Chinese Communist Revolution, Mao, Deng, and Korean War Flashcards

Sun Yixian (Sun Yat-sen) and The Three Principles of the People

• Sun Yixian (Sun Yat-sen) was the leader of the Guomindang (Nationalists).

• He aimed to unify China and eliminate spheres of influence.

• The Three Principles of the People:

  • Nationalism

  • Democracy

  • Livelihood

Chinese Communist Revolution: Stage One (1911-1949)

• 1911: Republic of China created, Qing (Manchu) Dynasty overthrown.

• 1925: Sun's death; Jiang Jieshi takes control of Guomindang.

• Mao Zedong was the leader of the Communists, who fought against the Guomindang.

• 1931: Japan establishes a puppet state in Manchuria (Manzhouguo).

• 1934: The Long March

  • Guomindang (Nationalists) surrounded 100,000 Communists, forcing them to march 6000 miles into Northwest China.

  • Fewer than 20,000 Communists survived; Mao emerged as a leader, spreading Communism among the peasants.

• 1937-1945: Civil War pauses as Japan sets up a puppet state in Nanjing (“The Rape of Nanjing”) during World War II.

• 1945-1949: Civil War between Communists and Nationalists resumes.

• 1949: Communists drive Nationalists to Taiwan; Jiang declares Nationalist China in Taiwan.

• 1949: Mao Zedong declares the People’s Republic of China.

  • He gained support from peasants and women by promising economic equality and land redistribution.

Mao’s Goals for Communist China (1949-1976)

• Transform China from an agricultural to an industrial nation.

• Increase literacy.

• Eliminate landlord and business classes.

• Provide healthcare.

• Allow women equality under the law.

The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962)

• One of a series of five-year plans intended to increase agricultural and industrial production.

• Methods:

  • Created farm communes (collective farms).

  • Set production quotas.

  • Iron Rice Bowl (everyone earned the same salary).

  • Backyard steel furnaces.

• Summary:

  • Commune goods were poorly made.

  • Agricultural output declined.

  • Led to three years of famine and low production.

  • Largest famine in history, with as many as 30 million people dying.

The Cultural Revolution

• Mao began it in 1966 to renew Communist loyalty.

• Shut down schools and universities so students could join the RED GUARD.

• RED GUARD attacked professors, government officials, and factory managers.

• The Thoughts of Chairman Mao (Mao’s Little Red Book) contained the ideas of the Cultural Revolution.

Results of the Cultural Revolution and Changes in China (1970s)

• Mao and his Red Guard used propaganda, demonstrations, book-burning, and persecution of opposition to strengthen the Cultural Revolution.

• Quotes from Mao:

  • 1957: “The policy of letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is designed to promote the flourishing of the arts and the progress of science.”

  • 1966: “[Intellectuals are] swollen in head, weak in legs, sharp in tongue but empty in belly.”

• Students lose years of education.

• People fear arrest and persecution.

• China’s economy suffers.

• China closes to the outside world.

• 1971: China won admission to the U.N. (replacing Taiwan).

• 1972: Nixon visited China.

• 1976: Mao’s Death.

• 1979: U.S. officially recognized the People’s Republic of China.

China Under Deng Xiaoping and Beyond (1976 to the present)

• The “Gang of Four” (led by Mao’s widow) tried to revive the Cultural Revolution, but Deng Xiaoping (a moderate reformer) emerged as leader.

• Deng’s Reforms: The Four Modernizations

  • Agriculture: Modernize and Mechanize

  • Industry: Upgrade and Expand

  • Military: Improve Defense Systems

  • Science: Promote and Develop Education and Technology

• Deng’s Reforms: The Responsibility System

  • Allowed free enterprise and profit-making (beyond quotas).

  • Opened China to trade with the West.

  • Encouraged foreign investment in Chinese industries.

• FREE ENTERPRISE = CAPITALISM

Results of Economic Changes

• Economic Growth

• Improved Standard of Living

• Improved Foreign Relations and Trade

• Increase in Crime and Corruption

• Larger gap between rich and poor

• Activists demanded political modernization.

  • May 1989: Tiananmen Square

    • “Give Us Freedom Or Give Us Death”

    • June 3-4, 1989: Government troops wounded and killed thousands of peaceful demonstrators.

Ongoing Problems

• Tibet:

  • 1950: Chinese forces invaded Tibet.

  • 1959: The Dalai Lama fled Tibet.

  • 2020: Chinese occupation of Tibet continues.

Labor Conditions

• $$0.16 an hour

• 77 to 84 hours a week

• Mandatory overtime

• Overtime rate not paid

• 11-12 hour shifts, 7 days a week

• Most had no legal work contract

• Humiliation, screaming, some corporal punishment

• Arbitrary fining of pregnant and older (25 years old and up) women

• Fines if talking at work

• Young children working in the sewing section

Denial of Basic Freedoms

• Freedom of:

  • Speech

  • Assembly

  • Press

  • Religion

Hong Kong

• Returned to China from Britain in 1997.

• Issues of human rights, democracy, trade continue.

Population Growth

• 1960: 667 million

• 2018: 1.393 billion

• One-child policy

The Asian Tigers

• Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea are called the “Asian Tigers” because of their strong recovery after WWII.

• Industrialization, trade, and finance contributed to remarkable economic growth.

• Close to China and near major ocean trading routes.

• Taiwan and Hong Kong have especially strong links to China. Hong Kong reunited with China in 1997. Taiwan remains a separate land.

Japan After WWII

• Parliamentary Democracy

• Relied heavily on trade.

• Japan imports natural resources (limited amount of land to grow raw materials – islands).

• Exports manufactured goods.

North Korea

• Korea had been controlled by the Japanese from 1905 to 1945.

• In 1945:

  • Soviets occupied the NORTH.

  • US occupied the SOUTH.

  • The two halves were divided by the 38th Parallel.

• North:

  • Communist government

  • Supplied with weapons by the Soviets.

• South:

  • Capitalist system

  • Supported by the U.S.

• 1949: Both US and Soviet troops withdrew from Korea.

• 1949: China became Communist and supported North Korea.

Korean War

• 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea with the USSR’s approval.

• South Korea asks the newly created United Nations for help.

• Most of the troops were American.

• Douglas MacArthur in command of the 15-nation UN forces.

Stages of the Korean War

• Stage One

  • By the end of July 1950, only a small section of the Korean peninsula was still in the hands of the UN forces (Pusan).

• Stage Two

  • MacArthur ordered an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon.

  • Goal to take Seoul and cut off supply lines.

  • North Koreans pushed back into North Korea.

  • MacArthur believes he will be able to “Get the boys home by Christmas.”

• Stage Three

  • Oct 1950: Chinese invaded North Korea.

  • 300,000 Chinese troops.

  • UN troops pushed back to South Korea.

  • (Nov. 1950-1953) Stalemate around 38th Parallel.

  • July 1953: Armistice signed.

Conflict and Resolution

• “We face an entirely new war,” MacArthur said. He called for nuclear attacks on Chinese cities.

• President Truman had a different opinion: “We are trying to prevent a world war, not start one.”

• MacArthur is Fired!

  • MacArthur tried to go over President Truman by talking to Congress and the press.

  • In response, Truman fired MacArthur.

Results of the Korean War

• South Korea remained ‘free’ (no democracy until 1987).

• Containment had worked.

• Korea badly damaged.

• Still two separate states today.

• Still US troops in South Korea.