Chapter 12333 the Troubled Republic, 1912
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Chapter 12333 The troubled republic, 1912 - 1949 Key ideas: This chapter discusses core themes in the confusing history of the republican period. Questions and contradictions addressed include the contrast of radically westernised modernity in the coastal cities and stagnation in the rural interior, the militarization of politics, coupled with a marked dependence of governments on foreign support and the growing domination of ideology in politics. Introduction In the tempestuous history of modern China, the four decades of the Chinese Republic are the most tumultuous and confused period. In order to minimized our own confusion about this time, let us start with a very general orientation to put the extent of modernity and the limitations of the republican state into perspective. The pace of change From at least 1895 onwards, modernization was the generally accepted path to be taken. Efforts were made to rid China of “old” habits, customs and institutions; to establish “new” education, family relations, enterprises, communications, language and traditions; to acquire “new” knowledge, ideologies, dress and hairstyles, and even leisure activities. While the pace of change from the 19th to the 20th century was breathtaking enough in the West, in the modernizing world outside Europe it was much more so. It not only came later and more sudden, but involved the departure from or re-invention of the existing culture. As a result, few Chinese modernizers were able to keep up the pace set by the process they had set in motion. With few exceptions, persons at the forefront of modernization found themselves, their ideas and language having turned “old” in a matter of half a decade. It is useful to keep in mind, therefore, that the proliferation of labels such as reformist, conservative, progressive and reactionary is a relative terminology in a quickly shifting setting, and that even the worst “reactionaries” of the early 1900s were “modern” in their basic outlook. The acquisition of modernity from Japan Modernization was largely congruent with Westernization, but commonly obtained through Japanese mediation. Thus, the modern school system established in the last Qing decade, was based on the Japanese model, which again was based on the German one. Most importantly, the vast majority of translations, which introduced modern knowledge, terminology, concepts, and all that went with it, were from the Japanese. As a result, modern Chinese language and conceptions are permeated by Japanese terms and interpretations. This was fairly unproblematic, as Japanese neologisms usually were 333 For illustrations for chapters 12 and 13, see Shoppa (2004), Twentieth Century China. redefinitions or re-combinations of classical Chinese words. As a result of Japanese leadership in modernization, therefore, East Asia modernity can be described as shaped by Japan.334 Learning from the West was the goal, and sometimes the reality, but Japan was the interpreter with its own considerable creative force. The limited reach of modernity How far, however, did Westernising modernization really reach in China? Certainly, the coastal cities looked modern and the new intellectuals, often educated in mission schools or abroad, where as modern in appearance and expression as their Western counterparts. Furthermore, modern economic structures built by foreign and Chinese participants created small but noticeable modern classes of workers, entrepreneurs and office workers. When we look at Chinese society as a whole, however, modernity remains a fringe phenomenon. Some 80% of Chinese continued to live in villages, and most of them had no means, access or leisure for modernity much beyond the use of matches. They continued to cultivate their fields and apply their crafts in traditional ways, wore clothes produced with traditional technology, and participated in trade that used traditional means of transport and commercial organization. This does not mean that ordinary village dwellers in inland China were oblivious of change. They were observant of what happened around them and quick to use new materials and opportunities. Yet, the modernity of Shanghai would have been an alien world to them. More often, moreover, they were negatively impacted. It was villagers who were made to suffer under higher taxes to feed armies, who were forced to plant opium in order to maximise profits of warlords, who were driven off their land by warfare and natural disaster. It would be only after 1949 that modernity became more than a fringe phenomenon. The republican limitations The term Republican era for Chinese history from 1912 to 1949 in one of convenience rather than substance. From the outset, the republic that was proclaimed as the central government of China in early 1912 was severely limited as a state structure. Its political and financial control over the provinces and its reach into local society was weaker than that the slim and increasingly atrophied Qing state had exerted. Within a year, the frontier regions Outer Mongolia and Tibet had broken away, founding semi-independent states with Russian and British support respectively.335 334 In Korea, where classical Chinese had been the written language of the educated elite as well, a similar process took place in introducing modernity via Japan. 335 The independence of the Outer Mongolian state founded in 1911, was not recognized by a Chinese government until 1952, and then only under Soviet pressure. The independence of Tibet has never been recognized and was reversed by military force in 1959. These trends led to all but nominal disintegration during the warlord era (1916-27) and the reconstitution of state structures during the Nanjing decade (1927-37) of the Guomindang 国民党 (abbr. GMD, also frequently abbreviated KMT based on the Wade-Giles transcription) was limited. In 1931, Manchuria was occupied by Japanese troops and a de-facto colonial regime established. With the Japanese invasion of 1937, Chinese territory became divided between the Guomindang and the Communists. The two political forces clashed immediately after the Japanese surrender, plunging into a civil war of four years. In short, for much of the period, the republic was a no more than a formal framework that held most of the empire together but can hardly count as a as functioning state. The early Republic The revolution Map: The Treaty ports and foreign spheres of influence, 1910: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/chin1910.htm The revolution of 1911 or Xinhai Revolution 辛亥革命 (after the cyclical signs of the year) was successful by accident. A military uprising in Wuchang 武昌 (now part of Wuhan city) was forced to start early when cigarette ash triggered an explosion. By coincidence, government forces were withdrawn to Sichuan, where the movement for the return of railway rights had led to violent clashes. Other cities joined the revolutionary uprising, the Qing court recalled Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (1859-1916), the powerful general of the modern Northern Army, whom it had dismissed for getting too powerful three years earlier. Yuan, however, had not trust in a Manchu court formally headed by the child emperor Puyi 溥儀 (1906-1964, nominally reigned 1908-1912). He negotiated the abdication of the dynasty and himself became president of the Republic of China. The former imperial family was permitted to stay in the Forbidden City (until it was evicted by a local warlord in 1934).336 The revolutionaries Who were the revolutionaries who seemed to have carried the day in winter 1911? The central force of the loosely knit revolutionary movement was the Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmeng hui 同盟会) founded in Japan in 1905. It consisted of publicists, activists and educators, backed by secret societies that were united in a fierce and racialist anti-Manchu stance. Sun Yat-sen Sun Yatsen (孙逸仙, called Sun Zhongshan 孙中山 in China, 1866- 1925),337 a medical doctor and able fundraiser, was the leader of the revolutionaries. He had spent his youth in Hawaii and spent much time on fundraising trips in expatriate Chinese communities. His ideological stance was fuzzy but comprehensive enough to make him the movement’s leader. Sun might be described as representative of coastal China, Westernized but deeply nationalist, outward-oriented and adaptable, with a keen business acumen and high-flying ideals. Though abroad at the time of the Wuchang uprising, Sun was nominated the first provisional president of the republic-to-be. Shortly afterwards, however, probably in order to avoid civil war, the revolutionaries ceded the presidency to Yuan Shikai and disbanded their quickly formed militias. Sun did not again play a prominent role in the early republic. Yet after his death in 1925, Sun was gradually raised to become the venerated founder of the republic, acclaimed as the father of the modern Chinese nation by both Guomindang and 338 Communists. The failed republic Over the next years, an despite impressive performance flegeling democratic structures, such as local and provincial assemblies and a resounding victory of the revolutionaries (now renamed Guomindang) in general elections (by a franchised voters who made up 4-5% of the population), Yuan ruthlessly and successfully 336 It is worth noting that although fighting was limited to a few local confrontations, the revolution was not “bloodless.” In numerous places, anti-Manchu agitation led to massive persecutions and even massacres of the Manchu population. As in the case of the Chinese Muslims who had suffered ethnic repression during and following the late 19th century rebellions, Manchus often lived in sparate settlements and became easy targets once ethnic hatred was fanned. 337 Sun’s original name is Sun Wen 孙文 (this is commonly used by Japanese and Korean authers as the neutral name). Sun Yat-sen is the transliteration of the Cantonese pronunciation of his zi 字. As this was the name he used in his Hawaii and American years, he came to be known by this name in the West. Sun Zhongshan is the honorary hao 号 used by his comrades, by which he became known and venerated in Republican China.