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Chinese Civil War

Definition

The Chinese Civil War was a war fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China and the Communist Party of China lasting intermittently between 1927 and 1949.

Analogy

Imagine two siblings (the Nationalist Party and Communist Party) fighting over who gets to control their family business (China). After a long struggle, one sibling (Communist Party) takes over most of it but leaves a small part for the other sibling (Nationalist Party).

Related terms

Long March: A military retreat undertaken by Red Army, the forerunner of People’s Liberation Army, to evade Kuomintang forces during Chinese Civil War. Mao Zedong emerged as top leader during this march.

People's Liberation Army: The armed forces of the Communist Party of China and later People’s Republic Of China. It played a key role in securing communist victory in Chinese Civil War.

Second Sino-Japanese War: A major war between Nationalist-controlled areas of China and Japan that happened during Chinese Civil War from 1937-1945. This external threat influenced dynamics within civil war.