Chapter 31/Section 1

1. Chapter 31/Section 1 The Emergence of Modern China

2. China’s Beginnings • The Emergence of Modern China • China has been rooted in agriculture since its beginnings. • Began along the Huang He River in northern China around 3000 B.C. • Confucianism guided emperors who considered themselves the fathers of the people. • Their main responsibilities were to see to the people’s needs and rule by setting an example of fairness.

3. Technology, both military and civilian was looked down upon, due to the use of mass population in both areas. • Mid 1800’s, the lack of military technology allowed western powers to influence China. • United States and other European powers. • These powers upset internal trade network of China. • Rebellions broke out across the country and a period of turmoil follows.

4. The March to Communism • By 1900 China had been separated into spheres of influence. • Areas in which foreign powers had some political and economic control. • To change this, the people of China advocated three ways of doing so: • One train of thought was to drop Chinese culture and adopt Western ways altogether. • A second choice was to reject the West entirely. • The last choice was to adopt certain Western ideals, such as technology to preserve tradition and culture.

5. March to Communism (Continued) • In 1911, after a series of revolts, a new party called the Nationalists party forced the emperor of China to abdicate. • The Nationalists declare China a republic with Sun Yat-sen as their first President. • Sun Yat-sen had been educated in the US. He wished to adopt Western democratic practices.

6. Struggle for Power • During the 1920’s, Sun Yat-sen dies and a new leader named Chaing Kai-shek comes to power. • Fighting breaks out between the Nationalists and local warlords. • Chaing is a trained soldier, and forms a disciplined Nationalist army. He defeats warlord after warlord. • After finally controlling most of the country, he establishes himself as president of the Republic of China.

7. The Long March • In the late 20’s the Nationalist party began to fracture. Some had started to adopt Communist beliefs. • Those who adopted Communism believed that Communism would solve the foreign intervention in China by a worker’s revolution. • Chaing Kai-shek ordered those who believed in Communism to be shot. • Those who survived the purge built a stronghold in Jiangxi, which was attacked in 1933 by Kai-shek. • This forced the Communists on a 6,000 mile trek called the Long March.

8. The Long March (Continued) • Disease, hunger, and constant attacks by the Nationalists took their toll. • Of the 100,000 that had started out on the march, only 8,000 safely made the trip to Shaanxi. • There, the Communists safely established a new headquarters under the leadership of Mao Zedong.

9. Communists Take Over • The Japanese invasion during World War II forced both the Communists and the Nationalists to join forces and defeat the invaders. • After the war ends, the sides continue fighting in the Chinese Civil War. • During the war, Mao established many reforms which aimed at influencing the peasants of China to join the Communist cause. • The Nationalists were defeated in 1949, and Chaing Kai-shek flees the mainland to Taiwan. • Mao and his Communists establish the People’s Republic of China.

10. A Communist Nation • After both World War II and the Chinese Civil War, much of China laid in ruins. • Mao still invoked more reforms to increase agriculture. • Mao believed that replacing private ownership with collective farms coupled with modern technology would multiply the agricultural output. • By 1956, 110 million families (82% of peasants) worked on collective farms.