176-665: Jiaotong University , Jiao Tong University , or Chiao Tung University (simplified Chinese: 交通大学 ; traditional Chinese: 交通大學 ) was established in 1921 by the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of China 's Beiyang government under the merger of the three scattered universities, and later separated into five universities to date. These five universities include: There are other universities in China are also named by Jiaotong University , however these universities has no connection with
352-655: A puppet state controlling limited amounts of territory. The United Front between the Kuomintang and the CCP had salutary effects for the beleaguered CCP, despite Japan's steady territorial gains in northern China, the coastal regions and the rich Yangtze River valley in central China. After 1940, conflicts between the Kuomintang and Communists became more frequent in the areas not under Japanese control . The Communists expanded their influence wherever opportunities presented themselves through mass organizations, administrative reforms and
528-615: A bloodless purge of hardline communists who were opposed to the proposed expedition from the Guangzhou administration and its military, known as the Canton Coup . At the same time, Chiang made conciliatory moves toward the Soviet Union, and attempted to balance the need for Soviet and CCP assistance in the fight against the warlords with his concerns about growing communist influence within the KMT. In
704-583: A communist general strike in Shanghai. Intense fighting took place at Songjiang , just outside the city, but on 22 March, Bai's forces marched into Shanghai victorious. The Fengtian support operation had proven to be a "costly operational disaster" for the northern warlords, whose armies had suffered heavy casualties, forcing them to retreat north across the Yangtze. Meanwhile, the strike continued until 24 March, when Bai ordered its end. The general disorder caused by
880-500: A counterattack against KMT forces to the south, compromising his defensive line, and by noon the next day, his forces were in general retreat toward Wuchang. In this short period of time, Wu lost 8,000 troops. At least 5,000 of these were taken prisoner, along with their rifles, providing a boost to KMT forces. By 2 September, the NRA had nearly surrounded Wuchang. Whilst Wu and most of his army fled north to Henan province, his remaining troops in
1056-524: A non-aggression pact by the Guangzhou government, he was not willing to subordinate his administration to KMT rule. Consequently, whilst the siege in Wuchang was still ongoing, Chiang Kai-shek launched an attack across the Jiangxi border on 4 September. By 19 September, both Jiujiang and Nanchang had come under KMT control, hastened by the defection of Lai Shih-huang , one of Sun's generals. Despite these successes,
1232-534: A point of contention between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky in the Soviet Union . Stalin encouraged the CCP to co-operate with the KMT on multiple occasions, as he believed the KMT was more capable of completing the Chinese revolution. Trotsky was against collaboration with the KMT, as he believed that it was opposed to the concept of proletarian revolution . The Comintern backed Stalin's decision to financially support
1408-644: A program of massive military and financial aid to the hard-pressed Nationalist Government . In January 1943, both the United States and the United Kingdom led the way in revising their unequal treaties with China from the past. Within a few months a new agreement was signed between the United States and the Republic of China for the stationing of American troops in China as part of the common war effort against Japan. The United States sought unsuccessfully to reconcile
1584-410: A protracted war were staggering. The economy deteriorated, sapped by the military demands of foreign war and internal strife, by spiraling inflation, and by Nationalist profiteering, speculation, and hoarding. Starvation came in the wake of the war, and millions were rendered homeless by floods and unsettled conditions in many parts of the country. On 25 October 1945, following the surrender of Japan ,
1760-571: A rapprochement between the two factions, but also sparking the communist Nanchang uprising , which weakened its authority. In the meantime, however, the NPA counter-offensive continued, reaching Bengbu on 9 August, and forcing Chiang to withdraw his troops south of the Yangtze. In return for his co-operation, Wang Jingwei demanded that Chiang resign from his post of commander-in-chief, and relinquish all political titles. Accordingly, Chiang resigned from his post on 12 August, though this did not immediately reunify
1936-614: A rebellion against his former subordinate Liu Zhennian , who had defected to the nationalists during the Northern Expedition. While the rebellion was put down swiftly, it demonstrated the Nanjing government's shaky hold on China's vast territory. As Chiang attempted to cut back the military and centralise the power of the nationalist government in Nanjing, the regional warlords, with their military forces largely intact, began to renounce their allegiance to Chiang and form an alliance against
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#17328724184342112-413: A republic was established to replace the monarchy . The Qing dynasty that preceded the republic had experienced instability throughout the 19th century and suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism. A program of institutional reform proved too little and too late. Only the lack of an alternative regime prolonged the monarchy's existence until 1912. The Chinese Republic grew out of
2288-681: A resumption of the expedition in March, Chiang ordered his foreign ministry to negotiate with the Japanese, in order to try to prevent their further intervention in Shandong. By 1 April, Feng's NRA Second Collective Army ( Guominjun ) and Yan's NRA Third Collective Army had started to fight the NPA on the Henan–Shandong border and along the Beijing– Suiyuan railway. The resumption of the Northern Expedition
2464-645: A variety of entities for the international community including the League of Nations along with its successor the United Nations and the Olympic Games . It was hoped by the government that participating in the Olympic Games this could give more legitimacy to the country in the eyes of the international community and "sports could also cultivate modern citizens and a strong nation". The Republic of China sent athletes to
2640-597: The Guominjun , a breakaway Zhili faction sympathetic to the KMT. Sun Chuanfang, who the KMT had avoided antagonising, did not intervene as KMT troops advanced further into Wu's territory. Whilst the Fengtian clique had offered its support to Wu, he refused their aid, fearing that the northern warlords would undermine his position if he allowed their troops into his territory. At a military conference held in Changsha on 11–12 August,
2816-608: The 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris , 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles , 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and the 1948 Summer Olympics but no athletes won any medals. For 1928 a single athlete was sent. Although athletes were sent to the 1924 games they did not participate in the games. The Republic of China was a member of the League of Nations and participated until it was dissolved. Those in
2992-523: The Central Plains War . In 1931, the Japanese invaded Manchuria . They continued a series of smaller territorial encroachments until 1937, when they launched a full-scale invasion of China. World War II devastated China, leading to enormous loss of life and material destruction. The war between China and Japan continued until the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945, which led to Taiwan being placed under Chinese administration. In
3168-466: The Green Gang , and organize its members to kill all labor union members and Communists within the city. Between 12 and 14 April, hundreds of communists in Shanghai were arrested and killed on the orders of Chiang in a disturbance that came to be called the " Shanghai massacre ". In the south, Nationalist supporters were massacred by the hands of Communists in retaliation; both events effectively ended
3344-590: The Guominjun took Luoyang, forcing Zhang Zongchang to withdraw his forces to Shandong, and Zhang Xueliang to fall back north of the Yellow River . Following Xueliang's retreat, Feng Yuxiang moved east from Luoyang to Zhengzhou . Finally, on 2 June, the NRA captured the vital railway junction of Xuzhou . With both the Longhai and Beijing–Hankou railways under NRA or Guominjun control, Feng came into direct contact with
3520-655: The Kumul Rebellion , the Sino-Tibetan War , and the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang . Large areas of China proper remained under the semi-autonomous rule of local warlords such as Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan , provincial military leaders, or warlord coalitions. Nationalist rule was strongest in the eastern regions around the capital Nanjing. The Central Plains War in 1930, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and
3696-755: The Manchu -led Qing dynasty and ended China's imperial history . From 1927, the Kuomintang (KMT) reunified the country and ruled it as a one-party state (" Dang Guo ") and made Nanjing the national capital. In 1949, the KMT-led government was defeated in the Chinese Civil War and lost control of the mainland to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP established the People's Republic of China (PRC) while
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#17328724184343872-468: The Nanjing decade . Sun Yat-sen envisioned three phases for the KMT rebuilding of China – military rule and violent reunification; political tutelage [ zh ] ; and finally a constitutional democracy. In 1930, after seizing power and reunifying China by force, the "tutelage" phase started with the promulgation of a provisional constitution. In an attempt to distant themselves from
4048-506: The Republic of China ( 中華民國 ) and Republic of Korea ( 大韓民國 ) are unique in the choice of the term 民國 ('people's country') as an equivalent to "republic" in other languages. The country was in English known at the time as "the Republic of China" or simply "China". In China today, the period from 1912 to 1949 is often called the "Republican Era" ( simplified Chinese : 民国时期 ; traditional Chinese : 民國時期 ), because from
4224-543: The Shanghai–Nanjing railway . Meanwhile, Cheng Qian 's central NRA advanced toward Nanjing through Anhui province, its path opened by the defection of Sun's forces there. The remnants of Sun's forces, supported by the Shandong Army, were forced to withdraw to Shanghai proper in the face of Bai's army. He's forces quickly severed the railway link with Shanghai, while Sun was confronted with the defection of his navy, and
4400-613: The Soviet Union , Spain , the United Kingdom , the United States , and the Holy See . The Republic of China was able to maintain most of these diplomatic ties, at least initially following the retreat to Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek had vowed to quickly return and "liberate" the mainland, an assurance that became a cornerstone of the ROC's post 1949 foreign policy. The ROC did try to participate in
4576-887: The Supreme Court , Control Yuan , and the General Academy. With the promulgation of the Organic Law of the Nationalist Government in October 1928, the government was reorganized into five different branches, or yuan , namely the Executive Yuan , Legislative Yuan , Judicial Yuan , Examination Yuan as well as the Control Yuan. The Chairman of the National Government was to be the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of
4752-608: The Taishan mountains to attack Jinan from the west via the Qingdao–Jinan railway . This strategy was successful, and by 29 April, the NRA had nearly encircled Jinan. The beleaguered NPA retreated to the north bank of the Yellow River, amidst looting and outbreaks of violence. At this point, there were already 3,000 Japanese troops in Jinan, guarding the 2,000 Japanese civilians in the city. On
4928-1086: The United Nations (including its Security Council seat) where it maintained until 1971, when the PRC took over its membership in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 . It was also a member of the Universal Postal Union and the International Olympic Committee . With a population of 541 million in 1949, it was the world's most populous country . Covering 11.4 million square kilometres (4.4 million square miles) of claimed territory, it de jure consisted of 35 provinces , 1 special administrative region , 2 regions, 12 special municipalities , 14 leagues, and 4 special banners. The Republic of China's first president, Sun Yat-sen , chose Zhōnghuá Mínguó ( 中華民國 ; 'Chinese People's State') as
5104-529: The Wuchang Uprising against the Qing government, on 10 October 1911, which is now celebrated annually as the ROC's national day , also known as " Double Ten Day ". Sun Yat-sen had been actively promoting revolution from his bases in exile. He then returned and on 29 December, Sun Yat-sen was elected president by the Nanjing assembly, which consisted of representatives from seventeen provinces. On 1 January 1912, he
5280-720: The Yalta Conference in February 1945—dismantled and removed more than half the industrial equipment left there by the Japanese. Although the Chinese had not been present at Yalta, they had been consulted and had agreed to have the Soviets enter the war, in the belief that the Soviet Union would deal only with the Kuomintang government. However, the Soviet presence in northeast China enabled the Communists to arm themselves with equipment surrendered by
5456-530: The Yangtze River in February 1927 to help Sun defend Nanjing and Shanghai. Following their victory in Zhejiang, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the launch of an offensive on those two cities. The Hangzhou-based eastern NRA, led by Bai Chongxi and He Yingqin, launched a two-pronged attack in mid-March. Bai's forces advanced toward Shanghai, whilst He's forces moved toward Changzhou , with the goal of severing Sun's lifeline,
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5632-509: The Yellow River . With the assistance of allied warlords, including Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang , nationalist forces secured a series of decisive victories against the Beiyang Army . As they approached Beijing , Zhang Zuolin , leader of the Manchuria -based Fengtian clique , was forced to flee, and was assassinated shortly thereafter by the Japanese. His son, Zhang Xueliang , took over as
5808-539: The " Jinan incident ". What began as a minor armed altercation escalated on 8 May into a full-scale Japanese attack on the city. During the course of the incident, the Japanese killed KMT foreign affairs commissioner Cai Gongshi , several diplomats, and about five thousand Chinese civilians. In May 1928, 11 or 7 Japanese were shot to death by a Chinese man in Kobe, Japan in revenge for the Jinan incident and then he committed suicide. Deciding to avoid further confrontation with
5984-429: The "National Pacification Army" (NPA) on 1 December. Zhang Zuolin took the position of commander-in-chief, with Zhang Zongchang and Sun Chuanfang as deputy commanders. This alliance was hugely unpopular with locals in the regions under Sun's control, with Zhang Zhongchang's northern troops viewed as invaders. The Zhejiang autonomy movement continued, and a meeting of influential provincial figures, nominally loyal to Sun,
6160-526: The Beiyang government and the Fengtian clique , was in control of Manchuria , Shandong , and Zhili . To face the Northern Expedition, Zhang Zuolin eventually assembled the " National Pacification Army " ( Chinese : 安國軍 ; pinyin : Ānguójūn ; Wade–Giles : Ankuochün ; NPA), an alliance of the warlords of northern China. Amidst heavy fighting along the border between KMT-held territory and that of
6336-471: The CCP established the People's Republic of China . Remnants of the ROC government would hang on in mainland China until late 1951. The KMT dominated ROC politics for 72 years and ruled the island of Taiwan for around 54 years until they lost the presidential election in 2000 to the Taiwanese nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The ROC was a founding member of the League of Nations and later
6512-477: The CCP managed to hold together, laying the groundwork for the Northern Expedition. In 1926, there were three major coalitions of warlords across China that were hostile to the KMT government in Guangzhou. The forces of Wu Peifu occupied northern Hunan , Hubei , and Henan provinces. The coalition of Sun Chuanfang was in control of Fujian , Zhejiang , Jiangsu , Anhui , and Jiangxi provinces. The most powerful coalition, led by Zhang Zuolin , then head of
6688-503: The CCP. Concerns about the rising power of the leftist faction, and the effect of the strike on the Guangzhou government's ability to raise funds, which was largely dependent on foreign trade, led to increasing tensions within the United Front. Amidst this backdrop, Chiang, who had been vying for the position of KMT leader, began to consolidate power in preparation for an expedition against the northern warlords. On 20 March 1926, he launched
6864-569: The Chinese Civil War, revolts by the KMT's warlord allies, and steady territorial encroachments by Japan. Although heavily damaged by the purge, the CCP gradually rebuilt its strength by focusing on organizing peasants in the countryside. Warlords who resented Chiang's attempts to take away their autonomy and incorporate their military units into the National Revolutionary Army repeatedly led devastating uprisings, most significantly
7040-652: The Chinese government's perspective the ROC ceased to exist in 1949. In Taiwan, these years are called the "Mainland period" ( 大陸時期 ; 大陆时期 ), since it was when the ROC was based on the mainland. A republic was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which itself began with the Wuchang uprising on 10 October 1911, successfully overthrowing the Qing dynasty and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. From its founding until 1949,
7216-578: The Constitution. This Constitution was promulgated on 25 December 1946 and came into effect on 25 December 1947. Under it, the Central Government was divided into the presidency and the five yuans, each responsible for a part of the government. None was responsible to the other except for certain obligations such as the president appointing the head of the Executive Yuan. Ultimately, the president and
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7392-564: The Fourth Plenary Session of the 2nd Kuomintang National Congress, held in Nanjing, passed the Reorganization of the Nationalist Government Act. This act stipulated that the Nationalist Government was to be directed and regulated under the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, with the Committee of the Nationalist Government being elected by the KMT Central Committee. Under the Nationalist Government were seven ministries—Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transport, Justice, Agriculture and Mines, and Commerce, in addition to institutions such as
7568-530: The Guangxi clique controlled Hubei, Hunan, and Guangxi. Feng Yuxiang's Guominjun continued to control Shaanxi, Henan, and parts of Shantung and Zhili, while Yan Xishan controlled Shanxi, Beijing, and the area around Tianjin. Zhang Xueliang continued to control Manchuria as a quasi-independent state, and local warlords in Sichuan , Yunnan , and Guizhou remained as they were before the Northern Expedition. Defeated warlord Zhang Zongchang would return to his former territory of Shandong in 1929, where he launched
7744-480: The Japanese in the Second United Front , an event now known as the Xi'an Incident . Chinese resistance stiffened after 7 July 1937, when a clash occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops outside Beijing near the Marco Polo Bridge . This skirmish led to open, although undeclared, warfare between China and Japan. Shanghai fell after a three-month battle during which Japan suffered extensive casualties in both its army and navy. Nanjing fell in December 1937, which
7920-422: The Japanese massacre at Jinan, responded that he would "not recognize Japan's interest in Manchuria", compromising his position. With his troops demoralised, the momentum of the NPA counter-offensive fizzled out by 25 May, and the Third Army was able to capture Zhangjiakou on that day, and Nankou Pass on the next. With pressure growing on his vital railway links, Zhang gradually began to withdraw his troops from
8096-476: The Japanese, the NRA First Army continued its march north by going around Jinan to capture Dezhou on 13 May, while the NRA Second Army moved north along the Beijing–Hankou railway. Meanwhile, Yan Xishan's NRA Third Army proceeded toward Beijing from its base in Shanxi. The Second and Third armies met at Baoding on the North China Plain . While the Second Army besieged that city, the Third Army went north toward Zhangjiakou , gateway to Beijing. On 17 May, however,
8272-532: The KMT and the Soviet government in Moscow, had spent years cultivating this alliance, while covertly encouraging CCP expansion. This Soviet-backed leftist wing of the KMT came to dominate the nationalist government in Wuhan, which increasingly directed its ire at NRA commander-in-chief Chiang Kai-shek. On 1 April, the Wuhan government, advised by Borodin, issued edicts stripping Chiang of his authority in foreign affairs, financial matters, and communications, and ordered that he leave his command post in Shanghai and go to
8448-410: The KMT and the two parties cooperated to build a revolutionary base in Canton. Sun planned to use this base to launch a military campaign northwards and reunify the rest of China. Sun's death in 1925 precipitated a power struggle that eventually resulted in the rise of General Chiang Kai-shek to KMT chairmanship . Thanks to strategic alliances with warlords and help from Soviet military advisors, Chiang
8624-473: The KMT decided to launch a direct assault on Wu's stronghold of Wuchang , bypassing Sun's Nanchang . In this manner, they would follow the route taken by the Taiping Rebellion in the 19th century. In an address to his generals at the same conference, Chiang proclaimed: "The importance of this fight is not only in that it will decide the fate of the warlords. But, whether or not the Chinese nation and race can restore their freedom and independence hangs in
8800-411: The KMT membership, their exercise in practice was far from assured. The new peacetime Nanjing government was launched on 10 October 1928, the seventeenth anniversary of the start of the Xinhai Revolution , with Chiang at its head. The country, however, remained de facto divided into five realms controlled by military leaders. The Nanjing faction controlled the area around Nanjing and Shanghai, while
8976-553: The KMT were offered 1,000 pounds . Yuan maintained power locally by sending generals to be provincial governors or by obtaining the allegiance of those already in power. When Yuan died, the parliament of 1913 was reconvened to give legitimacy to a new government. However, the real power passed to military leaders, leading to the warlord period. The impotent government still had its use; when World War I began, several Western powers and Japan wanted China to declare war on Germany, to liquidate German holdings in China. In February 1928,
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#17328724184349152-410: The KMT. This struggle for supremacy broke into armed conflict in the Central Plains War of 1929–30. Although Chiang was ultimately victorious in that war, which ensured his status as the singular leader of all China, regionalism and warlordism would continue, weakening the country and laying the groundwork for the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War . The Northern Expedition became
9328-481: The KMT. These elections, though praised by at least one US observer, were poorly received by the Communist Party, which would soon start an open, armed insurrection. Before the Nationalist government was ousted from the mainland, the Republic of China had diplomatic relations with 59 countries , including Australia, Canada, Cuba , Czechoslovakia , Estonia , France , Germany , Guatemala , Honduras , Italy , Japan , Latvia , Lithuania , Norway , Panama , Siam ,
9504-429: The League of Nations, China wanted to see the unequal treaties revised. The ROC thought that by being in the League they could improve their international standing. Under the Charter of the United Nations , the Republic of China was entitled to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC). Though multiple objections were raised that the seat belonged to the lawful government of China, which had to many become
9680-500: The NRA First Collective Army on 11 June. Zhang Xueliang succeeded Zhang Zuolin as leader of the Fengtian clique, and decided to end the war and to co-operate with the nationalists. The Shandong–Zhili Army led by Zhang Zongchang and Chu Yupu refused to surrender, and despite the defeats it had suffered still numbered about 60,000–70,000 soldiers, as well as at least three armoured trains manned by White Russian mercenaries under General Konstantin Nechaev . As Zhang Xueliang had sided with
9856-415: The NRA First and Second armies, managing to push the First back to the Longhai railway . His attack against the Second Army failed, and by the 21st, the combined NRA had forced him to withdraw from Jining to the provincial capital Jinan . According to an American account of Sun's retreat, the "great majority of the troops in this retreat literally walked the soles off their shoes, and this, combined with
10032-399: The NRA First and Sixth armies crossed the Yangtze into Anhui, and on 16 May, Li Zongren, based in western Anhui, led the Seventh Army toward Hefei. Concurrently, the Wuhan government launched its own campaign in Henan province led by Tang Shengzhi , who was appointed to serve as the Wuhan army's commander-in-chief. Aided by the defection of remnants of Wu Peifu's forces, Tang advanced to fight
10208-399: The NRA had bolstered its ranks to 700,000. Sun Chuanfang retreated to Nanjing in the aftermath of these setbacks. The Fengtian clique responded to Sun's plea for help by reinforcing Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, while increasing the number of troops in Henan in support of Wu Peifu. Two major Fengtian formations, the Shandong Army of Zhang Zongchang and the Zhili Army of Chu Yupu , crossed
10384-441: The NRA offensive was forced into retreat as Sun arrived from Nanjing with reinforcements on 21 September. Sun retook most of the territory he had lost, brutally reasserting his authority by killing hundreds of students, teachers, and suspected members of the KMT, whose severed heads he displayed on spikes in public places. With the Northern Expedition's advance halted, Chiang wired the government in Guangzhou, demanding an end to
10560-399: The NRA on 1 January 1928. With the frigid winter of northern China prohibiting any further advance, Chiang used the months following his reappointment to consolidate his control and restore the integrity of the Nanjing administration. On 18 February, Chiang was granted the title "Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expeditionary Forces", whilst He Yingqin was made NRA chief-of-staff. The NRA
10736-505: The NRA position in Nanjing was clear: at ceremonies held to commemorate the city's elevation to capital of China, warlord Zhang Zongchang's artillery bombarded the city's waterfront from across the Yangtze. With the Nanjing–Shanghai area under constant threat of attack from the NPA, a series of independent offensives was launched by NRA and NRA-aligned forces in May 1927. Feng Yuxiang and his Guominjun moved first, leaving their base in Shaanxi to march on Luoyang , in Henan. On 10 May,
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#173287241843410912-422: The NRA, and so in October, it moved to quash his rebellion. Tang was defeated in early November, and left for exile in Japan shortly afterwards. With Tang dealt with, the push north resumed, reaching Bengbu by 9 November. Continuing their advance, the NRA and Feng Yuxiang's Guominjun moved toward Xuzhou . The NPA attempted a counter-offensive on 12 December, led by armoured trains , but was quickly forced back by
11088-411: The Nanjing government nor the earlier Beiyang government succeeded in consolidating governance in rural China. In 1945, at the end of World War II , the Empire of Japan surrendered control of Taiwan and its island groups to the Allies ; and Taiwan was placed under the Republic of China's administrative control. The communist takeover of mainland China in 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, left
11264-421: The Nanjing government, adding 100,000 troops to NRA ranks and increasing the pressure on Zhang Zuolin. In the subsequent fighting, neither the Shanxi nor Fengtian forces managed to gain the upper hand. Yan's troops successfully withstood a massive siege at Zhuozhou , but went on to suffer a heavy defeat at Baoding on 15 October. The threat from Tang's forces, however, prejudiced any further northward advance by
11440-489: The Nanjing government. Aware of this threat, Chiang recalled troops from the Shandong border in an effort to block Tang. In turn, the NPA launched an attack on Chiang in early July, reclaiming much of the territory they had lost. By 24 July, the NPA had retaken Xuzhou. In the face of mounting losses inflicted by the warlords, the Wuhan and Nanjing factions began reconciliation talks. The Wuhan government purged communists from its ranks and expelled Soviet advisors, facilitating
11616-405: The National Revolutionary Army. Chiang Kai-shek was appointed as the first chairman, a position he would retain until 1931. The Organic Law also stipulated that the Kuomintang, through its National Congress and Central Executive Committee, would exercise sovereign power during the period of "political tutelage", that the KMT's Political Council would guide and superintend the Nationalist Government in
11792-403: The North China Plain on 30 May. In the face of the NRA onslaught, and under pressure from the Japanese, Zhang decided to evacuate to Manchuria by train, leaving with his staff on 3 June. Early the next morning, a bomb planted by the Japanese Kwantung Army exploded under the train, killing Zhang in the so-called " Huanggutun incident ". His remaining forces, even further demoralised, crumpled under
11968-405: The Northern Expedition ruled the country as a one-party state under the Kuomintang, and subsequently received international recognition as the representative legitimate from China. The Nationalist government can also be referred as the Second Republic of China . While there was relative prosperity during the following ten years under Chiang Kai-shek, the ROC continued to be destabilized by
12144-436: The PRC even arguably prior to the official conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the ROC retained the permanent seat reserved for China on the UNSC until 1971 when it was supplanted by the PRC. The Republic of China retained hereditary nobility like the Han Chinese nobles Duke Yansheng and Celestial Masters and Tusi chiefdoms like the Chiefdom of Mangshi , Chiefdom of Yongning , who continued possessing their titles in
12320-437: The Qing dynasty, abdicated on 12 February 1912. Sun Yat-sen, the ROC's founder and provisional president, served only briefly before handing over the presidency to Yuan Shikai , the leader of the Beiyang Army . Yuan quickly became authoritarian and used his military power to control the administration, which consequently became known as the " Beiyang government " (or the First Republic of China ). Yuan even attempted to replace
12496-414: The ROC was forced to retreat to Taiwan and retains control over the " Taiwan Area "; the political status of Taiwan remains in dispute to this day. The Republic of China was officially proclaimed on 1 January 1912 by the revolutionaries and Sun Yat-sen , the first provisional president of the new republic, following the success of the Xinhai revolution. Puyi , who had reigned as the Xuantong Emperor of
12672-548: The Red Army's Long March in 1934 led to more power for the central government, but there continued to be foot-dragging and even outright defiance, as in the Fujian Rebellion of 1933–1934. Reformers and critics pushed for democracy and human rights, but the task seemed difficult if not impossible. The nation was at war and divided between Communists and Nationalists. Corruption and lack of direction hindered reforms. Chiang told
12848-454: The Republic of China from the previous dynasties. Northern Expedition NRA victory [REDACTED] Nationalist government [REDACTED] Beiyang government The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of
13024-587: The Republic with his own imperial dynasty until popular unrest forced him to back down. When Yuan died in 1916, the country fragmented between the various local commanders of the Beiyang Army. This began the Warlord Era defined by decentralized conflicts between rival cliques. The most powerful of these cliques, notably the Zhili and Fengtian cliques , at times used their control of Beijing to assert claims to govern
13200-451: The Russian prisoners by piercing their noses with rope and marching them in public through the streets in Shandong in 1928, described as "stout rope pierced through their noses". Zhang Xueliang officially declared his allegiance to the nationalist government in Nanjing on 29 December 1928, marking the formal end of the Northern Expedition, and the reunification of China . Following
13376-515: The Soviets, the Chinese government sought assistance from Germany . According to Lloyd Eastman, Chiang Kai-shek was influenced by European fascist movements, and he launched the Blue shirts and the New Life Movement in imitation of them, in an effort to counter the growth of Mao's communism as well as resist both Western and Japanese imperialism. According to Stanley Payne , however, Chiang's KMT
13552-526: The State Council: "Our organization becomes worse and worse... many staff members just sit at their desks and gaze into space, others read newspapers and still others sleep." Few Chinese had any illusions about Japanese desires on China. Hungry for raw materials and pressed by a growing population, Japan initiated the seizure of Manchuria in September 1931, and established the former emperor Puyi as head of
13728-626: The West. In 1919, a student protest against the government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles , considered unfair by Chinese intellectuals, led to the May Fourth movement , whose demonstrations were against the danger of spreading Western influence replacing Chinese culture. It was in this intellectual climate that Marxist thought began to spread. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921. After Sun's death in March 1925, Chiang Kai-shek became
13904-547: The Wuhan and Nanjing factional governments, who both sought his aid. He met with Wang Jingwei and Tang Shengzhi at Zhengzhou on 10–11 June, then travelled to Xuzhou to meet with Chiang Kai-shek on 19 June. On the next day, Feng announced that he would align with the Nanjing faction and purge communists from the areas under his control, crippling the Wuhan government's plan to push north, upon which Tang returned to Wuhan with his troops. Whilst Chiang intended to push into Shandong, he
14080-412: The Wuhan and Nanjing factions. As the two sides attempted to reconcile their political differences, Sun Chuanfang's forces continued to bombard Nanjing from across the Yangtze. Sensing the NRA's continual disarray, Sun moved to try and recapture Shanghai, contrary to the wishes of NPA leader Zhang Zuolin. On 25 August, NPA landing parties were dispatched to cross the Yangtze at Longtan, near Nanjing. In
14256-415: The Wuhan government was dissolved, with a new joint government established in Nanjing, under the leadership of Guangxi clique generals. Wang Jingwei refused to join the new government, as did Tang Shengzi, who became an independent warlord in his own right, controlling Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and parts of Anhui. On the other hand, Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan, theretofore independent, aligned his province with
14432-438: The Zhejiang border, with the NPA protecting his rear, and charged into Zhejiang, retaking most of the province. By 10 January, the majority of the Zhejiang rebel forces had retreated to Quzhou . To relieve the besieged rebels, He Yingqin pushed his Fujian-based forces into Zhejiang, halting Sun's advance. The rebel and KMT forces merged under the command of Bai Chongxi , who launched a counteroffensive on 20 January. By 29 January,
14608-405: The administration of Taiwan and Penghu Islands were handed over from Japan to China. After the end of the war, United States Marines were used to hold Beijing and Tianjin against a possible Soviet incursion, and logistic support was given to Kuomintang forces in north and northeast China. To further this end, on 30 September 1945 the 1st Marine Division , charged with maintaining security in
14784-557: The aftermath of World War II, civil war resumed between the areas liberated by the KMT and those liberated by the CCP. The CCP's People's Liberation Army began to gain upper hand in 1948 over a larger and better-armed Republic of China Armed Forces due to better military tactics and internal corruption of the ROC leadership. In 1949, the ROC repeatedly moved its capital to avoid the Communist advance—first to Guangzhou, followed by Chongqing , Chengdu , and lastly to Taipei . In October 1949,
14960-479: The aftermath of the coup, Chiang negotiated a compromise whereby hardline members of the rightist faction, such as Wu Tiecheng , were removed from their posts in compensation for the purged leftists. By doing so, Chiang was able to prove his usefulness to the CCP and their Soviet sponsor, Joseph Stalin . Soviet aid to the KMT government would continue, as would co-operation with the CCP. A fragile coalition between KMT rightists, centrists led by Chiang, KMT leftists, and
15136-479: The aim of seeking aid from the powerful Fengtian clique. Shandong warlord Zhang Zongchang and Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin offered assistance, agreeing that it was necessary to contain the NRA, though they demanded payment in return for their help. As the NRA offensive carved its way through Fujian, 60,000 troops from Shandong arrived in Sun-controlled Anhui province on 24 November. These were organised into
15312-472: The allegiance of sections of the population. The United States aided the Nationalists with massive economic loans and weapons but no combat support. Belatedly, the Republic of China government sought to enlist popular support through internal reforms. However, the effort was in vain, because of rampant government corruption and the accompanying political and economic chaos. By late 1948 the Kuomintang position
15488-462: The allegiances of Wang Jingwei, who had been based in Guangzhou after the end of the Wuhan government. Wang left for exile in France on 17 December, paving the way for Chiang's return as commander-in-chief. With the military success of Chiang's Whampoa troops, the various KMT factions agreed to recognise the legitimacy of Chiang's leadership. Consequently, Chiang was officially invited to resume command of
15664-511: The alliance between the nationalists and the Communists and the First United Front. Though, the ensuing White Terror devastated the Communists, and only 10,000 out of 60,000 party members survived. The purge was condemned by Wang Jingwei, now leader of the Wuhan government, formalising the split between the KMT leftists based in Wuhan and the KMT rightists, who subsequently established their own government in Nanjing. The precariousness of
15840-404: The area, Meng Chao-yueh , decided on 17 February to abandon Hangzhou and flee with his 20,000 troops by train to Jiangsu province. By 23 February, Zhejiang was under complete KMT control. In six months, the nationalists had expanded their control to seven provinces, inhabited by a population of about 170 million people. Aided by the defection of numerous warlords and their armies, by this point,
16016-513: The areas of the Shandong Peninsula and the eastern Hebei , arrived in China. In January 1946, through the mediation of the United States, a military truce between the Kuomintang and the Communists was arranged, but battles soon resumed. Public opinion of the administrative incompetence of the Nationalist government was incited by the Communists during the nationwide student protest against
16192-473: The balance. In other words, it is a struggle between the nation and the warlords, between the revolution and the anti-revolutionaries, between the Three People's Principles and imperialism. All are to be decided now in this time of battle … so as to restore independence and freedom to our Chinese race". With the capture of the Yangtze port of Yuezhou on 22 August, Hunan came under complete KMT control, paving
16368-506: The campaign was to reunify China , which had become fragmented in the aftermath of the 1911 Revolution . The expedition was led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , and was divided into two phases. The first phase ended in a 1927 political split between two factions of the KMT: the right-leaning Nanjing faction , led by Chiang, and the left-leaning faction in Wuhan , led by Wang Jingwei . The split
16544-445: The capture of Beijing, Chiang and his administration moved quickly to reorganise the government for peacetime. In July, he and the leaders of the four collective armies met at Beijing to discuss the demobilisation and disarmament of the roughly 2.2 million troops that had come to be part of the NRA. Chiang desired to reduce the size of the army by half, so as to free up government monies for domestic development. The lack of unity in
16720-455: The central government, in an effort to curtail the provincialist tendencies of the warlord era. Minister of Finance T. V. Soong called for all revenues to be centralised in the national treasury. In the end, though, it was recognised that real centralisation could only occur if the various commanders, the former warlords, relinquished their financial and military power to the national government. While these principles were nominally agreed to by
16896-520: The city undefended. Cheng arrived the next day, entering the city with no resistance. Almost immediately after arrival of the NRA, mass anti-foreigner riots broke out in the city, in an event that came to be known as the Nanjing Incident . British and American naval forces were sent to evacuate their respective citizens, resulting in a naval bombardment that left the city burning and at least forty people dead. He's forces arrived on 25 March, and on
17072-457: The civil governor of Zhejiang province, Xia Chao , one of Sun's subordinates, defected to the KMT government in Guangzhou. Zhejiang inhabitants had become increasingly dissatisfied with the rule of Sun, who was foreign to the province, and on 16 October, Xia declared its independence. Chiang Kai-shek, a native of Zhejiang, was able to convince Xia to side with the KMT. Following his defection, Xia launched an attack on Sun-controlled Shanghai, but
17248-413: The combined NRA and Guominjun forces, which took Xuzhou on 16 December. The NPA retreated once more to Shandong. Meanwhile, in Guangzhou, a communist uprising broke out on 11 December. The violent rebellion was quickly put down, and on 13 December, Chiang Kai-shek called for the ending of all remaining relations with the Soviet Union. The Nanjing government agreed, and also aired its suspicions over
17424-544: The complicated nation-building process in China during his time, especially given the wide range of both domestic and foreign challenges it faced on many different concurrent fronts. Several major government institutions were founded during this period, including the Academia Sinica and the Central Bank of China . In 1932, China sent its first team to the Olympic Games . Campaigns were mounted and laws passed to promote
17600-518: The country's foreign relations were among the most stable of those working in the government in terms of composition. The ROC was a non-permanent member of the League Council for the League of Nations being a non-permanent member of the League Council from: 1921–1923, 1926–1928, 1931–1932, 1934, and 1936. Although the ROC lobbied to be a permanent member of the League Council it never became one. At
17776-591: The country's official Chinese name. The name was derived from the language of the Tongmenghui 's 1905 party manifesto, which proclaimed that the four goals of the Chinese revolution were "to expel the Manchu rulers, revive China ( Zhōnghuá ), establish a people's state ( mínguó ), and distribute land equally among the people." On 15 July 1916, in his welcoming speech to the Cantonese delegates in Shanghai, Sun explained why
17952-460: The culmination of tensions within the First United Front. The nationalist government had moved from Guangzhou to the new city of Wuhan , which was formed from a merger of Wuchang and two other nearby cities. The Wuhan administration gradually drifted away from Chiang, becoming a centre of leftist, Soviet-backed power within the KMT and constraining his authority. Communist-led trade unions staged near-constant demonstrations in Wuhan itself, and across
18128-425: The deal, and boarded a ship for Wuhan on 7 April. He arrived on the 10th, where he was eagerly greeted by the Wuhan leadership. Having heard from Wang about Chiang's offer, the government decided to turn its limited forces toward Beijing instead. Chiang, on the other hand, was already preparing for a purge of communists in Shanghai. Chiang was able to utilize his connections with a secret society of Shanghai known as
18304-425: The deal. On 12 February 1912, regent Empress Dowager Longyu signed the abdication decree on behalf of Puyi, ending several millennia of monarchical rule. In 1913, elections were held for provincial assemblies, which would then chose delegates for a new National Assembly. The Kuomintang emerged as the formal political party that replaced the revolutionary organization Tongmenghui , and at the 1913 elections, it won
18480-574: The early morning of 26 August, thousands of Sun's troops crossed the river, rallying at the Longtan station of the Shanghai–Nanjing railway. Li Zongren's NRA Seventh Army managed to drive the NPA away from the railway briefly, but thousands more of Sun's troops, including White Russian mercenary units, crossed the river the next day and retook the station, cutting off contact between Nanjing and Shanghai. The reeling NRA sent missives to all factions within
18656-445: The end of October, Sun's forces were again in retreat across Jiangxi and Fujian. In early November, KMT troops moved to capture the Yangtze ports of Jiujiang and Hukou , and by 9 November, retook control of Nanchang. Sun's forces abandoned substantial materiel as they retreated, bolstering the poorly-armed NRA, which suffered 20,000 casualties in the final push on Nanchang alone. Concurrently, Sun himself had left for Tianjin with
18832-518: The entire Republic. Meanwhile, the nationalist KMT under Sun's leadership attempted multiple times to establish a rival national government in Guangzhou . Sun was finally able to take Guangzhou with the help of weapons, funding, and advisors from the Soviet Union . As a condition of Soviet support, the KMT formed the " First United Front " with the Chinese Communist Party. CCP members joined
19008-646: The execution of important national affairs, and that the Political Council has the power to interpret or amend the Organic Law. Shortly after the Second Sino-Japanese War, a long-delayed constitutional convention was summoned to meet in Nanjing in May 1946. Amidst heated debate, this convention adopted many constitutional amendments demanded by several parties, including the KMT and the Communist Party, into
19184-562: The forces of Zhang Zuolin launched a 200,000-man counter-offensive, forcing the First Army back and the Second Army 48 kilometres (30 mi) south of Baoding. As fighting grew closer to Beijing, the Japanese sent a communique to both the NRA and Zhang, warning that any fighting in Manchuria would result in a Japanese intervention in that region. Zhang, weary of KMT propaganda that linked him with
19360-474: The forces of the "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang , Zhang Zuolin's son and political heir, pushing them back to a river at Yancheng . By 20 May, Li had captured Bengbu, whilst Chiang unleashed a four-pronged attack through Jiangsu, toward the warlord power base in Shandong. He Yingqin led the NRA First Army across the Yangtze at Zhenjiang , and moved to capture Haizhou . On 28 May, Li took Suzhou , while
19536-578: The form of a parallelism : an emperor's country is ruled by only one emperor ( 帝國是以皇帝一人為主 ), a people's country is ruled by all four hundred million people ( 民國是以 四萬萬 人為主 ). Both the " Beiyang government " (from 1912 to 1928), and the " Nationalist government " (from 1928 to 1949) used the name "Republic of China" as their official name. In Chinese, the official name was often shortened to Zhōngguó ( 中國 ; 'Middle Country'), Mínguó ( 民國 ; 'People's Country'), or Zhōnghuá ( 中華 ; 'Middle Huaxia '). The choice of
19712-490: The front. These orders had no effect, as Wuhan had almost no military authority. The government intended to send a small force to Nanjing with the aim of "disarming" Chiang, but put that plan on hold following Wang Jingwei 's return from exile in Europe. Wang, who had travelled back to China at the urging of members of the government, was greeted in Shanghai by Chiang, who offered a power-sharing deal. Wang said that he would consider
19888-461: The goal of reunifying China. This preparation involved improving both the political and military strength of the KMT. Before his death in March 1925, Sun Yat-sen , the founder of the Republic of China and co-founder of the KMT, was supportive of Sino-Soviet co-operation , which had involved forming the First United Front with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The military arm of the KMT
20064-675: The land- and tax-reform measures favoring the peasants and, the spread of their organizational network, while the Kuomintang attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence. Meanwhile, northern China was infiltrated politically by Japanese politicians in Manchukuo using facilities such as the Manchukuo Imperial Palace . After its entry into the Pacific War during World War II, the United States became increasingly involved in Chinese affairs. As an ally, it embarked in late 1941 on
20240-531: The largest share of seats in both houses of the National Assembly and in some provincial assemblies. Song Jiaoren led the Kuomintang Party to electoral victories by fashioning his party's program to appeal to the gentry, landowners, and merchants. Song was assassinated on 20 March 1913, at the behest of Yuan Shikai. Yuan was elected president of the ROC in 1913. He ruled by military power and ignored
20416-478: The leader of the Kuomintang . In 1926, Chiang led the Northern Expedition with the intention of defeating the Beiyang warlords and unifying the country. Chiang received the help of the Soviet Union and the CCP. However, he soon dismissed his Soviet advisers, being convinced that they wanted to get rid of the KMT and take control. Chiang decided to purge the Communists, massacring thousands in Shanghai . At
20592-512: The leader of the Fengtian clique, and in December 1928, announced that Manchuria would accept the authority of the nationalist government in Nanjing. With the final piece of China under KMT control, the Northern Expedition concluded successfully and China was reunified, heralding the start of the Nanjing decade . In the 1920s, the Beiyang government based in Beijing was internationally recognised as
20768-500: The legitimate Chinese government. Much of the country, however, was not under its control, being ruled by a patchwork of warlords . The Kuomintang (KMT), based in Guangzhou (Canton), aspired to be the party of national liberation. Since the conclusion of the Constitutional Protection Movement in 1922, the KMT had been bolstering its ranks to prepare for an expedition against the northern warlords in Beijing, with
20944-467: The long war with Japan and in-fighting among various generals. They were also losing the propaganda war to the Communists, with a population weary of Kuomintang corruption and yearning for peace. In January 1949, Beiping was taken by the Communists without a fight, and its name changed back to Beijing. Following the capture of Nanjing on 23 April, major cities passed from Kuomintang to Communist control with minimal resistance, through November. In most cases
21120-470: The mishandling of the Shen Chong rape case in early 1947 and during another national protest against monetary reforms later that year. The United States—realizing that no American efforts short of large-scale armed intervention could stop the coming war—withdrew Gen. George Marshall's American mission . Thereafter, the Chinese Civil War became more widespread; battles raged not only for territories but also for
21296-763: The nationalists, Zhang Zongchang declared war on the Fengtian clique. Supported by Japan, the Shandong–Zhili Army moved from its base at Tangshan on 2 August, crossed the Luan River , and invaded Manchuria. After six days of fighting, however, the defiant warlord army was trapped by KMT and Zhang Xueliang-aligned forces; many of Zhang Zongchang's troops (including the White Russian mercenaries) defected or deserted, and those who refused to surrender were killed. Chinese Nationalist forces captured an armoured train of Russian mercenaries serving Zhang Zongchang and brutalized
21472-403: The new administration quickly became apparent, and on 14 July, Feng Yuxiang left Beijing. A general meeting of the KMT was held in Nanjing from 8–14 August. At this meeting, also attended by non-KMT members Feng and Yan Xishan, the primary topic of discussion was that of centralisation. Chiang desired to take the power that had been executed through various provincial entities and concentrate it in
21648-571: The next day, Cheng and He were finally able to put an end to the violence. Chiang Kai-shek's faction accused Lin Boqu of planning the unrest, viewing it as an attempt to turn international opinion against the KMT. Lin, a member of both the CCP and the KMT, had been serving as political commissar of the Sixth Army, part of Cheng Qian's forces. Whoever was responsible, the Nanjing Incident represented
21824-413: The next day, NRA troops entered Jinan. Chiang Kai-shek arrived on 2 May, and attempted to negotiate a Japanese withdrawal from Jinan, issuing safety guarantees for Japanese civilians to local Kwantung Army commander Hikosuke Fukuda . Fukuda agreed, and his troops prepared to leave that night. Early the next morning, conflict broke out between the Chinese and Japanese troops, starting what came to be called
22000-401: The next phase of the conflict. Launching a counteroffensive on 3 April, the NPA had been able to force the NRA back more than 161 kilometres (100 mi) to the Yangtze by 11 April. As part of the First United Front, many members of the Chinese Communist Party had joined the KMT, and they exerted significant influence over its left-wing faction. Mikhail Borodin , the official liaison between
22176-465: The nominally KMT-controlled territories, establishing parallel structures of administration in areas liberated by the NRA. In the final success of the first phase of the expedition, the NRA went on to capture the Anhui provincial capital of Hefei and the smaller city of Bengbu . NRA forces that had already been operating north of the Yangtze continued into northern Jiangsu province. Their advance, however,
22352-409: The offensive had reached Lanxi and Jinhua , where a fierce battle resulted in a catastrophic defeat for Sun's forces. Following this victory, the NRA launched a pincer attack on the provincial capital Hangzhou . Many of Sun's northern troops, demoralised by defeat, broke ranks and streamed north, looting the towns and villages they passed along the way. With his forces in disarray, Sun's commander in
22528-408: The original Jiaotong University , Jiao Tong University , or Chiao Tung University (simplified Chinese: 交通大学 ; traditional Chinese: 交通大學 ) which was established in 1921. These universities include: Republic of China (1912%E2%80%931949) The Republic of China ( ROC ) began as a sovereign state in mainland China on 1 January 1912 following the 1911 Revolution , which overthrew
22704-405: The people. Later on 20 October 1923, at a national conference for youths in Guangzhou, to explain the core idea behind mínguó ( 民國 ; 'people's country'), he pithily compared the phrase "Empire of China" ( 中華帝國 ; Zhōnghuá Dìguó ; 'Chinese Emperor's Country') to "Republic of China" ( 中華民國 ; Zhōnghuá Mínguó ; 'Chinese People's Country') in
22880-507: The pressure of the NRA advance. Sun Chuanfang unleashed the final blow to the NPA when he withdrew his troops from the defensive line and fled to Japanese-controlled Dairen on 4 June. On 6 June, the NRA Third Collective Army marched into Beijing, ending the Beiyang government. The other NRA armies would arrive in the Beijing area over the next few days. Zhang Zongchang subordinate Xu Yuanquan subsequently surrendered Tianjin to
23056-597: The pressure on Sun, the Shantou -based NRA First Army, led by He Yingqin , marched across the Guangdong border, and began a new offensive into Fujian province. NRA troops were welcomed by many locals, including the Hakka , who resented foreign control, and gradually began to infiltrate the Fujian countryside. He's forces moved up the coast, pushing toward the provincial capital, Fuzhou . By
23232-476: The provincial system; however, this move angered the gentry along with the provincial governors, who were usually military men. Yuan's changes to government caused many provinces to declare independence and become warlord states. Increasingly unpopular and deserted by his supporters, Yuan abdicated in 1916 and died of natural causes shortly thereafter. China then declined into a period of warlordism. Sun, having been forced into exile, returned to Guangdong in
23408-464: The puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932. The loss of Manchuria, and its potential for industrial development and war industries, was a blow to the Kuomintang economy. The League of Nations , established at the end of World War I, was unable to act in the face of Japanese defiance. The Japanese began to push south of the Great Wall into northern China and the coastal provinces. Chinese fury against Japan
23584-461: The recently allied forces of the Fengtian and Zhili cliques, the nationalist government appointed Chiang Kai-shek commander-in-chief of the NRA on 5 June 1926. Chiang would accept this post in a ceremony on 9 July, which marked the formal start of the Northern Expedition, although military clashes had already been ongoing. The initial strategy for the KMT's northern advance against the Zhili warlords, which
23760-473: The republic was based on mainland China. Central authority waxed and waned in response to warlordism (1915–1928), a Japanese invasion (1937–1945), and a full-scale civil war (1927–1949), with central authority strongest during the Nanjing Decade (1927–1937), when most of China came under the control of the authoritarian, one-party military dictatorship of the nationalist Kuomintang party (KMT). Neither
23936-474: The republican institutions established by his predecessor, threatening to execute Senate members who disagreed with his decisions. He soon dissolved the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, banned "secret organizations" (which implicitly included the KMT), and ignored the provisional constitution. Ultimately, Yuan declared himself Emperor of China in 1915. The new ruler of China tried to increase centralization by abolishing
24112-403: The revolutionary movement, calling for unity in the face of Sun's advancing troops. Accordingly, in an attempt to put pressure on Sun, Feng Yuxiang and his Guominjun launched an attack into Shandong on 28 August, while Wuhan sent its troops north, trying to flank Sun, and He Yingqin approached from Shanghai. With its forces encircled, and unable to continue to move troops across the river, the NPA
24288-476: The rights of women. In the 1931 Civil Code, women were given equal inheritance rights, banned forced marriage and gave women the right to control their own money and initiate divorce. No nationally unified women's movement could organize until China was unified under the Kuomintang Government in Nanjing in 1928; women's suffrage was finally included in the new Constitution of 1936, although the constitution
24464-548: The rival Kuomintang and Communists, to make for a more effective anti-Japanese war effort. In December 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Acts of the 1880s, and subsequent laws, enacted by the United States Congress to restrict Chinese immigration into the United States were repealed. The wartime policy of the United States was meant to help China become a strong ally and a stabilizing force in postwar East Asia. During
24640-405: The ruling Kuomintang with control over only Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands . With the loss of the mainland, the ROC government retreated to Taiwan and the KMT declared Taipei the provisional capital . Meanwhile, the CCP took over all of mainland China and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing. In 1912, after over two thousand years of dynastic rule,
24816-497: The same time, other violent conflicts were taking place in China: in the South, where the CCP had superior numbers, Nationalist supporters were being massacred. Chiang Kai-shek pushed the CCP into the interior and established a government, with Nanjing as its capital, in 1927. By 1928, Chiang's army overthrew the Beiyang government and unified the entire nation, at least nominally, beginning
24992-625: The scarcity of food and total lack of shelter left the vast horde without any idea of further resistance". The Japanese, meanwhile, having heard of Sun's defeat, began to move Kwantung Army troops by train from Qingdao to Jinan. While the NRA Second Collective Army advanced northeast to Jinan along the southern bank of the Yellow River, the First Collective Army diverged east from the Tianjin–Pukou railway at Tai'an , crossing
25168-484: The south in 1917 and 1922, with the help of warlords, and set up successive rival governments to the Beiyang government in Beijing, having re-established the KMT in October 1919. Sun's dream was to unify China by launching an expedition against the north. However, he lacked the military support and funding to turn it into a reality. Meanwhile, the Beiyang government struggled to hold onto power, and an open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should confront
25344-529: The still ongoing Canton–Hong Kong strike, which continued to hamper his supply chain. Negotiations with the British began on 23 September, with the strike finally called off on 10 October. This eased access to supplies for the NRA, and freed up manpower, in the form of the strikers, for the continued push north. On the same day, Wu Peifu's remaining forces at Wuchang surrendered, completing the NRA's conquest of Hubei province. As bloody fighting continued in Jiangxi,
25520-411: The strike is said to have resulted in the deaths of 322 people, with 2,000 wounded, contributing to KMT feelings of unease with its wayward communist allies. With Shanghai under their control, the NRA turned its attention to Nanjing. He Yingqin advanced from the south-east, whilst Cheng Qian came from the south-west. Zhang Zongchang ordered his Shandong Army to withdraw from Nanjing on 23 March, leaving
25696-530: The support of the KMT, they called for the boycott of foreign goods and an end to the Settlement, which was governed by the British and Americans. The Shanghai Municipal Police , largely operated by the British, opened fire on the crowd of demonstrators. This incident sparked outrage throughout China, culminating in the Canton–Hong Kong strike , which began on 18 June, and proved a fertile recruiting ground for
25872-585: The surrounding countryside and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the cities. Finally, on 1 October 1949, Communists led by Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China . Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law in May 1949, whilst a few hundred thousand Nationalist troops and two million refugees, predominantly from the government and business community, fled from mainland China to Taiwan. There remained in China itself only isolated pockets of resistance. On 7 December 1949, Chiang proclaimed Taipei
26048-522: The temporary capital of the Republic of China. During the Chinese Civil War both the Nationalists and Communists carried out mass atrocities, with millions of non-combatants killed by both sides. Benjamin Valentino has estimated atrocities in the civil war resulted in the death of between 1.8 million and 3.5 million people between 1927 and 1949, including deaths from forced conscription and massacres. The first Republic of China national government
26224-526: The term mínguó ( 民國 ; 'people's country') was chosen over the Japanese-derived gònghéguó ( 共和國 ). He associated the label gònghé ( 共和 ) with the limiting and authoritarianism-prone Euro-American models of representative republicanism. What he strived for was a more grass-roots model, which he termed zhíjiē mínquán ( 直接民權 ; ' direct people's rights '), and which he thought would allow more checks and balances by
26400-585: The term mínguó ( 民國 ; 'people's country'; "republic") in 1912, as well as its similar semantic formation to dìguó ( 帝國 ; 'emperor's country'; "empire"), may have influenced the choice of the Korean term minguk ( 민국/民國 ) by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (founded in 1919 within the Republic of China), which replaced Daehan Jeguk ( 대한제국/大韓帝國 ) with Daehan Minguk ( 대한민국/大韓民國 ). Today,
26576-414: The walled city held out for over a month. His failure in the face of the NRA, however, left his hold on power and reputation broken. What remained of his army would disintegrate in the following months. With Wu Peifu's forces in retreat, the NRA directed itself toward Sun Chuanfang-controlled Jiangxi province, namely the city of Jiujiang and the provincial capital, Nanchang. Whilst Sun had been offered
26752-676: The war, China was one of the Big Four Allies, and later one of the Four Policemen , which was a precursor to China having a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council . In August 1945, with American help, Nationalist troops moved to take the Japanese surrender in North China. The Soviet Union—encouraged to invade Manchuria to hasten the end of the war and allowed a Soviet sphere of influence there as agreed to at
26928-531: The way for an advance to Wuchang along the route of the Beijing–Guangzhou railway . As Wu Peifu's forces retreated northward, they breached several Yangtze dikes, slowing the KMT push. By 28 August, the KMT, led by Li Zongren and his Guangxi NRA Seventh Army, had taken Xianning , about 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Wuchang. Wu Peifu, who had returned south to mount a defence of Wuchang, gathered his forces at Heshengqiao Bridge. On 29 August, he launched
27104-399: The withdrawing Japanese army. In 1945, after the end of the war, the Nationalist Government moved back to Nanjing. The Republic of China emerged from the war nominally a great military power but actually a nation economically prostrate and on the verge of all-out civil war. The problems of rehabilitating the formerly Japanese-occupied areas and of reconstructing the nation from the ravages of
27280-403: The world, but it is not clear that the group possessed the full qualities of an intrinsic fascist movement....The Blue Shirts probably had some affinity with and for fascism, a common feature of nationalisms in crisis during the 1930s, but it is doubtful that they represented any clear-cut Asian variant of fascism." Still other historians have noted that Chiang and the KMT's exact ideology itself
27456-455: The yuans reported to the National Assembly, which represented the will of the citizens. Under the new constitution the first elections for the National Assembly occurred in January 1948, and the assembly was summoned to meet in March 1948. It elected the president of the republic on 21 March 1948, formally bringing an end to the KMT party rule started in 1928, although the president was a member of
27632-522: Was "normally classified as a multi-class populist or 'nation-building' party but not a fitting candidate for fascism (except by old-line Communists)." He also stated that, "Lloyd Eastman has called the Blue Shirts, whose members admired European fascism and were influenced by it, a Chinese fascist organization. This is probably an exaggeration. The Blue Shirts certainly exhibited some of the characteristics of fascism, as did many nationalist organizations around
27808-466: Was able to lead a successful " Northern Expedition " from 1926 to 1928. By 1927, Chiang felt secure enough to end the alliance with the Soviet Union and purged the Communists from the KMT. In 1928, the last major independent warlord pledged allegiance to the KMT's Nationalist government in Nanjing. China was then nominally reunified in 1928 by the Nanking -based government led by Chiang Kai-shek, who after
27984-413: Was almost immediately forced to withdraw back to Zhejiang; Sun had detected Xia's plans days earlier. Sun's forces subsequently marched on Zhejiang, crushing the rebellion by 23 October. Xia was executed, along with hundreds of his troops, while thousands of civilians were massacred at Xia's former headquarters. Alongside the Zhejiang rebellion, the NRA had continued their offensive in Jiangxi. Adding to
28160-452: Was bleak. The demoralized and undisciplined National Revolutionary Army proved to be no match for the Communists' motivated and disciplined People's Liberation Army . The Communists were well established in the north and northeast. Although the Kuomintang had an advantage in numbers of men and weapons, controlled a much larger territory and population than their adversaries, and enjoyed considerable international support, they were exhausted by
28336-464: Was established on 1 January 1912, in Nanjing, with a constitution stating Three Principles of the People , which state that "[the ROC] shall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people." Sun Yat-sen was the provisional president. Delegates from the provinces sent to confirm the government's authority formed the first parliament in 1913. The power of this government
28512-528: Was followed by mass murders and rapes known as the Nanjing Massacre . The national capital was briefly at Wuhan , then removed in an epic retreat to Chongqing, the seat of government until 1945. In 1940, the Japanese set up the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime , with its capital in Nanjing, which proclaimed itself the legitimate "Republic of China" in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek's government, although its claims were significantly hampered due to its being
28688-470: Was forced to abandon Longtan railway station on 30 August. In a desperate attempt at resistance, Sun rallied his 40,000 remaining troops and launched a counter-offensive on 31 August, only to be crushed in a hard-fought battle that left more than 10,000 of those troops dead. While Sun was able to escape to Shandong, his surviving troops were forced to surrender to the NRA. With victory in hand, reconciliation talks restarted on 7 September, and on 15 September,
28864-432: Was hampered by the administrative chaos that followed the Nanjing Incident. Tensions between the leftists in Wuhan and rightists in Nanjing would come to a head, bringing the Northern Expedition to a halt. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Shanghai–Nanjing offensive, the aid of the Fengtian armies prevented Sun Chuanfang's army from collapsing completely, and they eventually managed to regroup and strengthen their forces for
29040-460: Was held in Shanghai on 8 December. In Fujian, many of Sun's troops had already defected to the NRA, and on 9 December, He Yingqin's army entered Fuzhou unopposed. On 11 December, Zhejiang commander Zhou Fengqi announced his defection to the NRA. This started a cascade of defections, leading to Zhejiang's secession from Sun's "United Provinces", after which it was given autonomous status by the Guangzhou government. In response, Sun rallied his army on
29216-489: Was largely devised by Soviet advisors Mikhail Borodin and Vasily Blyukher , was to focus on defeating Wu Peifu and appeasing Sun Chuanfang, while ignoring Zhang Zuolin of the Fengtian clique. Having switched from a defensive to offensive posture, KMT forces quickly advanced from their base in Guangdong into Wu-controlled Hunan province, capturing Changsha on 11 July. At the time, most of Wu Peifu's forces were preoccupied with fighting at Nankou Pass , near Beijing, against
29392-444: Was limited, with generals controlling both the central and northern provinces of China , and short-lived. The number of acts passed by the government was few and included the formal abdication of the Qing dynasty and some economic initiatives. The parliament's authority soon became nominal: violations of the Constitution by Yuan were met with half-hearted motions of censure. Kuomintang members of parliament who gave up their membership in
29568-413: Was not implemented until 1947. Addressing social problems, especially in remote villages, was aided by improved communications. The Rural Reconstruction Movement was one of many that took advantage of the new freedom to raise social consciousness. The Nationalist government published a draft constitution on 5 May 1936. Continual wars plagued the government. Those in the western border regions included
29744-463: Was officially inaugurated and pledged "to overthrow the despotic government led by the Manchu, consolidate the Republic of China and plan for the welfare of the people". Sun's new government lacked military strength. As a compromise, he negotiated with Yuan Shikai the commander of the Beiyang Army , promising Yuan the presidency of the republic if he were to remove the Qing emperor by force. Yuan agreed to
29920-399: Was officially launched by Chiang Kai-shek on 7 April. With the NPA line softened by Feng and Yan's attacks, the NRA First Collective Army rushed into Shandong along the Tianjin–Pukou railway , capturing Tengzhou by 16 April. Meanwhile, Feng's forces advanced into Shandong from the west, capturing Jiaxiang on the 15th. Sun Chuanfang decided to attempt a two-pronged counter-offensive against
30096-417: Was partially motivated by Chiang's Shanghai Massacre of Communists within the KMT, which marked the end of the First United Front . In an effort to mend this schism, Chiang Kai-shek stepped down as the commander of the NRA in August 1927, and went into exile in Japan. The second phase of the Expedition began in January 1928, when Chiang resumed command. By April 1928, the nationalist forces had advanced to
30272-421: Was predictable, but anger was also directed against Chiang and the Nanjing government, which at the time was more preoccupied with anti-Communist extermination campaigns than with resisting the Japanese invaders. The importance of "internal unity before external danger" was forcefully brought home in December 1936, when Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang and forced to ally with the Communists against
30448-438: Was reorganised into four "collective armies". The First Collective Army was made up largely of the original NRA forces from Guangzhou, now based in the Nanjing–Shanghai area. The Second Collective Army consisted of Feng's Guominjun , the Third of Yan's Shanxi forces, and the Fourth of Li Zongren's Guangxi clique army. By this point, the NRA was made up of one million soldiers, most of them part of ex-warlord armies. Preparing for
30624-471: Was the National Revolutionary Army (NRA). Chiang Kai-shek , who had emerged as Sun's protégé as early as 1922, was appointed commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy in 1924, and quickly emerged as a contender for the position of Sun's successor in the aftermath of his death. On 30 May 1925, Chinese students in Shanghai gathered at the International Settlement , and held demonstrations in opposition to foreign interference in China. Specifically, with
30800-471: Was thwarted by the arrival of the Japanese Kwantung Army during the course of June, who were ostensibly deployed to protect Japanese citizens in Qingdao . Around this time, Wu Peifu retreated with his remaining forces into Sichuan, where he announced his retirement. On 5 July, NPA general Chen Yi-yen defected to the NRA, but failed to convince his 10,000 soldiers at Qingdao to do likewise. At Wuhan, Tang Shengzhi began to mobilise his troops for an attack on
30976-555: Was very complex and oscillated over time, with different factions of his government cooperating with both the Soviets and Germans as they saw fit, and that Chiang eventually became disillusioned with the Blue Shirts, which officially disbanded by 1938, something Payne also mentions as "possibly because of competition with the KMT itself." Some have also noted that in contrast to older historians from decades ago, Chiang's efforts have been increasingly seen by newer Western and Chinese historians alike as an arguably necessary if austere part of
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