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The Provisional Republican Government of China (1911-1949) The Provisional Republican Government of China was set up on Oct. 10, 1911 by Sun Yatsen and Li Yuanhong, who was the military commander of Wuchang. Sun Yatsen was later forced to resign by Yuan Shikai, head of the imperial army. Yuan then made himself the leader of the Republican movement. However, his objective was not to become the leader of the Republican but to establish another dynasty. He quickly dissolved the Republican movement, restored imperial China, and announced himself the latest emperor in the year 1915. Yuan's success was brief though as he passed away while trying to force the provinces under his rule. China was once again plunged into confusion and disorder with no single power in control. The country then plunged into the warlord era. Kuomintang and Communists Sun Yatsen and the Kuomintang were able to establish a secure base in southern China and began training a National Revolutionary Army (NRA) whose objective was to challenge the northern warlords. At the same time, several Chinese Marxist groups united to form a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921. The Kuomintang and CCP joined alliance in 1922 but the union was brief. After the death of Sun Yatsen in 1925, the NRA attempted to eliminate the communists. Lead by Chiang Kaishek, the NRA invaded Wuhan and Nanchang. The attack was successful and Shanghai became the next target. By 1928, they proceeded to Beijing and established a government there with Chiang acting as a military and political leader. The Communists, then lead by Mao Zedong and Zhu De, retreated to Jinggangshan Mountain. There they employed a strategy of guerilla attacks. By 1930, the frazzled Communist forces had grown into an army of 40,000, an amount that could actually threaten the Kuomintang. Eager to eliminate the Communists, Chiang again launched an extermination campaign in October 1933. The Communists retreated from this invasion and did not stop until they had covered 10,000 km. This was known as the Long March, which lasted from 1934 to 1936. The Long March started with 90,000 people but only 20,000 made it to Shanxi. Although many perished from the Long March, it also proved that the Chinese peasants could fight if they were given proper weapons and leadership support. This March also established Mao as the chief leader and strategist for the Chinese Communist movement, as the influence from the Soviets had lessened. While internal affairs were in chaos, the Japanese were busy trying to occupy Manchuria. In 1937, the Japanese launched a full attack on China and World War II erupted in 1939. Chiang was then forced to fight the Japanese instead of attacking the Communists. However, Mao fought the Japanese better than Chiang by employing guerilla tactics again. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese turned their attention to the Americans instead of the Chinese. Mao took this opportunity to consolidate his forces and control over North China. When World War II ended, Chiang and his government plunged into great debts due to corruption and Mao decided to move in on the Kuomintangs. By then, the Communists' troop had amounted to 900,000 with more Kuomintang soldiers joining them. Three great battles were fought between the Kuomintang and the Communists in which the former lost in all three of them. Meanwhile, thousands of Kuomintang soldiers continued to join the Communists. With these benefits, the Communists then advanced to south China and managed to occupy the whole of China by October 1949. On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Chiang Kaishek, on the other hand, fled to Taiwan with the country's entire gold reserve as well as the remaining air force and navy.
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