all china

China in early 1900s

- growing trade of natural resources eg tea, sugar, silk, opium which could easily travel through country in natural rivers
- Shanghai had become major port for import and export of good
- ruled by emperor since 2000BC who had the Mandate of Heaven
- imperial system based on Confucius

population of China 1900

300 million divided into four ethnic groups:
- Han (90%)
- Manchu (ruled China)
- Mongol
- Tibetan
most people were peasants

how was the emperor beginning to lose the Mandate of Heaven by the early 20th century?

China was repeatedly humiliated by foreign powers who wanted to extend power and wealth in China, so authority of emperor weakened
- Britain gained wealth after opium trade and victory in opium wars
- Japan defeated China in war in 1894 and took control of Korea
- France seized territory in the South

causes of Boxer Uprising

- 1898 Emperor Guangxu put in 100 Days Reform to modernise gov and end criticism of Qing but Empress Dowager Cixi opposed this so seized control of gov and ended the reforms
- hatred of 'foreign devils'
- Cixi encouraged attacks on foreigners to avoid criticism of imperial rule

why did the Chinese hate the 'foreign devils'?

- hatred of religion (missionaries tried to convert them from traditional Confucianism and Buddhism to Christianity)
- fear of technology eg railways (disturbed dragons) and telegraph wires ('poisonous')
- Qing had given foreign powers right to exploit China's economic resources

events of Boxer Uprising

- late 1890s, Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Boxers) carried out attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians
- Boxers were mostly peasants who suffered after famine, flooding and believed concessions to foreigners made their lives harder
- Boxers attacked Christian missionaries, burned their churches and schools and killed them
- spread to Beijing and German ambassador shot
- Western pop. retreated to British legation and surrounded by siege for 55 days
- Cixi supported Boxers
- Cixi declared war on foreigners but couldn't defeat defences of legation
- Westerns raised international force and broke siege and executed Boxers on street
- Cixi and emperor fled to Xian

impact of Boxer Uprising

- severe financial penalty (Western powers demanded £67 million to be paid over 39 years)
- Westerners insisted on destruction of China's military fortifications and arsenals of weapons
- ten officials executed
- foreign soldiers placed permanently in Beijing
- authority of Cixi damaged upon 1902 return
- Cixi started reforms but was not enough
- ultimately lead to 1911 revolution and fall of Qing

self strengthening and reform 1902-11

- 1902 abolition of foot binding
- 1905 reform of civil service (removals of traditional exam which had led to Mandarin domination of civil service)
- 1908 establishment of 'new Army' under Manchu control
- 1909 intro of provincial assemblies with limited right to vote
- 1910-11 establishment of National Consultative Council to advise gov
- nationalism of railways for greater control by Qing gov
- educational reforms with establishment of new naval and military academies and intro of scholarships for students to study abroad

causes of 1911 revolution: weak gov

- 1908 Emperor Guangxu and Empress Cixi died
- new emperor Puyi two years old
- Prince Chun ruled as regent to save dynasty by continuing Cixi's reform but too inexperienced

causes of 1911 revolution: failure of political reforms

- 1909-11 reforms too little and too late
- Manchu domination in councils increased Han resentment of gov
- only 0.4% had right to vote
- led to calls for faster reform but gov failed to do so

causes of 1911 revolution: consequences of army reform

- Chun increased taxes on tea, wine, salt and land to pay for army reform
- on top of taxes to pay for reparations after Boxer Uprising
- Prince Chun dismissed General Yuan Shikai (too powerful) so he declared he would get revenge, creating powerful enemy to regime

causes of 1911 revolution: spread of revolutionary ideas

- Sun Yat-sen (educated in West) brought ideas of nationalism and republicanism to China
- believed that Qing had to be overthrown for China to modernise
- forced in exile 1895-1911 but ideas spread
- popular among young Chinese men who had been educated in Japan after scholarship reform

causes of 1911 revolution: growing resentment over the control of China's railways

- nationalisation (takeover by state of private companies and businesses) increased Manchu control of provinces
- owners angry that they did not receive full compensation after giving up ownership
- Qing borrowed money from Western powers for expansion of railways
- granted further concessions to foreign companies to build lines
- looked as though they were partners

events of 1911 revolution

- 9 Oct 1911 young revolutionaries exploded a bomb they were preparing for later use
- accident but provided signal for wider revolt
- next day, 'Double Tenth' soldiers in Wuhan began muting (rebellion against commanders)
- all but three provinces in Beijing revolted and declared themselves independent from gov
- Han soldiers massacred Manchu troops
- Yuan Shikai agreed to put down rebellion for gov but instead supported rebels when reaching Wuhan
- he returned to Beijing to form Han government

results of 1911 revolution

- November, Sun Yat-sen offered position as president
- Yuan Shikai persuaded him to step down and allow Yuan to be president
- in return, he would persuade Manchus to abdicate & replace imperial with republic system
- Yuan was not republican, wanted to be emperor
- Sun Yat-sen agreed because he did not have military support
- Yuan abdicated 5 year old Puyi

Yuan Shikai as leader

- ruled as dictator with military support from 1912-16
- 1915 wanted to make himself emperor but this was unpopular with Sun's Guomindang party
- military governors in provinces feared they would lose authority if Yuan had more power
- Yuan accepted most of Japan's Twenty-One Demands so army revolted against him in Dec
- forced to abandon plan as emperor and died of stroke in June 1916

Japan's Twenty-One Demands

- issued by Japan to strengthen position in WW1
- eg control China's factories, railway lines, ports, force China to appoint Japanese political and military advisors etc
- would result in loss of independence

warlord era

1916-1927
- after Yuan's death, no military general to rule so central government (decentralisation)
- hundreds of warlords (powerful local generals) ruled own provinces
- ran own legal and financial systems, collected taxes and terrorised populations (cruel rulers)
- none of them prepared to give up private armies or submit to outside authority
- made agreements with foreign powers who wanted to protect their economic interests in China
- when drought struck in 1918 and fooding 1923-25, no central gov to organise relief

examples of warlords

- Feng Yuxiang: 'Christian General' baptised troops, believed in moral values and refused troops to fight with one another
- Zang Zongzhang: violent, 'splitting melons'
- Zhang Zuolin: cruel punishments so soldiers didn't attempt mutiny; once beheaded two soldiers for entering theatre without paying

May the Fourth Movement

- Treaty of Versailles stated that Japan would be given German possessions in Shandong province
- 4 May 1919 3,000 students from Beijing University led protest at Tiananmen Square
- rebelling against gov not resisting humiliating treatment of China, and warlords
- strikes and protests spread to other cities
- as a result, China gov refused to sign treaty
- brought New Tide (rejection of old-fashioned ideas, adoption of modern beliefs such as freedom, democracy and equal rights)

causes of May the Fourth Movement (8)

One of the causes of the May the Fourth Movements was that after the First World War ended, Japan was given German possessions in the Chinese Shangdong province as a repayment for helping the Allies (due to the Treaty of Versailles). China had also expected repayment (since China had been involved in the war by helping to construct trenches etc for the Allies), so they were angered by the fact that they had lost land that was rightfully theirs instead of gaining anything from their participation. This especially outraged the youth, leading to protests which eventually evolved into the May the Fourth Movement. Another cause of this movement was the increase of warlordism. After the fall of a central government due to the death of Yuan Shikai, warlords ruled their own provinces of China. This meant that China was not united and it caused suffering for the population; the warlords were cruel and after natural disasters such as droughts and floods struck China, no relief or help for the people was put in place. Because of this, the people of China turned to revolutionary ideas, which helped to inspire the May the Fourth Movement.

Guomindang (GMD)

- when Sun Yat-sen returned to China in 1917, he set up nationalist party GMD in Guangzhou
- 'Three Principles of the People' emphasised people as whole rather than rights & freedoms of individual
- 1924 established Whampoa Military Academy to train GMD soldiers (to overthrow warlords to take control of China)
- GMD became military organisation, army known as New Republican Academy (NRA)
- Bolshevik advisers: Alfred Joffre organised negotiations, Mikhail Borodin helped acquire arms and approved Chiang Kai-Shek as head commander of army
- Sun Yat-Sen died in 1925 and Chiang succeeded and led Northern Campaign
(relied on businessmen for financial support who wouldn't accept communism and its aim to overthrow capitalism)

Three Principles of the People

*national livelihood* - to remove foreigners and restore China's nationalism
*democracy principle* - Chinese people to control their own gov through elections
*people's welfare* - to solve problem of poverty in China by developing gov-owned industries and protecting native industry from foreign power

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

- May 4th spread ideas eg communism
- Chinese communists believed they could achieve a successful revolution in China like Russia in 1917 (both countries were politically and economically old-fashioned)
- CCP founded in secret in girls' school in Shanghai in June 1921
- Chen Duxui from May 4th was general secretary, Mao part of 12 leaders
- only 50 members when founded

influence of Soviet Union

- Bolsheviks wanted to encourage spread of revolution and protect border with China
- to achieve this best, they worked with GMD
- CCP was too small for revolution, conditions in China not ready for Marxist revolution (mostly peasants) and GMD's three principles similar to communist ideas
- through Comintern, Soviet gov encouraged CCP to work with GMD to overthrow warlords
- 1923 CCP co-operated with and became group within GMD (they received 5000 USD per year)

Common aims of United Front

- destroy warlords
- expel foreigners from China
- improve lives of ordinary Chinese people

what encouraged the formation of a United Front 1924-27?

- 30 May Incident 1925: Shanghai protest of workers stopped when British commander shot into crowd, killing 12
- confirmed that internal and external enemies could only be removed by force
- United Front formed
- 1926 Chiang called on members to destroy warlords, launching Northern Expedition

Northern Expedition (1926-1928)

- military strategy: surround each warlord's army cut off supply lines to steadily destroy it
- Soviet adviser Galen made NRA effective force
- troops taught to treat local peasants with respect and pay for food to win their support
- by summer 1927, controlled central China and by 1928 controlled east with 250,000 army men
- April 1928 drove out Zhang Zuolin and declared that GMD was legal gov of China

reasons for victory of United Front

- strength and tactics of United Front compared to private armies of warlords
- role of Communists in gaining support of peasants for the United Front
- deals made by Chiang with the warlords; he bribed individual warlords, allowing them to keep private armies if they submitted to GMD control

Shanghai Massacres (1927)

- GMD could take control of Shanghai since Communists had built strong trade union there
- 2 weeks after, Chiang turned on Communists
- supported by industrialists and traders who opposed trade unions, and by foreigners who were afraid of losing economic interests
- 'White Terror' - began frenzy of killing, supported by violent secret societies and gangs
- 5,000 Communists killed
- spread to eg Hunan where a quarter million were killed

Autumn Harvest Uprising

Aug-Sept 1927
- Mao and Communists didn't follow Comintern orders to continue United Front
- staged Autumn Harvest Uprising but army too small to take on NRA
- forced to flee up Jiangxi mountains
- set up Chinese Soviet Republic (Jiangxi Soviet) to govern province and remained for 7 years

First Extermination Campaign

- Chiang believed Communists were bigger threat than warlords
- Oct 1930, 44,000 NRA troops directed at Communists in Jiangxi
- intended to surround and destroy Communists but they tricked NRA to enter territory of traps
- Communists captured commander of first army unit, cut out his tongue and beheaded him
- Communists used Guerilla tactics

Second Extermination Campaign

- Chiang directed 100,000 troops in July 1931
- caught Reds by surprise but cautious strategy of moving slowly to avoid ambush meant that smaller communist forces escaped
- NRA opposition from peasants, not enough food and caught dysentery
- troops reacted violently by burning villages, massacring inhabitants and seizing crops
- lack of peasants was key reason for failure

extermination campaigns continued...

- over a million peasants killed by GMD from 1930-34
- larger numbers of GMD began to wear down communist forced

5th Extermination Campaign

- autumn 1933, GMD launched 5th campaign
- Nationalists established blockade around soviet to deprive them of food
- built 11,000km roads into soviet for faster movement of troops
- General Hans von Seeckt (Chiang's new adviser) advised blockhouse tactics and defences to force back Communists so NRA had shelter
- scorched earth policy used so Reds had to fight a static war
- Otto Braun advised Communists abandon Guerilla, instead pitched battles but surrounded by four lines of blockhouses & no food
- Oct 1934, Reds had to abandoned Jiangxi Soviet after losing 60,000 soldiers and half of territory

causes of Long March

- extermination campaigns weakened CCP
- GMD tactics eg blockade-like tactics and scorched earth policy

Long March 1934

- no plan of final destination
- 6 weeks to break out of blockhouses
- followed by GMD army and fought battles against them until safety in Yanan
- led by Comintern adviser Otto Braun who encouraged Red Army to fight with GMD forced in urban areas, but lead to heavy losses
- Xiang river lost half troops fighting against GMD
- after Zunyi meeting in Jan 1935, developed new tactic leading army in surprising directions, dividing & regrouping forces, across mountains, rivers and deserts
- crossed Yangtze River and Dadu river (22 soldiers swung across river on chains while enemy shot at them)
- arrived at Yanan in Oct 1935
- 10,000 of 80,000 survived
- at this time, Chiang's gov was officially recognised by the West and USSR, and Nationalist control of China was secure

Zunyi meeting

- Zunyi meeting in Jan 1935, Mao Zedong and Zhu De (ex-warlord) became leaders of party
- Braun blamed for the defeat at Xiang river
- (he let them carry too much equipment and the retreat was in a straight line, which helped the GMD predict where the CCP were headed)

positive impacts of Long March

- Mao's position as leader confirmed
- propaganda and provided martyrs
- promoted comradeship and self-sacrifice
- new base at Yanan to develop Chinese Communism
- Red Army won support of peasants as they march through villages

negative impacts of Long March

- 10,000 of 80,000 survived
- Nationalist control of China was certain whilst CCP struggled to survive
- GMD called it the Great Retreat
- no certainty that Yanan Soviet would survive

Japan

- 1920s economic growth slowed because it could not get eg oil to expand
- ambitions to expand territory into China to get raw materials
- invaded Manchuria, puppet state (others control and make decisions) but appeared independent
- renamed Manchukuo 1932
- 1931-7 strengthened position in occupied areas. then expanded into new territories
- Chiang initially allowed it because not concerned that they could take over China
- this was unpopular with Chinese population and couldn't be continued when Japan began full-scale occupation police declared war with Japan

Why did Chiang initially refuse to fight the Japanese?

- he believed that China should be united before fighting Japan
- thought that the Communists should be wiped out as to help unite China
- made him less popular amongst the public so many of them turned to the CCP, who were willing to take action

Why was CKS kidnapped and what happened to him?

- CKS kidnapped by his deputy Zhang Xueliang in December 1936
- 200 Zhang's troops came to hotel where CKS was staying in Xian
- Chiang escaped but caught again hiding by rocks nearby
- Zhang kidnapped CKS to persuade him to declare war on Japan
- after 2 weeks of keeping CKS prisoner, in which meetings with the GMD, the CCP and the Russian Government, they agreed to release CKS (only one who was capable of leading the country)
- in return, Chiang formed the United Front
- Russian Government gave military aid and CKS was the Commander-in-Chief of all the Chinese forces

Second United Front

- Chiang declared war with Japan July 1937
- United Front formed because of kidnapping of CKS and pressure put on him (from public and from challenges faced of ruling a large country)
- eg he relied on deals with warlords to keep control of country and warlords wanted him to focus on fighting Japan
- consisted of GMD and CCP fighting against Japan
- fought as separate armies but with common goal of removing Japan from China

events in war against Japan, 1937-45

- 5 months, captured half of China's seaboard
- first four years, China captured Shanghai, Beijing and GMD capital Nanjing, forcing Chiang's government to flee to Chongqing
- Japanese persuaded former colleague of CKS Wang Jingwei to become leader of 'New Government of China'
- after bombing of Pearl Harbour Dec 1941, Allies, USA, USSR and Britain supplied China with resources and funding to defeat Japan
- eg USSR sent planes with Soviet pilots
- Chiang still more concerned about Communists but by 1945, Allied attacks weakened Japanese
- two atomic bombs August 1945 ended war

rape of Nanjing

- Dec 1937 Japan invaded Nanjing
- 30,000 killed, 20,000 raped

war with Japan: role of CCP and Red Army

- 1937 40,000, 1945 1.2 million
- treated peasants with respect & rather than trying to wipe out landlords as class enemy, Mao won them over using rent controls
- peasants informed Red Army of position of Japanese, provided them with food and shelter and many were recruited
- '100 Regiments Offensive' 40,000 attacked & captured Japanese and destroyed 965km railways
- "Yanan spirit" high morale and determination
- guerilla tactics, which Mao used as propaganda saying that it saved China from Japan

Three Alls campaign

- "burn all, kill all, loot all"
- Japanese campaign, scorched earth policy
- any village with Communist connections was invaded and burned

why did America lose faith in GMD

- eg Jan 1941 attacked Communists
- Joseph Stilwell (American officers sent to help China win war) said Chiang wasted resources on fighting Communists
- 1944 Japan launched new offensive but Chiang didn't direct army against Japanese because he was using it to besiege Communists in Yanan
- Stilwell notice corruption (due to poverty in China) eg Chiang and friends earned a high profit
- meant that the soldiers were poor and not treated well (eg, ate mouldy rice with sand in it)

war with Japan: limitations and mistakes of GMD

- GMD areas suffered heavy bombing eg Chongqing most bombed city 20th century
- GMD lacked will to fight and often broke down
- GMD forces recruited by force, tough discipline
- GMD gov dishonest
- GMD unpopular with peasants (eg high taxes, conscription, treatment of peasants)
- blew up dam on Yangtze river to cause a flood to slow down Japanese; however, didn't slow them down, instead killed 100,000 people and left many people homeless
- attacked Communists (extermination campaign), ending United Front; didn't make any progress against the Japanese & decreased support

outbreak of civil war

- GMD controlled large area in southern & central China, CCP controlled countryside in northern & north-eastern China from Yanan base
- GMD recognised as real gov in China
- US worried the USSR (trying to take control of Manchuria) would take advantage of division of CCP & GMD so persuaded them to stop fighting
- Chiang tried to set up new gov with almost total power to GMD, Communists left the talks
- fighting occurred again and by Dec 1945 they were at war

first stage of civil war

- July 1946 - May 1947
- GMD initially successful, capturing many large cities in North & established route to Manchuria
- CCP lost Yanan
- Communist army (PLA) developed guerrilla tactics and controlled northern Manchuria by May 1947, strengthening them

second stage of civil war

- May 1947 - Nov 1948
- PLA switched to conventional warfare and full-scale attacks on GMD
- pushed into central and western China
- GMD became cut-off and shrunk in territory

third stage of civil war

- Dec 1948 - Oct 1949
- Communists had most success, many battles

Battle of Huai-Hai

Nov 1948 - Jan 1949
- most decisive battle, start final stage of conflict
- Chiang stood at Xuzhou on Longhai railway linking central China to Nanjing to Shanghai
- PLA strengthened by men abandoning NRA
- Mao ordered PLA to destroy area surrounding Xuzhou so not enough food for NRA troops
- Chiang refused leaders of army units to retreat, resulting in loss of 200,000 men
- surrendered on 10 Jan 1949

after Huai-Hai and end of civil war

- broke strength of NRA and opened up central China to the Communists
- US didn't give any more funding to GMD & without American aid they had little chance
- Jan 1949 Communists had control of large areas in North including Beijing, then moved South
- late Sept 1949 most China under communist rule
- 1 Oct 1949, Mao declared new government of People's Republic of China
- Chiang fled to Taiwan and set up GMD there

Communist military strengths

- Mao skilled leader, allowed generals to provide detailed strategy whilst he gave overall plan
- Lin Biao strong military general and skilled in guerrilla warfare
- wide range of tactics adapted to situation faced
- eg guerrilla in mountains, and when GMD weaker they used conventional warfare in pitched battles in cities
- PLA motivated by belief in communism, respected local population so encouraged them to join or give supplies to army

GMD military weaknesses

- Chiang poor military leader and did not give authority to those with military skills
- tactical errors eg sending troops to Manchuria before they controlled rest of north-eastern China (half million men lost there)
- NRA conscript army, poorly supplied and cruelly treated

political reasons for victory in CCP in civil war

- strength of CCP came from political unity and Mao's unchallenged leadership, creating secure chain of command to avoid disputes
- local populations in committees discussed reforms and created positive impression of 'democratic dictatorship'
- strengthened by propaganda using posters and PLA troops indoctrinated with communist ideals and treated peasants kindly

- GMD gov corrupt and unskilled
- did not provide 'Three Principles of the People'
- dictatorship, favoured bankers, merchants and landlords rather than mass of countryside
- local officials bribed and abused power
- never raised enough taxes to fund reform

economic and social reasons for victory in CCP in civil war

- during civil war, CCP introduced land reforms, taking land from richer peasants to poorer villagers
- they were committed to supporting CCP because risked revenge from landlords if GMD took back village
- middle class won over as result of CCP's loyalty to China when resisting Japanese

- Chiang printed money to finance government, led to high inflation, destroying savings of middle class whose support he relied on
- tried to introduce reforms, wage controls and new taxes but too little and too late

challenges faced by Mao when he became leader in 1949

- army was limited
- economy is unstable; there is virtually no industry, limited agriculture leading to food shortages, inflation
- population growing at 15 million people per year, difficult to govern large country
- local gov inefficient because public officials used to bribery and corruption under CKS
- no foreign support (and US against communism)
- civil war had brought disruption to telecommunication, energy and transport systems
- Chiang could return (200,000 troops, American support, foreign currency and gold reserves)

Agrarian Reform Law 1950

- property of large landlords was taken away from them and given to peasants
- property of enemies of state eg CKS or foreign nationals was confiscated

effect of Agrarian Reform Law

- putting reform into action left in hands of local communities, so many took opportunity to settle old disputes
- held "struggle meetings" where they denounced rich landlords and lead to violence
- 1 million landlords executed, thousands beaten up and thousands sent to camps to "re-educate"
- caused the destruction of the elite (wealthiest class) and increased support for the CCP from the peasants

mutual aid teams (MATs)

- peasants encouraged to share equipment and animals in mutual aid teams
- ten or fewer households but land still owned individually by peasants
- end of 1952, 40% peasants in MATs

agricultural producers co-operatives (APCs)

- encouraged by Mao in 1953 (most effective to increase production of food)
- land still owned by peasants but managed centrally, 3-5 MATs (30-50 households)
- increased demand for machinery to boost industry and allow greater production of food
- some areas, richer peasants bought large sections of land and hired people to work on it
- recovery of capitalism undermined purpose, so communist officials began to force APCs
- resistance eg richer peasants burning crops and killing animals
- Jan 1955 Mao called for temp halt to APCs but by summer decided to push ahead with APCs to move to next stage

higher stage collectives

- collectivisation intensified in 1956 and from 1958 during Great Leap Forward
- collectives were 2,000-3,000 households
- no private ownership and land, animals and equipment belonged to collective
- Mao worried that they were overeating to not send extra food to towns, harm industrialisation
- produce from collectives not property of peasants, so party would direct it to towns
- end 1958 700 million people in collective farms
- run by 26,000 communes across China

factors contributing to great famine

- *no incentive* (no reason to produce more food since they would not sell extra produce for profit)
- *four noes campaign/four pests* (remove sparrows, flies, mosquitos and rats because they ate crops , peasants encouraged to make noise to drive birds off land but caused insects and caterpillars to multiply and eat more crops)
- *political pressure* (followed Soviet scientist incorrect claims of methods x16 produce, those using traditional methods denounced as enemies of state)
- *fear* (communist officials didn't dare to tell failure of production so lied to impress Mao)
- *natural causes* (drought in North, flood in South)
- *desertification* (trees cut down to burn for energy, land became infertile, turned into desert)

Great Famine 1958-62

- 50 million died
- parents sold children and husbands sold wives to buy food, some resorted to cannibalism
- Tibet 1 million people died (1/4 population)
- Tibet resisted drive for communism so CCP forced Tibetan peasants to abandon traditional barley crops and keeping yaks and instead grow wheat and corn but soil not suitable, resulting in starvation

first five year plan 1952-57

- hundreds of soviet advisers and specialists
- 1952 land reforms pushed agricultural output
- many natural resources in China

- constructions eg road and rail bridge across Yangzi River at Nanjing
- coal production doubled
- electric power production increased x3
- steel production increased x4
- 700 new production plants
- efficient (4 years instead of 5)
- gives Mao power, support and control because he controls everything (command economy)

- showed communist system better than capitalist
- central planning accompanied by removal of private businesses

cons of first 5YP

- light industry (cotton-making and food processing) neglected
- more people in cities so less people in countryside to develop agriculture which caused food shortages
- cities overcrowded and limited housing after a lot of housing destroyed after previous wars.
- unpopularity for CCP (less consumer goods, more shortage of food etc)

reasons for Great Leap Forward 1958-62

- Mao's desire to continue industrial progress started in first 5YP
- wanted to bring end to dependence on Soviet Union in developing China's industry
- belief socialism better than capitalism (driven by eg Soviet launch first satellite to space 1957)
- collectivisation would provide sufficient food to feed expanding workforce, and surplus to sell abroad to buy machinery

key features of GLF

- involvement and enthusiasm of whole population eg used manual labour to dig out soil by hand instead of mechanical diggers
- change from APCs to collectives to increase food supply for urban workers
- backyard furnaces (600,000 furnaces set up in backyards, families melted down implements)
- men left collective farms to work at furnaces and melted own farming tools
- privately owning businesses ended (taken over by state) allowing CCP to control what was produced by industry & step towards communism
- massive projects eg giant bridges, canals and dams, praised in Chinese newspapers

results of GLF

- 1958, 11 million tonnes of steel produced
- collectivisation failed, 50 million died in famine
- steel from backyard furnaces was poor quality and had to be thrown away by officials so only steel produced in large factories could be used
- production in businesses decreased as without profit motive there was no reason to work hard
- Soviet experts left China 1960 but Chinese were not yet trained enough to manage without them
- Mao resigned as head of state and was rarely seen in public for a few years

role of women

- properties of their fathers, then husbands, widows were property of their eldest sons
- birth of a daughter was seen as costly
- didn't receive education and were forced into marriage at a young age (and husbands expected to be paid a dowry)
- women could not own property, vote, or divorce their husbands
- lead to some powerful men keeping women as concubines

- Mao wanted to equal treatment of women and men (needed to achieve a communist society)
- Mao had shown commitment towards equal rights (in Jiangxi and Yanan)
- the CCP believed that women were the equals of men and made eg foot binding practices illegal.

1950 Marriage Law

- banned arranged marriage & payment of dowry
- minimum age of marriage raised to 18 years for women and 20 years for men
- keeping concubines was forbidden
- men & women had equal rights to request divorce
- men and women in arranged marriages were entitled to divorce their partner
- women were given property rights to own, buy and sell property
- infanticide was forbidden

other changes in the lives of women

- 1953 CCP introduced policies promoting birth control and began training midwives to adopt procedures that made childbirth safe
- collectivisation reduced burden on women by providing mess halls for communal eating
- Electoral Law 1953 gave women equal voting rights
- All China Women's Federation 1949 sent officials into rural areas to encourage women to participate in politics at local levels in committees and party groups

impact of policies towards women: marriage

- peasants opposed marriage law, especially in western areas of large Muslim populations
- matchmakers to arrange marriages continued
- rural marriages continued exchange of gifts
- women who divorced husbands were outcasts
- average age of marriage rose in 1950s
- cases of infanticide reduced

impact of policies towards women: family life

- 1954 China's biggest pharmaceutical company began producing contraceptives
- resistance to birth control in rural areas
- childbirth became safer

impact of policies towards women: economic role

- property rights did not last long since private property outlawed during collectivisation
- husbands resorted to selling waves in famine
- literacy levels rose
- women in workforce 1949 8% and 1960s 29%

impact of policies towards women: political role

- 1949, 69 women (10% of membership) elected to Central People's Political Consultative Committee
- 1953 election to National People's Congress, 12% deputies elected were women
- women's participation in politics opposed by men but had some minor roles
- first Minister of Health and first Minister of Justice were both women
- 1949-62 women's participation in politics increased with women being elected to neighbourhood committees and co-operatives

One-Party State

- 1949 China became a one party state; all other parties were suppressed in a series of purges from 1950-52
- anyone who showed any opposition to communism was labelled a counter-revolutionary' or an 'imperialist'
- to avoid accusation, Chinese increasingly tried to prove their loyalty by accusing others

Mao Zedong Thought

- set of ideas that changed and adapted over time; he adapted Marxism to Chinese conditions
- important ideas:
- self-reliance (shouldn't be reliant on foreign powers)
- continuing revolution (each new generation should be involved in revolutionary struggle to prevent counter revolution)
- class struggle (The CCP had to be periodically rectified using struggle meetings, self-criticism and re-education)
- learning from the people (Mao believed CCP should listen to the people, so power balance is too 'unbalanced')
- mass mobilisation

Three Antis Campaign 1951

targeted party members and bureaucrats to combat:
- corruption (dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery)
- waste (wasting resources etc)
- inefficiency

Five Antis Campaign 1952

targeted business men to bring an end to:
- bribery
- avoiding paying taxes
- theft of state property
- fraud
- industrial sabotage

effects of the 'antis' campaigns

- campaigns conducted through mass meetings where citizens denounced officials or employers
- those denounced encouraged to make public confessions & punished by fines or labour camps
- 2-3 million committed suicide due to humiliation
- huge increase in support for party
- reduction in criminal gangs in eg Shanghai

Hundred Flowers Campaign 1957

- 1955 ordered punishment of Hu Feng wrote that there should be more freedom in artistic creation
- 1957 Mao announced that people were to 'let a hundred flowers bloom'
- encouraged free speech and called on intellectuals and artists to say where party and gov had gone wrong to create communist state
- criticism first limited to trivial matters
- after call repeated in daily newspaper, volume of criticism grew and Mao was shocked that criticism was sometimes aimed at himself
- stopped campaign and started Anti-Rightist Campaign

possible causes of Hundred Flowers

- China needed the educated classes for its industrial developments and lack of intellectual freedom was preventing scientific advances
- Mao thought the campaign would shake up CCP and identify those who were disloyal or corrupt
- 1956 revolution in Hungary demonstrated when people didn't support communist gov
- Soviet President Nikita Krushchev criticised Cult of Stalin in 1956 and such criticism could be directed at Cult of Mao in China

Anti-Rightist Campaign

- critics labelled as rightists and forced to confess their evil thoughts before being sent to re-education camps for up to 20 years
- victims include half - 3/4 million party members
- Lushan conference 1959, Peng Dehuai (only leading party member who criticised famine) was denounced and replaced by Lin Biao
- Mao stepped down as head of state but did not affect his power and instead meant that he could stand aside from failures of party eg famine

Sino-Soviet relations

- when People's Republic of China formed in 1949 it established relationship with Soviet Union
- Soviet Union had provided military advisers to Communists during struggle against GMD and it was leading communist country
- Mao suspicious of Stalin and his intentions (they initially supported GMD and spring 1949 said CCP should be happy with controlling north China)
- Treaty of Friendship, Alliance & Mutual Assistance signed Feb 1950; demands for China:
- promised aid in event of attack, loan of US $300 million and list of all Soviet agents in China

soviet influence on economic developments in China

- provided $300 loan, 10,000 economic & military advisers whose salaries were paid by Chinese
- Nikita Krushchev admitted 1950 Treaty unfair to China, so 1954 China trip promised trade package and help develop civilian nuclear programme
- Soviet Union pulled out of Manchuria
- 11,000 Chinese specialists and 1,000 scientists travelled to Soviet to be trained in new tech
- Krushchev refused to help build China atomic bomb but training scientists helped them develop
- July 1959 Krushchev called GLF a foolish scheme
- following year didn't send nuclear hardware as promised

soviet influence on political developments in Chin

- Mao blamed Stalin for high price China paid for Soviet weapons to supply troops in Korean War
- suspected that Stalin encouraged China's involvement in war to weaken so that Soviet Union was leading communist country
- Mao respected Stalin as communist so was shocked when 1956 Krushchev criticised Stalin, cult of personality and use of terror
- carried suggested criticism of Mao's regime
- Mao angered by Krushchev suggestion of Sino-Soviet venture of Pacific (though wanted to spy on China) and Mao thought he was revisionist
- Moscow Conference 1958 Deng Xiaoping accused Soviet of sending spies to China disguised as technical advisers and that they betrayed the international communist movement
- increased Deng's political support, helping him survive Cultural Revolution

1958 Krushchev vistis Beijing

- Mao felt badly treated after having nothing to do when visiting Soviet Union
- Krushchev booked into hotel with no air conditioning and many mosquitos
- Mao organised talks at private swimming pool since Krushchev could not swim so had to wear rubber ring

reasons for Cultural Revolution

- *desire for permanent revolution*: to make sure that old attitudes didn't undo changes since 1949 & thought this was what happened in USSR
- *provide test for young people*: Mao believed strength of CCP came from years of struggle eg Long March, civil war but young communists had no experience of struggle so needed to struggle to identify with revolution
- *remove self-satisfied officials who were motivated by privileges of power*: Mao believed communist China run by bureaucrats who weren't interested in revolution but motivated by power, so he feared new class of Mandarins like in Qing
- *prevent revolution being weakened by revisionists*: opposed measures adopted after failure of GLF and suspicious that Liu and Deng were capitalist sympathisers (encouraged private ownership) so believed revisionists were found in art/edu/culture so needed to be removed to save revolution
- *remove opponents in CCP who didn't support Mao's policies*: feared that he had opponents within CCP seeking to remove him so revolution offered opportunity to remove them (Liu & Deng)

Beginning of Cultural Revolution

- 1965 forced Wu Han resign after writing play could be interpreted as criticism of Mao's regime
- March 1966 established Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG), policies dominated by head of PLA Lin Biao, Mao's 4th wife Jiang Qing and head of secret police Kang Sheng
- July 1966 launched revolution with much-advertised swim across Yangtze River to show he was returning to political stage

mass mobilisation and the role of young people

- 1966 big character poster by Mao published
- 'Bombard the Headquarters' called upon young people to attack revisionists in CCP
- encouraged to attack authority, rebellion good
- Tiananmen Square eight mass rallies Aug-Nov 1966
- first rally most popular with a million young people came from around country to see Mao
- Lin Biao speech encouraged attacks on revisionist leaders of CCP and 'old' culture