History of the Republic of China

The history of the Chinese republic founded in 1912, encompassing its mainland governments and the Republic of China government that relocated to Taiwan in 1949.

Connect

Xinhai Revolution: The 1911–1912 revolution that ended Qing rule and established the Republic of China. Its provincial uprisings and abdication settlement brought the republic into existence.
Beiyang government: The central Chinese government dominated by Beiyang military leaders from 1912 to 1928. It was the republic’s first central government, with authority increasingly contested by warlords.
Second Sino-Japanese War: The 1937–1945 war between China and Japan, fought in the wider Second World War. The conflict devastated the Nationalist government and reshaped its postwar prospects.
Taiwan Strait: The body of water separating Taiwan from mainland China. The strait became the military and political frontier between the rival governments.
Qing dynasty: China’s last imperial dynasty, which ruled from 1644 until 1912. Its collapse created the political opening for republican government.
Warlord Era: A period of fragmented military rule in China, conventionally dated from 1916 to 1928. Regional armies weakened central republican authority after Yuan Shikai’s death.
Chinese Civil War: The armed struggle between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party, culminating in the Communist victory in 1949. Its outcome divided the rival governments between mainland China and Taiwan.
Cross-strait relations: Political, economic, and social relations between Taiwan and mainland China. The unresolved civil-war division continues to structure relations across the strait.
Sun Yat-sen: Chinese revolutionary and political leader who helped establish the Republic of China. His revolutionary organizing and provisional presidency shaped the republic’s founding.
Nationalist government: The Kuomintang-led government that ruled much of China from 1928 until 1949. It reunited much of the mainland under a party-state claiming the republic’s legitimacy.