CHINA 1949: KEY PEOPLE

           In the Chinese revolution, two particular individuals played key roles and led to the change in government and development of various campaigns and changes. These two men were the head of opposing parties, the nationalist party and the communist party. The nationalist party was in control after the fall of the Qing dynasty; meanwhile the communist party took over control after defeating the nationalists in a long period of civil war. These two men are Mao Zedong, leader of the communists and founder of the People’s Republic of China, and Chiang Kai Shek, leader of the nationalists. Another important man who is the reason for China's huge economic success today is Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the communist party after Mao's death.  Chiang and Mao both took over control in separate revolutions and  tried to unify the country, defeat warlords, and change the social structure of China meanwhile Deng focused on improving the economy. 

Chiang Kai Shek is the head of the nationalist party (Kuomintang) who was involved in the 1911 revolution, 1928 war against Japan, and the 1949 revolution. He was involved in the 1911 revolution against the Qing dynasty and became the military leader of the nationalists in 1917. Sun Yat Sen who was the nationalist leader at the time were well-liked by the communists and the two parties cooperated until his death when Chiang started gaining political prominence and became the nationalist leader in 1925 after Sun's death where he set out to unify the country. However, he could not maintain good relations with the communists which started a civil war. Chiang faced challenges from the warlords and communists which resulted in a war that was both costly in men and money. However, he was successful in causing both groups to retreat as he decreased men in communist troops. In the war against Japan, he was forced to ally with the communists to lead China in an attempt to stop Japanese invasion which was proved to be successful. After peace talks could not be agreed after the war against Japan, the communist and nationalists were involved in a civil war which saw the nationalists being defeated and having to retreat to Taiwan where they would continue fighting China under the communists in a plan to come back into power which did not prove to be successful.

When Chiang Kai Shek was the leader of the nationalist party and head of China, he planned to make many changes. His government attempted to stabilize prices, pay off debt, build infrastructure and public institutions, reform banking and currency systems, legislate against traffic in narcotics, and increasing agricultural and industrial production. He built health and educational facilities which improved education standards and promoted standard tongue. Various campaigns and propaganda were launched to encourage Chinese nationalism and traditional culture, some western ideas, unification, Confucian moral values and personal discipline but were unsuccessful because a lack of effective central government. His government was challenged with politically by the warlords and communist party and he dealt with this by sending military troops which were costly in terms of men and money which weakened his government.

Mao Zedong was the head of the communist party and People’s Republic of China and he was a dictator. He joined the emerging communist party as a founding member in the 1920’s and following the split from the nationalist party, his men withstood five encirclement campaigns by Chiang before leading his red army on the “Long March” to reestablish their base. After 20 years of civil war with the nationalists, Mao brought the communists to victory against the nationalists in 1949 and the People’sRepublic of China was formed. Mao’s Red Army won the civil war due to their smart tactics and formation such as: attacking isolated enemy forces first, attacking enemies on the move, taking towns first before big cities, and guerilla warfare.

Mao unified his country and wasn't afraid to launch programs which would change the country’s social and economic structure. He destroyed the landlord class by taking their land and redistributing them to peasants, weakened the urban bourgeoisie, and elevated the status of peasants, workers, and women. He built public institutions such as hospitals and schools which provided basic education and increased the literacy rate extraordinarily. In his program, “The great leap forward”, he promoted technology, industrialization, merged farms and introduced new techniques. This program was a huge failure as natural disasters and farmers did not knowing how to use new technology and methods caused famines and millions of starvation and deaths. Another program, the “Iron Rice Bowl” put all Chinese workers under state control. The culturalrevolution launched by his government forced millions into manual labor which caused a massive civil unrest as people who went against his regime where also purged. Mao was also involved in political events such as being involved in the Korean War, and successfully fighting off the nationalists who wanted to return from Taiwan.

          After Mao's death, Deng Xioping took over control and was the reason for China's economic success today. He made various economic reforms which was opposite to what Mao has done but was extremely successful. His reforms includes the decollectivization of agriculture, opening up the country to foreign investments, and allowed for private businesses to take place. This caused the economy of PRC to bloom and became the foundation to China's economy today. Because of Deng's smart reforms, China today has one of the fastest and largest growing economies in the world. 

 

                When in control of the government, these three men who followed immensely different ideologies and made big changes to China. Both Chiang and Mao  took over control in a revolution which saw a shift in power and a new government being established.  Mao, Deng and Chiang made changes in China which remains today and has enormous consequences. 

CHINA 1949: ACTIVITIES, CONSEQUENCES, EFFECTIVENESS

          Each action has consequences and every decision Mao and his communist party made shaped the way China is today. During Mao's reign, his authoritarian government made several reforms which insured stability unseen since the Opium war, equalized the wealth gap, and managed to effectively keep the nationalists out of the country. 

Mao Zedong’s rule was one of absolute tyranny as his country maintained close relationship with the Soviet Union throughout the Sino-Soviet conflict and the Korean War. One year after the People’s Republic of China was established; he signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty. However, In October 15 of that same year, he sent the People’s volunteer army into Korea to fight against the UN forces led by USA.  Some people say China was involved because they wanted to stop US aggression, help its neighbor, and appease the Soviet Union while others say it was because Mao believed military conflict with the US is inevitable after they crossed the 38^th parallel and he wanted to improve his own prestige inside the communist international community. What we do know is that Russia sent a telegram asking China to send its troops and that Mao was strongly supportive of this and alongside the Soviet Union, provided the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with military assistance and resources. China emerged from the Korean War with pride as this success contrasted China’s humiliation by Japan and western powers. As China and the Soviet Union were both communist countries, they maintained a close relationship which saw China trying to duplicate the Soviet Union’s models of development. Mao calls for a “Hundred Flowers Movement” to improve and strengthen the government’s relation with the people after political explosions in Europe and the denouncement of Stalin. Mao is also known to eliminate his oppositions when his position of being in charge of China comes under threat. Mao’s government also had to deal with constant threats from nationalists in Taiwan but his strong army were always successful in stopping the nationalists from returning.He managed to keep the nationalists out and didn't allow them to cause chaos or interfere with political matters inside the country.

Social changes in China improve the status of women, increased public institutions, and equalized wealth gap. The status of women improved in the 1950’s where there was a legal protection of women’s rights which were increasing. Marriage laws were made which provided freedom of marriage and divorce. Public institutions such as hospitals and schools providing basic education were becoming available towards the end of Mao’s reign. Hospitals lowered death rate and increased life expectancy meanwhile basic education everyone was receiving improved the country’s literacy rate and doubled school population. There was land reform where the government used violence to overthrow landlords before seizing their estates and dividing the land into people’s communities. 90% of China’s population used to be poor farmers and this land reform led to an equalized wealth gap and wiped out the landlord class. Industrialization was occurring as well as the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution occurred during Mao’s reign which forced millions into manual labor. This also lead to the imprisonment of a large number of Chinese citizens who went against the government, the destruction of China’s traditional heritage, and social chaos in the country as millions were being killed.

The economical changes in China during Mao’s reign saw minimal growth but became the base for China’s economy and their huge success today. The communist party initiated the program “The Great Leap forward” to stimulate economic growth.  Small agricultural collectives merged into larger people’s communes, peasants were forced to work on infrastructure projects and steel production projects, private food production was banned as livestock were put under collective ownership, and new agricultural techniques were introduced. As natural disasters occurred, grain production dropped over 15% which led to mass starvation in an event known as the Great Chinese Famine which soon ended the Great Leap forward as Mao was losing esteem. Although agricultural production decreased, steel production was a success as the quotas they planned to reach were reached but however it was not of high quality. Mao's government also tried to advance towards a free market economy. After the 1949 revolution, China’s economy was made into a communist system. Their presence in the world economy was minimal until the late 1980’s which saw the country becoming the world’s fastest growing economy and the largest exporter of goods.

                Mao’s communist government was very effective in maintaining order, stability, and changing the social structure of China but were selfish and ineffective in stimulating economic growth. Mao’s government dealt with internal political problems from constant challenges by oppositions and the nationalists. He did not endure criticism and whoever went against his campaigns were purged. This insured order in China but also the mass murder of millions. Mao was effective in equalizing the wealth gap by eliminating the landlord class and redistributingland which changed the social structure of China in which we still see today. Mao’s government was effective in improve the social aspect of life by building public institutions and through industrialization and modernization. However, Mao’s campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward were ineffective in stimulating economic growth as farmers could did not know how to use the new technology and natural disasters came. Mao is also very selfish and his involvement in the Korean War shows this as it was for his personal benefit and interests and not the country. However, one cannot deny that most of Mao’s campaigns were successful and effective which laid the foundation for China’s immense progress today into a world superpower which was made possible because of its programs which managed to changed social structures and insured stability, and growth.

                During Mao’s reign as head of the People’s Republic of China, they made many changes and new laws which were hugely influential and its consequences can be seen today. Chinese society, structure, and social class today is derived and made possible by the foundation laid from the social changes during Mao’s reign. 

CHINA 1949: EMERGENCE OF A NEW GOVERNMENT

   The Chinese Revolution in 1949 laid the foundation for modern day China. How China is today can be traced back to the Chinese Revolution in 1949 where a civil war led to a change in government. The communist party was able to win the civil war against the nationalist party because they had strong leadership, effective formation structures, and high morale.

     The Chinese Revolutions started with the downfall of the Qing dynasty (Manchu dynasty) that faced increasing internal disorder, pressure from foreign governments, and the weakness of their central government. The success of the nationalist revolt in 1912 saw the establishment of the Republic of China where constitutions were being established.  The nationalist party could not restore the authority of the central government, faced constant threat from warlords, and were being challenged by the growing communist party. China was under control by the nationalists (Kuomintang) under an authoritarian single-party state until the establishment of the communist party of china where a power struggle between the two parties started to occur.

     The nationalists and communist party allied to defeat the warlords who had control over north China. After being successful in teaming up and defeating the warlords, the nationalist leader, Chiang Kai Shek launched an anti-communist purge in 1927 which brought the nationalist party into conflict and civil war against the communist. The communists proved no match for the nationalists who surrounded them and caused Mao to lead his followers on the “Long March” to reestablish a new base in northwest China. During this war, Mao had lost most of his men and had to retreat.
   
     The Long March
    " The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March
     And thinks nothing of a thousand mountains and rivers.
     The Wuling Ridges spread out like ripples;
     The Wumeng Ranges roll like balls of clay.
     Warmly are the cliffs wrapped in clouds washed by the Gold Sand;
     Chilly are the iron chains lying across the width of the Great Ferry.
     A thousand acres of snow on the Min Mountain delight
     My troops who have just left them behind."
     Mao Zedong
     September 1935

     Above is a primary source in Mao’s journal which describes the Long March. Mao Zedong, head of the communist party is on a journey called the “Long March” to the northwest to reestablish a new base after having his troops decreased significantly by the nationalists.

     In 1937, the nationalists and communists suspended fighting to form another alliance to stop Japanese invasion. The second Sino-Japanese war ended under the terms of the Japanese unconditional surrender to the United States where the Japanese troops were forced to surrender to the nationalist troops. After World War 2 and the Sino-Japanese War ended, Chiang Kai Shek (nationalist), and Mao Zedong (communist) attended a peace conference where an agreement could not be reached.

     Peace talks between the nationalist party and communist party broke down causing an all-out war in 1946. At this time, the United States and the Soviet Union was engaged in a period of indirect warfare called the cold war which was why the communist party was backed by the Soviet Union meanwhile the nationalist party was backed by the United States who provided them with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military supplies and equipment. The communists were well established in the northern part but the nationalists had a bigger territory and population, more weapons and world support. However, the nationalists had low morale, undisciplined troops and were very corrupted which reduced domestic civilian support. The undisciplined nationalists proved no match for the communists who were victorious due to strong leadership and formations structures. The communist party was able to take over major cities which made them stronger and able to infiltrate areas to the south of the Great Wall. When they were victorious, Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic of China causing the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan where they would try to re-conquest Chinese mainland but did not succeed.

Timeline:

1911: Downfall of Qing Dynasty
1912:  Establishment of Republic of China under nationalist control

1927: Nationalists launch anti-communist purge; civil war between nationalists and communists

1935: The Long March

1937: Nationalists and communists team up to stop Japanese invasion

1946: All out war between nationalists and communists

1949: Communist Red Army defeats nationalists in civil war; Establishment of People’s Republic of China; Nationalists retreat to Taiwan

1950: Signing of Sino-Soviet Treaty, China enters Korean War, marriage law provides freedom of marriage and divorce

1952: Land reform (land redistributed and two million landlords executed)  

1953: First Five Year Plan relying on Soviet Model

1954: Collectivization of agriculture

1956: Hundred Flowers Movement

1958: Great Leap Forward

1966: Cultural Revolution
1978: economic reform under Deng Xiaoping
(1. decollectivization of agriculture
2. opening up the country to foreign investment
3. allowing entrepreneurs to start up businesses)

China 1949 on Dipity.