Changes

==Nationalist China: 1925-1971==

==Nationalist China: 1925-1971==

===Nationalist Revolution: 1923-1928===

===Nationalist Revolution: 1923-1928===

Meanwhile in the South, the KMT, which had been revived in 1917, was built up by the Soviets. While [[Comintern]] agents supplied the KMT with money and weapons, the purpose of Soviet policy in China was debated in the Kremlin. Trotsky advocated a revolutionary line and condemned the KMT as reactionary. Pragmatists emphasized the need for a strong KMT to counter Japanese influence in the North. A "United Front" was formed between the Nationalists and the communists in 1923. The Whampoa Military Academy, established in 1924, trained a new generation of officers to put nation before clique. Sun died in March 1925. He was succeed by a triumvirate that included leftist Wang Jingwei and conservative Hu Hanmin. In July, the party proclaimed its Guangzhou-based regime a "national government," i.e. an alternative to the internationally-recognized Beijing regime. In the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] led the KMT to a surprisingly easy victory over the far larger, but now bankrupt, forces of the Beiyang warlords.

Meanwhile in the South, the KMT, which had been revived in 1917, was built up by the Soviets. While [[Comintern]] agents supplied the party with money and weapons, the purpose of Soviet policy in China was debated in the Kremlin. Trotsky advocated a revolutionary line and condemned the KMT as reactionary. Pragmatists emphasized the need for a strong KMT to counter Japanese influence in the North. A "United Front" was formed between the Nationalists and the communists in 1923. The Whampoa Military Academy, established in 1924, trained a new generation of officers to put nation before clique. Sun died in March 1925. He was succeed by a triumvirate that included leftist Wang Jingwei and conservative Hu Hanmin. In July, the party proclaimed its Guangzhou-based regime a "national government," i.e. an alternative to the internationally-recognized Beijing regime. In the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928, [[Chiang Kai-shek]] led the KMT to a surprisingly easy victory over the far larger, but now bankrupt, forces of the Beiyang warlords.

By the time the Nationalists arrived in Shanghai in April 1927, communist attacks on "class enemies" and foreigners had provoked a backlash. Shanghai's communist-led labor unions prepared a seizure of the French Concession and the International Settlement, protected by Britain. The French and British were Russia's enemies, not China's. Fearing a military response, Chiang initiated a bloody purge, not only against leftists in Shanghai, but in other urban centers as well. Hu supported Chiang, but Wang continued the United Front in Wuhan. After the Wuhan Nationalists intercepted a message from Moscow authorizing a coup, they too purged the communists in July. The two wings of the KMT were reunited and the capital was moved to Nanjing in September. The communists fled to the countryside where they staged the "Autumn Harvest" uprisings in August and October. There was a brief but savage coup in Guangzhou in December. By the end of year, most of the communists had been killed or defected. The rest had been driven into the mountains or the interior.

By the time the Nationalists arrived in Shanghai in April 1927, communist attacks on "class enemies" and foreigners had provoked a backlash. Shanghai's communist-led labor unions prepared a seizure of the French Concession and the International Settlement, protected by Britain. The French and British were Russia's enemies, not China's. Fearing a military response, Chiang initiated a bloody purge, not only against leftists in Shanghai, but in other urban centers as well. Hu supported Chiang, but Wang continued the United Front in Wuhan. After the Wuhan Nationalists intercepted a message from Moscow authorizing a coup, they too purged the communists in July. The two wings of the KMT were reunited and the capital was moved to Nanjing in September. The communists fled to the countryside where they staged the "Autumn Harvest" uprisings in August and October. There was a brief but savage coup in Guangzhou in December. By the end of year, most of the communists had been killed or defected. The rest had been driven into the mountains or the interior.