Overall, revolutionary Marxism had its greatest impact
in China, where a group of young radicals, including
several faculty and staff members from prestigious Beijing
University, founded the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) in 1921. The rise of the CCP was a consequence
of the failed revolution of 1911. When political forces are
too weak or divided to consolidate their power during
a period of instability, the military usually steps in to fill
the vacuum. In China, Sun Yat-sen and his colleagues
had accepted General Yuan Shikai as president of the
new Chinese republic in 1911 because they lacked the
military force to compete with his control over the army.
Moreover, many feared, perhaps rightly, that if the revolt
lapsed into chaos, the Western powers would intervene
and the last shreds of Chinese sovereignty would be lost.
But some had misgivings about Yuan’s intentions. As one
remarked in a letter to a friend, “We don’t know whether
he will be a George Washington or a Napoleon.”
In fact, he was neither. Understanding little of the new
ideas sweeping into China from the West, Yuan ruled in
a traditional manner, reviving Confucian rituals and institutions
and eventually trying to found a new imperial
dynasty. Yuan’s dictatorial inclinations led to clashes with
Sun’s party, now renamed the Guomindang (Kuomintang),
or Nationalist Party. When Yuan dissolved the new parliament,
the Nationalists launched a rebellion. When it
failed, Sun Yat-sen fled to Japan.
Yuan was strong enough to brush off the challenge
from the revolutionary forces but not to turn back the
clock of history. He died in 1916 (apparently of natural
causes) and was succeeded by one of his military subordinates.
For the next several years, China slipped into anarchy
as the power of the central government disintegrated
and military warlords seized power in the provinces.
World History
