The Chinese Civil War was one of the key conflicts in the 20th century and had a lasting impact on the development of the country and the lives of future generations of Chinese. This War was the third-largest conflict in history after World War I and World War II. The Chinese Civil War was also the most violent event in the history of this country. Beginning in 1927, the conflict between the Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party, KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) created a struggle that divided the country into two parts: the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China.
The War ended in 1950 and since that time China has not changed its political course or the leading party. Therefore, the significance of the Chinese Civil War for contemporary China lies in the change of the traditional way of political and economical development. The country was released from the control of the international warlords and imperialists. Analysis of the Chinese Civil War can help investigate the tendencies within the Chinese policy in the second part of the 20th century.
The Civil War was the key moment in the history of the country which changed the face of the country’s development. According to Xia, “interest groups, the media, and public opinion in China had no independent influence on foreign policy during the Maoist era (1949–1976), analysis of China’s elite politics is crucial in understanding how the policy was made during that time (Xia 2000, 5). After the end of the Chinese Civil War, two states arose on the international stage: The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China. The Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China were the starting points of the new way of country’s development and, as the result, China became one of the most significant players in the world political stage.
The main ideological causes of the Chinese Civil War were the European influence on the country on the one hand and the spread of Communism on the other hand. Britain’s power and influence were a significant problem for China. Besides, at the beginning of the XX century, Qing, the last Chinese dynasty, did not have the power and was just a puppet of Japan (Findley and Rothney 2011, 200). According to Findley and Rothney, “during World War II, Japan tried to exploit China’s weakness by occupying the German positions on the Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula and presenting twenty-one demands, which would have given Japan far-reaching control” (200).
Many Chinese people were disagreeing with such a political situation; therefore, the revolutionary ideas had arisen around the country. Beginning in the 1890s, the revolutionaries started their struggle and in 1911 “fifteen provinces proclaimed their independence” (Findley and Rothney 2011, 198). The revolutionaries wanted to change the traditional system and to create a new republic. The country with more than 5,000 years old history of the monarchy would not transition to democracy or republic easily. Some of the researchers indicate that the ideology of the KMT was based on authoritarianism.
For instance, according to Caplan, “although Chiang’s regime was traditionally authoritarian, it never restored the oppression of the imperial era” (Caplan 2000, 436). A big part of the population was unable to comprehend the new ideas; as a result, the population was divided into two parts: people who supported the revolutionaries and those who wanted to save the traditional system. The new political ideas such as Marxism were spreading among the Chinese population. In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded; one of the major figures among its members was Mao Zedong. In 1922, CCP united with another largest party the Chinese Nationalist Party to cooperate and join the forces against the imperialists.
The Chinese Civil War began in 1927 when KMT broke its alliance with the CCP. Plating says that General Chang Kai-shek considered the CCP as “Chinas “disease of the heart” (Plating 2006, 4). Chang Kai-shek supposed that if he would not stop the Communists they would take control over the whole country. As a result, in 1927, CCP and KMT started the most terrible and violent war in the history of this country (Plating 2006, 4).
For the Nationalists, communist activities seemed inappropriate and not effective. On the other hand, the Communists saw only one way of the country’s development: Marxism and Communism. In 1937-1945, during the Sino-Japanese War, the nationalists were fighting against the Japanese, while CCP was expanding its popularity among the huge part of the population. Plating indicates that it was a difficult time for the population and “the Chinese have no plan for rehabilitation, prevention of epidemics, restoration of utilities, establishment of a balanced economy and reposition of millions of refugees” (Plating 2006, 4).
The Communists offered better economic and protection for the rural parts of the country that we’re living in total poverty. Propagating the radical land reform, the Communists could gain more supporters among the rural population. Most of the citizens agreed with the ideas offered by the Communists and supported the CCP, believing that their ideas could change the system and improve the quality of life. Meanwhile, the KMT was making the attempts to change the situation and in 1926-1927 they spurred on the “Northern Expedition” to remove the foreign imperialists. For KMT, the Communists were seen as the same problem as warlords. As the new president of China, Chang tried to stop the Communists, using all possible resources. With the loss of members, the CCP started to lose their bases of power.
Meisner says that in 1934, Mao Zedong “had orchestrated the Long March which was to be a 6,000-mile walk through China, which started with 100,000 members and ended with fewer than 10,00 members completing the journey” (Meisner 1999, 3). The Communists wanted to involve more members and get more support from the population. Although their ideas about the economic and land reforms were supported by the rural population, they still did not have enough power and resources to take control of the whole country. This March changed the situation due to the great publicity. At the same time, the KMT continued to expand its member base.
However, on July 7, 1937, after the Japanese attack, the situation had been changed (Plating 2006, 4). The Japanese attack was put the “KMT-CCP conflict” on hiatus. Both parties did not have another option and, therefore, they joined again to organize the Second United Front. The doctrine of this organization included the statements that set about the abolishment of Sovietization by the CCP and the refusal of help from the USSR. However, the history of this union proved that these two parties were different and could not reach compromise. The main goals of this alliance were cooperation, national unity, and independence. The internal conflict was stronger than a will to cooperate against the imperial ambitions of foreign nations.
The Nationalists and the Communists used different approaches during the war against Japan in 1937-1945. The Nationalists suffered from the serious loss of the territory occupied by Japan. At the same time, the Communists were unable to take advantage of the Japanese invasion. The attempts of KMT to build the democratic government quickly failed and continued internal struggle weakened their positions. The forces of CCP were also growing at an alarming rate.
During the war against Japan, the CCP was able to overthrow the provisional governments and consolidate absolute power in the country. At the same time, the country had been involved in World War II and drew the involvement of the United States into the internal conflict. The United States provided massive military and financial support to help KMT to struggle against the Communists.
Reflecting about the future of China, the United Stated comprehended that policy of the KMT was more appropriate as the Nationalists were turned to democracy and based their policy of the liberal ideas, while the policy of the Communists “was concerned over the dangers posed by political fragmentation in China and saw in Germany, the Soviet Union, and even the New Deal in the United States a tendency for power (including power over the economy) to be concentrated in the central government – a tendency that they read as an anti-democratic trend in the modern world” (Esherick 2002, 416). Many people consider the CCP as the anti-democratic structure.
Thus, Hornsby indicates that “right from its earliest days as a fledgling terrorist organization, Mao’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was clearing land, setting up stages, and positioning the resultant spaces at the core of its political strategy” (Hornsby 2009, 82).
In 1939, both parties began to make the international alliances, breaking the terms of their agreement within the United Front (Findley and Rothney 2011, 203). The foreign intervention in the Chinese Civil War also included the support of the Soviet Union; however, they provided for the Communists whom they perceived as comrades, the representatives of the same ideology who could help the Soviet Union to spread Communism around the world. International support influenced the outcome of the Chinese Civil War. The Communists would have been unable to stand up against the Nationalists without the outside help (Yang and Chang 2010, 111).
The Soviet equipment and residents helped CCP provide success operations. At the same time, KMT gained resources from the United States and also got the equipment and financial help, because, for the United States, the KMT was “Chinese advocates of democracy since the time of Liang Qichao were most concerned with mechanisms to mobilize the people in defense of the nation, producing a notion of democracy in which the unity of the people consistently overshadowed any commitment to political pluralism” (Esherick 2002, 416).
In 1945, the United States attempted to rectify the conflict between two parties. General Marshall arrived in the country and tried to persuade KMT and CCP to arrange the agreement and reorganize the government. In the beginning, his attempts were successful; however, later, in 1946, both parties broke the terms of the agreement (Findley and Rothney 2011, 94). Although national unity and independence were the basements of both political ideologies in China, the parties wanted to unite people under their flags. After recognizing the impossibility of reconciliation, General Marshall went back to the United States, while KMT and CCP continued their war.
The last phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949) was more successful for the Communists. They got broad support from the rural and poor classes which represented a large constituency, while the Nationalists were supported by the upper class. In October 1949, the CCP and its leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. It was a significant step in the KMT-CCP conflict. The birth of the People’s Republic of China initiated the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the new era in Chinese history. The Nationalists established the Republic of China in Taiwan with the capital in Taipei.
This democratic republic was established in 1912 on mainland China; however, during the Civil War this land was controlled by the Communists, and only in 1949 the KMT recovered this territory, declaring its independence. However, this event did not change the whole picture. The Nationalists got only this small territory, while the Communists got the whole country and their later seizure Tibet. Yang and Chang indicate that, as the result of the Chinese Civil War, “in the late 1940s and early 50s, the world witnessed a massive wave of political migrants out of Mainland China” (Yang and Chang 2010, 108).
Reflecting on the role of the United States and the Soviet Union in this War, it is possible to conclude that the United States could have provided much more help to the Chinese nationalists. The possible answer why they did not do it can be found in the possibility of the large-scale international war with the use of nuclear weapons. The Cold War started in 1945 and in 1949 the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb. This event ended the monopoly over the nuclear weapons of the United States. The shadow of the possible nuclear war was essential. In this context, the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 was the most appropriate solution, regarding the current situation.
The Chinese Civil War also known as the War of Liberation determined the way of country’s development in the second half of the XX century. Moreover, the outcome of this War still determines both the national and international politics of China. The major result of this long and violent military conflict is the birth of the People’s Republic of China. Due to the number of people involved in this conflict, the Chinese Civil War was the most massive one in world history. The victory of the Communist Party led to a significant change in the traditional political system of this country. However, not only China was influenced by this War.
This event caused the tendencies in world politics, making China one of the most significant players in the world political stage. Although Communism as the ideology failed in several countries, including the biggest one, the Soviet Union, the Chinese Communist Party is still the only political party in China. Although nowadays, the CCP tries to change its traditional way, making its politics more appropriate and adequate to the current tendencies in the world, the main ideology did not have serious changes since 1949.
Many people can say that the Communistic regime in China is known as the violent and inhuman; the Chinese population does not have the rights and, additionally, the Communists were conquered, Tibet. Nevertheless, the current situation within the country’s economics shows that China demonstrates outstanding results. While the whole world suffers from the international financial crisis, China is one of the few economics that has positive results.
Reference List
Caplan, Bryan. “Autocratic Ghosts and Chinese Hunger.” The Independent Review, Vol. IV, No. 3 (Summer 2000): 431–438.
Esherick, Joseph W. “Edmund S. K Fung in Search of Chinese Democracy: Civil Opposition in Nationalist China, 1929-1949.” China Review International, Vol. 9, Issue 2 (2002): 416.
Findley, Carter, and John Alexander Rothney. Twentieth-Century World. US: Cengage Learning, 2011.
Hornsby, Adrian. “Twenty Years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in Which the Chinese Army Shot Dead Hundreds of Protecting Civilians the AR Considers the Square’s Recent History.” The Architectural Review. Vol. 226, Issue 1352 (2009): 82.
Meisner, Maurice. Mao’s China and After: a History of the People’s Republic, 3rd ed. New-York: The Free Press, 1999.
Plating, John D. “Cannon, Egg, Charlie and Baker: Airlift Links between World-War II and the Chinese Civil War.” Air Power History, Vol. 53, Issue 3 (2006): 4.
Xia, Yafeng. “China’s Elite Politics and Sino-American Rapprochement, January 1969–February 1972.” Journal of Cold War Studies, Vol. 8, No. 4 (2006): 3–28.
Yang, Dominic Meng-Hsuan and Chang, Mau-Kuei. “Understanding the Nuances of ‘Waishengren’: History and Agency.” China Perspectives, No. 83, 2010: 108-122.