April 10—Why do you think
communism was appealing to
the people of China?
Communism in China
IB Objectives
Spread of Cold War outside of Europe
the struggle for power following the
death of Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung),
Hua Guofeng
(Hua Kuo-feng), the re-emergence of
Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-p’ing)
and the defeat of the Gang of Four
IB Objectives
China under Deng Xiaoping:
economic policies and the Four
Modernizations
China under Deng Xiaoping: political
changes, and their limits, culminating
in Tiananmen Square
Key Terms
Sun Yat-sen
General Yuan Shigai
Chiang Kai-shek
Mao Zedong
The Long March
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution
Deng Xiaoping
Lecture Outline
I.
The Communist Victory in China
A. Rise of the Nationalists
B. The Long March
C. The Impact of WWII
D. US intervention
E. China Under Mao
F. China after Mao
Rise of the Nationalists
In 1908, Empress Dowager Ci Xi died and
her son died one day before her. The
throne was left to the infant Henry Pu Yi.
Henry Pu Yi was overthrown by Sun Yatsen, the founder of the Nationalist Party, in
October 1911.
General Yuan Shigai became president of
the Chinese Republic.
Rise of the Nationalists
Yuan ruled in a traditional manner
and even tried to set up a new
imperial dynasty. He used murder
and terror to destroy the new
democratic institutions.
Yuan died in 1916 and was
succeeded by one of his officers.
Rise of the Nationalists
China slipped into civil war and military
warlords seized power in the provinces.
The Chinese Communist Party was
created in 1921 in Shanghai by a group
young radicals from Beijing University.
In 1923, under the leadership of Chiang
Kai-shek (Sun Yat-sen dies in 1925) the
Nationalist Party formed an uneasy alliance
with the Communists, led by Mao Zedong,
in order to crush the warlords and unite the
country.
Rise of the Nationalists
The Nationalists consolidated their
power in 1928, and established the
capital of China at Nanking.
In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek turned on
the Communists.
The Long March
In 1933 the main Communist army
broke out of a Nationalist
encirclement and marched 6,000
miles in 12 months to a remote region
on the northwestern border.
Of the 300,000 people who began the
Long March, less than half reached
the final destination.
The Long March
Once there
Mao built up
his forces and
won the
support of the
local peasants
by
redistributing
farm land.
Communist Victory in China
After 1931 the Nationalist government
completely ignored land reform and
the terrible poverty of the Chinese
peasant.
Chinese peasants paid about ½ of
their crops to their landlords in rent.
50% of the land was owned by only
4% of the families.
.
Communist Victory in China
Eggs and meat accounted for only 2%
of the food peasants consumed.
Japanese aggression in the 1930s
was the most important factor in Mao
Zedong’s rise to power.
Chinese suffered an estimated 11
million civilian and military deaths
from 1931 to 1945 in their war with
Japan.
Impact of WWII
The war enabled the Communists,
aided by their temporary “united front”
alliance against the Japanese with the
Nationalists, to build up their strength
in guerrilla bases in the countryside
behind Japanese lines.
By the end of the war the
Communists controlled large parts of
China.
Impact of WWII
In 1946 the US sent General George
Marshall to China to resolve the
conflict and the 2 parties signed a
truce and reached a general
agreement on the sharing of power.
When the truce expired in July 1946,
the fighting resumed.
US Intervention
During 1945-1948 Chiang received
more than $3 billion in US aid.
US imports were responsible for 51%
of all Chinese imports (as opposed to
22 percent in 1936 and 57 % of all
exports (compared to 19% in 1936).
US Intervention
In September 1947 a US mission to
China reported that the Nationalist’s
“reactionary leadership, repression,
and corruption” had destroyed the
Chinese people’s confidence in
Chiang’s government.
Communist Victory in China
The huge influx of US $ caused
inflation to grip the country and
China’s money became nearly
worthless.
In December 1949 the Communists
defeated the Nationalists.
Chiang and 1 million of his followers
fled to the island of Taiwan under US
protection.
China Under Mao
In 1955 Mao began collectivization and
most industry and commerce was
nationalized.
In 1958 Mao began the Great Leap
Forward.
Bad planning and bad weather drove food
production down. At least 16 million
starved to death, and in 1960 the
government began breaking up the
communes into collectives and some
private plots.
China Under Mao
In 1957 Mao admitted that 800,000
“class enemies” had been executed
between 1949 and 1954.
The Cultural Revolution
In 1966 he launched the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution which
was led by the Red Guards.
Its goal was to eliminate the “4
Olds”—old ideas, old culture, old
customs, and old habits.
The End of Mao
In September 1976, Mao died at the
age of 82.
A group of practical-minded reformers
led by Deng Xiaoping seized power
and ended the Cultural Revolution.
Deng Xiaoping called for the 4
Modernizations—new policies in
industry, agriculture, technology, and
defense.
Deng Xiaoping
His policies allowed peasants to lease
land and sell crops or goods they
made on the private market.
Industrial output skyrocketed.
During the 1980s, per capita income
doubled.
After Deng’s death in 1997, his
successors followed his policies.
Deng Xiaoping
Many felt Deng’s
reforms left out a key
part of
modernization—
democracy.
1980s=rising inflation
and government
corruption
May 1989 student
protesters began to
call for party leaders
to resign.
Tiananmen Square
100,000 students
occupied the square
Deng believed
protesters wanted to
end communism.
June 4, 1989 Deng
ordered troops and
tanks into the
square.
500-2,000 were
killed and many
more injured.