Mao 1916-34 Flashcards
Warlord Period (1916 - 1927)
Collapse of Qing prompted power struggle between govt officials and ex-generals. YSK declaring himself as the new Emperor destroyed unity, attempted to enforce his own 1914 Constitution (after a 1912 Constitution). He also dismissed the National Assembly.
South supported 1912, North supported 1914
YSK died, govt officials started own cliques (ex: Duan Qi Rui led Anhui Clique).
Beginning of the warlord period
Characterised by:
Extreme factional violence (ex: 1 million dead in Central Plains Battle)
No law enforcement, weak federal government control
Poor treatment of peasants (high taxes (as rice), disrespect, frequent looting)
Duan Qi Rui (largely support) declared war on Germany w/o Parliamentary/Presidential approval. Lost his position (fired in 1917 by President Li). Duan’s supporters in North declared independence - starting Anhui Clique
DQR then gets back in power, secures (more) loans from Japan, tons of fighting occurs and nobody really wins other than Duan in the end.
Duan invites SYS over in 1924, but not really with the intent of listening
Impact:
Everyone hated warlords, China was polarised (North vs South), chaos intensified nationalist sentiment
May Fourth Movement: May 1919
Chinese people protested that ToV didn’t give China the sections occupied by Germany in WW1, but gave Japan territory in/close to China. Angry about ToV and 21 Demands
Essentially China joined WW1 in 1917 in the hopes that Shandong would then be granted back to China → ToV recognised Japan’s territorial claims in Shandong
21 Demands: Shandong belong to Japan, Japan controls Manchuria, China can’t give land to foreigners, Japanese advisors controlled China’s finance and police
Chinese became skeptical about Wilsonianism - their right to self determination has been taken away from them (anti-foreign sentiment grew)
Mao contacted Comintern, formed alliance with KMT, led to First United Front in 1924
United Front gave CCP 88,000 new members
Part cultural revolution, part social movement.
Students inspired by Western thought, creating frustration with tradition. But, they also realised that Western countries could not be trusted, and felt China needed something new and more radical (Communism & CCP) to survive
Answers were sought on why China had lagged behind the West
Clan system and Confucianism were seen as the main causes
When was CCP formed
1921- two professors
1917- Bolshevik revolution, comiterm shows interest in china
First United Front
1924: Russia agrees to help China fight warlords
Only if GMD and CCP work together
Sun Yatsen agrees
What were Sun Yatsen’s Three Peoples Principles
Nationalism, democracy, socialism
Wanted to implemented western-style democracy
THought there would be no need for communism if communists were implemented to the GMD- if democracy was established
Sun Yatsen Death
1925
Who took over from Sun Yatsen?
Chiang Kai-Shek
Suspicious of communists, did not think they could be incoorperated
Northern Expedition
1926-7
What was Northern Expedition?
National Revolutioinary army-
United Front MIliary Campaign to go north and fight warlords and unite China
May 1926, 100k men marched north from Guangzhou- targets of Fujian, JIangxi and Nanjing
Mao’s peasant assocations convinced locals to join the FRont, not warlords. Involved in peasants in Hunan.
Why did united front collapse?
Ulterior motives
GMD- dominance
CCP- spread of communism
SYS Died- respected by both sides- power-grab- lack of communication
Shanghai Massacre/ WHite Terror
1927
What was Shanghai Massacre
In 1927, Chiang no long needed united front, so beginning in SHanghai,
GMD purged trade union leaders and communists
When people protested, GMD fired machine guns
-thousands died, crippling blow to communist movement
Aftermath of white terror?
CCP members down from 58k to 10k, communists in urban areas had to hide
Inconsistent leadership
Mao denounced united front- gave him prestige
How did being in the Jianggang mountains change things for Mao?
Before, Mao was on fringes of political decision making
Now had his own territory [barren mountains] and army [hungry lacking in arms]
Who helps Mao establish the Red Army?
Zhu De, skilled military leader
