Communist China

World History II – March 2012

The final dynasty

Qing Dynasty falls in 1911

Ends 2,000 years of imperial rule in China

Civil War

Military warlords take over provinces of China after Qing

Communist Party of China formed in 1921

Civil war rages on and off from 1927-1950Fought between Chinese nationalists and Communist

partyBrief break from 1937-1945 to fight the Japanese

together

China until 1945

War re-ignites between Nationalists and CommunistsCommunist Party

Appeals to peasants in countrysideHas support from Soviets

Nationalist PartyDefeated in 19492 million flee mainland China to Taiwan

After WWII Chiang Kai-Shek

Leader of Nationalists

• Japan surrenders in 1945• China on the side of the Allies• At Yalta, Stalin agreed to declare

war against Japan in exchange for economic rights in Manchuria

After the Civil War1949 - People’s Republic of China’s

government signs an alliance with the USSR1950’s - United States responds by expanding

containment policiesUS allies with Japan, Australia, NZ, Thailand & the

PhilippinesCreates long-term military bases for US in Pacific

Korean WarChina allies with North Korean communist

regime

China in the Cold War

Chairman MaoEstablished People’s Republic

of China (PRC) after winning Chinese Civil War

Leader of PRC from 1949 - 1976

Aligned with the USSR until Stalin’s death in 1953

MarxistResponsible for the “Great

Leap Forward” economic program

Mao Zedong (1893-1976)

Communist economic program700,000 existing collective farms combined into

26,000 “communes”Each commune had ~30,000 peopleGroup child care let 500,000 mothers work the

fields“Hard work for a few years, happiness for a

thousand”

Goal: Classless society by the end of the century

Fails due to bad weather & peasant anger15 million people died from starvation

The “Great Leap Forward” (1958-1960)

“Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” begins in 1966Goal: “permanent revolution” to achieve classless

societyReturn of Mao to absolute power after failure of Great

Leap ForwardMao’s ideas are gathered into the Little Red Book

Available everywhere, constantly quoted by Communists

Almost a Chinese Communist bibleRevolution enforced by “Red Guard”

Young people who violently enforced Mao’s ideas

The Cultural Revolution

Eliminate the “Four Olds”Old ideasOld cultureOld customsOld habits

Enforce socialism, eliminateCapitalismNationalismBourgeoisieCultural elements of society

The Cultural Revolution (cont.)

Criticize the old world and build a new world with Mao Zedong’s thought as a weapon

Re-education“Down to the countryside” movement

Sent privileged urban youth to farming villagesIdea: they would learn from workers and farmers

Many sent right after graduating high schoolNo opportunity to attend universityCreated a “lost generation”

Some say this was used to re-educate some of the Red Guard (thus keeping them from continuing their reign of terror)

The Cultural Revolution (cont.)

The Two Chinas

People’s Republic of China• Communist• Established in 1949• Controls mainland

China, Hong Kong & Macau

• Commonly referred to as “China”

Republic of China• Democratic• Established in 1911• Controlled mainland China

until losing the civil war• Since 1949, controls only

Taiwan and neighboring islands

• Commonly referred to as “Taiwan”

PRC & Taiwan

PoliticsPeople’s Republic of China now “socialism with

Chinese characteristics” or “red capitalism”Relationship with USSR weakened after Stalin’s

deathArgued over leadership of worldwide communist

movementRichard Nixon becomes first US President to visit

Communist China in 1972Society

Women have more rightsMore freedom for citizens: clothing, traditionsOne child policy

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