Mao Zedong: Consolidation of Power and the Cultural Revolution

Challenges to Mao Zedong’s Authority and the Korean War ($1950$-$1953$)

• Despite the growth of his authority, Mao Zedong grew increasingly paranoid, fearing his position was under threat due to several challenges:

  • The impact of the Korean War ($1950$-$1953$).

  • Hardships caused by the First Five-Year Plan to boost the economy through rapid industrialization ($1952$-$1956$).

• The Division of Korea:

  • From $1910$ until $1945$, Korea was under Japanese occupation.

  • At the end of the Second World War, the peninsula was occupied by Soviet forces in the north (liberated) and United States forces in the south, effectively dividing the nation at the $38\text{th parallel}$.

  • In $1948$, two nations formed: the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

  • Leadership: Stalin supported the communist regime of Kim Il-Sung in the north; United States President Truman ensured the south was non-communist under Syngman Rhee.

• The Conflict ($1950$-$1953$):

  • In June $1950$, North Korea invaded South Korea to seize territory and bring about reunification under the communist banner.

  • Truman committed to the policy of "containing the spread of communism" and convinced the United Nations (UN) Security Council to authorize a mission to drive back the communists.

  • Zhou Enlai condemned the UN intervention as an "imperialist invasion."

  • By $15\text{ September } 1950$, North Korea occupied almost all of South Korea except a small area surrounding Pusan.

  • On $15\text{ September } 1950$, UN forces led by US General Douglas MacArthur invaded at Inchon.

  • By November $1950$, US forces occupied most of North Korea, including its capital, P’yongyang.

  • Maximum United Nations advance reached near the Yalu River on $24\text{ November } 1950$.

• China Enters the War:

  • The US State Department believed Stalin and Mao orchestrated the invasion, fueled by the idea of "monolithic" communism (the idea that global communism was controlled by Moscow).

  • Mao did not initiate the invasion; his priority was pulling People's Liberation Army (PLA) units for reunification campaigns in Tibet and possibly Taiwan.

  • Mao was kept in the dark about Stalin’s motives; Stalin likely wanted to provoke the USA and was boycotting the UN Security Council over its refusal to recognize the PRC.

  • Mao worked to persuade military commanders to send troops as UN forces pushed north; he argued that by taking North Korea, the USA might eventually invade China and that the boundaries of the "Bamboo Curtain" (the border between communist China and non-communist neighbors) should not be crossed.

  • By the end of $1950$, $250,000$ PLA troops under the command of Deng Dehuai crossed into Korea. Eventually, the number rose to $3,000,000$.

  • Stalemate: On $21\text{ January } 1951$, Chinese/North Korean advance reached its maximum. The war continued for two more years until a truce was announced with a no man's land along the $38\text{th parallel}$ on $27\text{ July } 1953$.

Domestic Mobilization and the Impact of the Korean War

• Mobilization Campaigns:

  • Campaign title: "Resist America, aid Korea, preserve our homes, defend the Nation."

  • Zhou Enlai led the "Hate America" campaign supported by propaganda.

  • In $1952$, China accused the US of germ warfare. World headlines were grabbed by claims of a diseased vole found in Manchuria.

  • Mao dismissed the threat of US nuclear weapons as a mere "paper tiger."

  • The "five pests" campaign: Citizens were urged to kill flies, mosquitoes, fleas, bedbugs, and rats considered possible sources of disease.

  • In May $1953$, a Moscow resolution concluded that Chinese allegations of American germ warfare were false.

• Economic and Human Cost:

  • Nearly $1 \text{ million}$ Chinese deaths occurred, including Mao's oldest son, Anying (figures not issued in China).

  • Military expenses in $1951$ reached $55\%$ of government spending.

  • Party cadres requisitioned grain from peasants, leading to fear of starvation.

  • The urban economy suffered production losses that took a decade to recover.

  • The pressure to repay Stalin for war supplies worsened the budget; Mao compared getting aid from Stalin to "getting meat from the mouth of a tiger."

• Propaganda Victory:

  • Mao claimed a huge victory for pushing UN troops back to the $38\text{th parallel}$, bolstering his prestige.

  • The USA announced it would defend Taiwan and its UN seat, ruling out a PRC attack on Taiwan.

Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin: Relations and the Party Purges

• The Sino-Soviet Relationship:

  • Tensions existed due to Stalin's failure to support the CCP during the civil war and ideological disagreements (Stalin favored industrial workers over Mao’s peasant-led revolution).

  • In $1949$, Mao announced China should "lean to one side" and emulate the Soviet Union.

  • Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance ($1950$): Included a $300 \text{ million dollar}$ loan with strict interest terms.

  • Sino-Soviet Friendship Association spread the message: "The Soviet Union's Today is our Tomorrow."

• Party Purges (1954):

  • Mao targeted provincial leaders Gao Gang ($1902$-$1954$) in Manchuria and Rao Shushi ($1900$-$1975$) in Shandong.

  • Accusation: establishing "independent kingdoms."

  • Result: Both dismissed; Gao Gang committed suicide; Rao Shushi was imprisoned. A "witch-hunt" followed for others accused of "treachery" and "splitting the party."

Consolidation of Power: The Registration System

• In June $1955$, the household-registration system was extended to the countryside to stem the flow of approximately $20 \text{ million}$ rural migrants to urban areas.

• Definitions of Registration Documents:

  • Danwei: A permit to work.

  • Hukou: A certificate entitling a family to obtain accommodation.

  • Dangan: A dossier held by local party officials containing personal details and records of every individual.

• Peasants were tied to the land; anyone wanting to move needed a migration certificate. Ration cards were tied to local grain stores where peasants were registered.

The Impact of De-Stalinization and the Hundred Flowers Campaign

• De-Stalinization ($1956$):

  • Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s "cult of personality," purges, and agricultural reforms.

  • In China, references to "Mao Zedong thought" were removed from the CCP charter in September $1956$; Mao needed to divert criticism from his leadership style.

• The "Hundred Flowers" Campaign ($1957$):

  • Slogan: "Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend."

  • Mao encouraged open criticism; when leading figures attacked party corruption and lack of realism, Mao halted the campaign.

• Anti-Rightist Movement:

  • Led by Deng Xiaoping ($1904$-$1997$), who was then Secretary General.

  • More than $500,000$ people were labeled "rightists."

  • Victims were executed, committed suicide, or sent to the countryside for re-education. Even Zhou Enlai was forced to confess to slowing reform.

• Historical Debates on Mao's Motives:

  • Jung Chang: A deliberate trick to expose and root out critics.

  • Lei Feignon: A pragmatic attempt to encourage criticism against bureaucracy and inefficiencies.

  • Jonathan Spence: A result of confusion within the party regarding the pace of industrial and agricultural reform.

The Purge of Peng Dehuai and the Tibetan Uprising ($1959$)

• Purge of Peng Dehuai:

  • At the Lushan gathering ($1959$), Minister of Defence Peng Dehuai spoke about the famine caused by agricultural reform (the Great Leap Forward).

  • Famine death toll: eventual loss of $40 \text{ million}$ lives.

  • Mao equated Peng's criticism with treason and purged him.

• Tibetan Uprising ($1959$):

  • Tibetans rose against Chinese occupation (present since the PLA invasion of $1950$).

  • Suppression included mass arrests and attacks on religion. The Dalai Lama fled to northern India.

  • Panchen Lama report ($1962$): Claimed $20\%$ of the Tibetan population had been imprisoned and half of those died in prison. Mao denied this and arrested the Panchen Lama.

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ($1966$-$1976$)

• Origins:

  • Mao retreated to the background in $1962$ after the Great Famine. President Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping worked to save the economy.

  • Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in $1966$ to reassert authority, resulting in class war, cultural destruction, and economic chaos.

• Instruments of the Revolution:

  • The Little Red Book (Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong): Compiled by Lin Biao and Chen Boda. Sold over $750 \text{ million}$ copies; became a secular bible.

  • Purge of Wu Han: Attack on the playwright of The Dismissal of Hai Rui from Office, seen as a critique of Mao’s dismissal of Peng Dehuai.

  • Gang of Four: Powerful CCP faction (Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunquiao, Yao Wenyyuan, Wang Honwen) responsible for radical policies.

  • Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG): A $17\text{-member}$ body directing the revolution.

• The Red Guards and the "Four Olds":

  • Mao urged students to "bombard the headquarters" on $1 \text{ August } 1966$.

  • Mass rallies in Tiananmen Square ($18 \text{ August } 1966$) involved over $1 \text{ million}$ youth.

  • The "Four Olds" to attack: old ideas, old culture, old customs, old habits.

  • Target categories: landlords, rich peasants, reactionaries, bad elements, and rightists.

• Violence and Results:

  • Liu Shaoqi was beaten and died in solitary confinement due to lack of medical treatment for diabetes.

  • Deng Xiaoping was sent to "corrective labour" in Jiangxi; his son was paralyzed after being thrown from a window by Red Guards.

  • Secret police head Kang Sheng instigated further purges. The trial of the Gang of Four ($1980$) stated Red Guards murdered over half a million official members.

Waning of the Revolution and the Fall of Lin Biao

• Internal Exile:

  • In $1968$, the Red Guards were sent "to the mountains and down to the villages" to restore order in cities. Between $1967$ and $1972$, over $12 \text{ million}$ young people moved to the countryside.

• The Fall of Lin Biao ($1971$-$1972$):

  • Mao grew paranoid of Lin's influence. Lin allegedly plotted to remove Mao but his plane crashed in Mongolia while fleeing to the USSR, killing all on board.

• End of an Era:

  • Zhou Enlai died in $1976$; the Tiananmen Incident followed when crowds honoring him were dispersed by police.

  • Mao Zedong died in $1976$. The Gang of Four was removed, and Deng Xiaoping emerged as the paramount leader by $1978$.

Mao Zedong’s Foreign Policy

• The Bandung Conference ($1955$): China participated with $29$ Asian and African nations to discuss decolonization and the Cold War.

• Sino-Soviet Rift ($1958$-$1976$):

  • Mao accused Khrushchev of revisionism.

  • China walked out of the Moscow Conference in $1961$.

  • China produced its first hydrogen bomb in $1964$.

  • Border war in $1969$ nearly led to nuclear conflict.

• Relations with the USA:

  • Mao feared Western attack and built the "Third Line" (underground fortifications).

  • "Ping-pong diplomacy" in $1971$ began a detente to undermine the USSR.

  • China took its seat on the UN Security Council with veto power.

  • President Nixon visited China in $1972$; full diplomatic relations established by $1979$.

Questions & Discussion

• Source Discussion: Frank Dikotter ($2013$) argues the first decade of Maoism was one of the worst tyrannies, killing at least $5 \text{ million}$ civilians.

  • Question 1: In what ways might this source represent a revisionist view?

  • Question 2: Disuss the challenges facing historians investigating the early years of the PRC in light of this source.

• Class Discussion Topics:

  • Compare Mao's reactions to internal threats with those of another dictator.

  • How the registration system strengthened CCP control.

  • Whether the Hundred Flowers campaign was driven by ideology, pragmatism, or power.

  • Why Mao enlisted the young for the Cultural Revolution.

  • Assess if Mao's leadership marked a change or continuity with China's past rulers.

• Research & Communication Skills:

  • The appeal of "The Little Red Book" and whether it can be described as "secular faith."

  • The use of propaganda posters, color, and symbolism in directing the Cultural Revolution.

  • Analysis of Suola Liu's account of the "hormonal reaction" of Red Guards seeing Mao.

• Mao Zedong: Leader of the Chinese Communist Party, established the People's Republic of China, and initiated several social and economic reforms, including the Cultural Revolution.

• Joseph Stalin: Leader of the Soviet Union who supported Mao's regime and influenced Chinese communist policies, notably through the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Alliance.

• Zhou Enlai: Premier of China and key figure in launching the Korean War, known for leading the "Hate America" campaign and promoting foreign diplomacy.

• Kim Il-Sung: Leader of North Korea who initiated the invasion of South Korea in 1950, sparking the Korean War.

• Douglas MacArthur: U.S. General who commanded UN forces during the Korean War and led the successful Inchon Landing.

• Deng Xiaoping: Prominent Chinese politician involved in the power struggles within the CCP and later took on a significant leadership role post-Mao.

• Peng Dehuai: Minister of Defence who criticized Mao during the Lushan Conference for famine caused by the Great Leap Forward, leading to his purge.

• Lin Biao: Mao's designated successor who fell from favor and died in a plane crash while fleeing; he was associated with the radical policies of the Cultural Revolution.

• Anying Mao: Mao's oldest son who died during the Korean War, representing the personal loss experienced by the leadership.

• Panchen Lama: Tibetan religious leader who criticized Chinese governance in Tibet and was arrested by Mao's regime after his report on the crackdown in Tibet.