The Republic of China (ROC) began on 1 January 1912 as a sovereign state in
mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
following the
1911 Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
, which overthrew the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
-led
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and ended China's
imperial history. From 1927, the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
(KMT)
reunified the country and initially ruled it as a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
with
Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
as the national capital. In 1949,
the KMT-led government was defeated in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
and lost control of the mainland to the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP). The CCP
established the People's Republic of China (PRC) while the ROC was forced to
retreat to Taiwan; the ROC retains control over the
Taiwan Area
The Taiwan Area, also called the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China, the free area of the Republic of China, and the "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fuchien)" , is a term used to refer to the territories under the effective control of the Rep ...
, and
its political status remains disputed. The ROC is recorded as a founding member of both the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, and previously held a permanent seat on the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
until 1971, when the PRC took China's seat in the
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, titled ''Restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations'', was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that requir ...
. It was also a member of the
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...
and the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
. The ROC claimed of territory,
and its
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 541 million in 1949 made it the
most populous country in the world.
The Republic of China was officially proclaimed on 1 January 1912 by revolutionaries under
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
, the ROC's founder and provisional president of the new republic, following the success of the 1911 Revolution.
Puyi
Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...
, the final Qing emperor,
abdicated on 12 February 1912. Sun served briefly before handing the presidency to
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...
, the leader of the
Beiyang Army
The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...
. Yuan's
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
quickly became authoritarian and exerted military power over the administration; in 1915, Yuan attempted to replace the Republic with
his own imperial dynasty until
popular unrest forced him to back down. When Yuan died in 1916, the country fragmented between local commanders of the Beiyang Army, beginning the
Warlord Era
The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...
defined by decentralized conflicts between rival cliques. At times, the most powerful of these cliques used their control of
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
to assert claims to govern the entire Republic.
Meanwhile, the KMT under Sun attempted
multiple times to establish a rival national government in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, eventually taking the city with the help of weapons, funding, and advisors from the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
under the condition that the KMT form the
First United Front
The First United Front , 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 Warlord Era, warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolution ...
with the CCP. CCP members joined the KMT and the two parties cooperated to build a revolutionary base in Guangzhou, from which Sun planned to launch a campaign to reunify China. Sun's death in 1925 precipitated a power struggle that eventually resulted in the rise of General
Chiang Kai-shek to
KMT chairmanship. Chiang led the successful
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
from 1926 to 1928, benefitting from strategic alliances with warlords and the help of Soviet military advisors. By 1927, Chiang felt secure enough to end the alliance with the Soviets and
purged the Communists from the KMT. In 1928, the last major warlord
pledged allegiance to the KMT's
Nationalist government
The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
in Nanjing. Chiang subsequently ruled the country as a one-party state (
Dang Guo
''Dang Guo'' ( zh, t=黨國, p=Dǎngguó, w=Tang3kuo2, l=party-state), also known as ''Tang Kuo'', was the one-party system adopted by the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (ROC) under the Kuomintang, lasting from 1924 to 1987 ...
) under the KMT, receiving
international recognition as the representative of China.
While there was relative prosperity during the
Nanjing decade (1927–1937), the ROC faced serious threats from within and without. After being severely weakened by the purge, the CCP gradually rebuilt its strength by organizing peasants in the countryside. In addition, warlords who resented Chiang's consolidation of power led several uprisings, most significantly the
Central Plains War. In 1931, the Japanese
invaded Manchuria, followed by a series of smaller encroachments and ultimately a
full-scale invasion of China in 1937.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
devastated China, leading to enormous loss of life and material destruction. War with Japan continued until
its surrender in September 1945, after which Taiwan was placed under Chinese administration. Civil war then resumed, and the CCP's
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
began to gain upper hand in 1948 over a larger and better-armed
Republic of China Armed Forces
The Republic of China Armed Forces ( zh, t=中華民國國軍) are the national military forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), which is now based primarily in the Taiwan Area but Republic of China (1912–1949), formerly governed Mai ...
due to better tactics and corruption within the ROC leadership. The CCP
proclaimed the People's Republic of China in October 1949, though remnants of the ROC government would persist in mainland China until late 1951.
Name
The Republic of China's first
provisional president,
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
, chose zh, t=中華民國, l=Chinese People's State, p=Zhōnghuá Mínguó, labels=no, out=p as the country's official Chinese name. The name was derived from the language of the
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...
's 1905 party manifesto, which proclaimed that the four goals of the
Chinese revolution were "to expel the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
rulers, revive China (
''Zhōnghuá''), establish a people's state (''mínguó''), and distribute land equally among the people."
On 15 July 1916, in his welcoming speech to the Cantonese delegates in Shanghai, Sun explained why the term zh, t=民國, labels=no, out=p, l=people's country, p=mínguó was chosen over the Japanese-derived zh, t=共和國, p=gònghéguó, labels=no, out=p.
He associated the label zh, t=共和, p=gònghé, labels=no, out=p with the limiting and authoritarianism-prone Euro-American models of representative republicanism. What he strived for was a more grass-roots model, which he termed zh, t=直接民權, labels=no, out=p, p=zhíjiē
mínquán, l=
direct people's rights, and which he thought would allow more checks and balances by the people. Later on 20 October 1923, at a national conference for youths in Guangzhou, to explain the core idea behind zh, t=民國, labels=no, out=p, l=people's country, p=mínguó, he pithily compared the phrase zh, t=中華帝國, l=Chinese Emperor's Country, p=Zhōnghuá Dìguó, tr=Empire of China, labels=no, out=tr to zh, t=中華民國, l=Chinese People's Country, p=Zhōnghuá Mínguó, tr=Republic of China, labels=no, out=tr in the form of a
parallelism: an emperor's country is ruled by only one emperor (), a people's country is ruled by all
four hundred million people ().
Both the "
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
" (from 1912 to 1928), and the "
Nationalist government
The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
" (from 1928 to 1949) used the name "Republic of China" as their official name. In Chinese, the official name was often shortened to , , or .
[溫躍寬]
被西方誉成为的“民国黄金十年”
憶庫. 2013-10-17 014-02-23[中华民国纪年也称“ 民国纪年”。]
The choice of the term zh, t=民國, labels=no, out=p, l=people's country, p=mínguó, tr=republic in 1912, as well as its similar semantic formation to zh, t=帝國, l=emperor's country, p=dìguó, tr=empire, labels=no, out=p, may have influenced the choice of the Korean term ''minguk'' () by the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), was a Korean government-in-exile based in Republic of China (1912–1949), China during Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule over K ...
(founded in 1919 within the Republic of China), which replaced ''
Daehan Jeguk'' () with ''Daehan Minguk'' ().
Today, the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
() and
Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
() are unique in the choice of the term zh, t=民國, labels=no, out=t, l=people's country as an equivalent to "republic" in other languages.
The country was in
English known at the time as "the Republic of China" or simply "China".
In China today, the period from 1912 to 1949 is often called the "Republican Era" (), because from the Chinese government's perspective the ROC ceased to exist in 1949. In Taiwan, these years are called the "Mainland period" (), since it was when the ROC was based on the mainland.
History
A republic was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which itself began with the
Wuchang uprising on 10 October 1911, successfully overthrowing the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and ending over two thousand years of
imperial rule in China.
From its founding until 1949, the republic was based on mainland China. Central authority waxed and waned in response to warlordism (1915–1928), a
Japanese invasion (1937–1945), and a
full-scale civil war (1927–1949), with central authority strongest during the
Nanjing Decade (1927–1937), when most of China came under the control of the authoritarian,
one-party military dictatorship of the nationalist
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
party (KMT). Neither the Nanjing government nor the earlier
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
succeeded in consolidating governance in rural China.
In 1945, at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
surrendered control of Taiwan and its
island groups to the
Allies; and Taiwan was placed under the Republic of China's administrative control. The
communist takeover of mainland China in 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, left the ruling Kuomintang with control over only
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. With the loss of the mainland, the ROC government retreated to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and the KMT declared
Taipei
, nickname = The City of Azaleas
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country ...
the
provisional capital
A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leadi ...
.
Meanwhile, the CCP took over all of mainland China
and founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing.
1912–1916: Founding

In 1912, after over two thousand years of dynastic rule, a republic was established to replace the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
.
The
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
that preceded the republic had experienced instability throughout the 19th century and suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism.
A program of institutional reform proved too little and too late. Only the lack of an alternative regime prolonged the monarchy's existence until 1912.
The Chinese Republic grew out of the
Wuchang Uprising against the Qing government, on 10 October 1911, which is now celebrated annually as the ROC's
national day, also known as "
Double Ten Day
The National Day of the Republic of China, also referred to as Double Ten Day or Double Tenth Day, is a Public holidays in Taiwan, public holiday on 10 October, now held annually as national day in the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC, commonly ...
". Sun Yat-sen had been actively promoting revolution from his bases in exile.
He then returned from the United States to China and on 29 December, Sun Yat-sen was elected as the provisional president by the revolutionists' assembly in Nanjing,
which consisted of representatives from seventeen provinces. On 1 January 1912, he was formally inaugurated and pledged "to overthrow the despotic government led by the Manchu, consolidate the Republic of China and plan for the welfare of the people". Sun's new government lacked military strength. As a compromise, he negotiated with
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...
the commander of the
Beiyang Army
The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...
, promising Yuan the presidency of the republic if he were to remove the Qing emperor by force. Yuan agreed to the deal. On 12 February 1912, regent
Empress Dowager Longyu signed the
abdication decree on behalf of Puyi, ending several millennia of monarchical rule. In 1913, official elections were held nation-wide for each provincial assemblies, which chose their legal delegates for the first
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
of the republic. The Kuomintang emerged as the formal political party that replaced the revolutionary organization
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...
, and at the 1913 elections, it won the largest share of seats in both houses of the National Assembly and in some provincial assemblies.
Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren (, ; Chinese name, Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初; 5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Republic of China (1912–1949), Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuom ...
led the Kuomintang Party to electoral victories by fashioning his party's program to appeal to the gentry, landowners, and merchants. Song was assassinated on 20 March 1913, at the behest of Yuan Shikai.
Yuan was elected the first formal president of the ROC in 1913.
He ruled by military power and ignored the republican institutions established by his predecessor, threatening to execute Senate members who disagreed with his decisions.
He soon dissolved the ruling
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
(KMT) party, banned "secret organizations" (which implicitly included the KMT), and ignored the provisional constitution. Ultimately, Yuan declared himself
Emperor of China
Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...
in 1915. The new ruler of China tried to increase centralization by abolishing the provincial system; however, this move angered the gentry along with the provincial governors, who were usually military men.
1916–1927: Warlord Era
Yuan's changes to government caused many provinces to
declare independence and become
warlord
Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
states. Increasingly unpopular and deserted by his supporters, Yuan abdicated in 1916 and died of natural causes shortly thereafter. China then declined into a period of warlordism. Sun, having been forced into exile, returned to
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
in the south in 1917 and 1922, with the help of warlords, and set up successive rival governments to the
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
in Beijing, having re-established the KMT in October 1919. Sun's dream was to unify China by launching an expedition against the north. However, he lacked the military support and funding to turn it into a reality.
Meanwhile, the Beiyang government struggled to hold onto power, and an open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should confront the West. In 1919, a student protest against the government's weak response to the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
, considered unfair by Chinese intellectuals, led to the
May Fourth movement
The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...
, whose demonstrations were against the danger of spreading Western influence replacing Chinese culture. It was in this intellectual climate that
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
thought began to spread. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921.
After Sun's death in March 1925,
Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
. In 1926, Chiang led the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
with the intention of defeating the Beiyang warlords and unifying the country. Chiang received the help of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and the CCP. However, he soon dismissed his Soviet advisers, being convinced that they wanted to get rid of the KMT and take control. Chiang decided to purge the Communists,
massacring thousands in Shanghai. At the same time, other violent conflicts were taking place in China: in the South, where the CCP had superior numbers, Nationalist supporters were being massacred.
1927–1937: Nanjing decade
Chiang Kai-shek pushed the CCP into the interior and established a government, with Nanjing as its capital, in 1927.
By 1928, Chiang's army overthrew the
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
and unified the entire nation, at least nominally, beginning the
Nanjing decade.
Sun Yat-sen envisioned three phases for the KMT rebuilding of Chinamilitary rule and violent reunification; ; and finally a constitutional democracy. In 1930, after seizing power and reunifying China by force, the "tutelage" phase started with the promulgation of a provisional constitution. In an attempt to distance themselves from the Soviets, the Chinese government sought
assistance from Germany.
According to Lloyd Eastman, Chiang Kai-shek was influenced by European fascist movements, and he launched the
Blue shirts and the
New Life Movement in imitation of them, in an effort to counter the growth of Mao's communism as well as resist both Western and Japanese imperialism. According to
Stanley Payne, however, Chiang's KMT was "normally classified as a multi-class populist or 'nation-building' party but not a fitting candidate for fascism (except by old-line Communists)." He also stated that, "Lloyd Eastman has called the Blue Shirts, whose members admired European fascism and were influenced by it, a Chinese fascist organization. This is probably an exaggeration. The Blue Shirts certainly exhibited some of the characteristics of fascism, as did many nationalist organizations around the world, but it is not clear that the group possessed the full qualities of an intrinsic fascist movement....The Blue Shirts probably had some affinity with and for fascism, a common feature of nationalisms in crisis during the 1930s, but it is doubtful that they represented any clear-cut Asian variant of fascism."
Still other historians have noted that Chiang and the KMT's exact ideology itself was very complex and oscillated over time, with different factions of his government cooperating with both the Soviets and Germans as they saw fit, and that Chiang eventually became disillusioned with the Blue Shirts, which officially disbanded by 1938, something Payne also mentions as "possibly because of competition with the KMT itself." Some have also noted that in contrast to older historians from decades ago, Chiang's efforts have been increasingly seen by newer Western and Chinese historians alike as an arguably necessary if austere part of the complicated nation-building process in China during his time, especially given the wide range of both domestic and foreign challenges it faced on many different concurrent fronts.
Several major government institutions were founded during this period, including the
Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei.
Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...
and the
Central Bank of China. In 1932, China sent its first team to the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. Campaigns were mounted and laws passed to promote the rights of women. In the 1931 Civil Code, women were given equal inheritance rights, banned forced marriage and gave women the right to control their own money and initiate divorce.
No nationally unified women's movement could organize until China was unified under the Kuomintang Government in Nanjing in 1928; women's suffrage was finally included in the new Constitution of 1936, although the constitution was not implemented until 1947.
Addressing social problems, especially in remote villages, was aided by improved communications. The
Rural Reconstruction Movement was one of many that took advantage of the new freedom to raise social consciousness. The Nationalist government published a draft constitution on 5 May 1936.
Continual wars plagued the government. Those in the western border regions included the
Kumul Rebellion
The Kumul Rebellion ( zh, t=哈密暴動, p=Hāmì bàodòng, l=Hami Uprising) was a rebellion of Hami, Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui people, Hui Islam in China, Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Sh ...
, the
Sino-Tibetan War
Sino-Tibetan (also referred to as Trans-Himalayan) is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. Around 1.4 billion people speak a Sino-Tibetan language. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 ...
, and the
Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang. Large areas of
China proper
China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...
remained under the semi-autonomous rule of local warlords such as
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930.
A ...
and
Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan (; 8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960; also romanized as Yen Hsi-shan) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China from June 1949 to March 1950 as its last premier in mainland China and first premi ...
, provincial military leaders, or warlord coalitions.
Nationalist rule was strongest in the eastern regions around the capital Nanjing. The
Central Plains War in 1930, the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of the Republic of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the ...
in 1931, and the Red Army's
Long March
The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...
in 1934 led to more power for the central government, but there continued to be foot-dragging and even outright defiance, as in the
Fujian Rebellion of 1933–1934.
Reformers and critics pushed for democracy and human rights, but the task seemed difficult if not impossible. The nation was at war and divided between Communists and Nationalists. Corruption and lack of direction hindered reforms. Chiang told the State Council: "Our organization becomes worse and worse... many staff members just sit at their desks and gaze into space, others read newspapers and still others sleep."
1937–1945: Second Sino-Japanese War
Few Chinese had any illusions about Japanese desires on China. Hungry for raw materials and pressed by a growing population, Japan initiated
the seizure of Manchuria in September 1931, and established the former emperor
Puyi
Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...
as head of the puppet state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
in 1932. The loss of Manchuria, and its potential for industrial development and war industries, was a blow to the Kuomintang economy. The
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, established at the end of World War I, was unable to act in the face of Japanese defiance.
The Japanese began to push south of the
Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...
into northern China and the coastal provinces. Chinese fury against Japan was predictable, but anger was also directed against Chiang and the Nanjing government, which at the time was more preoccupied with anti-Communist extermination campaigns than with resisting the Japanese invaders. The importance of "internal unity before external danger" was forcefully brought home in December 1936, when
Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by
Zhang Xueliang
Zhang Xueliang ( zh, t=張學良; June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also commonly known by his nickname "the Young Marshal", was a Chinese general who in 1928 succeeded his father Zhang Zuolin as the commander of the Northeastern Army. He is bes ...
and forced to ally with the Communists against the Japanese in the
Second United Front
The Second United Front ( zh, t=第二次國共合作 , s=第二次国共合作 , first=t , l=Second Nationalist-Communist Cooperation, p=dì èr cì guógòng hézuò ) was the alliance between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Co ...
, an event now known as the
Xi'an Incident
The Xi'an Incident was a Chinese political crisis that lasted from 12 to 26 December 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government of China, was arrested in Xi'an by soldiers of the Northeastern Army under the command of Ge ...
.
Chinese resistance stiffened after 7 July 1937, when a clash occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops outside
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
near the
Marco Polo Bridge. This skirmish led to open, although undeclared, warfare between China and Japan. Shanghai fell after a
three-month battle during which Japan suffered extensive casualties in both its army and navy. Nanjing fell in December 1937, which was followed by mass murders and rapes known as the
Nanjing Massacre
The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...
. The national capital was briefly at
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
, then removed in an epic retreat to Chongqing, the seat of government until 1945. In 1940, the Japanese set up the collaborationist
Wang Jingwei regime, with its capital in Nanjing, which proclaimed itself the legitimate "Republic of China" in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek's government, although its claims were significantly hampered due to its being a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
controlling limited amounts of territory.

The United Front between the Kuomintang and the CCP had salutary effects for the beleaguered CCP, despite Japan's steady territorial gains in northern China, the coastal regions and the rich
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
River valley in central China. After 1940, conflicts between the Kuomintang and Communists became more frequent in the
areas not under Japanese control. The Communists expanded their influence wherever opportunities presented themselves through mass organizations, administrative reforms and the land- and tax-reform measures favoring the peasants and, the spread of their organizational network, while the Kuomintang attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence. Meanwhile, northern China was infiltrated politically by Japanese politicians in Manchukuo using facilities such as the
Manchukuo Imperial Palace.
After its entry into the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
during World War II, the United States became increasingly involved in Chinese affairs. As an ally, it embarked in late 1941 on a program of massive military and financial aid to the hard-pressed
Nationalist Government
The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
. In January 1943, both the United States and the United Kingdom led the way in revising their
unequal treaties
The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
with China from the past. Within a few months a new agreement was signed between the United States and the Republic of China for the stationing of American troops in China as part of the common war effort against Japan. The United States sought unsuccessfully to reconcile the rival Kuomintang and Communists, to make for a more effective anti-Japanese war effort. In December 1943, the
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
s of the 1880s, and subsequent laws, enacted by the United States Congress to restrict Chinese immigration into the United States were repealed. The wartime policy of the United States was meant to help China become a strong ally and a stabilizing force in postwar East Asia. During the war, China was one of the Big Four Allies, and later one of the
Four Policemen
The "Four Policemen" was a postwar council with the Big Four that U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed as a guarantor of world peace. Their members were called the Four Powers during World War II and were the four major Allies of Worl ...
, which was a precursor to China having a permanent seat on the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
.
In August 1945, with American help, Nationalist troops moved to take the Japanese surrender in North China. The Soviet Union—encouraged to
invade Manchuria to hasten the end of the war and allowed a Soviet sphere of influence there as agreed to at the
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...
in February 1945—dismantled and removed more than half the industrial equipment left there by the Japanese. Although the Chinese had not been present at Yalta, they had been consulted and had agreed to have the Soviets enter the war, in the belief that the Soviet Union would deal only with the Kuomintang government. However, the Soviet presence in northeast China enabled the Communists to arm themselves with equipment surrendered by the withdrawing Japanese army.
1945–1949: Defeat in the Chinese Civil War
In 1945, after the end of the war, the Nationalist Government moved back to Nanjing. The Republic of China emerged from the war nominally a great military power but actually a nation economically prostrate and on the verge of all-out civil war. The problems of rehabilitating the formerly Japanese-occupied areas and of reconstructing the nation from the ravages of a protracted war were staggering. The economy deteriorated, sapped by the military demands of foreign war and internal strife, by spiraling inflation, and by Nationalist profiteering, speculation, and hoarding. Starvation came in the wake of the war, and millions were rendered homeless by floods and unsettled conditions in many parts of the country.
On 25 October 1945, following the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
, the administration of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Penghu Islands
The Penghu ( , Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Channel, cove ...
were
handed over from Japan to China. After the end of the war,
United States Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
were used to hold Beijing and
Tianjin
Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
against a possible Soviet incursion, and logistic support was given to Kuomintang forces in north and northeast China. To further this end, on 30 September 1945 the
1st Marine Division
The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...
, charged with maintaining security in the areas of the
Shandong Peninsula and the eastern
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
, arrived in China.
In January 1946, through the mediation of the United States, a military truce between the Kuomintang and the Communists was arranged, but battles soon resumed. Public opinion of the administrative incompetence of the Nationalist government was incited by the Communists during the nationwide student protest against the mishandling of the
Shen Chong rape case in early 1947 and during another national protest against monetary reforms later that year. The United States—realizing that no American efforts short of large-scale armed intervention could stop the coming war—withdrew Gen.
George Marshall's American mission. Thereafter, the Chinese Civil War became more widespread; battles raged not only for territories but also for the allegiance of sections of the population. The United States aided the Nationalists with massive economic loans and weapons but no combat support.

Belatedly, the Republic of China government sought to enlist popular support through internal reforms. However, the effort was in vain, because of rampant government corruption and the accompanying political and economic chaos. By late 1948 the Kuomintang position was bleak. The demoralized and undisciplined
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947.
From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...
proved to be no match for the Communists' motivated and disciplined
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
. The Communists were well established in the north and northeast. Although the Kuomintang had an advantage in numbers of men and weapons, controlled a much larger territory and population than their adversaries, and enjoyed considerable international support, they were exhausted by the long war with Japan and in-fighting among various generals. They were also losing the propaganda war to the Communists, with a population weary of Kuomintang corruption and yearning for peace.
In January 1949, Beiping was taken by the Communists without a fight, and its name changed back to Beijing. Following the capture of Nanjing on 23 April, major cities passed from Kuomintang to Communist control with minimal resistance, through November. In most cases the surrounding countryside and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the cities. Finally, on 1 October 1949, Communists led by
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
founded the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Chiang Kai-shek declared
martial law
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
in May 1949, whilst a few hundred thousand Nationalist troops and two million refugees, predominantly from the government and business community, fled from mainland China to Taiwan. There remained in China itself only isolated pockets of resistance. On 7 December 1949, Chiang proclaimed Taipei the temporary capital of the Republic of China.
During the Chinese Civil War both the Nationalists and Communists carried out mass atrocities, with millions of non-combatants killed by both sides. Benjamin Valentino has estimated atrocities in the civil war resulted in the death of between 1.8 million and 3.5 million people between 1927 and 1949, including deaths from forced conscription and massacres.
Government
The first Republic of China national government was established on 1 January 1912, in Nanjing, with a
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
stating
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People (), also known as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, San Min Chu-i, or Tridemism is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China during the Republi ...
, which state that "
he ROCshall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people."
Sun Yat-sen was the provisional president. Delegates from the provinces sent to confirm the government's authority formed the first parliament in 1913. The power of this government was limited, with generals controlling both the central and northern
provinces of China
Provinces ( zh, c=省, p=Shěng) are the most numerous type of province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). There are currently 22 provinces administered by the PRC and one prov ...
, and short-lived. The number of acts passed by the government was few and included the formal abdication of the Qing dynasty and some economic initiatives. The parliament's authority soon became nominal: violations of the Constitution by Yuan were met with half-hearted motions of censure. Kuomintang members of parliament who gave up their membership in the KMT were offered 1,000
pounds. Yuan maintained power locally by sending generals to be provincial governors or by obtaining the allegiance of those already in power.
When Yuan died, the parliament of 1913 was reconvened to give legitimacy to a new government. However, the real power passed to military leaders, leading to the warlord period. The impotent government still had its use; when
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
began, several Western powers and Japan wanted China to declare war on Germany, to liquidate German holdings in China.
In February 1928, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 2nd Kuomintang National Congress, held in Nanjing, passed the Reorganization of the Nationalist Government Act. This act stipulated that the Nationalist Government was to be directed and regulated under the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, with the Committee of the Nationalist Government being elected by the KMT Central Committee. Under the Nationalist Government were seven ministries—Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transport, Justice, Agriculture and Mines, and Commerce, in addition to institutions such as the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
,
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan.
Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...
, and the General Academy.
With the promulgation of the Organic Law of the Nationalist Government in October 1928, the government was reorganized into five different branches, or ''yuan'', namely the
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...
,
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
,
Judicial Yuan
The Judicial Yuan () is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the Republic of China.''See'' Constitution arts. 77-82, ''available at'' ''See'' Additional Articles of the Constitution art. 5, ''available at'' It functions as the Constitutional Cour ...
,
Examination Yuan
The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all o ...
as well as the Control Yuan. The Chairman of the National Government was to be the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army. Chiang Kai-shek was appointed as the first chairman, a position he would retain until 1931. The Organic Law also stipulated that the Kuomintang, through its National Congress and Central Executive Committee, would exercise sovereign power during the period of "political tutelage", that the KMT's Political Council would guide and superintend the Nationalist Government in the execution of important national affairs, and that the Political Council has the power to interpret or amend the Organic Law.
Shortly after the Second Sino-Japanese War, a long-delayed constitutional convention was summoned to meet in Nanjing in May 1946. Amidst heated debate, this convention adopted many constitutional amendments demanded by several parties, including the KMT and the Communist Party, into the Constitution. This Constitution was promulgated on 25 December 1946 and came into effect on 25 December 1947. Under it, the Central Government was divided into the presidency and the five yuans, each responsible for a part of the government. None was responsible to the other except for certain obligations such as the president appointing the head of the Executive Yuan. Ultimately, the president and the yuans reported to the National Assembly, which represented the will of the citizens.
Under the new constitution the first elections for the National Assembly occurred in January 1948, and the assembly was summoned to meet in March 1948. It elected the president of the republic on 21 March 1948, formally bringing an end to the KMT party rule started in 1928, although the president was a member of the KMT. These elections, though praised by at least one US observer, were poorly received by the Communist Party, which would soon start an open, armed insurrection.
Foreign relations
Before the Nationalist government was ousted from the mainland, the Republic of China had diplomatic relations with 59 countries, including Australia, Canada,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, French Third Republic, France, Nazi Germany, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, Empire of Japan, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Panama, Thailand, Siam, the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, Francoist Spain, Spain, the United Kingdom,
the United States,
and the Holy See. The Republic of China was able to maintain most of these diplomatic ties, at least initially following the retreat to Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek had vowed to quickly return and "liberate" the mainland, an assurance that became a cornerstone of the ROC's post 1949 foreign policy.
The foreign concessions that existed prior to the Republic continued to exist. By the early 1930s China regained sovereignty over around 2/3rds of them.
The ROC did try to participate in a variety of entities for the international community including the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
along with its successor the United Nations
and the Olympic Games. It was hoped by the government that participating in the Olympic Games this could give more legitimacy to the country in the eyes of the international community and "sports could also cultivate modern citizens and a strong nation". The Republic of China sent athletes to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and the 1948 Summer Olympics but no athletes won any medals. For 1928 a single athlete was sent. Although athletes were sent to the 1924 games they did not participate in the games.
League of Nations
The Republic of China was a member of the League of Nations and participated until it was dissolved. Those in the country's foreign relations were among the most stable of those working in the government in terms of composition. The ROC was a non-permanent member of the League of Nations, League Council for the League of Nations being a non-permanent member of the League Council from: 1921–1923, 1926–1928, 1931–1932, 1934, and 1936. Although the ROC lobbied to be a permanent member of the League Council it never became one. At the League of Nations, China wanted to see the Unequal treaty, unequal treaties revised. The ROC thought that by being in the League they could improve their international standing.
United Nations
Under the Charter of the United Nations, the Republic of China was entitled to a Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC). Though multiple objections were raised that the seat belonged to the lawful government of China, which had to many become the PRC even arguably prior to the official conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the ROC retained the permanent seat reserved for China on the UNSC until 1971 when it was supplanted by the PRC.
["China's Representation in the United Nations", by Khurshid Hyder –
Pakistan Horizon; Vol. 24, No. 4, The Great Powers and Asia (Fourth Quarter, 1971), pp. 75–79, Pakistan Institute of International Affairs]
Administrative divisions
Nobility
The Republic of China retained hereditary nobility like the Han Chinese nobles Duke Yansheng and List of Celestial Masters, Celestial Masters and Tusi chiefdoms like the Chiefdom of Mangshi, Chiefdom of Yongning, who continued possessing their titles in the Republic of China from the previous dynasties.
Military
The number of soldiers China had full-time varied depending on the year but overall increased over time. By the mid-1930s close to when the Second Sino-Japanese War began, China had 2 million soldiers.
Military conscription was practiced in the Republic of China starting in March 1936 after a 1933 law was passed. All males between 18 and 45 were required to register for as citizen-soldiers where they would learn how to use weapons, build fortifications, execute basic orders, conduct reconnaissance and do liaison work. Able-bodied men from 20 to 25 were required to serve in the military for 3 years before becoming reservists which they would remain as until they were 45. Those being exempt from serving in the military were: only sons, high school graduates and above, students who were in high school or above, could not meet physical standards, "suffered from incurable diseases" and had special governmental appointments. One could also get a deferment if they were civil servants, "could not recover from any disease within months", teachers, "those who were not clear of suspicion for criminal offenses" or where half the sons in a given family were active duty soldiers. Those barred from military service were people who were serving a life sentence or "deprived of political rights".
Army

The Republic of China's military initially consisted of the decentralized forces of the former Qing dynasty, with the most modern and organized being the
Beiyang Army
The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...
, before it split into List of warlords and military cliques in the Warlord Era, factions that Warlord Era, attacked each other.
During the Second Revolution in 1913, as the president of the republic, Yuan Shikai used the Beiyang Army to defeat provincial forces opposed to him and to extend his control over north China and other provinces as far south as the Yangtze River. This also led to the expansion of the size of the Beiyang Army, and an effort was made by Yuan to reduce provincial armies in areas he controlled, though they were not completely disbanded. Yuan ended the Qing practice of frequently rotating officers among command positions in the Beiyang divisions, which led to the subordinates developing personal loyalty to their commanders, whose units became their power base. He maintained control over the Beiyang Army by providing the division commanders with the patronage of the presidency, and had them keep each other in check. Yuan was unable to completely reorganize the fragmented command structure of China's military to be more of a bureaucratic institution under the direct control of the central government. After Yuan's death in 1916, the Beiyang Army split among different factions led by his generals that rivaled each other. Though they continued to control the central government in Beijing, they were unable to take over the south. The southern warlords had their own armies but they were also divided by conflicts among themselves. Despite the breakdown of centralized leadership, some military schools established during the Qing dynasty continued to function during the warlord era, including the Baoding Military Academy, which graduated the majority of officers that served in warlord armies and many that later became Nationalist officers.
Sun Yat-sen created a new government in 1917 as an alternative to the Beiyang, but he did not have the military power to control the southern warlords. Therefore, the National Revolutionary Army was established by Sun in 1924 in
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
with the goal of reunifying China under the Kuomintang, with Soviet advisors and equipment. To avoid the problems of warlord armies, the NRA was under the political and ideological control of a party, the KMT, and included party representatives in its ranks. After Sun's death in 1925, Chiang Kai-shek led the Nationalist Army in its first campaign against less organized warlord forces from 1926 to 1928, becoming known as the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
. After the success of the Northern Expedition the National Revolutionary Army was seen as China's national army, despite warlords still controlling parts of the country. During the next decade the army was increased in size from 250,000 to around two million, organized into 200 divisions. In the 1930s a small number of these divisions received training from German instructors, as well as modern uniforms and weapons, as part of the process of creating a professional army. The Whampoa Military Academy had been established by Sun Yat-sen with Soviet assistance to provide officers for the KMT army, and in 1928 it was moved to Nanjing to become the Central Military Academy, where its size and training program was expanded by the Germans. But these List of German-trained divisions of the National Revolutionary Army, German-trained forces represented a small part of the total KMT army, numbering about 40 divisions.

When the war between Japan and China broke out in 1937, Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best divisions to central China, where they took heavy losses during the Battle of Shanghai and the following retreat. Half of the officers that graduated from the Central Military Academy were killed in the first few months of fighting. By 1941, the Chinese Nationalist Army had 3.8 million troops in 246 front-line divisions and 70 reserve divisions, though the majority of the divisions were under-strength and the troops were poorly trained. Many of these divisions were still more loyal to warlords than to Chiang Kai-shek. The U.S. also provided military assistance to China, planning to equip 30 divisions, but the prioritization of the European theater and the logistical difficulties of getting the supplies to China prevented these plans from being fully carried out.
After the Battle of Wuhan in 1938, the Chinese Army tried to avoid direct large scale fighting with the Japanese. Chiang also wanted to preserve his army instead of engaging in ground operations, despite pressure from the American leadership to go on the offensive. It was not until early 1944 when Chiang agreed to launch a Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan, major offensive against Japanese forces in State of Burma, Burma to reopen the Burma Road, overland supply line to China, though it was unsuccessful. It took place around the same time as Japan's largest offensive since 1941, Operation Ichi-Go. The Japanese advanced rapidly in central and southeast China, as the Chinese Army still suffered from a lack of supplies, and by the start of 1945 they captured several U.S. air bases and created a direct connection to French Indochina. In early 1945, Chinese and Allied troops in Burma succeeded in opening a land route to India, allowing more equipment to be sent to the Chinese, which they used to Battle of West Hunan, stop Japanese advances in southeast China by May. They were planning an offensive to retake control of a port in southern China when Japan surrendered.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the armed forces of the CCP were nominally incorporated into the National Revolutionary Army, while remaining under separate command, but broke away to form the People's Liberation Army shortly after the end of the war. With the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947 and the formal end of the KMT party-state, the National Revolutionary Army was renamed the
Republic of China Armed Forces
The Republic of China Armed Forces ( zh, t=中華民國國軍) are the national military forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), which is now based primarily in the Taiwan Area but Republic of China (1912–1949), formerly governed Mai ...
, with the bulk of its forces forming the Republic of China Army, which retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Units which surrendered and remained in mainland China were either disbanded or incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.
Navy

The Republic of China's Navy during between 1911 and 1949 was primarily composed of ships from the Qing Dynasty or ships obtained from foreign countries. As most threats to the Republic were on land from the warlords and the Communists there was no interest in developing any maritime strategies. No significant efforts were made during this period to grow the navy because of China being in a state of general disarray. Sometimes warlords did use maritime forces but mainly as a way of supporting land combat. When Sun Yat-sen established his constitutional protection government in Guangzhou in 1917, some of his early support came from the Chinese navy, represented by admirals Cheng Biguang and Lin Baoyi (admiral), Lin Baoyi. In 1926, Admiral Yang Shuzhuang led some elements of the Beiyang Fleet to defect to the National Revolutionary Army and became the head of the revolutionary navy on the Yangtze River. One of Admiral Yang's subordinates was Chen Shaokuan, who became the commander of the ROC Navy in 1932 and remained in that position until after the war with Japan. During the 1930s he organized the Chinese navy into the Central, Northeast, and Guangdong Fleets.
Chiang Kai-shek announced in 1928 that it was his intention to build a large navy for China, but this goal was undermined by financial problems and other difficulties. Many senior officers did not have modern naval training, and newer officers that were educated in Western countries were not promoted. When the war with Japan broke out, the majority of the Chinese fleet was used during the Battle of Shanghai to slow down the Japanese advance along the Yangtze River. Many ships were sunk by Japanese aircraft or were sunk deliberately by the Chinese to use as blockships in the Yangtze. By 1939 most of the Chinese navy had been destroyed, with one estimate claiming that over 100 of the navy's 120 ships in 1937 had been sunk. Some Chinese warships (notably the cruisers ''Chinese cruiser Ning Hai, Ning Hai'' and ''Chinese cruiser Ping Hai, Ping Hai'') were later refloated and put into service by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The building of a Chinese navy was no longer a priority during the rest of the war, and in 1940 Chiang Kai-shek disbanded the Ministry of the Navy.
In 1945, Chiang revived plans to create a modern Chinese Navy and asked the United States for assistance. The Nationalists received over 100 ships from the U.S. and its allied countries, as well as some captured Axis ships. Before the end of 1945 a navy training center was established in Qingdao by the U.S. Navy. The new navy was mainly used to transport troops and patrol the coastline during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
. In 1948, the former British cruiser HMS Aurora (12), HMS ''Aurora'' was gifted to China and was renamed ''Chongqing'', becoming the flagship of the ROCN. In February 1949, as Chinese Communist forces advanced to the Yangtze River from the north, a mutiny of sailors occurred on ''Chongqing'' and the flagship defected to the Communists. This was followed in April by a mutiny of the entire fleet along the Yangtze, which was led by its commander to the other side. Because of this, 23 April 1949 is considered the founding date of the People's Liberation Army Navy. At the end of the war the rest of the ROCN moved Nationalist troops from the mainland to Taiwan.
The ROC Marine Corps was created from the former Naval Guard Corps, and consisted of two marine brigades, which were used during the war against Japan in several provinces before the corps was disbanded in 1946.
In 1947, a reorganized Republic of China Marine Corps was created by the commander of the Navy using select personnel from the Army.
Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force during the Second-Sino Japanese War was outmatched by the Japanese aviation forces. Foreign advisors from Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom came to China in the 1930s; while foreign aircraft were also imported from a variety of countries. With the beginning of the war they began to rely most heavily on the United States and Soviet Union for advisors. The low amount of planes being domestically produced would prove to be a hindrance.
Beginning in 1929, the Nationalist government started expanding its air power to improve its position over warlords and the Communists. The ROC Air Force was formally established in April 1929, and that month the aviation department of the Ministry of War was separated as the National Aviation Administration, with General Chang We-chang as its head. He started a program of buying American aircraft, with the first, Vought O2U Corsair, Vought Corsair planes, arriving in early 1930. The Chinese Air Force expanded from the first 12 Corsair planes in 1930 to a size of eight squadrons, with seven of bomber-observation planes and one of pursuit planes, in 1931, with a total of 40 to 50 aircraft. Several American pilots became advisors to China's air force and fought in battles against the Japanese or warlords. The Nationalist Air Force had a role in the
Central Plains War of 1930 by bombing cities, directing artillery, and observing warlord army defensive positions, and is credited with helping bring about a faster victory for Chiang Kai-shek's government. It had less success against the Japanese during the Shanghai Incident in 1932.
In September 1932, the Central Aviation School was founded with the help of an American mission led by John Jouett, and its graduates included the majority of Chinese pilot officers by 1937. On his recommendation, the ROCAF was restructured, with a Ministry of Aviation equal to that of the Military and Navy Ministries being established under the Military Affairs Commission. Additional planes were purchased, and factories were also opened in China. As of 1936, the Chinese Air Force had 645 aircraft, and multiple factories and schools.
When the war with Japan broke out in July 1937, much of the ROC Air Force was destroyed during the fighting in central China by December of that year. From 1938 to 1940 the Soviet Volunteer Group did much of the fighting against the Japanese, along with the remnants of the ROCAF. The Soviets sent 885 planes to China over those years.
Economy

In the early years of the Republic of China, the economy remained unstable as the country was marked by constant warfare between different regional warlord factions. The
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
in Beijing experienced constant changes in leadership, and this political instability led to stagnation in economic development until Chinese reunification in 1928 under the Kuomintang. After this reunification, China entered a period of relative stability—despite ongoing isolated military conflicts and in the face of Japanese aggression in Shandong and Manchuria, in 1931—a period known as the "Nanjing Decade".
Chinese industries grew considerably from 1928 to 1931. While the economy was hit by the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931 and the Great Depression from 1931 to 1935, industrial output recovered to their earlier peak by 1936. This is reflected by the trends in Chinese GDP. In 1932, China's GDP peaked at 28.8 billion, before falling to 21.3 billion by 1934 and recovering to 23.7 billion by 1935. By 1930, foreign investment in China totaled 3.5 billion, with Japan leading (1.4 billion) followed by the United Kingdom (1 billion). By 1948, however, the capital investment had halted and dropped to only 3 billion, with the US and Britain being the leading investors.
However, the rural economy was hit hard by the Great Depression of the 1930s, in which an overproduction of agricultural goods lead to falling prices for China as well as an increase in foreign imports (as agricultural goods produced in western countries were "dumped" in China). In 1931, Chinese imports of rice amounted to 21 million bushels compared with 12 million in 1928. Other imports saw even more increases. In 1932, 15 million bushels of grain were imported compared with 900,000 in 1928. This increased competition lead to a massive decline in Chinese agricultural prices and thus the income of rural farmers. In 1932, agricultural prices were at 41 percent of 1921 levels.
[Sun Jian, page 1089] By 1934, rural incomes had fallen to 57 percent of 1931 levels in some areas.
In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War began with a Japanese invasion of China, and the resulting warfare laid waste to China. Most of the prosperous east coast was occupied by the Japanese, who committed atrocities such as the Nanjing massacre. In one anti-guerilla sweep in 1942, the Japanese killed up to 200,000 civilians in a month. The war was estimated to have killed between 20 and 25 million Chinese, and destroyed all that Chiang had built up in the preceding decade. Development of industries was severely hampered after the war by devastating civil conflict as well as the inflow of cheap American goods. By 1946, Chinese industries operated at 20% capacity and had 25% of the output of pre-war China.
One effect of the war with Japan was a massive increase in government control of industries. In 1936, government-owned industries were only 15% of GDP. However, the ROC government took control of many industries to fight the war. In 1938, the ROC established a commission for industries and mines to supervise and control firms, as well as instilling price controls. By 1942, 70% of Chinese industry was owned by the government.
Following the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
in World War II, Japanese Taiwan was placed under the control of the ROC. In the meantime, the KMT renewed its struggle with the communists. However, the corruption and hyperinflation as a result of trying to fight the civil war, resulted in mass unrest throughout the Republic and sympathy for the communists. In addition, the communists' promise to redistribute land gained them support among the large rural population. In 1949, the communists captured Beijing and later Nanjing. The People's Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 October 1949. The Republic of China relocated to Taiwan where Japan had laid an educational groundwork.
Transportation
China's infrastructure would grow dramatically during this period. The railroad network length grew from in 1912 to by 1945. The Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan was known for his strong commitment toward developing railroads. During the Nanjing decade the length of the highway network grew from to while growth was also seen in navigable waterways. In the early 1930s, a Sichuan warlord named Liu Xiang was strongly committed toward creating an entirely Chinese navigation company and eliminating foreign-owned companies in the Yangtze River basin.
Communications
The Republic of China had a national postal system which began under the Qing Dynasty and carried over into the Republican period. The postal service did pull of Manchuria when the Japanese did invade it in 1931 and in Mongolia in 1924. The postal service continued to operate in other areas of the country even when they were taken by the Japanese and eventually began offering their services once again in Manchuria. In rural areas the postal service even offered free deliveries.
Radio had been previously experimented with during the Qing Dynasty and work continued into the Republican era. Radio stations began appearing in the 1920s being mainly concentrated in Shanghai. The Kuomintang would create a national radio program, the Central China Broadcasting Station (CCBS). The CBBS held programs that related to the news, education and entertainment along with putting the news in difference dialects of Chinese. However, those who actually listened to the radio in China were predominantly in the urban areas .Most radios were foreign made and little were made domestically.
Culture
Prior to the fall of the Qing dynasty, interaction and trade with western countries was more common in China than it had been in previous times. This led to greater cultural influence from the west in China. The culture of China and daily life within the country was disrupted from its previous state by the fall of dynastic rule. The Republic of China maintained the increase of western cultural influence in the country. Chinese intellectuals of the time were not unified in their opinions on the cultural changes occurring in the newly founded state. Some took progressive stances and advocated for Art Reform, while more conservative intellectuals believed China should maintain older Chinese traditions.
Cinema of China, Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896. They were introduced through foreign film exhibitors in treaty ports like Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Chinese-made short melodrama and comedy films began emerging in 1913.
Chinese film production developed significantly in the 1920s.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, filmmaking in China was largely done by film studios and there was comparatively little small scale filmmaking.
Upscale movie theaters in China had contracts which required them to exclusively show Hollywood films, and thus as of the later 1920s, Hollywood films accounted for 90% of screen time in Chinese theaters.
After the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, a large number filmmakers left to join the War of Resistance, with many going to the Nationalist-controlled hinterlands to join the Nationalist film studios Central Motion Picture Studio or China Motion Picture Studio.
A smaller number went to Yan'an Soviet, Yan'an or Hong Kong.
During the Nationalist government, Nanjing government, the ROC launched a cultural campaign promoting the "Arts of the
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People (), also known as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, San Min Chu-i, or Tridemism is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China during the Republi ...
."
It sought (mostly unsuccessfully) to attract cultural workers to create new Propaganda in the Republic of China, propaganda works and more successfully established a censorship apparatus directed against unwelcome cultural products, especially left-wing artists and their works.
See also
* Sino-Soviet relations
* Economic history of China (1912–1949)
* History of China–United States relations
* Vice Premier of the Republic of China#List, Vice Premier of the Republic of China
* Project National Glory
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* Boorman, Howard, et al., eds.,''Biographical Dictionary of Republican China''. (New York: Columbia University Press, 4 vols, 1967–1971). 600 articles. Available online at Internet Archive.
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* . In the series "Inventing the Nation."
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* Jowett, Philip. (2013) ''China's Wars: Rousing the Dragon 1894–1949'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013).
* Leung, Edwin Pak-wah. ''Historical Dictionary of Revolutionary China, 1839–1976'' (1992
online free to borrow* Leung, Edwin Pak-wah. ''Political Leaders of Modern China: A Biographical Dictionary'' (2002)
* Li, Xiaobing. (2007) ''A History of the Modern Chinese Army'
excerpt
* Li, Xiaobing. (2012) ''China at War: An Encyclopedia'
excerpt*
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* Paulès, Xavier, ''The Republic of China, 1912–1949'' (Polity Press, 2023).
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* Vogel, Ezra F. ''China and Japan: Facing History'' (2019
excerpt
* Westad, Odd Arne. ''Restless Empire: China and the World since 1750'' (2012
Online free to borrow* Wilbur, Clarence Martin. ''Sun Yat-sen, frustrated patriot'' (Columbia University Press, 1976), a major scholarly biograph
online*
; Historiography
* Yu, George T. "The 1911 Revolution: Past, Present, and Future", ''Asian Survey'', 31#10 (1991), pp. 895–904
online historiography
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External links
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