Mao's China Notes Edexcel AS Level Notes

5/25/2018 Mao's China Notes Edexcel AS Level Notes

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China before 1949:

Imperial China was made up of the Qing Dynasty. This consisted of the ideas of:- Confucianism accept the unchanging social order- Hierarchy ruling Emperor- Conservativeness rigid social conventions- Isolating China from the foreign world this allowed China to develop a sense of superiority

Revolution, 1911:- This revolution ended Chinas subjection to the West by adopting Western political and economicways

- A republic was set up - warlords competed for power- CCP vs GMD the CCP won against the GMD as well as the Japanese, and established the PRC

(1949). The GMD fled to Taiwan.

Mao before 1949:- Mao was a firm believed in dialects historical development through conflict between social

classes.- He believed that progress resulted from the suppression of the weak power was gained through

violence

Jianjxi Soviet, 1927-34:- The GMD-CCP unity broke down- Mao and the CCP forced moved to Jiangxi and organized a guerilla resistance against the GMD- The Jiangxi Soviet was established and was dedicated to achieving peasant revolution

The Long March, 1934-4:- The GMD attacked the CCP base in Jiangxi- Mao and 100K troops fled to Yanan in Shaanxi- Though this was later turned into a glorious propaganda event, the journey actually took one year to

complete and only 20K survived

Yanan Years, 1935-45- Mao imposed his personal authority on the CCP he had opponents to his power removed- Rectification of Conduct campaign were purges Mao ordered in order to consolidate his hold

Maos countryside policies:- The CCP committed ferocious atrocities against the peasants in order to force them to join the fight

against the GMD- Maos son, Anying, was sent to the countryside for toughening up and he recorded the barbaric

events that he witnessed there.- The failings of these policies were blamed upon Liu Shaoqui

Reshaping China under Mao:Mao needed to bring stability back to China after years of turmoil. Thus, he began to remove opposition tothe CCP:

- External parties were outlawed- The GMD officials were to provide the PRC with the necessary continuity for administration but were

later labeled as class enemies- Anti-Movements were public campaigns against anyone who opposed official party policy it was

aimed at those who were socially or politically suspect

EFFECTS:- Fear and uncertainty was created- China became a nation of informers

- Property seizure from landlords it was distributed amongst the peasants and informers

Purges of CCP:- Those who didnt follow the Party Line were condemned as Rightists


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- The HFC allowed members to criticise policies but they were later arrested

The Great Leap Forward, 1958-62:- Mao aimed to industrialize China to such an extent that they would match the West- He copied Stalins 5-Year Plan model as a starting point- However, unlike the USSR Mao favored the mass labour supply in Chinas population over

technological advancement

FAILURES:- Targets werent met this often led to lying, corruption- Famine

o Private ownership ended and people were forced to live in communes and work in collectivefarms this reduced incentive for workers to work efficiently

o Lysenkoism was a false science and caused social disruption and well as food shortages,which Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqui were left to solve (they did this by abandoningcollectivization).

The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76:Mao feared that the revolution wouldnt survive past his death. He wanted to impose a political and socialstructure upon China that would permanently define its character as a nation. Mao left the CR in the hands

of his wife, Jiang Qing who was now responsible with recreating Chinese culture.

- The CR obliged the party to acknowledge errors within the party and then it would purge theserivals

- The Red Guards formed mass movement and destroyed everything of Chinas past e.g. buildings,shrines, temples, museums

- All forms of artistic expression were subjected to crippling censorship art needed to be passedthrough a Socialist Integrity test by Jiang Qing (Madame Mao) before it could be published (the artmust portray the triumphs of workers against class enemies).

FAILURES:- Because all forms of creativity had to conform to Jiang Qings judgment, this meant that nothing of

lasting significance was created

CAUSES FOR THE CR:Political strengthening

- Mao used the anarchy created by the CR, to enforce his will on the CCP and PRC

Ideological- The CR was a means of fulfilling Maos concept of continuing revolution the belief that unless the

CCP was regularly purified, it would cease to be a revolutionary force and therefore China wouldcease to be truly socialist.

Link between Imperial China and the PRC:The PRC was a continuation of imperial China because:- It returned to absolutism- The people remained at the bottom and had to obey superiors the authority came from the top- Instead of the Emperor, there was Mao their roles were very similar- The PRC also hardly allowed normal people to be involved in government- The CCPs rule was as uncompromising and self-perpetuating as that of the Emperors

Media:- The state controlled the media this allowed government opinion to be reflected as well as

providing an opportunity to praise Mao for all hed succeeded in doing- These opinions in government were greeted with universal approval from newspapers and journals

Maos changing reputation:- Though the CCP didnt entirely reject Maoism after Maos death (as this would have undermined

their own standing), Maos reputation still began to decline.- Instead, the CCP adopted a form of compromise


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o Mao couldnt be overlooked because the CCP members had risen to prominence under him,and had also carried out the CR.

o BUT China could overlook aspects of its past (such as the CR) history that reflected badlyon the PRC was no longer topics of interests.

The Early Years of the PRC, 1949-57

Consolidation of communist power, 1949-57:

Mao was Chairman of the Central Peoples Government Council - This was made up of 56 party members- Mao was the unchallengeable figure

Reunification Campaigns were set up to forcibly bring invaded provinces back into line. Troops weredispatched to Tibet, Xinjiang and Guangdong.

- They justified the Tibetan invasion by claiming that Tibet historically belonged to China- However, Tibetans were of a different culture, race and religion and thus they resisted PLA invasion

(60k Tibetan soldiers fought)- Nonetheless, the PLA won and imposed a regime of Terror in Tibet.

The 3-Anti Movement was set up in 1951 and targeted: Waste, corruption and inefficiencyThe 5-Anti Movement was set up in 1952 and intended to stimulate the economy by targeting: industrialsabotage, bribery, theft of government property, tax evasion and fraud.

Mao had initially used the resources from the GMD to begin the reconstruction of China under the CCP.But later he used the Anti-Movements to destroy the remnants of the capitalist class (e.g. former GMDmembers) that he had been obliged to tolerate in order to maintain a continuity in administration.

China became a one-party state- All other parties were outlawed in 1952 e.g. Left GMD- Political purges were launched against counter-revolutionaries

o In Canton, 130K Criminals were rounded up and triads were removed

China became a nation of informers- Neighbors denounced each other- Children informed on their parents they were urged to be loyal to the party first and foremost- Watchers kept the local CCP informed about suspicious behavior- Those with middle-class backgrounds were condemned simply for that reason- Cadres (dedicated CCP workers) spied on fellow CCP peers

The bourgeoisie was eliminated- Only one class should exist the bourgeoisie class

- Proletarian revolution could only be achieved through violence- This violence was used to destroy all capitalist elements

Registration was used as a weapon.There were three types of registration:

- Dan Wei a permit provided when the individual cannot hold a job- Hukou a certificate for the family to obtain accommodation- Dangan the records and personal details of individuals was stored

o Dangan was the main way that authorities maintained social and political controlo A persons right to employment and housing depended upon the contents of the Dangano The CCP could manipulate the people into obedience

The Gao Gang and Rao Rashi Affair, 1954:Moa claimed that many officials were only half-hearted in their efforts to promote the first FYP (1952-6).

- Two major culprits were identified: The Gao Gang and Rao Rashi (CCP leaders)- Instead of working to advance industrialization, they had misused their authority to establish

independent kingdoms.


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- Thus, both were dismissed from their positionso As a result, Mao suspicions began to increase after this event.

Terror on the Land:- Mao began going to the people his journeys to the countryside were met with peasants telling

him what he wanted to hear- However, in actuality landlords and kulaks were persecuted

o They were put on show trials

o Their properties were redistributed amongst the peasants (initially peasants were happybut later, under collectivization, the land became state-owned)

o They were denounced as enemies of the people

The Politburo had ultimate power Mao was a part of this- The National Peoples Congress merely passed laws proposed by the Politburo

Democratic Centralism- True democracy lay in the obedience of the people; the people should follow their leaders, the CCP

China and the Korean War, 1950-3:1. Japan invaded Korea during WWII

2. After the defeat of Japan, Korea was partitioned along the 38thParallel3. The USA protected the South whilst the USSR protected the North4. In 1950, the North Koreans crosses the Parallel with the aim of imposing their communist power

over the capitalist South5. The USSR and China agree that China will fight for NK (in place of the USSR) in reward of soviet

benefits e.g. scientific technology, economic advisers etc.

Kim Il Sung (NK) wanted a war against the USA.Though the USSR did not want to be sucked into a conflict in Asia which it could not hope to win, they toowanted to bring the whole of Korea under communist control because then they would acquire a verypowerful position in the Far East (and at very little cost to themselves because the Chinese PLA would be

fighting instead of the USSRs RA).The USSR deliberately missed the Security Council meeting that concluded that a UN army would be sentto Korea Stalin wanted to entice the USA into conflict.

Mao had no idea that the USSR was exploiting China. However, he had his won reasons for fighting thecivil war:

- Geographically, Korea was very close to China - If the USA succeeded in conquering NK, this wouldleave a passage into China.

- Mao wanted soviet aid for his restructuring of China he wanted soviet technology in exchange forChinese soldiers (it would later pay back the USSR by commercial successions); the terms andconditions were agreed upon in the Sino-Soviet Agreement.

Lin Bao had opposed Maos decision to enter the war he argued that Chinas main aim was to crushinternal enemies. The PRC did not have the resources to fight in the Korean Civil War.

FAILURES- A truce was formed and the two sides went back to either side of the Parallel no change was

made except for the loss of millions of lives.- China contributed 3 million soldiers to the War effort this was a conscript army - By 1953, the PLA

had lost approx. 1 million soldiers for no reason.- The USA pledged itself to the defense of Taiwan (where GMD members relocated) this ruled out

any possibility for the PRC to reclaim Taiwan.- The war drained Chinas already fractured economy

SUCCESSES- National unity was created in China to aid the war-effort this removed the last traces of the GMDs

hold over China- The PRC had proved to the USSR that it was capable of matching the in combat- China was now more determined to remain hostile from the outside world


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The Economy The First FYP, 1952-6Aims:

- Modernize Chinese economy by focusing on heavy industry e.g. coal, steel.- Focus on transport infrastructure

EFFECTS:- Urban population increased from 57-100 million between 1949-57 this provided a large workforce

and therefore sped up industrialization- National Resources Committee (NRC) took control over industrial investment policy there wasmore industrial expertise and therefore efficient planning

- New Currency (Yuan) was introduced

SUCCESSES- Inflation dropped from 1000% to 15% between 1949-51 this was done through raising taxes and

slashing public expenditure- There was an economic growth rate of 9% between 1953-7- Even after lying about figures had been adjusted, there was still a considerable degree of success.

Between 1952-7:o Coal increased from 113-115 million tonnes

o Steel increased from 4-5 million tonnes

FAILURES- Sino-Soviet Agreement - the USSR exploited China by making them pay back loans plus added

interest

The Hundred Flowers Campaign

Party members were allowed freedom of expression to comment constructively on China. It called uponcritics to be open on their thoughts.E.g. Mao made a speech on Contradictions he talked of the successes of the first FYP but alsocomplained about the heavy-handed methods used to apply the policies.

REASONS FOR HFC:De-Stalinization:

- Khrushchev denounced Stalins Cult of Personality by criticizing Stalins methods- Mao didnt want this charge to be made against him in China- His apparent encouragement at party criticism during the HFC was actually a way of preventing the

comparison between Mao and Stalin

Consolidating power of CCP:- The HFC was reversed with an anti-Rightist campaign this was a deliberate movement; he

exposed the critics and used what they had said to victimize them.- Mao was able to root out opposition to his power by labeling his critics as anti-Party intellectuals(e.g. doctors, lecturers) were mainly targeted.

o Individuals were forced to retract their statementso They also had to confess and subject themselves to reeducationo E.g. Zhou Enlai was forced to make a humiliating self-criticism in front of the party Mao was

showing that nobody, no matter how prominent they were in the party, was beyondinvestigation

- Nobody was safe from investigation thus this forced everyone to conform to Maos wishes

Consolidating power of Mao:- Mao didnt want the public to think he would be relaxing his hold over China after Khrushchev

introduced communism with a human face in the USSR the Hungarian Uprising had been aresult of this weakening of power

- Mao wanted to show China that he had no intention of weakening his hold over the PRC

Genuine seeking of constructive criticism:


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- Perhaps Mao genuinely did initially want to improve the PRC through criticism- However, he probably hadnt realized the scale of dissatisfaction in the party that the HFC had

revealed- He only crushed his opponents because he discovered the extent of opposition and feared losing a

hold over China

Removing bureaucracy:- By giving intellectuals freedom to express their ideas, Mao thought to prevent bureaucrats from

interfering with party decisions- He wanted intellectuals to attack and expose corruption and bureaucracy

The Great Leap Forward The Second FYP1958-62

- China lagged begin the rest of the advanced industrial world but Mao truly thought that China couldsurpass them through the dedicated efforts of the Chinese people

- China would bypass the stages through which the advanced nations had gone, and go straight frombeing a rural, agricultural economy to becoming an urban, industrial one.

- By revolutionizing agriculture and industry, the PRC could catch up and overtake the capitalist West

Dependence on USSRs model:- Mao admired the USSR for what it had achieved economically but he regretted that the PRC had

become so dependent on them.- He was determined to match the USSRs economic achievement but he wanted China to do it

without following the methods of the USSR.- In the early years of the PRC it was necessary to follow the USSR because they had no experience

in economic construction.- However, it was a weakness to continue following the USSR and showed a lack of creativity and

inability to stand on their own feet it was never meant to be a long-term thing, and so the USSRbegan to change policies.

The Reform of Industry:- Mao wanted to achieve industrial lift off by harnessing the massive population he was convinced

that the sheer manpower of China could solve all the problems of industrial development.- It was the scale of construction rather than its economic value that appealed to Mao he placed a

large emphasis on heavy industry and large projects.o E.g. the building of Tiananmen Square began in 1957-9 it was completed in two years.

It was competing with the USSRs Red Square, and was even larger in size.

o Thousands of workers, dressed in blue uniforms, and toiling with only the most basic oftools, were referred to as the Blue Ants. Mao was the Emperor of these Blue Ants.

o General Steel and General Grain were two soldiers that would lead the nation toeconomic victory.o State-owned-enterprises (SOEs) this was an attempt to bring industry under total

government direction. Existing firms and companies could no longer operate as private,profit-making concerns. Instead, they would work for the state as SOEs, there was nonegotiation between workers and employers over matters such as prices, output targets andwages these were all fixed.

o The SOEs were ideologically a success as they fulfilled the communist notion of a centrallycontrolled industry.

o Also workers had an iron rice bowl they had a guaranteed job and wages, as well asaccommodation and education and medical benefits for the family.

FAILURES OF GLF:o Maos economic strategy was flawed he had believed that relying on Chinas unlimited manpower

could bring about the same advances that the western nations had made. There was no plan for turning production into manufactured goods (sellable items) as the focus

was on production rather than consumption effectively, the materials produced were unused


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and lay idle. Mao himself lacked the knowledge of agricultural knowledge that was necessary in order to

understand the reports he had received from the countryside. However, he blamed the failures on the bourgeoisie elements, which sabotaged the plan.

o Though coal production initially increased from 230-290, between 1958-9, it began to drop and by 1960it fell down to 270 million tonnes.

o China lacked technical skills, managerial know-how, efficiency and an adequate transport system.

The USSR stopped providing technical assistance in 1960. This led to 150 plants, which hadbeen sponsored by the USSR, being closed down.

Mechanical diggers were shunned in favor of the earth being moved by the hands of the people.

o Also, political interference getting in the way of proper industrial management made the planimpossible to manage purely as an economic enterprise.

o Quality control (monitoring standard of product) was impossible to sustain.

Thus, more often than not, the quality of finished products was very bad - it couldnt meet its

domestic industrial needs

o Targets were unrealistic and therefore continuously changed they were not based on sound

economic analysis; usually the figures were chosen as a way of impressing Mao and showing that theparty members were responding to his call for a mass collective effort.

o Backyard furnaces this was a communal activity in which everyone could participate to help build thenew society.

The people began to build their own furnaces and used it to produce steel.

This was a national movement and millions responded to it the people were faithful inanswering Maos call for mass industrialization.

However, homemade steel was worthless. The people had used various domestic oddmentssuch as pots and pans and therefore the steel produced was of such a bad quality that it waseffectively unusable.

The FYP wasted rather than utilized Chinas vast natural and human resources.

Also, many trees fell to the supply of backyard furnaces (to keep it burning) thus large parts ofChina were deforested.

Local authorities were aware of the failures of backyard furnaces but due to the conspiracy ofsilence, they refused to reveal the failures. Thus, steel continued to be gathered from peasants,and then dumped in deep pits.

o SOEs never really operated on an integrated national plano Also, in practice SOEs performed less well than anticipated because they were inefficient there were

no incentive programs to encourage workers now. SOEs were given state subsidies and workers received guaranteed wages.

This destroyed motive for the managers and workers alike, to show any initiative.

No matter how hard working or idle the worker was at the end of the day he would still receivethe same pay.

The Reform of Agriculture - Collectivization

REASONS FOR INTRODUCING COLLECTIVISATION:

o China had a severe labor shortage in the industries those employed in industry were only aminority of the population. The industrial workforce had to be greatly increased if targets were to bemet.


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o Peasant obstinacy though peasants were producing more food, this was not finding its way to theurban workers. The economic planners blamed the peasants greed for this they were indulging themselves by

overeating and having larger families, which meant more mouths to be fed. The peasantry needed to be brought under strict central control and direction. Mao himself said

that the state should prevent peasants from eating too much.

o Consolidating the CCPs power: RCs central government directed the whole system e.g. farming methods, sales and distribution

of produce.- Private farming abolished- Internal passports introduced for peasants passing between communes

o Mao was convinced that the peasants were inherently capitalist he said in a speech, There is no

communist spirit in them! Peasants who ignored these new regulations and carried on with their old ways of farming were

rounded up and imprisoned as rightists. Peasants not only had to join their farms in collectives, but the collectives also had to be

combined into a number of large communes.- 1956-8: 750K collectives combined into communes- Chinas agriculture was divided into 70K communes, which contained approx. 750K

brigades, which contained 100 households.

o Mao maintained that, rather being forced upon them, collectivization was a direct response to thewishes of the peasants. There were community dining rooms, nurseries, public baths, red and expert schools, available

to the peasants in order to ensure a happy life for them.

The Great Famine, 1958-62

CAUSES OF THE FAMINE:

o The ending of private ownership led to peasants being discouraged to produce food beyond their

own needs. This decline in productivity led to a famine in other areas.

o Lysenkoism

Lysenko seemed to have developed techniques that resulted in crops like rice and barley,yielding up to x16 more food than under traditional methods.

Stalin regarded Lysenko as the voice of truth and the USSRs influence on China was so strongthat Mao made Lysenkoism official policy in 1958 he even personally drafted an 8-pointagricultural constitution based on Lysenko's theories.

However, Lysenkos methods were worthless and his theories on producing super crops werefraudulent. China is a vast country with very different climates the special seeds that Lysenkohad advised to grow, didnt grow and therefore productivity fell.

o Sparrowcide

Birds kept on eating the crops thus the whole Chinese population was called upon to prevent thebirds from eating the crops.

At prescribed times, the people would bang pots and pans to scare away the birds and

prevented them from landing, until the birds eventually dropped from the sky from exhaustion. The thousands of dead birds were publicly displayed as trophies. Villages competed with each

other over who killed the most birds.

However, without birds to eat them, insects began to eat the crops. Vermin also multipliedbecause there were no birds to eat them.

Furthermore, it was a waste of time they could have used that time to continue farming andincrease production.


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o Conspiracy of silence

Local officials were aware of the failures of lysenkoism, sparrowcide and the fact that millionswere dying. Yet they didnt speak out, and instead reported that production targets were beingmet and that the GLF was on course.

Mao, on his visits to the countryside, never saw these failures because of the conspiracy ofsilence instead he was met with happy peasants and long stalks of grain being produced.

Officials only cared about themselves with no thought for the people at large they ate largemeals and didnt feel the effects of starvation.

The Lushan Conference, 1959:This conference was called in order to tackle the problem of famine.Mao had even expected criticism from the party members and he even brought his wife, Jiang Qing, to helpfend off any attacks directed at him.Peng Dehuai told the graphic, horrific truth of what he had witnessed as a result of collectivization I sawmy people lying dead.This was the key opportunity for others to support him BUT no one did. Instead, the party membersdismissed Peng as a troublemaker and claimed he had fabricated his eyewitness account. They thenproceeded to make speeches noting the advances made under the GLF.

Mao thought the famine was fictionalMao made an angry speech ridiculing Peng Dehuai and told the delegates that he was willing to use thePLA against anyone who tried to lead the peasants to overthrow the government.This was Maos way of claiming that the famine was really a fiction, created by reactionary peasants whoresisted collectivization.Effectively, talk of famine was tantamount to treason against Mao and the CCP. Thus, the famine continuedwith nothing being done to alleviate the peoples suffering.

EFFECTS:

o Starvation forced labor camps were expanded to take in more peasants. Millions starved to death

and therefore the workforce decreased thus contributing to the further decline in production. Of the 50 million who starved to death, the worst toll was in the Arc of Misery that swept from

Shandong to Tibet. Shandong = 7.5 million dead Tibet = 1 million dead

Parents sold their children for food; husbands sold their wives for food. Women prostitutedthemselves and some even resorted to cannibalism.

o Productivity declined

Grain production fell from 164-160 million tonnes from between 1952-62.

Meat production fell from 3.4-1.9 million tonnes from 1952-62.

o Martial Law imposed People were so desperate for food that provincial demonstrations began to take place and were

quickly spreading. In order to maintain order, Liu Shaoqui imposed Martial Law to suppress the rebellion.

Tibetan Famine

EFFECTS:

o Human Losses

population (1 million people) died in the famine.

The Panchen Lamas Report, 1962 showed a true indication of the effects of collectivization:- The Panchen Lama went on a secret tour of Tibet to discover the truth about the famine he

knew that the communist authorities were churning lies about the conditions in Tibet- E.g. 1960 the National Peoples Congress referred to the situation in Tibet as a wonderful


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situation.- His report concluded that 20% of the population had been gaoled an average of between

80 and 100 for each village and half of those gaoled died while in prison.- The eyewitness accounts also describes the brutality of the official onslaught of the Tibetan

people.- This report was an accurate reflection of Tibet because the Panchen Lama had initially been

on the PLAs side but turned against them after hed witnessed the savagery.- Also because Zhou Enlai confirmed that the report was a fair portrayal.

o Traditional Tibetan farminginvolved

The rearing of Yaksand sheep by nomadic herders was a way of growing barley and oat.- BUT the Chinese occupiers demanded that socialist farming techniques must be established in

Tibet. They insisted that farmers must switch from growing barley to other crops such as wheatand maize.

- The new crops grew poorly in the Tibetan climate and surviving wheat was inedible mainly.Wheat or maize couldnt be eaten in the traditional digestible form of Tsampa.

- This led to the digestive systems of the Tibetan people becoming messed up the peoplesuffered from diarrhea and dehydration, sometimes the symptoms even led to death.

Persecution of the Khampas:- Khampas (yak herdsman) were forbidden to roam the meadows with their yak herds. They were

no longer considered nomads; rather they were farmers. Thus they, alongside with their yaksand herds, were forced to live in communes.

- These yaks weren't domesticated and so could not be trained to plough the field thus, theherdsman had to plough the soil.

- Also, the Chinese experts refused to allow the yaks to be moved from the communes to summeror winter pastures this meant that many yaks became malnourished and withered.

- Thus, the diet of the Tibetan people worsened as cheese and meat had dried up.- Also, yak hair from which they made their clothes was useless.- Thus, hundreds of thousands of people died from malnutrition and cold.

Maos political weakening- Mao himself suffered from the famine and due to his damaged reputation, and thus he withdrew

from the political frontline.- He left Liu and Deng in charge of resolving the famine both concluded that the only way to solve

the food crisis was by reintroducing private farming and the free market. This would provide thepeasants an incentive to produce surplus stocks.

- This seemed to imply that that the commune system had been a failure and therefore this not onlyshowed an ideological weakening, but it also proved that Maos policy had been a failure thusfurther weakening his hold.

CAUSES

o The Tibetan Uprising

- The PRC deliberately chose to extend the famine to Tibet this was a way of destroying Tibetanresistance.

o Disregarding the Panchen Lamas report

- The Panchen Lama sent a copy of the report to Mao, who dismissed it as a collection of lies.- He described the Panchen Lama as a class enemy and had him arrested as well as the report

suppressed.- The PRCs propaganda campaign tried to salvage the reputation of the party by using propaganda

that stated that the stories of famine and misery were without foundation and that Tibet truly hadexperienced the same abundant harvests as all the other provinces of China that had embracedcollectivization.

- Maos refusal to accept or confront the famine only led to the famine being further drawn out.

o Hoardingof grain by the peasants this had prevented food from getting to the people


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o Mistakes by local officials they misunderstood their instructions or had been incompetent incarrying them out (BUT ultimately the responsibility lay with Mao, due to him his officials set inmotion a process that resulted in the loss of a million lives)

o Bad weather droughts and floods had destroyed harvests

WAS THE FAMINE MAN-MADE?

o The famine was a man-made disaster it was an act of genocide by the Chinese government.

During the reunification campaign, the PLA invaded Tibet and began to destroy its culture, aswell as social and religious identity. Chinas ultimate aim was to eradicate Tibet as a nation anda culture.

Chinas actions included:- Renaming Tibet to Xizang, in order to make it more part of China.- Banning the public practice of Lama (religion) as well as political meetings and teaching of Tibetan

history and language in schools.- Sponsoring a mass migration people from other parts of China moved to Tibet; the government

was trying to fill Tibet with people whose alien way of life (e.g. different religion, culture etc.) wouldswamp the local Tibetan culture.

- Mandarin Chinese became the official language of Tibet those who wanted to maintain a highpublic position needed to learn it.

Tibetan Uprising, 1959 was a result of this invasion: The Tibetan resistance reemerged to rise against the Chinese occupation. The Chinese

responded by sending in PLA units to suppress the demonstrations. Thousands were arrested, imprisoned and executed.

Chinese forces attacked Tibetan religion specifically nuns and priests were publicallyhumiliated and beaten.

Monasteries were converted into administrative buildings. Tibetans would be arrested even for

mentioning the Dalai Lama in public. The Flight of the Dalai Lama - the Dalai Lama decided to leave the country rather than wait for

his removal by the Chinese. In exile, the Dalai Lama became a potent symbol of Tibetanresistance. He kept the world media informed of the continuing severity of the PLAs occupation he was able to voice the plight of the Tibetan people to the outside world after being grantedsanctuary in India.

The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76

The Power Struggle, 1962-6:The GLF had been failure and therefore Maos reputation had been damaged this led to Maos adopting a

less prominent position in politics. Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaqoui were growing increasingly popular inthe party Mao feared that his colleagues would remove him from power if they had the opportunity to.Mao had reason to believe that Liu and Deng were manipulating their position to challenge Maos rule.e.g. some supporters of Deng and Xiaoping (in the 1960s) began to reverse the collectivization program.Mao judged that he was losing his grip on the party his absence had led factions to develop.The Cult of Mao

The Little Red BookLin Bao, a devoted Maoist, collaborated with Chen Boda in compiling the Little Red Book this book was acollection of thoughts and sayings of Mao. This became the secular bible of China and the source of alltruth. A copy was distributed to every soldier and became the text used in study sessions that were made acompulsory part of military training. This ensured that the army was politicized as a force wholly committed

to the support of Mao. Moas slogan, Learn from the PLA, was a way of saying that Chinas armyrepresented the true revolutionary spirit and this was a model for the people to follow. 750 million copies ofthe Little Red Book were distributed across China. It became the prescribed source for every subject onthe curriculum in schools and universities. It became a necessity to have a copy of the book with one at alltimes. The publication of Lei Fengs Diary in 1963, a dead PLA member whos every thought and action


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were inspired by his devotion to Mao, was held up as a symbol of martyrdom for the revolutionary cause it encouraged every Chinese person to reach Leis level of dedication. Lei was the embodiment of theloyalty of the ordinary Chinese. His text joined the LRB as an essential text for study in schools.BUT the story was a complete fabrication and was made up by the governments propaganda team.

The Wu Han AffairWu Han belonged to a group of writers that were critical of Mao. He created a play, The Dismissal of HaiRuin from Office, which referenced Peng Dehuais dismissal for opposing the GLF and stating the truth in

Lushan about the extent of the famine. This provided Lin Bao the opportunity to move against the anti-Maoist elements in the CCP. In 1965, Lin Bao started a series of attacks on Wu Han and charged him withblackening Maos good name and undermining Marxist-Leninism.

Divisions in the CCP

The Wu Han affair had deepened the divisions that had begun to develop within the CCP and between thePLA. Jiang Qing (Maos wife) denounced the reactionaries and revisionists on the Right and also aimed toundermine the Group of Five who were condemned for their moderation at a time when utter ruthlessnesswas the only proper response.

The Shanghai Forum and the Gang of Four

The Shanghai Forum were a set of Maoists who were at the extreme end of an extreme movement. TheGang of Four (consisting of Jiang Qing and 3 members of the Politburo) dominated the Forum. Jiang Qingurged that Peng Dehuai and Liu Shaoqui should be removed from their positions in the CCP. Also, shestated that Chinese culture should be cleansed of writers and artists whose attitude betrayed their lack ofcommitment to the revolution. Jiang Qing became a ruthless cultural enforcer. The Forum ordered the PLAto lead China in rooting out anti-socialist elements and eradicating all traces of artistic corruption thatdelayed the achievement of a truly proletarian culture.

The Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG)This was the body that ran the Cultural Revolution it consisted of the Gang of Four. In 1966, Mao

announced that there were enemies within the party that would seize power and turn China into adictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76On Maos orders, Lin Bao organized teachers and radical teachers to attack the education system for itsdivergence from the revolutionary path. Students abandoned their classes and attacked their teachers.Deng and Liu sent special work teams to campuses in order to contain the trouble, but the Red Guardsattacked them.

The Yangtze River Swim Maos Return

It was at this critical stage that Mao returned to politics. He swam across the Yangtze River (which wasregarded as a life force) at the age of 73. This was made into a huge propaganda campaign; it wastelevised, printed in newspapers etc. This was a great symbolic gesture and proved that Mao was still incontrol of events. Mao exploited the excitement roused by his spectacular return, to tighten his grip ongovernment and party. In a special meeting in August, he called on members to rededicate themselves tounwavering class struggle and he also replaced Liu Shaoqui in favor of Lin Bao as his successor.

The August Rally, 18thAugust 1966

Lin Bao and Chen Boda organized for over a million Maoist supporters packed into Tiananmen Square inBeijing they waved their LRBs and chanted praises to Mao. Effectively, the Cult of Mao had developed.

Enlisting the young

It was his ability to manipulate the public opinion and behavior of the young that Mao was able to start theCultural Revolution. He used the young to re-impose his will on the nation and reshape it according to hisvision. He used the Red Guards to attack those ideas and members in the party that Mao wanted removed.


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The attack on the Four OldsThe Red Guards targeted:

1. Old ideas2. Old culture3. Old customs4. Old habits

China had been told that nothing in its past was worth preserving.

The Great Rallies, 1966

There were 8 mass rallies taken place between August and November in Tiananmen Square. The rallieswere used to excite the crowds to ever-greater displays of affection and loyalty towards Mao. Lin Bao alsoappealed to the crowds to honor Mao as the outstanding revolutionary genius. The people were beingremolded and indoctrinated into believing that Mao would lead the nation to greatness.

Maos reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution: To consolidate his power by removing opposition

To obliterate the damaging effects of the failures of the GLF

To ensure that his revolution would continue even after his death he would remold culture andsociety in such a way that it could never be changed back

To prevent China fro making the same mistakes as the USSR

To break the power of the bureaucrats and restore peasant character in the revolution

Permanent RevolutionMao was convinced that many in the upper sections of the party were infected by neo-capitalism (a returnto the corrupt bourgeoisie system based on greed, individualism and profit-making) this desire forpersonal power robbed them of their revolutionary purpose.Mao feared that after his death, the CCP would become a self-justifying bureaucracy and would destroy allthat had been achieved by the PRC. To consolidate the revolution, Mao directly appealed to the people and

enlisted them in the Cultural Revolution campaign in order to save the revolution.

Developments in the USSRBy the 1950s, Khrushchev had begun to attack Stalins Cult of Personality. Mao interpreted this attack as acriticism of his own leadership of China.Also, by 1964 Khrushchev too had fallen from power and the Russian officials stated that he washarebrained. Mao feared that the Chinese people would too denounce him.Khrushchev had brought in too many liberalizing policies and Mao saw this as a betrayal of the revolutionby encouraging revisionism and dtente (coexistence of West and East). He was determined that suchdevelopment would not occur in China.

Mao judged that the CCP were already being seduced by the privileges of power the older revolutionists

that had defeated the GMD had lost their revolutionary fervor. Thus Mao decided that it was time for a newgeneration of party members to replace the old guard.

Mao wanted to test the younger members, who had not undergone the legendary experiences that theolder members had e.g. the White Terror, the Long March etc. They needed to be tested to see if they werestrong enough to withstand military attack from the West.

Undermining bureaucrats and intellectuals

Mao was determined to preserve the revolution as an essentially peasant movement the peasants werethe main revolutionary force in China. He didnt want the intellectuals and bureaucrats to run affairsbecause he had developed a tension with them - they were the one to criticize the GLF. His attack on theintellectuals was an act of revenge.E.g. At a party meeting, Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqui were accused of being spearheads of theerroneous line they were leaders who tried to persuade the party to follow policies that ran counter toMaos wishes. They were dismissed from positions on the grounds that they have become revisionists.


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Propaganda was used to denounce both Deng and Liu for their betrayal of Maoist thought. Liu was beaten,imprisoned in solitary confinement and later killed. 3000 Red Guards humiliated Deng and he was thensent to perform corrective labour a form of imprisonment that brought the prisoner to see the error of hisways.

Once the Cultural Revolution was underway, Mao played little part and withdrew from Beijing.Kang Sheng was appointed head of the PRCs secret police. Kang was a member of the Shanghai Forumand had a reputation for ruthlessness. He became the principal organizer of the purges.

The Red Guards camped out in Tiananmen Square for months and kept up a constant barrage of insultsdirected at rightist officials. They turned violent if given the slightest pretext.Jiang Qing and Lin Bao also personally identified the ministers and officials who were to be abused.

The Role of the Red Guards

Pupils and students had been encouraged to regard themselves as pioneers under Mao in theadvancement of international proletarian revolution. The young were made to feel that they had a specialrole in the creation of a new socialist world order. The young people saw Mao as the great hero who hadfreed China from a century of humiliation at the hands of foreigners. The worship of Mao illustrated two keyfeatures of Chinese society emperor worship and the power of peer-group conformity (the young

following each other simply because they didnt want to be left out).

Red Guard Terror

The young were told to insult and abuse their elders e.g. parents, teachers.Anything that represented the corrupt past was labeled under Confucius and co. They were liable to beingsmashed up. Temples, shrines and art pieces became targets and were vandalized or destroyed.They seized public transport and took over radio and television networks. Anyone who showed signs ofdecadent tendencies (clinging to bourgeoisie elements e.g. wearing western clothing) would be publiclyhumiliated e.g. the intellectuals such as teachers, doctors, writers etc. They were forced to undergostruggle sessions where, to induce guilt, the victims were made to study Maos teachings and self-criticiseby recalling all their errors and sins against the party. A common practice was for the Red Guards to force

the accused to adopt the airplane position, with their arms pulled behind their backs. Those who pledgedinnocence were beaten until they had no more resistance left. It didnt matter if a victim had pastachievements in the revolutionary cause e.g. Wang Jinxi was personally honored by Mao for his resistanceagainst the GMD, but the Red Guards had accused him as a traitor-worker for working in oil fields at atime when it was controlled by the GMD. He was tortured to death over a 3-day period.

The Red Guard action wasnt spontaneous; rather it was officially directed. Xie Fuzhi, the Minister for PublicSecurity, stated that the Red Guards were provided information about people from these five categories:landlords, rich peasants, reactionaries, bad elements and rightists. The names and whereabouts of all thepeople under these categories were passed to the Red Guards, who then descended onto their victims.

Over 2000 people were tortured to death in a period of two weeks.

Victims and Victimizers

The victimisers in turn became the victims. Revolutionaries struggled to prove their proletarian integrity bybecoming even more extreme those who faltered to or showed signs of being sickened by the horrorswere condemned as reactionaries and found themselves subject to the very savagery that they had metedout. Idealism was replaced by brutishness and a fear of being purged if one showed non-conformity.

Licensed savagery:There were systematic killings of bound victims along side regular beatings in the streets. In DaxingCounty, 300 people were clubbed to death over a two-day period. The purges had resulted in the killing of

over 500K CCP officials.

Cultural Vandalism:The Red Guards destroyed 4922/6843 of Beijings places of cultural and historical interest.They also tried to destroy the Forbidden City but Zhou Enlai intervened and prevented this from occurring.


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200 Beijing university students committed 6618 organized acts of vandalism within four weeks thisincluded the destruction of 929 paintings, 1000 statues and 2000 graves.

Attack on foreignersThe victims werent restricted to the Chinese people.11 foreign embassies were attacked and their staffassaulted.Red Guards surrounded the Soviet Embassy and kept up a 24-hour barrage of insults.

Beating two Indian Embassy secretariesBurning the British Embassy in Beijing they were beaten and the women were sexually abused; themorals of the Red Guards did not remain intact

Chinese attacks abroadThe Cultural Revolution was carried out internationally by 1967, Chinese militants had caused violentincidents in over 30 countries.Members of the Chinese embassy in London led demonstrations and caused disruption.

Trouble in Hong KongIn May 1967, Mao tried to turn a workers strike in Hong Kong, into an anti-British demonstration (the Britishowned Hong Kong). He hoped this would tempt the British to shoot at the Chinese, thereby revealing the

true evil nature of British colonialism in China. However, the British didnt retaliate this way and so Mao sentterrorists to murder policeman and make it look as if the British had done it. Within 8 weeks, five policemenwere dead and over 160 bombs had caused civilian deaths. Even still, the British didnt retaliate and Maonever got the massacre he wanted.

Reigning in the Red GuardsThe revolution had brought widespread disruption and this had negative effects:It had brought industrial production to a halt.Schools and universities were closed.Civil Wars raged in China regional groups had begun to clash with one another, factory workers formedtheir own units and challenged the students as the true leaders of the movement

The work of the Red Guards was taken over by the PLA as a result of the situation getting out of hand.They took over the Red Guards in hunting down and terrorizing counter-revolutionaries.Mao had let the Red Guards run wild because h had known that he could use the PLA to reign them backin thus the CR was directed form the top rather than by the people. Mao and the CCRG orchestratedmuch of the events. The youngsters were merely pawns in the power struggle in the CCP.

Up to the mountains and down to the villages campaign 1967-72The youngsters were urged to go to the countryside and live among the peasants. This way they wouldlearn what like was like for 80% of Chinas population and therefore deepen their understanding of therevolution.However, the governments aim was to remove the gangs and delinquent youths from the urban areas that

had threatened to become uncontrollable. This was also an extension of Maos notion hat people ofprivilege should learn the dignity of labor.

Between 1967-72, over 12 million young people moved from towns into the countryside. Most wereunprepared for the primitive conditions and had no countryside skills whatsoever they did not know howto grow crops or rear livestock.

The peasants too were unimpressed because the students didnt earn their keep and tended to regardthemselves as superior beings who had made a heroic act of self-sacrifice by coming to the countryside.The low standard of living hit the students hard and this made them doubt and question the wisdom andgoodwill of Mao. They began to realize that they had been used.However, they did increase literacy standards a little in the countryside.

The Cleansing of the Class Ranks campaign, 1968-71.The PLA were even more vicious that the Red Guards. The Gang of Four established committees in majorregions, who were given the task of eradicating any signs of capitalism. This led to an orgy of killings anddestruction.


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Yunnan 15K people cleansed and of these, 6979 died of their injuries.Beijing 3731 killed but were officially classified as suicidesSometimes, after theyd been beaten to death, the killers would eat their victims dead flesh and liver.

Mao stepped in at this point because he didnt want his reputation to be damaged.

Maos absence from the political center of things meant that while the policies were carried out under hisauthority, he was rarely involved in the everyday details. The individual acts of brutality were seldom the

result of his specific orders. The CR was pushed further than Mao had intended. Still, he was to blamebecause he couldve called off the Terror at any point but did not. He had given Jiang Qing and the Gang ofFour control and therefore he was the originator of this horrific movement.

The Fall of Lin Bao, 1971-2There were signs that many Chinese people were becoming disenchanted with Mao but there was hardlyany opposition to Mao because mistakes were blamed on those responsible for implementing Maospolicies. The Cult of Mao at this point was very strong he was known as the Great Helmsman. Powerseekers in the CCP claimed loyalty to Mao because they wanted to be his successor.However, Mao became disturbed that those closest to him would overthrow him. Lin Bao, his successor,had a growing influence due to the CR and therefore Mao wanted to remove him effectively, Lin too

became a victim of the CR. The first stage was to submit him self to self-criticism.Lin Bao realized that he had become a marked man and became involved in an assassination plot.However, this information was leaked to Zhou Enlai who then informed Mao. The chances of theassassination being successful now were slim to none. Lin Bao tried to escape to the USSR but his planecrashed and he died with his family.

The assassination plot had depressed Mao he became physically unwell as well. This was because theassassination attempt had been an indication of how widespread the opposition to him in the party hadbecome. He needed to be protected from the very people he wanted to change the lives of.

The scandal surrounding Lin Baos death was released a year after his death a criticise Lin Bao andConfucius campaign was launched which named Lin the great traitor and Soviet spy. It was this public

denunciation of Lin that led many to question whether they could believe the official pronouncementsissued by the PRC. No one could believe that Lin Bao, a devoted Maoist who had helped build the CR,could become traitor to China.

Tu Deyong, a CCP member, published Ten Indictments against the Great CR. This included a damagingof the economy, living standards worsening and more crime and loose morals within the youth. Tu wasarrested and sentenced for life. He reflected what most people were thinking.

The CR runs down, 1972-6

The extremism of the CR began to lessen with which the pogroms (a state organized persecution against agroup of people) and persecutions were conducted. This was due to: Uncertainty about Maos true intentions

The effect of the Lin Bao affair, which led to a rethink in the CCP about how severe its policies,should be

An unacknowledged recognition by the party that the points Tu Deyong had made were an accuratedescription of the harmful effects of the CR

The wish to impress President Nixon who made an official visit to the PRC in 1972

The Return of Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping

Zhous position in the party elevated became he had uncovered the assassination plot.Zhou also re-invited Deng back into government by 1975, Deng had regained his place as PartySecretary.The return of these two moderates meant that the CR was less savagely enforced after 1973. However,arrests still continued and prison camps continued to expand.


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However, Jiang Qing was disturbed by the grip that the moderates seemed to be regaining and attackedthem using the Pragmatist Clique campaign.

Mao could not be completely to blame because he did not carry out the CR by himself it was thewillingness of so many young people to engage in exploitation and terror that contributed to the CR.

The End of the Mao Era

Tiananmen Incident

Zhou Enlais death had removed all traced of moderation in the party. However, for his memorial service,thousands flocked into Tiananmen Square to lay wreaths and pictures of Zhou around the HerosMonument. This was an act of defiance because the people werent supposed to show public displays ofmourning. Speeches were made, praising Zhou and attacking the government of corruption.The Mayor of Beijing feared that the demonstration might get out of hand so he ordered riot police toremove the tribute to Zhou and disperse the crowds. Resistance led to violent confrontations but the police

did manage to clear the Square.

The politburo condemned this act of disobedience and blamed Rightists, such as Deng Xiaoping, who wasthen removed from his position.

The Death of Mao

Maos severe illness had prevented him from responding to the Tiananmen Incident. Jiang Qing and theGang of Four took control.

Religion in the PRC

Mao believed that religion was a superstition and was deliberately cultivated by the upper class to suppressthe exploited people. Thus he began to attack religion immediately. The official reason was because sincenow the workers were in power, this had ended the need for escapism through religion religion wasdeemed a corrupt thought process and religious worship needed to be replaced by loyalty to the party.

Churches were forcibly closed

Ministers abused monks were humiliated at a temple in Harbin in August 1966

Church property destroyed Propaganda condemned religion

China became a slogan-ridden society; it used mass public propaganda to train the people intoconformity and obedience

Peasants were the most religious segment and therefore they were targeted first

Chinese traditional faiths such as, Confucianism and Buddhism, as well as Islam and Christianity,was forbidden to be practiced

Priests and monks were prevented from wearing distinctive dress or faced imprisonment

Foreign clergy expelled form China

Temples, monasteries, shrines, churches were closed down or converted into offices

Ancestor Worship (paying respect to deceased members in a celebration) was condemned as a

superstition

The customs and rituals that helped to shape the peasants lives were prohibited e.g. songs, dances,chants, hymns, and sagas. Mao wanted to destroy the pattern of rural life so he replaced traditional wayswith political meetings and discussions organized by the party. Maoism became the new faith. Agit-prop


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troupes (Agitation propaganda aimed at imposing political ideas through propaganda) toured thecountryside and put on shows and plays which villagers were required to sit through. The villains werelandlords or religious figures.The aim of this propaganda was to reiterate the happiness of the communal way of life and collectiveendeavor, which had been guided by the wisdom of Mao and the CCP.

Patriotic Churches:

Mao knew that if he allowed some forms of public worship to continue, it would give the appearance oftoleration. Some churches were allowed to remain open, provided that they did not endanger the security ofthe state this meant that they became state-owned and were known as Patriotic Churches. Theauthorities had the right to appoint the clergy and dictate doctrine.

However, there was conflict between the PRC and Vatican due to the opening of these churches. Thepapacy (Catholic Churches government) rejected the notion of patriotic church as a genuine form ofCatholicism. The Chinese bishops and priests were not recognized by Rome and risked excommunication(formal dismissal from the Church).

Religious persecution during CR

During the CR, religion was announced as belonging to the Four Olds, thus the attack on religionintensified.No public worship or ceremony was allowedClergy were imprisonedConfucianism was denounced Confucius & Co. became a standard term of abuse directed at anysuspicious groups or organizations e.g. Lin Baos assassination was attacked by the slogan criticise LinBao and Confucius. the

Internationally, many denominations of Christianity called on the PRC to call off the persecutions. However,Mao disregarded the appeals and continued the suppression of religion.

The government feared that religion might encourage breakaway tendencies in the Western provinces suchas Tibet and Xinjiang. The strength and survival of the PRC demanded total unity and obedience to Centralcontrol the PRC needed the western provinces under their control. In Tibet, the Lama faith had inspiredTibetan nationalism and Xinjiang lay next to Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan etc. Thisadded to the PRCs fears that religious beliefs would combine with politics to create a dangerous separatistmovement in Xinjiang, which would be backed by the bordering Islamic nations. The PRC claimed thatthese bordering regions aim was to split and weaken the PRC. Thus, to counteract this fear, thegovernment tried to dilute the Lama and Muslim population alike, by settling vast numbers of han Chinesein the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.

The Status of women and family:

Prior to Maos rule, Confucius had taught that society must follow the rules of san gang:- Loyalty of ministers and officials to the emperor- Respect of children for their parents- Obedience of wives to husbands

Women were publicly discriminated against and played a subordinate role.There were only a few cases where women played a leading role in public life e.g. the Empress DowagerCixi mainly ruled for the last 20 years of the Qing Dynasty.

WOMEN

In 1907 Mao was betrothed at age 14, to a women seven years his senior this was an arranged marriagepurely for financial reasons. However, Mao refused to go through with the betrothal or consummate themarriage despite the bride price (money paid to brides family based on calculation of how many children


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she would have) already having been paid.This was later used in the propaganda campaign, as an example of Maos fight against the corrupt socialsystem in which women had become nothing more than commodities.

FORCED MARRIAGES

In 1919 Hunan, a woman committed suicide on her marriage day because she didnt want to be forced intomarriage. Mao seized the incidence as evidence of the rottenness of the marriage system. He

condemned arranged marriages as indirect rape. They were exploited by Chinas marriage customs,which had made them slaves to their husbands and families.

WOMENS RIGHTS

Mao insisted that women were equal to women.He formally outlawed the practice of foot binding the hobbling of women made them helpless and thusattractive to men.

But the CPP was still a male-dominated system. Ding Ling accused Mao of hypocrisy and stated that theparty exploited women. Indeed, women mainly carried out the domestic chores and few of the importantparty posts were given to them.

MARRIAGE REFORM, 1950s- Concubinage abolished- No more arranged marriages- Paying dowries and bride prices was forbidden- Those who had been forced to marry were entitled to divorce- Marriages were registered

Due to freedom of divorce, women remarried several times and this caused too much disruption soregulations were provided for soldiers to overrule their wives plea for divorce.Impact of collectivization on women

Laws were granted to give women the right to own and sell land + property this broke the tradition of mencontrolling property dealings.Living in communes also meant that women didnt have to cook food and prepare it for the family, aseveryone ad to eat in the mess halls.

However, collectivization meant that the land became state-owned and therefore women (nor men) wereentitled to any land.

DISADVANTAGES

1949-76 the proportion of women in workforce quadrupled from 832%.

- Sometimes the work wasnt suitable e.g. heavy physical labour, and thus women were worse off

Ingrained prejudice against women China was traditionally a male-dominated society and despite thecommunist regime declaring that the sexes were now equal, social values and attitudes could not bechanged overnight.

- Male babies continued to be prioritized over female ones, who were seen as a drain on resources

Unchanging peasant attitudes the idea that the female was subordinate was strongly held in rural areasespecially in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang.

- Islamic teachings in Xinjiang suggested that the four million women were subject to the orders of all

men in their lives and would be punished if they disobeyed or showed too much independence ultimately, women were considered possessions.

Restrictions on women remained the CCP was not as committed to gender equality as they claimed.


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- Women made up only 13% of party membership the number of women who became members ofthe National Peoples Congress (from 14-17% between 1954-64) but never on such an extremescale to suggest that the CCP had made a priority of promoting females within its ranks

- Song Qingling, one of the few women who held a high position in the PRC government, complainedthat her colleagues didnt treat her equally or accept the fact that women could play key roles in theparty.

WOMEN AND FAMILY

Mao wanted the destruction of a traditional Chinese family women who joined the army and worked infactories was a part of the process of destroying the traditional family.The prohibiting of ancestor worship was intended as a blow against family as a social unit (as well asreligion) with its historical roots and deep emotional attachments.In many communes, men and women were made to live in separate quarters and were only allowed to seeeach other for conjugal visits (time set aside for couples to have sexual relations) the main aim was toregard the Peoples Communes as family rather than paying attention to the formation of a separate familyof their own.Personal wasnt regarded as very important compared to the love one must have for Mao and the CCP

Despite this liberation there were also downsides that came along with it:Many women were unhappy having been stripped of their roles as mothers and family raisers it seemedto against nature.The change was too sudden China was profoundly a deeply conservative people and the women becamedisoriented and detached from their traditional moorings.

The impact of the famine on women and family:

Women suffered the most in the famine the boy was prioritized and would be fed before the girl. Once thegirl was dead they would cook her and eat her people accepted this, as it was a kind of hunger culture.

Divorce and wife selling:During the famine, divorce rate rose by 60% in the Gansu region. This was because the couple often ranout of food and the husband would divorce the wife to allow her to find a husband elsewhere this meantthat there was more food remaining for the family.

Wives would also be sold to the highest bidder in order to obtain grain and keep the rest of the householdalive. The poorer the region meant the greater the wife selling.

After the famine had eased, there was a lot of disruption caused as wives often refused to go back to theiroriginal families, preferring the new life that they had made.

In Gansu, husband appealed in court cases for their wives to return to them but many wives resisted beingforced to return and the courts supported them.

Impact on the children:When the wives left, the children became motherless. This often led to the children themselves being soldas workers/into slavery or being abandoned. The parents thought their children had a better chance ofsurvival if someone else adopted them.Many female infants were dumped in hospitals; railway stations or the side of the road. Male infants soonfollowed this abandonment.

Child abuse and prostitution:

Abandoned children were obvious targets for exploitation and sexual abuse.CCP members often bought young girls from starving families and sexually abused them the CCP wasused to ignoring or covering up its members scandals and so this abuse continued.The party was also involved in the spread of prostitution in the worst hit regions, women would


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themselves or sex in return for food.- CCP workers exploited this situation and in Anhui they set up brothels reserved for special use by

party members.

Impact of CR on women and family:- Private property and ownership was now depicted as crimes so families had to live in communes,

with separate quarters, thus further diving the family- Enforced pooling of resources and effort meant that the economic link that held families together

was broken- The extended familys role was taken over by the state the state was now the main provider ofhelp in difficult times.

- The provision of social welfare (e.g. education, medical care) was now to be organized anddelivered by CCP part officials.

- The nuclear family was part of the Four Olds it needed to be removed.- Children were told to look upon Mao and the CCP as their true parents and therefore deserving of

their first loyalty. Normal family affection was replaced with love for Mao.

At a young age, children were taught to love Mao. They were brainwashed to keep them pure, sothat they would live for Maos idealism and power instead of discovering their own humanity.

- The young were urged to inform on those amongst their relatives who betrayed any sign of clingingto the values of the past

All of these reasons made it hard for any semblance of family life to survive.The Red Guards were regarded as Chinas lost generation because after theyd become victims of the upto the mountains and down to the villages it was very difficult for them to pick of the pieces and return toanything approaching normal family life.

Population

During Maos reign, the population doubled and this worried the CCP. Thus, compulsory measures werebrought in to limit the number of births.However, Mao never saw the expanding population as a problem; instead he beloved in more people,more power. The collective power of the people was the most important social and economic factor in theregeneration of China. More people meant more economic achievements, which in turn meant a greaterability for China to defend itself from external enemies.

The Reshaping of Chinese Culture:

Mao taught that: Cultures was central rather than peripheral it was a nations culture that defined its character Culture was the means by which rulers imposed their control over the people.

The culture had to be proletarian

All traces of bourgeoisie and feudal culture had to be eradicated

Creative artists

Mao demanded that all creative artists (painters, musicians etc.) must accept that their first duty was toserve the people. Their works must further the cause of the revolution rather than for self-expression.Proletarian art and culture were a part of the revolutionary cause.Jiang Qing was made creator-in-chief for the new Chinese culture that Mao desired he gave her theresponsibility of turning the denunciation of the Four Olds into a definite programme for the suppression oftraditional Chinese society.She became the cultural purifier of the nation.Her actions included:

- Imposing a rigid system of censorship which denied public showings of any work that did not meether criteria of revolutionary purity

- Only those forms of media that were directly relevant to contemporary Chinese themes werepermitted

- Western music was banned


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- Traditional Chinese opera was banned in favor of specially commissioned contemporary works,such as the triumph of the proletariat over its class enemies.

Mao demanded that Chinese culture must be relevant and meaningful to the people by using the onlytheme of the struggle of the heroic masses.

- President Nixon regarded these opera performances as highly tedious

Jiang Qings rejection of all non-proletarian culture was political correctness in its most extreme form. This

was a destructive process that aimed at the systematic undermining of all sense of tradition.Her proclamations against bourgeoisie culture terrorized the staff at the Beijing Conservatoire into silence no more music sounded. Instead self-criticism was introduced and students were forced to analyze theirmistakes about performing classical or traditional Chinese music.

CONSEQUENCES OF CULTURAL TERRORISM

Musicians, writers, painters who showed reluctance to embrace the new rigidities were denounced andsent to re-educational labour camps and were treated brutally.E.g. pianists were made to scratch at the ground with their hands so that they would lose the vital sensitivityin their hands and never be able to play well again.

Lack of resistanceDeng was the only person to challenge Jiang Qings policy of cultural terrorism. Others opted to approveher great cultural experiment. Intellectuals and natural leaders failed to protest against any crimes of theregime fear of what would happen to their families made them accept the policies without complaint.

ConsequencesThe result of this artistic persecution was successful in that it destroyed the old culture. However, it failed tocreate the new culture that Mao had wanted. This resulted in China having no culture at all.

Education and Health

In 1949 the majority of peasants were illiterate. Mao wanted to see a major spread of education among thepeople. His actions included:

Setting up a national system of primary education this was successful and literacy rates rose from20-50% from 1949-60

Language reform (Pinyin) a new form of Mandarin was adopted. This was because previously thepronunciation of Mandarin differed between areas AND also mandarin had no alphabets instead itwas made up of ideograms and this made writing Mandarin difficult since all the words had to belearn separately. The introduction of Pinyin allowed Mandarin speakers to express themselves inwords rather than pictures.

However, despite Maos successes in education, after Maos death the achievements began to drop:

Fewer than 1% of the working population had a university degree

Only 11% received schooling after the age of 16 Only 26% received schooling between ages 12-16 Only 35% received schooling after age 12

Education standards of CCP

Only 6% had been formally educated beyond age 16

This poorly educated workforce was very embarrassing for the state and also highlighted how unrealisticMaos plans were for turning China into a modern state.

The reason for the decline in qualified students was due to the CR.Between 1966-70, 170 million of the youth stopped attending university or school.Education as an ideal was undermined students beat their teachers, traditional forms of learning were


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rejected, the curriculum was rejected.Learning and study were dismissed as worthless unless they served the revolution.Mao thought it was more important to educate the CCP party members than the youth instead he usedthe youth to form the Red Guards.Mao didnt send 12 million of the Red Guards back to school instead he sent them on the up to themountains and down to the villages campaign.

HEALTH PROVISION

The CCP introduced a series of health provisions called patriotic health movements these weregovernment-sponsored schemes for providing Chinese people with the basic information on health andhygiene.

- Teams of party members would go out to the countryside to explain the link between dirt anddisease

- Local population was enlisted in great communal efforts to drain swamps and eradicated bugs, ratsetc. that carried the dysentery, malaria and other endemic diseases that afflicted the peasants.

SUCCESSMore doctors and nurses were trained to provide direct medical care to those in the remote regions ofChina.

FAILUREHowever, the number of qualified doctors never reached original targets because the GLF and CRintervened.

Also, during the anti-movements, doctors were condemned as living off the backs of peasants. The doctorslong years of training had prevented them from learning the dignity of labor and had left them privileged andlead a selfish life.

However, it was mad to attack the whole medical profession of corruption. Doctors began to canceloperations in order to show their solidarity with the workers, by sweeping floors.Showing pain was considered a bourgeoisie reaction and being able to bear things without flinching was a

sign of revolutionary purpose thus doctors stopped using anesthetic on patients to help them to withstandthe pain. Women were also denied painkillers fro childbirth.

Barefoot doctors teams of trained medics who were sent to the countryside to provide rudimentary healthservice, often free of charge.Mao was aware that providing effective health care was boosting the regime.The new system was based on short practical courses instead of years of preparation, the trainees wouldengage in 6-moth periods of intensive studies with the emphasis wholly on the practical. Once trained in thebasics, the new doctors would be sent to work amongst the peasants.

By 1973 over 1 million new doctors had been trained they contributed greatly to the improvement of the

lives of the peasant.

However, the doctors had limited equipment and travelled to primitive areas thus the barefoot doctorscouldnt provide the national medical service that a modern state requires.

Maos Prison Camps: The Laogai

In order to enforce conformity and obedience in China, Mao created labour camps in which he wouldimprison those who he suspected of opposing him. The conditions of the prison camps were deliberatelymade terrible to ensure that it broke the body and spirit of the inmates.

The camps were originally meant to be places of re-education rather than a place of punishment. The statemaintained the fiction that those who protested against the system were misguided and needed to be putinto camps where they can be rained to see the error of their ways.


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However, the camps were actually places where the harshest means were used to dehumanize theprisoners, who were forced to perform humiliating and backbreaking work.Many of the worst camps were deliberately built in the most inhospitable parts of China where the bittercold o winter made life torture for the prisoners.To obtain even the smallest amount of food, prisoners had to make a full confession of their crimes.Those who still claimed their innocence were sleep deprived, beaten, starved and held in solitaryconfinement until they broke down and conformed not many had the will power to resist.

o Average number of people held in the camps per year = 10 milliono Over 25 million prisoners diedo By 1976, there were over 10k labour camps across Chinao The prisoners provided a steady supply of labour

The purpose of the prison camps was to instill fear. Even when prisoners were released, they faced theconstant threat of being rearrested. The families of prisoners were regarded guilty by association and wereshunned b neighbors. Their children were denied school placements, shops wouldnt sell them food,homes and jobs became impossible to obtain. The organs of executed prisoners was often extracted andsold for transplantation without the families consent. The bullet used to kill the person was sent to theirfamily members, who were expected to pay the price for the bullet.

Maos impact on the peopleMaos policies were more destructive than creative.He used coercion to enforce his vision of the new communist society o the people.His great schemes (e.g. GLF) became increasingly extremeHe disregarded individuals and favored the proletariat as a revolutionary classHe embraced turmoil as a way of achieving what he wanted he had no real interest in the people beinghis priority

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The PRCs aim was to lead the rest of the world towards international proletarian revolution as well asdevelop China into a modern nation.

The relationship between China and the USSR was deeply strained at times they represented a solidfront towards the West but the relationship was one of suspicion, which eventually degenerated intohostility.

Border disputes the border between China and the USSR made each other wary and the disputescaused as a result of this continued to sour Sino-Soviet relations.In 1919, Lenin had seized Outer Mongolia, a province that the Chinese had traditionally regarded as theirown.During the Pacific War in 1945, the USSR had stripped the region of Manchuria of its industrial resources,

thus depriving China of over $2 billion worth of plant and machinery. Manchuria was then returned to Chinabut it was now effectively useless to the Chinese.

Ideological differences the Marxist dialect provided a programme for achieving revolution in China but theChinese revolutionaries needed to interpret this programme on their own terms. China made it very clearthat revolutionaries outside of China (e.g. the USSR) could not dictate to the Chinese how they shouldconduct themselves.

This Sino-centric view (having Chinese interests at the heart of things) of Marxism caused friction betweenChina and the USSR. The USSR regarded itself as the true interpreter of the Communist faith. Sino-Sovietbattles descended into a battle over who represented true communism: China or the USSR.

Though China valued Soviet experience, they had differences about the meaning of Marxism and how itshould be applied in China. Stalin was unwilling to accept that a peasant-based revolution (rather than aworker based revolution) could be genuinely revolutionary Stalin was a firm believer that the proletariatrevolution needed to be urban based. His insistence on this point convinced Mao that Stalin wanted todisunite and divide China thus leaving the USSR as a dominant force in Asia. Mao became increasingly


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convinced that what motivated the USSR wasnt communism but national self-interest.

A clash of personalities:

Stalin calculated that China, as a newly formed Marxist state, would look to the USSR for guidance andprotection. The USA even claimed that the Sino-Soviet Agreement was Moscow making puppets of theChinese.However, Maos visit to the USSR in 1950, confirmed his doubts about Stalins attitude. Mao was offended

by his superior attitude and offhand treatment of the Chinese delegation. The villa that Mao stayed in wasof poor quality and his hosts made no arrangements to entertain him. Also, on this this visit, Stalin wasoften reluctant to meet Mao except formally.

Their personalities were so similar and this is why they clashed.

The Sino-Soviet Treat, 1950:

This treaty exploited Chinese resources during the Korean Civil War. Mao had initially believed that he hadbeen successful in this treaty because the USSR obliged to provide China with expertise and at at low cost.However, Stalin struck a hard bargain:

o $300 million Soviet advance was a loan not a gift the PRC had to pay interest upon their

repaymento The 10K soviet economic and military advisers had to be paid for fully by Chinao China was to give the bulk of its bullion (gold) reserves to the USSR

The treaty had been an insult to the Chinese people, Khrushchev admitted.Maos realization of Chinas exploitation led to a worsening in relations between the two nations.Also, Stalin had deliberately played a role in preventing an early armistice being reached in Korea, becausehe wanted to exhaust the Chinese this was especially true when straight after Stalins death, Zhou Enlaiwas able to negotiate a truce with Korea.

The PRCs dependence on the USSR:

Chinas international isolation meant that it could not easily obtain resources and expertise from anywhereother than the USSR.

The Soviet planners and engineers who were sent to the PRC:- Led over 200 construction projects during the 1950s- Built new public buildings and squares, but all of which bore the Soviet stamp.- Chinas delicate and antique structures were replaced by Soviet style buildings many Chinese

people loathed this aesthetic insult- Soviet scientific techniques were adopted in China e.g. Lysenkoism

Mao allowed this to happen because he saw it as the price that needed to be paid for the material aid thatChina needed from the USSR.

De-Stalinization:

After Stalins death, the tension eased between the nations. The new Soviet leaders were willing to provideChina with further loans and technology.However, Khrushchevs launch of the de-Stalinization campaign deeply disturbed Mao, who hadntexpected the ferocity of this assault upon Stalins record. Mao saw this denunciation of Stalin as anintended criticism on his own style of leadership in China.

Maos concerns over the Communist Bloc:

Greater freedom was being offered to the satellite states as a result of the de-Stalinization campaign theywere now allowed to criticise the Soviet government and question their subordination to the USSR.The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 showed the increasing anti-Soviet attitude.This weakening of hold on the satellite states angered Mao, because now there were reactionary forces


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within the Communist bloc.

Mao was also offended by the weakening of Soviet attitude towards the West.

Mao was also offended by the softening of Soviet attitude towards the West. Dtente had led to a peacefulcoexistence between the USSR and USA. Khrushchev announced that the final stage of Marxist dialect the conflict between the international proletariat and forces of capitalism was no longer acceptable. Maorejected this he believed that the final struggle was unavoidable. Khrushchevs policy of de-Stalinization

was proof that the USSR had taken the revisionist path.

Maos second visit to the USSR, 1957:

Khrushchev called a conference for all the worlds communist parties in 1957. His main aim was to repairthe differences between the USSR and other Marxist countries. Though Mao approved a Sino-Sovietdeclaration that expressed Chinas readiness to cooperate with the USSR, he still let the USSR know thathe found Moscows approach to the West to be too accommodating. He called upon the USSR to abandonrevisionism and return to the true Marxist-Leninist path.

Mao suspected that the USSR was deliberately following a policy of dtente with the USA in order to leaveChina internationally isolated.

Deng Xiaoping argued at the conference that proletarian world revolution was only achievable througharmed struggle; capitalism needed to be overcome by force. He won China the support of many otherdelegates and the USSR was left embarrassed and angered.

Mao and Khrushchev:

Khrushchev tried to improve the rapidly deteriorating Sino-Soviet relationship, by visiting China in 1958.Khrushchev apologized to Mao about Pavel Yudins (Soviet Ambassador in China) suggestion that Chinasnavy must be brought under Soviet control.

Mao, however, held a grudge about his poor treatment when he went to visit the USSR for the first time.Thus, Mao deliberately set out to make Khrushchev uncomfortable. He arranged for the Soviet delegates to

be placed in a hotel without air conditioning. Mao also suggested the talk should take place whilstswimming Khrushchev couldnt swim and he could barely squeeze into the rubber ring. The talks wereunsuccessful due to Khrushchevs floundering and splashing and his gurgled responses.

Deng Xiaoping also accused the USSR of great party chauvinism for acting as the only true interpreter ofMarxist theory. He further claimed that the technical advisers sent to China were in fact Soviet spies hecharged the USSR for betraying the international communist movement.

The Taiwan Issue:

Without consultin

Documents

Mao's China Notes Edexcel AS Level Notes