Question

Why did many chinese people support the nationalists at the beginning of the twentieth century

Answer 1

Because they belived the Manchos Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven

Answer 2

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century the European imperialist powers - notably England - had too much power over China. The commercial interest in the region was still great in the early twentieth century, and the Chinese mobilized to drive foreigners out of their land and business. Xuantong, the last emperor of the Manchu dynasty, was deposed by popular forces in this liberation movement of the country, which ended the Chinese Empire and founded the Republic of China in 1911. This event is known as the Xinhai Revolution. In other words, by this time the Chinese were aware that it wasn't enough to expel the foreigners who harmed the commerce of the country, but it was also necessary to remove from power those who supported this commerce and was conniving with those practices, harmful to Chinese merchants and, in an ultimate analysis, the population.