The Chinese Revolution of 1949 it basically consisted of the revolutionary process that was responsible for consolidating the communists' rise to power in China. Communists in China were led by Mao Zedong and, after years of civil war against the Nationalist Party, they managed to seize power and initiate the changes that transformed China into a communist nation.
Background
The communists' rise to power in China was only possible after a long process of power struggle in the 1920s. In any case, it is important to analyze other processes that took place in that period. country since the beginning of the 20th century.
→ End of the monarchy in China
China at the beginning of the 20th century was a nation ruled by a monarchy , and its territory had been invaded by a number of foreign powers during the neocolonialist process. The foreign presence in China motivated the growth of nationalist movements, which had been active in the country since the 19th century, promoting revolts. With the turn of the century, Chinese nationalism grew, and from the 1911 Revolution or Xinhai Revolution, the Manchu dynasty was removed from power, which put an end to the Chinese monarchy.
→ Republic
With the fall of the monarchy, China became a Republic and a Provisional Government was formed around Sun Yat-sen , the great name of Chinese nationalism in that period. This provisional government passed its power to Yuan Shikai in 1912, and the Chinese ruler was responsible for an attempt at monarchical restoration between 1915 and 1916.
This period from 1916 to 1927 was marked by a series of separatist movements. Different provinces in the interior of China were fighting for their independence. During this period, different zones of influence were formed under the command of China's warlords, military leaders who exercised power in these locations.
In this context, a great force began to fight against the warlords to guarantee the centralization of power in China:the Nationalist Party , also known as Kuomintang . Another factor that caused great discomfort among Chinese nationalists was the continuity of foreign forces.
→ Communism
While all this was happening in Chinese territory, another force was emerging in that country:the communists . The strengthening of communism in China was inspired by the success of the Revolution organized by the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917 . The strengthening of communism in China in this period was also directly related to the strengthening of the Chinese working class.
See also: History of the Russian Revolution
Because of the strengthening of communism in China, the Chinese Communist Party was founded in July 1921 (CCP). Originally, it was formed by 57 members, who raised the organization of the Chinese working class as a banner. Among these first 57 members of the CCP was Mao Zedong , a name that would be fundamental in the success of the party in the following years.
Nationalists and communists go to war
After the founding of the CCP, the first years of the party's relationship with the Kuomintang were peaceful, mainly because of the mediation of the Soviet Union, which provided weapons and other resources to nationalists in your war against the warlords. With that, the communists were accepted in the nationalist cadres, but they were submitted to Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Kuomintang.
This paradoxical attitude of the government of the Soviet Union is explained by the fact that Stalin believed that the Chinese communists were not prepared to organize the transition to socialism and, at that moment, they should only worry in guaranteeing sovereignty and the end of foreign interference.
The relationship between nationalists and communists changed from the moment Chiang Kai-shek assumed power from the Kuomintang in 1925. Chiang's rise followed the death of Sun Yat-sen, and Chiang led the nationalists in the fight against the warlords. Between 1925 and 1927, this struggle against the warlords still had the support of the communist mass.
The strengthening of the communists, mainly in the big Chinese cities, forced Chiang Kai-shek to take some measures to suppress the growth of these forces. This repression manifested itself from the actions of the Kuomintang – now in alliance with the warlords – against the communists. This sparked a civil war between nationalists and communists.
The struggle organized by the communists against the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek took place from urban uprisings and guerrillas formed in rural areas. Chiang made fighting communists a priority for his government and mobilized massive forces to repress and persecute communists.
The persecution forced the communists to retreat to avoid annihilation in the face of nationalist forces. This became known as the Long March and it took place between 1934 and 1935. Communist forces made a journey of about 10 thousand kilometers, leaving the regions of Jiangxi and Fujian and settling in Yanan.
The Chinese civil war was partially suspended because of a common enemy that threatened both communists and nationalists:the Japanese . Japan in that period (1930s) had a government aligned to the extreme right, was extremely militaristic and had imperialist ambitions over neighboring regions.
China has been a target of Japanese imperialism since the late 19th century. Japan's actions toward China became more forceful, particularly after the invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Growing Japanese hostility toward China sparked a conflict when Japan declared war on China in 1937. This marked the beginning of a conflict. of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Even with the civil war interrupted because of the Japanese threat, it is very important to point out that there were still small combats between the nationalist and communist troops, mainly because both sides knew that the confrontation would resume after the Japanese defeat. Keeping the opponent weakened was critical to a future victory.
Japanese defeat and return to civil war
After the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, the leaders of the Nationalists and Communists, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, respectively, met to negotiate the formation of a possible government. set in China. Negotiations, however, were unsuccessful, as Chiang demanded the total disarmament of communist militias, which Mao rejected.
The failure of the negotiations resulted in the resumption of civil war in China. Chiang received strong support from the US. What escaped Chiang's eyes at that moment was that the communists had emerged extremely strengthened among the peasant population in the Chinese countryside.
The struggle against the Japanese and the implementation of revolutionary measures to guarantee peasant access to land brought massive support to the communists. In all, adding up the war forces between well-equipped soldiers and militia, the communists had a force that exceeded 10 million people.
This second phase of the Chinese civil war lasted from 1946 to 1949. Gradually, the communists were imposing their dominion over the interior of China and reducing the power of the nationalists to the big cities. . In January 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, the nationalists and the Chinese high bourgeoisie left the country and set out for Formosa (present-day Taiwan).
On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China, and the revolutionary measures that turned China into a communist nation began to be carried out from that moment on.
*Image Credits:Hung Chung Chih and Shutterstock
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