Unit 1 - Establishing Communist Rule Flashcards
When was the revolution that brought down the Qing Dynasty?
The Chinese Revolution of 1911
Who led China in the 1920s and 1930s?
Guomindang
What was the Guomindang? Who led it?
Chinese nationalist party, led by Chiang Kai-Shek
When was the CCP formed? When did Mao become its leader?
CCP formed in 1921, Mao became leader in 1935
When was the war against Japanese?
7 Jul 1937 – 9 Sept 1945
When was the Civil War? How had the CCP won the Civil War?
Started in 1927.
CCP won the civil war using guerilla warfare, promises made to peasants to get them to fight, military aid from USSR and good military leadership.
What booklet did Karl Marx write in 1848?
Communist manifesto
Who were the proletariat?
Working class
Who was the bourgeoisie?
Capitalist class
What did Marx believe would eventually happen to capitalism?
Karl Marx believed that the capitalist system would eventually destroy itself by a proletariat revolution.
Maoism - Class Struggle
Mao believed that there was a danger that the communist party could be a new ruling class Party Officials were subject to struggle meetings at which they faced public criticism and were forced to make self-criticisms.
Maoism - Mass Mobilisation
Mao argued that mass campaigns directed at achieving specific targets were the way forward. Numbers and revolutionary enthusiasm mattered much more than experts when it came to developing the economy and China’s huge population was its main asset.
May be used to carry out major works such as building dams or roads.
Mao believed that once the party had convinced the people of the superiority of socialism, people could willingly work harder for the greater common good.
Maoism - Self-reliance / Nationalism
Mao was determined that china should be independent and not reliant on foreign powers
There were continuing divisions in the communist party over the extent to which China should follow the example of the Soviet Union in developing its economy
Maoism - Continuing revolution
Landlords and the bourgeoisie still owned most of the property in China and still largely controlled the economy.
Mao said capitalism should be regulated not destroyed because he needed expertise for administration and running the economy from members of the GMD who hadn’t fled.
Each generation must actively participate in the revolution so that the revolutionary zeal would not fade out
Everyone’s duty to be on the lookout for enemies within who might be trying to betray the revolution; and to examine their own behaviour and way of thinking, confessing to any errors they might have accidentally made.
This approach is what lay behind the periodic purges of the CCP and the frequent struggle sessions that people endured and major events such as Hundred Flowers Campaign and Cultural Revolution
Maoism - Learning from the people
Mao was determined that the communist party should not follow the example of the Soviet Union as they issued orders and didn’t listen to the people’s concerns thereby losing touch with them.
To avoid this, he claimed that he wanted people to get involved in discussing policies, so the CCP could take people’s views into account. (Debatable due to Hundred Flowers Campaign)
How is Maoism different from Marxism? Why did Mao choose to focus the revolution on the peasants rather than the proletariat?
- The two differences between Maoism and Marxism are how the proletariat are defined and what political and economic conditions would start a communist revolution: For Karl Marx, the proletariat were the urban working class, which was determined in the revolution by which the bourgeoisie overthrew feudalism and the proletarian revolution was internally fueled by the capitalist mode of production. For Mao Zedong, the proletariat were the millions of peasants, to whom he referred as the popular masses.
- Mao based his revolution upon the peasants because they possessed two qualities: 1) they were poor and 2) they were a political blank slate; in Mao’s words, “a clean sheet of paper has no blotches, and so the newest and most beautiful words can be written on it”.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - Administrative Chaos
Nationalists stripped country of its assets (gold, silver and dollar reserves, alongside cultural treasures)
Many of the educated elite (including bureaucrats and businessmen) had left with the nationalists.
Few experienced officials left to run cities or with enough technological knowledge to rebuild the country.
CPC members were ideologically committed and experienced guerilla fighting but lacked sufficient knowledge of civilian government.
Lack of planning because of speed in which nationalist forces collapsed.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - Economic Problems
- No stable or unified currency.
- Hyperinflation
- Shortages of consumer goods
- In 1940, 100 Chinese Yuan was enough to buy a pig. By 1945, it was only enough to buy a fish.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - State of China’s industry
China’s industry had been badly damaged by the civil war and much of their industrial equipment had been destroyed.
Retreating nationalist forces sabotaged industrial sites to prevent them falling into communist hands.
USSR dismantled industrial equipment in factories and mines, confiscated tools and gold and shipped them back to the USSR from Manchuria.
In 1949, factory output was 44% below 1937 levels.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - State of China’s agriculture
80% of China’s population lived in rural areas
Peasants yearned to escape poverty and own their own land
Many peasants felt exploited by their landlords who made them pay high rents
Agricultural tools and livestock were in short supply and most common fertilisers remained human waste. This spread disease
Many peasants had been forcibly conscripted into the Civil War, meaning farms were left unattended
By 1949 food production was at subsistence level and in some parts of China, there was a famine.
Land reform was made difficult by the size and diverse nature of China
Some parts of china had started reforms and redistribution of land whereas in the north, which was only recently liberated by the communists, it had not started
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - National infrastructure
Barely a unified nation (despite Mao’s formation of the people’s republic in 1949).
Nationalist forces still present on Chinese territory
Chiang Kai-Shek had been defeated, evaded capture and escaped to Taiwan
Previous nationalist government had been very corrupt
Bribery common
Leaders hoarded supplies or sold food meant for people for profit
Warlords still controlled large areas
Bandits evaded the forces of law and order making communication and travel between cities hazardous
Lack of central control got worse due to a lack of unified language
Many areas had their own distinct dialect
50 ethnic and religious groups with their own customs and traditions (majority Han Chinese).
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - Transport
Transport networks were badly damaged
Roughly half of the railway network had been destroyed
Blowing up railway tracks and bridges had been a key tactic of the communists during the civil war because it disrupted he nationalists’ ability to move their troops into battle but now created a huge problem for the government
Had to quickly rebuild them in order to consolidate control over large expanses of the country such as isolated rural areas from the Capital, Beijing.
Telephone lines had been damaged while rivers and harbours were clogged up with ships sunk during the years of conflict.
Hankou (capital of Hubei province) and the second largest port in China had been the target for American B-29 strikes against the occupying japanese and had been reduced to rubble.
Japanese had developed Hainan in the south as a key port but American bombing destroyed it - leaving the iron shines in the surrounding hills that were vital for industrial production largely unattended.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - Division between urban and rural areas
Rural and urban China were largely isolated from each other.
The communist soldiers were mostly peasant farmers.
Became the source of jokes: a young soldier who found a white porcelain toilet and tried to wash rice in it. Another soldier pulled the rope attached to the cistern, only to look on aghast as the rice vanished with the bubbles in the bowl
At luxurious Cathay Hotel, confused soldiers played with the elevators and tied up their mules in the marble floored lobby.
Inexperienced, the communists simply were not well prepared to run China;s cities or set up an efficient government administration.
What was China like when the CCP took over in 1949? - Threat from the Nationalists
Even after the formation of the PRC, the nationalists posed a threat.
They sent spies and saboteurs to attack the regime and US supplied planes to bomb coastal cities like Shanghai; one raid in February 1950 killed over 1000 people and damaged the electricity and water supply.
Nationalist attacks also sunk PRC ships massed to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan
What does ‘Democratic Centralism’ mean?
Democratic centralism is a practice in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party - Discussions were held in the political systems but when a decision was made everyone had to follow.
Democratic centralism is true democracy in a communist party lay in the obedience of the members to the authority and instructions of leaders.
What was the Common Program for China?
An interim Constitution, specifying the structure of the new government, and determining the name and symbols of the new state. Everyone except political reactionaries could enjoy freedoms. It accepted a multi party system and private property, it also sorted equal rights for women and universal industry
When was the new constitution formally adopted?
1954
What was the National People’s Congress? How powerful was it?
Chinese legislature - Merely acted as a rubber stamp to approve decisions. Had virtually no power
What were the three branches of government? What was Mao’s role within each of them?
Chinese communist party, People’s Liberation Army and Central People’s government. Mao was chairman of all the branches of government.
Distinguish between the CCP’s Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee.
- The Standing Committee is superior to the other branches and carries out the day-to-day affairs (made up of 5 members)
- Politburo less powerful than Standing Committee: 25 members
- Central Committee: 49 members
What was the State Council? Who was its head?
Civil service; interpreted and enacted laws, announced decrees and executed them. Made treaties, declared wars, controlled the budget and appointed all key government personnel. Led by Zhou Enlai.
What was the Regional Bureau? How did this enhance the role of the PLA?
China was split into 6 administrative regions led by members of the PLA.
Each bureau had four officials:
- Government chairman
- First Party Secretary
- Military Commander
- Army Political Commissar
- Enhanced the role of the PLA by giving PLA officials control over regions of China, in which they could focus their efforts on, in terms of rebuilding China and the reunification campaigns. Two posts were military and filled with PLA officers which ensured military control of the country and the consolidation of PLA’s influence.
- Military aspect was clear and they had to remove the word “military” of military administrative commissions.
What was the Military Affairs Commission?
A 12-man commission that has the final say on all decisions relating to the PLA, including senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending.
What campaign was the PLA involved with in the early 1950s?
Reunification campaigns
Which war did they participate in 1950 – 1953?
Korean War
How was the PLA reformed between 1950 and 1953?
- PLA became a professional army.
- By 1950, it had grown to 5 million soldiers and accounted for 41% of the state budget.
- By 1953, cut to 3.5 million soldiers to reduce costs and get more farmers back onto the land.
- However, the PLA still received 800,000 volunteers each year, serving for 3 years.
How did the PLA help China’s economic development?
- PLA rebuilt China’s infrastructure
- Officer’s dependants were compelled to work in the co-operative farms
- Work teams of PLA soldiers contributed to helping local construction of irrigation projects
- Every 50 men was commanded to jointly raise at least one pig
What was the ‘Learn from the PLA’ campaign? When was it launched? Who was Lei Feng?
- 1963
- Instructed the people to learn from the revolutionary and personal attributes the People’s soldiers exemplified: Bravery, discipline, resourcefulness, incorruptibility and commitment to the cause.
- Lei Feng was a major propaganda icon used by the government as a role model example of how people should behave.
What does ‘laogai’ mean?
Reform through labour
