History of the Republic of China

From Academic Kids

History of China
The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors
Xia Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
Qin Dynasty
Western Han Dynasty
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han Dynasty
Three Kingdoms
Jin Dynasty
Sixteen Kingdoms
Southern and Northern Dynasties
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty (AD 690)
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Song Dynasty
Liao Dynasty
Western Xia
Jin Empire
Yuan Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
Republic of China
People's Republic of China (1, 2, 3, 4)
edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:History_of_China&action=edit)

The Republic of China succeeded the Qing Dynasty in China and ruled mainland China from 1912 to 1949. After the defeat of the Kuomintang on mainland China by the Communist Party in 1949, it retreated to Taiwan, along with several islands off the coast of Fujian, instituting an authoritarian one party state headed by Chiang Kai-shek. Since reforms begun in the late 1970s, Taiwan has transformed itself into a localized, multiparty, representative democratic state.

Five-colored flag
Flag of the ROC (1912-1928)

Missing image
Blue Sky, White Sun, and Wholly Red Earth flag

Flag of the ROC (1928-present)

Rule on Mainland China

Revolution of 1911

Main article: Xinhai Revolution

Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen



Early Republic


Missing image
Yuan Shikai



In November Yuan Shikai, legally president, ordered the KMT dissolved and forcefully removed its members from parliament. Within a few months, he suspended parliament and the provincial assemblies and forced the promulgation of a new constitution, which, in effect, made him president for life. By the end of 1915, Yuan, supported by his son Yuan Keding, declared himself Emperor of the Chinese Empire (中华帝国). Widespread rebellions ensued, and numerous provinces declared independence in protest. With opposition at every quarter and the nation breaking up into warlord factions, Yuan Shikai died of natural causes in June 1916, deserted by his lieutenants.

Warlord Era


Foreign incursions and Student activism

Students in Beijing rallied during the May Fourth Movement.
Students in Beijing rallied during the May Fourth Movement.



Fight against warlordism



Chiang consolidates power






The United States Military in China

Between 1901 and 1937, the United States military maintained a strong presence in China to maintain Far East trade interests and to pursue a permanent alliance with the Chinese Republic, after long diplomatic difficulties with the Chinese Empire. The relationship between the U.S. and China was mostly on-again off-again, with periods of both cordial diplomatic relations accompanied by times of severed relations and violent anti-U.S. protests.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Asiatic Fleet of the United States Navy was based from China, and a classic image of the "China Sailor" developed, as a large number of U.S. Navy members would remain at postings in China for 10-12 years then retire and continue to live in the country. The classic film The Sand Pebbles is a dramatization on the life of the China Sailors.

The United States military also created several awards and decorations to recognize those personnel who had performed duty in China. The China Service Medal, China Campaign Medal, Yangtze Service Medal, and the China Relief Expedition Medal were all military medals which could be presented to those who had performed duty in China.

With the approach of World War II, the United States military in China was slowly withdrawn to protect other U.S. interests in the Pacific. With the rise of Communist China, there was no further U.S. military presence in mainland China, a status which continues to this day. The U.S. military continued to be stationed in Taiwan until diplomatic relations were broken with the Republic of China in 1979.

Second Sino-Japanese War

Main article: Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)


Generalissimo and  with  in Burma (1942).
Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek
with General Stilwell in Burma (1942).




Civil War

Main article: Chinese Civil War




Missing image
The Nationalists' retreat to Taipei: after the Nationalists lost Nanking they next moved to Canton, then to Chungking, before fleeing to Taipei.


Rule on Taiwan

Tension between locals and mainlanders

Chen Yi, the Chief Executive of Taiwan, arrived on October 24, 1945 and received the last Japanese governor, Ando Rikichi, who signed the document of surrender on the next day.

After Japan's surrender in World War II, Nationalist rule began in October 1945. During the immediate postwar period, the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) administration on Taiwan was repressive and corrupt, leading to local discontent. Anti-mainlander violence flared on February 28, 1947, prompted by an incident in which a cigarette seller was injured and a passerby was shot to death by Nationalist authorities.


However, the number of victims are still in dispute. Some say that as high as 30,000 Taiwanese were killed, while others say the majority killed were innocent civilians from the mainland. The number is still being researched upon as the government declassified sensitive material recently. The government also set up a reparation fund for the victims or the families of victims, of 228. However, as of right now, only a few hundred have come forward to claim the money even though the deadline was pushed several times. This furthermore casts doubts on the number of victims.

Economic developments

With the help of the China Aid Act of 1948 and the Chinese-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, the ROC government implemented a far-reaching and seemingly highly successful land reform program on Taiwan during the 1950s. They redistributed land among small farmers and compensated large landowners with commodities certificates and stock in state-owned industries. Although this left some large landowners impoverished, others turned their compensation into capital and started commercial and industrial enterprises. These entrepreneurs were to become Taiwan's first industrial capitalists. Together with refugee businessmen from the mainland, they managed Taiwan's transition from an agricultural to a commercial, industrial economy.


Diplomatic setbacks


Democratic reforms

Chiang Kai-shek's eventual successor, his son Chiang Ching-kuo, began to liberalize Taiwan's political system. Events such as the Kaohsiung Incident in 1979 highlighted the need for change and groups like Amnesty International were mobilizing a campaign against the government and President Chiang Ching-kuo. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was inaugurated as the first opposition party in the ROC to counter the KMT. A year later Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law. Chiang selected Lee Teng-hui, a native Taiwanese technocrat, to be his Vice President. The move followed other reforms giving more power to the native Taiwanese and calmed anti-KMT sentiments.




One of Lee's final acts as president was to declare on German radio that the R.O.C. and the P.R.C. have a special state to state relationship. Lee's statement was met with the PRC's People's Liberation Army conducting military drills in Fujian causing many to fear that war was imminent.

Contemporary Republic of China

The 2000 presidential election marked the end of the KMT's status as the ruling party. Opposition DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian won a three way race that saw the Pan-Blue vote split by independent James Soong and KMT candidate Lien Chan. Chen garnered 39% of the vote.

Chen Shui-bian was re-elected by a narrow 0.2% of the vote the 2004 presidential election over KMT party Chairman Lien Chan, who had People First Partyor PFP, Chairman James Soong as his running mate. On the day before the election, both Chen and Vice President Annette Lu were shot while campaigning in Tainan. Their injuries were not life threatening, but the incident is believe to have gained them enough sympathy to influence the result. That incident also gave president Chen the ability of declaring martial emergency, which prevented the police and military, who are strongly pan-blue from voting. Lien refused to concede, alleging voting irregularities, though providing little evidence. KMT and PFP supporters held mass protests throughout the following weeks. Litigation on the court case brought up by Lien and Soong, as well as an official inquiry are still pending. During the legislative elections held on 8 December, 2004, The KMT-PFP dominated Pan-Blue alliance gained a slim majority in the elections which resulted into President Chen Shui-bien resigning as DPP chairman. The cabinet of Premier Yu-shyi Kun resigned and Frank Hsieh assumed premiership on 25 January, 2005. The PRC enacted a proposed Anti-secession law that allows the use of force on Taiwan and the ROC government if Taiwan formally declares independence. However, this law was met with an overwhelming protest from the ROC and disapproval from the western countries. Negotiations in January in Macau between the aviation authorites from both the ROC and PRC resulted into direct-cross strait flights between mainland China and Taiwan during the Lunar New Year Period. In a twist of events, President Chen Shui-bien and PFP Chairman James Soong held a summit and the independence-leaning President ironically said that eventual reunification with the mainland would be an option. Against the proposed Anti-secession law proposed by the PRC, President Chen Shui-bien held a video-conference with the European Parliament in Brussels urged the EU not to lift the arms embargo on the PRC.

See also

ja:中華民国の歴史 fi:Kiinan tasavallan historia zh:中華民國歷史


Academic Kids Menu

  • Art and Cultures
  • Space and Astronomy



  • Clip Art (http://classroomclipart.com)
Personal tools