Communist China Flashcards
What were the two political parties in China in the 1920s? Give details
- Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Mao Zedong.
- Guomindang (GMD), led by Chiang Kai-shek
Give details about the lead up to the Civil War
In the 1920s, the CCP and the GMD joined forces to gain political control over China from the various warlords that had split the land since the fall of the Qing Dynasty
In 1927, Chiang turned the warlords he had defeated against the Communist Party, and the Civil War began
Describe 2 main differences in CCP and GMD ideology
The CCP was communist - Mao wanted to build a Communist state that would then become socialist
The GMD focused little on the rural population, instead aiming towards modernisation,
What tactics did the GMD and the CCP use? What effect did these have on the population?
GMD - Scorched Earth Policy: Burning or destroying crops that the enemy could use to their advantage. This policy led to unhappiness in the population, as well as food shortages and dislike
CCP - Low technology guerrilla warfare: Didn’t extensively harm the population, instead led to a closeness between them and the population, rather than the alienation that the GMD encouraged.
The Japanese Threat
During the Civil War, the Japanese were struggling economically. The Great Depression had hit them hard, and they could not sell anything - prices were down by half. Eventually the country became a military dictatorship, and the leaders decided that they needed more land to bring in more money. They claimed that China had attacked the Manchuria railway, so they invaded Manchuria in 1931, invading further in 1933.
Key events leading up to Mao Zedong coming into power
1912 downfall of Qing Dynasty
1921 CCP and GMD allied against warlords
1927 Chiang turns conquered war lords against CCP
1931 Chiang launches full scale attack on CCP, civil war begins, Japan invades Manchuria
1933 Japan advances further into China
1934 ‘Long March’ - 100,000 men from the red army march 3,000 miles to evade troops, losing 90% of forces, spreading the communist message around China, gaining propaganda victory.
1949 Mao Zedong leader of PRC, People’s Republic of China
Consolidation of control / purges
Oct 1950 Suppression of counter-revolutionaries: stopping non-political offenses. Punishments incl. public executions to increase fear and discourage criminal activity.
1951 Three Antis Campaign: solidified state control of the individual - combating corruption, waste and delay by targeting party members and state officials.
1952 Five Antis Campaign: continued state control of the individual - ended general economic and monetary crime, generally improved conditions.
Mass Meetings: chances for denunciations and confessions - fear inducing.
From Oct 1950 Reunification Campaigns: targeted cultural and identity elimination, focused on northwest Muslims and Tibetian people, method to get land and increase population. Again used terror.
What was the hundred flowers campaign?
A campaign in which Mao encouraged various groups to speak out and suggest ways in which the communist party could improve their methods. When too many people spoke out, the campaign was stopped and those who had spoken out were condemned as rightists.
Why did Mao introduce the hundred flowers campaign?
- Believed his party would become more popular if people could see their feedback represented in the party.
- It was a trick to begin another purge.
- Wanted to prevent any comparisons between his methods and Stalin’s methods during a time of global de-Stalinisation.
- Genuinely wanted to population to expose corruption and bureaucracy.
The First Campaign
Freedom of speech offered to officials. They were too scared to do anything due to his terror reign.
The extended campaign
Freedom extended to intellectuals, who were initially wary due to the 1955 purge of the intellectuals, but overcame their fear and began to heavily criticise the party on a wide range of topics. Mao came under pressure from the government to shut the movement down. The anti-rightist movement quickly followed, which denounced all who had spoken out. This was the next purge.
Changes to women’s rights
Before Mao, women were treated with no rights - they were drowned as babies, sold off into marriage, and had to go through foot binding.
Mao saw women to be essential to the development of China, and brought in laws around their treatment - moved their focus from producing for the home to producing for the state (encouraged to get jobs); banned foot binding and changed marriage laws so both parties had to agree.
Education under Mao
Before Mao, education levels varied in China, but the majority of the population was illiterate.
Mao believed education was the only way to create a socialist society, and skilled specialists were needed to further development in all areas. Additionally, political indoctrination could only be achieved through literacy.
1950s literacy campaign meant peasants had to learn to read and write to go to market. By the 1960s 90% of the population was literate.
Religion reform
Mao regarded religion as harmful to society, and condemned all types of worship, including Christianity, Buddhism and ancestor worship.
Healthcare reform
Cities were cleaned up by the residents, who formed committees to tidy the streets. Some places had a campaign against rodents, and had to produce a set number of tails each week.
Healthcare became free, and the use of traditional herb remedies was discouraged, while methods of prevention were encouraged. e.g. addiction was prevented by destroying poppy fields and drug dealers.
Enterprise, business and customs reform
Many businesses and banks came under state control - they would get a load from the state bank, meaning that if a company was selling something the government did not approve of, they wouldn’t get a loan.
Customs and rituals were banned and replaced by party organised political meetings and discussions.
Agrarian reform law
Property of rural landlords was confiscated and split up among the peasants, destroying a class identified as feudal or semifeudal.
The landlords were then put on trial in people’s courts. Crimes included charging a high rent, mistreating tenants, etc. Punishments were beatings, imprisonment or even death.
This was a popular law, but further reforms were still needed to combat food shortages as well as other issues.
Mutual aid teams
1951
Peasant’s worked on each others farms to increase the efficiency of each farm.
Issues with this were that each person wanted to work on their land first.
Co-operatives
Farms were joined together to grow one large crop, regardless of how suitable the land was. Resources were pooled to buy equipment and everything needed for the families to live. A co-operative was typically formed of between 30 and 50 families.
By 1957 90% of the peasant population had been forced to give up their land.
Communes
Co-operatives merged to form communes, each of which had industrial and farming targets.
This meant the abolition of privately owned land. Communes provided school work and care. Each commune was its own fully functioning community.
By 1958 most people belonged to a commune.
Five Year Plans
Mao used the five year plans to push China towards industrialisation. This included building new industries, improving transport infrastructure all across the country, and improving education.
Russia’s role in the FFYP
- Provided engineers and scientists to supervise workers
- Gave students access to education in the Soviet Union
May have helped China for two main reasons: - wanted to build a strong alliance with China
- wanted to keep an eye on this potential threat (China had an enormous population even with the high death rate)
The First Five Year Plan
1953-57
Aimed to increase the amount of heavy industries in China (steel, coal and chemicals). These resources would provide the raw materials necessary for infrastructural improvement, especially transport.
Mao used this plan because he wanted to set China on the path to becoming a world-class power. When he came to power in 1949, China was far behind everyone else, so dramatic change was needed to help China catch up. Mao was inspired by the success of Stalin’s 5 year plans, so used the idea.
Mao was able to use the capitalist methods already in place to introduce his communist ideology.
Why did Mao believe China needed the Great Leap Forward?
He thought China had become backward-looking since his revolutions, so needed a new revolution to inspire the people
