China is the largest country in Asia and one of the most populous on Earth. One of the most important civilizations in the history of mankind developed there. The extensive territory of China, after the Chinese revolution led by Mao Tse-Tung, radically changed its structures. Mao Tse Tung, founder of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed the People's Republic of China after defeating Chiang Kai-Shek in a bloody civil war. He assumed power in 1954, a position he resigned from in 1959. He undertook the agrarian reform and carried out the cultural revolution to eliminate the "revisionist elements" from the party leadership.
1. Background of the Chinese Revolution
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, in the midst of the expansion of European colonialism, China was stagnant, suffering a brutal invasion and rapacious, particularly from England, which triggered an armed confrontation, known as the “opium war ”, which meant a century of humiliation for China.
As a result of this war, the declining rulers of the Ching dynasty granted dominion rights to the British colonialists. These facts of subjugation of the Chinese power generated the Taiping rebellion (1851-1864), which lasted a few years and was later controlled.
Later, another important movement arose:that of the "boxers" (1900-1901), undertaken by peasants and bureaucrats. This movement was characterized by its xenophobia towards world powers (England, Germany, Italy, France, Russia and Japan). This rebellion failed due to the intervention and action of the colonialist armies. The Boxers would be followed by a series of disorders, which ended in failures; but it prevented China from being partitioned among the colonialists.
2. The Republic
At the beginning of the 20th century, China experienced a series of changes due to European influence. Contemporary institutions, such as factories, banks, machines, etc., were introduced into traditional China. Likewise, many economic, political, and scientific works were translated into the Chinese language, which was opposed to the institutions, uses, and customs of ancient China. The intellectual sector had changed and wanted, for his country, a series of transformations, in accordance with the development of the contemporary world.
In 1905, Dr. Sun - Yat - Sen, a lucid politician, founded a democratic party, the Kuo - Min - Tang, with republican characteristics, which began to act formally from the year 1911. At the beginning of the new year, In 1912, they managed to elaborate a provisional Constitution and proclaimed the Republic of China. The emperor of the Ching dynasty, who had lost control and the support of the people, abdicated in favor of the Republic.
The personal ambitions of the military chiefs and caudillos unleashed a series of confrontations in the nascent Republic. Furthermore, after the First World War, the Versailles Conference (1919) had granted Japan the former German rights over the Shantung Peninsula . which triggered a series of protests against the penetration of Japanese colonialism. Accordingly, the Republic of China emerged in the midst of a great crisis.
3. The Chinese Revolution
The socialist revolution, which had triumphed in Russia, in 1917 influenced Chinese intellectuals, prompting them to found a revolutionary anti-imperialist movement, the May Fourth Movement. This movement made preparations in its cadres, and founded the tiny Communist Party (1921), its main representative being the leader Mao-Tse_Tung .
Around 1923 a united front was established to help Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen and reorganize the Kuo-Min-Tang. The president requested help from Western powers to solve the crisis, but found no support. Russia (1923) granted him the help of him, founding a military academy, led by Commander Chiang-Kai-Shek.
Origin of the Chinese Revolution
In March 1925 Dr. Su-Yat-Sen passed away. Two years later (1927) General Chiang-Kai-Shek staged a coup and began to attack and persecute the communists, causing them to organize and respond with an uprising, forming their own army. Thus began the civil war. Meanwhile, the Japanese invasion was taking more body. Chou Enlai and Chu-te, representatives of Mao-Tse-Tung, raised the national union, to fight against the Japanese, which was rejected by the central government. Mao-Tse-Tung and his forces were forced to move in October 1934, to avoid their annihilation, making the world-famous Long March (12,500 kilometers).
Union of Chinese armies against Japan
Meanwhile, the Japanese advanced and consolidated. Faced with such events the two armies were forced to unite, to develop the anti-Japanese war for eight years (1937-45) , dealing them hard blows. In August 1945, the war of resistance had come to an end with the Chinese victory. After these events, the civil war deepened, which lasted three years.
Expulsion of the Chinese Nationalists
After World War II, Mao-Tse-Tung's forces controlled almost all of the mainland, expelling Chiang-Kai-Shek's nationalist forces to the island of Taiwan, being protected by the US fleet. There they founded Nationalist China, where they developed a respectable industry with investment from North American capital.
Foundation of the People's Republic of China
On October 1, 1949, leader Mao-Tse-Tung declared the founding of the People's Republic of China and began a series of deep structural reforms in the different fields of human activity, obtaining enormous results in a short time, based on his own resources and strength. It is of special consideration, the establishment of the system of popular communes, through the systematic organization of a collective life, coming to occupy an important place within the international context.
Mao -Tse-Tung was the undisputed leader of the march of the new China. He promoted the development of a transcendental movement in Chinese youth, that of the "red guards" , known by the name of "cultural revolution".