33:2 Communists Take Power in China

Communists vs. Nationalists World War II in China: – Mao Zedong: communist leader in China; controls northwestern China – Mao mobilizes peasants for guerrilla warfare; gains peasant support by promoting literacy and improving food production

– Jiang Jieshi: nationalist leader in China; controls southwestern China; leads army of 2.5 million – : U.S. sends Nationalists $1.5 billion in aid to fight Japanese; much ends up in hands of corrupt officers – Nationalists fight few battles against Japanese; save resources for war with Mao’s Red Army

Civil War Resumes: – Civil War: – Nationalist advantage: outnumber Communists 3-1, $2 billion in aid from U.S. – Nationalists do little to win popular support – Thousands desert to Communists – Spring 1949: China’s major cities fall to well- trained Red forces – Mao’s troops motivated by promise to return land to peasants

– Remnants of Jiang’s army flee to the south – October 1949: Mao Zedong gains control of China – Proclaims nation People’s Republic of China – Jiang, Nationalist leaders retreat to island of Taiwan (Formosa) – 1950: China, U.S.S.R. sign treaty of friendship – U.S. fears further spread of Communism

The Two Chinas Affect the Cold War The Superpowers React: – U.S. helps Jiang set up Nationalist government in Taiwan (Republic of China) – U.S.S.R. gives financial, military, technical aid to Communist China – China, Soviet Union pledge to aid one another if either nation is attacked

China Expands under the Communists: – Chinese troops occupy Tibet, India, Inner (southern) Mongolia – : China launches brutal assault against Tibet – China promises autonomy, but expands influence – Dalai Lama (Buddhist religious leader), others forced to flee to India – Fighting continues in 1959 & 1962

The Communists Transform China Communists Claim a New “Mandate of Heaven”: – Communist Party’s 4.5 million members make up only 1% of population – Disciplined and organized – 2 groups: Communist Party and national government; both headed by Mao until 1959

Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism: – Agrarian Reform Law of 1950: land seized from wealthy landowners; divided among peasants – 1 million landowners who resist killed – Peasants forced to join collectives – Private companies nationalized – 1953: Mao launches 5-year plan; sets high production goals for industry; coal, cement, steel, electricity production increases

“The Great Leap Forward”: – 1958: Plan calls for larger collectives called communes: large collective farms in Communist China on which a great number of people work and live together – 26,000 communes created by 1958 – Average commune: 15,000 acres, 25,000 people – Peasants own nothing; lives under complete control of government

– Great Leap Forward is giant step backward – Poor planning, inefficiency prevent adequate growth – 1961: program ends; famine due to crop failures kills 20 million people

New Policies and Mao’s Response: – Cooperation between U.S.S.R. and China begins to fade – Nations compete to be worldwide Communist leader – Numerous territorial disputes along longest national border in the world – Mao reduces his role in government – Some leaders begin to make small capitalist reforms

– Mao believes new economic policies weakened Communist goal of social equality – 1966: Mao urges China’s young people to “learn revolution by making revolution” – Millions of high school and college students leave school and form Red Guards: militia units formed by young Chinese people in 1966 in response to Mao Zedong’s call for a social and cultural revolution

The Cultural Revolution: – uprising in China led by the Red Guards, with the goal of establishing a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal – Society’s hero is a peasant who works with his hands – Intellectual and artistic activity considered useless and even dangerous

– Red Guards shut down colleges and schools – Intellectuals had to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor in remote villages – Thousands executed or imprisoned – Chaos threatens farm production and closes factories – 1968: Mao realizes Cultural Revolution has to stop

– Army ordered to put down Red Guards – Zhou Enlai (Chinese Communist party founder, premier since 1949) begins to restore order – Cold War rages on as China struggles to regain stability – Full scale wars take place in Korea and Vietnam