Editing Chinese Civil War (section)

=== Shanghai massacre and Northern Expedition (1927) ===
In early 1927, the KMT–CCP rivalry led to a split in the revolutionary ranks. The CCP and the left wing of the KMT decided to move the seat of the KMT government from Guangzhou to [[Wuhan]], where communist influence was strong.<ref name="Fairbank" /> However, Chiang and [[Li Zongren]], whose armies defeated the warlord [[Sun Chuanfang]], moved eastward toward [[Jiangxi]]. The leftists rejected Chiang's demand to eliminate Communist influence within KMT, and Chiang denounced them for betraying Sun Yat-sen's [[Three Principles of the People]] by taking orders from the Soviet Union. According to [[Mao Zedong]], Chiang's tolerance of the CCP in the KMT camp decreased as his power increased.<ref>Zedong, Mao. Thompson, Roger R. (1990). Report from Xunwu. Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|0-8047-2182-3}}.</ref>

On 7 April, Chiang and several other KMT leaders held a meeting, during which they proposed that Communist activities were socially and economically disruptive and had to be undone for the Nationalist revolution to proceed. On 12 April, many communists within the KMT were purged in Shanghai<ref name="history.state.gov" /> through hundreds of arrests and executions<ref>Brune, Lester H. Dean Burns, Richard Dean Burns. (2003). Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-93914-3}}.</ref> on the orders of General [[Bai Chongxi]]. The CCP referred to this as the ''12 April Incident'', the White Terror, or the [[Shanghai massacre of 1927|Shanghai massacre]].<ref>Zhao, Suisheng. (2004). A Nation-state by Construction: Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism. Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|0-8047-5001-7}}.</ref> This incident widened the rift between Chiang and [[Wang Jingwei]], the leader of the left wing faction of the KMT. The left wing of the KMT also expelled CCP members from the [[Wuhan Nationalist Government|Wuhan Government]], which in turn was toppled by Chiang Kai-shek. The KMT resumed its campaign against the warlords and captured Beijing in June 1928.<ref>Guo, Xuezhi. (2002). The Ideal Chinese Political Leader: A Historical and Cultural Perspective. Greenwood. {{ISBN|0-275-97259-3}}.</ref> Soon, most of [[East China|eastern China]] was under the control of the Nanjing central government, which received prompt international recognition as the sole legitimate government of China. The KMT government announced, in conformity with Sun Yat-sen, the formula for the three stages of revolution: military unification, political tutelage, and constitutional democracy.<ref>Theodore De Bary, William. Bloom, Irene. Chan, Wing-tsit. Adler, Joseph. Lufrano Richard. Lufrano, John. (1999). Sources of Chinese Tradition. Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-10938-5}}. p.&nbsp;328.</ref>