The Rise Of Communism In China

World War II, Chinese Communists defeated Nationalist forces, and two separate Chinas emerged.

China fought with the Allies in World War II, but the victory was undermined by Japanese occupation and heavy casualties (estimated between 10 and 22 million civilian deaths).
Conflict continued after Japan's defeat with renewed fighting between Chinese armies.

A civil war was ongoing between the Nationalists and the Communists when Japan invaded China in 1937.
The political opponents temporarily united to fight the Japanese during the war.
After the war they resumed fighting.

Mao Zedong led the Communists, with a stronghold in northwestern China.
They mobilized peasants for guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in the northeast.
The Communists gained peasant support by promoting literacy and improving food production.
By 1945, they controlled much of northern China.
Jiang Jieshi led the Nationalist forces, dominating southwestern China.
Protected by mountains, Jiang amassed an army of 2.5 million men.
The U.S. sent the Nationalists at least $1.5$ billion in aid from 1942 to 1945.
The Nationalist army avoided fighting the Japanese, preserving strength for the conflict against Mao's Red Army.
The Nationalist army's supplies and money often ended up in the hands of corrupt officers.

The civil war continued from 1946 to 1949.
Initially, the Nationalists had advantages: a larger army and continued U.S. support (nearly $2$ billion in military aid).
The Nationalists failed to gain popular support as China's economy collapsed.
Thousands of Nationalist soldiers deserted to the Communists.
In spring 1949, major cities fell to the well-trained Red forces.
Mao's promise to return land to the peasants boosted his troops' morale.
Jiang's defeated army retreated south.
In October 1949, Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China.
Jiang and other Nationalist leaders retreated to Taiwan (Formosa).
Mao's victory intensified anti-Communist sentiment in the U.S..
The 1950 treaty between China and the Soviet Union further fueled these feelings in the United States.

The Chinese Revolution, like the French, Russian, and Cuban Revolutions, aimed to dismantle the existing class structure and expand economic and political opportunities.
Peasants played a crucial role in all these revolutions.

	Nationalists	Communists
Leader	Jiang Jieshi	Mao Zedong
Area Ruled	Southern China	Northern China
Foreign Support	United States	Soviet Union
Domestic Policy	Defeat of Communists	National liberation
Public Support	Weak due to inflation and failing economy	Strong due to promised land reform for peasants
Military Organization	Ineffective, corrupt leadership and poor morale	Experienced, motivated guerrilla army

China split into two nations: Taiwan (Nationalist China) and mainland China (People's Republic of China).
Taiwan: 13,000 square miles.
Mainland China: over 3.5 million square miles.
The existence of two Chinas intensified the Cold War due to conflicting international loyalties.

The U.S. supported Jiang Jieshi in setting up a Nationalist government on Taiwan (Republic of China).
The Soviets provided financial, military, and technical aid to Communist China.
China and the Soviet Union pledged mutual defense.
The U.S. aimed to halt Soviet expansion in Asia.

Chinese troops expanded into Tibet, India, and Inner Mongolia during Mao's early reign.
Outer Mongolia remained within the Soviet sphere.
China took control of Tibet in 1950 and 1951, promising autonomy but later tightening control.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed revolt, leading to increased resentment between India and China.
A brief border war occurred between India and China in 1962.

After decades of conflict, the Communists aimed to strengthen control and restore China as a powerful nation.

The Communist Party had $4.5$ million members.
The Chinese Communists established parallel organizations: the Communist Party and the national government.
Mao headed both until 1959.

Mao aimed to reshape China's economy based on Marxist socialism.
$80$ percent of the people lived in rural areas, and $10$ percent of the rural population controlled $70$ percent of the farmland.
Under the Agrarian Reform Law of 1950, Mao seized land from landlords and divided it among the peasants.
More than a million landlords were killed for resisting.
The government forced peasants to join collective farms of 200 to 300 households each.
Private companies were nationalized.
In 1953, China launched a five-year plan, that achieved dramatic increases in output of coal, cement, steel, and electricity by 1957.

Introduced in 1958, it aimed to create larger collective farms or communes.
By the end of 1958, approximately 26,000 communes had been established.
The average commune covered 15,000 acres and housed over 25,000 people.
Peasants worked, ate, slept, and raised children communally and owned nothing.
The peasants lacked the motivation to work hard because the state profited from their labor.
Poor planning and inefficient