers in uniting China
- Sun likened the Russian assistance as a ‘straw’ that he thought could keep his ‘child’, the Republic, afloat
- 26 January 1923: Sun-Joffe Declaration signed
- Russian assistance to GMD to unify China, admitting that a Communist, ‘even Soviet’ system was not feasible
2
Q
Stats: CCP Membership 1923
A
1923: (At time of Coalition)
- CCP Membership: 1500
- GMD Membership: 50,000
3
Q
Li Dazhao: The United Front
A
Li Dazhao:
We join the GMD because we believe that we can contribute to its strength… we are not… opportunists
4
Q
Event: The United Front
A
- A coalition between the GMD and CCP as a result of the Sun-Joffe Declaration
- Chiang sent to Russia
- Chaing trains in Moscow; trained with Leon Trotsky
- Russia/GMD ties grow
- Borodin restructured GMD to function under democratic centralism
- Russia funds the Huangpu Military Academy (ran by Chiang Kai-shek)
- GMD accepts 3 CCP member s into the GMD Executive (24)
5
Q
Stats: The United Front
- GMDCEC
- CCP Membership
- Galen/Borodin
A
- 3 of 24 members of GMDCEC were Communist (including Li Dazhao)
- Russian assistance proved useful: Galen/Borodin restructuring won a campaign by General Chen (Warlord of Guangzhou)
- Membership by 1927:
- CCP: 57,000
- Massive increase worried Chiang
- CCP: 57,000
6
Q
Event: Death of Sun Yat-sen - Tensions Mounting
A
- Died March 1925
- Sun’s authority was lost; created factionalism and left a vacuum:
- Wang Jingwei, Hu Hanmin, Chiang Kai-Shek
- Chiang starts to gain control of party:
- 1925: Assassination of key GMD leader by Hu meant he left to Moscow
- March 1926: Kidnap attempt on Chiang solidified his authority against left - Communists blamed
- May 1926: Resolution that ‘Comrades on the left… should retire for a while’
7
Q
Views: Death of Sun Yat-sen
A
Ryan:
- [Sun’s] death destabilised this fragile union
Soviet advisor:
- Chiang had a ‘lust for glory and power and [a] craving to be the hero of China’
8
Q
Event: The Northern Expedition
A
- TF: July 1926-1928
- Chiang led move to unify China under GMD - ‘complete the National Revolution’
- Nationalists in good shape:
- 750,000 troops total (combined with some Generals)
- Financially secure due to T.V. Soong as Finance Minister
- Victory after victory - took Wuhan on 10/10/26
- Wuhan made seat of left-GMD gov’t Jan 27
- Nanchang made seat of Chiang’s GMD gov’t March 27
- Chiang enters Shanghai March 1927
9
Q
Troops No. on Northern Expedition
A
750,000 troops in total
10
Q
Views: The Northern Expedition
A
New York Times
- The expedition appeared to be a hopeless folly
11
Q
Event: The Shanghai Massacre
A
- TP: 12 April 1927
- Left-GMD gov’t in Wuhan tries to curb Chiang’s power
- Chiang furious - establishes his GMD gov’t in Nanchang
- Arrives in Shanghai:
- Discussion with business-people who are concerned about Communist policies
- Afraid that left-GMD gov’t will curb his powers further
- Afraid of Communist power - CCP workers had been instrumental in taking Shanghai
- Teams up with Green Gang and initiates Shanghai massacre
12
Q
Stats/Dates: The Shanghai Massacre
- Total Killed
- Wang/Chen
A
- Early April 1927: Wang and Chen release statement declaring that CCP and GMD were still working closely
- Shanghai Massacre: 5000-10000 Communists killed
13
Q
Views: The Shanghai Massacre
A
- Meisner
- A bloodbath that virtually destroyed both the CCP and the workers’ movement in China’s largest city
- Stalin:
- Squeeze [Chiang] like a lemon
- Borodin:
- GMD - ‘however often you flush it, still stinks’
14
Q
Event: The White Terror
A
- Slaughter that had occurred in Shanghai spreads to all major Chinese cities:
- Beijing purge April 1927: Li Dazhao killed
- Hundreds of thousands killed in total - no official records
- 15 July 1927: Left-GMD expels CCP from their party
- Chiang takes a break from politics
- 1928: Completes Northern Expedition: 10/10/28 is elected chairman of Nationalist gov’t
15
Q
Views: The White Terror
A
Gray:
- After the White Terror, the story of the revolution became a tale of Two Chinas: Communist and Nationalist
