Background
The Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in Chinese history, and was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917), the last of the ruling Chinese dynasties, collapsed in 1911.[9] China was left under the control of several major and lesser warlords in the Warlord era The Warlord era is the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang. To defeat these warlords, who had seized control of much of Northern China, the anti-monarchist and national unificationist Kuomintang The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters of the KMT is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and it is currently the majority party in terms of seats in the party and the president of the Republic of China The President of the Republic of China is the head of state and commander in chief of the democratic island nation officially known as the Republic of China (commonly known simply as "Taiwan" since the 1970s). The Republic of China (Taiwan) was founded in 1911 governing the whole of China. After World War II, the Republic of China also, Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Republican China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China, sought the help of foreign powers. Sun Yat-sen's efforts to obtain aid from the Western democracies were ignored, however, and in 1921 he turned to the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , occasionally called the United Soviet Socialist Republic, was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh. For political expediency, the Soviet leadership initiated a dual policy of support for both Sun and the newly established Communist Party of China, which would eventually found the People's Republic of China b. ^ Information for mainland China only. The Special Administrative Regions of the PRC: Hong Kong, Macau are excluded. In addition, the territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, are also excluded. The Soviets hoped for Communist consolidation, but were prepared for either side to emerge victorious. Thus the struggle for power in China began between the KMT and the CPC.
In 1923, a joint statement by Sun and Soviet representative Adolph Joffe in Shanghai Originally a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew to importance in the 19th century due to its favourable port location and as one of the cities opened to foreign trade by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The city flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became a multinational hub of finance and business by the 1930s. However, pledged Soviet assistance for China's unification.[10] The Sun-Joffe Manifesto was a declaration for cooperation among the Comintern, KMT The Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC. The headquarters of the KMT is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and it is currently the majority party in terms of seats in the and the Communist Party of China.[10] Comintern agent Mikhail Borodin arrived in China in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of the KMT along the lines of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за, transliterated Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza, acronym: КПСС (KPSS)) was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world. The CPC joined the KMT to form the First United Front The First United Front of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed in 1923 as an alliance to end warlordism in China. Together, they formed the National Revolutionary Army and set out in 1926 on the Northern Expedition. The CCP joined the KMT as individuals, making use of KMT's superiority in numbers to help spread.[4]
In 1923, Sun Yat-sen sent Chiang Kai-shek, one of Sun's lieutenants from his Tongmeng Hui The Tongmenghui , also known as the Chinese United League or the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, was a secret society and underground resistance movement organized by Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 August 1905. This new alliance was created through the unification of Sun's Xingzhonghui, or Revive China Society, the Guangfuhui, days, for several months' military and political study in Moscow Moscow (Russian: Москвa, romanised: Moskva, IPA: [mɐˈskva] ; see also other names) is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation.[11] By 1924, Chiang became the head of the Whampoa Military Academy The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy (traditional Chinese: 黃埔軍校; simplified Chinese: 黄埔军校; pinyin: Huángpŭ Jūnxiào), was a military academy in the Republic of China (ROC) that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th, and rose to prominence as Sun's successor as head of the KMT.[11]
The Soviets provided much of the studying material, organization, and equipment including munitions for the academy.[11] The Soviets also provided education in many of the techniques for mass mobilization. With this aid Sun Yat-sen was able to raise a dedicated "army of the party," with which he hoped to defeat the warlords militarily. CPC members were also present in the academy, and many of them became instructors, including Zhou Enlai Zhou En-lai (5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou was instrumental in the Communist Party's rise to power, and subsequently in the development of the Chinese Communist economy and restructuring of Chinese society who was made a political instructor of the academy.[12]
Communist members were allowed to join the KMT on an individual basis.[10] The CPC itself was still small at the time, having a membership of 300 in 1922 and only 1,500 by 1925.[13] The KMT in 1923 had 50,000 members.[13]
<<Table of Contents The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). The war began in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition,. The war represented an ideological split between the Western-supported Nationalist KMT and the Soviet-supported Communist CPC. In communist historiography | Next>>
