I've been reading The End of the Revolution: China and the Limits of Modernity by Wang Hui it's a truly fascinating book, which got me researching Chinese history beyond superficial.
The Warlord Era (1916–1928) After the fall of the Qing dynasty (1912), China broke into regional warlord-controlled areas, where military strongmen ruled territories. The central government was weak and basically had no control over the whole country, just like Somalia’s transitional governments in the 90s and 2000s. Each warlord had their own armies, collected their own taxes, and often fought each other. The economy was fragmented, and the infrastructure decayed. Sounds a lot like Somalia post-Barre, where warlords and clans controlled different regions
Some key factors that have resulted in what China is now.
Strong ideology: Communism gave people a unifying goal.
Mass mobilization: The CCP organized peasants and workers, not just elites.
Military victory: Force was a huge part of reunification.
Anti-foreign sentiment: Uniting against imperialists created common cause.
Charismatic leadership: Mao was both feared and followed.
TDLR: The Collapse of the Qing dynasty and internal power struggle, resulted in rise of local warlords, which fragmented the country, allowing more foreign interference, and resulting in civil war.
The Warlord Era (1916–1928) After the fall of the Qing dynasty (1912), China broke into regional warlord-controlled areas, where military strongmen ruled territories. The central government was weak and basically had no control over the whole country, just like Somalia’s transitional governments in the 90s and 2000s. Each warlord had their own armies, collected their own taxes, and often fought each other. The economy was fragmented, and the infrastructure decayed. Sounds a lot like Somalia post-Barre, where warlords and clans controlled different regions
Some key factors that have resulted in what China is now.
Strong ideology: Communism gave people a unifying goal.
Mass mobilization: The CCP organized peasants and workers, not just elites.
Military victory: Force was a huge part of reunification.
Anti-foreign sentiment: Uniting against imperialists created common cause.
Charismatic leadership: Mao was both feared and followed.
TDLR: The Collapse of the Qing dynasty and internal power struggle, resulted in rise of local warlords, which fragmented the country, allowing more foreign interference, and resulting in civil war.
