FALL OF QING, WARLORDISM, CHAOS (1900-34)

• what was the Boxing Uprising?

  a Chinese secret group (the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists) began carrying out attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians
• when was the Boxers Uprising?

  late 1890s
• what was the cause of the Boxers Uprising?

  Emperor Guangxu tried to modernise the government and end the critisms of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese people hated foreign people, Empress Cixi encouraged attacks on foreigners
• what was the impact of the Boxers Uprising?

  tightening of foreign control in China. E.g Western powers demanded £67 million in reparations to be paid over 39 years
• what reforms did Cixi introduce during 1902-11?

  self-strengthening reform
• what were some of the self strengthening reforms (1902-11)?

  abolition of food binding (1902), introduction of provincial assemblies with a limited right to vote (1909), the establishment of a 'new Army' under Manchu control (1908)
• what was the impacts of the abolition of foot binding (1902)?


  by getting rid of traditions they are rejecting it, peasants were most against change, very hard to inforce as a law
• what were the impacts of the abolition of limited right to vote (1909)?


  advantage: no one could rebel if government is repsonsive, allows people a voice

  disadvantage: people will want democracy
• what were the impacts of the 'new Army' (1908)?



  restores hope with new army, more expensive, strengthens the nation to be able to defend themselves
• when did the 1911 Revolution happen?

  10th October 1911
• what was the immediate cause of the 1911 Revolution?

  railway problem - protests happened when government tried to take over regional railways to gain revenue and local control. Railway Protection Societies were formed which the government tried to forcefully supress.
• what was the short-term cause of the 1911 Revolution?

  growth nationalist movement - Sun Yat Sen organised anti-Quing protests in China (1905)
• what were the long term causes of the 1911 Revolution?

  decay of the Qing Government - Qing emperors were weak and corrupt, people lost confidence in Manchu rule

  role of Cixi - she was deeply unpopular and opposed reforms like the Hundred Day reform

  political decentralisation - the provinces of China were weakly controlled by Beijing
• what were the events of the 1911 Revolution?

  an unplanned uprising where the entire city of Wuchang was captured (11th Oct.), on 1st Nov. Yuan Shikai became MP of the imperial cabinet, On 25th Dec. Sun Yat Sen returned to China and elected as China's President, 12th Feb. 1912 Emperor Puyi abdicated
• what were the results of the 1911 Revolution?

  end of dynastic system - revolution ended the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was a milestone for Chinese history

  lack of social improvement - China was still economically weak

  increased foreign agression - although the new Republic was recognised almost globally China was forced to sign unfair treaties. So they were still internationally weak
• when was the May Forth movement?

  May 4th 1919
• what were the causes for the May Fourth Movement?

  new culture movement - started from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture, created a desire for change across China
• who was Sun Yat-Sen?

  • educated in Hawaii and British-owned Hong Kong in his early years
  • exiled after he led a rebellion, returning after the 1911 Revolution to be President of China
  • stepped down as President when Yuan Shikai came to power, fleeing to Japan
  • returned to China in 1917
  • in 1919, he created the nationalist party GMD
• who was Chiang Kai-shek?

  • appointed the leader of the GMD army
  • In 1925, became the leader of the GMD after Sun Yat-Sen's death
• what was the influence of the Soviet Union on 1920s China?

  • the Bolshevik government (Russia) wanted to encourage the spread of revolution and to protect its border with China by working with the GMD
  • The GMD's 'Three Principle of the People' were rooted in ideas of equality - similar to communist ideas
  • Comintern (Russian organisation) encouraged the CCP & GMD to work together and overthrow the warlords
• what was the 1st United Front?

  an alliance between the CCP and GMD during 1924-27 to overthrow the warlords, expel foreigners from China, and improve the lives of ordinary Chinese people
• what were the causes of the Northern Expedition?

  • when Chiang Kai-shek emerged as the new GMD leader, he was eager to destroy the warlords
  • the Whampoa Military Academy produced a National Revolutionary Army (NRA) - had the help of Soviet military adviser Galen
• what happened during the Northern Expedition?

  • a military campaign by the United Front (CCP & GMD) against the warlords
  • By Summer 1927, United Front took control over central China
  • By 1928, Chiang took over eastern China & drove out warlord Zhang Zuolin out of Beijing
  • Chiang declared the GMD as the legal government in China
• what were the effects of the Northern Expedition?

  • Chiang Kai-shek's position was strengthened
  • warlord problem never fully resolved - caused a lot of resentment of Chiang's new GMD government
• when was the Shanghai Massacre?

  12th April 1927
• what caused the Shanghai Massacre?

  • GMD split - after Sun Yat-Sen's death, the GMD was split by the NRA and Chiang Kai-shek on one side, and the communists on the other side
• what happened during the Shanghai Massacre?

  • a violent suppression of the communists in Shanghai
  • 'White Terror' - to describe nationalists (Chiang's troop) and their frenzied killing
  • Chiang was supported by triads and a crime organisation called the Green Gang
  • more than 5,000 communists killed
  • Mao and his followers (communists) were forced to flee to the Jiangxi province - struggled for survival for the next 7 years
• when were the extermination campaigns?

  1930-34
• what caused the extermination campaigns?

  • Chiang was determined to destroy the communists
  • Chiang viewed the communists as a greater threat than the warlords
• how many extermination campaigns were there during 1930-34?

  5
• why did the extermination campaigns fail?

  • lack of support from the peasants - GMD burnt down villages, seized crops, massacred all inhabitants