4.2 - Consequences of Chinese Revolution Flashcards
1
Q
Challenges Facing China at CCP Assumption of Power
A
- Lack international recognition
- Population growth of 15m/year
- Rapid inflation
- Lack of law and order
- Communications and infrastructure destroyed
- Industrial production down 50% on pre-war levels
- Large scale unemployment
- Food shortages, with food production down 25%
2
Q
New Political System
A
- 20 Sept 1949 – conference held in Beijing to draft new Constitution
- Aimed to appeal to national unity by allowing 8 ‘democratic parties’ to govern alongside the CCP, with these groups holding 11/24 ministerial position
- CCP remained dominant authority
- National People’s Congress:
o Indirect representation – local authorities elected country representatives who elected provincial representatives who elected NPC
o NPC elected Mao as President
o Politburo Standing Committee oversaw NPC - County, municipal and provincial governments made local policies
- State Council:
o Cabinet made up of ministries
o Zhou Enlai made Premier - Chinese Communist Party:
o Mao provided core personnel of government
o Each of 6 regions had their own Chairman, Party Secretary, Political Commissar and Military Commander
o Politburo Standing Committee: 5 elite party members to guide party decisions
o Secretariat led by Deng Xiaoping and responsible for supervising and facilitating communication - Military Affairs Committee:
o Supervised PLA
o Run by Politburo
3
Q
People’s Democratic Dictatorship
A
- Mao believed that China did not require a capitalist liberal democracy
- Mao believed that China was not a dictatorship of the proletariat, and should instead focus on the peasantry
- 4 revolutionary classes prioritised by CCP: peasantry, proletariat, petite bourgeoisie (lower middle class, small business owners), national capitalists (loyal industrialists)
- Democracy for the people, dictatorship over the reactionaries and ‘bad elements’ – only way to control society
- CCP only held 4.5m members (less than 1% of the population)
4
Q
Consolidating CCP Power
A
- Guided by practical considerations:
o Setting up effective administration
o Maintaining law and order
o Reviving the economy - Reliable and effective administrators hard to find, and many only had expertise in rural areas → encouraged GMD officials to stay and encouraged Chinese emigrants to return
- Willing to use resources and expertise of national capitalists to keep the economy stable
- ‘Bureaucratic capitalists’ (anti-CCP, ties to GMD or Japanese collaborators) denounced by CCP
- CCP tried to keep existing managers due to their expertise
- Banking, transport, electricity, gas and foreign assets nationalised
- May 1949 – new ‘people’s currency’ introduced, with government control over currency exchange and reduced amount of paper money
- New wage system based on price of essential goods
- Taxes reformed to be fairer also led to government revenue increasing from 6.5b Yuan (1950) to 13.3b (1951)
- Inflation dropped from 85,000% (1949) to 15% (1951)
- PLA used to bring remote rural areas into control, including Tibet and Xinjiang
- PLA held positions in civilian government due to trust
5
Q
Sino-Soviet Relations
A
- 1949 – Mao travelled to Moscow to meet Stalin for the first time → signed Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance
o Created mutual defence - Soviet Union able to address CCP limitations in economy and industry:
o Provision of $300m loan
o Provision of Soviet economic advisors and strategists
o Provision of scientific, industrial and technical expects to grow heavy industry
o Employed Stalinist model of development – industrial growth funded by surpluses from collectivised agriculture
6
Q
North Korean Ambitions in Korean War
A
- Hoped to unite Korea under communist rule
- Received support from USSR in military equipment
- Confident that USA would not intervene – failed to acknowledge impact of deteriorating USSR – USA relations
- 1949 – Stalin offered verbal support for Kim but was unwilling to support if campaign was a failure
- May 1950 – Kim flew to Beijing to asl for support from Mao, but failed to provide an overview of plans and did not mention Stalin would refuse to support in case of failure
o → Mao did not foresee Chinese troops would need to fight on Korean Peninsula – instead focussed on plans to attack Taiwan
7
Q
Beginning of Korean War
A
- 25 June 1950 – North Korean troops crossed 38th Parallel into South Korea
- Within weeks, NK were in control of almost all of Korea
- Truman decided that a communist victory in Korea could not be tolerated → secured UN backing for an intervention
- 15 Sept 1950 – Gen Macarthur launched counteroffensive that drove NK troops back beyond 38th Parallel → capture of Pyongyang → Kim begging Mao for help
- CCP did not want to see a communist ally fall to US ‘imperialism’ and did not want a hostile neighbour on border at resource rich Manchuria
- Stalin agreed to Soviet air force joining conflict
8
Q
China Joins Korean War
A
- Jiangxi Veteran and leader of Military Affairs Committee, Peng Dehuai, led People’s Volunteers
- Chinese warn US to halt advance since 2m Chinese troops amassed on border
- Stalin withdrew promise of air support; however, Chinese decided to honour commitment to NK
- 8 Oct 1950 – campaign approved by Mao
- 15 Oct 1950 – People’s Volunteers crossed Yalu River into Korea
9
Q
Korean War - Stalemate and Ceasefire
A
- US intelligence indicated only 10k Chinese crossed border; however, it did not recognise 350k were ready to go → Macarthur continuing advance North
- 25 Nov 1950 – Chinese slammed 200k troops into US forces → US overwhelmed and retreated South
- North Korea retaken in 7 weeks
- Jan 1951 – Seoul captured by Communists
- Suffering from exposure, inferior firepower and lack of air support → 900k Chinese troops lost
- UN counterattack → stalemate at 38th Parallel
- July 1951 - ceasefire
- Formal armistice 27 July 1953
10
Q
Consequences of Korean War
A
- UN resolution that declared China to be aggressor in Korea → economic embargo on China → significant economic slowdown
- US vowed to support Taiwan in case of communist aggression → Mao no longer able to launch attack
- Land reform and political movements greatly intensified
- Boost for Chinese morale – had taken on ‘biggest imperialists’ and not been beaten
- Costly distraction from focus on reconstruction
- Influenced behaviour and approaches of CCP
- Showed that the CCP were a new force in international politics
11
Q
Fanshen
A
- Mao wanted to engage peasants in land reform because they knew ‘who is bad and who is not’
- Land reform – focus of CCP and key promise to peasantry
- 28 June 1950 – Agrarian Reform Law:
o Established People’s Tribunals to judge landlords
o Limited landlords to renting 50% of their total holdings, but still allowed landlords to hold land cultivated by immediate family - Thousands of party cadres sent to countryside to organise campaign of redistributing land and denouncing peasants – lived with poorest peasants with same standard of living as them to build trust
- Key principle of Fanshen was to ‘turn over’ land from landlords to peasants
- Established Peasant Associations to identify reactionaries and counter revolutionaries
- Cadres aimed to get peasants to understand exploitative nature of landlords and that they were to blame for poverty → highlight why change was needed
- Speak Bitterness meetings:
o Held for villages to denounce and ‘stand up’ to landlords
o Mao heavily supported these meetings because they encouraged revolutionary thinking, educated peasants on socialism, increased class consciousness and empowered and engaged peasants
o Involved peasants publicly expressing anger at being mistreated and exploited - People’s Tribunal of peasants and cadres decided on the fate of the accused:
o If landlord found to be a ‘local despot’ or Japanese collaborator → beatings or execution
o If landlord found to be fair → more lenient treatment, including higher taxes, cheaper rent or waiving debts
12
Q
Escalation of Land Reform
A
- Fanshen aimed to protect productive farms to ensure food security
- However, People’s Tribunals did not always take a moderate approach → excessiveness of reform
- Korean War → fear of counter revolutionary forces → hardened attitudes toward landlords
- Mao fully supported escalation as it destroyed traditional rural order and paved way for socialist order to emerge
- Land reform brought support to new regime → CCP and peasantry now intertwined
13
Q
Outcomes of Land Reform
A
- Between 1949 and 52:
o 44.8% increase in grain production
o 49% increase in overall agricultural production
14
Q
Mass Campaign:
Thought Reform
A
- Began Sept 1951
- Focus on intellectuals
- Asked intellectuals to criticise themselves and admit they were incorrect though autobiographies
- Intellectuals required to attend mass meetings, then called before struggle sessions where they were judged by cadres, peers, workers or students
- Insufficiently reformed intellectuals sent to re-education – hard labour in the countryside
- Denunciations of well known figures Hu Shi and Liang Shuming
- CCP viewed thought reform as educational rather than vindictive
- Traumatic and psychologically taxing process
- Able to scare intellectual classes into submission
- Process preserved skills and knowledge of intellectuals for new society
15
Q
Mass Campaign:
Suntan - The Three Antis
A
- Campaign against corruption, waste and bureaucratism
- Aimed to uncover unreliable and corrupt party officials, especially former GMD members, whether big or small
- Tiger Hunting teams of cadres used to identify and criticise officials who:
o Have taken bribes
o Shown favouritism toward business interests
o Derived excessive benefit from their position - Total of 1m members expelled
- Senior CCP members Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan executed for living an extravagant bourgeois lifestyle → served as a warning to others
16
Q
Mass Campaign:
Wuhan - The Five Anties
A
- Targeted tax evasion, fraud, ‘cheating’, theft of government property and bribery
- Targeted businessmen and industrialists as Mao believed they were responsible for corruption in the Party
- 450k businesses investigated → 340k found guilty of at least one anti
- Punishment generally lenient – eg fines, imprisonment
- Pressure on business owners encouraged owners to relinquish ownership to the state
17
Q
Key Features of Mass Campaigns
A
- Mobilisation of ordinary people
- Fear of public humiliation → political and social conformity → no need to employ a secret police
- Mandatory workplace and household registration
- Street committees coordinated local initiatives and spotted counter revolutionaries → culture of spying and informing
- Class labels of ‘good’, ‘middle’ and ‘bad’ depending on commitment to revolution:
o Good – cadres, soldiers, industrial workers, poor peasants
o Middle – middle class peasants, petite-bourgeoisie (shopkeepers), intellectuals and professionals
o Bad – rich peasants, landlords and capitalists - Speak Frankness meetings involved urban dwellers expressing their sorrow at wrongs they had committed in the past
18
Q
Marriage Law
A
- Gave women the same legal rights as men
- Banned arranged marriages, child marriages, polygamy and footbinding
- Permitted women to choose their own partners
- Permitted women to divorce abusive husbands – but this was challenging to get legally authorised
19
Q
Women’s Work Rights
A
- Women’s rights enshrined in Art 48 of the Constitution
- Guaranteed equal pay, maternity benefits and work-based childcare
- CCP trained and selected cadres from among women
- Women judged on capability rather than appearance
- Greater opportunities for women’s employment
20
Q
All China Women’s Federation
A
- Established 1949
- Aimed to support women’s rights and improve daily lives
- Membership of 76m
- Had offices at every level of government
- However, became more about rubber stamping government policies
21
Q
Limitations to Change to Women’s Rights
A
- Traditional view of women’s work stayed the same
- Limited success in rural areas
22
Q
Social Campaign: Cleanliness Drive
A
- Street committees:
o Explained government decrees
o Organised mass meetings
o Mediated in family and neighbourhood disputes
o Organised rubbish collections and fire prevention
o Distributed welfare
o Organised local recreation activities - People mobilised to clean laneways and urban living spaces
- Street committees inspected housework → significant burden on women
23
Q
Public Health
A
- Mass inoculations → cholera, smallpox and typhus dropped dramatically
- Education campaigns around spitting → drop in tuberculosis
- Urinating in public discouraged
- Education for midwives on sterile childbirthing
- Life expectancy increased from 36 (1950) → 57 (1957)
- Brothels closed and sex workers retrained in other occupations → STDs dropped dramatically
- Opium addicts placed into rehabilitation while dealers were heavily punished
24
Q
First Five Year Plan
A
- Announced 1 Oct 1953
- Modelled on USSR
- 89% of budget allocated to heavy industry; 11% allocated to manufacturing
- Very limited funding for agriculture
- Construction of 700 new industrial enterprises, including oil refineries, coal mines and power stations
- Transport and infrastructure developed to support new industries
- 10k Soviet engineers and advisors used to build new industry
- 28k Chinese went to USSR for training
- Set production quotas and regulated these through State Planning Commission
- By 1955, China was repaying more to USSR than they were receiving
- Soviet support only accounted for 3% of investment
- Most finance was from agricultural surpluses – however, agriculture was only growing at 4% p.a. during this period → substantial strain on agriculture and unsustainable in the long term
25
Q
Success of First Five Year Plan
A
- Met or exceeded most of its industrial targets
- Increases of 10-16% in overall production
- Laid the basis for future economic advances
- First time China was able to produce its own trucks, aircraft, cars and ships
- Steel: 1.3m tonnes (1952) → 4.5m tonnes (1957)
- Iron: 1.9m tonnes (1952) → 5.9m tonnes (1957)
- Electricity: 7.3bn kWh (1952) → 19.3bn kWh (1957)
- Cement: 2.9m tonnes (1952) → 6.9m tonnes (1957)
- Coal: 66m tonnes (1952) → 130m tonnes (1957)
26
Q
Staged Collectivisation
A
- Wanted to have collective farming but approached it at a gradual manner
- Peasants encouraged to form Mutual Aid Teams of 6-10 families, who shared tools, draught animals and labour
- Teams were later encouraged to form cooperatives
- Lower Producers’ Cooperatives:
o Hosted 20-40 households
o Peasants received a payment equivalent to ¼ of their harvest for their work after they had met their quota, based on hours worked and land owned
o Peasants able to own some land and sell excesses - Higher Producers’ Cooperatives:
o Hosted 100-300 households
o Peasants paid only for their labour
o Peasants unable to own their own land
o Had state representative oversight
27
Q
Agricultural Stagnation after Staged Collectivisation
A
- Excess labour used to clear land and construct small irrigation works
- Communists believed that collective farming would led to farmers taking on superior methods and that the size of harvests would increase
- However, farmers were reluctant to give up land – felt that they were being exploited through high taxes and low, fixed grain prices
- Grain yields only increased 2-3% while other crop yields declined
- Population growth (2.2%) outpaced grain production → limited surpluses to sell
- Peasants who owned their land prioritised this over collective farms
- Lack of growth in agricultural sector slowed industrial progress of Five Year Plan
28
Q
Collectivisation Debates
A
- Gradualists: Liu Shaoqi and Chen Yun – argued that collectivisation should wait for modernisation to occur first
- Idealists: Mao – argued that:
o If peasants were left to farm as they pleased, it would undermine efforts to introduce socialist policies → therefore, collectivisation needed to occur quickly
o Revolutionary zeal was enough to overcome mechanical deficiencies
29
Q
Gao Gang Affair
A
- Gao Gang – key ally of Mao’s during collectivisation debates
- Gao made head of State Planning Committee in 1952
- Mao complained to Gao that Liu Shaoqi was not enthusiastic enough about collectivisation → Gao believed Mao had asked him to conspire against Liu
- Gao engaged other officials and military commanders into this conspiracy
- Mao extremely unhappy upon discovering Gao’s plotting
- 24 Dec 1953 – Gao scolded for creating divisions in the Party → arrested, imprisoned and purged from the Party
- Those who reported Gao’s plotting were either promoted or cleared of wrongdoing
- Affair demonstrated:
o Mao’s imperial style leadership
o Mao’s preparation to play comrades off against each other to strengthen his own position
o Officials were only in positions of authority for as long as Mao wanted them there
30
Q
High Tide of Collectivisation
A
- Majority of CCP aligned with gradualist approach
- Mao was dissatisfied with this position → appealed to provincial cadres
- Claimed that China was ready to embrace collectivisation and that a mass movement was imminent in the countryside
- Speech energised officials to launch a drive to bring as many peasants as possible into higher collectives
- Mao envisaged 50% of peasants to be collectivised by end of 1957, but cadres achieved 97% by end of 1956
- Labelled as ‘little leap’
31
Q
Nationalisation of Industry
A
- Collectivisation in countryside → increased drive for socialist measures in cities
- Business leaders suggested to Mao that private sector should be nationalised as a priority
- Nationalisation occurred through persuasion and intimidation
- Mao envisaged all private enterprises to at least be jointly owned by end of 1957, but this goal was achieved in January 1956 (one month after announcing aim)
- Businessmen celebrated achievement – demonstrated success of 5 Antis in pacifying
32
Q
Problems Facing Party During First Five Year Plan
A
- Large bureaucracy, including non-CCP members → loss of revolutionary sentiment
- Comrades lacking enthusiasm and seen as not ready to struggle
- Mao wanted to reenergise so called for rapid increases to grain and cotton production through collectivisation approach
- Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi were concerned about the impact of increased collectivisation on the peasantry
- Feb 1955 – Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his cult of personality → Mao feared that he would be likened to Stalin and this would reduce his power
- Eighth Party Congress (Sept 1956) →
o Mao Zedong Thought removed from Constitution
o New leadership team of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping
o Zhou Enlai criticised rapid pace of collectivisation - Mao accepted changes and would move to ‘second line’ of leadership, responsible for broader policy decisions
- Mao also realised he had 3 challenges he needed to address:
o Needed original social and economic approach
o Needed to avoid popular dissatisfaction at socialist policies emerging
o Needed to preserve revolutionary virtues while still governing through a centralised administration
33
Q
Aim of Hundred Flowers Campaign
A
- Hoped to avoid uprisings like Poland and Hungary by allowing people to express grievances through discussion rather than protest – ‘vaccinate’ the masses against suppressed discontent
- Make the party more responsive to popular sentiment and shake up the party bureaucracy
- Encourage greater freedom of expression among intellectuals to address shortage – need intellectuals to support industrial development
- Hoped it would end debate on collectivisation strategies
34
Q
Beginning of Hundred Flowers Campaign
A
- Jan 1956 – speech by Zhou Enlai outlining a more understanding relationship between CCP and intellectuals
- Mao aimed to popularise Zhou’s speech by reviving the expression ‘Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.’ → claimed that party wanted a variety of opinions and valued freedom of speech
- Initial resistance to campaign as intellectuals feared it was a trap, due to it being a steep change from previous policies
- Mao continued to encourage open discussion, including of Jiang Jieshi and those criticised during Thought Reform
35
Q
On Contradictions
A
- Feb 1957 – Mao reinvigorated Hundred Flowers Campaign through ‘On Contradictions’ speech
- Addressed to conference of non CCP members
- Showed frustration with CCP comrades for not supporting Campaign
- Mao argued that criticisms should be resolved peacefully and that contradictions are only harmful if ignored – this aimed to alleviate fears about Campaign
- Assured that coming rectification would be a ‘gentle breeze and fine rain’ and would involve ‘heart to heart talks’
- Always received an enthusiastic welcome at speeches → genuinely viewed this as popular support
- Apr 1957 – People’s Daily promoted Hundred Flowers Campaign → first critics began to speak up
36
Q
Outcomes of Hundred Flowers Campaign
A
- Widespread criticism, including:
o Communist officials meddling in intellectual matters
o Wasting valuable research time on political meetings
o Party cadres being no better than GMD bureaucrats
o CCP monopoly on political power
o Varying treatment of academics
o Criticised Constitution for being useless
o Criticised Mao for being arbitrary and reckless - Workers in some cities went on strikes and popular unrest and riots emerged
- Mao shocked at criticism – initially believed it would be constructive and only single out individuals and practices, rather than the system itself
- Mao outlined that criticism had gone too far → June 1957 – announcement in People’s Daily that denunciations would no longer be tolerated
- Distinction made between antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions:
o Antagonistic contradictions – bourgeoisie, dangerous and not tolerated
o Non antagonistic contradictions – beneficial and could be resolved peacefully - Declared that any idea contrary to CCP position was a ‘poisonous weed’
37
Q
Anti Rightist Campaign following Hundred Flowers Campaign
A
- Cultivation of ‘flowers’ turned into pulling of ‘weeds’
- Deng Xiaoping appointed to direct Campaign
- Thousands of students and academics put through struggle sessions and self criticism meetings
- Institutions given a quota to expose 5% of staff as rightists, otherwise leadership would be suspended
- 300-400k sent to countryside for re-education through hard labour
- Thousands sacked or demoted and social pressures forced partners of rightists to divorce
- 40% of GMD revolutionary committee and Democratic League parties found guilty
- Ultimately made shortage of technical expertise worse → long term economic impacts
38
Q
End of First Five Year Plan
A
- Questions emerged about suitability of Stalinist development model:
o Agriculture not achieving necessary surpluses to fuel industrialisation and match population growth
o Mao believed planning had become overcentralised
o Collectivisation strategy remained contested - Central Committee agreed to slowly reduce number of collective farms, while also supporting industrial and agricultural programs of 2nd Five Year Plan
- Central Committee acknowledged Mao’s radical collectivisation plan could be achieved – 12 Year Agricultural Plan called for increased collectivisation, double grain and cotton yields and use revolutionary zeal
39
Q
Inspirations for Great Leap Forward
A
- USSR launched satellite Sputnik (Oct 1957) ahead of the USA → wave of euphoria in socialist countries
- Khrushchev announced that USSR would exceed USA’s production of steel, coal, iron, oil and electricity within 15 years → Mao announced that China’s steel production would exceed Britain’s within 15 years from 1957 → revolutionary optimism
- Mao believed there was a need for an alternative and original path to socialist development
- Mao met with adoring crowds on his ‘seek truth from facts’ tour → genuinely believed he was in touch with popular feelings → false confidence
- Construction of water conservation project by millions of peasants by hand → sparked Mao’s imagination and reemphasised Yanan spirit and importance of collective will
40
Q
Ideological Underpinnings of Great Leap Forward
A
- Mao lobbied for a renewed virtue in economics as a way to move forward
- Mao held contempt for bureaucrats and expert planners – believed they were holding back productive forces of the mases
- Mao encouraged virtues of creative thinking and mass enthusiasm
- Mao warned against dangers of false reporting of production and rash implementation of new ideas
o However, this was not adhered to as everyone wanted to impress Mao - Mao believed that backwardness was a virtue – meant that peasantry wanted significant change and were not influenced
- Mao believed that human consciousness was more decisive than material conditions
- Believed that values of a communist society could emerge before economic structures emerged
- Mao hoped for an economy that could ‘walk on two legs’ and had ‘simultaneous development’ – development of heavy industry and rural areas (through small scale handicrafts) → focus of 2nd Five Year Plan
- Sought to utilise untapped peasant labour between planting and harvesting of crops → development of large scale projects → improvement of rural infrastructure and production
- Cooperatives to engage in small scale production of goods
- Technical revolution – learn from one another and though everyday work → removed need for experts
