Religion

Question 1

How did the communists view religion?

Answer 1

viewed as a device used by bourgeoisie to give false hope of a better future to the masses, so that they would accept the hard grind of their daily lives without complaint. Mao saw Christian missionaries as a reminder of the West’s attempt to colonise China in the 19th century.

Question 2

What did the authorities set up for religion?

Answer 2

The authorities set up national religious associations for each of the main religions, whereby they were allowed to continue in existence, provided they surrendered any semblance of independence to the state.

Question 3

Why was Tibet, home to most Buddhists, attacked?

Answer 3

strategic rather than political reasons- situated on the border with India, with whom China had long-standing frontier (border) disputes with, Tibet had been self-governing since 1913, and had announced its intention to stay autonomous.

Question 4

Political reasons for attacking Tibet

Answer 4

The contemplative nature of Buddhism made its adherents potentially more difficult to mobilise in mass activity, and its pacifist outlook clashed with priorities of leadership.

Question 5

Overarching principle for Tibet

Answer 5

Comms could not allow such a potentially vulnerable buffer zone to remain outside their control, fearing that the mixture of religion and nationalism might prove too dangerous if not checked.

Question 6

Systematic attempt by the Chinese to destroy Tibetan religion and culture

Answer 6

Lamaism, Tibetan form of Buddhism, banned from being practised in public. Use of Tibetan language replaced by Mandarin

Question 7

What happened in 1959

Answer 7

mass uprising against Chinese rule. PLA used to supress demonstrations, arrest protestors and execute leaders. Buddhists particularly targeted- priests and nuns were dragged from their monasteries and beaten and many monasteries were turned into army barracks or administrative buildings

Question 8

The monasteries allowed to stay open had to accept state control and come under the control of

Answer 8

the Chinese Buddhist Association.

Question 9

What else did the government do to subdue Buddhists?

Answer 9

Chinese government deliberately extended famine into Tibet, where starvation caused the deaths of a quarter of the entire population- highest proportion of any region. In the CR, 6000 monasteries destroyed in Tibet, and thousands were killed by RG.

Question 10

limitations of Buddhist campaign demonstrated by

Answer 10

continued need for periodic clampdowns and the fact that Buddhism remains China’s most widely practised religion today.

Question 11

Why did the communists target Confucianism?

Answer 11

its stress on the upholding of traditional authority, particularly with the family, clashed with communist values.

Question 12

How did the Communists attack Confucianism

Answer 12

Communist propaganda denounced it as all that was bad about China’s past, and during CR, Beijing students ransacked the monuments in Confucius’ home town of Qufu.

Question 13

What became a convenient label during CR to pin on any undesirable remnant of Chinese culture

Answer 13

‘Confucius and Co.’ Lin Biao discredited 1973, Jiang portrayed hum as a contemporary version of Confucius.

Question 14

Limitations of Confucianism campaign

Answer 14

some Confucian values surrounding the family and social harmony too deeply ingrained to be completely eradicated.

Question 15

After 1949, what drove most Protestant missionaries out of the country

Answer 15

fear of arrest and accusations of espionage

Question 16

Why were Catholics not deterred like Protestants?

Answer 16

Pope insisted they stayed in their posts.

Question 17

What demonstrated Mao’s initial attitude against Christians?

Answer 17

Many church buildings were closed down and their property confiscated, while propaganda constantly attacked the behaviour of the Church as an institution.

Question 18

What did Mao realise about the church?

Answer 18

Mao then realised reaching some accommodation with Christians would make Comms appear tolerant without sacrificing any power. ‘patriotic churches’ allowed to continue.

Question 19

Example of church loss of independence

Answer 19

Some churches lost all independence, the state having the right to appoint the clergy and to dictate doctrine. The Protestant Church came under the authority of the Three Self Patriotic Movement 1953.

Question 20

What again deterred Catholics from following in the footsteps of Protestants

Answer 20

The Vatican threatened to excommunicate any clergymen appointed by the Chinese state.

Question 21

Was the government’s attack on Christianity successful?

Answer 21

Both Protestant and Catholic Churches were seriously weakened by communist persecution, and continue to exist only in a much reduced capacity.

Question 22

When did persecution of Christianity most escalate

Answer 22

Persecution escalated during CR- wave of arrests of clergy and ban on public worship.

Question 23

Why were Muslims persecuted

Answer 23

Ideologically, set of values ran counter to the comm state e.g. resisted gender equality. Strategically, the north-western provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu and Qinghai, where most Muslims lived, were a security risk.

Question 24

Why were the provinces where most Muslims lived a security risk?

Answer 24

They lay adjacent to powerful Muslim states to the west and were potentially within the grasp of the Soviet Union, which was interested in their oil and gas reserves. Xinjiang was home to the Uighur, Kazakh, Hui and Kirghiz peoples, all of whom resented Chinese rule.

Question 25

What did the Communists do to control Islamic beliefs

Answer 25

Authorities set up the Chinese Islamic Association. However, many mosques were closed and during CR, many more were vandalised, while Muslim leaders were frequently humiliated in public and subjected to struggle sessions.

Question 26

What was the deeply rooted Ancestor Worship

Answer 26

Believed that there was a reciprocal relationship between the living and the dead. It was the duty of the living to sustain the spirits of the dead by maintaining their graves and setting up ancestral temples; in return, the dead would intercede on behalf of the living to bring them good fortune.

Question 27

What did neglecting the dead lead to in Ancestor Worship

Answer 27

Neglecting the dead risked creating ‘hungry ghosts’, who would seek vengeance on the living.

Question 28

Why did the Communists condemn ancestor worship as a superstition that was no longer acceptable in the new China

Answer 28

as part of their wider policy to reduce the importance of the family and to make people look towards the future rather than the past.

Question 29

Was the campaign against ancestor worship successful?

Answer 29

Communes helped control it but it was never eradicated because it was so deeply entrenched, and many dismantled 1960s. outpouring of grief after Zhou Enlai’s death 1976. Many of the practices associated with it continue to be observed.