XI'AN INCIDENT - PROCESS PAPER
   
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Brief Intro
Main Characters
About Xi'an
Causes
December 12, 1936
Meeting
Results and Importances
Timeline
Annotated Bibliography
Process Paper
About The Author
 
How did I choose this topic?
The first time I learned about this incident was when I studied Chinese History in seventh grade. It was astonishing to me that the leader of the nation was kidnapped and released safely. It was an interesting topic because Jiang Jieshi was safely released and was able to continue to lead the nation. The major character, General Zhang Xueliang was very popular and mysterious. My parents often talked about Zhang's background and life, and the secret details in the Xi'an Incident. I got more and more interested in the topic, especially the complex relationship among Japan, Russia, United States, Nationalist and Communist Parties. This year's topic is "The Key to Communication" Since I have a good knowledge of Chinese history, I knew it would be an opportunity for me to present this incident to those who do not know Chinese history well.

How I conducted my research:
When the teacher told us about the History Day project, I was watching a long series movie- "One Inch of Land, One Inch of Blood", which was about China in World War Two. I researched on the Internet at home and school, and asked my parents about the history of the Xi'an Incident. They provided me with a general idea about the contribution of the incident to China and the world. I also went to the Eastern Asian Library of UCLA and found some useful primary resources, including some memoirs of important Nationalists and Communists. There are many historical pieces of news and comments about the Xi'an Incident.

How I selected my category - individual website:
One of my good skills is working on the computer, and there are a lot of available sources on the internet. Therefore, I selected the category of website and did the website using Dreamweaver MX.

How my project related to National History Day theme- "The Key to Communication":
Zhang Xueliang arrested President Jiang Jieshi in Xi'an on December 12, 1936, known as the "Xi'an Incident" Jiang wanted to end the Communist Party before fighting Japan. However, Zhang hated to see the death of Chinese and he wanted to fight Japan right now. They misunderstood each other because of lack of communication on the important issues. After the incident, Communism and Nationalism Parties began to meet, while the Russians and Americans were also involved. The agreement was reached: Jiang was safely released on December 26 and agreed to fight with Japan. The reasons why Zhang changed his mind were countless, but one main reason was because of the media pressure and key communicating strategies of Zhou Enlai. The biggest winner was the Communism Party, who was saved by the incident and grew stronger. Victims were Zhang and Yang, who were both jailed by Jiang. If these factories had never communicated in the way they did, history might have turned out very differently.
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Designed and Edited By Hanzhe Zhang