The Warlord Era
regional leaders controlled private armies and competed for territory in China after 1916.
Who are Warlords
This 1919 protest was led mainly by students angry about Japan receiving Chinese territory after World War I.
What is the May Fourth Movement?
This man founded the Kuomintang and became China’s first provisional president in 1912.
Who is Sun Yat‑sen?
This long retreat (1934–1935) allowed the CCP to survive KMT extermination campaigns.
What is the Long March?
This 1931 incident provided the excuse for Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.
What is the Mukden Incident?
China's lack of modernization and inability to defend itself offered this country an opportunity for it to establish dominance in E. Asia.
What is Japan
The movement grew out of this earlier cultural campaign that criticized traditional Confucian values.
What is the New Culture Movement?
Sun Yat‑sen’s political program was summarized in these three guiding ideas.
What is The Three Principles: nationalism, democracy, social/economic reform
This CCP leader emerged as the undisputed head of the party after the Long March.
Who is Mao Zedong?
Japan established this puppet state in Manchuria with Pu Yi as its ruler.
What is Manchukuo?
After Yuan Shih‑kai’s death, China fragmented into hundreds of small states because this type of government collapsed.
central government authority
Chinese protesters were especially angry that this province was given to Japan at the Paris Peace Conference.
What is Shantung (Shandong) Province?
This 1926 military campaign aimed to defeat warlords and reunify China under the KMT.
What is the Northern Expedition?
Mao believed a Chinese revolution should be based on this group rather than factory workers.
Who are the peasants?
This international organization failed to stop Japanese aggression in China.
What is the League of Nations?
This condition created circumstances that allowed radical revolutionary ideas, including communism, to take hold in China.
What is Political/Economic Instability
One long‑term impact of the May Fourth Movement was the rise of these two major political parties.
What are the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?
This KMT leader emerged as China’s dominant political and military figure after 1928.
Who is Chiang Kai‑shek?
This campaign (1941–1944) removed Mao’s rivals and forced ideological loyalty within the CCP.
What is the Rectification Movement?
Japan’s drift toward militarism accelerated after economic crisis caused by this global event.
What is the Great Depression?
Chinese nationalists take up arms against gov. who allowed foreigners to gain so much power and influence in China.
What is the Boxer Rebellion?
The May Fourth Movement both strengthened nationalism and weakened this long‑standing Chinese belief system.
What is Confucianism?
Despite major reforms during the Nanking Decade, the KMT ultimately failed because it lacked the ability to do this nationwide.
What is fully enforce reforms across all of China?
During the war with Japan, the CCP gained support partly because the KMT failed to do this for civilians.
What is protect the population from Japanese invasion?
This 1937 incident marked the start of full‑scale war between China and Japan. (Sino-Japanese War)
What is the Marco Polo Bridge Incident?