CAUSES OF THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR
Background and long-term causes
Background: economic problems in China and European influence
In 1900, China was ruled by Qing (Manchu) Dynasty. Most of the population were peasants, extremely poor, and often had difficulties feeding their own families. They earned a living by farming, although they often faced high tax rates. Although China had extremely large areas of land, their population increased very fast. For example, the Chinese population grew by 8% in the second half of 19th century and while useable only grew by 1%.There was also high unemployment as new technology and cheap Western imports entered China.
There was also a growing Western imperialist influence in China. Britain defeated the Chinese in the Opium Wars during the mid-19th century and the Chinese Empire was carved up into spheres of influence by the Europeans, Americans and Japanese (end of 19th century). They were forced to sign unequal treaties where the foreigners took control of Chinese trade, territory and ultimately sovereignty- they refused to obey Chinese laws. They also trying to spread Christianity into China.
The Fall of Manchu (Qing) Dynasty
External factors
As a result of creeping foreign influence, China was made to look weak and there were increasing calls for modernization in order to keep pace with Western powers. China began to lose power over its peripheral regions. France seized Southeast Asia, creating its colony of French Indochina. Japan stripped away Taiwan and took effective control of Korea (formally a Chinese tributary). By 1900, foreign powers including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan had established "sphere of influence" along China's coast, where they controlled trades and military.
Internal Factors
Boxer Rebellion
In 1900, China was ruled by Qing (Manchu) Dynasty. Most of the population were peasants, extremely poor, and often had difficulties feeding their own families. They earned a living by farming, although they often faced high tax rates. Although China had extremely large areas of land, their population increased very fast. For example, the Chinese population grew by 8% in the second half of 19th century and while useable only grew by 1%.There was also high unemployment as new technology and cheap Western imports entered China.
There was also a growing Western imperialist influence in China. Britain defeated the Chinese in the Opium Wars during the mid-19th century and the Chinese Empire was carved up into spheres of influence by the Europeans, Americans and Japanese (end of 19th century). They were forced to sign unequal treaties where the foreigners took control of Chinese trade, territory and ultimately sovereignty- they refused to obey Chinese laws. They also trying to spread Christianity into China.
The Fall of Manchu (Qing) Dynasty
External factors
As a result of creeping foreign influence, China was made to look weak and there were increasing calls for modernization in order to keep pace with Western powers. China began to lose power over its peripheral regions. France seized Southeast Asia, creating its colony of French Indochina. Japan stripped away Taiwan and took effective control of Korea (formally a Chinese tributary). By 1900, foreign powers including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan had established "sphere of influence" along China's coast, where they controlled trades and military.
Internal Factors
Boxer Rebellion
This was a violent anti-foreigner movement that happened between 1899 and 1901. It was led and encouraged by Empress Dowager Cixi (Above- regent to Zaitian or the Emperor Guangxu), who was opposed to Western imperialism and Christianity. Westerners were attacked by 'Boxers'- nationalistic young men trained in martial arts and imbued with Buddhist or Taoist beliefs. Sensing that this was a Qing effort to rally against Western influence, an Eight-Nation Alliance consisting of the United Kingdom, Russia, United States, France, Italy, Austria Hungary, Japan and Germany set sail for China and were successful in ending the rebellion. However, both Britain and the USA were committed to maintaining the 'Open Door' policy with China and recognized that the best way to maintain order and negotiate over issues in China was to work through the Qing dynasty. However, the Qing dynasty was weakened by the rebellion and tensions between the royalist (pro-Qing) and anti-Western north and anti-Qing revolutionary south were exacerbated.
1911 Revolution
After Dowager Cixi died in 1908, she was replaced by the infant Puyi (who ruled with a regent and later became the Kangde Emperor, a puppet ruler for the Japanese in Manchukuo). Facing increasing economic pressures, made worse by Western influence, and increasing demands for reforms, the Qing dynasty collapsed and entered a brief period civil unrest.
The rule of Yuan Shikai
This brief period of civil unrest was ended following a compromise between two leading members of the anti-Qing movement, Yuan Shikai and Sun Yatsen. Yuan Shikai was a Chinese general and politician. He was famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty (he had helped the Western forces end the Boxer Rebellion). He was the first President of the Republic of China and ruled from 1912 - 1915. In the meanwhile, Sun Yat-Sen formed a party called Guomindang (GMD) in 1912 and declared itself a parliamentary party.
GMD and the Three Principles:
Sun Yat-Sen (Left) agreed to Yuan Shikai's rule in order to avert the possibility of China descending into civil war. However, Sun tried to undermine Yuan's power by moving him from his power base in Beijing to the south in Nanjing to set up a new government. Yuan refused to leave. A 'second revolution' failed and Sun fled to Japan in 1913. On the other hand, Yuan started to damage his reputation by abolishing the regional assemblies in an attempt to centralize power. This act further alienated the provincial powers, especially as tax revenues were centrally controlled. Yuan's final miscalculation was to proclaim himself Emperor in 1916, losing the support of the military and forcing him to step down. He died three months later from uremia (kidney failure).
Short-term Causes
The May Fourth Movement
This began in 1919 when students led a mass demonstration in Beijing against the warlords, traditional Chinese culture and the Japanese. The Japanese had just been granted German territorial possessions in China, the country was still in a state of civil war and was controlled by regional warlords (it had been since the abdication of Yuan Shikai in 1915) and China still lagged behind Western industrial nations and Japan. The May Fourth movement awakened Chinese nationalism and galvanized the GMD and CCP (Chinese Communist Party).
(First) United Front
On the insistence of the Soviet Union, the GMD and CCP combined to form the United Front in order to unite Warlord China. They successfully did this in 1926 with the Northern Expedition (by this stage Jiang Jieshi was the leader of the GMD- Sun Yatsen had died in 1925). However, it did not take long until fundamental differences in ideology resurfaced.
After Dowager Cixi died in 1908, she was replaced by the infant Puyi (who ruled with a regent and later became the Kangde Emperor, a puppet ruler for the Japanese in Manchukuo). Facing increasing economic pressures, made worse by Western influence, and increasing demands for reforms, the Qing dynasty collapsed and entered a brief period civil unrest.
The rule of Yuan Shikai
This brief period of civil unrest was ended following a compromise between two leading members of the anti-Qing movement, Yuan Shikai and Sun Yatsen. Yuan Shikai was a Chinese general and politician. He was famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty (he had helped the Western forces end the Boxer Rebellion). He was the first President of the Republic of China and ruled from 1912 - 1915. In the meanwhile, Sun Yat-Sen formed a party called Guomindang (GMD) in 1912 and declared itself a parliamentary party.
GMD and the Three Principles:
- Nationalism / Minzu - to rid China of foreign influence, unite China and to regain its international respect
- Democracy / Minquan - people should be educated so that they could ultimately rule themselves democratically
- People's Livelihood / Minsheng - this was essentially 'land reform,' the redistribution of land to the peasants and economic development
Sun Yat-Sen (Left) agreed to Yuan Shikai's rule in order to avert the possibility of China descending into civil war. However, Sun tried to undermine Yuan's power by moving him from his power base in Beijing to the south in Nanjing to set up a new government. Yuan refused to leave. A 'second revolution' failed and Sun fled to Japan in 1913. On the other hand, Yuan started to damage his reputation by abolishing the regional assemblies in an attempt to centralize power. This act further alienated the provincial powers, especially as tax revenues were centrally controlled. Yuan's final miscalculation was to proclaim himself Emperor in 1916, losing the support of the military and forcing him to step down. He died three months later from uremia (kidney failure).
Short-term Causes
The May Fourth Movement
This began in 1919 when students led a mass demonstration in Beijing against the warlords, traditional Chinese culture and the Japanese. The Japanese had just been granted German territorial possessions in China, the country was still in a state of civil war and was controlled by regional warlords (it had been since the abdication of Yuan Shikai in 1915) and China still lagged behind Western industrial nations and Japan. The May Fourth movement awakened Chinese nationalism and galvanized the GMD and CCP (Chinese Communist Party).
(First) United Front
On the insistence of the Soviet Union, the GMD and CCP combined to form the United Front in order to unite Warlord China. They successfully did this in 1926 with the Northern Expedition (by this stage Jiang Jieshi was the leader of the GMD- Sun Yatsen had died in 1925). However, it did not take long until fundamental differences in ideology resurfaced.
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