China 1950-1981 Flashcards
What was China like before Communism?
Lack of government - last emperor who was 6 yrs old, wsa overthrown and in 1911 there ws arevolution in China.
During WWII, Americans supplied CHian with weapons and supplies to fight the Chinese.
Japanese took advantages of Civil War in China and invaded. Japanese took food from the peasants, and Mao helped oust Jpaan.
Why did China become communist in 1950?
maltreatment of peasants under coorupt nationalists. The GMD (Goumindang - capitalists), orginially received support from USA with supplies. But the leader Chian Kai Shek was a poor military leader and avoided confrontation with Japaanese and held back supplies. They had moral corruption and bad discipline. Army stroes were sold on the black market rather than distributing them to the army and peasants.
Neglect and maltreatment of peasants - less and less of China public supported the nationalists and turned to communists in desperation, who treated them with respect. The CP also made effective use of low-technology guerilla warfare, greatly contrasting GMD whose scorched earth policies only destoryed peasants’ crops and land rather than stopping the Japananese. Continued failers of GMD and successes of Communists, with brilliant military leaders, and capped rent paid during the war - gopod for peasants. China became communist in 1950.
What were the Early purges in the 1950s?
Suppression of Coutner-Revolutionaries Oct 1950: aim to stamp out people with links to GMD, bandits and religious people, as well as non-political offences like murder, robbery etc.
The Three Antis Campaign 1951: Targeted party members and officials, aiming to end cooruption ,waste and delay
Five Antis Campaign (1952) - Aimed to end bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheting and stealing economic information.
Mass meetings - organised for people to admit crimes or denounce others. Many suicides (2-300,000) suicides by those wishing to avoid denunciation).
Reunification campaigns from Octr 1950 - People’s Liberation Army sent to Tibet to assert Chinese claim of the land, despite Tibetans thinking themselves as independent. Tibet resisted for 6 months, regime of terror at eradicating Tibetan identity enforced.
Impaact:
Criminal gang control of cities like Shangai
Drop in widespread cooruption of Nationalist China
Cost of personal freedom - state control of individual was almost absolut
suicides due to mass meetings
Explain why Mao introduced the Hundred Flowers campaing in 1956-1957.`
- For genuine reasons and wanted people’s opinions.
By 1956 the popularity of CCP was starting to be lost, and there was increasing discontent among peasants. However, Mao had always been received warmly and perhaps did not realise the amount of criticism he would receive, and believed that it was possible to allow greater expression in China - good for propaganda for Communism. - It was a maniupaltion tactic/trick
not sincere, an attempt to discover any potential oopeonents
mao said people must carefully distinguish betweein poisonous weed and a fragrant flower
setting a trap - inviting people to speak out, then using what they said as an excuse to victimise them - evidenced through atbni-Rightist movements put in place targeting and purging of intellectuals
What wsa the impact of social reform under Mao?
Rellgion -wiped out, CCP regarded rilgion and superstitious. Christiands and Budddhists attacked, churches and temples destroyed. Customs and rituals were replaced b political meetings an discussions organised by CCP.
Healthcare - herbal remedies discourgaed, greater push for moreadvanced medicine, empahiss on prevention. Poopy fields destroyed to get rid of opium addiction.
Became free.
Environments - cities cleaned up. - campaign against rates - 1 rata week in Shanghai.
Women - marriage reform law in 1950, allowed women to divorce their husbands and gain custody over their own chidlren. More than one marriage and forced marraiges were banned. Women encouraged to work and become communist officials. Al china’s woman federation set up in 1949, eventaully had 40,000 staff working in 83 cities. But only 13% of people in CCP were women.
But women basically got more rights (over none).
Education - By 1960s, 90% China’s population had basic reading and writing skills, allowing Mao to introduce more written propaganda.
Mao expanded units to tarin in science and tech, so no longer sent to west to study
Mandarin was introduced and was the new standardise language
In 1949, 200 higher education institurion, in 1961 - 1289
Education essential to Mao, education of Chinese varied widely, but he tried to close this gap - easier to politicaly indoctrinate people.
What changes in agriculture did communsism bring?
Agrarian Reform Law - 1950:
shared out village land between peasants and land-lords put on trial, and accused of crimes.
Mutual Aid Teams 1952
peasants worked on each other’s land, fertilising, killing psts or harvesting so taht each family’s plot would become more productive
helped increase food production but not quickly enough to supply food for rising population
Problem: lots of quarrels about whose land should be worked on first
Cooperatives form 1953
land was jointly owned so one large crop could be grown efficiently
the cooperative’s resources could be pooled to buy equipemnet, fertilisers and seeds.
These farms typically had 30-50 families joining their land together
opposition from many peasants who did not want to give up land they worked so hard for
By 1957 over 90% of China;s peasants belonged to a cooperative
Communes (part of GLF) - 1958-159
all farmer cooperatives to be joined together as communes
each commune had industrial and farming targets
family life completely destroyed
all aspects of life pfocided for incl. schools and care for elderly
communes abolished private land and property altogether
many positions and roles
workers exposed to propaganda everyone
by end of 1958, most Chinese belonged to 1 of 40,000 communes.
Lack of freedom and family life.
How and why did Mao begin to develop industry in China?
Why:
Mao wanted China to becoem a world superpower, as when Mao came to power in 1949, China was behind the industrial nations of the world
Mao wanted to introduce communist ideology to industry whilst utlising the capitalist methods already in place
Dec 1949 -treaty of friendhsip betwenen China and USSR.
How: First Five Year Plan 1953-1957
highly succcessful, all targets surpassed
Aims:china to become industrial superpwer, state control over all businesses; rebuild transportation and infrastrucutre
Soviet Union scientis and engineers supervises millions of Chinese workers on almost 700 major projects
Thousands of Chinese students were sent for training in Soviet universities.
Help of USSSr strengthened bond between Communist states.
5 yr plan came from Stalin.
Focus on heavy industries to provide raw materials to build planes, trains and engines that would improve the transport infrastrucuture throught China.Also to start from scratch
To what extent was the First Five Year Plan a success?
Implement Communist ideology:
Workers wee highly motivated and surpassed all expectations
State control meant that people were no longer able to move from one job to another
Countryside remained very poor
Any failure would lead to less support for communists, since mao wanted to link everything to communism.
Increase Industrialisation to meet China’s growing needs:
Chinese workers surpassed all targets
Population of China’s towns soared as peasants moved to the jobs created in the new industries.
Living standards in the city improved but in the countrysided people remained very poor
State planning was disorganised
People were illterate - ruining machinery as could not read instructions.
Mao greatly improved industrailiation, though not agriculturally, and at the expense of human happiness.
Become a global power and develop like the USSR:
Bonds strengthened between China and USSR
Industrialisation was often paid for by loans from USSR, with very high rates of interest
This alliance greatly increased China’s chances of becoming a global superpweower, however ussr’s loans had quite harsh conditions
How successful was the Great Leap Forward?
Aims: Mao believed that China had become backward-looking again and needed a new revolution to inspier the people.
Focuses on getting villages and towns involved in small-scale industry.
Agriculture targeted - industry could only cpropser if the workforce were well fed
Wanted steel production to equal UK in 15 yrs.
Economic Cost - Failures:
Lysenko farming - didn’t suit all the lands in China, and the idea was to plant crops closer together and deeper in the soil. Peasants forced to try these methods which didn’t work. People did less work as not longer getting recognitoin and food and pay for hard work.
Teh Four Noes: Aim to get rid of flies, mosquitoes, rats and psarrows. No sparrows meant that no pestss on the grain were eaten and crops were destroyed.
Famine: 1961 there were a series of droughts - 3yrs of disaster. An estimated 30 million died - largest famine in history.
Economic cost - industrial failures:
Quarrel with NK - NK withdrew his expert advisors from China. Although Chinese people were willing they did not have the technical expertise to make the paln work, leading to many mistakes
Massive amounts of steel/iron that were produced were brittle, imupure and almost unusable
Political cost:
Mao discrditied - forced to resign as head of stead, and remained Party Chairman instead, in 1959
Communes abandoned, and reduced to a manageable size and private ownership of land was reinstated - ideological aims of Mao undone.
Social Cost
Life on Communes for peasants - people worked less hard as they were less motivated since the commune system meant that they no longer received any more food or pay for working hard. Drought set back farming production too.
How far was the Dazhai commmune an example of success?
Success:
1952 a cooperative set up - very successful, by 1956 all households had joined together
Dazhai claimed to have not been affected by famine in GLF
Betweene 1953 and 1962, Chen proposed his 10 yr reclamation plan - build dams so land can be reclaimed and terraced, these could then be joined together to form large fields - between 1953 and 1958, 180 dams were built.
Failur:
agricultural land spread across several slopes - difficult to protect aginst floods and irigate
Dazhai claimed to have no loans bar 1 in 1954
They may have been exaggerating their acheiveemnt
In 1963, Dazhai suffered from terribel floods - were the dams really that successful?
Did Dazhai really achieved this all by thesmselvse?
Why di dMao introduce the Cutlural REvolution?
Cultural REvoluion: purge capitalist influences and boourgeois thingking, reeducation, and attacking Four Olds: old culture, old ideas, old habits and old customs Began 16th May 1966-1976 when Mao died.
Regaining status/removing powerful threats:
The GLF was a big, embarrassing failure
IN 1962, Deng Xiaoping and Liu-Shao-qi were apopointed to solve problems of famine, and by 1965 production was equal to 1957 levels. This was threatening as these two dudes were actually successful.
Restoring China to Mao’s idea of communism (mao zedong thought):
Middle class were getting welathy again, at expense of ordinary people and peasons
Mobilisation of war
Usa had begun to interfere with Vietnam WAr, and Mao was concerned that he needed to be able to call upon the Chinese people if necessary in the event of conflict
What was the impact of the Cultural Revolution?
Poltical:
Mao removed political threats - Liu was imprisoned and died in 1969, and Deng was subject to public humiliation.
Media only depicting Mao in a good light was allowed.
Cult of personality meant that people were personally loyal ot Mao, not just he CCP.
Education and skills
Young people did not have access to a formal education in these years
shortages of doctors - Mao provided training, and by 1973 over 1 million new doctros
Mao sent thousands of Red Guards to be reeducated
Industry
schools and oclleges closes, so economy started to suffer
Industry fell as faith of many Chinese people in communist party was damaged
Violence
Red Guards destroyed many of China’s treasures
Red Guards went on a rampage, aiming to stamp out the Four Olds - old culture, old idea, old habits and old customs
Children were encouraged to denounce their parents
How was Deng Xiaoping able to take power after Mao?
Hed had a great ability to gain popularityContacts in party and military
worked with Liu to end Great Famine - popular
Worked with Zhou on foreign affairs
Deng goes to American in Cold War - 1979, add human touch to him
builds his reputation amongst wider party and by April 1977, resumes his role as CCP general secretary
influence began to grow at expense of Hua’s
builds up support from military
What were Deng Xiaopings aims?
modernise Chiane to compete with WEst, Industrialise China, good education and maintain communist system.
Four modernisations:
Agriculture
Industrial Development
Defense
Science and Technology
remember AIDS
Agriculture: old communist rural practises successfully changed.
1981 house responsibility was implemened - peasants were able to keep and sell their profits as long as they paid taxes and contributed to local tagers
natural disasters were a problem - 1980 and 1982 severe droughts led to 14 million people needing emergency rations
Industry
1980, Deng set up his first special economic zones near Hong Kong and Taiwan - had potentailly excellent trade links and could attract foreign trade.
Unions were re-established.
End of state-control meant that jobs were no longer guaranteedd.
Some workers had to find 2nd jobs to supplement income becuase of intro of market forces.
Political change under Deng Xiaoping
Four cardinal principles written after Democracy wall in 1979.
They included:
uphold socialist path
Keep PRC (people’s republic of China)
keep CCP
uphold values of Mao Zedong thought
Democracy Wall - questioning and protesting social and political issues from nov 1978.
Deng Xiaoping did not support political reform - arrested people who had put up letters and posters.
1978, Deng had removed Mao’s 4 great freedoms.
The trial of the Gang of Four
The gag of four included Mao’s wife, they were heavy supporters of the cultural revolution and were greatly disliked by the public and the military
They were collectiviely accused of framing/persectuing 727,420 peole of whom 34,724 people died during Cultural REvoluion. Wanted to persecute them w/o discrediting Mao’s name.
The four people were subject to ridicule, Jiang Qing first given death penatly then lift imprisonment.
