The Communist Revolution in China Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Communist Revolution in China - Term Paper Example The Communist Revolution in China, which culminated in the establishment of the Peoples’ Republic of China in 1949, was the result of several historical developments of the preceding decades. At the start of the twentieth century, China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing, was in deep decline. The moribund feudal Confucian system, massive increase in population, failure to modernize, and the proliferation of warring war-lords, made China a fragmented nation. This fragmentation was further compounded by the establishment of foreign enclaves, or concessions, in important port cities by the colonial powers, each enjoying substantial extra-territorial autonomy and significant economic and political rights. In the aftermath of World War I, in which the Chinese contributed laborers to the Allies, Japan was granted the former German concession in Shantung and expanded control of Manchuria. This was widely resented by the Chinese. The social fabric of the country was in tatters: the peasants, who constituted the largest proportion of the population, were mired in abysmal poverty; the unskilled urban workers were also poor; the landlords and officials blocked any progress; the merchants were constrained by the foreign concessions. In this climate of political fragmentation and social stagnation, an intellectual movement for change took shape and consolidated its hold over the educated Chinese. The intellectual ferment of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century may be considered the precursor of the birth of Communism in China. A growing section of the educated Chinese actively agitated for modernization, social change, elimination of foreign concessions and national unity.... A growing section of the educated Chinese actively agitated for modernization, social change, elimination of foreign concessions and national unity. The earliest attempt for reformation was spearheaded by SunYat-sen, who formed the Revolutionary Alliance in about 1905, and then the Kuomintang (KMT), or National Party, in 1912. Sun Yat-Sen was a medical doctor who entered politics with the goal of building â€Å"a strong, unified, modern Chinese Republic† (Cienciala, 1999). He had a strong backer in the wealthy businessman, Charlie Soong, whose two daughters married Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-Shek. In 1906, the publication of the Chinese translation of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto attracted adherents to Marxism. A short-lived Republic was established in the aftermath of a military revolt in 1912, followed by a changing Central Government, challenged by other regimes and warlords. Thus, the reformists were divided into several factions: constitutional monarchists, anar chists, nationalists, and Marxists. The student-led May 4th Movement of 1919, largely inspired by socialism, expressed the growing intellectual movement for change. The climate was now ripe for the birth of Chinese Communism. The Chinese Communist Party (CPP) took root in the Marxist study groups established at Beijing University in June 1918, under the initiative of Li Dazhao, the chief librarian. Mao Zedong joined the Marxist study group in 1919. At this juncture, in accordance with its objective of establishing socialist allies in other nations, and striking a blow against international imperialism, the Soviet Government adopted friendly relations with China, particularly through the Comintern: the international