ABSTRACT

The 1911 Revolution and the 1949 Revolution changed the history of modern China. Given their historical significance, a great number of works have been produced by historians and others over the past century, the key question in the historiography is why, within a relatively short period, these two revolutions occurred and how they related to as well as influenced one another. Prior to the 1990s, historians on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits generally had divergent answers. The Marxist historians on the mainland downplayed the importance of the 1911 Revolution as a way of redoubling the need for and significance of the 1949 Revolution. By contrast, the historians in Taiwan, under the rule of the GMD government which had orchestrated the 1911 Revolution, denied the necessity of the Communist Revolution in 1949 and disapproved of its victory. However, since the 1990s, there has been a new trend in the historiography. By challenging the paramount importance of revolution in shaping historical development, it has shifted the attention of the historian from politics to economic and social changes and helped bridge across the varied interests of the two historical communities across the Straits.