th
20
Century China
Unit 6
Ms. Hunt
RMS IB 2014-2015
Before the World Wars
• Opium Wars = Great
Britain vs. China
• Why? China did not want
to trade with Great Britain
• Treaty of Nanking, 1842,
ends Opium Wars
– Great Britain gains trade
with China and Hong Kong
• Taiping RebellionChinese peasants angry
about treaty
– 14 years long
– 20 million people died
Boxer Rebellion
• Boxer Rebellion, 1900
– Goal- remove all
foreigners from China
and end the Qing
Dynasty
– Wanted to be isolated“Isolationism”
– European nations and
the US helped the
Chinese government
defeat the Boxers
Poster- Eight Nation Alliance
How does the poster help us to understand the following questions:
• Why do you think China wished to not use isolationism after the
Opium Wars?
• How did other nations feel about their want to join the global
stage?
China’s New Republic
• Sun Yat-sen- founder of
the Chinese Nationalist
Party
– 1911 took control of
China
– Led China through WWI
– Was a member of the
Allied Powers
• During World Wars,
other political groups
began to emerge
Political Parties Divide China
• Following WWI, Chiang
Kai-shek becomes the
new leader of China
• Civil War- 1930
– Chiang (Nationalist)
against the Communist
party
– Chiang was victorious!
• 1934- The Long March
– Communist retreat
– 100,000 people marched
over 6,000 miles
China and WWII
• World War II- China is
invaded by the Japanese
• Chiang needs the help of
the Communist Red Army
– Does not have enough
resources (men,
weapons, support)
• Join together to fight
Japanese during WWII
• After WWII-1945-1949Communist and
Nationalist parties fight
again
Communist China
• 1949- Communists take
control of China and
create the People’s
Republic of China
– Mao Zedong- new ruler
• Communismgovernment holds all of
the power and the
production of the
people
Mao Zedong and Propaganda
First Communist Actions
• All land was divided among the people to work
• Great Leap Forward- plan for economic
development
–
–
–
–
Huge farms created
Over 25,000 people lived and worked farm
Small industry (not creating a lot of goods)
Education and health care provided to farm workers
• Ruined the economy!
– 20 million people starved
– Millions more died from disease
• Goal- remove opposition from the
Communist party
• “Red Guards”- citizens who
worked to find those who spoke
out against the Communist Party
– Anyone who had contact with or
wished for Westernization was
punished
– Erase the Four Olds
– Old Customs
– Old Culture
– Old Ideology
– Old Habits
– Creation of chaos!
• 1979- Mao dies and Cultural
Revolution ends
Cultural
Revolution
“The invincible thoughts of Mao Zedong
illuminates the stages of revolutionary art.”
Post Revolution- Cultural Clashes
• Blend of old and new Chinese
culture
• Deng Xiaoping- leader of China
following Mao’s death
• Made changes = more freedom!
• Allowed for land ownership
• Created political relationships
with other nations (no
isolationism)
• Still controlled basic rights
Think about it!- Why do you
think the magazine asks whether
Deng is a friend or foe?
Civil Unrest
• Communist government still controlled
people’s rights and freedoms
• Chinese people “This is not fair!”
• Tiananmen Square- April 1989, people
demonstrated against Communist government
– Not allowed to practice their freedom of speech
– Brutal attack by the government killed many
demonstrators