Tensions between the CCP and Mao Zedong Lecture Notes

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the economic and political shifts in China post-Great Leap Forward, key CCP leaders, and the origins of the Cultural Revolution and Sino-Soviet split.

Great Leap Forward (GLF)

A 1958-1962 economic and social plan led by Mao Zedong to rapidly transform China from an agrarian society into a modern industrial state through collectivisation and mass mobilisation.

Liu Shaoqi

The official who replaced Mao Zedong as President of the PRC in April 1959 and later criticized the Great Leap Forward as a "man-made" disaster.

Deng Xiaoping

The CCP leader put in charge of the economy post-GLF who advocated for moderate economic strategies and later became China's Paramount Leader from 1978 to 1997.

Four Modernisations

A policy focus called for by Premier Zhou Enlai targeting modern agriculture, industry, national defence, and science and technology.

Hukou system

A household registration system reinforced in the early 1960s to return millions of people from urban centers to their original rural areas.

Lushan Conference

A July/August 1959 gathering where Defence Minister Peng Dehuai openly challenged the success of the Great Leap Forward.

Peng Dehuai

The Defence Minister who accused human error of being responsible for $70\%$ of the GLF disaster, leading to his removal from all posts by Mao.

Lin Biao

Mao's ally and successor as Minister of Defence who promoted the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the study of Mao Zedong Thought through the 'Little Red Book'.

Seven Thousand Cadres Conference

A January 1962 conference where Liu Shaoqi led criticism of Mao's policies, marking him as a target for future punishment by Mao.

Socialist Education Campaign

A September 1962 campaign launched by Mao to renew 'class struggle', fight revisionism, and carry out the 'four clean-ups'.

Ten Thousand Li / Long March

A series of marches from 1934 to 1935 constituting the CCP's military retreat north, covering over $9000\,\text{km}$ to escape Guomindang pursuit.

Three-anti Campaign

A 1951 urban operation targeting three evils: corruption, waste, and the culture of bureaucracy.

Five-anti Campaign

A January 1952 campaign targeting bribery, tax evasion, fraud, the theft of government property, and the leaking of state secrets.

One Hundred Flowers movement

A 1956-1957 period where Mao encouraged intellectuals to voice criticisms of the CCP using the slogan 'Let 100 flowers bloom, and let 100 schools of thought contend'.

Little Red Book

A simplified version of Mao's writings titled 'The Quotations of Mao Zedong', with five million copies distributed by 1965 to promote Mao's ideology.

Permanent Revolution

Mao's belief that the goals of communism are only reached by maintaining constant revolutionary momentum in economic, cultural, and social areas.

Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance Treaty

A 1950 formal alliance between China and the Soviet Union in which the USSR offered a $US\$300\text{ million}$ loan at $1\%$ interest.

De-Stalinisation

A policy initiated by Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 speech attacking the 'cult of personality' of Joseph Stalin, which offended Mao and contributed to the Sino-Soviet split.

Ussuri River dispute

A serious 1969 border battle between Chinese and Soviet troops over disputed islands, most notably Zhenbao Island.

Gang of Four

A core political group including Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen that led the Cultural Revolution Group.

Ping-pong diplomacy

The relaxation of US-China relations initiated in 1971 when an American table tennis team was invited to visit China.

Revisionism

A term used by Mao to describe communist leaders or policies that he believed were moving toward capitalism and betraying revolutionary principles.