Communists, Nationalists, and China's Revolutions: Crash Course World History #37

4,779,886

57,157 2,477

Published 2012-10-04

In which John Green teaches you about China's Revolutions. While the rest of the world was off having a couple of World Wars, China was busily uprooting the dynastic system that had ruled there for millennia. Most revolutions have some degree of tumult associated with them, but China's 20th-century revolutions were REALLY disruptive. In 1911 and 1912, Chinese nationalists brought 3000 years of dynastic rule to an end. China plunged into chaos as warlords staked out regions of the country for themselves. The nationalists and communists joined forces briefly to bring the nation back together under the Chinese Republic, and then they quickly split and started fighting the Chinese Civil War. The fight between nationalists and communists went on for decades and was interrupted by an alliance to fight the invading Japanese during World War II. After World War II ended, the Chinese Civil War was back on. Mao and the communists were ultimately victorious, and Chiang Kai-Shek ended up in Taiwan. And then it got weird. Mao spent years repeatedly trying to purify the Communist Party and build up the new People's Republic of China with Rectifications, Anti Campaigns, Five Year Plans. the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. These had mixed results, to say the least. John will cover all this and more in this week's Crash Course World History.

Chapters:
Introduction: China's Revolutions 00:00
Calls for Reform in China 0:58
An Open Letter to Sun Yat Sen 1:33
Overthrowing the Qing Dynasty 2:38
The Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party 3:44
Mao Establishes the People's Republic of China 6:09
China's Soviet-inspired Five Year Plans 8:11
China's Cultural Revolution 9:52
Credits 11:30

Resources:
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence bit.ly/3rLxlCL
Blood Red Sunset: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ma Bo bit.ly/3EjstK4

Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at www.patreon.com/crashcourse

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook - www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Twitter - www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse
Instagram - www.instagram.com/thecrashcourse/

CC Kids: youtube.com/crashcoursekids

All Comments (20)

@jonathanallison785 9 years ago

Im currently sitting at home in Shanghai, China watching your video. Thanks VPN
@rcmini1000 5 years ago

John Green, if I get a 5 or higher in my IB history exams, I will read looking for Alaska.
@Rheologist 5 years ago

Apparently everyone watching this is either using a vpn in China or studying for an exam
@hmmmhmmm6917 8 years ago

i watched this in China using VPN :D in our school
@eveningrice 9 years ago

Some things that you guys should know that John didn't explicitly say: 1. The alliance that was formed between the Guomindang and the CCP in 1923 was called the First United Front. 2. After Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, Chaing Kai-shek attempted to purge the communists in what is known as the 'White Terror'. 3. There was a second alliance known as the Second United Front between the communists and the nationalists in 1937-1941 in an attempt to stop Japan from invading. Great Video John Green. It really helped me remember stuff
@jcchen5356 9 years ago

One correction: Guangdong is not a city. It is a province. It's capital Guangzhou is a city.
@marcustavern2191 6 years ago

I've been trying to find a documentary or review of the Chinese civil war that isn't reminiscent of 1950s anti-communist propaganda. This is the only video on youtube I've been able to find that is relatively neutral and honest about its content, without constantly referring to one part or the other as barbaric or whatever bad term you want to insert. Thank you for this video. I appreciate history for the sake of history MUCH more than propaganda I agree with.
@99mrslang 7 years ago

I went to China my Freshman year of high school as an exchange student. One day after school my host brother took me out of his way to show me "old China", and we rode our bikes to the outskirts of town to a small restaurant with bamboo walls and a shingled roof awkwardly crammed between two lifeless concrete structures. Seeing the inside was chilling; it was like stepping into a forgotten world.
@mangamongot 9 years ago

Am I the only one who always tear up a bit by Johns serious finishing lines? They're so powerful!
@nanaadu8604 5 years ago

This man speaks so fast it's like he's rapping. Seriously, someone put a beat behind him and remix the whole video. It would be fyre.
@al-sadata.sabtula3680 8 years ago

Democratic Dictatorship - You get to vote but there is only one choice. Lol
@IKanTowtallySpel 8 years ago

To everyone like myself studying for AP World, good freakin luck.
@cragnog 9 years ago

i do love your ability to summarise an encyclopedia's worth of info into 12 enjoyable minutes
@VWYL900802 7 years ago

Finally! You nailed everything about PRC and the Republic! Very few foreigners can nail our history with that well understanding!
@Life_Weekend 5 years ago

Sun Yat-sen is still considered as the founding father today in mainland China. In high school history book, it is also taught so.
@adriankai3420 5 years ago

If there are any IB history testers cramming, good luck
@rockmakesme 9 years ago

Why don't you make a video about the "new China", concerning Deng Xiaopeng and his reforms? How far was the Chinese communist model kept and how far was it altered? China may look like a capitalist country today, but there is a lot more behind it.
@CaptainSkeletor 11 years ago

Damn...sometimes I just have to pause in life and really think about the amazing things that I can choose to partake in. The access of this kind of information is truly astonishing. I'm so lucky to live in this time! Thank you Crash Course!
@sran438 4 years ago

I just went on a crash course marathon cause I’m a sucker for history and John Green’s comedy.