Summary of the Chinese Revolution
After the Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1911, two major parties formed: the nationalist Kuomintang Party and the Communist Party (CPC). Although they were somewhat united, they continued to have an internal rivalry between the two major parties. In 1927 the rivalry became a civil war. Over the next ten years, from 1927 to 1936 the two sides fought. Mao Zedong of the CPC led peasants and common people in uprisings against the Kuomintang. At the same time Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang, tried to put down the uprisings and eliminate Mao and the CPC Army.In 1934, Mao and the CPC army had to retreat from the Kuomintang. They went on a series of long marches that lasted an entire year, from October of 1934 to October of 1935. They traveled around 7,000 miles. They began the Long March at Jiangxi province in south China and finally stopped at the Shaanxi province of northern China. Out of around 80,000 soldiers that began the march, only 8,000 or so made it to the end.When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the CPC and the Kuomintang once again united in order to defend their homeland. This uneasy alliance continued throughout World War II, but the two sides still hated and mistrusted each other. After the end of World War II in 1945, the two sides resumed their civil war. With American support, Chiang Kai-shek took control of China's major cities. However, the CPC was heavily funded by the Soviet Union and quickly gained support in the rural areas. By 1948 the CPC was gaining momentum. They continued to take nationalist cities and, with each victory, they were gaining support within the population of China. In October of 1949, the CPC captured Beijing. They declared victory and said that China was now under the rule of the People's Republic of China. The nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan where they established their own government called the Republic of China. After several decades of civil war, China emerged in the second half of the 20th century as socialist.