Final answer:
Early support for the Nationalists stemmed from Sun Yat-sen’s inclusive policies and hopes for a modern China, whereas Chiang Kai-shek’s initial stance against warlords and foreign influence garnered support, but the tides turned as corruption and unfavorable policies emerged.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many Chinese people supported the Nationalists in the early twentieth century due to various reasons tied to the political and social circumstances of the time. The Nationalist Party or the Kuomintang (KMT), under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, gained popularity through the inspiration of the May 4th Movement, which was a critical modernization movement following the disillusionment with the Treaty of Versailles.
Moreover, under the subsequent leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, many initially saw the Nationalists as the best chance for a unified and modern China. Although the initial alliance with Communists under Sun was pragmatic, Chiang, focused on traditional values and eventually ousted the Communists, contributing to the start of the civil conflict. Despite later issues, such as corruption and hyperinflation, which weakened the Nationalists’ support, many Chinese people favored them early on because they stood against the warlords and foreign influence and because they were the dominant force that seemed capable of uniting and modernizing China.
It was only as the Nationalists began to lose ground and Chiang Kai-shek's policies became more controversial that support began to shift to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Mao Zedong, especially among peasants and workers faced with the ramifications of the Nationalists' governance and the ravages of the ongoing war with Japan.