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| 1918, Jan |
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| Following the Russian Revolution of Nov. 1917, a Guomindang newspaper congratulated the Bolsheviks, and Sun Zhongshan cabled his compliments to Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) personally. | 1 |
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| May 16 |
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A Japanese defensive alliance against any Soviet threat provided for action by Japanese-trained Chinese troops in Siberia under Japanese direction (notes March 25, treaty May 16, clarified Sept. 6). Loans of perhaps 250 million yen for Manchurian projects were contracted, about half through Premier Terauchi Masatake's (1852–1919) agent, Nishihara Kamez (1872–1954), with Premier Duan and his clique, now called the Anfu (Anhui-Fujian) Club. | 2 |
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| June |
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| Li Dazhao (1889–1927), appointed librarian of Beijing University in February, wrote his first essay in support of the Russian Revolution. Later in the year, Li organized a Marxist Research Society, among whose members were Mao Zedong (1893–1976), Zhang Guotao (b. 1897), and Qu Qiubai (1889–1935). | 3 |
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| Aug. 12 |
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| A newly elected parliament convened and elected Xu Shichang (1858–1939) president (Sept. 4–June 1922). Chinese political affairs continued, however, to be dominated by personal ambitions and the schism between the governments of Beijing and Guangzhou. | 4 |
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| Oct |
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| Duan resigned, stronger than ever with Japanese support. Japan let it be known that in the previous month Duan had promised in secret to allow Japan to set up police and military garrisons in Jinan and Qingdao (both in Shandong), as well as deals in Shandong for railroads that Japan planned to construct. The armistice ending World War I was concluded (Nov. 11). | 5 |
| The Wuhan-Changsha section of the main rail line to Guangzhou was finished in 1918. The population of the country was roughly 450 million, the overwhelming majority being farmers; the small urban working class was notoriously underpaid and worked under harsh conditions, although in both respects they were better off than their fellows in the countryside. Women worked especially in textile factories, outnumbering men there two to one and earning even lower pay. | 6 |
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