Part Nine IX › Division VII VII › Section 975 975

East Asia: China in Revolution, the Era of Japanese Hegemony, and the Influence of the United States in the 20th Century

Subject Outline

AChina since 1912
- 1The development of the republic (1912-20)
  - aEarly power struggles: Chinese involvement in World War I
    - iJapanese gains in the early part of the war, Yuan Shih-k'ai's attempts to become emperor
    - iiConflict over entry into the war, formation of a rival southern government, changes brought about by the war
  - bModernization and the growth of nationalism: the new intelligentsia, riots and protests
- 2The interwar years (1920-37)
  - aThe beginnings of a national revolution: the Kuomintang, the Chinese Communist Party, cooperation between the two parties
  - bReactions to warlords and foreigners: militarism in China, the continued presence of foreign interests, reorganization of the Kuomintang
  - cStruggles within the two-party coalition
    - iOutbreak of clashes with foreigners, Kuomintang opposition to the radicals
    - iiThe Northern Expedition: peasant uprisings leading to the expulsion of the Communists from the Kuomintang, Communist movement into the hills and plains of central China
  - dThe Nationalist government from 1928 to 1937: Chiang Kai-shek's attempts to eliminate the Communists
    - iImprovements in infrastructure and education in the cities, decline of the rural economy, economic competition with the Japanese in Manchuria
    - iiRenewal of Japanese aggression, war between the Communists and Nationalists, the Long March, formation of the United Front against Japan
- 3The war against Japan (1937-45)
  - aCommunist-Nationalist cooperation in the early stages of the war, renewed conflict between the two groups
  - bInternational alliance against Japan: U.S. military aid, internal conflicts, the crisis of 1944 and Nationalist deterioration, Communist growth and international efforts to prevent civil war
- 4The development of Kuomintang and Chinese Communist ideologies
  - aOrigins and background of modem ideologies: social and political conditions, China's ideological heritage
  - bThe political ideas of Sun Yat-sen: nationalism, democracy, and livelihood
  - cThe political ideas of Chiang Kai-shek: idealization of Chinese tradition
  - dThe development of Maoist ideology: the role of peasants, the "people's war," the border regions
- 5Emergence of the People's Republic of China
  - aThe Civil War (1945-49): the race for territory, Communist successes and ultimate victory
  - bEconomic reforms and reforms in the traditional Chinese social structure (1949-57)
    - iReconstruction and consolidation of power (1949-52): participation in the Korean War, agrarian reform
    - iiThe transition to socialism (1953-57): rural collectivization, urban nationalization
  - cThe period of the Great Leap Forward and the transition to the Cultural Revolution
    - iNew directions in national policy (1958-61): literature and arts for the masses, rural communes
    - iiReadjustment and reaction (1961-65): restoration of order, China as a nuclear power
    - iiiThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76): attacks on cultural leaders and party members, resistance to Peking
    - ivMao's "Reconstruction" (1969-71): the Chinese challenge to Soviet Communism, the Ninth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (April 1969)
  - dInternational relations: UN representation (1971), rapprochement with the U.S. and Japan (1972), friction with the Soviet Union, U.S. diplomatic relations with China (1979), increased cultural and economic contacts overseas, Hong Kong agreement with Great Britain (1984), trade and human-rights disputes with the U.S. in the 1990s
  - eInternal affairs: factional struggles of the early 1970s, deaths of Zhou Enlai (January 1976) and Mao Zedong (September 1976), ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping and purge of Maoist Gang of Four, new party and national constitutions (1982), changes in economic structure and introduction of economic incentives, forcible repression of pro-democracy movement (1989), social changes resulting from rapid economic growth, death of Deng and restoration of Chinese rule in Hong Kong (1997)
- 6The Nationalist government in Taiwan since 1949: initial repression and consolidation; leadership of Chiang Kai-shek until his death; alliance with the U.S. and economic growth; loss of UN representation (1971); Taiwanese separatism; loss of diplomatic support from most nations, including U.S. (1979); end of martial law (1987) and gradual democratization
BJapan since c. 1910
- 1Japan's political, economic, and social developments in the early 20th century
  - aConstitutional government: party politics, participation by bureaucrats and business elites
  - bSocial and economic changes: attempts to organize labour, cultural trends, growth of educated classes
- 2The rise and fall of Imperial Japan (c. 1920-45)
  - aThe rise of the militarists, growth of antigovemment sentiment, the seizure of initiative in foreign policy by the military, the outbreak of war with China (1937), Axis leanings
  - bJapan's proclamation of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (1938), official alignment with the Axis Powers (1940), and deterioration of relations with the other Western powers: Tojo's cabinet and outbreak of war with the U.S. (1941)
  - cInitial Japanese successes in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, the Allied counterattack culminating in the fire and atomic bombing of Japanese cities, Japan's unconditional surrender (1945)
  - dPostwar Japan: political reform, economic and social changes, international relations and cultural developments
    - iJapan under U.S. military occupation (1945-52): democratization of Japanese society; constitutional, land, and labour reforms; increased rights for women
    - iiInternational relations and politics; loss of Korea and other territories, relations with China and the U.S., radical political movements in the 1960s, politics of moderation
    - iiiRestoration of Japanese independence (1952): great economic growth, admission to the UN (1956), return of the Bonins and Ryukyus, Japan as a major world trader, economic tensions with U.S. and the European Community, rapprochement with China (1978), overtures toward Southeast Asia and Korea, long dominance of Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) and intra-party factionalism, government- corruption scandals, succession of coalition and LDP governments since 1993
CKorea since 1910
- 1Japanese rule (1910-45): military control, the March 1st independence movement and formation of a provisional Korean government in exile (1919), resistance movements and the end of Japanese rule
- 2Korea since 1945
  - aDivision into South and North Korea (1948): U.S. and Soviet military aid to and disputes over the two Korean republics
  - bNorth Korean invasion (1950) of South Korea and the Korean War (1950-53): U.S. and UN intervention, Chinese participation, armistice (1953)
  - cSouth Korea since the armistice: the regimes of Syngman Rhee (1948-60) and Park Chung Hee (1961-79), the assassination of Park and military coup (1979), the Kwangju uprising and its violent suppression (1980), the regime of Chun Doo Hwan (1980-88), economic growth and development, constitutional reforms, administrations of Roe Tae Woo (1988-93), Kim Young Sam (1993-98, Kim Dae Jung (1998-2003), and Roh Moo Hyun (2003- )