China pre-Mao

 China had endured ‘100 years of humiliation’ by foreigners following its

 defeat in the ‘Opium Wars’ of 1839–42 and 1856–60 and by the Japanese
in 1894–95.
 Industrialising nations, led by Britain, sought to make profits in China
 and divided the country into ‘spheres of influence’.
 Resentment of foreign domination provoked the Boxer Rebellion of
1898–1901.
 Living conditions were poor, there was a shortage of food, peasants
resented heavy government taxes, people in towns faced pressure from
inflation, and the country was almost completely dominated by foreign
influence, the dynasty failed to brin about effective reforms.
 Lack of unity and political instability created conditions for a successful
revolutionary uprising in 1911, which, headed by Sun Yat Sen, ended the
rule of Qing Dynasty and established the republic in 1912.
 Yuan Shikai, a conservative army leader who had the loyalty of China’s
military forces, became the president, but his rule was ineffective and in
1916, after his death, many of his former subordinates established
themselves as independent warlords and refused to acknowledge the
authority of the republic.
 This started a period of warlordism, which continued until 1928, when on
October, GMD established a central government in China, with Nanjing
as the capital and Jian Jieshi (Chiang Kai-Shek) as president.
 This was done by forming a First United Front between CCP and GMD
(an alliance was broken in 1927, after massacre of communists in
Shanghai). The new government brought some stability: new currency,
 economic growth, however, Japanese in Manchuria was still a problem to
be solved.

How Mao came to power

 Mao had a clear vision and an idea of what the CCP should look like.
 His secure base in the remote mountains of Jinggangshan had a strict
discipline. All men were treated as equal and by 1928, the Red Army
consisted of 12,000 men.
 Later in 1931, Mao moved his band and set up the Jiangxi Soviet. Mao
became CCP party secretary and ordered land redistribution.
 Richer peasants and those disloyal to Mao were suspected to be murdered
as ‘class enemies’. This significantly increased Mao’s leadership of the
CCP.
 The most important factor that started Mao’s leadership was the Long
March. March allowed Mao and the communists to settle in the Yan’an
Soviet where he could remove all the remaining opposition to his rule as
well as improve the living conditions and maintain his principles (the
main being equality among the people).
 The Long March was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of
the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's
Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. The Long
March was a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south
escaped to the north and west. However, the most famous began in the
Kiangsi (Jiangxi) province in October 1934 and ended in the Shensi
(Shaanxi) province in October 1935.
 The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an
inexperienced military commission, was on the brink of annihilation by
 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Kiangsi
province. The CCP, under the eventual command of Mao Tse-tung and
Chou En-lai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which
reportedly traversed over 9,000 kilometres over 370 days. The route
passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by
traveling west, then north, to Shensi.
Methods & Strategies of why Mao became the leader of the CCP
1. Mao’s effective leadership of the CCP
a. During the years of the Yanan Soviet Mao instituted violent measures to
punish CCP officials and party members who dared to question party leaders
b. “Re-education” was widely used to simultaneously punish and brainwash
CCP members until they adhered to the party line
c. Mao exhibited a proven ability to preserve and strengthen the CCP
through a series of existential crises. In each of these episodes Mao advocated
strategies contrary to those of other party leaders, but Mao’s strategies always
seemed to preserve and strengthen the CCP. Thus, by 1949 most CCP members
viewed Mao as an almost messianic figure incapable of erring.
i. The GMD’s attacks on the Jiangxi Soviet, 1927-34
ii. The Long March, 1934-35
iii. The GMD’s attacks on the Yanan Soviet, 1935-45
iv. The Japanese invasion of China, 1937-45
v. The “War of Liberation”, 1945-49
2. Mao’s pro-peasant policies
a. The Yanan Soviet became a laboratory for the CCP to implement Mao’s
peasant proletariat ideology and the peasants liked what they saw.
i. Reduced taxes, rents, and interest rates
ii. Redistribution of land from wealthy landlords to peasants
iii. Assistance with irrigation, fertilizer, and seeds to raise agricultural
productivity and, therefore, peasant income
iv. Provided fair, prompt and transparent administration and justice
v. Encouraged peasants to play an active role in local government
b. Through many years of civil war, the PLA exhibited superior conduct
toward the masses
i. PLA enforced a strict code of conduct that required troops to show
respect and consideration toward peasants and villagers with whom they came
in contact.
1. Avoid or pay for damage to peasant property
2. Be courteous, helpful and honest
3. Do not steal or damage property
4. Be sanitary and neat
5. Treat women and elders with respect
6. Show mercy to prisoners of war
ii. Most were deeply impressed by the PLA’s conduct and the contrast with
the often ruthless and unruly GMD.
3. Mao honed a reputation among the Chinese as a genuine nationalist
a. During the Japanese invasion the PLA directed most of the fighting
against the Japanese, whereas the GMD was seen as pre-occupied with fighting
the PLA.
b. Xian Incident – the CCP captured Chiang Kai-shek in 1936 only to
release him on good faith within days after he promised to form a United Front
against Japan with the CCP. This was seen as an incredibly trusting and
patriotic act.
c. Throughout the Second Sino-Japan War, CCP guerrilla tactics against
Japanese troops proved effective and held the Japanese at bay.
d. Mao scrupulously avoided subservience to foreigners
i. Soviet advisors were never allowed to exercise a strong influence on CCP
ideology or strategy. The Soviet government became so frustrated by this that
they recalled the advisors and cut ties to the CCP.
ii. It was clear to most Chinese that the PLA received very little direct
financial or military aid from the Soviet Union
iii. The CCP refused to make compromises with Western banking or
industrial interests, in contrast to the pro-West GMD

Circumstances & Factors

1. The Nationalist regime was incompetent and corrupt
a. Nationalist bureaucrats were notoriously corrupt, lazy and incompetent
b. The Nationalist regime seemed unwilling to institute even moderate
economic and social reforms to alleviate poverty and inequality
i. Due in part to the regime’s overwhelming reliance on the financial
support on industrialists in the coastal cities (especially Shanghai)
ii. Due in part to the leadership’s close personal and cultural ties with the
industrialists of the coastal cities
iii. Due in part to the leadership’s poor understanding of China’s problems
and solutions
iv. Due in part to the regime’s belief that no meaningful reform could be
undertaken until the Japanese and the CCP had been defeated
v. Spending on the GMD army and debt payments left little money for
social spending
c. Economic mismanagement devastated the standard of living for most
Chinese
i. Hyperinflation occurred from 1937-49 (as a result of debasing money)
ii. The Nationalists borrowed heavily from the West before and during the
war
iii. China experienced virtually no trend toward industrialization of
modernization under Nationalist rule (1927-49) resulting in high
unemployment, poverty, and recurrent famine
d. The perception was widespread that the Nationalist leaders had “sold out”
to the West, financially, politically, and culturally
2. The Nationalist regime lacked effective control of the country
a. The Nationalist regime was never able to fully consolidate its control
over China. From 1927-45 it relied on shifting alliances with local leaders and
warlords. Such political fragmentation rendered it impossible for the GMD to
implement reforms throughout the country
i. Tibet, Manchuria, Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia and Tibet remained entirely
outside the control of the Nationalist government
b. The Japanese invasion greatly undermined the ability of the Nationalists
to effectively govern China and fight the CCP
i. By late 1937 Japan controlled almost the entire coast of China well into
the interior of the country depriving the regime of the country’s main industrial,
agricultural, and financial resources
c. Generals within the GMD often disregarded orders from Chiang Kai-shek
and crafted their own strategy and diplomacy, essentially functioning as
warlords
i. They disregarded the rights and dignity of their own troops or of local
peasants in war zones
3. Foreign assistance to the Nationalist government was inadequate
a. The US and Soviet Union sold (not gave) weapons to the GMD only
during the war with Japan and for the expressed purpose of fighting the
Japanese
b. The US and China experienced strained diplomatic relations throughout
this period
i. Advisor Joseph Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek considered one another
incompetent and stubborn
c. American assistance to the Nationalists was inconsistent after 1945
i. US policy-makers were tepid in their support for Chiang
 ii. Post-war budget cuts and demobilization entailed a declining level of
commitment to China
iii. The amount and predictability of arms shipments was greatly reduced and
phased out entirely by 1947

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

CAUSES

Long-term causes
Socio-  1900: ruled by the imperial Manchu dynasty
economic  Majority of population were peasants
factors o Hard life: worked the land, most extremely poor
o Paid the taxes (which paid for great Manchu imperial court)
o Faced starvation during floods and droughts  their subsistence farming techniques
often left them with barely enough to feed their families
 Population grew by 8% in 2nd half of 19th C  land cultivated only increased by 1%
o Imbalance made famines more frequent
 Peasants’ plots of land were reduced + landlords increased rents
o Some peasants had to pay 80% of their harvest
o Driven to cities by poverty (where there was already high unemployment due to
improved technology and cheap Western imports)
Political  Century preceding civil war: European imperialist powers humiliated and exploited China 
weakness and caused destabilization of China’s ruling Manchu regime
the influence o Britain defeated China (mid-19th C) in Opium Wars
of foreign  Result: great Chinese Empire broken into spheres of influence by the
powers Europeans, Americans, (and by end-19th C Japan)
o Forced to sign unequal treaties  gave imperialist powers extraordinary controls over
Chinese trade, territory, and ultimately sovereignty
o Foreigners refused to abide by Chinese laws  had own extra-territorial courts
o Missionaries flooded into China  attempt to spread Christianity
o Inflation + corruption (among local and provincial gov. officials) = large portion
of tax revenues not reaching the central gov.
 1850-64: Taiping Rebellion
o Spread through southern China
o Part religious movement + part political reform movement
o After millions of Chinese deaths  regional armies put it down
 Involvement of regional armies  began the move away from centralized
control
 Result: warlord era (1920s)
 Attempts to resist Western control by sections of the educated elite in China
o Self-Strengthening Movement was divided as to how to modernize China
o Manchus didn’t coherently support reform
  China remained subjugated to the West + humiliated by defeat in war by Japan (1895)
 China lost more territory to Japan  part of settlement in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-
1905)
 Boxer Rebellion (1899)
o Popular anti-Western feeling  turned into widespread violent rebellion against
Westerners
o No modern weaponry = failed anti-foreign revolt
Overthrow of  Beginning of 20th C: China in desperate condition + growing feelings of overthrow of Manchu
the Manchu dynasty so that China could be westernized and democracy introduced
Dynasty  Political weakness of dynasty intensified with death of emperor + succession of 2-yo
boy Pu Yi (1908)
 Brother of former emperor ruled as regent  not capable of conducting the essential
programme of reform
o Dismissed the potential troublemaker General Jiang Jieshi + humiliated him
o Increased taxation + frustrated the business classes  no socio-economic progress
made
 Oct 1911: overthrow of dynasty in Double Tenth Revolution
o Revolution began when gov. lost military control: soldiers in Wuchang revolted
and rebellion spread quickly
o Most provinces then declared themselves independent from Beijing
o Key tensions + issues leading to revolution (impact of imperialism, anti-foreign
sentiment and weakness of central gov.)  also significant effect on causes of civil war
15 yrs later
o Republic created
 Nov 1911: delegates from ‘independent’ provinces gathered in Nanjing to declare creation of a
Chinese republic  attempt to seize political initiative
 Dr Sun Yixan (political exile who was in USA during revolution)  invited to be China’s 1 st
President
 Imperial gov. attempted to use Yuan Shikai (former influential general of Northern
Army) to suppress the rebellion
o But he’d double crossed them by arranging a deal with Sun Yixan
 Feb 1912: Sun agreed for Yuan Shikai to be president of the new republic  in exchange for the
end of Manchu rule in China
 12 Feb 1912: Emperor Pu Yi abdicated
 Revolution still incomplete  no real introduction of democracy + most former imperial
officials kept their positions
o Impetus for the revolution was wholly Chinese  but not led by middle classes
o Military ignited the rising + Chine radicals joined later
 Historian Michael Lynch argues revolution was fundamentally a revolt by the provinces
against the centre
Rule of Yuan  Military dictator (1912-1915)
Shikai  Key issues which led to revolution in 1911  remained unsolved
 Regionalism continued under his rule  became key obstacle to a united China
 1912: Sun’s party reformed  Guomindang (GMD)
o Declared itself a parliamentary party
 Arguably: Sun agreed to Yuan Shikais’ rule to avert possibility of China descending into
civil war
 o Republicans not powerful enough (at this stage) to take on military
o GMD and Chinese Communists learnt this lesson: to win political battle for China
you needed military power
 Sun attempted to undermine Yuan’s power  moved him from his power base in Beijing to the
south of Nanjing  to set up a new gov.
o Yuan refused to leave
o GMD a regional power ONLY in southern provinces + republicans not
sufficiently organized to mount resistance to Yuan
 A ‘second revolution’  failed  sun fled to Japan (1913)
 Yuan caused his own downfall through series of ill-conceived acts
o The 1912 Republican constitution created regional assemblies  Yuan abolished as
attempt to centralize power
 Alienated the provincial powers  especially as tax revenues were centrally
controlled
o 1916: Yuan proclaimed himself as emperor
 Lost support of military  stood down + died 3 months later

Short-term causes
Political  Increasing lack of unity in China by 1910s
weakness:  Regionalism/Provincialism  would play significant role in causing war (+ its course and
regionalism  outcome)
the warlords  Abdication + death of Yuan  China lost only figure maintain some degree of unity
(1916-1928)  China broke into small states and provinces  each controlled by a warlord + his private army
 Warlords
o ran their territories independently
o organised and taxed people within their domains
o had own laws and even own currencies
o extended their power and wealth through expanding their territories
 peasants suffered in continual wars
o none were willing to relinquish his armies or power to the central gov.
 Warlord era: increased sense of humiliation felt by many Chinese
o addition of desire to remove foreign influence  led to increased nationalism during
warlord decade
 China  almost ceased to exist  state of internal anarchy
o If warlords remained  China remains divided
May Fourth During warlord era: 2 political movements developed in response to warlords and foreign influence in China
Movement
1919: May Fourth Movement began
 Students led a mass demonstration in Beijing  against warlords, traditional Chinese culture
and the Japanese
 Hostility ignited by Versailles Settlement
o Japan given Germany’s former concession in Shandong Province
o China joined Allies  were humiliated by them
 Significance: dedicated to the change and rebirth of China as a proud, independent
 nation
 Students and intellectuals  inspired by revolutionary ideology in order to achieve these goals
o 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia provided an example
o Imperialism was perceived by many to be the main cause of China’s problems
 Other Chinese  inspired by the GMD Nationalist Party (grown much stronger during warlord
period)
 2 groups (communists inspired by Russian Bolshevik revolution + nationalists under the GMD)
developed  formed alliance in 1922
Communists  By 1925: GMD had made little progress towards the ‘Three Principles’
and  Party limited by lack of influence beyond the south and its reliance on alliances with
Nationalists warlords (due to its weak military power)
 Post Sun’s 1925 death: General Jian Jieshi (committed Nationalist and GMD member)
took over leadership of GMD
o Received military training pre-WW1 in Japan + in new Communist state of USSR
 Soviet Leadership of USSR  began to invest in the GMD
o Provided aid and assistance to the party
o Believed they could foster good relations with a nationalist China
 1921: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established
o Initially: membership was mainly intellectuals and had no real military strength
o Weaknesses and some shared aims = agreement to work with GMD (around
1925)
 CCP consistently encouraged by USSR to cooperate with the Nationalists
Attempt to  GMD and CCP wanted unified China
unify China:  Agreed on 1st step: remove warlords  in 1922: formed the First United Front
First United  Agreed China needed to be free of the foreign imperialist powers
Front  Third Principle of Sun Yixian  ‘the People’s Livelihood’ often called socialism  convinced
Comintern this party should be backed
 Jiang not communist  but had Soviet links: studied in Moscow (1923) and ran Whampoa
Military Academy (set up and funded by USSR) to train GMD officers
o Became increasingly anti-communist  began his leadership of GMD by removing
Communists from key positions in party
o Stopped short of breaking off CCP alliance  knew warlords needed to be taken out
first
 Jiang: determined to act on first of the Three Principles + attempt to unify China
(through ending warlords’ power)
 1926: Northern Expedition
o GMD + Communists set out to crush the warlords of Central and Northern China
o Great success  by 1927: the GMD and CCP had captured Hangzhou, Shanghai and
Nanjing
o 1928: took Beijing
o Within 2 years: Untied Front of GMD and CCP  destroyed power of warlords
 GMD announced that it was the legitimate government of China + the new capital and
seat of gov. would be Nanjing
GMD attacks  China not unified  despite Northern Expedition results
the CCP: end o United Front only a ‘convenient’ friendship
of the First  The fight against warlords (uniting factor between GMD and CCP) now over  ideology divided
United Front
 the 2 parties
 Success of Northern Expedition due to
o Nationalist ambitions
o Communist promise of land to the peasants  commitment gave them local peasant
support
o Communist support of industrial workers (eg. Communist member of GMD
organized the workers rising in Shanghai)
 Popular support for Communists  key reason Jiang could no longer tolerate them within GMD
o No more cooperation
 Jiang: sympathetic to landlords + middle classes  more far to right than Sun was
o Areas under communist control saw peasants attack landlords and seize land  wasn’t
tolerated
o Felt the CCP needed to be crushed before China could be united under GMD
o Expelled all communists from GMD
 April 1927: White terror
o Peak of Jiang’s attack of communists in Shanghai
o Used informants from the underworld of triads and gangsters
o Shot 5,000 communists from Zhou Enlai’s powerful ‘workers’ army’ used in
Northern Expedition
 Purification Movement: GMD carried out similar attacks in other cities
o Massacre of thousands of Communists, trade unionists + peasant leaders
o ¼ of a million people killed
 By end 1927: CCP nearly crushed  Despite resistance (eg. Mao’s Autumn Harvest Rising
failure)
 CCP decided that only hope for survival of its members was to flee into the mountains of Jiangsi
 Against orders of the Comintern to retain the United Front
 GMD pursued them  determined to destroy Communists  beginning of Civil War