The era that started in 1928 was to be the long-awaited new age, with the reunification of the country, a new government, a new ideology, new leaders, a modern military elite, and Western-educated technocrats. The self-confidence of the regime, shown in its new capital, was mirrored in rapid, exciting change in many areas – education, culture, and the position of women. All these signs of renewal and modernity seemed to mark the start of a new age, of revival and recovery from a long decline. But the new age was stillborn. The central government became mired in conflict with the military allies that the GMD had recently acquired, and with the Communists. The pace of Japanese incursions increased and the pressure became so intense that, when war finally came in 1937, it seemed a foregone conclusion. The economic revolution that many had expected, and the emergence of an export economy, were stymied by the Depression and the collapse of world trade. The decade that started with such high hopes ended in despair, with the full-scale Japanese invasion of China. The military remained in the ascendancy, dedicated to the maintenance of a unity that had officially already been achieved. The huge problems of poverty and population growth were barely addressed, though the scale of the problems was more clearly recognized than ever before.

As they completed their march north, the GMD leaders could believe that they were about to fulfill their mission to lay to rest modern China's ghosts.