Weekly Blog #2: The Guomindang (Chiang Kaishek) vs. The Communist Party of China (Mao Zedong)

In the third week of November, we started learning about the Republic of China. In a documentary about the Republic of China, we listened to interviewees talk about their life during that period of war. It was sad to hear how much it had impacted the daily lives of the people living during that time. This period had marked the rise of two very important parties in China—the Guomindang (GMD), also known as the Nationalist, and the Communist Party of China (CCP). These two opposing forces were fighting each other to rule the country but at the same time combined forces to protect their people from other harmful sources.

Chiang Kai Shek

Guomindang emblem

The competition between the GMD and the CCP was majorly based on their popularity from the people. The GMD consists of wealthy people while the CCP is made up of peasants. Since peasants make up a majority of the country’s population, the CCP was favored more than the GMD. One distinct figure of the CCP was Mao Zedong. He did not serve as the leader until the Long March, where he marched along with tens of thousands of soldiers to flee from the pursuit of the GMD. Mao came from a pro

Mao Zedong

sperous peasant family while the leader of the GMD, Chiang Kai Shek, was born to an upper class of salt merchants. Mao was able to gain loyalty from his followers as he was a very kind and considerate leader. Taken from an account of a soldier during the ROC, he described a touching story of how Mao gave up his portion of his food which included three little steam buns to his fellow soldiers, saying, “You must eat, you still have to march.” He was very kind and caring towards his subordinates. Mao’s Red Army was very well disciplined as they were well educated and taught to be kind to civilians. Meanwhile, the GMD were seen as ruthless after releasing the White Terror against the Communists. Corruption in the party soon led to Chiang Kai Shek’s fall and he had no choice but to flee to Taiwan as the CCP was coming after them.

Communist Party of China emblem

The Chinese revolution consists of many different events that wanted reforms which included the May 4^th Movement, the New Culture Movement, and the New Life Movement. It was very interesting yet horrifying to learn about China during this period as many great changes are happening to China; horrific in the way that many lives have been spent to create a better China. The creation of the People’s Republic of China awaits.