ABSTRACT
Tax assessments remained fixed while the population expanded rapidly, meaning that the monies available for public works diminished. Poor management led to popular discontent and domestic rebellion became a problem. When the West, newly commercially developed and eager for markets, arrived and demanded trade privileges that Chinese officialdom had no desire to grant, the Westerners were seen as a third indicator of dynastic decline: barbarian invasion. Chiang Kai-shek had not forgotten about the communists who had fled to the countryside. In addition to trying to eradicate CCP cells in urban areas, he attempted to encircle and destroy the rural soviets. Several warlords were competent governors with carefully thought-out plans for their areas, including literacy programs, economic development schemes, sanitation codes, and strict regulations against opium smoking, gambling, corruption, and even littering. As is common during times of widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo, those who wanted change fell into three broad categories: reformers, reactionaries, and revolutionaries.
