Modern World History II - China & Cold War Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key political parties, leaders, and major events in modern Chinese history, specifically focusing on the shift from the Civil War to the post-Mao era.

Nationalist Party

A group that wanted a unified, capitalist China; they ruled as a strict military dictatorship that favored the rich and was supported by wealthy landowners and the U.S.

Communist Party

A group that wanted a classless society where the government controls all property; they ruled through total state control and were supported by poor rural peasants and the Soviet.

Chiang Kai-Shek / Jiang Jieshi

The leader of the Nationalists who ruled using harsh military force while dealing with major corruption in his government.

Mao Zedong

The leader of the communists who gained control through peasant support and ruled as a dictator.

World War II impact on China

The war ruined China's economy, but it weakened the Nationalists and allowed the Communist military to grow stronger.

Great Leap Forward

Mao's plan to quickly modernize China's industry and farming; it failed completely, causing economic collapse and a massive famine.

Cultural Revolution

A violent movement started by Mao to destroy rivals, which involved shutting down schools and ruining the economy.

Red Guards

Radical student groups who attacked anyone accused of being disloyal to communism during the Cultural Revolution.

Deng Xiaoping

The leader of China after Mao who modernized the nation by bringing in capitalist business reforms and opening trade with other countries.

Tiananmen Square

The site of a massive student protest for freedom and democracy in 1989, where the government sent tanks and soldiers to crush the protests, killing thousands.

Taiwan

The location where the Nationalists were forced to flee after the communists won the civil war and took the mainland.

Cold War influence on the China split

The Cold War kept the two Chinas apart because the U.S. protected Taiwan and the USSR backed the mainland.