Communist China Flashcards
1
Q
Communist intentions
A
- govt would be a democracy for most people but a dictator for reactionaries (anybody opposing the coms)
2
Q
Problems facing the communists
A
- agricultural output had dropped drastically, 3 years of civil war took millions of peasants away from crops
- problem of holding China together as one, united country
3
Q
Govt of communist China
A
- they grouped the country’s 18 provinces into 6 regions, set up a series of councils in each region to run each subdivision
- at any level or area there was also a communist party committee making sure councils put communist policies into effect
- party run on the principal of democratic centralism, meaning members obey strict discipline and obedience to party leaders
- Mao became head of state, Zhou Enlai prime minister and foreign minister
- commanders of PLA shared tasks of govt with councils running 6 regions
- PLA used in many areas to tackle urgent problems like fixing railways. bridges, ports
4
Q
Rights of women
A
- 1950 introduced a marriage law
- ended arranged marriages, marriage of children, killing of unwanted babies and bigamy
- minimum age for marriage 18 for women, 20 for men
- husbands and wives now jointly owned family property, divorce my mutual consent introduced
- further law in 1951 gave expectant mothers maternity benefit of full wages for two months after birth of child
5
Q
Land reform
A
- began giving land to landless peasants
- 30 June 1950 agrarian land reform sped up process of land reform
- com party members went into countryside to teach peasants how to work out social class of community
- aim to decide whether people were rich landowners, middle or poor peasants
- poor peasants were then encouraged to hold mass meetings to ‘speak bitterness’ about their poverty, denouncing landlords
- once class decided, land was taken from those who had more to those who had none
- 40% of cultivated land taken away between 50 and 52
- over time speak bitterness meetings became violent often ending with execution (2-4mil)
- after receiving land peasants had no tools, formed mutual aid teams of 10 families
6
Q
Economy
A
- all major banks, railway network and a third of heavy industry were taken away from their owners, profits paid directly into state treasury, giving govt 2/3 of its yearly income
- people’s bank opened in 1951 to replace private banks , had control of all financial transactions, able to get rid of inflation entirely
- to overcome food shortage, farmers had to sell 15-20% of grain to govt at fixed low price + agricultural tax collected by party members
7
Q
organisation of the people
A
- put great effort into getting rid of reactionaries
- during 1950 and 51 party organised mass rallies where public enemies were publicly tried
- most accused were people who had collabed with Jap or fought in GMD armies, 1 mil were executed
- 1951 party began thought reform (movement for the study of Mao Zedong’s thought), involved close study of his writings combined with public self-criticism at party meetings
- party organised mass campaigns, a ‘three antis capaign’ launched in 51 against corruption, waste and too much ‘red tape’, 1952 5 antis. People guilty sent to camps to be re-educated
- every sector of population encouraged to join party-run interest groups
- because the party controlled these organisations, it was easily able to use the members for its own rallies (killing flies)
8
Q
USSR
A
Mao travelled to meet with Stalin, got $300mil over 5 years and 10k engineers and planning experts to help China to develop economy
9
Q
First 5 year plan
A
- under influence of Russian advisers, Chinese drew up a 5 year plan for the development of their economy 1953-57
- gave priority to steel, coal, machinery and the like, nearly 700 new production plants in central China and Manchuria
- light industry like cotton-making and food processing was neglected in favour of heavy industry, so people had to put up with slow growth in their living standards
- coal production doubled, iron tripled, steel 4x, oil 3x, cement double, fertiliser 3x
10
Q
Cooperative farms (lower stage)
A
- most peasants’ farms too small to be farmed effectively, couldn’t increase food output for level needed for 5 year plan
- govt feared if peasants kept land they’d become a new class in society, concerned only to make profits
- from 1953 govt persuaded peasants to join lower stage cooperatives
- 30-50 families (usually of a village) put land and labour together to make one bigger, efficient farm
- families still owned land, but it was on permanent loan to the cooperative which paid each family rent for its use
11
Q
Higher stage cooperatives
A
- consisted of 200-300 families, the people of a group of villages
- families were no longer paid rent for the use of the land, they received wages instead (angered them as they no longer owned land)
- had to surrender equipment and animals to the cooperative
- allowed only to keep a few square meters for personal use- vegetables or raising chickens
- by end of 1956, 95 out of every 100 peasant families had joined higher stage cooperatives. Most of 300 mil peasants who received land in 1050 were landless again
12
Q
The Hundred Flowers
A
- 5 year plan put Chinese society under a terrific strain, city population rose by 40mil, causing overcrowding, food shortage and housing problems
- com party was losing some of its early popularity, many people had harsh words to say about leaders
- Mao decided in 56 to allow people to let of steam by saying what they want about com party and policies
- he quoted from Chinese history ‘let 100 flowers bloom’ meaning that free speech and argument were healthy and should be encouraged
- for a while, Chinese people said what they liked, but often spoke more freely than Mao liked
- in June 57 Mao suddenly cracked down on critics
- many were arrested and sent off to camps in the countryside, others sacked from jobs
- people were forbidden to speak freely and press was censored.
- Hundred flowers withered as rapidly as they bloomed
13
Q
The great leap forward
A
- summer 1958 Mao made a tour of Chinese countryside saying ‘he witnessed tremendous energy of the masses’
- aimed to make China into one of the leading industrial nations, simultaneously improving agriculture
- done through a second 5 year plan 1958-63
- Mao intended that Chinese economy would overtake Britain in 15 years and US in 20-30, he called this plan the great leap forward
14
Q
The communes
A
- unlike first 5 year plan, Great leap forward aimed to develop agriculture as well as industry, key to achieving this was organising into communes
- communed were groups of villages varied in size, average containing 5k families who gave up their land, animals and equipment to common ownership
- purpose was to release the energy of the masses, making sure time and effort was not wasted and could work at variety of tasks
- around 4mil eating halls set up so no. of people cooking reduced, children put into nurseries and schools so parents free for work, old people put in houses of happiness
- communes controlled every activity in persons life combining several different functions: local govt with committee of peasants, party members and soldiers running schools, nurseries public services etc. commune was a unit of work organisation, work divided among teams and grouped into work brigades
- thirdly, commune was a unit of the communist party, making sure commune always followed party decisions
- by end of 1958 700 mil people in communes
15
Q
propaganda and entusiasm
A
- party and govt made every effort to whip people into a frenzy of enthusiasm for their work, posters, slogans+newspaper articles urged Chinese to work long hours, whatever conditions
- during work, loudspeakers played revolutionary music and stirring speeches, encouraging to meet plan’s targets and exceed
- many impressive construction projects were completed in record time