Revolution in China
Problems With the Manchu Dynasty
• The emperors were not strong leaders, which
trickled down to other government officials, who
were incompetent
• Heavy taxes were put on the people
• Large disparity between the rich and poor
• Widespread poverty
• Gov’t officials accepted money and gifts for political
appointments
• Foreign countries had spheres of influence where
they dominated
Fall of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty
• Empress Dowager Cixi (18351908)
– De facto Chinese monarch (18611908)
– “Make me unhappy for a day and I
will make you unhappy for a
lifetime.”
– Conservative and anti-foreign
– Blamed by many Chinese for foreign
imperialist power in China
Opium Wars
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20428167
• The Chinese banned opium several times, citing concern
for public morals
• Private British traders continued to smuggle opium into
China from India
• It was a way of balancing a trade deficit brought about by
Britain's own addiction - to Indian tea
• China's Drugs Czar Lin Tse-Hsu confiscated opium from
the British traders and destroyed it
• The British military response was severe, leading to the
Nanking Treaty
Fall of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty
• Emperor Puyi – the “Last Emperor”
– Lived 1906-1967
– Ruled China 1908-1912, and as a
puppet for 12 days in 1917
– Puppet emperor of Manchukuo
(Japanese-ruled Manchuria), 19321945
– Spent ten years in a Soviet prison
after WWII
– Lived a quiet life as a regular citizen
in communist China
– Died of disease during the Cultural
Revolution (1967)
Republican Revolution (1912)
• Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian)
– Founded Kuomintang
(KMT) – Nationalist party
• Overthrew Manchu (Qing)
dynasty
• Established a republic
• President of Chinese
Republic who succeeded him
– Yuan Shih-k’ai
Kuomintang symbol
Republic of China: Weaknesses
• Disunity
– Local warlords fought Kuomintang for control
– Wars raged between 1912 and 1928
• Foreign imperialists
– Americans, Europeans, and Japanese
• Poor transportation
– 1914 – only 6,000 miles of railroad track
• 225,000 miles in the smaller United States
– Few decent roads
Foreign Imperialists
• Twenty-One Demands (1915)
– Japan attempted to make China a Japanese
protectorate
– Action condemned and stopped by other leading
world powers
• World War I and the Treaty of Versailles
– China attempted to abolish concessions and
extraterritoriality
• Attempt failed
– China did not sign the Treaty of Versailles
– Japan gained mandate over most of Germany’s
Asian possessions and rights
Three Principles of the People
• Book published by Sun Yat-sen before his
death in 1925
1. Principle of Mínquán
•
Democracy – the people are sovereign
2. Principle of Mínzú
•
Nationalism – an end to foreign imperialism
3. Principle of Mínshēng
•
Livelihood – economic development,
industrialization, land reform, and social welfare –
elements of progressivism and socialism
Growth of Communism
• Sun Yat-sen appealed for Russian (Soviet)
aid following the Versailles Conference
– 1921-1925 – China received advisors, arms,
communist propaganda, and loans
– Russia revoked its imperialist rights in China
Chinese flag, 1912-1928
The Kuomintang (KMT) is Split
• Right wing
– Business people
– Politicians
• Left wing
– Communists
– Intellectuals
– Radicals
– Students
Nationalist Revolution
• Sun Yat-sen succeeded by Chiang Kaishek
• Communists expelled by Kuomintang
• 1926-1928 – war to control the warlords
• Capital moved from Peiping (a.k.a. Peking,
today’s Beijing) to Nanking (Nanjing)
Presidential Palace under Kuomintang Government in Nanjing
Civil War in China
• 1927-1932 and 1933-1937 – war between
Communists and Nationalists
• Communists – Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong)
• Nationalists – Chiang Kai-shek
• War halted 1932-1933 and 1937-1945 to fight
Japanese aggression
• Communists were victorious in 1949
• Nationalists retreated to Formosa (Taiwan)
• End of imperialism in China
– Hong Kong returned to China in 1997
Japanese Aggression
• Japan was a threat to China – 1894-1941
• 1937 – Japanese invasion
– Japanese took control of north and areas
along the coast
– Rape of Nanking
– Chinese Communists and Nationalists
• Intermittently were at peace as they united to fight
against the Japanese
• Guerrilla and scorched earth tactics
• Received American aid against the Japanese
World War II
• U.S. interest in China increased after
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941
• Cairo Conference (1943)
– Chiang Kai-shek met with Allied leaders
– Discussed war in eastern Asia
• Westerners gave up imperialist rights in
China
• U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 repealed
in 1943
Communists in Control – 1949
• Communists and Nationalists resumed civil
war following World War II
• Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government
wasted foreign economic aid
• Many Kuomintang deserted to Communists
• Manchuria – taken over by Communists in
1948
• December, 1949 -- Communists in control
• Chiang Kai-shek and Nationalists retreated to
Formosa (Taiwan)
Geographical Changes
• Communist
China gained
control over:
– Chinese
– Turkestan
(Xinjiang)
– Inner
Mongolia
– Manchuria
– Tibet
PRC = People’s Republic of China (Communists) / ROC = Republic of China (Nationalists)
• Referred to as Chairman Mao
– Chinese communist revolutionary
– guerrilla warfare strategist
– author
– political theorist
– and leader of the Chinese Revolution.
– He was the architect of the People's Republic of China
(PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held
authoritarian control over the nation until his death in
1976.
– His theoretical contribution to Marxism-Leninism,
along with his military strategies and brand of political
policies, are now collectively known as Maoism.
• Moved to Peking in 1918 and worked for a Marxist
thinker
• Quickly became a strong believer in Communism and
edited radical magazines, organized trade unions, and
started schools of his own.
• Became one of the 50 founding members of the Chinese
Communist Party
• Failed in his early attempts to be a leader in the Party
and his role in Party activities was decreased
dramatically
• Mao went back to his hometown and
had very little communication with the
Party
• He studied the peasants and learned
about their financial situation and the
ways they were being abused by the
landowning class
• His new knowledge of the peasants
allowed him to rise again as a leader
in the Party, where he advocated that
peasants should lead the revolution
The Long March
• Mao Zedong forms
Communist Party and
works with Nationalists
• Sun Yat-Sen dies. New
Nationalist leader
Chaing Kai-Shek
declares war on
Communists
• Mao and followers flee
into mountains: The
Long March
• In mountains Mao
rebuilds Communist
party
C. Mao Zedong- becomes leader of Chinese Communists during the
“Long March”
1. advocated land reform & tax reform = gained peasant support
Result:
- peasants joined Communists
- many join Red Army (Communist Army)
- could resist Nationalists
The Chinese Civil War
• Fought between the Kuomintang (KMT or
Chinese Nationalist Party), the governing
party of the Republic of China and the
Communist Party of China (CPC), for the
control of China
• led to China's division into two Chinas,
Republic of China (now commonly known
as Taiwan) and People's Republic of
China (Mainland China).
• The war began in April 1927, amidst The
Long March and ended in 1949 (other
wars like WWII were fought in between)
Relationship Between Leadership and
the Masses
• Mao developed a program of contact with the masses
that became known as the “mass line”. The process
includes:
– Investigating the conditions of people
– Learning about and participating in their struggles
– Gathering ideas from them
– Creating a plan of action based on these ideas and concerns
• It was a powerful tool of propaganda. By 1945, the
communists had reached 100 million people and the
mass line was carried to the people by 1 million
members
• “[A] great many so-called intellectuals are
actually exceedingly unlearned . . . The
knowledge of workers and peasants is
sometimes greater than theirs.”
• “Books cannot walk, and you can open
and close a book at will; this is the easiest
thing in the world to do, a great deal easier
than it is for the cook to prepare a meal . .
. [or] for him to slaughter a pig.”
• Mao became the chairman of the
Communist Central Committee
• All the leaders in the party praised him and
encouraged people to listen to his wisdom
• In 1943, several leaders in the Party
began to rewrite Chinese Party history so
that Mao would be seen as responsible for
all the advances of the Party
• “The Chinese Communist Party takes Mao
Zedong’s thought – the thought that unites
Marxist-Leninist theory and the practice of
the Chinese revolution – as the guide for
all its work, and opposes all dogmatic or
empiricist deviations.” ~Preamble to the
Constitution of the Communist Party
• The Communists defeated the
Kuomintang and took complete
control of China in 1949
• Mao’s ideas formed the basis for all
Party activities and government
decisions
• They took control of the media and
the education system and began
taking land away from the wealthy
and distributing it among all people
Great Leap Forward
• In January of 1958,
five-year plan
• Planned to develop
agriculture and
industry
• Attempt to modernize China
• People were forced to grow grain and melt
metals down to produce steel
• Led to widespread famine and death
• Damaged Mao’s reputation
Great Leap Backward
• The entire country were forced
to recycle steel, and food
reserves were depleted
• In some regions, after all mice,
insects, and tree bark were
consumed, some resulted to
cannibalism
• About 30 million people died,
mainly due to famine
• Mao needed a comeback
• He organized students and mobilized them throughout
the country to spread his ideas and wipe out anyone who
tried to contradict him
• He created an extremely effective propaganda campaign
that again brought him back to power.
The Cultural Revolution
• 1966-1976
• Mao’s tactic to
secure his power
against reforms
• Red Guards
were formed in
1966
The Cultural Revolution
• the Cultural Revolution Group directed
the Red Guards to attack the 'Four Olds'
of Chinese society (old customs, old
culture, old habits and old ideas).
• Old books and art were destroyed,
museums were ransacked, and streets
were renamed with new revolutionary
names and adorned with pictures and the
sayings of Mao
• Many famous temples, shrines, and other
heritage sites in Beijing were attacked
and, in total, 4,922 out of 6,843 were
destroyed.
Cultural Rev Con’t
• Forced bureaucrats,
professors, technicians,
intellectuals, and other nonpeasants into rural work
• It is estimated that seven
million were killed during the
decade
• China’s economy suffered
Mao’s End
• At the age of 82, Mao died
September 9, 1976
• He died of Lou Gehrig’s
disease
• After his death there was a
power struggle in China, but
eventually moderates came to
power and Mao’s regime came
to an end
Mao’s Legacy
• Has produced great
controversy
• Some see him as a great
revolutionary leader who made
some big mistakes later in his
life
• Mao’s made huge mistakes
such as the Great Leap
Legacy Con’t
• Some statistics say that the
illiteracy rate and life
expectancy was greatly
improved while Mao was in
power
• It is argued that he developed
them into a major world power
• By abolishing prostitution,
some think he improved
Mao vs. Other Genocides
• Murdered more
people than
Hitler, estimated
40 million or
more
Mao vs. Other Genocides
• Tyrannized the world's most populous
nation for more than a quarter century
• Mao never really succeeded in destroying
entire opposition
• Mao set up a Chinese Gulag - an empire
of slave labor camps filled with poorly fed
"counter-revolutionaries."
Mao Destruction Con’t
• The majority of Mao’s killings
were because of man-made
famine
• Mao executed nearly 10 million
educated professionals, and
others
Political Changes under Mao
• Communist government
on mainland China
• Mao Tse-tung (Mao
Zedong)
– Chairman Mao –
chairman of the
Communist party and
leader of China – 19431976
Mao Zedong
毛泽东
Economic Changes under Mao
• First Five-Year Plan (1953-1957)
– Advances in agriculture and coal, electricity, iron,
and steel production
• Second Five-Year Plan (1958-1962)
–
–
–
–
“Great Leap Forward”
China became a leading industrial country
Peasants organized into communes
Widespread catastrophe – famine – at least
14,000,000 deaths
Propaganda Poster for the Great Leap Forward
Foreign Relations
• Russia (Soviet Union)
– Growing split between USSR and China
• “Peaceful coexistence” policy of USSR viewed as surrender
– 1960 – end of Soviet economic aid
• Tibet
– Seized in 1962
• Korea
– Aided North Korea in the Korean War (1950-1953)
• Vietnam
– Supported North Vietnam and aided Viet Cong during
Vietnam War (1959-1975)
Foreign Relations
• Cold War
– Economic aid to Africa, Asia, and Latin America
• “Atomic Club” (1964)
– Fifth overall, and first non-white, country to
develop nuclear weapons
• United Nations
– One of five permanent members of U.N. Security
Council (1971, replacing Taiwan)
• Relations with United States
– 1972 – U.S. President Richard Nixon opened
diplomatic relations with China
Mao’s Little Red Book
• The Chinese Communist Party is the core
of the Chinese revolution, and its principles
are based on Marxism-Leninism. Party
criticism should be carried out within the
Party.
• The revolution, and the recognition of class
and class struggle, are necessary for
peasants and the Chinese people to
overcome both domestic and foreign
enemy elements. This is not a simple,
clean, or quick struggle.
• War is a continuation of politics, and there
are at least two types: just (progressive)
and unjust wars, which only serve
bourgeois interests. While no one likes war,
we must remain ready to wage just wars
against imperialist agitations.
Mao’s Little Red Book
• Fighting is unpleasant, and the people of China
would prefer not to do it at all. At the same time,
they stand ready to wage a just struggle of selfpreservation against reactionary elements, both
foreign and domestic.
• China's road to modernization will be built on
the principles of diligence and frugality. Nor will
it be legitimate to relax if, 50 years later,
modernization is realized on a mass scale.
• A communist must be selfless, with the interests
of the masses at heart. He must also possess a
largeness of mind, as well as a practical, farsighted mindset.
• Women represent a great productive force in
China, and equality among the sexes is one of
the goals of communism. The multiple burdens
which women must shoulder are to be eased.
Cultural Revolution (1966-1969)
• “Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution”
– Effort to revive interest in Mao’s
ideas (and for Mao to regain
power) after the failed Great
Leap Forward
– Mao claimed that reactionary
bourgeoisie elements were
taking over the party
– Call for youths to engage in
post-revolutionary class warfare
– Red Guards (consisting of
young people) marched
throughout China
– Older alleged reactionaries
removed from positions of
power
China after Chairman Mao
• Mao died in September, 1976
• “Gang of Four”
– Failed at a coup d’état in
October, 1976
• China continued to industrialize
• One-Child Policy adopted –
1979
• Tiananmen Square Massacre –
1989
• Today – issues include:
– Balancing limited capitalism with
communist ideals
– Environmental pollution
– Unequal male-to-female ratios
resulting from One-Child Policy
– Control of Tibet
Review Questions
1. Which group led the Republican
Revolution of 1912?
2. What common enemy united the
Nationalists and Communists?
3. Who led the Communist Revolution?
4. Describe the Great Leap Forward.
5. Describe the Cultural Revolution.
6. What issues face China today?