Peace In Their Time

Episode 74 - Red Lows

The CPC found itself hunted and on the run after the whole "getting purged" thing went down with the KMT. Survival was the order of the day, and only in limited instances were the Communists able to even make their presence felt. And even in their reduced state there were still inter-party squabbles. But the trials they endured would eventually pay off as the KMT's nemesis refused to give up their revolutionary dreams. 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
4. Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935 The Viking Press 1971
5. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 73 - A Revolution Dashed

The war for China took a turn when Chiang Kai-shek and the Right KMT executed a massive backstab on the Communists and their Left KMT allies. In doing so, Chiang unknowingly established an intractable rivalry that would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
4. SCM Paine The Wars for Asia 1911-1949 Cambridge University Press 2012
5. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 72 - The Northern Expedition

The decisive campaign of China's warlord era begins as Chiang Kai-shek tightens his grip on the Kuomintang and finally kicks off the Northern Expedition. Despite KMT power and influence in the south having been growing for over two years previously, the feuding warlords didn't have an answer and got routed in the first phase. The only thing that slowed the advance of the KMT was its internal divisions that would come to a head after the first round of dizzying victories. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
4. SCM Paine The Wars for Asia 1911-1949 Cambridge University Press 2012

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 71 - The Sun Sets

The Kuomintang was going from strength to strength by the mid-20s, but in early 1925 faced a test of an unfamiliar sort when its founder, Sun Yat-sen, passed away. It would be up to his lieutenants to carry on the Nationalist cause without him. Alongside their Communist allies, the next generation of KMT leaders made their final preparations for the great Northern Expedition. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 70 - Communist Entanglements

Today we finally leave the warlords of the north behind and turn back to China's southern provinces, where Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang were still struggling to establish a stable base. Those efforts would be saved by the intervention of an outside party: the Soviet Union. Their aid though came at the price of allying with the tiny Communist Party of China. The partnership would change the KMT in ways Sun hadn't foreseen, but would also lift the Party out of the morass of frustrations it had been subjected to for the past decade.

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 69 - The Fall of the Zhili

The Second Zhili-Fengtian War ended in dramatic fashion. But once again, nobody left on the board was in a good enough position to claim control of China. Instead, the warlord period entered its most factionalized phase, with four major players vying for dominance in the north. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Pye, Lucian W. Warlord Politics Praeger Publishers 1971
4. Chan, Anthony B. Arming the Chinese: The Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-1928 UBC Press 2010
5. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 68 - The Lords of War

This week I cover the arms trade fueling the civil wars in China, and the warlords' own efforts at building native arms industries. Then for the second half, I kick off the Second Zhili-Fengtian War, as the region north of Beijing once again became a battleground. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Pye, Lucian W. Warlord Politics Praeger Publishers 1971
5. Chan, Anthony B. Arming the Chinese: The Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-1928 UBC Press 2010
6. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 67 - King of the Hill

The wars between the Cliques kick off as the Anhui and Zhili factions go head-to-head. While their battle would be a short one, the results brought the nation no closer to peace, and only set the stage for the next round of fighting. Also, Sun Yat-sen keeps doing his thing in the country's south. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Pye, Lucian W. Warlord Politics Praeger Publishers 1971
5. Chan, Anthony B. Arming the Chinese: The Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-1928 UBC Press 2010

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 66 - The May Fourth Incident

Today I take a partial step back from high politics in China. Dissatisfaction had been building over the Chinese government's failure revise the exploitive relationship the country suffered from with the great powers of the world. And it didn't help that both Yuan and Duan had been actively courting foreign support either. On May 4th 1919, the tension broke and people took to the streets, at first mostly students, and then most everybody else in the major cities. In addition to covering this protest, I take a step back and cover the development of Chinese thinking and education that led to this point. While the protests would be relatively short-lived, they represented a break where political and social revolution became far more attractive in China. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Pye, Lucian W. Warlord Politics Praeger Publishers 1971

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 65 - The Cliques

This week I give an overview of the emerging networks of Warlords that would come to dominate China. Yuan Shikai might have died, but China's troubles were far, far from over. His most powerful subordinate, Duan Qirui, attempted to fill the void left by his old master, but he didn't command the same level of prestige and fear that Yuan did at his height. Other factions began to emerge and Duan's own authoritarian tendencies led to the Warlords scrambling to make alliances for the civil wars to come. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Pye, Lucian W. Warlord Politics Praeger Publishers 1971
5. Chan, Anthony B. Arming the Chinese: The Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-1928 UBC Press 2010

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com