China under Mao Zedong 1949 - 1976

Outline GMD-CCP Civil War (1946-1949) Recovery and Socialism (1949-1956) Rethinking the Soviet model (1956-1957) Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) Recovery & growing elite division (1962-5) Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

Mao Zedong A revolution to remove “3 big mountains” imperialism feudalism bureaucrat-capitalism A “United Front” of … workers peasants petty bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie

People’s Republic of China 1949-10-01, PRC, Beijing Chairman: Mao Zedong 5-Star Red Flag Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan

Economic Reconstruction 1950s Soviet Union model and assistance land reform (eliminate landlord class) heavy industry (state-owned enterprises) First National People’s Congress (1954) PRC Constitution Zhou Enlai Premier Foreign Minister

Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) abandon the Soviet model of economic development Soviet “scientific planning” mass mobilization people’s communes

Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) unrealistic output targets industry agricultural and human disaster

Growing Division (1962-1965) Mao Zedong vs. Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping charismatic leadership vs. bureaucracy

Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution commitment to revolution and “class struggle” power struggle to succeed Mao Phase I: the rise and fall of “red guards” Phase II: the rise and fall of Lin Biao Phase III: the rise and fall of the “Gang of Four”

Phase I: Red Guards (1966-69)

Phase I: Red Guards (1966-69) Purge of party cadres Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping Purge of intellectuals

Phase II: Lin Biao (1969-71) the putative successor to Mao Zedong the cult of personality around Mao In 1971 Lin allegedly tried but failed to assassinate Mao to flee to Soviet Union (“9.13”) “9.13” eroded the credibility of the entire leadership of the Cultural Revolution

Phase III: the “Gang of Four” 1972 – 1976 power struggle between the radical “Gang of Four”, led by Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife the “moderates”, led by Premier Zhou Enlai the fate of Deng Xiaoping

Diplomatic Breakthrough 1971, PRC became the representative of China in UN (replaced ROC)

Diplomatic Breakthrough 1972, President Nixon visited Beijing

Mao and Zhou Died in 1976 Turning point in China’s postwar era “Gang of Four” were arrested End of the Cultural Revolution

Mao’s legacies

Reforms and Opening up The 3rd Plenum of the 11th CCP Central Committee in 1978 Deng Xiaoping’s ascendancy economic modernization became focus US-PRC diplomatic relations in 1979