Twentieth Century Development of CommunismFocus on China. . . Compare to USSR

Here’s a little overview:

First, there is a revolution (1911) and the Qing fall and a “republic” is formed by the Nationalists, but it is not a very successful Republic (warlord era) so soon the Communist form and then they go to war with the Nationalists (who are also competing with warlords fightign) and for a long time there is a nasty civil war in which Mao makes friends with the peasants. Briefly the Communists and Nationalists cooperate to fight the Japanese in WWII but as soon as the war is over, they fight again and Mao wins and China become Communist (BUT NOT UNTIL 1949)

THEN Mao is in charge for a very long time –at first he thinks the Soviets are way cool and someone to follow (as the first commies) but then they have a spat and you see a Sino-Soviet split. Then China becomes very Maoy and they go through two bizarre events the GLF and the Cultural Revolution.

And THEN Mao dies and Deng comes in and he does this little “perestroika without glasnost” thing and he still says China is communist, but it doesn’t look very communist because it allows private property (would be shocking to Marx whose number one idea is abolish private property)

Shang, Zhou, Qin, HanShang, Zhou, Qin, Han

Sui, Tang,  SongSui, Tang, Song

 

Yuan, Ming, Qing, RepublicYuan, Ming, Qing, Republic Mao and Deng

Mao and Deng

SO part ONE:

Decline of the Manchu (Qing)

____________REBELLION

In the boxer rebellion cartoon (made in US –1900), the lion is Britain (even though it has a pointy helmet!), Russia is the bear, the eagle in the center is Germany, the bald eagle on the far left is the US’s ‘watchful eye’, the rooster by the bear is France, Japan is the leopard by the bear, austria is the eagle by the lion, and spain is the wolf by the dragon’s head.

Spurs . . . . Formation of the Nationalists

Sun’s Three Principles of the People: San Min Zhu Yi

Nationalism

Democracy

Socialism (People’s Livlihood)

1894: Sun Yat Sen formed the Kuomintang (KWOH MIN TANG) or Nationalist's People's party (or GMD)

Note the slide’s not red!

__________ (date) The end of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a Republic by the N__________

Yuan Shi Kai becomes President & is BAD –corruption, disbands parliament, starts wearing emperor-like robes!!

A poster that commemorates the the permanent President of the Republic of China Yuan Shikai and the provisional President of the Republic Sun Yat-sen. "Chinese Republic forever" is a unconventional English translation of "Long Live the Republic of China.".

Warlord Period (1916-1927)

Still technically a republic but power is VERY decentralized

The nationalists have a hard time ruling and Chiang Kai Shek assumes control

Meanwhile, Japanese influence grows with new territory gained from WWI (21 Demands)

WWI and the May 4th Movement

Paris Peace conference, China demands all imperialist privileges be abolished,

that Japan cancel the the "Twenty-One Demands"

and it get back German area that Japan had annexes

Allies paid little heed to China.

On May 4th, 1919 Beijing's students protested against the Versailles Peace Conference's decision to transfer former German concessions in China to Japan.

The Making of the PRC . . . Mao Zedong

Mao soon becomes the most important member . . .

And he develops:

Marxist

Leninist

Maoist thought

The most important thing to remember about Maoist thoughtHas to adapt Marxism-Leninism to China's situation: underdeveloped, largely peasant and under siege …

MAO IS PEASANTS. . . And a belief in the power of the masses and permanent revolution

During warlord era. . . . at first the Communists join with the GMD and then they go to war with each other

1927 Chiang Kai Shek kills many communists in a bloody execution--almost eliminates CCP

The communists escape on a long march and a civil war begins b/w Communists and Nationalists

1934: "Long March" over 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers go 6000 miles one year—10% survive

Mao develops Maoist rural revolutionary strategy—Communist led peasant revolution

Remember John Green: why did Communists win support of peasants?

b/c they were successful fighting the Japanese, made sure no pillaging of peasants, gave peasants s ay in local govt Nationalist corruption, onerous taxes on peasants, abandoned Nanking

develops a guerilla warfare strategy

Meanwhile in the Soviet Union . . . . .Bolshevik Revolution, End

of WWI, & Civil War

Death of Lenin & Beginning of S_______

Line for Lenin's tomb in red square

1928 - Adoption of first ______-Year Plan, with the state setting goals and priorities for the whole economy, especially in heavy __________;

Also in 1928, Stalin ordered ____________of agriculture.

Great Purge Propaganda: Russian police “crushing the traitors”

1936-38 - Announcement of the discovery of a plot against Stalin headed by Leon Trotsky ushered in a large-scale _______in which thousands of alleged dissidents in the armed forces, the Communist Party and the government were sentenced to death or long imprisonment (the gulags).

‘Gulag Archipelago’ of forced labor camps in S________

it is a t____________ state

Hymn to Stalin (can you say CULT of________________?)

Thank you, Stalin. Thank you because I am joyful. Thank you because I am well. No matter how old I become, I shall never forget how we received Stalin two days ago. Centuries will pass, and the generations still to come will regard us as the happiest of mortals, as the most fortunate of men, because we lived in the century of centuries, because we were privileged to see Stalin, our inspired leader. Yes, and we regard ourselves as the happiest of mortals because we are the contemporaries of a man who never had an equal in world history.

The men of all ages will call on thy name, which is strong, beautiful, wise and marvelous. Thy name is engraven on every factory, every machine, every place on the earth, and in the hearts of all men.

Every time I have found myself in his presence I have been subjugated by his strength, his charm, his grandeur. I have experienced a great desire to sing, to cry out, to shout with joy and happiness. And now see me--me!--on the same platform where the Great Stalin stood a year ago. In what country, in what part of the world could such a thing happen.

All thanks to thee, O great educator, Stalin. I love a young woman with a renewed love and shall perpetuate myself in my children--all thanks to thee, great educator, Stalin. I shall be eternally happy and joyous, all thanks to thee, great educator, Stalin. Everything belongs to thee, chief of our great country. And when the woman I love presents me with a child the first word it shall utter will be: Stalin.

O great Stalin, O leader of the peoples,Thou who broughtest man to birth.Thou who fructifies the earth,Thou who restorest to centuries,Thou who makest bloom the spring,Thou who makest vibrate the musical chords...Thou, splendour of my spring, O thou,Sun reflected by millions of hearts.

---A. O.Avidenko

Obverse of the Order "Mother Heroine"

Mother Heroine (Russian: Мать-героиня) was an honorary title in the Soviet Union awarded for__________________

Stalin “our father”

Japanese Invasion –start of WW2

”

1931: Japan invades and creates state of Manchukuo:

Back to China . . . .

1937, Japan invades Nanjing

Nationalist capital

“Rape of Nanjing”

Over 200,000 murdered in 3 months

A sort of alliance forms to fight the Japanese

Chiang and Mao met during the peace negotiation held from Aug 28, 1945 thru Oct 11, 1945 in the wartime capital of Chongqing, China to toast to the Chinese victory over Japan, but their shaky alliance was short-lived.

WWII’s over and the Civil War resumes

Mao Proclaims the Establishment of the People’s Republic of China

Communists win . . .

Nationalists retreat to Taiwan;

 

The nationalists retreated in 1949

Black dotted lines are political boundaries drawn by the ROC. The formal names of these political entities are in black text. Red solid lines are political boundaries drawn by the PRC. The formal names of these political entities are in red text. White areas represent the territories claimed by the ROC but not the PRC.

And both sides claim to rule China

A meeting between Stalin and Mao Zedong after the CCP's 1949 victory over the KMT in the Chinese Civil War.

Mao’s ChinaFirst. . . The Soviet Model: "lean to one side" 1949-1957

Emphasis on Industrialization, Collectivization and of course, 5 year plans

Land Reform: redistribution!

Lean to One Side: Industrialization and Land Reform

Poster Encouraged peasants to “speak bitterness” against landowners in order to rout out bad/good landowners

Lean to One Side: Efforts to combat illiteracy

Fairly successful

Lean to One Side The Korean War

("Produce more! Contribute more!"),. This "Patriotic Pledge" starts with the call to "resist America and support Korea".

The New Marriage Law that was promulgated on 1 May 1950 gave women legal equality with men

Lean to One Side “Women hold up Half the Sky”

But then . . . The Sino-Soviet split

Maoist Era 1958-1976 . . No more leaning

small rural factories

Point: industrialize more quickly.

Result widespread famine, with per capita grain consumption falling by 22% and millions of deaths.

Great Leap Forward l958-61

Propaganda poster of the steel production objective. The text reads: "Take steel as the key link, leap forward in all fields".

Great Leap Forward:

John Green:

So Mao came up with a terrible idea called the Great Leap Forward. Mao essentially decided that the nation could be psyched up into more industrial productivity. 

Among many other bad ideas, he famously ordered that individuals build small steel furnaces in their backyard to increase steel production. This was not a good idea. First off, it didn’t actually increase steel production much. Secondly, it turns out that people making steel in their backyard who know nothing about making steel… make bad steel. 

But the worst idea was to pay for heavy machinery from the USSR with exported grain. This meant there was less for peasants to eat — and as a result, between 1959 and 1962, 20 million people died, probably half of whom were under the age of 10. Jeez, Thought Bubble, that was sad. 

1966-1976 Mao’s “revolution” which would purge the elder leaders and put in a younger generation whose zeal would not let the country self-destruct,

leads to wide scale disruption of industry and agriculture as Mao orders a purge of right-wing elements in the Party.

Many managers and intellectuals sent to the countryside for re-education

1966: Cultural Revolution:

“Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong thought to wage the Great Proletarian Revolution to the end. Revolution is no crime. To rebel is justified. Ca 1966

first stage, 20 million or so high school and college students (the Red Guards) respond to Mao’s pronouncement that “it is right to rebel!”

Destroyed countless priceless historical artifacts and harassing, torturing and killing many 100s of people labeled “class enemies” and “capitalist roaders.”

They particularly target intellectuals, officials and their families.

Once the alleged “capitalist roaders” were removed from power, Mao and his radical allies introduced a range of policies aimed at making China a more purely socialist society. Thus art literature and drama were purged of all revisionist workers and strictly limited to depicting revolutionary themes.

When schools reopened, procedures favoring applicants with worker or peasant backgrounds replaced grades or exams as the principle basis for university entrance

Chinese poster saying: "Smash the old world / Establish a new world." Classical example of the Red art from the early Cultural Revolution. A worker (or possibly Red Guard) crushes the crucifix, Buddha and classical Chinese texts with his hammer; 1967

a t____________ state?

Ending: Mao died in 1976 and the CR was over

Mao's body lies in state after his death on September 9, 1976

"to get rich is glorious"

“Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”

Economic Reform in China

“Black Cat, White Cat, it doesn’t matter as long as the cat catches mice”

Architect: Deng Xiaoping

Time: early 1980’s

ECONOMIC REFORM

(A) Shifting authority for decision making from central bureaucrats to individual families factory managers, local governments

(B) recognizing (limited) property rights

Note that this is limited Privatization: diminish (NOT eliminate) state owned factories

Open China to the outside world by . . .

(A)Increasing trade . . . “export lead”

(B) encouraging foreign investment

RESULTS

Consumer product growth

Foreigners invest more

China joins the WTO

US trade imbalance

GDP grows

Maybe perestroika but not glasnost