The Chinese Civil War (or Chinese Revolution as it is sometimes known) was a conflict between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party, which lasted from 1927 to 1950. The Chinese Civil War began in April 1927 when the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek declared war on the CPC and its leader, Mao Zedong. The war was essentially a continuation of the Chinese Revolution that had begun in 1911, when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was established in its place.
The early stages of the conflict saw limited success for the CPC, with Chiang Kai-shek’s National Revolutionary Army (NRA) successfully driving the CPC forces out of major cities and towns across the country. In 1934, the CPC launched the famous Long March, during which they marched some 6,000 miles from Jiangxi Province in southeastern China to Shaanxi Province in the northwest. This retreat allowed the CPC to escape the NRA and regroup in what would become known as their ‘base area’.
The turning point of the war came in 1937 with the Japanese invasion of China. Initially, the KMT and CPC formed an uneasy alliance against the common enemy and both sides were successful in resisting the Japanese forces. However, this alliance ended in 1940 as Chiang Kai-shek diverted resources from the war effort to fight the CPC. The CPC was able to take advantage of this shift in focus to make significant advances in the war, eventually capturing much of northern China.
By 1945, the war had taken a heavy toll on both sides and neither the KMT nor the CPC had emerged as the clear victor. In August 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces and the war effort against them came to an end. In the peace negotiations that followed, the United States favored the KMT while the Soviet Union favored the CPC. This resulted in the division of China into two separate countries: the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the north and the Republic of China (ROC) in the south.
The Chinese Civil War then officially resumed in June 1946 and raged for another four years. During this period, the CPC forces slowly built up their strength and advanced southward, eventually surrounding the KMT forces in Beijing in 1949. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the PRC, marking an official end to the Chinese Civil War. The war had cost the lives of between 1.5 and 3 million people and marked the beginning of over 50 years of communist rule in China.
Since the conclusion of the war, the KMT has continued to exist as a political party in Taiwan, where it remains the dominant force in government. In mainland China, the CPC has continued to be the ruling party and has been successful in instituting economic reforms that have seen the country emerge as one of the leading global economic powers. While tensions still exist between the two sides, economic and social ties between Taiwan and the mainland have improved considerably in recent years, leading to an easing of tensions and a growing sense of unity among the people of both sides.