Mao Zedong Sections 3.2-3.3

Mao's grip on power, 1955-1976

The registration system

• CCP increased power over countryside in 1955

  • put more peasants into cooperatives

• Internal passport system (hukou) tied rural people to countryside

  • urban residents kept benefits

• Migration from countryside caused by famine led to 20 million rural migrants

  • State tried to stop it

• Local officials kept dossiers (dangan) on everyone

The impact of de-Stalinization

• Khrushchev’s 1956 speech against Stalin’s cult of personality worried Mao about his own image

• References to Mao Zedong Thought were removed from CCP charter

• Strikes and protests happened in China as people questioned authority

The "Hundred Flowers" campaign

• 1957 slogan "Let a hundred flowers bloom" encouraged open criticism of the CCP

  • Criticism escalated to attacks on Mao and other leaders, forced Mao to shut down the movement

• Anti-Rightist Movement followed, labeled half a million as "rightists"

• Historians debate whether it was a trap, an attack, or a confused reaction to reforms

The Purge of Peng Dehuai

• Peng Dehuai criticized Mao’s policies and famine at Lushan Conference in 1959

• Instead of supporting Peng, party members praised Mao and Peng was purged from the party

The Tibetan Uprising of 1959

• Famine spread to Tibet, causing resistance and national uprising against Chinese rule

• Chinese army brutally suppressed the rebellion

  • Dalai Lama fled to India, religious practices banned

• Panchen Lama’s report confirmed mass imprisonments and deaths, but CCP denied it

The Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976

The Little Red Book

• Lin Biao compiled Mao’s quotations into the "Little Red Book," selling over 750 million copies

• It became a "secular bible" for the PLA, students, and the general public, fueling Mao’s cult of personality

The Purge of Wu Han

• 1965 play by Wu Han was seen as criticizing Mao and led to his purge and eventual suicide in 1969

Power struggles in the CCP

• Radical Maoists like Jiang Qing targeted moderates such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping

• Group of Five purged in 1966, Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG) formed to intensify purges

The events of the Cultural Revolution

• Poster campaigns encouraged students to attack teachers and authority figures

• Mao staged a comeback with a public swim in the Yangzi River in 1966 to show strength

• Lin Biao promoted to second-in-command, Cultural Revolution launched to renew class struggle

Rallies

• First mass rally held in Tiananmen Square in August 1966 with over a million Red Guards

• Further rallies boosted Mao’s godlike status among the youth

The Red Guards and the destruction of the "Four Olds"

• Students urged to destroy old ideas, culture, customs, and habits

• Historic and cultural sites, school systems, and family structures were violently attacked

The attacks on Deng Xiaoping, Liu Shaoqi, and other moderates

• Liu Shaoqi was beaten, imprisoned, and died untreated

  • Deng was humiliated and exiled to rural labor

• Deng’s son was paralyzed after being thrown from a window by Red Guards

The Cultural Revolution abroad

• 1967 Chinese militants carried out violent attacks in over 30 countries to spread anti-imperialist rebellion

The PLA and the Red Guards' move to the countryside

• By 1968, Red Guards became too chaotic and PLA was ordered to restore order

• Red Guards were sent to countryside under the "Up to the mountains, down to the villages" campaign

The "Cleansing the class ranks" campaign, 1968-1971

• Committees across China tortured and killed thousands in efforts to remove capitalism and disloyalty

The Fall of Lin Biao, 1971-1972

• Lin Biao, fearing for his life, allegedly plotted against Mao but died in a plane crash fleeing to USSR

The decline of the Cultural Revolution

• Lin’s betrayal shocked China, and Mao’s prestige was damaged

• Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping began regaining influence as moderates

The Tiananmen Incident

• 1976 mass mourning for Zhou Enlai turned into protest, crushed by police

• Deng blamed and dismissed again, but Mao died later that year and the Gang of Four fell

Mao's foreign policy

The Sino-Soviet rift, 1958-1976

• Mao’s ties with Stalin soured after Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization and outreach to the West

• Relations collapsed completely by 1961, leading to propaganda war and armed clashes in 1969

Relations with the US

• Anti-American sentiment peaked during Korean War and Vietnam War

• 1971 "Ping-pong diplomacy" began thawing relations, leading to Nixon’s 1972 visit

• China gained UN Security Council seat, ending international isolation

Relations with other nations

• War with India in 1962 over border disputes, with lasting tensions

• Supported Pakistan during its wars with India

• Relations with Taiwan remained hostile, with reunification attempts failing

3.3

Mao's economic and social policies

The Chinese Communist Party's economic policies

• Inflation under CCP initially extreme, but reduced to 15% by 1951 through spending cuts and currency reform

The first Five-Year Plan, 1952-1957

• Focused on coal, steel, petrochemicals, and transportation infrastructure

• USSR aid came mainly in the form of expensive loans rather than investments

• Urban population doubled, industrial output increased

The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1962

• Aimed to rapidly industrialize and surpass capitalist economies

• Backyard furnaces campaign produced mostly useless steel

• Massive infrastructure projects launched but targets often based on propaganda

State-owned enterprises

• Industries nationalized under SOEs, providing job security but little incentive for efficiency

The Great Famine, 1958-1962

• Forced collectivization, disastrous agricultural policies, and continued grain requisitioning caused famine

• 45 million died, with Mao blaming peasants and weather rather than policies

• Liu and Deng reintroduced private farming to save the country

Religious policies

• All religions suppressed and replaced by loyalty to the Party

• Patriotic churches controlled by the state, causing rift with Vatican

• Cultural Revolution destroyed religious institutions and traditional practices

Policies affecting women and the family

• Marriage Law outlawed arranged marriage and footbinding

• Women gained more rights, but deep-rooted patriarchy remained in rural areas

Mao's cultural policies

• Traditional Chinese culture attacked, revolutionary culture promoted by Jiang Qing

• Revolutionary opera and propaganda arts dominated public life

Literacy, language, and education

• Massive literacy campaigns launched, simplified Chinese characters introduced

• Education system politicized to promote Maoist ideology

Health reforms

• Rural healthcare improved through barefoot doctors and anti-disease campaigns

• Basic medical care extended to more of the rural population