The PRC

Question 1

When was the PRC announced?

Answer 1

1 October 1949.

Question 2

What were the three pillars of power in the PRC?

Answer 2

1) The State Bureaucracy.
2) The CCP.
3) The PLA.

Question 3

What positions did Mao hold in the PRC? (3)

Answer 3

1) Chairman of the Central People’s Government Council (State Bureaucracy).
2) Chairman of the CCP.
3) Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Council (PLA).

Question 4

What was the ‘mass line’?

Answer 4

The underlying principles of the CCP which policy should be based off of.

Question 5

What did Mao view his role in the PRC as?

Answer 5

To lead the ideological debate within the party about the mass line, and to purge those who deviated from the ‘correct’ ideological path. Mao left day-to-day governing to other leading members in the State Bureaucracy.

Question 6

How was Mao’s personality cult boosted by the PRC (3 ways)?

Answer 6

1) The CCP victory in the Civil War highlighted his military leadership.
2) His head was put on bank notes and stamps.
3) His charismatic speeches.

Question 7

What were the 4 levels of government China was divided into?

Answer 7

1) National level.
2) Regional level.
3) Provincial level.
4) Local level.

Question 8

Who was the Premier/Chairman of the State Council in 1949?

Answer 8

Zhou Enlai.

Question 9

Who was the Chairman of the National Defence Council in 1949?

Answer 9

Peng Dehuai.

Question 10

Who was Gao Gang (2)?

Answer 10

1) He planned the economic recovery of Manchuria in the Civil War. He was the provincial governor, Party Chairman and military commander in Manchuria and a member of the politburo.
2) He became head of the Central Planning Commission in 1952.

Question 11

Who was Deng Xiaoping?

Answer 11

Deng Xiaoping was a veteran of the Long March and a long standing ally of Mao, who was a military commander for the PLA in the Civil War. He became the Party’s General Secretary in 1957.

Question 12

What aspects of democracy did the PRC contain and how significant were they (2) in 1949?

Answer 12

1) The National Party Congress, with representatives from other parties, debated policy issues and made decisions, however they met highly infrequently, and only agreed on Politburo decisions.
2) 11 of 24 ministers appointed to the State Bureaucracy in 1949 were from other parties, but were only tolerated if they did not threaten the CCP.

Question 13

What was the Vanguard Party?

Answer 13

A party created by Lenin that restricted its membership to workers and intellectuals who had achieved a high level of ‘revolutionary consciousness’, as he believed they were the only ones who could lead a successful revolution.

Question 14

What was CCP membership in October 1949?

Answer 14

4,500,000 members.

Question 15

What was CCP membership in December 1950?

Answer 15

5,800,000 members.

Question 16

What was the role of Party cadres?

Answer 16

Cadres permeated all levels of government and administration, e.g. the legal system, education and the PLA, to ensure the political direction of the state was followed.

Question 17

How did the CCP create a sense of participation amongst China (3)?

Answer 17

1) The CCP established branches in all aspects of national life, such as schools, shops, factories, PLA units, offices, etc.
2) CCP members took leading roles in various mass organisations, such as trade unions, the All-China Federation of Women and the All-China Federation of Democratic Youth.
3) The CCP and cadres watched over urban neighbourhood committees.

Question 18

What were work units/danwei?

Answer 18

Every employed citizen living in an urban area belonged to a work unit, led by party cadres, who controlled the allocation of housing, grain, cooking oil and cloth whilst also issuing permits to travel, marry enter the army or university and change employment.

Question 19

What was ‘democratic centralism’?

Answer 19

Party members were free to express opinions and participate in debates on policy. However, once the final decision was made by the Politburo, all members had to promote and accept these policies.

Question 20

How significant was democratic centralism in the PRC?

Answer 20

Although debate did occur within the Party, it was only in the narrow limit of Mao Zedong Thought, so debate in regard to policy was limited.

Question 21

Why was the PRC unchallenged by opposition (3)?

Answer 21

1) Success in the Civil War defeated the GMD.
2) The CCP had brought peace and unity to China, after decades of war and instability.
3) The ridding of most foreign interference in China.

Question 22

What 4 classes made up ‘the people’?

Answer 22

1) Peasants.
2) The urban working class.
3) The petty bourgeoise.
4) The national bourgeoise.

Question 23

Who made up the ‘five black categories’?

Answer 23

1) ‘Reactionary elements’.
2) ‘Feudal elements’.
3) ‘Lackeys of imperialism’.
4) ‘Bureaucratic capitalists’.
5) ‘Enemies of the people’.

Question 24

Why did Mao adopt a United Front Policy with the 4 classes?

Answer 24

Mao knew China was not ready to become a fully-fledged socialist state, and so needed to go through a transition stage from a semi feudal state to a socialist one. Mao needed the support of the four groups to rebuild the economy and consolidate the PRC, and so adopted a system similar to the one used in Yan’an.

Question 25

How were the five black categories treated?

Answer 25

They were classified as non-people, lacked political rights and were to be repressed, punished or reformed.