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The term '''Republic of China''' refers to an era of Chinese history that extended from 1912 until 1949. It was preceded by the [[Qing dynasty]] and followed by the [[People's Republic of China|People's Republic]].

The term '''Republic of China''' refers to an era of Chinese history that extended from 1912 until 1949. It was preceded by the [[Qing dynasty]] and followed by the [[People's Republic of China|People's Republic]]. The era is linked to the Nationalist Party, or KMT, which ruled from 1928 to the 1949. The Nationalists were defeated by the Communists in the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949).

==History==

==History==

===Yuan Shikai: 1912-1916===

===Yuan Shikai: 1912-1916===

Sun's faction merged with several other groups to form the Nationalist Party, or KMT. Nationalist ideology is based on Sun's "Three Principles of the People" (nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people). The party gained a majority in the 1912 parliamentary elections. Backed by the army, Yuan assassinated parliamentary leader Song Jiaoren, dissolved the Nationalist Party, and ruled as a dictator. In 1915, Japan's Twenty-One demands aroused much public opposition. Yuan eventually accepted thirteen of these demands. Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in 1915. Yuan had reorganized the Chinese military for the Qing Empire, so many of the army leaders felt they owed their positions to him. But few looked forward to serving his playboy son, who was heir apparent in Yuan's empire. [[Zhang Zuolin]] was one of a handful of senior officers who supported Yuan's proclamation. In gratitude, Yuan made him military commander for all of Manchuria, a large frontier district in the northeast. At this time, Manchuria was thinly populated. But it would develop quickly in the years that followed. Faced with nearly unanimous opposition, Yuan renounced his imperial pretensions after only a few months.

Sun's faction merged with several other groups to form the Nationalist Party. Nationalist ideology is based on Sun's "Three Principles of the People" (nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people). The party gained a majority in the 1912 parliamentary elections. Backed by the army, Yuan assassinated parliamentary leader Song Jiaoren, dissolved the Nationalist Party, and ruled as a dictator. In 1915, Japan's Twenty-One demands aroused much public opposition. Yuan eventually accepted thirteen of these demands. Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in 1915. Yuan had reorganized the Chinese military for the Qing Empire, so many of the army leaders felt they owed their positions to him. But few looked forward to serving his playboy son, who was heir apparent in Yuan's empire. [[Zhang Zuolin]] was one of a handful of senior officers who supported Yuan's proclamation. In gratitude, Yuan made him military commander for all of Manchuria, a large frontier district in the northeast. At this time, Manchuria was thinly populated. But it would develop quickly in the years that followed. Faced with nearly unanimous opposition, Yuan renounced his imperial pretensions after only a few months.

===The warlord era: 1916-1930===

===The warlord era: 1916-1930===

After Yuan died in 1916, the officers of the Beiyang army divided into rival warlord cliques. Puyi, the former Qing emperor, was briefly restored in 1917. It took eleven days for Premier Duan Qirui, leader of the pro-Japanese Anhui clique, to defeated the imperialists and reinstate the republic. In 1920, the Zhili clique defeated Anhui's forces and Duan was ousted. Zhili warlord Cao Kun gained the presidency in 1923 by paying out bribes of 5,000 silver dollars each to members of the National Assembly. Not reconciled to Zhili's ascendency, the Japanese backed the rival Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin, warlord of Manchuria. In 1924, a Zhili commander defected, marched into Beijing, and evicted Puyi from the Forbidden City. The Beijing coup soon collapsed, but Zhili had lost its advantage in the war with Fengtian. The fighting in 1924 was far more destructive than earlier disputes among the warlords. In November, the reactionary Duan was made president. This pleased the Japanese, but did not go over well in southern or eastern China. Public opinion was fed up with the militarists, as the success of the May Thirtieth protests in 1925 demonstrates. As China's internationally recognized government, Beijing still received the revenue of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which had international management. But Manchuria had long been massively overtaxed to support Zhang's adventurism, and the customs revenue was not enough to prevent an economic collapse in 1927–1928.

After Yuan died in 1916, the officers of the Beiyang army divided into rival warlord cliques. Puyi, the former Qing emperor, was briefly restored in 1917. It took eleven days for Premier Duan Qirui, leader of the pro-Japanese Anhui clique, to defeated the imperialists and reinstate the republic. In 1920, the Zhili clique defeated Anhui's forces and Duan was ousted. Zhili warlord Cao Kun gained the presidency in 1923 by paying out bribes of 5,000 silver dollars each to members of the National Assembly. Not reconciled to Zhili's ascendency, the Japanese backed the rival Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin, warlord of Manchuria. In 1924, a Zhili commander defected, marched into Beijing, and evicted Puyi from the Forbidden City. The Beijing coup soon collapsed, but Zhili had lost its advantage in the war with Fengtian. The Beijing coup and the reactionary character of the Fengtian regime was the last straw, at least for southern and eastern China. Public opinion was fed up with the militarists, as the success of the May Thirtieth protests in 1925 demonstrates. As China's internationally recognized government, Beijing still received the revenue of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which had international management. But Manchuria had long been massively overtaxed to support Zhang's adventurism, and the customs revenue was not enough to prevent an economic collapse in 1927–1928.

China in the 1920s was more than squalid tales of greed, corruption, and betrayal among the militarists in Beijing. This was also the “high modern” period when all things modern and “scientific” were revered. Writers such as Lu Xun abandon the classical style of Confucius in favor of idioms and constructions closer to contemporary spoken Chinese.<ref>Lu Xun's vernacular novel ''The True Story of Ah Q'' was published in 1921.</ref> The shift from Classical Chinese to Mandarin can be compared to the shift from Latin to vernacular that occurred earlier in Europe. There were campaigns against footbinding, concubinage, and other abusive practices toward women. The introduction of Madison Avenue advertising techniques, mass circulation women's magazines, and the influence of America's flapper culture led to a revolution in relations between the sexes. The Modern Girl, as she was called, had unbound feet, wore her hair bobbed or permed, and sported a ''qípáo'' or other fashionable attire. Was she looking for romantic love, or an opportunity to work her feminine wiles and con a sap out of his life savings? Opinion was divided among writers of the time. Society as a whole still idealized the arranged marriage where the focus could be placed on producing children who would worship the ancestors.<ref>Dong, Madeline Y., "Who is afraid of the Chinese Modern Girl?", ''The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization'' (2008).</ref>

China in the 1920s was more than squalid tales of greed, corruption, and betrayal among the militarists in Beijing. This was also the “high modern” period when all things modern and “scientific” were revered. Writers such as Lu Xun abandon the classical style of Confucius in favor of idioms and constructions closer to contemporary spoken Chinese.<ref>Lu Xun's vernacular novel ''The True Story of Ah Q'' was published in 1921.</ref> The shift from Classical Chinese to Mandarin can be compared to the shift from Latin to vernacular that occurred earlier in Europe. There were campaigns against footbinding, concubinage, and other abusive practices toward women. The introduction of Madison Avenue advertising techniques, mass circulation women's magazines, and the influence of America's flapper culture led to a revolution in relations between the sexes. The Modern Girl, as she was called, had unbound feet, wore her hair bobbed or permed, and sported a ''qípáo'' or other fashionable attire. Was she looking for romantic love, or an opportunity to work her feminine wiles and con a sap out of his life savings? Opinion was divided among writers of the time. Society as a whole still idealized the arranged marriage where the focus could be placed on producing children who would worship the ancestors.<ref>Dong, Madeline Y., "Who is afraid of the Chinese Modern Girl?", ''The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization'' (2008).</ref>

===Nationalist China: 1925-1971===

===Nationalist China: 1925-1971===

Meanwhile, the Soviets were built up Sun's Nationalist Party, revived in 1917, and supplied it with money and weapons. A united front was formed with the Communists in 1923. The Whampoa Military Academy, established in 1924, trained a new generation of officers to put nation before clique. Soon after Sun's death in 1925, the party proclaimed an alternative "national government" in the southern city of Guangzhou. In the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] led the Nationalists to a surprisingly easy victory over the far larger, but now bankrupt, forces of the Beiyang warlords. Furious with his failure to stop Chiang’s advance, the Japanese murdered Zhang, who was still China's internationally recognized head of state at the time. Chiang purged the treacherous Communists and married Song Meiling, a Christian woman who would become greatly admired internationally as China’s first lady. The capital was moved to Nanjing in 1928. The warlords were finally brought to heel in 1930 when Chiang put down a brief but bloody revolt in central China.

Meanwhile, the Soviets were built up Sun's Nationalist Party, revived in 1917, and supplied it with money and weapons. A united front was formed with the Communists in 1923. The Whampoa Military Academy, established in 1924, trained a new generation of officers to put nation before clique. Soon after Sun's death in 1925, the party proclaimed an alternative "national government" in the southern city of Guangzhou. In the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] led the Nationalists to a surprisingly easy victory over the far larger, but now bankrupt, forces of the Beiyang warlords. Chiang purged the treacherous Communists and married Song Meiling, a Christian woman who would become greatly admired internationally as China’s first lady.

 

The capital was moved to Nanjing in 1928. Furious with his failure to stop Chiang’s advance, the Japanese murdered Zhang in June 1928. Zhang was China's internationally recognized head of state at this time. The United States recognized Nationalist China in July, the first nation to do.<ref>''[http://books.google.com.vn/books?id=HuB6gPHeP_cC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false China White Paper: August 1949]'', p. 12.</ref> The U.S. signed a treaty with Nanjing restoring China's tariff autonomy. The warlords were finally brought to heel in 1930 when Chiang put down a brief but bloody revolt in central China.

Under the Nationalists, China experienced industrialization and modernization, but there was also conflict between the government in Nanjing, the Communist Party, remnant warlords, and Japan. Nation-building took a backseat to war with Japan in 1937–1945. Japan occupied coastal areas and cut off China's access to seaports, while the Nationalists retreated to Chongqing. The Chinese cause received much sympathetic attention in the U.S. press, and the [[Flying Tigers]], an aviation squadron, was lionized. The Burma Road, and later the Ledo Road, were built to allow US "lend-lease" aid to reach the Chinese army. The Nationalists' Y Force drove back the Japanese in Yunnan during a May–June 1944 offensive, but otherwise military results were disappointing.

Under the Nationalists, China experienced industrialization and modernization, but there was also conflict between the government in Nanjing, the Communist Party, remnant warlords, and Japan. The Japanese seized Manchuria in the "Mukden Incident" of 1931. They created a puppet state to administer this region with Puyi as emperor. Nation-building took a backseat to war with Japan in 1937–1945. Japan occupied the coastal areas and cut off China's access to seaports, while the Nationalists retreated to Chongqing. A puppet state led by Wang Jingwei was set up in Nanjing. The Chinese cause received much sympathetic attention in the U.S. press, and the [[Flying Tigers]], an aviation squadron, was lionized. The Burma Road, and later the Ledo Road, were built to allow US "lend-lease" aid to reach the Chinese army. The Nationalists' Y Force drove back the Japanese in Yunnan during a May–June 1944 offensive, but otherwise military results were disappointing.

After Japan surrendered, the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union led to renewed fighting between the Nationalists and the Communists. The Soviets occupied Manchuria in 1945, where the main Japanese forces and supplies had been maintained. The Chinese Communists were based is the North at this time, while the Nationalists were in Chongqing in the southwest. These two factors gave the Communists the advantage in picking up the spoils of war. The Communist army had been a minor factor during the war with Japan, but its manpower expanded dramatically as soldiers from the puppet armies defected. By late 1947, the military initiative had shifted to the Communists. The Nationalists lost some 550,000 soldiers in the Huaihai campaign of 1948-1949, the climax of the Civil War.

After Japan surrendered, the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union led to renewed fighting between the Nationalists and the Communists. The Soviets occupied Manchuria in 1945, where the main Japanese forces and supplies had been maintained. The Chinese Communists were based is the North at this time, while the Nationalists were in Chongqing in the southwest. These two factors gave the Communists the advantage in picking up the spoils of war. The Communist army had been a minor factor during the war with Japan, but its manpower expanded dramatically as soldiers from the puppet armies defected. By late 1947, the military initiative had shifted to the Communists. The Nationalists lost some 550,000 soldiers in the Huaihai campaign of 1948-1949, the climax of the Civil War.