The Cultural Revolution was a very important event in Chinese history. The Cultural Revolution began on October 1, 1949. It began when Mao Zedong declared that China was formally known as the People's Republic of China, or PRC. This announcement ended the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party had been at war on and off since the 1920s. The Communist Party of China was founded in 1921 in Shanghai. The Chinese Communist Party was originally founded as a study group working with the Nationalist Party. The Chinese Communists collaborated with the Nationalist Party from 1926 to 1927 to get rid of "warlords" who were working against the government. This event continued to occur until the onset of the “White Terror”. The White Terror was an event in which nationalists turned against communists and killed them, freeing them from the party. After Japan invaded a part of China called Manchuria in 1931, the Republic of China government had three problems: the Japanese attacking their country again, the Communists starting a new movement, and all the warlords in the country. The communists back then were not happy with their then leader. His name was Chiang Kai-Shek. At the time he paid attention only to internal threats and not to ongoing Japanese assaults. The communists' responses to this were quite extreme. A group of generals kidnapped Chiang and forced him to collaborate with the communists. This then forced the communists to fight against the nationalists. During World War II, the communists became more popular. US officials in China have begun reporting the disappearance of Nationalist-controlled areas. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay This reduction in Nationalist-controlled areas has made the ROC government more prone to communist attack. The Communist Party was praised for its efforts in fighting the Japanese invaders. After all the fighting between Japan and China, the Japanese surrendered. This then began the resurrection of civil war in China. The Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-Shek continued to receive help from the United States. The reason they continued to receive help from the United States was to prevent the Communists from taking control of China.