1921
1923 1925 1927 1930 1930 1934 1936 1937 1939 1940 1941-1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 |
The Chinese Communist Party is established.
The Nationalists and Communists join together with the United Front in order to unite China. Membership in the CCP is continuously growing. Chiang Kai-shek is made leader of the Nationalist Party. The Shanghai Massacre takes place where the Nationalists arrest and execute thousands of CCP members. Mao and the Communists are forced to flee to Hunan Province (North China). The Nationalists begin encirclement campaigns to isloate and attack the Communists. Japan invades Manchuria. Mao and the Communists begin the Long March to escape the Nationalists' encirclement. Chiang tries to attack the Communists during this March. Since Mao is successful in this escape, he becomes the rightful leader of the CCP. Chiang is forced to agree to a Second United Front with the CCP to unite against Japan. Japan begins a full scale invasion of Northern and Coastal China and the Communists and Nationalists begin to fight against them. The Nationalists had trouble fighting against the Japanese while the Communists were much more successful and therefore began to gain more support from the Chinese people. The Second United Front breaks apart because the Communists and Nationalists cannot agree. Japan continues to defeat the Chinese. Japan surrenders from WWII after the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. China now must reconstruct after the War. Instead, the Nationalists and Communists begin a Civil War. China, still under control of the Nationalists, begins to have widespread economic problems. While the Soviet Union pulls out of China to give the CCP total control of the land they used to occupy, the United States send military aid to the Nationalists. Full scale Civil War is taking place in China. Even though the Nationalists were initially winning the Civil War, the CCP successfully counterattacked and began to win the war. The Communists now have control over Northern China. Portions of the Nationalists begin to retreat and surrender themselves to the CCP. The CCP begins to invade the rest of China and, with decisive victories, cause the Nationalists to crumble and retreat southward. October 1, Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Chiang and the Nationalists flee to Taiwan and proclaim themselves the Republic of China. |
Long term impact
After the end of the Chinese Civil War, the Communists have continued to be in control of China - the most populous country in the world. Since the Chinese Civil War ended with the country in shambles, Communists used the country's suffering and desire for peace and stability to erect an iron rule over the people. Thanks to the PLA, the Communists had almost unlimited power, which positively, unified a country divided since 1912. Their free reign over power did not have many other positives and often ended up with many destructive consequences.
China and the United States' relationship was greatly strained and there were very limited contacts, trades, and no diplomatic ties. Until 1970, the US continued to recognize the Taiwanese government (or the Republic of China) as the true government of China. Taiwan continued to hold China's seat in the United Nations as well. The People's Republic of China also blamed the West for their support of the Kuomintang and had strong anti-Western policies up until the 1970s.