The rise of China Nationalism

 Although China has a much large population and much greater natural riches than Japan, she was not successful like that country in re-constituting herself on the model of European Countries. Her government remained weak and ineffective, so that she suffered defeat and loss of pride both at the hands of the western powers and at the hands of her smaller neighbor, Japan. Many of her people became very dissatisfied with this state of affairs, and in 1911 there was a successful revolt which led in 1912 to the overthrow of the last of the Chinese emperors, and to the setting up of republic.

However, this failed to lead to the establishment of strong government. Chinese leaders quarreled among themselves. China remained weak. Japan took advantage of china’s weakness to gain for herself advantages in china, and she was very successful. Yet her successes did for the Chinese what they were unable to do for themselves. Each fresh attack on china by japan increased the Chinese hatred of the Japanese, until at last, in 1937, the Chinese agreed to forget their differences, and to unite under one leader General Chiang Kai-Shek, to fight Japan.

At the end of the 1941 declare war on Great Britain and the U.S.A and quickly succeeded in conquering a large empire in South-East Asia. She lost the whole of this newly-won empire when she was finally defeated in 1945.

China was once again troubled by civil war between the followers of the Chiang Kai-Shek and the Chinese communists. In 1949 the communists won and Chiang Kai-Shek was driven out to the island of Formosa.