Transcript AP World History POD #23 – Emerging Asia

AP World History
POD #23 – Emerging Asia
Chinese Civil War
Class Discussion Notes
Bulliet – “China and Japan: Contrasting
Destinies”, pp. 778-780
Bulliet – “East Asia, 1931-1945”, pp. 805-808
The People of China (circa 1900)
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Population of approximately 400 million (largest of
any country in the world)
Average peasant plot was between 1and 4 acres
(this was half the size of 2 generations earlier)
Farming methods had not changed in centuries,
and landlords and tax collectors took more than half
of the harvest.
Most lived in fear of floods, bandits and tax
collectors while trying to survive on a diet of grain
and vegetables
Landowners lived off the rent of the peasantry
Civil Service
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Examination system dating from the Confucian era was used
to select the government bureaucracy
Those who scored well on the test were put into government
service and were able to get rich from taxes, and the
government monopoly on salt, iron and other products
Young men living in the treaty ports saw no chance for social
or economic advancement in the old system of examinations
and official positions – some learned foreign ways in Christian
missionary schools or studies abroad in an attempt to improve
their position and status
There was a sharp contrast between the squalor of the urban
underclass and the decadent enclaves of foreign merchants in
the port cities leading to resentment and discontent, especially
among the educated
Boxer Rebellion
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“In 1900 China’s Empress Dowager Cixi (TSUHshee), who had seized power in a palace coup two
years earlier, encouraged a secret society, the
Righteous Fists, or Boxers, to rise up and expel all
the foreigners from China. When the Boxers
threatened the foreign legation in Beijing, an
international force from the Western powers and
Japan captured the city and forced China to pay a
huge indemnity. Shocked by these events, many
Chinese students became convinced that China
needed a revolution to get rid of the Qing dynasty
and modernize their country.” (Bulliet, p.779)
Sun Yat-sen
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Led the Revolutionary Alliance after the death of Cixi in 1908
He had spent much of his life in Japan, England and the
United States, and as such he brought a great deal of modern
western influence to China
Ideas were a mixture of nationalism, socialism, and Confucian
philosophy
Three Principles of the People – Nationalism, Democracy,
Livelihood
Elected president by a revolutionary assembly but did not
have a military to take on Yuan Shikai, the most powerful
military warlord in China
Sun Yat-sen was forced to resign due to military weakness
and a new national assembly elected Yuan Shikai to serve as
president of the Chinese republic
Guomindang (Kuomintang)
National People’s Party
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Political party founded on democratic
principles by Sun Yat-sen in 1912
After the death of Sun Yat-sen the
party was headed by Chiang Kai-shek
(Jiang Jeishi) who turned it into an
increasingly authoritarian movement
Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jeishi)
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Assumed control of the Guomindang in 1925 after the death of
Sun Yat-sen
Director of the military academy who trained hundreds of
soldiers who would remain extremely loyal to him
He was determined to defeat the regional warlords competing
with him for control over China – after he was able to
accomplish this he effectively established a dictatorship
He had ambitious plans to build railroads, develop agriculture
and industry and to modernize China from the top down
His government was not competent (did not effectively use the
ancient Confucian Civil Service Examination) nor were they
truly interested in modernization – they were their for personal
economic gain and prosperity through extreme taxation and
corruption
The little money that was legitimately collected by the
government was used to support the military
Mao Zedong & Chinese
Communist Party
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Mao Zedong was the son of a farmer who left home
to study philosophy
Discovered the writings and philosophies of Karl
Marx and would become inspired to join the
Communist Party in the early 1920s, rising through
the leadership ranks
The Chinese Communist Party was founded in
1921 operating in the shadows of the Guomindang
1927 – Chiang Kai-shek arrested and executed the
communist party leadership as punishment for
attempting to recruit industrial workers
“Swim in the Sea of the Peasants”
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Studied the plight of the peasant underclass in China
Redistribute land from the wealthier to the poorer
peasants
Social revolution (from the bottom up) – as Marx called
out for violent revolution and the establishment of a
classless society – advocated for women’s rights and
equality by allowing divorce and banning foot-binding
and arranged marriages
His reliance on the peasantry was a divergence from the
well established Marxist-Leninst ideology being
established in the Soviet Union – which stressed the
backwardness of the peasants and pinned its hopes on
industrial workers (he had to speak carefully on this as
not to alienate Stalin)
Guerilla Warfare
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Mao could not match the power and force of the
Guomindang army of Chiang Kai-shek and opted to
build small strongholds throughout the countryside,
rather than risk direct confrontation
Confront the stronger force using hit-and-run tactics
using their advantage of peasant support
The Guomindang troops had a reputation for
mistreating the civilians, and Mao insisted that his
soldiers cultivate the help and support of the
peasants by paying a fair price for food and
supplies, as well as by treating local women with
respect
The Long March
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“In spite of their good relations with the peasants of
Jiangxi, the Communists gradually found
themselves encircled by government forces. In
1934 Mao and his followers decided to break out of
the southern mountains and trek to Shaanxi
(SHAWN-she), an even more remote province in
northwestern China. The so-called Long March
took them 6,000 miles in one year over desolate
mountains and through swamps and deserts,
pursued by the army and bombed by Chiang’s
aircraft. Of the 100,000 Communists who left
Jiangxi in October 1934, only 4,000 reached
Shaanxi a year later. Chiang’s government thought
it was finally rid of the Communists.” (Bulliet, p. 806)
Sino-Japanese War 1937-1945
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Japan continued their imperial conquest of
China (they gained control of Manchuria in
1931) in an effort to gain natural resources
to fuel and support their modernization
The Chinese army was large and brave, but
poorly led and armed – they lost every battle
Japan gained control of the most valuable,
rich and populous land in China within a
year (coastal provinces and the river valleys
around the Yellow and Yangtze)
Rape of Nanjing
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Winter of 1937-1938
Japanese troops took Nanjing and raped 20,000
women
200,000 prisoners and civilians were killed
The city was looted and burned
In an attempt to slow down the Japanese, Chiang
ordered the Yellow River destroyed leading to a
massive flood wiping out 4,000 villages, killing
890,000 people, and leaving 12.5 million homeless
Japan responded with a “kill all, burn all, loot all”
campaign
Guomindang & World War II
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Retreated to the mountain of Sichuan in the century
of the country
Drafted 3 million men to form an army (not to fight
the Japanese) for battle with the Communists
There were barely 1 million riffles to arm this, nor
could they feed or clothe the soldiers, forcing the
Guomindang to raise taxes on farmers, even in the
face of famine (many farmers resorted to eating
tree bark)
The taxes (they refused to tax their wealthy
supporters) were still not enough so the
government printed money leading to inflation,
hoarding and corruption
THEY WERE LOSING ALL POPULAR SUPPORT
Communist & World War II
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Mao built and army and established a government in the
city of Yan’an oin the Shaanxi province
Mao and the communists listed to the complaints and
grievances of the peasants
Land redistribution was initiated as it was confiscated
from the rich
Rigid discipline was imposed and there was a zero
tolerance policy on dissent and criticism from
intellectuals
While the army was weak, they won over the people and
were able to gain propaganda victories
They sold their government as the only one willing to
fight the Japanese (even though this was better
advertising than actual conduct)
Victory
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After the surrender of Japan to the Allies the
Communists and Mao with the popular
support of the peasants achieved victory in
the Chinese Civil War gaining control of the
mainland while the Guomindang and Chaing
Kai-shek fled to the island of Taiwian
Today China views Taiwan as a rebel
province
How would this issue factor into the Cold
War between the United States and Soviet
Union