The Chinese Civil War

One of the required books we are to read for English class is "Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts." This book deals with a Chinese family in which Maxine, the main character, is exposed to stories of her ancestors and compiles them into one, well, memoir. We were given to assignment to research the Chinese Civil War so we are aware of some part of China's profound history.

The Chinese Civil War began in 1927 and carried on until around 1949 between the communists and the nationalists. The communists were composed of the lower and middle classes, as the idea of communism was that all people were equal. They were led by Mao Zedong, a dictator thought of as both good and bad. Aristocrats and the rest of the upper classes all supported the nationalistic side because they took such pride in their country. Their leader was Chiang Kai-shek, some thought he wanted China to be a democracy, and some thought he was just greedy for power. These people, also called Kuomintang, were supported by countries such as the United States while communism were supported by the Soviet Union since they followed the communism form of government.

What was odd about this war was that on a few occasions, China was reunited, but only by another more important war: World War II. China put their fighting to a halt when the Japanese attacked a few times but then proceeded on with their war when World War II had ended. Although they have stopped fighting, there was no real end to this war. No agreement was signed and peace was not restored between the two parties even still today.