"The Japanese invasion of 1937 was a more significant turning point in Chinese History than either the 1911 Revolution or the start of the NanjingDecade" How far do you agree with this statement?
"The Japanese invasion of 1937 was a more significant turning point in Chinese History than either the 1911 Revolution or the start of the Nanjing Decade" How far do you agree with this statement?
The early twentieth century represented a period of great change in Chinese History. The start of the century saw the ever weakening Qing dynasty holding onto a rule which it subsequently lost in the 1911 revolution. "The People's Republic of China" was declared and in 1912 Yuan Shi-Kai began his two year rule as a military dictator until his death in 1915. This began a period of chaos and the war-lord era which was significantly ended by the start of The Nanjing decade and the rule of Chiang Kai-shek. His decade of influence was ended by the Japanese Invasion of 1937 when the CCP became increasingly active and popular in China. It would appear from this outline that 1911 and 1927 were both significant turning points in Chinese history as they mark the end of an ancient dynasty and the final securing of power after nearly two decades of chaos. However by looking closely at the social, political and economic effect of these events, it surprising to find that it is easy to argue that an invasion by a foreign power in 1937 was a more significant turning point in China's History.
Politically, the Japanese invasion was a very significant turning point in Chinese history because it ended the rule of the Guomindang and introduced China to the possibility of firm communist rule. During the invasion the GMD's tactic was to avoid conflict that Chiang was aware would end in defeat. He felt that he should save his armies for defeating the communists and wait for the Japanese armies to be exhausted by their conflicts with other foreign powers. Whilst this was in some ways a good tactic, the fact that the CCP armies fought for China meant that it was a politically unsound decision because it meant that the Chinese people felt that they were being deserted by the nationalists and saved by the communist. In this way the Japanese Invasion was a significant political turning point because it made the CCP very popular especially with the peasants, to whom Mao very shrewdly appealed. This meant that after the invasion it was possible for the communists to take power. In my opinion this is what makes the Japanese invasion a more significant turning point than either the 1911 revolution or the start of the Nanjing decade because it laid open the way for real ideological change in China, something that neither of the other events did. At face value this seems contradictory because the 1911 revolution had the potential to constitute a very significant change. China was declared a "people's republic" which suggests significant change in the manner of governing. This did not happen though which is proved by the fact that Yuan was able to declare himself Emperor. The People's Republic was more nominal than anything else. It was declared by Sun Yat-sen but the Emperor made a deal with Yuan Shi-Kai, which meant that he was able to take power. This meant that someone who had been involved in and supported the Qing dynasty took over and he tried to govern in a similar way to the. The fact that he was not able to become Emperor does show that the constitutional changes had been made. He failed to hold power which shows that whilst the political set up in China had not changed the political climate had as people were not willing to be governed by an Emperor. The problem in calling the 1911 revolution a turning point is that politically the way was laid open for change but that change did not arrive in any long term manner. The Japanese Invasion however led to China becoming a Communist State and remaining so for the rest of the twentieth century.
The early twentieth century represented a period of great change in Chinese History. The start of the century saw the ever weakening Qing dynasty holding onto a rule which it subsequently lost in the 1911 revolution. "The People's Republic of China" was declared and in 1912 Yuan Shi-Kai began his two year rule as a military dictator until his death in 1915. This began a period of chaos and the war-lord era which was significantly ended by the start of The Nanjing decade and the rule of Chiang Kai-shek. His decade of influence was ended by the Japanese Invasion of 1937 when the CCP became increasingly active and popular in China. It would appear from this outline that 1911 and 1927 were both significant turning points in Chinese history as they mark the end of an ancient dynasty and the final securing of power after nearly two decades of chaos. However by looking closely at the social, political and economic effect of these events, it surprising to find that it is easy to argue that an invasion by a foreign power in 1937 was a more significant turning point in China's History.
Politically, the Japanese invasion was a very significant turning point in Chinese history because it ended the rule of the Guomindang and introduced China to the possibility of firm communist rule. During the invasion the GMD's tactic was to avoid conflict that Chiang was aware would end in defeat. He felt that he should save his armies for defeating the communists and wait for the Japanese armies to be exhausted by their conflicts with other foreign powers. Whilst this was in some ways a good tactic, the fact that the CCP armies fought for China meant that it was a politically unsound decision because it meant that the Chinese people felt that they were being deserted by the nationalists and saved by the communist. In this way the Japanese Invasion was a significant political turning point because it made the CCP very popular especially with the peasants, to whom Mao very shrewdly appealed. This meant that after the invasion it was possible for the communists to take power. In my opinion this is what makes the Japanese invasion a more significant turning point than either the 1911 revolution or the start of the Nanjing decade because it laid open the way for real ideological change in China, something that neither of the other events did. At face value this seems contradictory because the 1911 revolution had the potential to constitute a very significant change. China was declared a "people's republic" which suggests significant change in the manner of governing. This did not happen though which is proved by the fact that Yuan was able to declare himself Emperor. The People's Republic was more nominal than anything else. It was declared by Sun Yat-sen but the Emperor made a deal with Yuan Shi-Kai, which meant that he was able to take power. This meant that someone who had been involved in and supported the Qing dynasty took over and he tried to govern in a similar way to the. The fact that he was not able to become Emperor does show that the constitutional changes had been made. He failed to hold power which shows that whilst the political set up in China had not changed the political climate had as people were not willing to be governed by an Emperor. The problem in calling the 1911 revolution a turning point is that politically the way was laid open for change but that change did not arrive in any long term manner. The Japanese Invasion however led to China becoming a Communist State and remaining so for the rest of the twentieth century.
