China, 1921-Present
World History
Libertyville High School
Foundation of Party
• Formed in 1921 with
help from Soviet Union
• Part of Soviet effort to
make communist
revolution international
• Eventually, Soviets and
Chinese communists
split in their beliefs,
ideologies
Chinese Civil War, 1927-49
• Chinese Nationalists
(KMT), under Chiang
Kai-Shek vs. Chinese
Communists, under
Mao Tse-Tung
• KMT supported by
West, Communists by
Soviets
• KMT winning in 1920s,
1930s
Chinese Civil War
• “The Long March”
(1934-35)
– Series of Communist
retreats covering 8000
miles in 370 days
– During March, Mao
reorganized Party,
setting self as leader
– Reached safety in
mountains near Soviet
border
Japanese Invasion, 1937-45
• Civil war interrupted by
Japanese invasion, in
1937
– United both sides against
Japanese
• KMT retreated to
mountains
– Saved strength, but morale
and prestige hurt
• Communists fought as
guerillas vs. Japanese
– Won over peasants
End of Civil War
• Civil war resumed after
Japanese defeated
• Communists have smaller
army, BUT…
– Better soldiers
– Peasants on their side
• KMT demoralized, lost war
– Retreated to Taiwan, an
offshore island
• Even today, Communist
China claims Taiwan as
breakaway province
“The Great Leap Forward” (1958-61)
• Forced collectivization of
agricultural sector (1949-58)
– Peasants forced into communes
– Private ownership of land
eliminated
– Done prior to industrialization,
so peasants not mechanized
• Industrialization at local level
(1958-61)
– “Backyard” furnaces for steel
production (melt down old
products to make steel impossible)
– Quietly abandoned in 1960s
“The Great Leap Forward” (1958-61)
• Social Changes, 1949-61
– Religious worship and opium
made illegal
– Religion replaced by political
meetings and propaganda
– Coercion, violence common
• Results
– 20-43 million dead (mainly
starvation)
– Steel production FELL
– Mao discredited for 5-6 years
“The Cultural Revolution” (1966-76)
• Official goal was to enforce
socialism by eliminating
capitalist, traditional and cultural
elements from society
– Struggle for power between Mao,
other communist leaders
– Became an anti-intellectual purge
of Chinese society
• “Red Guards”
– Mao’s followers, mainly students
– Mao ordered them to overthrow
the party establishment and
replace them with Revolutionary
Committees
– Much violence ensued in power
struggle
“The Cultural Revolution”
• Social changes: “Abolishing
the Four Olds”
– Old Customs, Old Culture, Old
Habits, Old Ideas
– Red Guards destroyed old
buildings, religious shrines,
temples, mosques
– Education stopped b/c
teachers were sent to labor
camps
– Anyone with skills above a
peasant was considered in
need of “revolutionary reeducation”
“The Cultural Revolution”
• Consequences
– Generation of illiteracy
– Establishment of “Cult of
Personality” of Mao
– 36 million Chinese
persecuted, “re-educated”
– 500,000 killed
– Ended with death of Mao in
1976
– Today, regarded as a
negative event in Chinese
history
Western Economic Ideas, 1982-Present
• With death of Mao in 1976,
succession struggle ensued
– Deng Xiaoping won
• Created “Special Economic
Zones”
– Few state regulations in areas,
to encourage foreign
investment
– Essentially allowed capitalism
in these zones
– Experimented with limited
political freedoms as well
Western Economic Ideas, 1982-Present
• Results
– GDP has grown 1000%
since 1978
– China’s GDP is 2nd largest in
world, after USA (as of
2011)
– World’s #1 exporter
– BUT GDP per capita of
$8400 is below
international avg.
– About 51% Chinese live in
cities, in 2011
• SEE CIA World Factbook
for more info about China
Tiananmen Square (4/89 to 6/4/89)
• Hundreds of thousands
of college students &
democratic reformers
gathered in Beijing
• Protests centered on…
– Human rights violations
– Lack of freedom in China
– Demands for political
liberalization
Tiananmen Square
• Government’s response
– Attempted to rally support
of people to its side (failed)
– Next came threats against
protesters
– Purge within ruling
committee
• Leaders sympathetic to
protesters ousted
– Troops sent in to crush
protests
• Nationwide crackdown on
liberalization followed
Challenges Facing China
• Demographics
– From 1964-1982, population
increased from 694 to 1,008
million
• “One Child Policy”
implemented in 1979
– About 36% of pop. subject
to strict 1 child policy
(urban)
– About 53% allowed 2nd child
if 1st is a girl
– About 10% allowed 2 kids
– Tibetans, Hong Kong have
no limits
Challenges - Demographics
• Consequences
– From 1979 to 2011, about
400 million births prevented
– “Prevention” includes use of
contraceptives, enforced
abortion, female infanticide,
offering girls for adoption
– Too many Chinese males
(117:100 in 2000)
– Too few young Chinese to
support aging population