Definitions and IDs

• dowager• Boxer Rebellion• Sun Yat-sen

Questions and Imperatives

• Discuss the situation in China and in Japan (in a broad sense) from the fin-de-siecle through the 1920s. Who were the longstanding leaders of the Nationalist Party and Communist party in China in the 1920s and 1930s?

“For the past thirty years the foreigners have taken advantage of our country's benevolence and generosity as well as our wholehearted conciliation to give free reign to their unscrupulous ambitions. They have oppressed our state, encroached upon our territory, trampled upon our people, and exacted our wealth. Every concession made by the Court has caused them day-by-day to rely more upon violence until they shrink from nothing. In small matters they oppress peaceful people; in large matters they insult what is divine and holy. All the people of our community are so full of anger and grievances that every one desires to take vengeance.”

- Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi

A Chinese Republic

• What do we recall about China from the 19th century?

• Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi• Boxer Rebellion• Sun Yat-sen• Warlordism

China’s Government

• Effect of WWI on China• Growing Nationalism– The young people– KMT (Kuomintang)– CCP (Communist Party of China)

• Chiang Kai-shek • Mao Tse-tung (Zedong)

1920s

• Japan at the Paris Peace Talks in 1919• Japan signed international treaties• Japan’s western lifestyle

– high rise buildings– public transportation– baseball– Literature– greater suffrage

• Hit by Great Depression• Democratic Government now firmly rooted

– Looked to imperialism and militarism to solve problems– Great Depression was a Watershed moment for Japan

Working on International Peace• 1928: Kellogg-Briand Pact• Other treaties in 1920s• Five-Power Naval Treaty

– USA, GB, France, Japan, Italy• Set limits on size of ships• 10 year hiatus for ship building• Agreed not to fortify Pacific possessions

• Nine-Power Treaty– USA, GB, France, Japan, Italy, China, Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands

• Support Open Door Policy• Compete for trade; no international monopolies• Promised to respect territorial integrity of China

Rise of Japan, transitions, and incursions into China