Chinese History (1911-1976) Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering Chinese history from the 1911 Revolution, Republic of China, Warlord Period, Civil War, PRC Foundation, Great Leap Forward, to the Cultural Revolution.

What were Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People?

The Three Principles of the People were: 1) Nationalism (China should be ruled by Han Chinese), 2) Democracy (Chinese people should participate in government), and 3) People's Livelihood (Government should improve everyday life, such as by giving 'land to the tillers').

What key revolutionary and political organizations did Dr. Sun Yat-sen found?

Sun Yat-sen founded the Tongmengui (Revolutionary Alliance) in $1905$, the Guomindang (GMD) as a parliamentary party in $1912$, and re-established the GMD as a revolutionary party in $1924$.

How did the 1911 Revolution unfold and when was the Republic of China established?

The $1911$ Revolution began after the Wuhan Uprising of October $1911$ and New Army mutinies across China, leading to the Qing emperor's abdication and the creation of the Republic of China on $1\text{ January }1912$.

Who became President of the Republic of China on 10 March 1912, and how did he undermine democracy?

General Yuan Shikai became President on $10\text{ March }1912$. He banned the GMD in November $1913$, dissolved the National Assembly in February $1914$, declared himself Emperor on $1\text{ January }1916$, and died on $6\text{ June }1916$.

What was the Warlord Decade and what characterized warlord rule?

Triggered by the death of Yuan Shikai in $1916$, the Warlord Decade ($1917\text{--}1927$) was a period when Beiyang Army generals and local warlords used private armies to govern Chinese territories corruptly and self-interestedly.

What was the core focus of the May 4th Protests launched on 4 May 1919?

The May 4th Protests ($4\text{ May }1919$ onwards) were led by Chinese intellectuals criticizing the weakness and failure of the warlord government.

When and where was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) formed?

The CCP was formed on $23\text{ July }1921$ in Shanghai, organized by Comintern agent Maring as an Orthodox Marxist revolutionary party.

What was the goal of the First United Front established in 1924, and why did it collapse?

Established in $1924$ between the GMD and CCP, its goal was to defeat warlords and reunite China. It collapsed on $12\text{ April }1927$ when Chiang Kai-shek turned on the Communists in the Shanghai Massacre.

What was the Northern Expedition and what were its primary outcomes?

A military campaign led by Chiang Kai-shek ($1\text{ July }1926\text{--}\text{July }1928$) that successfully unified China under GMD rule, though it resulted in the GMD recruiting corrupt warlords into its ranks.

What was the Shanghai Massacre of 12 April 1927?

A purge of Communists launched by Chiang Kai-shek in April $1927$, which ended the First United Front, initiated the White Terror, and forced the CCP to become an independent political party operating in the countryside.

What took place during the Retreat to Jinggangshan in February 1928?

In February $1928$, Mao Zedong and Zhu De advocated abandoning cities and retreated to mountainous Jinggangshan, combining their forces to form the Red Army.

What was the Jiangxi Soviet?

A Communist base established by Mao Zedong ($1931\text{--}1934$) that ruled over $30\text{ million}$ people and allowed the CCP to test progressive administrative ideas before collapsing under the Fifth GMD Encirclement Campaign.

What was the Mukden Incident and how did Chiang Kai-shek respond to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria?

In September $1931$, the Japanese Army invaded Manchuria following the Mukden Incident. Preoccupied with fighting the CCP, Chiang Kai-shek signed the Tanggu Truce in $1933$, recognizing Japanese control.

What were the GMD Encirclement Campaigns?

A series of GMD military campaigns ($1931\text{--}1934$) using scorched-earth tactics and rings of concrete blockhouses to encircle and crush Communist bases.

What occurred during the Long March (October 1934 - October 1935)?

A $1\text{-year}$ evacuation by the CCP fleeing GMD encirclement. Only $7,000$ of $85,000$ marchers survived; Mao Zedong assumed leadership at the Zunyi Conference in $1935$ after successfully guiding troops through rough terrain.

What was the Yan'an Soviet and what was the 'Yan'an Way'?

The main CCP base in Shaanxi ($1936\text{--}1947$). The 'Yan'an Way' described an egalitarian, unpretentious spirit of community dedication forged by Long March veterans in extreme poverty.

What are the key elements of Mao Zedong Thought (Maoism)?

Mao's adaptation of Marxism-Leninism, which prioritized peasant revolution over urban workers, emphasized the Mass Line (gathering ideas from the masses), and introduced New Democracy (uniting four revolutionary classes).

What occurred during the Xi'an Incident of December 1936?

GMD General Zhang Xueliang kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek in December $1936$, forcing him to stop attacking the CCP and form an alliance to fight Japanese aggression.

What major developments occurred during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)?

Triggered by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July $1937$, it included the Second United Front (Sept $1937$), the Rape of Nanjing (Dec $1937$, $100,000$ civilians killed), the New Fourth Army Incident (Jan $1941$), and ended with Japan's surrender in August $1945$.

What was the Rectification Campaign (1942-1944)?

A campaign of fear launched by Mao Zedong to re-educate CCP cadres through struggle sessions, self-criticism, and manual labor, effectively eliminating critics and securing total party control.

How did the Chinese Civil War progress between July 1946 and 1949?

Beginning in July $1946$ with a GMD offensive against Yan'an, the CCP built peasant support through the $1947$ Outline Land Law, launched a PLA counter-offensive in Manchuria in $1948$ destroying $1\text{ million}$ GMD soldiers, and won the war in $1949$.

When was the People's Republic of China (PRC) officially established?

The People's Republic of China was officially founded on $1\text{ October }1949$.

What key reforms were introduced by the New Marriage Law of May 1950?

Passed in May $1950$, the law granted women equal rights, introduced no-fault divorce, and banned concubinage, arranged child marriage, and foot-binding.

What was the Agrarian Reform Law (Fanshen Campaign) of June 1950?

Enacted in June $1950$, this campaign ($1950\text{--}1952$) eliminated the landlord class through 'Speak Bitterness' meetings and People's Courts; $1\text{ million}$ landlords were executed, and $47\%$ of farmland was redistributed to poor peasants.

What was the impact of Chinese intervention in the Korean War (October 1950 - July 1953)?

China sent $3\text{ million}$ PLA troops in October $1950$ to fight US forces in Korea, fostering national pride and patriotism while increasing domestic paranoia and political repression.

What was the Thought Reform Campaign of September 1951?

A September $1951$ campaign compelling intellectuals (teachers, journalists, academics) to attend re-education classes in Mao Zedong Thought, write self-criticisms, or face laogai (re-education through labor).

What was the Three Antis (Sanfan) Campaign of November 1951?

A campaign launched in November $1951$ against corruption, waste, and bureaucracy within the CCP and state apparatus, enforcing strict party obedience.

What was the Five Antis (Wufan) Campaign of January 1952?

A January $1952$ campaign targeting the bourgeoisie for bribery, tax evasion, fraud, theft, and sabotage. Over $450,000$ business owners were investigated and heavily fined, leading to state takeover and peaceful nationalization of industry.

What was the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance signed in 1950?

A treaty between China and the Soviet Union providing China with technical advisors, loans, and modern technology for state economic planning.

What was the Danwei system?

Urban work units providing workers an 'iron rice bowl' (guaranteed housing, healthcare, pay) while enabling strict political surveillance through dang'an (dossiers).

What were the main achievements of the First Five-Year Plan (January 1953 - December 1957)?

Supervised by $11,000$ Soviet advisors across $700$ major industrial projects, the plan achieved a $10\%$ annual growth rate, a $1/3$ increase in worker wages, and modern urban industrialization.

What occurred during the Collectivisation of Agriculture (1955-1956)?

Driven by Mao's vision of a 'high tide of socialism', private land ownership was abolished, and peasants were forced into state-run collective farms, though agricultural yield failed to increase.

What was the Hundred Flowers Movement (February 1957 - July 1957)?

A campaign launched by Mao in February $1957$ inviting constructive debate and criticism of the CCP, which was terminated in July $1957$ after intellectuals questioned the party's rule.

What was the Anti-Rightist Campaign of July 1957?

A purge targeting over $400,000$ intellectuals and cadres labelled 'Rightists' for criticizing the CCP during the Hundred Flowers movement, sending them to struggle sessions and laogai.

What was Mao's Theory of Permanent Revolution?

Mao's doctrine that revolution must be a continuous, ongoing struggle ('Our revolutions come one after another') to prevent capitalist restoration, driving the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.

What were People's Communes during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961)?

Massive collective farms created in $1958$ averaging $26,500$ people. Property was communalized, money was replaced by work points, and labor was organized into militarized Production Brigades.

What three major mass campaigns were executed during the Great Leap Forward?

1) Backyard Smelters (melting tools to produce useless scrap metal), 2) Lysenkoism (close-planting and deep ploughing causing crop failures), and 3) Four Pests Campaign (killing sparrows, resulting in locust plagues).

What was 'Going up to heaven!' during the Great Leap Forward and what was its consequence?

Mass competition where communes reported inflated harvest claims (reporting $450\text{ million}$ tons in $1958$ vs. actual $200\text{ million}$ tons), prompting state grain over-requisitioning and the Three Bitter Years Famine ($1959\text{--}1961$) which killed $30\text{ million}$ people.

What occurred at the Lushan Conference in July 1959?

Defence Minister Peng Dehuai criticized GLF policies for placing politics above economics. Mao purged Peng and $350,000$ 'Rightists', forcing party cadres to continue the policy despite widespread famine.

What happened at the 7000 Cadres Conference in January 1962?

Liu Shaoqi openly condemned the GLF as a 'great deal of falling backwards'. Mao retreated from active CCP leadership, enabling Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping to initiate moderate economic reforms ($1962\text{--}1966$).

What moderate economic reforms were introduced by Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping from 1962 to 1966?

They reduced production targets, legalized private plots and private trade, restored cash bonuses, and prioritized technical expertise over political dogma.

What was the Socialist Education Movement of 1963?

A cadre re-education campaign; Mao intended peasant-led struggle sessions, but Liu Shaoqi managed it as an official party purge, deepening internal party divisions.

What were the 1960s Emulation Campaigns in China?

Propaganda movements promoting Maoist devotion: 1) Learn from Lei Feng (selfless obedience to Mao), 2) Learn from Dazhai in agriculture, and 3) Learn from Daqing in industry.

What was the 'Little Red Book' (Quotations from Chairman Mao) and who published it?

Published in $1964$ by Defence Minister Lin Biao, it gathered quotations from Mao to cultivate his personality cult, becoming mandatory reading throughout China.

What was the Wu Han Affair (1965-1966)?

Political dispute over the play 'The Dismissal of Hai Rui', which allegorized Mao's purge of Peng Dehuai. Denounced by Mao's supporters, it convinced Mao that the CCP leadership harbored bourgeois traitors.

What was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) and when did it occur?

A decade of political radicalism ($1966\text{--}1976$) initiated by Mao's May 16 circular ($1966$) to purge party rivals and purge non-socialist culture, causing $400,000$ to $3\text{ million}$ deaths.

What was the Cultural Revolution Group (CRG) and who led it?

A committee formed in May $1966$ that directed media, censorship, and purges against Mao's political opponents, led by Mao's wife, Jiang Qing.

Who were the Red Guards and what directives did they carry out in August 1966?

Student militias established in July $1966$ who answered Mao's call to 'Smash the Four Olds' (Old Ideas, Culture, Customs, Habits) and 'Bombard the Headquarters!', purging $70\%$ of CCP officials between $1966$ and $1969$.

What was the 'January Storm' of January 1967?

An event in January $1967$ where Red Guards and radical worker groups overthrew the municipal CCP administration in Shanghai and established the Shanghai Commune.

What was the 'Up to the Mountains, Down to the Countryside' campaign launched in 1968?

Following Mao's September $1967$ order for the PLA to restore order, $18\text{ million}$ Red Guards were exiled to rural villages in $1968$ to disperse the youth movement.

How did Lin Biao die in September 1971, and what campaign followed?

Lin Biao died in a plane crash in September $1971$ while fleeing China following an alleged coup plot. The CCP subsequently launched the 'Criticise Lin Biao & Confucius' campaign in $1972$.

Who were the 'Gang of Four' and what was their fate after Mao's death in September 1976?

Composed of Jiang Qing, Yao Wenyuan, Zhang Chunqiao, and Wang Hongwen, they were radical CRG leaders arrested and tried immediately following Mao's death in September $1976$.

What major social developments occurred in China between 1949 and 1976?

Life expectancy rose from $35$ to $65$ years, literacy increased from $20\%$ to $70\%$ primary school enrolments reached $218\text{ million}$, and basic healthcare was expanded through 'barefoot doctors'.

Warlord Period ($1912-1927$)

The period when China was ruled by a patchwork of competing warlord dictatorships before the GMD established control.

Jiang Jieshi

Leader who ruled China under a one-party GMD dictatorship from $1927$ to $1949$ and outlawed the CCP in $1927$.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the CCP who established a single-party dictatorship in China after $1949$.

Barefoot Doctors

Paramedical workers (often Red Guards) trained starting in $1968$ with $6\text{ months}$ of medical training to deliver basic hygiene education, maternal healthcare, and vaccines to rural areas.

Land Reform Campaign ($1950-1952$)

Campaign in which $47\%$ of China's farmland was redistributed from rich landlords to poor peasants, resulting in approximately $1\text{ million}$ landlord executions and destroying landlords as a social class.

People's Communes

Large collective units established from $1958$ onwards that strictly controlled peasants' lives and property while providing access to communal crèches, schools, and clinics.

three freedoms and one guarantee ($1962-1966$)

freedoms: private plots, free markets, and self-responsibility for profits and losses

guarantee: must adhere to production quotas

Hukou system

The household register system that restricted peasants from leaving People's Communes without permission, limiting social mobility.

Five Antis campaign ($1952$)

A campaign targeting urban business owners (bourgeoisie) that led to government expropriation of property and the reassignment of former owners as managers in state-owned businesses.

Danwei system

The urban work unit system that provided guaranteed accommodation, childcare, healthcare, and pensions (an 'iron rice bowl') while serving as a tool for surveillance and control.

Iron Rice Bowl

The colloquial term for guaranteed employment, housing, healthcare, and pension benefits provided to urban workers through the danwei system.

Three Obediences and Four Virtues

Confucian principles emphasizing women's subservience to men (Three Obediences: to father before marriage, husband in marriage, son when a widow; Four Virtues: morality, proper speech, modesty, diligence).

$1950$ New Marriage Law

Legislation that granted women equal legal and economic rights to men in post-revolution China.

Double Burden

The social condition where the CCP expected women to join the workforce, but men still expected them to handle all domestic duties.

Emily Hong

Historian who observed that the CCP 'never had a strong commitment to women's liberation' and that the Party's bottom line was 'to preserve the patriarchal family unit.'

May 4th Movement

Protests led by Chinese intellectuals against warlordism and imperialism, demonstrating their active role in organizing revolutionary change.

Yan'an Rectification Campaign

An internal CCP purge during which $40{,}000$ dissenters were expelled to enforce party compliance.

Mass Line

The CCP organizational doctrine summarized as 'from the masses, to the masses,' used by cadres to mobilize the general population for political campaigns.

Red Guards

Millions of high school and university students mobilized in $1966$ to advance the Cultural Revolution, before being 'sent down' to the countryside in $1968$.