The Emergence of Modern China

1. The Emergence of Modern China Geography 9B

2. What is Communism? • Don’t forget to answer number 1 on your worksheet, “What is communism?” using the answer from your spark

3. The Nationalist People’s Party • Emerged in China in the early 1900s • They were influenced by Western ideas but did not like foreign powers in China • Forced China’s emperor to abdicate (or give up) his throne in 1911 • Declared China a republic • Sun Yat-sen (soon yahtsen) was chosen as the country’s first president

4. Sun Yat-sen

5. The Nationalist People’s Party • It had been easier for them to take control than it was to keep it • The former army fought against the Nationalists • Meanwhile local warlords took power in their own areas • Warlords are regional leaders with their own armies

6. Zhang Zoulin, Chinese Warlord, 1927

7. The Nationalist People’s Party • When Sun died, Chiang Kai-shek (chyahngkyshek) took control of the party • He was a soldier, and quickly trained the Nationalist troops • Within two years Chiang defeated one warlord after another and took control over much of China • He became president by 1928

8. Chiang Kai-shek

9. The Long March • In the 1920’s the Nationalist party began to split, as some members became fans of Karl Marx’s idea of communism • They thought this would bring prosperity to China • The Communists wanted to give power to the workers and give land to the peasants • Chiang Kai-shek did not agree and in 1927 he ordered all Communists be killed

10. The Long March • The Communists that survived were forced to flee to the south China province of Jianxi (jyahngshee) • They built a stronghold here and their numbers grew • In 1933 Chiang sent a huge army to hunt and destroy the communists • He was scared they would try to challenge him and the government in the future

11. The Long March • They fought for months, and the Nationalists began to win • In 1934 the Communists left Jiangxi and started “The Long March” a journey to northern China that lasted a year • They crossed 18 mountain ranges, more than 20 rivers • March was 6,000 miles total

12. The Long March

13. The Long March • 100,000 people left on The Long March, but only 8,000 survived • They faced hunger, disease, and attacks by Nationalist troops • Their goal was safety in one of China’s northern provinces • They set up a new headquarters in a city called Yan’an (yahnahn) underMao Zedong’s (mow zhuhdoong) leadership

14. The Long March

15. The Second Sino-Japanese War • In the early 1930’s the Japanese invaded China • They took advantage of the Chinese fighting amongst themselves • They invaded the province of Manchuria and tried to take over other parts of China • The Nationalists and Communists united to fight their common enemy

16. The Second Sino-Japanese War

17. Communists Take Over • The war ended in 1945 and the two parties began to fight once more • During the war the Communists had made powerful reforms in areas of their control • This included lowering rent for the peasants • Many peasants then joined the Communists and by 1949 the Nationalists were defeated

18. Communists Take Over • Chiang Kai-shek was forced to flee to the island of Taiwan for safety • He vowed to someday reconquer China • On Oct. 1, 1949 Mao Zedong declared the establishment of a new Communist state: the People’s Republic of China

19. Mao Zedong