The Victory of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949

The Victory of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949
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Introduction
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, China went through unprecedented political turmoil that almost left the country in utter desolation. During that period, the Qing dynasty's rule came to a grinding halt due to several factors. For instance, a series of civil and international wars had considerably weakened the dynasty. In addition, the dynasty faced immense pressure from revolutionaries who held that China had to eliminate emperors entirely to stand up to the West. Despite spirited efforts by some reformers in the Qing administration to reform the government, its rule came to a sudden end in 1911 following the Xinhai Revolution, which constrained emperor Puyi to relinquish power. The end of the Qing dynasty paved the way for the formation of the Republic of China. It lasted from 1912 to 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party seized the reins of leadership and formed the People's Republic of China. An intellectual revolutionary called Sun Yat-Sen was elected as the first provincial president, but events unfolded differently, forcing him to cede power to Yuan Shikai in 1912. The founding of a republic made it necessary for people to found political parties. One of the first notable parties was the Nationalist party, Kuomintang (KMT), which won a majority in the National Assembly in the first elections. Nine years later, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) joined the political fray, becoming a fierce rival of KMT. The rivalry, save for a brief hiatus when they formed a coalition, spanned many years until 1949, when CCP won the protracted battle of wits between them. The victory was not a one-day event but the culmination of a long process defined by several factors, including key figures and events.[BBC. The fall of the Qing dynasty. n.d. /bitesize/topics/znmk4xs/articles/zds2qfr, par. 24.] [Hans J. van de Ven. From Friend to Comrade: The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party, 1920-1927. University of California Press, Ltd., 1991, 13.]
Events That Defined the Victory of CCP
The China Communist Party was formed in 1921 by communists who espoused the principles of Marxism-Leninism, besides drawing inspiration from the Russian revolution. The principal objective of the pioneers of the party was to restore the country to a sound footing following unimaginable fragmentation. Immediately after its formation, there developed intense tension between itself and its primary rival, KMT. Ultimately, the tensions erupted into a civil war won by CCP in 1949. Several events played a significant role in the party's formation and success, including the Xinhai revolution, the May Fourth Movement, and the Land Reform Movement, among others.[Lindsay Maizland, and Eleanor Albert. The Chinese Communist Party. October 6, 2022. /backgrounder/chinese-communist-party, par. 7.]
The Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai revolution, which commenced with the Wuchang uprising, served as a crucial catalyst for the rejuvenation of China through the overturning of the domination of the Qing dynasty. The revolution not only overthrew the dynasty that had ruled China for thousands of years but also facilitated the founding of the Chinese Republic. Moreover, the event was monumental in that it ushered in numerous critical social changes. For instance, China witnessed an exponential growth of its working class, the development of democracy, and Marxism. This combination of factors culminated in the birth of the Communist Party, whose founders endeavored to overturn the domination of imperialism and feudalism. Most founder members were intellectuals whose horizons had been inevitably broadened by the greater public freedoms resulting from the Xinhai revolution.[Lu Na. How Xinhai changed China. September 21, 2011. /china/xinhairevolution/2011-09/21/content_23462753.htm, par. 4.]
Even though the revolution accomplished its main objective of ending the dominance of the Qing dynasty, the Yuan Shikai-led government was fragile, and people continued to suffer privations in different dimensions. For instance, the Chinese working class endured terrible working and living conditions, which galvanized it to find mechanisms for improving its situation. Furthermore, the country disintegrated following the untimely death of president Shikai, which brought to the fore the need for a unifying factor. CCP stepped to the fore to unify the Chinese people and restore prosperity. This is because the party is deeply rooted in the Chinese people, and the two are inseparable. Moreover, most of the party leaders were popular in their own right after actively participating in the 1911 revolution as well as the May Fourth Movement. Therefore, it was only natural for the party to attain nationwide popularity with considerable ease. In addition, the leaders used their intellect to fend off attempts by rivals, such as Chiang Kai-Shek, to destroy CCP. Further, the party based its activities on the principle of revolutions such as Xinhai to achieve its objectives. As such, its affiliation to the revolutionary principle enabled the party to overcome enormous adversities such as the civil war. By and large, many viewed CCP as the vehicle that would deliver the vision of the 1911 revolution. Ultimately, the party prevailed and formed the government in 1949.[Na, par. 12.] [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Key to Success of the Communist Party of China Over the Past 100 years. June 25, 2021. /eng/wjb_663304/zwjg_665342/zwbd_665378/202106/t20210625_9169758.html, par. 8..]
The May Fourth Movement
To a considerable degree, and as noted previously, the political revolution in 1911 could not be termed successful. That being the case, a group of former revolutionaries embarked on a quest for an entirely different worldview. The group, which comprised intellectuals, held that China required a radical surgery of its values, which reinforced their quest making it more thorough than previous ones. Over and above, the intellectuals rallied around scientific and democratic concepts and their descendants to strengthen their agitation for emancipation.[Vera Schwarcz. The Chinese Enlightenment: Intellectuals and the Legacy of the May Fourth Movement of 1919. University of California Press, 1986, 6.]
Such assertions set the stage for the emergence of a new generation known as the May Fourth movement. The group consisted of university students who, unlike their teachers, were more rational in their cultural criticism. The activities of the group set off the blocks on May 4th, 1919, when the members demonstrated to protest the treatment of China at the Paris peace conference. It later developed into a national movement that agitated for cultural and political awakening. In a word, the movement brought about a shift from traditional intellectual and political elites to political mobilization and a populist base. In the same vein, the movement set the precedence for the emergence of political parties such as the CCP, whose driving principle was to rid China of imperia...