The Boxer Rebellion caused nationalism in China. Reformers wanted individual rights, an end to the Qing dynasty, and a strong, free China.Sun Yat-sen was the western educated leader of the Nationalist movement, or Guomindang. Sun’s “Three Principles” rallied the Chinese.

Sun Yat-sen

1. Nationalism – no spheres of influence

2. Democracy – a constitution with no dynasty

3. Livelihood – land redistribution

In 1911 the nationalists overthrew the 2,000 year old monarchy, and Sun Yat-sen was named president of the new Chinese Republic.

Chiang Kai-shek took over the Guomindang after the death of Sun Yat-sen. Chiang’s corrupt dictatorial government did not raise the peasants’ standard of living.

ChiangKai-shek

Thousands of frustrated peasants and urban workers joined the Chinese Communist Party and unsuccessfully tried to overthrow Chiang.

After their defeat, Chiang hunted and slaughtered communists throughout China.

ChiangKai-shek

Mao Zedong emerged as the leader of the Communists in the 1930s. Along with 100,000 of his followers, Mao fled Chiang’s Guomindang forces in 1934 in a retreat known as the Long March.

The Long March covered 6,000 miles, with an average of 16 miles per day. Many communists died from the cold, starvation, or the Guomindang. By 1935 Mao was left with merely 20,000 survivors, which was twenty percent of his original force.

Long March

Long March

In the years that followed, the communists, the Guomindang, and the Japanese invaders battled for control of China. After World War II the civil war resumed.

Finally in 1949 Mao’s forces were victorious, and Chiang’s Guomindang fled to Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was proclaimed by Mao, which added one-fourth of the world’s population to the communist sphere.

Mao’s communists won the civil war for several reasons:• Support from peasants who were promised land• Support from women who were promised equality

• Chiang and the Guomindang were corrupt

• Guerilla warfare and weapons from the USSR

Mao’s communists won the civil war for several reasons: