Communists Take Power inChina
17.2
Soviets had been training revolutionaries across the worldto spread communism
Communists Gain Control of China
Prior to Japanese invasion (1937):
Civil war in China
Between nationalism led by Chiang Kai-shek (JiangJieshi) and communism led by Mao Zedong
Civil War Divides China
Soviet Union supported Mao
U.S. sent billions of $$$ to aid the Nationalists
Corrupt Nationalist leaders (anti-communists) pocketed most of $$
Generals were reluctant to fight as well
Ppl were starving + Mao promised the peasants food + land and by1945 Mao controlled most of Northern China
Civil War Divides China
Renewed Chinese Civil War lasted from 1946-1949
Nationalists at first had the advantage over Mao’sRed Army b/c of the size of the Nationalist armybut…
Nationalist army lost many supporters who deserted tothe Communists as China’s economy collapsed
Civil War Resumes after WWII
1948 – Mao’s forces dominated the war
1949 – The Red Army captured all of China’s major cities.
He won the countryside w/ the promise of land for thepeasants.
Jiang fled China + took control of the Chinese island of Taiwan
∴ Mao + Communists took over China naming it the People’sRepublic of China
Communists now controlled ¼ of world’s land, 1/3 world’s ppl
Communists Win China
China had split into 2 nations andthe Superpowers react:
Taiwan Nationalist China
This is the China that theWestern world supported +recognized.
U.S. gave Taiwan financial aid.
People’s Republic of China Communist China
The Soviets pledged theirsupport.
S.U. + China promised to cometo each other’s aid if attacked.
This intensified the Cold War
The Two China’s Affect the Cold War
Chinese troops expanded into Tibet, India, andsouthern Mongolia.
In 1951 China brutally gained total control over Tibetand forced the Dalai Lama (their religious leader) out.
He fled to India along w/ other Tibetan refugees.
Led to lasting conflict b/w China and India.
China Expands Under theCommunists
Communists had to strengthen their rule over 550 million ppl
China had been at war for decades + needed to rebuild.
The Communists Transform China
Communists had to tighten their rule as their 4.5 millionmembers made up only 1% of the Chinese pop.
Set up two entities to rule China:
Communist Party
National Government
(Mao was the leader of both).
Communists Claim a New “Mandateof Heaven”
Mao enacted the Agrarian Reform Law of 1950:
Mao seized land holdings of wealthy landlords
Killed approx. 1 million+ of these landlords + divided the landamong the peasants.
Then, Mao transformed these areas to collective farms w/200-300 households on each.
Nationalized private companies (took them under gov’tcontrol).
Launched a 5 Year Plan and greatly increased industrialoutput.
Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism
Mao’s second 5 Year Plan called “The Great Leap Forward”
Called for larger collective farms called communes.
1958: 26,000 communes had been created @ 25,000 ppl each
Life was strictly controlled: all ate, slept, lived in the samespace.
Had no motivation to work hard b/c they weren’t benefitingfrom the output at all.
“The Great Leap Forward”
Was actually a GIANT step backward:
Inefficient and poorly planned communes
1961 crop failures killed 20 million ppl + Mao endedthe program
“The Great Leap Forward”
Good relationship b/w China + Soviet Union was fading.
Competed to be leader of worldwide communist mvm’t +both wanted longest country boarder in world
= territorial disputes
Mao Has International Trouble
Mao reduced his role in gov’t after failure of Great Leap Forward +split w/ S. Union
New leaders were less strict:
Allowed families to live in individual homes w/ small plot of land to sellcrops from + factories allowed wage competition
Mao thought this weakened China’s Communist goal of socialequality
∴ He encouraged millions of high school + college students torevive the Communist revolution
They formed militia’s and called themselves the Red Guards
New Policies and Mao’s Response
Red Guards led a major uprising called the CulturalRevolution.
Goal of the Cultural Revolution:
Establish a society of workers + peasants in which all were equal
Peasants = heroes, Intellectuals = dangerous
∴ Red Guards shut down schools + colleges
Intellectuals had to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor
Took down anyone who resisted
The Cultural Revolution
Chaos across China due to the Cultural Rev.
Seriously hurt farm production + factory output
1968: Mao ordered the Cultural Rev. to stop
Called out the Chinese army to put down the Red Guards
Zhou Enlai (new Chinese leader) began to restore order.
The Cultural Revolution
