Before Springbreak, everyone in class made a timeline from 1900 to 1940. Most of the changes in China started when the Manchu Government lost power in 1911. Then in 1917, the Bolsheviks took power in Russia, which was a social democratic group before power and became to be known as the Communist party. We also talked about how so much was happening during 1926-1927, and it starts with Chiang Kai Shek’s Guomingdang starting their Northern campaign in 1926. Then in 1927 my group and I added more information from our timeline because as I stated before so much was happening during this time period of China’s history. In 1927 the CCP suffered massive losses by Guomingdang, and the CCP retreated; Mao also gained control of areas and support. Guomingdang takes the Nationalist government and bans the CCP. Then in 1934, the CCP did the Long March against Guomingdang; then in 1935, Russia lost its influence over the CCP. So much happened during this period in China, and you could easily get lost, and here is a ton of information to go over and to think about from this time period.
The reading, The Story of Luding Bridge, explains how the Nanjing government launched five anti-bandit campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviets. The Red Army successfully repelled his first four attacks. Nevertheless, the fifth offensive changed strategy, mobilizing about two million troops and gradually reducing the size of the communist stronghold. The history of the Long March repeated itself over and over again. It symbolized the dedication, courage, and self-sacrifice of the CCP. A dispute ensued between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Company regarding who should command the mission. After a heated debate, it was finally decided who would take over the duties, and the 2nd Company, which began its attack in the afternoon. A fierce battle was imminent, but by nightfall, they had completely overrun the town of Luding. I found this reading very interesting, and to see how they decided who would lead the fight was very questionable because they chose the company. The Long March podcast talks about the Long March and what happened. He has guests who specialize in Chinese history. They discussed the issue of China, and one of the guests said, “China was united by military power”, but I agree with you because there are many warlords in China, which was in the above reading. You can find that out in meetings discussing who will lead the attack. There is a lot of unity and nationalism in this attack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist_government
Moïse Edwin E. Modern China: A History Third ed. Harlow, England: Pearson/Longman, 2008.
Dillon, Michael. China: A Modern History. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010.
“The Tale of the Luding Bridge.” In The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection, Third ed. Edited by Janet Chen et. al., W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
“The Long March,” BBC Radio 4 podcast. Melvin Bragg and guests. Nov. 29, 2018.
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