Year 6 Topic: Swinging Sixties

China in the 1960s

Hang on a minute!

What do we know about Chinese history?

How far can it be traced back?

Who ruled China before the 20th Century?

Home to the Emperors from 1420.Cosy?

The Forbidden City is a city within a city.

It was massive and the Emperors were all-powerful.

What is the best way to get rich?

How could people get rich in Imperial China?

So life for the poor and uneducated was….辛苦

What happened after the Qing dynasty fell in 1911?

• A bit of a mess!• After a rebellion by the people against the Imperial

Dynasty, Sun Yat Sen became President of the new Republic of China.

• It didn’t last.• Civil war broke out and foreign countries interfered.

•Who triumphed in the mess?• a) the foreign countries• b) the Nationalists (ie the successors

of Sun Yat Sen) who did not offer equality to the Chinese people.• c) the Communists who promised to

give power and land to the poor peasants.• Answer: The Communists

Mao ZedongCommunists won the civil war in 1949.Their leader, Mao declared the People’s Republic of China.

Mao declared

Power to the People?

• Under Mao, China became a socialist state.• What is socialism?• Where else was socialism the flavour of the

day?

Making a fairer society.

• Who do you think Mao needed to get rid of to make a fairer society?

So what do you think was happening in China by the 1960s?

• A)There have been a few general elections since then and Mao is no longer in power. The socialist period in China is over.

• B) Mao is still in power and socialism is working. The landlords are gone, the peasants are getting richer and everyone in society is equal because they all own the land together.

• C) Mao is still in power and having a few problems as his plans are not going well. Natural disasters and bad farming methods have lead to widespread starvation. He needs a new plan.

Britain China

Democratic governement (everyone over 21 voted in general elections).

People who had had landlords in their families were criticised for exploiting the poor.

Explosion in the fashion industry.

Everyone had a copy of something called The Little Red Book.

Flourishing of pop music.

People despised anything ‘old’. Campaign to ‘Smash the four olds.’

Schools were closed and then the curriculum was rewritten before they reopened.

General election held in 1964, leading to a change in government.

People who wore fancy clothes were punished.

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Britain China

Democratic governement (everyone over 21 voted in general elections).

Flourishing of pop music.

General election held in 1964, leading to a change in government.

Explosion in the fashion industry.

People who had had landlords in their families were criticised for exploiting the poor.

People despised anything ‘old’. Campaign to ‘Smash the four olds.’

Schools were closed and then the curriculum was rewritten before they reopened.

People who wore fancy clothes were punished.

Everyone had a copy of something called The Little Red Book.