Communist China

Warm up

• How did the Han unify their empire? (3 ways)• Who founded the Han dynasty?• Draw the dynastic cycle.

Communists vs. Nationalists

• Communists vs. Nationalists • Communist Leader: Mao Zedong • Communists had a stronghold in northwestern

China. • They won the loyalty of the peasants by

promoting literacy and improving food production.

• Nationalist Leader: Jiang Jieshi • Dominated southwestern China. • Supported by the United States

• The Communists and Nationalists joined forces to fight the Japanese during WWII, but they started fighting again after the war. • Civil War lasted from 1946-1949. • Nationalists outnumbered the Communists 3 to

1 and the US continued to support the nationalists. • The Nationalists did little to win support of the

people.• Many nationalist soldiers deserted to the

communists.

• In 1949, China’s major cities fell to the Communists. • Mao Zedong gained control of the country and

proclaimed it the People’s Republic of China.• The Nationalist leaders fled to Taiwan.

• The Communist victory fueled anti-Communist feelings in the US.• Communist China becomes friends with Soviet

Russia.

• The Superpowers React • After the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, the

US helped them set up a new government. • The Soviets gave financial, military, and

technical aid to Communist China. • The Chinese and Soviets pledged to come to

each other’s aid if one was attacked.

• China expands under the Communists• Chinese troops expanded into Tibet,

India, and southern Mongolia. • The Chinese took control of Tibet in 1951

but said they would leave the Dalai Lama in control.• Dalai Lama flees to India. • Resentment between India and China grows

because India gave aid to Tibetans.

Communists Transform China

• Communists Claim a New “Mandate of Heaven”• The Communist party made up 1% of the

population.• Disciplined.

• Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism• Mao was determined to reshape China’s

economy based on Marxist socialism. • 80% of people lived in rural areas but owned no

land. • 10% of the population owned 70% of the land.

• Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 – Mao seized the holdings of the landlords and divided the land among the peasants. • The government forced peasants to join collective

farms of 200 to 300 households. • Over a million landlords were killed because they

resisted. • Private companies were nationalized. (brought

under government control). • Increased China’s productivity.

The Great Leap Forward

• Larger collective farms – communes. • The average commune supported over

25,000 people. • Strictly controlled life• Ate in communal dining rooms, slept in

communal dormitories, raised children in communal nurseries.• Owned nothing. • Peasants had no incentive to work hard.

• “The Great Leap Forward” was a giant step backward.• Poor planning • Program ended after a famine killed 20

million people.

• New Policies and Mao’s Response • Territorial disputes with Soviet Russia. • Mao urged students for another revolution after

several leaders moved away from Communism.

• Red Guards – students who left their classrooms and formed militia units.

The Red Guards

• The Cultural Revolution. • The Red Guards led a major uprising known as the

Cultural Revolution. • Goal: establish a society of peasants and workers in which all

were equal. • The new hero was the peasant who worked with his hands. • Intellectual activity was considered dangerous. • Shut down colleges and schools. • Intellectuals had to “purify themselves” in work camps.

• Chaos ensued and Mao admitted the Cultural Revolution had to stop. • The army put it down.

• Mao began to restore order.

• Students demand democracy • In 1989, students sparked a popular uprising

that stunned China’s leaders. • More than 10,000 students occupied

Tiananmen Square and mounted a protest for democracy. • The student protest won widespread support.

• Thousands of students began to hunger strike• People poured into Tiananmen Square to support

them.

• China declared martial law. • 10,000 troops were ordered to surround

Beijing.• 5,000 students chose to stay and keep up the

protest. • Erected a 33-foot statue “Goddess of Democracy”.

• On June 4th, 1989, the standoff came to an end.• Thousands of heavily armed soldiers stormed

Tiananmen Square.• Tanks smash through barricades and crushed the

Goddess of Democracy.• Soldiers sprayed gunfire into crowds of frightened

students• Killed hundreds and wounded thousands.

Media and information

• Government used the media to announce that reports of a massacre were untrue. • Officials claimed that a small group of criminals had

plotted against the government. • It was too late, TV had already broadcast the

truth around the world.

Letter

• Imagine that you are living in China on a communal farm or during the Tiananmen Square protests. Write a letter home to your family describing your life. • Communal farm: What are your living arrangements like?

What kind of work do you do? Do you get any reward?• Tiananmen Square: Why are you protesting? What are

some people saying about the government? What were the events like during the army’s intervention?