Theme 1 - Mao's problems and the state of Chinese industry, agriculture and national infrastructure

Question 1

On what day did Mao announce the formation of the PRC?

Answer 1

1st of October 1949

Question 2

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: Lawlessness

Answer 2

• An estimated 1 million bandits were roaming the countryside.
• `They wandered aimlessly, cramming into cities and fulfilling China’s nickname of the “sick man of Asia”

Question 3

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: Economic Issues

Answer 3

• China’s economy was completely devastated as there was no stable or unified currency as hyper inflation was rampant.
• As taxation could not support the economy, The GMD had turned to printing more money to bankroll its armies and industry causing hyperinflation.
• In 1940, 100 Yuan was enough to buy a pig. By 1949 100 Yuan only could buy an egg!

Question 4

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The state of industry

Answer 4

• Mao was determined to make China an industrial super power with industries similar to that of the West.
• This was difficult for a number of reasons, the USSR had control over the industrial heartland of Manchuria. The soviets dismantled equipment and shipped raw materials back to the USSR.
• the situation worsened during the civil war. in 1949 factory output was 44 per cent below its level in 1937.
• The GMD had taken many raw materials and intellectuals with them back to Taiwan
• only 5% of the population worked in industry
• The Japanese when occupying had developed Hainan as a key port, but American bombing had destroyed it, leaving the iron mines which were vital for the industry in the surrounding hills unattended

Question 5

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The state of Agriculture

Answer 5

• Mao had been tactical in targeting the peasants for support as they made up 80% of the population. However, the vast majority were illiterate and were not educated enough to understand Marxist theory, meaning the peasants had little interest in Mao’s political ideas.
• Chinese agriculture suffered with long-term historical problems worsened by years of conflict.
• In 1949, The average wealth produced per person in China was half of that of an Englishmen in the late 17th century!
• Tools and livestock were in short supply and the most common fertiliser was human waste which spread disease.
• Many peasants had been forcibly conscripted during the Civil War which left farms unattended and crops wilted and died, reducing production levels.
• By 1949, food production was at a subsistence level and many party of China were in famine.

Question 6

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The new administrative chaos

Answer 6

• The nationalists fled, but they vowed to return and retake power stripping the country of its gold, silver and dollar reserves whilst taking many of the countries educated elite with them.
• This left few experienced officials to run the cities of facilitate the rebuilding of the economy
• The CP members were committed to the regime, but lacked the practical expertise to consolidate communist power.

Question 7

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The state of infrastructure

Answer 7

• Warlords still controlled many large areas and bandits evaded the forces of law and order, making travel and communication between cities dangerous.
• Central government control had almost completely broken down, this lack of control was worsened by the lack of one unified language. although the majority of people were Han Chinese, there were over 50 ethnic groups with their own customs and traditions.
• Chiang Kai-Shek had a powerful ally in the USA, who feared a communist China would be a threat to national security and the integrity of democracy

Question 8

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The State of Transport

Answer 8

• Transport networks were badly damaged, an estimated half of railway networks had been destroyed. As a result of the key CCP tactic of blowing up bridges and tracks as it hindered the moving of soldiers and supply
• Telephone lines had been damaged as rivers and harbours had been clogged up with ships sunk during the years of conflict.
• For example in Hankou, the capital of the Hubei province and the 2cnd largest port in China had been attacked by American B-29 strikes against the then occupying Japanese had been reduced to rubble.

Question 9

Elaborate on Mao’s problems: The Nationalist threat

Answer 9

• Establishing unified national control would be extremely difficult as there was simply no effective admirative body to co-ordinate the vast challenges of rebuilding.
• Even after the PRC was established, the GMD sent spies and saboteurs to attack the new regime and US supplied planes to bomb costal cities like Shanghai: One raid in 1950 killed over 1000 people and damaged the electricity and water supply.

Question 10

A concluding statement summarising all of Mao’s problems and the sate of China in 1949 and the aftermath of the civil war.

Answer 10

When Mao announced the formation of the PRC he was greeted by huge cheering crowds as many people were optimistic hoping for peace after years of war. However, many problems loomed over China - many of which were created by the recent warfare. The Industry and agriculture were in a poor state, which urgently needed to be addressed and to worsen this, the disjointed communication and transport made it ever more difficult to resolve the problem. The GMD in Taiwan posed a very real threat and there was a continuation of many problems that had plagued China throughout History such as the lack of national identity and the disparity between the rural and urban areas. Finally, very few people cared about Mao’s polices or were ideologically committed to them; they were simply not educated enough to understand them and they simply wanted to survive and live in peace.