between the urban and rural areas. Modernization continued, but at an uneven pace. Nationalistic sentiments arose. The government became more centralized, but the government remained economically troubled and incapable of healing the nation's many rifts. In general, "conservatism thwarted any social revolution" (252).
Then came the emergence of the Republic of China, from 1912 to 1949. Finally, the forces which had been at work since 1850 came together for a single effect. There was still great turbulence for much of this period, however, as Westernization continued in the face of calls for nationalism. The warlords dominated from 1916 to 1927, followed by a period of rising bureaucratic power, then the threat from the Japanese before and during World War II, and then the communist takeover in 1949.
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