Republic of China (1912–1949)
First Chinese republic, ruled mainland until 1949 retreat to Taiwan.
The Republic of China (ROC) was a sovereign state established on 1 January 1912 after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty, ending over two thousand years of imperial rule. It governed mainland China until 1949, when its government retreated to Taiwan following defeat in the Chinese Civil War by the Chinese Communist Party. The ROC was a founding member of the United Nations, and later joined the League of Nations; in 1949 it was the most populous country in the world, with a population of approximately 540 million.
Quick Facts
- Common Name
- China
- Conventional Long Name
- Republic of China
- Native Name
- zh · 中華民國
- Flag Type
- Top: / Flag (until 1928) / Bottom: / Flag (from 1928)
- Symbol Type
- Top: / Emblem (until 1928) / Bottom: / Emblem (from 1928)
- Capital
- De jure: · Beijing / (1912–1928) · Nanjing / (1928–1949) · ---- De facto: · Wuhan / (1937–1938) · Chongqing / (1938–1946)
- Largest City
- Shanghai
- Official Languages
- Standard Chinese
- National Languages
- Tibetan · Uyghur · Manchu · Mongolian
- Demonym
- Chinese
- Government Type
- Provisional government / (1912) · Beiyang government / (1912–1928) · Nationalist government / (1928–1948) · Constitutional government / (from 1948)
- Title Leader
- President
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 January 1912 by revolutionaries under Sun Yat-sen, who became provisional president. Sun soon handed the presidency to Yuan Shikai, leader of the Beiyang Army. Yuan attempted to replace the republic with his own imperial dynasty in 1915 but backed down after popular unrest. After Yuan's death in 1916, the country fragmented into warlord cliques, beginning the Warlord Era. The Kuomintang (KMT) under Sun later established a rival government in Guangzhou with Soviet help, forming the First United Front with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After Sun's death in 1925, Chiang Kai-shek rose to KMT chairmanship, ended the alliance with the Soviets, purged the Communists, and completed the Northern Expedition in 1928, reunifying China under a one-party state with Nanjing as capital.
Reader's Guide
The Republic of China (1912–1949) represents China's first attempt at republican governance after millennia of imperial rule. Its significance lies in its role as a founding member of the League of Nations and the United Nations, and its claim to be the most populous country in the world in 1949. The ROC's history was marked by internal fragmentation—warlordism, the Japanese invasion (1937–1945), and civil war with the CCP—which ultimately led to its loss of mainland China in 1949. The KMT's one-party rule during the Nanjing decade (1927–1937) brought relative prosperity but failed to consolidate rural governance. The ROC's legacy continues in Taiwan, where its government retreated after 1949, and in the term 'Republican Era' used in China today for the 1912–1949 period. The choice of the name 'Republic of China' (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) influenced the naming of the Republic of Korea.
Did You Know?
- Its population of approximately 540 million in 1949 made it the most populous country in the world.
- The name 'Republic of China' (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) was chosen by Sun Yat-sen to emphasize rule by the people, contrasting with 'Empire of China'.
- The ROC's national day, Double Ten Day, commemorates the Wuchang Uprising of 10 October 1911.
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