paper 2 mao zedong ib history

What was China like politically before 1911?

* The majority of the people were peasants

* Wealth was concentrated with a few landlords, the ruling class and the aristocracy

What supported China's hierarchical structure pre-1911?

* Supported by Confucianism

* Ancient Chinese belief system

Why did the Qing Dynasty face mass rebellions pre-1911?

* The increasing presence of foreign imperialists

* Poverty

How was the increased presence of foreign imperialists an issue for the Qing Dynasty?

* Chinese citizens opposed as they failed to prevent through multiple rebellions

* Boxer Rebellion

What was the Boxer Rebellion?

* Chinese boxers murdered foreign missionaries and Christian converts

* Eventually, they were crushed by a 50k foreign power army

What was China's weakness pre-1911?

* The increasing presence of foreign imperialists

* Exploited China's resources and land

Dessminated Western cultures and values

What was the emperor's rule in pre-1911 China?

The mandate of Heaven: "God Given Powers" allowed him to suppress threats

What was the 100 days reform (1898)?

* Emperor Guang Xu launched to modernise bureaucracy, the armed forces, and the transportation system as he was pressured from $330 million fine

* Reform halted by Empress Cixi

What was China's stance on poverty like during pre-1911?

* peasants were 80% of the population, and 10% of the land was arable (most of which was unusable due to flooding and natural disasters)

* Many died of famine due to the inability to grow crops

* China had a population spike to 440 million by 1900

* Peasants suffered from debt; forcefully paid 50-80% of their crops as rent to landlords

* landlords and prosperous peasants (10% of the population but owned 70% of land)

What did Sun Yat Sen do as the weakness of the Qing Dynasty continued?

Had Revolutionary Alliance (1905)

* Consisted of young revolutionists (peasants, townpeople and students)

* Built on nationalism, democracy and improving people's quality of life through socialism

What was the 1911 revolution?

* outbreak of revolutionary conspiracy in army units overthrew Empress Cixi.

* Sun Yatsen appointed President of China by the Revolutionary Alliance in Nanjing

* Yuan Shikai, a powerful imperial general, had to become President instead (deal as revolutionists needed military support)

What were the problems with Yuan Shikai?

* Shikai banned GMD after they won

* Shut down parliament and ruled china as if he was emperor

* Unable to resolve Qings issues (fails with foreign aggression)

* Agreed to Japan's 21 demands

* OVERALL: CHINA WEAK AND DIVIDED

What was the Warlord Period 1916-27?

* After Shikai's death, power was concentrated b/w warlords around china

What were the issues with warlords?

* Fights b/w them caused peasants to pay high taxes

* Land was looted by invading armies

What did Sun Yatsen do to combat the Warlords?

* GE and the GMD established a govt and planned to launch the Northern Military Expedition to unify China

* Hard to convince warlords as they would have less power (strong central govt.)

What was China's position after the first World War?

* They thought success in the War could boost their power status

* Humiliated as 20k of their people died; send 95k to help against germany

* ToV hopes to be granted, rather Germany got concessions in their area

* Led to student protests of western betrayal and Japanese 21 demand betrayal

What was the emergence of Mao and the CCP?

* CCP created in 1921

Founded by the Russian comintern that funded and supported communism in CHinas

* Mao Zedong rose to leadership

What were the goals of the CCP?

* Protection from capitalism, western imperialism and overall fair and prosperity for ther Chinese people

What were Sun Yatsens's possible alliances?

* Alliance with the GMD and CCP individually they were not strong enough to achieve power

* Alliance with Beijing warlord as they had military strength too

What was the first united front?

* The GMD and the CCP formed an alliance in 1924

* The objective was to defeat the Warlord and crush foreign power

* CCP was an inferior partner but still, they received a lot of members (57→ 58k)

What happened after Sun Yat Sen died?

CKS took the role (rightwing GMD member)

What was the Northern Expedition?

* The goal was to reunify China through the march of 100k men to take control from the Warlords

Deemed to be successful, CKS brokered deals that even though the GMD was in power, Warlords still had a major strip

What happened to Mao during the Northern Expedition?

* Mao Zedong prospered during the expedition

* Grew as an active member

* Farmers and peasants saw him as a leader against landlords and warlords

What did CKS feel about Mao Zedong and communism during the Northern Expedition era?

* Saw it as a threat as communist strikers would undermine middle-class support

* Supported WAng Jingwei's side giving the leftist leader more success

What was the White Terror (1927)?

* GMD supremacy through purging communist organizations

* Thousands were killed

* United front collapsed

* CKS established nationalist govt ending warlord era

What was the Jiangxi Soviet (1927-34)?

* Mao survived the white terror and fled to Jiangxi province with the ccp forces

* 1 million population

What happened in the Jiangxi Soviet?

* Mao continued to conduct party activities

* Red Army developed strong guerilla force to resist GMD extermination

* Maoist form of communism was developed

What was the Maoist form of communism?

* Peasant-led revolution

evolution needed to be led by the peasants because they were the largest social class in China

What was the 1928 land law?

* He took land from landlords and redistributed it to peasants

What was the Futian Incident (1930)?

* 4000 Red army troops tortured and executed

* Red army 'rebels' conspired against him

What was the Long March (1934,1935)?

* GMD forced and encircled the jiangxi soviet and the ccp faced major defeats trying to fend off

* Mao relegated leadership and he advocated guerilla methods

* CCP fled to northwest china

* 11km long and overa year to complete (later they Story used for propaganda)

* 20k people survived at the end

What was Mao's consolidation and support in Yanan?

* He won the peasants through land distribution, rent controls, literacy improving campaigns, no corruption

* CCP grew from 58k in 1927 to 1.2 million by 1945

How did Mao build a strong ideological base?

* Marked authority through philosophical works

* Potential threats had to confess crimes stripping positions

* Strict censorship (outside info was controlled)

* Self criticism (overdone= punishment, underdone=suspicious)

* Cult of personality emerged around Mao

What was the second united front?

* Zhang Xueliand (CKS assistant) put CKS in house arrest and refused orders to attack communists

* Reason: CKS wanted to attack communists over JAPS

* Mao proposed to end civil war and they joined forced to fight japan

* CCP was dominiant as a stronger nationlist credential compared to the GMD was present

What was the Sino-Japanese War? (1937)

* Full scale invasion of CHina, AKA rape of Nanjing

* China was more united than ever; weakened GMD and strengthened CCP

How was the GMD weakened post this War?

* Bad conditions for gmd soldiers

* Chiang killed civilans becoming more dictorial

* He lost support

* Hyperfinlation as Chiang tried money printing

* The CCP came in more control

What was the Chinese Civil War (1945-49)?

* GMD army: CCP= 4:1

* CCP won with support from the USSR (military assistance and aid)

* GMD had internal weaknesses

How did Mao increase the CCP's popularity?

Propaganda

Peasant support

What was the great leap forward in the late 1950s?

The objective was to transform China's economy and society

* Rapid Industrialization: Mao's goal was swift industrialization, including a boost in steel and heavy industry production.

* Agricultural Collectivization: Small farms merged into larger communes to increase agricultural output and efficiency.

* Self-Reliance: The Great Leap aimed to reduce dependence on foreign imports and technology.

* Socialist Transformation: Mao aimed to eliminate class distinctions and create a more egalitarian society.

* Mass Mobilization: Involving the masses in all aspects of life to foster collective spirit was a central theme.

Leapfrogging * Capitalists: Mao believed China could quickly surpass industrialised capitalist nations through mass mobilisation and commitment to communism.

* Agricultural Output Increase: The focus was on increasing agricultural production to meet urban demands and support industrialization.

Ideological Promotion: The campaign aimed to promote communist ideology and loyalty to the Communist Party.

* People's Communes: Large communes consolidated resources and labour for more efficient planning and production

Why did the Great Leap Forward Fail?

* Bureaucratic errors resulted in unrealistic targets and poor implementation of policies.

* The forced collectivization of agriculture and the implementation of communal farming practices disrupted traditional farming methods. This led to a significant decline in agricultural productivity as farmers lacked individual incentives to work efficiently.

* The campaign placed a disproportionate emphasis on backyard furnaces for small-scale steel production, diverting resources and manpower away from agriculture. This diversion contributed to a severe food shortage, exacerbating the overall failure of the economic and agricultural policies.

* Local officials, driven by the pressure to meet unrealistic targets, often exaggerated production figures. The suppression of dissent and criticism created an environment where accurate information about the failures of the Great Leap Forward was stifled, hindering the ability to address and rectify the issues.