The May 4th Movement
When China vowed to support the allies in World War I it was on the condition that if the allies were victorious, the control over Shangdong Province would be returned to China. Japan seized control of Shangdong in 1914 from Germany. The Japanese government issued 21 demands to China, backed by the ultimatum of war. Humiliated by the demands, the corrupt Anfu government in Beijing was forced to sign the demands and adhere to signing away the rights to the German controlled Shangdong Province to Japan. Frustrated students of 13 different universities and workers met in Beijing and held a demonstration, which later became known as The May Fourth Movement. The next day, students as a whole in Beijing went on strike, and one after another, students in other parts of the country responded, workers in Shanghai joined the strike not soon after. The strike slowly shifted from Beijing to Shanghai and many groups began to display their dissatisfaction with the government. The Chinese electives refused to sign the peace treaty in Paris and the May 4th Movement won the primary triumph. Although the marchers didn’t achieve all their goals, the symbolism of the united country was admired by both Nationalist and Communist groups. This movement advanced the spread of Marxism in China which laid the foundation for the Chinese Communist Party.
Section Reveiw:
(1) Write a letter to China as a Japanese official explaining the 21 demands.
(or)
(2) Write a letter to Japan, depicting how you think Mao would react to the 21 demands.