China/Japan

Japanese Modernization success due to:

• Homogenous (uniform) society

• Economic growth

• Copying western strengths

• Military growth

  • Sino-Japanese war

  • Russo-Japanese war

  • Took over Korea in 1910

  • Eyed other colonies

How did Japan’s economy improve with the occupation? Why?

• Economic reforms in Japan

• Land-reform program

• US helped defend Japan

  • Japan could focus more on the economy/rebuilding instead of recovering from WWII.

Describe the trade disputes that arose between Japan and the United States

• Trade deficit

• Americans insisted that Japan had unfair trade barriers

• Japan started companies in the US to make and sell product to avoid import taxed

The Opium war (1839-1842)

China vs. Britain over opium trade. Opium from India to China for tea to England.

Treat of Nanjing (1842)

Britain won, got indemnity and extraterritoriality, led to opening of China.

Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)

peasant/religious revolt seeking land reform, community ownership of property, equality of women, temporarily successful

Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901)

uprising of martial artists against foreigners, crushed by Europeans and Japanese, led to increased support for westernization.

Sun Yixian

Revolutionary who wanted to reform Chinese government

• “Three Principles of the People” - nationalism, democracy, livelihood

• Named president in 1911

Who was the Chinese Civil War between?

Mao Zedong (communists) vs. Jiang Jieshi (Nationalists)

Who won the Chinese Civil War?

Ended with communist victory, Mao declared People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

Reasons for Communist victory in Chinese Civil War:

• Peasant support of Communists

• Women -“women hold up half the sky”

• Better military leadership

• Corruption of Nationalist government

• Foreign domination

The Great Leap Forward

Economic plan instituted by Mao

• Goals to speed up economic development and develop a full socialist society.

  • Establish collective communities - people’s communes - mixing agriculture with small scale industry

  • Military-like lifestyle

  • Long hours under strict supervision

  • Equal pay regardless of production

• Abandoned due to poor planning, food shortages, workers’ complaints, led to tens of millions of deaths.

The Cultural Revolution

Mao’s plan for social change – The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

• Rid China of “four olds” – customs, thoughts, habits, culture - replace with socialist ideas

• Young students called Red Guard at the forefront of this revolution

  • Rampaged through China vandalizing buildings, art, books, humiliating, imprisoning, attacking, murdering people who did not comply with Mao’s teachings

• Production dropped dramatically, when called off, Red Guard dispersed by army, many sent to “reeducation” camps

China, USSR, and Richard Nixon

• Early 1950’s USSR and PRC were allies united by ideology, eventually parted ways due to philosophic and economic differences

• USSR says, “Achieve world communism through scientific and economic success, peaceful coexistence with the West. Communist countries should join together economically, with each producing what they were best at, directed by the most prominent communist nation.”

• China says (said), “Cannot coexist with capitalism, each Communist Bloc country should develop its own economy, no one country dominating the others.”

• The 1960's border clashes between two were common, led to the USSR being seen as the most imminent threat to the PRC, China became more receptive to the West, especially USA.

• Pres. Nixon visited in 1972

Deng Xiaoping

• Four Modernizations – improve agriculture, industry, science, & defense

• Introduced economic reforms

  • private ownership of property

  • allowed selling of surplus goods

  • private businesses

  • foreign investment/foreign owned companies

• Improved standard of living for many Chinese

China’s Current challenges

• Communist government vs. capitalist economy

• Economic growth, can it be sustained?

• China A and China B/mass migration

• Human rights

• Corruption

  • Influence business leaders have in government

• Population

• Territorial disputes - South China Sea

• “Trade War” with USA

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