About the lecture

In this module, we think about the conditions that prompted the creation of the Chinese Communist Party in July 1921, focusing in particular on: (i) the slow decline of the Qing dynasty in the 19th century, and its final collapse in 1911; (ii) the attempts by various parties to form a central government in its place; (iii) the fragmentation of the country into spheres of influence controlled by regional potentates known as ‘warlords’; (iv) Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred control of a concession on the Shandong Peninsula from Germany to Japan, and the growth of the May Fourth Movement in response; (v) the atmosphere of political experimentation in 1920s China, and the exposure of figures such as Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai to Communist ideas; and (vi) the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party in July 1921.

About the lecturer

Michael Dillon was founding director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at Durham University, where he taught courses on modern China, Chinese history, and Chinese language. He has also been a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society, and a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.