page_title: Republic of China (1912–1949)
section_title: Nanjing decade
hierarchical_section_title: Republic of China (1912–1949) / History / Nanjing decade
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: "Deutsch-chinesische Zusammenarbeit". Kopie aus dem Archiv des Verteidigungsministeriums der Republik China English: Hard copy from the ROC Ministry of National Defense Archives 中文: 来源网页注明“來自抗戰時期
context_page_description: The Republic of China was a sovereign state based in mainland China between 1912 and 1949, prior to the relocation of its government to the island of Taiwan. It was established on 1 January 1912 after the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.
  The Republic's first president, Sun Yat-sen, served only briefly before handing over the position to Yuan Shikai, the leader of the Beiyang Army. Sun's party, the Kuomintang, then led by Song Jiaoren, won the parliamentary election held in December 1912. However, Song was assassinated on Yuan's orders shortly after; and the Beiyang Army, led by Yuan, maintained full control of the Beiyang government.
  Between late 1915 and early 1916, Yuan proclaimed himself Emperor of China before abdicating not long after due to popular unrest. After Yuan's death in 1916, the authority of the Beiyang government was further weakened by a brief restoration of the Qing dynasty. Cliques in the Beiyang Army claimed individual autonomy and clashed with each other during the ensuing Warlord Era.
context_section_description: After Sun's death in March 1925, Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the Kuomintang. In 1926, Chiang led the Northern Expedition with the intention of defeating the Beiyang warlords and unifying the country. Chiang received the help of the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communists. However, he soon dismissed his Soviet advisers, being convinced that they wanted to get rid of the KMT and take control. Chiang decided to purge the Communists, killing thousands of them. At the same time, other violent conflicts were taking place in China: in the South, where the Communists had superior numbers, Nationalist supporters were being massacred. Such events eventually led to the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists and Communists. Chiang Kai-shek pushed the Communists into the interior and established a government, with Nanking as its capital, in 1927. By 1928, Chiang's army overthrew the Beiyang government and unified the entire nation, at least nominally, beginning the so-called Nanjing Decade.
  According to Sun Yat-sen's theory, the KMT was to rebuild China in three phases: a phase of military rule during which the KMT would take over power and reunite China by force; a phase of political tutelage; and finally a constitutional, democratic phase. In 1930, the Nationalists, having taken power militarily and reunifying China, started the second phase, promulgating a provisional constitution and beginning the period of so-called "tutelage". Criticized for instituting authoritarianism, the KMT claimed it was attempting to establish a modern democratic society. Among other things, it created the Academia Sinica, the Central Bank of China, and other agencies. In 1932, China for the first time sent a team to the Olympic Games. Campaigns were mounted and laws passed to promote the rights of women. The ease and speed of communication facilitated focusing on social problems, especially those of remote villages. The Rural Reconstruction Movement was one of many that took advantage of the new freedom to raise social consciousness. The Nationalist government published a draft constitution on 5 May 1936.
  During this time a series of wars took place in western China, including the Kumul Rebellion, the Sino-Tibetan War, and the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang. Although the central government was nominally in control of the entire country during this period, large areas of China remained under the semi-autonomous rule of local warlords such as Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan, provincial military leaders, or warlord coalitions. Nationalist rule was strongest in the eastern regions around the capital Nanjing. The Central Plains War in 1930, the Japanese aggression in 1931, and the Red Army's Long March in 1934 led to more power for the central government, but there continued to be foot-dragging and even outright defiance, as in the Fujian Rebellion of 1933–34.
  Historians such as Edmund Fung argue that establishing a democracy in China at that time was not possible. The nation was at war and divided between Communists and Nationalists. Corruption and lack of direction within the government prevented any significant reforms from taking place. Chiang realized the lack of real work being done within his administration and told the State Council: "Our organization becomes worse and worse... many staff members just sit at their desks and gaze into space, others read newspapers and still others sleep."
caption: With help from Germany, Chinese industry and its military were improved just prior to the war against Imperial Japan.
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