Topic+A-25+Analyze+the+civil+war+between+the+Nationalists+and+the+Communists+in+China+and+how+China+was+split+into+two+nations

=Chinese Civil War= It all began with a revolution in 1911 which ended the Qing Dynasty after nearly 2,000 years. As many competed for power, two sets of ideology came to the forefront, the nationalists and communists. These two warring sides would change the way China was perceived by those both inside and outside. Mao Zedong’s communist ideals and the nationalist’s desire to defeat the communists resulted in a bloody civil war. This civil war would ultimately result in a communist China and the flight of the nationalists to Taiwan. toc

1. The Communists vs. Nationalists in China's Civil War
China had failed to modernize by the 1800’s. It was being imperialized by other countries, and foreign customs and religions threatened many Chinese people. The people blamed the Qing emperors for the country’s bad luck. The last Qing emperor was removed from the throne in 1912 after a revolution. China then became a republic, and Sun Yat-sen became its first president. A retired military official named Yuan Shikai took over the position of president after only two months of Sun Yat-sen ruling. When Yuan passed away in 1916, China was in chaos. The government could not control the country, and China found itself in the hands of Warlords. Turmoil and political change were introduced to China in the 1920’s. Jiang Jieshi became the leader of the Nationalist party after Sun Yat-sen died in 1925. The Communists wanted to put the workers in charge. At the beginning, Communists and Nationalists joined together to beat the Warlords. Suddenly, Jiang turned against the Communists and executed many of them. The ones who lived moved to Shaanxi Province. This became known as the “Long March.” Seventy thousand Communists died from starvation, sicknesses, and combat. In 1931, Manchuria was invaded by Japan. Jiang wanted to get rid of all the Communists before fighting Japan, and the Japanese quickly took over Manchuria. The Manchurian forces kidnapped Jiang in 1936. They let him go when he said that he would stop the civil war and team up with the Communists to stop Japan. In 1937, the Japanese invaded China, and abused the Chinese. One hundred thousand Chinese died in Nanjing alone. Japan controlled most of Eastern China by 1938. To view a larger image of this map, please visit: http://users.erols.com/ mwhite28/chin-cw2.htm

World War II In China
Germany attacked Poland in 1939, which started World War II. Shortly after, in 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The war required Japanese troops to fight the United States, so they had to take troops out of China. Fighting still continued though. The Chinese people started liking the Nationalist government less and less. The Communists appealed more to the people than the Nationalists did. As the war dragged on, the Communists gained control of big areas of northern China.

**1.1 Who Was Mao Zedong?**
Mao Zedong was born in 1893. He was born at a time where China was weakened by overpopulation and economic decline. Mao’s dad had been a poor peasant, but by the time Mao was born, his family was well off. Unlike many people in China at this time, they had enough food and clothing. As a child, Mao had an intense manner. His dad ruled the family by being very strict, and he was cruel to family members. As an adult, Mao had an unusual sensitivity to women’s problems. Mao and his mom had to stick together to be safe from his father. This is probably where he developed the sensitivity to women’s problems. When he was five years old, he was put to work in the fields. He didn’t go to school until he was seven, and he loved reading stories of rebels and heroes. If China had been a stable country, he probably would have been a scholar. When he was old, he said that he wanted to be remembered as a teacher most of all. During Mao’s childhood, China was falling apart. Conflict was caused because of a clash between the modernizing West and the traditional Chinese system. Mao served in the Republican ranks, but he did not fight. A group of military men ruled China in 1916. They were called “Warlords.” Some of these men were fair and just, but other abused peasants. In 1920, Mao married a girl named Yang K’ai-hui, and she later gave birth to a son. Later in his life, he would become China’s greatest revolutionary leader. To see a larger image of this picture, check out: http://www.nhorizon.net/ history-eras-1350-now.html

**1.2 Who Was Jiang Jieshi?**


 Jiang Jieshi headed China’s first modern government after 1928. He also led China against Japan in World War II. His family lived in Penghua County, and they were gentries. To prepare for a military career, he studied at military academies in China and Japan. Jiang eventually joined Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary society, which would later be called the Nationalist Party. Jiang became the Nationalist army’s chief of staff and the commandant of its military academy. This military academy would later be called the Central Military Academy. Jiang started the Northern Expedition, and it unified China and made its capital Nanjing. He led the Nationalist government and its army, and he also made many reforms. At this time, Japan was trying to imperialize China before China could modernize. This led to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937. The result was a Sino-Japanese War which lasted for eight years. It also became part of World War II in 1941. The War killed China’s economy and the mood of the Nationalists. Mao won the civil war that was being fought in China and founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. At this, Jiang’s defeated followers fled to Taiwan. In 1948, Jiang was elected president of the Republic of China. He served until he died in 1975. To see a larger image of this picture, please click on the following link: []

Question 3: After World War II ended, the Nationalists and Communists resumed Civil War.

2. Civil War Resumes
The Chinese Civil War was a war between the Communists, led by Mao Zedong, and the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jisehsi). The Communists wanted to take the power away from the upper wealthier classes, such as the landlords, and give that power to the people. They also wanted national liberation. The Nationalists solely desired to defeat the Communists and spread their influence. After China became a republic Sun Yat-sen became its new president. But, he was forced to give up his power to Yuan Shikai, a powerful military leader, who died in 1916. After Shikai’s death China came under control of the warlords. The Nationalist and Communists worked together to defeat the warlords and succeeded. This Civil War began in 1927, when the Nationalists turned against the Communists. But because the Japanese invaded China in 1937 the feuding sides made an uneasy truce to suspend the civil war and worked together to defeat the Japanese. Then as World War II came around in 1939, the Japanese were forced to pull many troops from China in order to focus their troops on fighting the United States, Wake Island and Guam. The Chinese continued to fight the Japanese until the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan in 1945. This forced the Japanese to withdraw their troops and surrender. Then the civil war continued from 1946 to 1949. In 1949 the Communists defeated the Nationalists through many of their war campaigns, like the Huaihai Campaign. This forced the Nationalists and Chiang Kai-shek to flee to Taiwan. In the end the Communists set up the People’s Republic of China in October of 1949, with Mao Zedong as the head chairman of the Communist Party. The Communists overtook China and its major cities.

**2.1 Economic problems cause Nationalist soldiers to desert to the Communists**
Both the Communists and the Nationalists had help and support from other countries. The Nationalists had the help of the United States. In fact the United States provided nearly $2 billion in support. The Communists had the support of the Soviet Union. Although the Nationalists had more support and a greater number of soldiers in their army, called the Nationalist Army, they had a lack of support from the people. The Nationalists often treated the peasants poorly and took what they needed from them. By the end of World War II, many Chinese suffered so greatly that they turned toward the Communists. The Nationalist government, by the 1940’s, had become corrupt, unfair and dishonest. In addition, many soldiers deserted the Nationalist Army to join the Communists once China’s economy began to collapse. The Communists, had less man power in their army, called the Red Army or the People’s Liberation Army, than the Nationalists and fewer arms, but they had the support of the people. The Communist Party promised the peasants land reforms. This appealed to the peasants, who made up about 80% of China’s population. Therefore the Communists had a more broad popular support. The Communists also had gained large territories in northern China.

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**2.2 What did Mao's troops take over in China?**
 Between 1946 and 1949 Mao and his troops captured many major cities in China from the Nationalists through various war campaigns. The first campaign was the Liaoshen Campaign, which lasted from September 12, 1948 and ended  on November 2, 1948. The second campaign, known as the Peking-Tianjin Campaign helped the Communists gain many major cities. This campaign lasted from November 29, 1948 to January 31, 1949. Next came the Huaihai Campaign, which lasted from 1948 to 1949. In the end these campaigns helped the Communists gain a lot of territory and major cities in China.

 **The Peking-Tiajin Campaign**  The Peking-Tianjin Campaign was the second out of three war campaigns launched by the Communists throughout 1946 and 1949. The campaign began on November 29, 1948 and took place in Manchuria. This is the day that the PLA attacked the city of Zhangjiakou. In order to protect the city from the Communists the Nationalists sent their 35th army to Zhangjiakou as reinforcements. Then, not long afterwards, the PLA threatened to attack the city of Beiping. Being caught by surprise, three Nationalist armies were sent to defend the city and the 35th army was ordered to return to Beiping. On their way to Beiping the 35th army was intercepted by the PLA in the city of Xinbaoan. By this time the PLA had also cut off all connections between the cities of Peking and Tianjian and had encircled those areas. These encirclements trapped retreating Nationalist troops. In a desperate attempt to free the surrounded 35th army, Nationalist troops from the west made their way to Xinbaoan. On their way to free the 35th army they themselves were surrounded. In these two surroundings the 16th army, several divisions from the 104th army and the 35th army were completely wiped out. Next the Xinbaoan Campaign was launched and a day after the campaign’s launch the PLA had captured the city of Xinbaoan. January 2, 1949 was the start of the Tianjin Campaign. Then on January 14 the final attack was launched and the Nationalist’s 62nd and 86th armies if 10 divisions made up of 130,000 men were destroyed. The PLA captured the city of Tianjin. Under tremendous pressure the leader of the Nationalists troops guarding Beiping, Fu Zuoyi, decided to peacefully negociate with the PLA. On January 31, 1949 the Communists overtook Beiping. Later Beiping was renamed Beijing and became the capital of the Communist’s People's Republic of China.

 For a video clip from the Assembly, go to youtube.com and search "the Assembly part 1 Chinese". This video is the 3rd video down.

 For more information on Mao Zedong’s war campaigns visit:  __ [|http://history.cultural-china.com/en/34History7658.html] __

**2.3 In 1949, People's Republic of China created; Nationalists went to Taiwan** In a speech given by Mao Zedong on September 21, 1949 he celebrates the victory of the Chinese people over the Nationalists. He also blames bad government and forgein imperialism for China's weakness:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">The Chinese have always been a great, courageous and industrious nation; it is only in modern times that they have fallen behind. And that was due entirely to oppression and exploitation by forgien... and domestic... governments. For over a century our forefathers never stopped waging unyielding struggles... including the Revolution of 1911 led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, our great forerunner in the Chinese revolution... and now we are proclaiming the founding of the People's republic of China. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> The People’s Republic of China was the communist form of government formed by the Chinese Communists after they won the Chinese Civil War against the Nationalists. On October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong addressed the Chinese people in Tianamen Square in Beijing. He announced the formation of the People’s Republic of China; Beijing would be its capital. Zhou Enlai headed the government from 1898 to 1976 and Mao was the chairman of the Communist Party. Meanwhile, after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek and nearly 2 million Nationalist followers fled to the island of Taiwan (called Formosa then). This island was 90 miles off the coast of China. Here Chiang created his own government and society. Chiang helped Taiwan move forward economically. He also murdered many native inhabitants and populated the island with Nationalists. In 1950 Mao Zedong began to make land reforms. He wanted to shift the power from the landlords to the peasants, and eliminate the landlords once and for all. For many centuries the peasants had been abused and exploited by their landlords, whose property they farmed and lived on. Landlords also imposed high rents on the peasants. So, officials forced landlords to attend local village meetings. Here the peasants listed the abuses of their landlords. The landlord’s land was taken and distributed amongst the peasants by December of 1952. Many of the landlords were furious. Many landlords were killed or beaten too. Then by 1953 Mao launched a five- year plan, similar to Stalin’s five-year plan. This was an economic plan meant to economically develop and industrialize China. “What can we make at present? We can make tables and chairs, teacups and teapots, we can grow grain and grind it into flour, and we can make paper. But we can’t make a single motor car, plane, tank, or tractor.” (70)Mao hoped to increase the production of steel, electric power, iron and machinery through this plan. The Soviet Union even helped China by sending money and advisors to help develop heavy industry. In return China gave the Soviet Union some of its grain. Then Mao decided to develop China agriculturally. He encouraged peasants to create collective farms. By doing this he hoped to produce more crops.

**3. The Two Chinas Affect the Cold War: The Superpowers React** From World War II through 1990 was a time of tension and diplomacy. The United States and the Soviet Union were sticking their noses into each others and everyone else in the world's affairs. Naturally, politically unstable, mammoth China came under the radar. When civil war broke out, the Americans and Soviets rushed to support either side. This was a common occurrence in Cold War times; whenever two sides fought, America and the Soviet Union were sure to be pulling strings on opposite sides. The Soviet Union backed the newly created communist China while America extended its war against communism ("The Cold War").

**3.1 U.S. supports Nationalist state in Taiwan, called Republic of China** <range type="comment" id="992873">After the nationalists were defeated in 1949, they fled to Taiwan. Although they were weak, defeated, and had little support of their own people, the nationalists still recognized themselves as the legitimate <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">government over China. The United States supported Jiang Jieshi and his followers; reaffirming their belief that they were the legitimate government of the country. From Taiwan, the nationalists plotted a return to the mainland. This Republic of China was separate from the People's Republic of China, established by Mao Zedong and his followers on the mainland. The United States support for them remained until the Soviet support of the mainland was gone and until the United States recognized the communist government as the official government of China. Support included movement of forces to the Formosa strait in order to intimidate the communists and also war efforts against their enemies, the communists, in the Vietnam War ("The Cold War").

**3.2 Soviets and China agree to help each other in the event of an attack**
China and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of friendship which guaranteed that the Soviet Union would supply China with military aid if the need arose and vice-versa. Additionally, the Soviet Union would supply them with technology needed to begin industrialization. This alliance did not last for an extended period of time because of several rifts between the two, partly derived from errors on the two sides in following the treaties. the Soviet Union refused to share how to build a nuclear bomb with China, the two disagreed with each other on how the Korean War was handled, and Mao Zedong held different communist principles than that of the Soviet Union. Overall, the treaty of friendship's only profound impact was deceiving the United States into believing that China and the Soviet Union were united on a quest to conquer the world spreading communism ("The Cold War").

**3.3 U.S. tries to stop Soviet expansion and spread of influence in Asia**
Two brush wars were fought because of the United States attempt to cease the spread of communism and the Soviet sphere of influence in Asia. The Korean and Vietnam War were both anti-communism measures. Soviet backed invasions were countered by American armed defenses. For the most part, America was successful in stopping the Soviets. This due largely to the breaking off of the alliance between the Soviet Union and China, a major and potentially dangerous ally. However, Red China started their own conquest of Asia, but in the eyes of the United States who experienced extreme communist hysteria anything was okay as long as the Soviets weren't behind it ("The Cold War").

4. China Expands under the Communists
In 1949 when the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, the Communists were left in power. The Communists aim to expand China.

**4.1 China takes control of Tibet and southern Mongolia**
In 1950, the Communists’ first step to expanding China was to take over Tibet and Mongolia. The Communists became allies with the Soviet Union and Mongolia, and Mao Zedong was certain that after the war, Mongolia would join China. China asked the Soviet Union to give Mongolia back, but the Soviets rejected. China then decided to appeal to Mongolia as an independent country. However, their attempts failed and they turned to Tibet while keeping up relations with Mongolia. They promise that Tibet will gain freedom, but instead of giving Tibetans freedom, they tighten control, resulting in tension between China and Tibet.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> For more about Mongolia and China's relations: @http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=EME098&SingleRecord=True

**4.2 India welcomes Tibetan refugees fleeing revolt against Chinese**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Dalai Lama, religious leader of Tibet, had a hard time trying to stop Communist control and suppress <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Tibetan hatred towards China. He failed to chase the Communists out of Tibet and Tibetans attempted to revolt against Communists rule around 1959, but the revolt was unsuccessful. As a result, Tibetan refugees flee to India. Around this time, the Communists sent the Dalai Lama an invitation to a theatrical show in China, but ordered him not to bring any soldiers, and that his bodyguards had to be unarmed. Tibetans fear for the Dalai Lama's life, and the Dalai Lama escaped to India.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">For more information and pictures of the Dalai Lama, see this website: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> []

**4.3 China and India clash over the border; fighting stops but resentment remains**
India welcomes the Tibetan refugees and the Dalai Lama. Because of India’s hospitality towards Tibetan refugees and attempt to thwart the Communists' plans, hatred between China and India grows. The resentment peaks around 1962 and China briefly fights against India over a vague border between the two countries. They fight over Kashmir, an area between Burma and Bhutan. Even when the fighting is over, the hatred between India and China still remains.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> For more info, visit: @http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=china02139&SingleRecord=True

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> picture from: []

5. Communists Claim a New "Mandate of Heaven"
With the Civil War, fight against Japan, and quarrel with India, China was not very stable. The Communists tried to restore peace and stability to the large country. They were a large group, with almost 4.5 million members, but they were organized. They ruled claiming the Mandate of Heaven, which is the belief that a leader's right to rule comes from heaven, much like France's belief of Divine Right. In China, they called it tianming, and a leader was said to have the Mandate of heaven if his country had peace and harmony.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"> For more about the Mandate of Heaven, see the book: __Mandate of Heaven: the Legacy of Tiananmen Square and the next generation of China's Leaders__ by Orville Schell.

**5.1 Chinese Communists organize national government and the Communist Party** The large group of Communists split into two groups, the national government and the Communist party with help from the Soviet Union. Both parties were lead by Mao Zedong. The people of China were tired of constant fighting when the Communist government took control.

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