| | In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 a revolution deposed the [[Qing dynasty]] and the [[Republic of China]] was proclaimed. | | In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 a revolution deposed the [[Qing dynasty]] and the [[Republic of China]] was proclaimed. |
| − | Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces. The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the "Long March" of 1934–35. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto. | + | Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces. The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the "Long March" of 1934–35. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto. |