Multimedia Collection
China in Revolution: 1911-1949
(China: The PBS Series)
VHS
120 minutes
DS774 .C451 1989 + guide
Part 1, Battle for Survival, covers the years 1911-1936, the era immediately after the fall of the last emperor. Events covered include:
- The Northern Expedition (1926-1927) - Military campaign under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek that unified China under the government.
- Shanghai Massacre (1927) - Chiang Kai-shek's bloody purge of the Communists which ended the Nationalist-Communist alliance and secured his position as leader of China.
- Formation of the Jiangxi Soviet (1928-1934) - Experimental Communist governement set up by Mao Zedong in a remote area of China, which was ultimately crushed by repeated Nationalist blockades.
- The Long March (1934-1935) - Epic journey of 6,000 miles made by Communist forces escaping the Nationalists. Of the original 80,000, fewer than 8,000 survived to set up a new base in Yenan.
- The Japanese Invasion (1930s) - Hostilities began in 1931 and continued throughout the decade as Japanese forces pushed south and west and inflicted terrible atrocities on the Chinese people.
Part 2, Fighting for the Future, covers the years 1936-1949, which represents the period of World War II as well as China's civil war. Events include:
- The "Rape of Nanking" (1937-1938) - Seven week period during which Japanese troops plundered Chiang Kai-shek's capital city. The Japanese killed an estimated 50,000 Chinese and raped tens of thousands of women.
- The Dixie Mission (1944) - Group of American foreign service officers sent to the Communist base in Yenan to assess the capacity of the Chinese Communists to help fight the Japanese.
- The Civil War in China (1945-1949) - After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Nationalists and Communists began a struggle for control that ended with the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan and the establishment of the Peopl'e's Republic of China in October 1949.
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