Modern History of China in the Twentieth Century - China Modernization

The 20th century brought a complete revolution to the history of China. The empire was overthrown in 1911 and Sun Yat Sen, a doctor and a nationalist, became the the first president in China's history. The modern history in China began right at that time. Considering the national interest, Sun stepped down shortly and  allowed former Qing general Yuan Shikai to take over the presidency. After an abortive attempt to declare himself as an emperor, Yuan died in 1916. Subsequently, the central rule was collapsed, the country was fallen apart. China broke up into different semi-autonomous warlord regions. In 1926-1928, a united front between Nationalists and Communists united much of China. Later, the conflicts between the communists and nationalists resumed. The communists led by Mr. Mao Zedong started driving the movement underground by setting up a base in the mountains of Jiangxi Province, which was called the Jiangxi Soviet.

In the 1930s, the nationalists launched a series of campaigns designed to defeat the Communists. Pressure on the Jiangxi Soviet prompted the Communists commence the famous twelve thousand kilometer "Long March" to the west in 1934, which has become an important event in the history of China. The Long March led the Red Army from Jiangxi across southern and western China before ending in 1935 in Yan'an of Shaanxi Province. During that period, Japan continued its imperial expansion in East Asia, which had started after wining the 1895 war. As an unfortunate chapter in the modern history of China, Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and occupied much of eastern China by the late 30s. During the invasion, Japanese behavior was often brutal; Chinese resistance was spirited. The Japanese generals thought they could take all of China in three months; however, it took them three months just to drive the Chinese army out of Shanghai. Throughout the war, roughly half of Japan's armed forces was tied up in China.

During that period of the history, China had interior problems as well, such as civil war between the Nationalist and the Communist Party, civil unrest and major famines. In 1937, the Nationalists and Communists signed a tenuous agreement to form a united front against Japan. The agreement unfortunately broke down in 1945 after Japan's defeat. The war between the Communists under Mao Zedong and the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek started again and lasted until 1949 when the communists declared the victory. The Nationalists then grabbed many national gold reserves and imperial treasure and flee to Taiwan. Within some period of time thereafter, various Western countries refused to recognize "Communist China" and continued to treat the Nationalists as the only "legitimate" government of China, some held the position until the early 70s.

After the historical victory in 1949, the new Chinese government implemented strong measures to restore law and order. They tried various social experiments, including the "Great Leap Forward", with an attempt to quickly industrialize the nation, and the Cultural Revolution, aimed at changing everything by discipline and attention to Mao Zedong Thought. Both are widely regarded as disastrous failures. However, many social scientists believe the Cultural Revolution did one thing positive, i.e., purged some corrupt leaders. Some even argue that the pace of China's economic boom and modernization would not have been as rapid as what we see today without it. The cultural and historical damage from the Cultural Revolution can still be seen today; many traditional Chinese customs, such as the celebration of the Hungry Ghost Festival are still thriving in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and overseas Chinese communities, but have largely disappeared in mainland China.

Mao Zedong passed away in 1976. Shortly after that, his widow was arrested as part of the "Gang of Four" who were determined to be principally responsible for the Cultural Revolution's excesses. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the leader of the country. Deng gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making process. Economic output quadrupled by 2000 and is still rising at 9% a year in average. In 2003, China secure the bid for the entry to the World Trade Organization. October 2007 saw the official guarantees on private property, a clear step away from traditional hardcore communism. In 2003, the Party changed its statutes to accept a new category of members - "Red capitalists."

The current president of China, Hu Jintao, has proclaimed a policy for a "Harmonious Society" which promises to restore balanced economic growth and to channel investment and prosperity into China's westernmost provinces where have been somehow left behind in the economic boom since 1978. This policy also involves additional tax breaks for farmers, a rural medical insurance scheme, reduction or elimination of school tuition fees and infrastructure development to encourage investment in underdeveloped areas for which the construction of the Beijing to Lhasa railway - a dream that was first put on paper by Sun Yat Sen in the early 1900s, is the best example.