TOPIC 3
Revolutions and turmoil: social and political upheavals since c.1500
CHINA
Part 1: up to the 1911 Revolution
Death of Sun
Sun Yatsen’s
Yatsen - Chiang
1911 Revolution Kaishek takes over
War Lord
Guomindang
Period
Period
Before
1900
1911
Mao’s
Communist
Revolution
1925
Manchu Rule
Period of the Republic
1908
1916
Death of Tzu Hsi
Death of
Yuan Shihkai
After
2000
1949
1931 1934 1936
Communist Rule
1945 1949
Long March
Civil War
Period of Japanese
invasion
1989
After
2000
Tienamen square
Massacre
There were two revolutions in China in the 20th century. The first occurred in 1911, removing the
Dynastic rule that had existed over 3000 years to set up a republic. The second occurred in 1949,
removing the Republic and establishing a Communist system of government. This has endured
until the present day. The two revolutions will be treated separately here.
Society and government leading up to the 1911 Revolution
From the 11th century BC up until 1911, China was ruled by dynasties, overseen by an Emperor. The Chinese
believed that the Heavenly forces put emperors on the throne and gave them the authority to rule. If emperors
ruled badly and were overthrown, they were said to have lost the Mandate of Heaven. The last dynasty came to
power in 1611. It originated in Manchuria and hence was known as the Manchu Dynasty. On coming to the throne,
in an effort to be seen as Chinese, the dynasty took the Chinese name of Ch’ing and vehemently resisted any forces
for change. The Empress Dowager, Tzu Hsi, was one of the most notable rulers. A daughter of a Manchu official,
she entered the harem of the Emperor and bore him a son. When the Emperor died, she ruled with her son as a
regent from 1862 (a person who rules on behalf of another until he/she becomes old enough). Tzu Hsi clung onto
power until 1908 when she died, whereupon a boy, Pu Yi, succeeded her. Her rule was absolute. Palace eunuchs
and leading scholar officials gave her guidance in making decisions.
Confucianism, a philosophy that stretches back 2000 years, dominated Chinese life. This ethical system
imposed a strict behavioural code of reciprocity, uprightness and morality amongst its followers. Over time, a large
body of literature was created to support its beliefs. A person who wished to climb up the rankings in Chinese
society to become a scholar official (the Chinese bureaucracy) had to become learned in Confucian ideas and
pass a series of examinations, first at the local level, then the provincial level and finally at the national capital.
This series of examinations created a strict adherence to past traditions within Chinese society, because the aim
of Confucianism was to look back to a Golden Age when the Middle Kingdom (as China was known) was supreme
to all those around it. The Chinese saw visiting Westerners as barbarians to be resisted by traditional means.
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MODERN HISTORY
SACE 2 ESSENTIALS MODERN HISTORY WORKBOOK
Confucian society can be viewed as follows:
scholar officials
peasants
artisans
merchants
other (army, slaves)
•
•
•
•
•
Scholar officials = men of learning = government officials. Apart from administering government across the
country, they were responsible for enriching the country’s arts and education.
Peasants = producers of food. These comprised the bulk of the population. Some peasants were well off,
but most scratched a precarious living on land that had to be redivided amongst children after the death
of the father. Some peasants had no land at all and worked as tenant farmers. They were subject to harsh
taxes levied by government officials and greedy landlords. Many were indebted to moneylenders, who were
wealthy merchants. Once indebted, few managed to escape.
Artisans = producers of goods. These people lived in cities and towns and worked in their houses making
goods (cloth, kitchen utensils, etc.) necessary for daily living.
Merchants = bought and sold goods made by others. Although despised by scholar officials because they did
not make goods, they were admired in the cities as successful businessmen.
Others (outside the Confucian hierarchy) = soldiers, members of Buddhist and Taoist priesthoods,
servants, prostitutes, bandits, etc.
Within and between each stratum, there was a code of mutual respect. The scholar officials administered to
the well-being of the other groups and other groups supported the scholar officials. Family groups existed within
each stratum. The father looked after the other members of the family and the other members respected and
obeyed the father. The father’s relationship to his wife was the same as the relationship to his children, which was
the same as that of the older son to the younger sons, sons to daughters, etc.
The West’s influence eventually made several Chinese realise that Ch’ing society was inefficient and
needed modernising.
When the Westerners arrived, the Chinese regarded them as barbarians and required them to show respect to the
Emperor if they wished to trade. Westerners were first confined to Hong Kong and neighbouring Canton, but their
influence grew and, in the 19th century, became pernicious, particularly when they introduced opium into
Chinese society.
In the 19th century, the Ch’ing dynasty was suffering decay. The British defeated the Ch’ing in two opium
wars and, by a series of unequal treaties, forced China to open up to Western influence. The T’ai P’ing Rebellion,
though defeated, led traditionalists to believe that the regime was losing its Mandate of Heaven. During this time,
China became open to foreign control through various spheres of influence – British, French and so on.
Americans enjoyed an open-door policy. Traders and missionaries began to move freely throughout society,
subject to the laws of extraterritoriality (i.e. they were not accountable to Chinese law but their own nationalities’
laws).
The importing of goods undermined the previous existence of the peasants, artisans and merchants.
Traditional handicrafts could not compete with Western goods.
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TOPIC 3
Revolutions and turmoil: social and political upheavals since c.1500
During this time, China began to see the need for reform and initiated the Self-Strengthening Movement,
which involved sending scholars abroad and undertaking reforms in the army and navy. Such initiatives were
later stopped. These initiatives proved insufficient; China was defeated in its war with Japan (1893-1895).
Finally, the Boxer Rebellion occurred in 1900. With the knowledge of the Empress Dowager, a powerful secret
society – the Righteous Society of the Harmonious Fists – besieged the foreigners’ legations. The Rebellion
was routed, thoroughly discrediting the Manchus.
After the Boxer Rebellion, the Empress Dowager realised the need for military reforms, sending scholars abroad
again and re-activating military reforms. The Confucian examination system was abolished, military academies
were established, foreign advisers were employed and armaments were purchased abroad. Other reforms
were undertaken. The Chinese set up technical schools and introduced Western studies into schools,
alongside traditional Confusian virtues. Other reforms followed. Promotion in the bureaucracy was decided on
merit and, in 1908, it was announced that a constitutional government would be set up in nine years’ time.
Chinese merchants
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Exercise
To consolidate your understanding of the issue and test your knowledge, summarise the main points in the
spaces below.
1 How was the Chinese dynastic system doomed?
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2 How did Confucianism restrict modernisation?
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3 How was the Empress Dowager corrupt?
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4 How did the West influence China?
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Note: refer to Suggested Answers at back of book to see if you are correct.
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TOPIC 3
Revolutions and turmoil: social and political upheavals since c.1500
CHINA
Part 2: the 1949 Revolution
Main historical points relating to Chinese society and government leading up to the
1949 Revolution
To contextualise the following information, review the points about China’s political and social
system outlined in Issues 2-4 (section on the 1911 Revolution).
In this period, Chinese society was in chaos. The country was disunited. Between 1911 and 1949, several groups
were influential in society and contributed to its problems: the Guomindang, warlords, Communists and
the Japanese.
•
•
•
•
Guomindang (GMD = the Nationlists) – the group considered most influential by the Chinese and the
rest of the world (often referred to as the Kuomintang – KMT). In reality, however, they only controlled the
central and the northern regions of the country, which they later lost when the Japanese overran the country
in World War II. After the defeat of the Japanese in World War II, they waged war with the Communists
from 1946 to 1949. They were defeated and many fled to Taiwan to establish a government in exile.
Warlords – controlled the far north, the west and south. They were generally defiant of central government.
Pockets of warlord resistance remained until the Communist Revolution of 1949.
Communists – having formed in 1921, they worked with the GMD in their efforts to modernise the
country. After the death of Sun Yatsen and the establishment of the dictatorship of Chiang Kiashek
(Jian Jieshi) the September Massacres occurred, which necessitated their flight to Kiangsi (Jiangxi)
Province where they established a commune. Fleeing the Kiangsi Province after being attacked by the GMD,
they undertook the Long March. They fled to the north-west of China where they set up a base. They waged
guerilla campaigns against the Japanese and, in the period 1946-1949, a civil war against the Nationalists,
through which they gradually took over the rest of the country.
The Japanese – held territory in China after World War I. In 1931, they occupied Manchuria in the north of
China and, in the years following (during World War II), took over the eastern part of China.
Working and living conditions in Republican China
Although Confucianism lost its influence in society, the Chinese practised many of its ideals in the home.
Peasants made up 80% of the population. Most of them were desperately poor. When a drought or a
flood occurred, life became unbearable. Peasants starved; some resorted to eating bark from trees. The peasants
desperately needed land reform, as most did not own their land but rented it from landlords at huge rents they
could not afford. They went to local moneylenders, who fixed huge interest rates. On top of this, they had to
pay taxes to the provincial administrative officials and the warlords. Such taxes included a kettle tax, taxes on
grain transport, roof tax and a road maintenance tax.
Chiang tried reforms to help the peasants, with little success. The government placed ceilings on land rentals,
but they were not enforced. It tried to establish peasant banks, but these lacked the capital to be effective.
The government also tried to establish cooperatives to purchase equipment, but met opposition from landowners
and merchants. Establishing agricultural schools, though fine in theory, did not assist the peasants. Many peasants
suspected of being Communist were beaten up and executed by GMD thugs. They suffered further with the
Great Depression of 1930. They were affected by inflation and high interest rates and received low prices
for their produce. It is hence not surprising that the peasants supported the Communists’ program of land
redistribution and extinction of the landowning class.
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When the Japanese took control in World War II, things got worse for the peasants. The Japanese victimised many
and took their food. Some men were tortured and women raped. This culminated in the Rape of Nanking in 1937.
Many peasants picked up their belongings and fled inland, avoiding Japanese control. The Communist guerrilla
campaigns against the Japanese received considerable support from the peasants.
In the cities, workers toiled long hours for low wages in dirty and unsafe working conditions. Trade unions were
set up, but many were forcibly closed down. Workers suspected of having links with the Communist Party were
beaten up. Foreigners owned and ran many of the factories. The GMD offered protection and entitlements to
the foreigners. The workers resented this and held protests. For instance, in 1925 in Shanghai, workers paraded
after a colleague was murdered in a Japanese-owned factory. One parade clashed with British-led police:
100 demonstrators were killed or wounded. A resultant general strike paralysed the city for weeks. When the
Japanese occupied the cities and factories, workers who had not fled the cities were forced into slave labour
to produce goods for the Japanese war machine. Conditions remained poor after the war. Inflation soared.
The war had devastated many factories and those that remained, lacked raw materials and were shut down,
increasing unemployment.
Corruption of the bureaucracy and land-owning classes
Having won control of the country with the removal of many warlords in the Northern Expedition, instead of
reorganising it, many GMD bureaucrats became immensely wealthy by embezzling funds meant for public works.
They obtained prestige jobs through social influence and bribery. Lazy workers staffed the government offices,
producing plans but never implementing them.
The GMD’s closest supporters were the landowners and warlords. It was thus difficult to create reforms without
antagonising these groups. They pocketed much of the money remaining from government military expenditure,
as well as loans from the Americans.
During the war, GMD commanders were incompetent in the field, treating their soldiers poorly. They placed much
of the aid and food supplied by the United States on the black market and pocketed the profits.
Government
From 1911-1945, there was chaos in government. After defeating most of the warlords in China by 1929,
the Guomindang (GMD) came to power. The GMD subscribed to Sun Yatsen’s Three Principles of the People:
•
•
•
Nationalism
Democracy
People’s Livelihood = better living conditions (including land ownership).
However, the GMD did not meet these aims. Firstly, foreigners (initially British, French and Russian, and later
the Japanese) held influence in large areas of the country. Secondly, Sun’s successor, Chiang Kai-shek, set up a
military dictatorship – hence democracy was not achieved. Lastly, the third aim – to redistribute land to the
peasants – was also never met. The government was supported by the landowning class, which stood to lose if
redistribution was carried out. The merchant classes also supported the government. They profited when the
unequal treaties were removed, gaining the freedom to set their own tariffs on imported goods.
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TOPIC 3
Revolutions and turmoil: social and political upheavals since c.1500
The Japanese invasion
The Japanese invasion greatly affected Chinese society. Japan had few natural resources and desperately
needed China’s raw materials to feed its industries and rapidly growing population. Also, the Japanese desired
acquiring the country as a possession.
In 1932, the Japanese invaded Manchuria and then went into China. They carried out their attacks on the
flimsy pretext that Japanese nationals were under threat. Japanese forces quickly spread down the eastern coast,
capturing the cities of Peking, Shanghai and Nanking. The Rape of Nanking features in the annals of history as one
of the worst atrocities committed by one race against another. The Japanese invaders raped, tortured and killed
Chinese people and carried out experiments on some survivors. They torched buildings and carried fit workers off
into ‘slavery’ for Japanese factories. Some Chinese managed to flee into the hills to the inland city of Chungking,
which became the capital city of free China.
The Japanese occupiers only left when they were defeated in 1945. The Communists in their guerrilla campaigns
were viewed by the peasants as the only true combatants against the Japanese – many Nationalists were more intent
on fighting the Communists.
Communists
Communism was infuential in Chinese society. The peasants viewed the Communists as the true defenders of
China against the Japanese. The Communists struggled against the GMD and succeeded in taking over the country
in 1949.
Note: for a detailed analysis, refer to Issue 4 regarding threats to government following the 1911 Revolution.
After the war years, the country was in tatters: cities were ruined; there was no transport; the countryside was
dotted with desperate refugees; food and other essentials were in short supply and prices skyrocketed; the black
market thrived; factories were closed and landlords were still exploiting the peasants. America donated aid but
much of it never reached those in need, due to corruption and government inefficiency.
In this climate, the Communists took action. They promoted land reforms in areas under their control.
Their policies of strategic retreat against the GMD and care of the masses slowly gave them the upper hand.
Finally, they waged an all-out assault on the GMD – and won control in 1949.
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MODERN HISTORY
SACE 2 ESSENTIALS MODERN HISTORY WORKBOOK
Exercise
To consolidate your understanding of the issue and test your knowledge about Chinese society and government
prior to 1949, note two essential points and list under each heading below.
•
Warlord period
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•
Peasants
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•
Workers
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Land owners
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•
GMD
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•
War years
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•
Communists before 1945
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•
Success of Communists after 1945
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Note: refer to Suggested Answers at back of book to see if you are correct.
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