10.3 - Communist China

POLITICAL CHANGES -
- Emperor stripped of political power - serves in a ceremonial role
- Japan became a parliamentary democracy constitutional monarchy
- Women and men allowed to vote
- New parliamentary legislature (DIET) created
- Land seized during WWII had to be given back
MILITARY CHANGES-
- Japanese military disbanded
- Cannot declare war
ECONOMIC CHANGES-
- Traditional economy replaced with a market economy
- US became a trading partner
- Invested heavily in human capital and capital goods
- Invested heavily in infrastructure
SOCIAL CHANGES-
- English became a second language
- Japan adopts many aspects of US culture

1930s - Nationalists (Guomindang) v Communists
Interrupted by Japan invasion & WWII
- Before the Japan invasion…the communists were loosing and fleeing at the Long March
- The Long March is one of the reasons the communists won the war.
1949 - Communists win
- Nationalists flee to Taiwan
Reasons for Communist Victory
- Supported by peasants - largest class
- They are interacting with more people
- The peasants were willing to hide them
- Guerilla tactics - perfected from Japan
- Not a traditional battle
- Trying to take your enemy by surprise
- Attack when they are at their weakness

Leader of Communist party in China
Promised to improve living conditions
Established People’s Republic of China
- October 1, 1949
- Instills Communist ideology within the Republic
- MAIN GOAL - to make China strong and to make sure people have a better way of life
- He is going to try to make policies that improve the people’s living situation
Dies in 1976
“Revolution is not a dinner party, nor an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained, and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.” - Mao Zedong
- The Revolution is going to be violent because there is one class trying to overthrow the other

Was this a positive or negative policy for China?
- Negative because there were millions who died
- “Deadliest Leader of all time”
- GOAL: to get rid of family farms and making it a group/village owned farms
How were the people affected?
- There was a famine that caused the death of about 55 million people
- Economic disaster and human tragedy
Economic & agricultural policy from 1958-1961
GOAL - increase farm & industrial output
- Communes -> villages & people
- Backyard industries produce steel
- Agricultural production
DISASTROUS FAILURE = useless goods, famine
- No one is buying what they are making
- US steel was way cheaper and better
- Famine happens across throughout the 3 years
RESULTS = 55 million starved to death

Social program used by Mao Zedong from 1966 - 1976
GOAL - purge China of “bourgeois” or non-revolutionaries
- Anything that goes against communism, the Chinese government, or any Western ideas
Chinese youth (Red Guard) = enforcers of this policy/program
- Little Red Book
RESULTS - economy stalled, unrest rose
- Children are turning in their teachers, parents, and random people
- Accused are humiliated, beaten, & murdered
- Skilled workers - forced to farm or labor camps
- Schools & factories closed

USSR & China = uneasy alliance
- Communist ideology, yet different - peasants & Marxism
- Border clashes in 1959
They do not have great relationships with either country
US & China = roller coaster type relationship
- US refuses to recognize communist government
- Supported opposing sides in Korean War
- Tensions ease in 1971 - China & UN, Nixon visit
- China is entered into the United Nations
- Nixon is the first US president to visit China