Crash Course: World History — Season 1, Episode 37: Communists, Nationalists, and China's Revolutions: Crash Course World History #37
Talk, Documentary • 12 min • 2 seasons, 72 episodes
Episode synopsis
John Green teaches you about China's Revolutions. While the rest of the world was off having a couple of World Wars, China was busily uprooting the dynastic system that had ruled there for millennia. Most revolutions have some degree of tumult associated with them, but China's 20th-century revolutions were REALLY disruptive. In 1911 and 1912, Chinese nationalists brought 3000 years of dynastic rule to an end. China plunged into chaos as warlords staked out regions of the country for themselves. The nationalists and communists joined forces briefly to bring the nation back together under the Chinese Republic, and then they quickly split and started fighting the Chinese Civil War. The fight between nationalists and communists went on for decades and was interrupted by an alliance to fight the invading Japanese during World War II.
About Crash Course: World History
Crash Course World History is a video course hosted by John Green that teaches world history from growing the first crops in the First Agricultural Revolution to global textile production in the 2010s. Across the series, it builds skills in identifying and explaining historical developments, analyzing events in broader context, and tracing patterns and connections across time and place—aiming to help viewers become more informed citizens of the world. Season 1 follows the 2012 AP World History curriculum in a 42-episode chronological survey, while Season 2 continues in 30 episodes with a more thematic approach that focuses on systems and encourages viewers to question how “history” is written and what biases shape it.
More episodes from Season 1
- E1The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1
- E2Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2
- E3Mesopotamia: Crash Course World History #3
- E4Ancient Egypt: Crash Course World History #4
- E5The Persians & Greeks: Crash Course World History #5
- E6Buddha and Ashoka: Crash Course World History #6
- E72,000 Years of Chinese History! The Mandate of Heaven and Confucius: World History #7
- E8Alexander the Great: Crash Course World History #8
- E9The Silk Road and Ancient Trade: Crash Course World History #9
- E10The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It?: Crash Course World History #10
- E11Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: Crash Course World History #11
- E12Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash Course World History #12