The Fall of the Qing, Warlordism and Chaos, 1900-34 » Sun Yat-sen, the Guomindang and the Birth of the Chinese Communist Party

Sun Yat-sen and the Guomindang

By 1920 China was split between warlords. Sun Yat-sen, who had been the first provisional president of the republic in 1912, had given up the presidency to Yuan Shikai. He now wanted to reunite the country. His party was the Guomindang (also called the Nationalist Party). Yuan banned it in 1913, and Sun re-formed it in 1919. By the early 1920s he had a base in the southern city of Guangzhou (Canton).

Sun's ideas were called the Three Principles of the People:

Sun was popular, but he had a big problem. He had little money and no army he could rely on. Warlords supported him only when it suited them, and foreign powers such as Britain and the USA would not help him.

Key terms:

• Guomindang: the Nationalist Party, led by Sun Yat-sen, which wanted a united, modern, independent China.
• Three Principles of the People: Sun's ideas of nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood.
• Communism: the idea that land, factories and wealth should be owned by everyone together, with no rich owners and poor workers. It was put into practice in Russia after its 1917 revolution.
• Soviet Union: the communist state that grew out of the Russian Revolution; the name was used from 1922.
• United Front: an agreement between two groups to work together against a common enemy.
• Adviser: an expert sent to help and train another government or party.

The birth of the Chinese Communist Party

After the May the Fourth Movement, some Chinese thinkers admired the Russian Revolution of 1917. Russia had overthrown its emperor and, they believed, had stood up to the great powers. Chen Duxiu, the editor of New Youth, became a leading figure among them.

The Soviet Union also wanted communism to spread. Its Communist International (the Comintern) sent agents to China to help. In July 1921 a small group, about a dozen delegates from across China, met in Shanghai and founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One delegate was a young teacher named Mao Zedong. When police interrupted the meeting, the group moved to a boat on a lake to finish. Chen Duxiu was chosen as its leader.

The CCP was tiny at first. It focused on organising factory workers in cities, for example by setting up unions and running night schools.

The Soviet Union and the United Front

Sun now turned to the Soviet Union. In January 1923 he met a Soviet representative, Adolf Joffe, in Shanghai, and they agreed that the Soviet Union would help him to unite China. Sun did not become a communist, and said that communism did not suit China. But he wanted help, and the Soviets wanted a friendly, strong China.

The Soviet Union sent advisers, led by Mikhail Borodin, who arrived in 1923. They helped to reorganise the Guomindang into a disciplined party, like the Soviet one, with a strong central committee. They also sent money and weapons.

In 1924 the Guomindang and the CCP formed the United Front. Communists were allowed to join the Guomindang as individuals, while keeping their own party. Both sides agreed that the first job was to defeat the warlords and reunite China.

The Soviets also helped to train an army. In 1924 the Whampoa Military Academy opened near Guangzhou. Chiang Kai-shek was its commander, and communists such as Zhou Enlai taught there. It trained officers who were loyal to the Guomindang, giving Sun the reliable army he had lacked.

Sun's death, 1925

In late 1924 Sun travelled north to Beijing to discuss uniting the country. He was ill with cancer and died there on 12 March 1925, before he could finish the task. The Guomindang lost its founder, and the question of who would lead it next was left open. The next lesson picks this up.

Change and continuity

Common mistakes

Exam-style question

Explain TWO causes of the United Front between the Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party in 1924. [8 marks]