Unit 8: Topic 4 - Spread of Communism Flashcards
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought in the late 1920s to 1950 between the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-Shek and the communist forces of Mao Zedong to unite and consolidate power in China. The war ended in the defeat of nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-Shek, where they were forced to flee and establish a government in Taiwan, while communism rose in mainland China.
Communism
Communism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which the means of production are collectively owned and controlled by the community as a whole. The goal of communism is to create a society in which resources are distributed equitably and wealth is shared, with the aim of achieving equality and the elimination of poverty and exploitation.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese Communist leader of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1920s and 1930; reemerged in the 1940s to right against Chiang Kai-Shek; became leader of China from 1949 - 1976 (founding the People Republic of China); promoted mass purges and modernization programs, following Joseph Soviet 5-Year plan as an example.
Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution, or the 1949 Revolution, was the culmination of Chinese Communist Party’s drive to power since its founding in 1921 and the second part of the Chinese Civil War.
Long March
The Long March was when Mao Zedong and his 100,000 followers fled to Guomindang, and they trekked 6,000 miles and faced daily attacks. Out of 100,000 followers, only 20,000 followers survived; yet, the Long March was a symbol of Communist heroism, and the march attracted many more followers to Mao, helping Mao secure his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
Great Leap Forward
A policy enforced in 1958 by China where peasant lands were organized into communes, large agricultural communities where the state held the land, not private owners. Those who protested the policy were sent to “reeducation camps” or killed.
Land Reform Movement
The Land Reform Movement was a mass movement led by the Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, which achieved land redistribution to the peasantry. Landlords had their land confiscated and were subjected to mass killing by the Chinese Communist Party (an estimated 2-3 million were murdered). The land stripped away from landlords was then distributed to peasant communities in China.
Re-education Camps
Re-education Camps were labor-based camps established from 1957 - 2013. These camps were an extreme punishment for Chinese who broke the labor or opposed the communist government. In these camps, people lived in horrendous conditions and often starved to death. Later on, these camps were solely used to punish criminals.
Why was the Great Leap Forward unsuccessful?
- Harvests failed in staggering numbers during this period. But Mao couldn’t let it appear to the world that his policies were failing, so he went ahead; and kept exporting the grain they grew too far off places. Remember that many people moved from the countryside to urban areas, so without all the food, millions of Chinese died.
- People would burn valuable items, such as farming tools, to produce as much steel as possible. However, the attempt was a failure because steel needs a specific formula to be made right. So most of the steel made was useless. But since they were focused too much on producing steel, they left their crops to rot in the fields (which caused a famine).
Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to reassert his authority over the Chinese government. Believing that China’s current communist leaders were leading China in the wrong direction, Mao Zedong called upon the youth to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalists and traditional elements from Chinese society and reviving the revolutionary spirit that had led to victory in the Chinese Civil War.
Red Guards
Red Guards were a group of revolutionary students who seized government officials, teachers, and others and sent them to the countryside for reeducation. Reeducation involved performing hard physical labor and attending group meetings where Red Guards pressured them into admitting that they hadn’t been revolutionary enough.
White Revolution
The White Revolution was a reform program under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (the last Shah of the Imperial State of Iran). Such reforms consisted of recognizing women’s right to vote, creating a social welfare system, and funding literacy programs in villages. And under Pahlavi’s policy, the government forcibly brought land from wealthy landowners and resold it to peasants at a fraction of the price. It helped some peasants, but it didn’t reach most peasants.
Iranian Revolution
In 1979, a revolution toppled the shah. Iranians supported this revolution due to the remembrance of the overthrowing of the Mosaddegh government in 1953. The leaders that emerged from the revolution rejected the shah’s secular world view for the idea that viewed Islam as a key part of the individual-state relationship. The new government became a theocracy.
Land Reform in Vietnam
After World War 2, Vietnam declared its independence from Japan who occupied it during the war and from France who colonized it before the war. Communists came to power in North Vietnam and they went ahead and seized land
Land Reform in India
A key reform was the abolition of the Zamindari system which was a form of feudal tenancy. Other reforms such as laws that regulated rents and ensured that tenants could not be evicted without cause, aimed to provide tenants with security. The promotion of cooperative farming (groups of farmers pooled resources & labor for mutual gain), as well as the distribution of land to the landless were made to ensure that land was equitably distributed.
