Shanghai Uprisings of 1926–27

three armed uprisings by the workers of Shanghai, led by the Communist Party of China. The workers hoped to liberate Shanghai from the rule of the warlords and to help the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), which was engaged in the Northern Campaign of 1926–27.

The first two uprisings, on Oct. 24, 1926, and Feb. 22 and 23, 1927, were poorly organized and ended in defeat. The Communists, having learned from their earlier setbacks, prepared the third uprising in absolute secrecy; they armed 5,000 workers, and a main headquarters was established for the uprising. On March 21, as units of the NRA approached Shanghai, the Communist Party and the Shanghai General Council of Trade Unions called a general strike, which grew into an armed workers’ uprising. By the evening of March 22, the warlords in Shanghai had been overthrown. The victory of the workers of Shanghai was an important event in the Revolution of 1925–27 in China.