The Provisional Municipal Government of the Special City of Shanghai ( Chinese: 上海特别市临时市政府;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: S''hànghǎi Tèbiéshì Línshí Shìzhèngfǔ''), also known as the Shanghai Civil Government (Chinese: 上海市民政府; pinyin: S''hànghǎishì Mínlínshí'') or Shanghai Commune, was a provisional administration that briefly governed the city of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

during the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

. Established by people's committees with the assistance of

Chen Duxiu Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 8 October 187927 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher and author, who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921. From 1921 to 1927, h ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

, and the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

(CCP), the commune briefly administered the city of Shanghai before its forceful dissolution by order of Chiang Kai-shek. The dissolution of the Shanghai Commune would lead to the 1927

Shanghai massacre The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supportin ...

, and the onset of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

Background

As Shanghai held a large industrial base, the CCP, who were influenced by the events of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, viewed Shanghai as a natural base for a worker's uprising in China. By 1927, popular opposition to the control of local warlords, combined with the growing military successes of the

First United Front The First United Front (; alternatively ), also known as the KMT–CCP Alliance, of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was formed in 1924 as an alliance to end warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revo ...

encouraged local organs of the CCP to overthrow the local administration, leading to two separate armed uprisings between January and early March 1927.

Formation

During a general strike on March 22, 1926, Chen Duxiu and Zhou Enlai would lead a group of 5,000 armed workers in the city's third armed uprising. After seizing the city by 6pm, they, along with Soviets organized by strikers, established the Shanghai Provisional Municipal Government along the lines of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. During the meeting, 19 members were elected to the municipal government, with 9 representatives from the CCP, and 9 from the various factions of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

Dissolution

After receiving word of its formation, Chiang Kai-shek demanded that the Shanghai Commune be dissolved, and appointed Right KMT officials as heads of a future provincial government. Chen Duxiu would then hold a meeting with members of the CCP, including Zhou Enlai, preparing for conflict with Chiang Kai-shek. However, the municipal government would to garner support in resistance against Chiang from both the Kuomintang's Left Faction, and the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

. As a result, the Comintern's actions in China would be criticized both by some within the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, such as

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

, and by retrospective scholars. Troops loyal to Chiang would ultimately enter the city on April 12, and dissolve the commune.

References

1927 in Shanghai Communism in China Military history of Shanghai Chinese Communist Revolution {{China-hist-stub

Background

Formation

Dissolution

See also

References