Modern China: The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), HUMA 1440

This essay delves into the historical context of modern China, specifically focusing on the rise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The essay explores the key factors that contributed to the CCP's transformation from a small party to a major political force by 1948. It highlights the impact of the failure of the Qing dynasty, social inequalities, and the influence of ideologies like Marxism and communism. The essay further examines the role of key figures like Mao Zedong, the impact of events such as the Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War, and the 1911 Revolution in shaping the political landscape. It analyzes the CCP's strategies, including their alliance with the Kuomintang, the Long March, and their ability to gain support from the common people. The essay concludes by emphasizing the CCP's eventual triumph, its consolidation of power, and the establishment of a new political order in China.

Runnning head: MODERN CHINA
Modern China
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MODERN CHINA
The rise of communism has been one of the biggest things in the shaping of the modern
China. The ideologies of communism began to spread from the beginning of the nineteenth
century and it is now the biggest political party in the country. China has indeed become one of
the most powerful global giants through communism (Brown, 2017). The communist revolution
in China began in the first half of the nineteenth century and it began to grow continuously in the
region. The growth of the communism in China began with the help of Communist Party of
China with Mao Zedong leading from the front. Through his zeal and appetite for revolution, the
Communist Party of China began its journey and became the biggest party in the unitary socialist
republic country. There are several reasons as to why the communism was the most important
ideology and party in China. Though the original revolution began from the year 1946, the
process had already begun from the mid 1920s. The failure of the Qing dynasty was aggravated
by the series of failures they had attained. The reasons must be explained in this scenario to show
the fact that the inequality within the society was on the rise and there was no other way to
prevent that. So, people began to look for other alternative options so the social balance could be
restored. Therefore, the only remaining option before them was the ideology of Marxism and
communism. It is because this ideology is shaped through the similar power for everyone and
establishes the equality in the society.
The communists were in favor of giving the equal power to the poor farmers as they
wanted to give the rich persons in the society. This is how they gained the trust of the common
people of the Chinese society (Thøgersen, 2017). It was quite evident that the Chinese people
were completely oppressed by the colonialism. Therefore they wanted to find out a remedy for
that only. Many issues had been found out in the social system of China during that time. All
these issues had to be sorted out for the overall betterment of the society (Brown, 2017). The

2MODERN CHINA
rents of houses were high and the taxes were collected at a high rate as well. Bribery also became
a common and regular practice in this scenario. The practice of usury also became very common
practice as well. All the accumulated taxes had been collected by the village chiefs and landlords
who were very small in number but very powerful by all standards. At the same time, the
oppression of the colonialists also loomed large over the lives of the common people of the
country. Amidst these issues, Japanese forces had also taken the advantage of this weak position
of China. So, the events like Opium War took place between China and Japan. The Sino-
Japanese confrontation also took a new turn because of these issues. After the Boxer rebellion,
new treaties had been signed and most of those treaties had been unequal. So, people became
outrageous at this point and their protests were loud and clear (Backer, 2017). The aggressions of
the external forces went out of hand and people could not suppress their rage anymore. The
social inequality in the internal soial systems of the country was beginning to be exposed. People
of China were getting conscious about their rights and they advocated for the equal rights for
every class in the society. They slowly understood that the ideology of Marxism will be the most
effective for them to get their due rights.
The decline and fall of the Qing dynasty had made the situation in favor of these common
protestors. The Xinhai revolution had been resulted through the revolts by the peasants. These
peasants had been able to end the imperil rule in China that continued for almost 2000 years.
This was properly the beginning of the republican era in China in the early times (Thøgersen,
2017). After that, the revolutionary regime influenced by the nationalist ideologies had not been
able to form the proper government and it could not provide stability to the people as well. Even
this new regime did not have the will to implement the land reforms as well. The main leader of
this regime was Sun Yat-Sen could not continue with the regime anymore and he had been

3MODERN CHINA
admitted to an asylum in Japan. The First World War had ended and this worked as the
stimulator for the class struggles and revolts by labors in an intensified manner. The October
Revolution also took place in Russia and these events were the main reasons for the upheaval of
the peasants in the country of China (Backer, 2017). People wanted a government who would
care about the poor people in the society and help the farmers and labors to survive. The land
reforms were needed in an utmost manner so the society could be peaceful without any conflicts
between rich and poor. Between the years 1919 and 1923, more than 450 strikes had taken place
at Shanghai only to protest against this foreign aggression and unequal division within the
society (Loh, 2018).
The birth of communism took place in the year 1921 in China by the initiatives of Mao
Zedong. The party was founded by the May Fourth Movement. There were only 30 members in
the year 1921 for the Communist Party of China. The initial growth rate of the party was very
slow and they had to ally with the Kuomintang i.e. the nationalist party of China. Soon after, that
alliance with Kuomintang had broken down after the Shanghai Massacre in the year 1927. The
leader of the Kuomintang was Chiang Kai-shek. After these incidents, it became very
problematic for the communists to operate from the front. So, they had to retreat into the
countryside regions where they intended to establish the local bases. This became a very strong
challenge for them to hold on to these places since their ultimate plan was the Long March. The
communists wanted to end to end the current regime so they could gain the confidence of
common people (Dickson, 2017). The Japanese people had invaded into China and Chinese
communists wanted to overpower them to save their country and society. These communists
began to build up many secret bases in the regions where Japanese had occupied their lands.
They treated these secret bases as their headquarters.

4MODERN CHINA
Apart from the leader Mao Zedong, there were other revolutionaries as well. Some of
them were Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu (Feigon, 2014). These two men were the main figures
behind the May Fourth Movement that had resulted in the formation of the Chinese Communist
Party (Loh, 2018). The victory of the Bolshevik party in the Russian Revolution of 1917 made
them more aggressive and determined to get the control in the society (Jin, 2015). Many labor
unions had been organized in the cities by the communist leaders like Liu Shaoqi, Li Lisan and
Mao Zedong. Before the victimization of CCP in the alliance with Kuomintang, it was very
much successful at the initial stages. The conflicts between the bourgeoisie and proletariat
classes became very significant in the various regions of the country (Dickson, 2017).
The Chinese communists could not carry on with their operations to convince the
proletariat classes of the urban communities (Dahua, 2014). So, they were completely one sided
and they had to go underground because of that. As described earlier, their secret bases had been
largely helpful to create an influence on the poor communities of the country (Saich & Yang,
2016). Though all the activities of revolution had been stopped, they did not sit empty. They
went on with their works in the countryside regions and won the hearts of the poor peasants
through their ideologies. The support of the peasant community was so huge that they could form
the Chinese Soviet Republic in the southern parts of China (Guillermaz, 2019). The total
population of this section was around 10 million. Though this revolutionary activity did not last
for very long and the Nationalist Party Kuomintang destroyed them through the campaigns of
military forces. Some people were left after this devastating campaign operated by the
Kuomintang party (Pieke, 2017).
After that, these remnants of people had run away to the Long March that took place
between 1934 and 1935. This event was one of the greatest revolutionary actions and it occurred

5MODERN CHINA
at Yan’an in the northern part of China. This event namely the Long March was the ultimate
game changer in the revolutions of the communist party (Feigon, 2014). Mao Zedong had then
achieved the leadership position in the Communist Party of China. He remained as the leader of
the CCP till his death in the year 1976. Two of other most important leaders of this time were
Zhou Enlai and Zhu De (Li, 2017). The revolution of China was becoming stronger day by day
and it was time for them to unleash their desire for taking over as the rulers of the country. In
fact, they were looked at as the savior of the country from the tyranny of the Kuomintang and
imperial dominance (Pieke, 2017).
The leader of the Kuomintang party, Chiang Kai-shek had to postpone his military
campaigns and oppressions against the cadres of the Communist Party of China (Yongnian &
Gang, 2015). Instead, they had to make an alliance with them again in the United Front. The
purpose of this type of coalition between the Chinese Communist Party and Kuomintang was to
stand firmly against the military aggression and invasion by the Japanese forces. The nationalist
party led by Chiang Kai-shek had to engage in the war at Chongqing (Bo, 2017). Apart from
that, the CCP cadres had wonderfully increased their strength when they began to fight against
these Japanese invaders. This war had ended in the year 1945 that also marked the ending of the
Second World War as well. When the war had ended, the CCP had been in control of several
regions. They had almost 100 million people in support of them (Saich & Yang, 2016). Thus
they had formed their army and they set up their proper political program with the help of their
political ideology of Marxism as well.
The followers of the Chinese Communist Party were mainly the workers, labors, farmers,
people of the lower and lower middle class families and small capitalists. Thus, it was very much
evident that the members of the CCP had made a very strong alliance with the common people of

6MODERN CHINA
the society. They wanted to hear the voices of these people and their aim was to resolve all the
problems of these people (Li, 2017). This was very effective for the CCP at the end. Soon their
popularity began to grow in different areas of the country (Grice, 2014). Since China is one of
the largest countries in terms of its volume, CCP had to put in more efforts so they could make
some credible outcomes. All these issues were mixed up and the society of China was going
through turbulence. The aristocrats of the society were in danger because they feared their
powers would be left in jeopardy (Guillermaz, 2019). The situation was turning so because
aristocrats were not being able to impose the torture on the common poor people and remain the
most powerful class in the society. These aristocrats were marked as the bourgeoisie section
whereas the common poor peasants and workers were regarded as the proletariats. Therefore, the
class struggle in the Chinese society became very prominent and peasants and workers wanted to
snatch away the collective power from the hands of aristocratic people (Bo, 2017). These events
could be considered as the catalysts for the upcoming events in the society of China.
During all these events, the gross popularity of the Nationalist Party of China of
Kuomintang had been decreasing. They completely demoralized their supporters by their actions.
All those supporters of Kuomintang began to shift towards the communists (Marks, 2016). The
sky high popularity of communists and the dynamic leadership skills of Mao Zedong and his
skills in oratory had attracted the common people. However, in the year 1946, the civil war had
commenced. In the general elections occurring in the year 1949, the Nationalist Party of China
had been defeated completely (Wang, 2014). Finally, all these Kuomintang followers along with
Chiang Kai-shek had escaped to Taiwan. As a result of these events, the Chinese Communist
Party had founded the People’s Republic of China. However, some disagreements had been there
regarding the development of China and the strategies taken up by the Communist Party. They

7MODERN CHINA
had adopted the Soviet model for the development of the country without analyzing the
differences between the Soviet and Chinese social systems (Kuisong & Smith, 2014).
Many problems had been found by the CCP and the Communist Party of Soviet Union
(CPSU) regarding their foreign policies by following their ideologies. CCP had made
investigations about the weaknesses of social structure in China and wanted to increase the speed
of their industrial programs. Some of these programs were somewhat effective but they were
harmful for the people of the society as well (Zheng, 2017). The principles and ideologies of the
Marxism-Leninism had been implemented by the Communist party of China and this helped
them in the preliminary stages of getting the attention of the common people. In the current
scenario, the Chinese president Xi Jinping is regarded as one of the most influential leaders of
the Communist Party of China after Mao Zedong (Wang, 2014). The monopoly of the CCP
proves the fact that the party is immensely popular on all the parts. Though the country is very
large, the leaders and workers of the party have been able to reach the core of the people’s hearts
even in the difficult times (Fyfield, 2018).
The activities of the CCP after 1949 when they gained the political power have been
effective for the overall growth of the country. They have faced several challenges both
internally and externally but they still have developed as one of the global superpowers along
with their rapid economic growth (Howard, 2018). The civil war between the communists and
nationalists had paved the way for communists to establish their hold in the country. The social
structure or power structure of politics in China is completely dependent on the Leninist system
i.e. similar to North Korea, Laos and Cuba. Apparently, it has been seen that the CCP is based on
the three important pillars of the society (Zheng, 2017). These three pillars constitute of the
People’s Liberation Army, personnel controlling and propaganda. According to the statistics,

8MODERN CHINA
there are around 90 million people working for the party and almost 70% of them are men (Saich
& Yang, 2016).
The Boxer rebellion in the year 1900 had been a bad experience for Chinese people. Due
to this event, they took care of all foreigners, sending away all Christian missionaries and
abandoned all Christian converts in the country. After this series of incidents, people o China
began to experience extreme poverty and starvation (Li, 2017). They were in deep need of
someone or some group that would take care of them and give voice to their protests. Numerous
people had lost their lives as well. In this scenario, it became evident for the people to turn to the
communist beliefs that became prevalent in Russia. They believed that God will not come to
save them in times of their hardships. So, they began to trust in a philosophy without the
existence of God invented by German philosopher Karl Marx. As a result of this, the poor people
of China began to trust and respect people like Mao Zedong (Bazhanov, 2018). During the early
years of the second decade of 20th century, Chinese people were under the governance of the
warlords. They tortured the common people immensely and the hatred among people began to
grow as well. This is why most poor farmers began to join the political groups who supported
their views. These revolutionary groups had made sound protests against these warlords and poor
people soon began to have faith on the activities of the communists (Breslin, 2014).
Several social movements had been seen during the time of Great Revolution (1914-
1918) and Opium War. All these social movements indicated the fact that people were
supporting the ideology of communism (Li, 2017). Leaders like Mao Zedong emerged in the
scene and he was a great orator indeed, His skills of convincing people through speech was the
main reason people began to abide by the path he showed. The Christian converts also
understood the fact that communism is against the presence of any deity in any religion (Xia

9MODERN CHINA
2014). More than 80% of poor peasants became in support of communism because they felt it
would develop the country and social balance would be established very soon as well. These are
the ways how the Marxists of China began their campaign and succeeded after many strikes,
stern protests and revolutions (Wang, 2014). The Chinese believed that Mao would bring all the
changes they desired for the society. All the Chinese people loved Mao and they had strong
belief he would always be by the side of the poor peasants (Stranahan, 2016).
The common ideology of the ownership and production has been reiterated in the Marxist
ideas of the Chinese Communist Party. As per Karl Marx, communism or Marxism has been
revealed as the process of knowing about the rational eschatology (Brugger, 2018). The equality
in the life is the ultimate thing that a person wants to achieve. Thus, Mao Zedong convinced the
people that they would work hard to make sure all the people in the society achieve the equality
and no one is tortured in their society (Lu & Miethe, 2015).
This rise of the Communist Party of China and their victory over Chiang Kai-shek has
been regarded as a monumental event in the history of China (Dreyer, 2015). There have been
some confusions and debates regarding the causes of victory for Mao Zedong. Many people
within the party had even showed their doubts on the significance of permanent revolution
method that Mao Zedong had implemented. It was quite evident from the historical descriptions
that they wanted to rely on the forces of the armed peasants so they could get rid of the
nationalist party Kuomintang and deal with the aggressive external forces of Japan (Wang,
2014). The significance of the victory of Mao has also been put under lens by the communist
leaders of different countries over the times.

10MODERN CHINA
It has been debated by several critics that the rise of the communist power or Chinese
Communist party was completely an unavoidable outcome. It was expected because the targets
of the communist leaders were the poor peasants and labors in the society. These workers of the
communist party always made sure that the poor people get all their rights in terms of everything
(Bakken, 2017). They did not like the idea of the inequality. The regime established by the
bourgeoisie power before 1920s had taken a toll of numerous lives in the country. Therefore, the
situation turned out to be so revengeful that all the people wanted a medium through which they
could voice their opinions (Fewsmith, 2017). The protests were loud but they did not have the
courage and power to protest in front of everyone on the streets. This is where they got very
lucky because they got someone like Mao Zedong in their favor. He showed them the way and
stood firm in his approach towards the people that he would save them from this kind of utter
distress (Walder, 2017).
However, it was very clear that the aggression of Japan in China was very essential. The
Chinese Communist Party had played a huge role in the cultivation of their cadres properly. The
National United Front by making an alliance with the Kuomintang had made it possible for the
CCP to give the training to their cadres so they could take part in this revolt properly Li, B., &
(Walder, 2017). These cadres or comrades of the CCP had intellectual backgrounds and they had
promoted all the people from the farmer backgrounds. They knew very well that these peasants
had been main victims of the oppression and tortures of the bourgeoisie section. Therefore, it had
been very much important for them to bring the representatives of these people in front. This step
was also very effective for the cadres so they could improve their qualities as well. This was
useful because these cadres had learnt the art of communicating with the people whom they
represented (Fewsmith, 2017). If they cannot connect with these people, they would never be

11MODERN CHINA
able to win their hearts as well. Until they come close with them and share their feelings with
them and show them sympathy, it will be difficult for them to make their grounds (Zeng, 2015).
The Japanese aggression against China had been big threat for China from all the aspects.
It could only be stopped if the Chinese people could stay united and stand up against it. In order
to resist these forces, they needed a union that could only be possible by the communist party
leaders (Heberer & Schubert, 2017). Everyone in China especially poor peasants were aware that
this regime of Chiang Kai-shek was never by their side and they were only thirsty to retain their
powers. Amidst these tough times, the Communist party of China had emerged as their friend,
philosopher and guide. They were like the oasis in a vast laid desert. There was death, poverty,
loneliness and all negative things together. The imperialism of the Japanese powers was
beginning to reach the new heights (Zang, 2015). Poor people in China were on the verge of
death since they could not cope up with the corruption the society. Chiang Kai-shek turned out to
be a tyrant leader, oppressor and corrupted at the same time. Evidently, the regime of Chiang
Kai-shek could find the true support behind the shadows of the imperialist powers. Chiang was
very much inefficient as a ruler as well. He did nothing good for the people of the country. So, he
was hated by everyone (Dahua, 2014).
The Japanese imperialist powers had surrendered after the CCP had interfered and fought
against them. The Long March by the communist party leaders in support of the peasants was
effective and it made sure their equal rights in the society had been heart touching for these poor
people (Zang, 2015). They wanted nothing but equality, respect and social rights. They began to
believe that these communist party leaders were the only ones who could provide them with that.
The protests of the poor working class or proletariats were reflected through the slogans of these
communists in China (Heberer & Schubert, 2017). The contributions of Mao Zedong cannot be

12MODERN CHINA
forgotten in this scenario. The unrest condition among the peasant families was a huge concern
during the end of war against the Japanese. Chiang Kai-shek did not pay any heed to them and
ignored them as poor people. So, the communist party and Mao came up for their aid that paved
the way for their regime to begin from 1949. This regime is continuing till now as well.
The popularity of the Chinese Communist party began to grow since the moment the
communist leaders and workers joined hands with the people suffering because of colonialist
oppressions. Various critics have also questioned about the reasons for the growing popularity of
the communists in China (Thøgersen, 2017). The communists have always been very much
dominant in the reaching to the poorer sections of the society. In the realm of international
relations, the Chinese communists have always been in close connection with the Soviet Union.
The communism or Marxism ideology had attracted millions of people in these two large
countries as well as some smaller countries as well (Brown, 2017). The reactionary power of
Chiang Kai-shek and its occupying the entire mainland of China had been a major headache for
the common people of China. The victory of the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong had been
a huge turnaround from the oppression. The formation of the People’s Republic of China was the
biggest thing that they had gained. This was completely a monumental thing for the history of
China (Chan, 2019). The shift from imperial control to the communist party regime required a
number of hurdles. This victory of the communist party had brought in several alterations in the
internal relations of the Far East. The international relations had gone through many changes in
this discourse as well (Grice, 2014).
The ruling class or the bourgeoisie section of the society had been stunned at these
events. It was beyond their imagination as they thought they could manipulate the common poor
people through their power and money. Even the Japanese aggression could not stop the Chinese

13MODERN CHINA
communists from getting the upper hand in the society through fights. The impact of the Long
March was indeed farfetched. They could convince the people that they were the true friends of
these farmers and laborers. Even most of the party workers belonged to the similar economic
situation in the society (Dahua, 2014). They were oppressed too and their rights had been taken
away as well. In this scenario, they showed their utmost courage to come in front and make the
protests. Therefore, it was only feasible that all the people must come together on the streets and
protest very loudly so these protests could reach out to the oppressors (Chan, 2019). The Chinese
communists held out this belief that freedom and rights could only have to be snatched away
from those people who tortured common people for no reason. Rather, they have to be bold and
make their voices audible to the men of Chiang Kai-shek. Most peasants and laborers had lost
their houses and their means of income (Yongnian & Gang, 2015). Therefore, it was time for
them to show Chiang Kai-shek that they would not sit idle at all.
The bourgeoisie minded politicians also did not like this growth of the communist
leaders. They knew their control over the common people was at stake (Feigon, 2014). Most of
these politicians had been completely dazzled at this outcome indeed. Then they had to make
some strategies to stop these communist leaders to regain the control over the society (Grice,
2014). However, they di not understand poor section of the society had completely lost their faith
on these people. The followers of Trotsky were even shocked at this kind of outcome as well.
The CCP took the path of revolution through the process of ‘revolution by stages’ (Lu & Miethe,
2015).
This was definitely the mode of the Menshevik protests and approach towards the
society. However, there was a major disadvantage in the process of revolution by the CCP (Li,
2017). The armed forces constituting of the peasants did not have any connection with the

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working class people of urban societies. It is because communist leaders had connected mostly
with poor people of villages (Xia, 2014). The economic condition of the urban society was not
that bad although. Many people had called it the democratic dictatorship process but evidently it
was better than the reactionary power of Chiang Kai-shek (Wang, 2014). People showed faith in
their working styles and they could share their problems with them. This was the advantage the
communist leaders at their disposal.
The extreme confusion between the rational facts and traditional concepts have been
quite important in this regard (Stranahan, 2016). This had created some disputes among the
comrades of China as well. The regime of Chiang Kai-shek had been completely rotten.
Common people believed that the regime was Chiang was hostile to them and they were afraid of
Kuomintang party. The birth of the Kuomintang party took place during the bloody wars of
second Chinese revolution and conflicts between Japan and China (Wang, 2014). The failures of
the regime of Chiang Kai-shek must be highlighted at first. The primary purpose of his regime
was to unite all the powers influenced by the reactionary powers and they went on to include all
the survivors of the feudal system (Bakken, 2017). They wanted to suppress all the poor people
of the society since they neither had money nor power. They were unable to complete all their
works in the democratic pattern of the country (Backer, 2017).
In this scenario, they did not even reduce the rents or common people. They did not even
reduce it to 10%. This is where they became the villains in front of society (Li & Walder, 2017).
Some of the weaknesses that can be highlighted in terms of their regime is that of their
inefficiency, despotism in the Asian region and corruption at all the levels of the government. All
these features of the Kai-shek regime had been exposed during the time of the Resistance war
(Guillermaz, 2019). On the other hand, the communist leaders had promised they would take in

15MODERN CHINA
consideration all these issues and begin the process of the land reforms (Dreyer, 2015). They
gave concessions to the imperial powers of Japan for a very long time indeed.
The policy of non-defensism had failed as well. Therefore, all their negative impacts had
been imposed and they had no option left but to fight with the communist powers (Heberer &
Schubert, 2017). The communists were very sympathetic to the people of all classes and they
made sure to resolve the problems of people. The student demonstrations became regular in
support of the communists and the peasants showed ther unrest as well (Brown, 2017). Thus,
communist leaders gained the support of people from all levels of society ranging from poor
classes, laborers, students and peasants. This shows the victory of Mao Zedong and his
communist party became an unavoidable circumstance.
Question no Two
The modern Chinese state, known officially, as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is a large
country situated in the East of Asia, surrounded by mountains on either side and with a rich
historical and cultural past, that dates back to tens of thousands of years ago (Bays, 2016). As of
the year 2017, the country had a population of 1.4278 billion, making it the most populated
country in the world. The political system that prevails in the country may be regarded as a
unitary and one party socialist republic with the principles of communism guiding the political
affairs of the country. In fact, modern China is one of the few existing communist countries in
the world today, and it has become notorious for the intolerant approach that has been adopted
by the government here towards political dissidents, with the recognition of human rights and
values being negligible in this part of the world (Gold, 2015). This essay engages in a detailed
discussion on how several countries had a role to play in the shaping of the modern Chinese

16MODERN CHINA
state, or the China as we know it today, such as Japan, Russia, Great Britain and the United
States of America. In conclusion, the essay aims to identify which of the four countries
mentioned, appear to be the most significant as far as the shaping of modern Chinese history is
concerned.
The relationship between the USA and the country of China is one that has traditionally
been quite complicated. The USA and China are opposed ideologically and this has been the case
ever since the country came under the influence of communism (He, 2018). The USA had been
once upon a time an ally of China during the time that George Washington was in power in the
country. The interests of China and the USA were those that were closely allied, when the Treaty
of Wangxia was signed, that is, in the year of 1845. However, the spread of communist influence
across the length and breadth of the country of China is something that clearly ruined the
relationship between the USA and China. In fact, it must be remembered that once communism
made its influence felt in China and Mao Zedong made it the official ideology of governance and
politics in the country, the USA cut off ties with China and refused to have anything to do with
the modern Chinese state for a period as extensive as 25 years. The open trade policy that was
followed and implemented by the USA was not something that was well accepted by the
leadership of China right from the time that Mao Zedong was in charge of the country, right up
to the period of the 1980’s. It was only when Den Xiaoping became the premier of the modern
Chinese state that the relations between the two nations significantly improved and he decided to
initiate an open door policy in the area of trade, something that was to the liking of USA and
well received by them (He, 2018).
In other words it can be stated that the USA did not have a significant role to play as far
as the establishment of the modern Chinese state is concerned. The USA and China have been

17MODERN CHINA
opposed to each other’s politics. The Chinese state in the modern age is a communist state and it
is influenced largely by the principles of communism as laid down by Lenin first and which were
then improvised and applied in the context of Chinese politics by Mao Zedong. It is when Mao
became the leader of the communist state and when he made China a communist power, the ties
between the USA and China broke off, resuming years later during the leadership of Den
Xiaoping when China began to open its doors to international trade and investment once again.
Den Xiaoping’s policy of open door trade is something that was exceedingly well received by
the US authorities and this open door policy in the area of trade is something that led to China
becoming a member of the World Trade Organization in the early part of the twenty first
century, something that China had never imagined to be possible because of the sour relationship
that it had shared with the USA on account of its communism in the 1960’s and the 1970’s
(Horton, 2016).
When it comes to understanding the relationship between Japan and China it is fair to say
the relationship was a complicated and difficult one. Right from time immemorial, Japan and
China are two countries that have been at war with one another. They were both imperial nations
in the ancient past, with each having designs on the other. The animosity that was shared
between Japan and China is something that trickled down to the 20th and the 21st Centuries as
well. During the period of the First World War and the Second World War, Japan and China
fought on opposite sides. In the period of the Second World War in particular, an attempt was
made on the part of Japan to fight the war on the side of the Axis powers, as a consequence of
which China and Japan appeared to be further at loggerheads with each other. Chinese people
were brutally tortured and hurt by the Japanese soldiers during many of the military operations
and exercises that took place in the Orient during the Second World War (Bay, 2016).

18MODERN CHINA
It is fair to say though that in the present century, the leadership of Japan and China have
come together to settle the issues of the past and are making an attempt to work together in a
manner that is aimed at resolving past problems. Issues concerning the Taiwan Strait in
particular as have been seen to emerge between China and Japan, are those that have been
resolved through the issuance of a joint statement with the United States of America being
witness to this statement. Yasuo Fukada and Shinzo Abe are two Japanese leaders, who have
worked concertedly to bring about an improvement in Sino Japanese relations. A treaty of
friendship and reconciliation was signed between the two countries when these two leaders were
in power, and in the year of 2008, Hu Jintao became the very first leader to visit the country of
Japan after a very long period of time in the history of the two countries (Gold, 2015).
Yet it is fair to say that the contribution that has been made by the country of Japan to the
birth of the modern Chinese state is not something that can be considered to be very significant.
Japan has not had a major hand or role in the emergence of the modern Chinese state as we know
it today. The animosity between the two nations have been significantly overcome with the help
and the involvement of Western powers like the United States of America and today the
relationship between the two nations can be considered civil at best. However, as far as the
relationship between the country of Japan and the country of China are concerned with respect to
the emergence of the modern Chinese nation state it can be safely stated that Japan has not
significantly influenced the birth of modern China. China is not the nation that it is today
because of any role that has been played by Japan in this respect. The involvement of other
countries or other powers needs to be taken into consideration in order to understand how the
birth of modern China actually came about (Kalashnvk, 2017).

19MODERN CHINA
Britain and China interacted with each for the first time ever right from the early modern
period in history. What brought the two countries together is the fact that the British were
interested in trading in opium with the Chinese for financial interest. China was a country where
the opium plant was seen to grow in large numbers. The British needed access to this opium as it
helped in the manufacture and the production of medicinal drugs which could in turn be used to
cure a wide array of illnesses. Medicinal drugs had stronger effects when used if these contained
large doses of opium in them, which in turn could be used to treat a vast array of illnesses in the
West, notably in the countries of Europe. It is no surprise therefore that the British wanted to get
their hands on opium as quickly as possible and to do so, they wanted to be actively trading with
China, to this end. The Chinese people initially welcomed trade in the area of opium as they
believed that it would ensure for them long term financial interests, and a good trading
relationship with a prominent Western power. However, in the course of the trade, what came
out or what came to be evident is the exploitative character of the opium trade (Kang, 2017). The
Chinese people realized that the British were not paying as much for the opium as expected, and
that the opium trade was resulting in the exploitation of the common Chinese people, at the
expense of the British. The conflict that emerged between China and Britain over the matter of
opium is something that led to the outbreak of the opium wars, in which Britain proved to be a
far stronger power than the Chinese (Kang, 2017).
It is important to remember when having a discussion on the opium wars that Britain was
not the only country that was at loggerheads with China on trade in the area of opium. France
was yet another power that was party to the Opium Wars and which also proved to be a stronger
force against the Chinese during the wars. What primarily contributed to the Opium wars was the
desire among the British and the French to acquire control over territory in China, using which

20MODERN CHINA
they could emerge as hegemonic powers in this part of the world. The Opium Wars were two in
number and had a crucial role to play in defining the relationship between the French and the
English and the country of China (Li, 2019). The first war was fought between Britain and China
and the second War was an Anglo French War that was fought between these two European
super powers with China regarding control over territory. The French and the British wanted
control over the opium that was being grown in China and they also wanted control over Chinese
territory. It is fair to say that both the European powers proved to be hugely successful during the
Opium wars, as a consequence of which the Chinese had to lose a lot of territory to these powers.
In this respect it must be noted that Hong Kong was a territory outside of mainland China that
China lost to the British and over which Britain retained control over the longest period of time,
until the later part of the 1990’s when the territory was handed back to Chinese authorities and
which once again came under the control of the Chinese people. When it comes to understanding
how Britain shaped the modern Chinese state, it can be said that the loss of Hong Kong to the
British made the Chinese authorities quite determined to build and develop the country in a way
that it could be considered as equal to the Western nations once again. Under the leadership of
Mao Zedong, and under the leadership of Den Xiaoping China adopted a policy of growth and
development that took the country to new heights altogether and which made it come across as a
nation that could be regarded as one of the Western nations by virtue of the way in which the
streets, towns and the cities of the country were developed. The open door policy which was
introduced under the leadership of Den Xiaoping in particular is something that fostered growth
and development in the country of China by a considerable degree. China began to now
encourage other European nations and other countries of the world to invest in China and to set
up business here (Li, 2016). China now welcomed foreign businesses to come and settle down in

21MODERN CHINA
China and to start trading over here, an arrangement that led to the profit not only of the foreign
businesses but also the Chinese government and the Chinese people at large. There was
enormous development that China experienced in the area of urban growth as a consequence of
the open door trading policy. Shopping centers, departmental malls and even grocery stores and
outlets of an international standard were set up in the different cities and towns of China as a
consequence. The people living in China started to take more to Western dressing and clothing,
and they felt now that the time had come to put the past behind them. They wanted to avoid
sticking to tradition only when it came to dressing and clothing, and the Chinese traditional dress
or attire is something that was supplemented by Western clothing. In Hong Kong in particular,
the Chinese people living here were directly under the influence of the British and they took to
the Western style of dressing or doing themselves up in public which goes to show that the
British had a significant influence on the birth of the modern China or China as we see it and
know it today (Horton, 2016). The British influenced the manner in which education was
provided in Hong Kong. People in Hong Kong till this date are seen to speak in the English
language and they are seldom seen to conform to the traditional way of life as is the case in other
parts of the country of China. Yet in mainland China too, a significant change can be observed or
witnessed with respect to modernity and the British occupation of Hong Kong had one major
role to play in this change. People in mainland China on account of economic prosperity and
development also started to dress and carry themselves in a way that would make them akin to
people living in the Western countries of the World. Chinese women in particular are seen to
mostly dress in Western clothing as do Chinese men and it is only for weddings and traditional
occasions that the Chinese women are seen to wear clothes or attire that may be considered as
traditional (He, 2018). Tradition in China has not taken a beaten as a result of the British

22MODERN CHINA
influence on the culture of the country, including the Hong Kong. People in China are still seen
to adhere to traditional customs and ceremonies as they used to before but the Western influence
is profound and this is largely because of the fact that the British had spent a long time in China,
their occupation of Hong Kong for the longest span of time led to other parts of the country
desiring to ape the Western influence as well, and definitely after the British departure from
Hong Kong, the British influence in this part of China still continued and can be felt right up to
this day. Britain is a country that definitely had to play a role in the creation or the development
of the modern Chinese state, but whether it was Britain only that exercised the most profound
influence in this respect remains to be seen as the role that was played by Russia in the
development of Modern China as we know it today is something that still needs to be discussed
(Bays, 2016).
Russia is a country that has had quite a prominent role to play when it comes to the birth
of the modern Chinese state and this is largely because of the fact that the ideology of the
Russian government and the ideology of the Chinese nation state appear to be one and the same
until date. The Chinese nation state is built along the lines of communism and it is because of the
Russian influence on Chinese politics that Communism came to be as widespread in China as it
is today. Mao Zedong who took charge of the country of China, at a time when it officially came
to the known as the People’s Republic of China was a man who was greatly influenced by the
principles of communism in general and the work and the life of Vladimir Lenin in particular.
The Bolshevik Revolution which took place in Russia in the month of October 1917 came to
influence the political situation in China in the most fundamental way (Gold, 2015). The entire
social model that led to the outbreak of the October Revolution And the assassination of the
Tsar, was something that was found to be entirely acceptable by the Chinese leadership. This

23MODERN CHINA
acceptance of the Russian social model as envisaged and proposed during the period of the
October Revolution the year of 1917 brought about a fundamental change in the politics of
China. The country became a communist country overnight and it came to be known for its
communism and its prioritization of the peasants in the country, something that had not been the
case before Mao Zedong took charge of the nation. The communist obsession of the leadership
of Mao and those who succeeded Mao is something that was influenced by the life and the work
of Vladimir Lenin, a man who himself used the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to bring
about a major change in Russian politics and consequently in Russian society. Lenin came to be
known for the way by which he used communism to suit the interests and the needs of the
Russian people. He realized that Marxism had to be modified and it had to be adapted to the
needs of the people of Russia else it was not going to prove to be effective. This Russian version
of the principles of Marxism is something that led to the birth of Communism. Once again, this
communist influence, that is the importance of prioritizing the needs of the common man or the
peasants, is what had a huge influence on the Chinese leadership who in turn completely
transformed Chinese political life and society by a considerable degree (Mei, 2015).
It needs to be remembered when aiming to understand why it is that Marxists had such a
profound influence on Chinese politics or communism rather is the fact that the Chinese
leadership was at a loss as to what to do with the theories of Stalin or the theories that were
propounded by Marx and Engels. It was only the Leninist interpretation of the Marxist doctrine
that appeared to make sense to the Chinese leadership. China at the time that Mao Zedong took
charge of the leadership of the country was a nation which was running primarily on an agrarian
economy. The agrarian nature of Chinese economics and the fact that the government relied
mostly on agriculture for the generation of revenue led the Chinese leaders to look to the theories

24MODERN CHINA
and concepts that were forwarded by the communist leaders as they believed that such theories
were those that were well suited for the country as a whole (Qi, 2017). China was an agrarian
country and it was going to be benefit from the implementation of Marxist leadership as believed
by the Chinese premiers in the 1940’s onward. The People’s Republic of China came to
understand that using the theories forwarded by Stalin and Marx would prove to be confusing
and to a certain degree detrimental for the people of China primarily because the Chinese leaders
were not sure about how they were going to use these theories in the first place. However, the
theories that were introduced by Lenin in the context of Russia is something that came to be
quite well accepted by the Chinese leadership. The government of China realized that a people’s
revolution needed to take place and the aristocrats especially the landed aristocrats who had long
wielded power and hegemony in China could not be allowed to run the country anymore. It was
recognized by the Chinese leadership under Mao Zedong that landed aristocracy in the country is
something that was going to have to come to an end and that the people should be living in a free
and equal manner under a socialist state which would take all the measures that were necessary
to ensure that all segments of the society had equal access to rights and privileges (Qi, 2017).
The new state in china thus came to be known as the People’s Republic of China as it was meant
to represent the interests of the people rather than the interests of the landed aristocrats. The
landed aristocracy was no longer to enjoy the powers and the privileges that they had in the
country until date and the People’s Republic of China under the leadership of Mao Zedong took
an active role to make sure that this did not happen anymore. The entire country especially the
rural countryside in China is something that was mobilized to a considerable extent by Mao
Zedong and this something that was made possible only by the fact that Zedong was influenced
by the principles of communism when leading the country (Mei, 2015).

25MODERN CHINA
China is a highly nationalistic country and the people of the country are seen to take a lot
of pride in the growth and the development of the Chinese nation state. China believes in
working for the benefit of its people and the principles of communism came to influence Chinese
politics in the modern era considerably as such principles dictate that resources should be
controlled by the state so as to benefit all sections of the society equally while keeping wealth
from being concentrated in the hands of only a few. Communism states that all resources should
be under the control of the nation state and the people of the country can benefit only if the state
takes charge of the control of resources (Rawsky, 2015). If the state leaves control of resources
in the hands of private landlords and capitalists then it will lead to exploitation of these resources
in a very detrimental way. The capitalists are going to use the resources in order to be able to
serve their own personal gain and are not going to be interested in working for the people of the
country as such. They are going to see how they can use the resources of the country in order to
serve their own personal interests rather than anything else and they will not be eager to serve the
peasants or the commoners in the country, who also deserve access to rights and privileges. It
was therefore decided by the Maoist leadership that it was only communism which was going to
work in the interests of the people of China and only if the country took to the path of
communism that would benefit in the truest sense of the term (Sevilla, 2016). Communism is a
political ideology that would look into the interests and the benefits of all the people living in the
country of China rather than addressing the needs, requirements and interests of only a few
people. It would help Chinese society to progress and develop in a way that all sections of the
society benefit equally rather than only a handful of the people, and hence it was embraced and
used by Mao Zedong to create what came to be known as the People’s Republic of China. Till
date the principles of communism are seen to dictate governance and politics in the country of

26MODERN CHINA
China. Communism is what influences the way by which decisions are taken and introduced by
the government. It is communism that decides how economic affairs are to be implemented in
China in a way that this benefits the people of the country. It is communism which determines
how social life in China should be and the influence of communism in China today is something
that is so profound that it has become the fundamental ideology of the people, who now don’t
even believe in religion. Religious practices are now banned across length and breadth of the
country of China because of the strict adherence that is shown to the principles of communism in
the country (Unger, 2016).
In the final analysis, it can be stated that it is the country of Russia which has had the
most significant impact on the Chinese nation state. It is the principles of communism that has
influenced Chinese politics from the time that Mao Zedong took charge of the country, that is,
from the time when the country officially became the People’s Republic of China. In fact, the
nation came to be known as the People’s Republic of China on account of the fact that it is
supposed to represent the interests of the common people and value the interests of the common
people much in the same way that communism was seen to do in the country of Russia
(Wasserstrom, 2018). What made the Chinese leadership inclined towards communist theories to
begin with is the fact that China was an agrarian country and the landed aristocracy and the
farmers of the country had a lot to contribute when it came to revenue. The government of the
country relied a lot on the revenue that came in from agrarian sources and hence it believed that
using only communist or socialist theories of leadership would help the nation to grow and
develop in the truest sense of the term. Of all the Marxist theories and concepts, the leadership of
China found the communist principles and theories to be the most useful as these were in
keeping with what the people of China really needed. The leaders of China were not able to

27MODERN CHINA
fathom what exactly they were able to do with Marxist theories, with the concepts that were
forwarded by Engels and also with the theories that were propounded by Stalin. They were not
able to determine how such theories could be made use of, to suit the interests of the Russian
people (Yu, 2018). Hence it was decided by the Maoist leadership that it was communism that
would shape the politics of the country rather than any other ideology or belief system. It was
determined by the leadership of the nation that communist principles and ideas would influence
the policies and the measures that were introduced here for the benefit of the people as only with
the help of communism could the leadership of China transform the country from a backward
and rural nation to a progressive and well developed nation state. Hence Russian communism
and the socialist model had the most profound influence on the modern Chinese state as we know
it today. The socialist model came to the aid of the Chinese government and the Chinese people
at a time when it needed it the most. It was thi9s socialist model that made it possible for the
Chinese people to face the pressures that were posed before them by the Western powers and one
of the key ways by which the Chinese were able to counter Western imperialism was through the
tool of communism (Horton, 2016).
When discussing the growth, the development and most of all the formation of the
Chinese nation state in the modern era, the role that was played by Britain and USA cannot be
ignored while the role that was played by Japan in this respect is also something that needs to be
taken into consideration. Britain introduced the country of China to modernization when it took
over control in Hong Kong after experiencing success in the Opium Wars. As a consequence of
British rule in Hong Kong, western influence became all pervasive in China and the people in the
country started to embrace western culture and tradition which they had never done so in the
past. Chinese women started to take to Western attire and till today they are seen to be dressing

28MODERN CHINA
mostly in Western attire while the traditional Chinese clothes are those that are worn only during
wedding ceremonies and other traditional ceremonies (Bays, 2016). The Western rule that was
seen to transpire in Hong Kong had a strong influence on mainland China and they believed that
they should counter this Western influence by taking to Westernization themselves and adopting
a way of life that was similar to the type of life led by people in the Western countries (Gold,
2015). Finally it must be added that the economic progress and development that China
experienced during the leadership of Mao Zedong and later on during the rule of Den Ziaoping
who opened up China to trading and investment with Western powers, is also something that
influenced the people in the country to embrace the western way of life and to carry out their
actions and behavior in a way that could be considered as something that people would do in the
Western countries. China was no longer confined to the darkness of its past because of the
influence that Britain had on the political and social life of people in China (Yu, 2018).
In conclusion, it is argued that all of the countries that have been mentioned in this
particular essay had a role to play in the modernization of the Chinese nation state. The Chinese
nation state is one that was seen to experience modernity because of the fact that it was exposed
to Western influence from the time of the Opium wars, to the time when Hong Kong came under
the rule of the British right up to the present day and age when economic prosperity in China has
led to people here adopting and embracing a modern rather than a traditional way of life.
However, it is the principles of communism that shaped the type of policies and measures
introduced by the government of China to create what may be known as the modern Chinese
state. Communism as held by the Chinese leadership was an ideology that was most well suited
for an agrarian country like China and the socialist model proposed by Lenin was adopted and

29MODERN CHINA
implemented by the leaders of the People’s Republic of China to create the country or nation as
we see standing before us today.

30MODERN CHINA
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