China Under Mao Zedong A New China China

China Under Mao Zedong

A New China • China was completely transformed since 1945. • First came the great changes brought by Communism. • Next there was the Cultural Revolution. • Finally came the transformation under Deng Xiaoping. • This presentation will deal entirely with China under Mao.

Revolutionary Transformation • Mao and his communists faced a situation not unlike that of Lenin. • Utopian promises had been made, but the country they ruled was in an appalling mess. • In the first year, the tasks were to eliminate the influence of foreigners and national reactionaries. • Aristocrats and landlords were ruthlessly eliminated as People’s Courts pronounced sentence on opponents and potential opponents of the regime. • At least 2 million were killed and many more fled the country.

Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture • Mao sought to replace small -scale private farms with large collective units. • Though land was initially parcelled out to individual farmers, the small holdings – often less than an acres – simply were unworkable. • To modernize and mechanize, larger farms were needed. • By 1954, as many as 200 million people worked on collectives.

Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture • By 1954 around 200 million worked on collectives. • In 1956 the pace picked up so that soon 95% of available land was within large-scale communes, numbering 26, 000 by 1958. • Each had as many as 40, 000 to 50, 000 members. • Communes were responsible for all services in their area – schools, road construction and factory management.

Revolutionary Transformation - Industry • Mao inherited a mainly peasant society. • Industrialization was still a key aim of the Communists. • Within 2 -3 years of the revolution, about 85% of heavy industry and 50% of light industry was under state ownership. • The first 5 year plan was announced in 1951 and began in 1953. • Emphasis was on heavy industry, as it had been in the USSR. • Some small business were allowed to remain in private hands.

Revolutionary Transformation - Society • A key goal was the social transformation of China. • Here, more than anywhere else, change was dramatic. • The position of women in China had not improved greatly since feudal times. • Though the KMT passed laws, they had little effect. • In 1950 the communist marriage law finally abolished child marriage and infanticide.

Revolutionary Transformation - Society • Public health was greatly improved – though it remained rudimentary. • Medical services were extended and public hygiene improved. • Paramedics were sent into the countryside to deliver health care to even the most remote areas.

Social Transformation - Society • Population was a pressing issue. • In 1950 China numbered 450 million. In the 1960 s it was increasing by at least 20 million per year – 50, 000 a day. • Though Mao seemed to be of the opinion that China could support even greater numbers, others argued something needed to be done. • In the 1970 s Chinese leaders began population control schemes, culminating in the one child policy, whereby penalties were applied to larger families and encouragement was given to family planning.

The Hundred Flowers Campaign • In 1957 the pace of change produced political strains in China. • Mao offered to lift restrictions to prevent an opposition forming. • Criticism of officials was allowed and intellectuals were encouraged to speak their minds. • However, the campaign did not last and soon those who spoke out were silenced.

The Great Leap Forward • In 1958 Mao launched an ambitious plan to achieve “the work of twenty years in a single day. ” • Small scale industries were promoted in the countryside, including 600, 000 backyard furnaces to produce iron and steel.

The Great Leap Forward • Peasants were given rudimentary training by specialists to produce metals, machine tools, farm machinery and other tools – so there would be less dependence on centralized factories. • Vast public works schemes were also undertaken – dams, bridges, irrigation canals and the like. • The result was increased industrial production at the cost of agriculture.

The Great Leap Forward • Food rationing was required from 1959 -1961. • Even so, starvation was widespread and the death rate rose enormously. • Local industrial goods were often shoddy and almost useless. • Major construction projects were often ill-conceived, poorly engineered, and sometimes even abandoned before completion.

The Great Leap Forward • Opposition to Mao’s policies grew as failures mounted. • Mao’s criticism of the Soviet leadership further complicated matters as the Soviets withdrew their help. • Mao was outflanked. Though he kept the post of Chairman of the Communist Party, he was forced to resign as Chairman of the People’s Congress. • In the background the Soviets seemed to be helping engineer his complete removal.

The Cultural Revolution • The growing strength of the right wing of the Party alarmed Mao – who feared bureaucratisation of China. • In 1966, while Liu Shaoqi appealed for support within the Communist Party of China, Mao went to the Chinese public with his call for support.

The Cultural Revolution • Young Maoists, calling themselves Red Guards, toured the countryside whipping up public support. • Purges were organized, resulting in the closing down of schools and factories as meetings took precedence over productive work.

The Cultural Revolution • Managers were fired. • Teachers were lynched. • A wave of Maoist hysteria swept the country, destroying the opposition who were killed or “sent down. ” • Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, were forced out of their jobs and into the countryside to learn the value of peasant labour.

The Cultural Revolution • Mao sought to destroy all privilege and remove elitism in society. • Everyone wore the ubiquitous plain “Mao suits” and waived copies of Mao’s little red book.

The Cultural Revolution • For more than 2 years the upheaval continued. • Ultimately, in 1968, the Cultural Revolution ran its course. • The army stood aside in the earlier phases, but came into conflict with the Red Guards and ended their activities.

The Cultural Revolution • Zhou Enlai and others convinced Mao that the chaos must end. • Though peace was restored, the right/left struggle continued behind the scenes. • In 1971 Lin Biao, an important party leader, died under mysterious circumstances. Lin may have been plotting against Mao. • The public struggle did not return.

Sino-American Normalization • The early 1970 s saw an opening up of relations with the USA. • Mao understood that the Sino. Soviet split was extremely dangerous. • War looked very likely and it is known that the Soviets went so far as to enquire as to American intentions if the Soviets went so far as to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike. • Mao determined that China could not afford continued American hostility.

Sino-American Normalization • Ping-pong Diplomacy – sporting competition as a front for secret negotiations – bore fruit in 1971. • American President Nixon visited Mao in China and normal relations began between the two countries. • China wanted an end to US hostility at a time of great tension with the USSR. • America wanted to play the Chinese off against the Soviets.

Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • In January 1976 Zhou Enlai died. • In September Mao died as well. • Hua Guofeng, who had replaced Zhou as Premier now became chairman of the Party. • He brought back Deng Xiaoping as his premier – a man who only recently had been forced out of leadership by leftists.

Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • The Right/Left struggle was now fought in earnest. • The so-called Gang of Four – including Madame Mao, Jiang Qing, were arrested and vilified in a well-publicized show trial. It was this group who had arranged Deng’s purge in 1976. • Unbroken and unrepentant, Jiang Qing swore at her accusers and argued her case. • All were found guilty. Two were sentenced to death, later commuted to life sentences. Two others received life sentences.

Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • The struggle for primacy continued between Hua and Deng, with Deng emerging the clear victor. • Hua was conservative and resistant to change. Deng was prepared to make dramatic changes at least insofar as the economy was concerned. • Freeing parts of the economy, while maintaining strict political orthodoxy was Deng’s objective.

finis