The Yan'An Period Flashcards
When was the Yan’an Period?
1935-1945
What events happened during the Yan’an Period?
2nd Sino-Japanese War
1936 Xi’An Incident
1942-44 Rectification Campaigns
1946-49 Civil War with GMD
Consolidation of Mao’s Leadership & Ideology
What was happening with Chiang and GMD prior to Xi’An?
- Japan had occupied China in 1931
- GMD Leader Chiang took a ‘buy time’ approach, negotiating with Japan for ‘autonomous regions’, inc. withdrawing GMD troops from Beijing
- Choices greeted with derision and distress
- CCP said their march in North was to resist Japanese occupation (shows they were actively fighting)
Describe the Xi’An Incident.
- 1936
- Chiang went to Xi’an to berate the GMD for not crushing communists
- The GMD leader there (Zhang Xueliang) was persuaded to seize Chiang
- Zhang was frustrated by Chiang’s approach to Japanese
- Chiang was handed over to CCP
- CCP made deal to save his life under 2 conditions
- By not killing Chiang, the communists were put in a strong political power
What were the deals CCP made to save Chiang’s life?
- End persecution of communists
- Form a SECOND UNITED FRONT with CCP to pledge war on Japan together
Which GMD leader captured Chiang?
Zhang Xueliang
Who was the GMD leader?
Chiang Kai Shek
What was interesting about the deals made after Xi’An?
- Chiang was allowed to stay leader of China
- massive propaganda coup for CCP cause they can demonstrate they will take a ‘step back’ for sake of nation
- CCP can say they are THE party for China as they will fight under another party for sake of the country against Japan
- Chiang had to recognise CCP as a party, undermining his power and his right to claim sole representation of the nation
- CCP had time to set up base in Yanan without bother from GMD, even though Chiang did try crush CCP later on
- arguably would not have time if CCP had killed Chiang
Why was Yan’an a good base for the CCP?
- They were self-sustaining, growing their own food and establishing a basic economy during a nation-wide famine (30 million people dead)
- Early communists lived in caves, nurturing feeling of camaraderie and increasing ‘collective’ feeding
- Poverty of the province increased peasant radicalism
- peasants readily adopted CCP systems of land distribution
What were the Rectification Campaigns?
1942-44
- Began as a program for study and discussion of Mao’s writings but soon became self-criticism or ‘struggle sessions’
- Comrades were expected to publicly denounce their own failings
- Kang Sheng was the enforcer, believing 70% of the party had revisionist ideas and arrested 1000 of them
- Mao focused on revolutionary correctness to try keep party free of elitism
- Self-criticism had a huge effect on psychological health of party and 60 officials committed suicide
- Mao was unrepentant and didn’t ease up
Who was made an example of during the Rectification Campaigns?
Wang Shiwei
- Communist writer who strongly believed in social justice and was against coercion by CCP members and their hypocritical behaviour
- Wrote an article voicing his thoughts
- Mao backed other party members to condemn him and suspected him to be of the intellectual class
- Was abandoned by last supporter Ding Ling (feminist writer)
- Subjected to show trial where he was accused of anti-party thinking
- Given a life sentence then gruesomely executed in 1947
- Frightened the powers in the CCP
What were the consequences of the Rectification Campaigns?
- Opposition to Mao had been purged (inc. pro-Russians)
- ‘Cult status’ achieved
- Mao’s fears of intellectual class made clear
- Chinese communism consolidated as Maoism
- 1943 Mao elected as Chairman of the Central Committee of CCP
- After defeat of Japan, Mao became known as ‘great helmsman’
How much did the CCP grow during the Sino-Japan War?
1937-45
- Party membership grew from 40,000 to 1.2 mil
- Red Army grew from 22,000 to 880,000
How did CCP use propaganda to increase their popularity during Sino-Japan War?
- CCP made significant guerrilla attacks in North
- not large scale but easy wins that stoked propaganda machine
- GMD are losing battle after battle, withdrawing rapidly and leaving behind a demolished country
- Made people believe CCP might be the answer
- Chiang attacked New 4th Army in 1941, killing 1000s of communists
- Army was not crushed and regrouped
- More useful propaganda
What was the Ichigo Offensive 1944?
- Japan attacked cities like Guilin and Liuzhou
- No defence made
- Chinese armies were inept and under resourced
- Chiang kept armies weak if he distrusted their leaders
- Loyalty got resourced, not competence
- Many Chinese soldiers were ill with malnutrition and TB, etc.
- Offensive shone a light on the inadequacies of Chiang’s leadership
- Chiang didn’t have another opportunity to prove himself as Japan surrendered in 1945
