China Under Mao Zedong
Kevin J. Benoy
A New China
• China was completely
transformed since 1945.
• First came the great
changes brought by
Communism.
• Next there was the Cultural
Revolution.
• Finally came the
transformation under Deng
Xiaoping.
• This presentation will deal
entirely with China under
Mao.
Revolutionary Transformation
• Mao and his communists faced a
situation not unlike that of Lenin.
• Utopian promises had been made,
but the country they ruled was in
an appalling mess.
• In the first year, the tasks were to
eliminate the influence of
foreigners and national
reactionaries.
• Aristocrats and landlords were
ruthlessly eliminated as People’s
Courts pronounced sentence on
opponents and potential
opponents of the regime.
• At least 2 million were killed and
many more fled the country.
Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture
• Mao sought to replace
small-scale private farms
with large collective units.
• Though land was initially
parcelled out to individual
farmers, the small holdings
– often less than an acres –
simply were unworkable.
• To modernize and
mechanize, larger farms
were needed.
• By 1954, as many as 200
million people worked on
collectives.
Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture
• By 1954 around 200 million
worked on collectives.
• In 1956 the pace picked up
so that soon 95% of
available land was within
large-scale communes,
numbering 26,000 by 1958.
• Each had as many as 40,000
to 50,000 members.
• Communes were
responsible for all services
in their area – schools, road
construction and factory
management.
Revolutionary Transformation - Industry
• Mao inherited a mainly peasant
society.
• Industrialization was still a key
aim of the Communists.
• Within 2-3 years of the
revolution, about 85% of heavy
industry and 50% of light
industry was under state
ownership.
• The first 5 year plan was
announced in 1951 and began in
1953.
• Emphasis was on heavy industry,
as it had been in the USSR.
• Some small business were
allowed to remain in private
hands.
Revolutionary Transformation - Society
• A key goal was the social
transformation of China.
• Here, more than anywhere
else, change was dramatic.
• The position of women in
China had not improved
greatly since feudal times.
• Though the KMT passed
laws, they had little effect.
• In 1950 the communist
marriage law finally
abolished child marriage
and infanticide.
Revolutionary Transformation - Society
• Public health was greatly
improved – though it
remained rudimentary.
• Medical services were
extended and public
hygiene improved.
• Paramedics were sent
into the countryside to
deliver health care to
even the most remote
areas.
Social Transformation - Society
• Population was a pressing issue.
• In 1950 China numbered 450
million. In the 1960s it was
increasing by at least 20 million
per year – 50,000 a day.
• Though Mao seemed to be of the
opinion that China could support
even greater numbers, others
argued something needed to be
done.
• In the 1970s Chinese leaders
began population control
schemes, culminating in the one
child policy, whereby penalties
were applied to larger families
and encouragement was given to
family planning.
The Hundred Flowers Campaign
• In 1957 the pace of
change produced political
strains in China.
• Mao offered to lift
restrictions to prevent an
opposition forming.
• Criticism of officials was
allowed and intellectuals
were encouraged to
speak their minds.
• However, the campaign
did not last and soon
those who spoke out
were silenced.
The Great Leap Forward
• In 1958 Mao launched
an ambitious plan to
achieve “the work of
twenty years in a single
day.”
• Small scale industries
were promoted in the
countryside, including
600,000 backyard
furnaces to produce
iron and steel.
The Great Leap Forward
• Peasants were given
rudimentary training by
specialists to produce metals,
machine tools, farm
machinery and other tools –
so there would be less
dependence on centralized
factories.
• Vast public works schemes
were also undertaken – dams,
bridges, irrigation canals and
the like.
• The result was increased
industrial production at the
cost of agriculture.
The Great Leap Forward
• Food rationing was required
from 1959-1961.
• Even so, starvation was
widespread and the death
rate rose enormously.
• Local industrial goods were
often shoddy and almost
useless.
• Major construction projects
were often ill-conceived,
poorly engineered, and
sometimes even abandoned
before completion.
The Great Leap Forward
• Opposition to Mao’s policies
grew as failures mounted.
• Mao’s criticism of the Soviet
leadership further
complicated matters as the
Soviets withdrew their help.
• Mao was outflanked. Though
he kept the post of Chairman
of the Communist Party, he
was forced to resign as
Chairman of the People’s
Congress.
• In the background the Soviets
seemed to be helping
engineer his complete
removal.
The Cultural Revolution
• The growing strength of
the right wing of the Party
alarmed Mao – who
feared bureaucratisation
of China.
• In 1966, while Liu Shaoqi
appealed for support
within the Communist
Party of China, Mao went
to the Chinese public with
his call for support.
The Cultural Revolution
• Young Maoists, calling
themselves Red Guards,
toured the countryside
whipping up public
support.
• Purges were organized,
resulting in the closing
down of schools and
factories as meetings
took precedence over
productive work.
The Cultural Revolution
• Managers were fired.
• Teachers were lynched.
• A wave of Maoist hysteria
swept the country,
destroying the opposition
who were killed or “sent
down.”
• Hundreds of thousands,
perhaps millions, were
forced out of their jobs and
into the countryside to
learn the value of peasant
labour.
The Cultural Revolution
• Mao sought to destroy
all privilege and remove
elitism in society.
• Everyone wore the
ubiquitous plain “Mao
suits” and waived
copies of Mao’s little
red book.
The Cultural Revolution
• For more than 2 years
the upheaval continued.
• Ultimately, in 1968, the
Cultural Revolution ran
its course.
• The army stood aside in
the earlier phases, but
came into conflict with
the Red Guards and
ended their activities.
The Cultural Revolution
• Zhou Enlai and others
convinced Mao that the
chaos must end.
• Though peace was restored,
the right/left struggle
continued behind the scenes.
• In 1971 Lin Biao, an important
party leader, died under
mysterious circumstances.
Lin may have been plotting
against Mao.
• The public struggle did not
return.
Sino-American Normalization
• The early 1970s saw an opening
up of relations with the USA.
• Mao understood that the SinoSoviet split was extremely
dangerous.
• War looked very likely and it is
known that the Soviets went so
far as to enquire as to American
intentions if the Soviets went so
far as to launch a pre-emptive
nuclear strike.
• Mao determined that China could
not afford continued American
hostility.
Sino-American Normalization
• Ping-pong Diplomacy –
sporting competition as a
front for secret negotiations –
bore fruit in 1971.
• American President Nixon
visited Mao in China and
normal relations began
between the two countries.
• China wanted an end to US
hostility at a time of great
tension with the USSR.
• America wanted to play the
Chinese off against the
Soviets.
Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership
• In January 1976 Zhou Enlai
died.
• In September Mao died as
well.
• Hua Guofeng, who had
replaced Zhou as Premier
now became chairman of
the Party.
• He brought back Deng
Xiaoping as his premier – a
man who only recently had
been forced out of
leadership by leftists.
Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership
• The Right/Left struggle was now
fought in earnest.
• The so-called Gang of Four –
including Madame Mao, Jiang
Qing, were arrested and vilified in
a well-publicized show trial. It was
this group who had arranged
Deng’s purge in 1976.
• Unbroken and unrepentant, Jiang
Qing swore at her accusers and
argued her case.
• All were found guilty. Two were
sentenced to death, later
commuted to life sentences. Two
others received life sentences.
Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership
• The struggle for primacy
continued between Hua and
Deng, with Deng emerging the
clear victor.
• Hua was conservative and
resistant to change. Deng was
prepared to make dramatic
changes at least insofar as the
economy was concerned.
• Freeing parts of the economy,
while maintaining strict political
orthodoxy was Deng’s
objective.
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