Background to 1919
- China lost Sino-Japanese war in 1894-1895
- European's create open door policy
- Provoked nationalist outburst in China (Boxer Rebellion)
- Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists attacked foreigners
- 1911 Sun Yat Sen led revolution to rid China of foreigners
- Becomes first president of the Republic of China
Sun Yat Sen and the Kuomintang
- Led the Kuomintang
- Had trouble getting foreign aid because they were socialist (except USSR)
- Wanted to establish a socialist democracy
- Country was dominated by warlords
Chiang Kai-Shek
- Became leader of the Kuomintang in 1925 after Sun Yat Sen died
- Communist, Mao Zedong, was leader of propaganda
- Soon controlled all of China south of the Yangste River
- Rid his party of Communists, killed many while others like Mao fled to remote parts of China
Summary
Chiang Kai-shek had a humble beginning, but he received an education that lead him to attending a Japanese military staff college and serving in the Japanese Imperial Army for several years. A keen supporter of Sun Yat-sen, he returned to the newly created republic of China in 1911.. His task was to create an army for the Nationalists (Guomindang). Chiang Kai-shek was chosen by Sun Yat-sen to lead the Guomindang’s military academy at Whampoa which was set up in Canton. Chiang was sent to Moscow for six months in 1923 studying how the Red Army was organised.Chiang expected help from his 'friends' in America. This never materialised simply because President Truman had been advised that Chiang's cause was a lost one and that the Chinese Communists would win the civil war. In January 1949, Beijing fell to the Communists and Chiang resigned as president of China. His followers left for Taiwan (Formosa) and on march 1st 1950, Chiang resumed his presidency of the Chinese Republic. Chiang remained president of the Chinese Republic until his death in 1975.