Chiang Kai-shek and modernization Whenever someone uses the term “Modern China” today, one might immediately think of the rapidly developing China after the economic reform proposed by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. In European, however, modernization had already begun by the early 20th century, and it brings up a question: Had the Chinese authority that ruled at that time tried to do anything to modernize China? From 1926 to 1928, the Kuomintnag(KMT), literally means the Nationalist Party, which mainly led my the generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, had launched the Northern Expedition and eventually reunified China. The success ended the chaotic warlord era and allowed the centralization of power. The reunification also brought China a relatively stable environment for modernization which lasted ten years. The period, named after the capital of the Republic of China, is now known as the “Nanking decade”. The essay would analysis whether the China under Chiang Kai-shek of the period of Nanking decade, precisely from 1927 to 1937, could be regarded as modern.
The key concept of modernization is to replace the disadvantages caused by tradition thoughts and conduct, particularly the bad ones, with a modern
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In 1930, a maximum of rent was imposed. The law also aimed at eliminating landlordism by authorizing tenants to purchase the farm from an absentee owner if they had farmed for more than ten years. However, the Law, along with many other measures, cannot be implemented efficiently. The government, after unifying China, had hired a lot of bureaucrats from former warlord regime as they had the experience in administration. These bureaucrats were only obsess of power and disregard public interest. Later, corruption seeped through the administration. It makes the implement of policies, especially in rural area, inefficient. At last, the problem was