Asia in the 20th Century

Asia in the 20th CenturyChina Becomes a Republic

China remained a weak, divided nation in the late 19th and early 20th century

The Qing Dynasty finally fell in 1912 when the Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate by revolutionaries under Sun Yat-sen

After the establishment of the Republic, China dissolved into an era of warlords controlling various parts of the country, while many of China’s ports essentially were under foreign control

Finally in the mid-1920s, Sun’s protégé, Chiang Kai-shek consolidated rule, although rivals such as the Communists under Mao remained a problem

Sun Yat-sen

Chiang Kai-shek

Asia in the 20th CenturyWorld War II in China

WWII arguably started in China Japan seized Manchuria in 1931 It invaded the rest of China in 1937

Responding to Japanese aggression distracted Chiang from badly need reform efforts

It also forced him to put aside his war against the Communists to ally with them against the Japanese

The wartime alliance benefited the Communists more than Chiang’s Kuomintang

The communists emerged as heroes in the eyes of China’s peasants

Chiang lost 3 million troops and was so weakened when the civil war resumed after WWII he was forced in 1949 to flee to Taiwan

Asia in the 20th CenturyThe People’s Republic

China under the Communists was dominated until 1976 by Mao Zedong

Mao soon collectivized Chinese agriculture and launched a campaign against “class enemies”

The Great Leap Forward (1950s) Tried to create industrial workshops

among peasants Disastrous policy leading to millions

of deaths from famine

Cultural Revolution (1960s) Mao sought to recapture the fervor of

the era of guerilla struggle Encouraged the young to form units

of “Red Guards” Mao set the Red Guards against

enemies real and perceived

Mao Zedong

Asia in the 20th CenturyChina after Mao

Mao died in 1976, power passed to a formal rival of Mao, Deng Xiaoping

New policies Collectivization of agriculture ends Private enterprise legalized, foreign

investment allowed and encouraged The state remained very involved in

economic activity

The Communist Party retained its monopoly on power, ruthlessly crushing a student-led pro-democracy movement protesting in Tiananmen Square in 1989

Since then China’s wealth and international power have continued to expand greatly

Deng Xiaoping

Asia in the 20th CenturyJapan: Embracing Defeat

After its surrender, Japan came under American occupation

The military governor of Japan was Gen. Douglas MacArthur

MacArthur implemented basic reforms in Japan

These reforms kept the emperor in place, but successfully suppressed Japanese militarism and planted the seeds of Japanese democracy and made the nation a staunch U.S. ally in the Cold War

Stripped of its military power, Japan applied its creative energy to business, becoming an economic powerhouse in international industry and trade

Asia in the 20th CenturyIndia (1)

During the prewar period a powerful movement had emerged seeking independence from Britain

It was centered in the Indian National Congress, but its spiritual leader was Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi encouraged non-violent resistance to British rule

He was alternately ignored, jailed, and courted by the British

His biggest frustration was violent extremist elements in the independence movement

Independence (1947) The Labour Party government that

took power after WWII in Britain decided to grant India independence

Its biggest problem was the Muslim refusal to join India, necessitating the creation of Pakistan

MahatmaGandhi

Asia in the 20th CenturyIndia (2)

India-Pakistan relations Since independence, both India and

Pakistan repeatedly went to war The flashpoints have varied: the

province of Kashmir, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and old religious hatreds

During the Cold War, Pakistan allied itself with the U.S., India with the USSR

The conflict has become especially worrisome since the 1990s when both countries successfully tested nuclear weapons

India has emerged from its Cold War protectionist economy to become a major high tech player, particularly in software development and in service outsourcing