The Chinese Revolution When Japan invaded China in 1937, a civil war was being fought between the Nationalists & Communists During WWII, the groups put their differences aside to be a part of the victorious Allies over Japan With war’s end, the Communists & Nationalists resumed fighting Mao Zedong, leader of the Communists, controlled the northwestern part of China During WWII, he organized peasants to fight against the Japanese His efforts to teach literacy & improve food production won the loyalty of the peasants over the Nationalists By 1945, Mao’s Red Army controlled most of Northern China

Nationalists Meanwhile, the Nationalists forces under Jiang Jieshi dominated southwest China Mountains protected Jiang Jieshi & the Nationalists from the Japanese during the war Jiang gathered an army of 2.5 million & the U.S. sent $1.5 billion in aid to fight the Japanese Much of the $ went to a few corrupt officers Jiang’s army didn’t fight many battles against Japan He wanted to rest up for coming battle against Mao’s Red Army As soon as the Japanese surrendered, the Nationalists & Communists resumed their civil war

Civil War Resumes The renewed civil war lasted from At first, the Nationalists enjoyed a big advantage Their army outnumbered the Communists’ army by 3 to 1 They also received $2 billion from the U.S The Nationalists did very little to win popular support With China’s economy collapsing thousands of Nationalists switched over to the Communists By 1949, cities were falling to Mao’s Red Army Mao’s troops were well trained at guerilla warfare & were excited about the return of land to the peasants In October 1949, Mao took over the country as Jiang & the Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan (Formosa)

Soviet Union & China Mao Zedong’s victory fueled U.S. anti- communist feelings Those feelings only grew after China & Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty in 1950 Many Americans saw it as another step in a Communist plan to take over the world China was split into two nations, the Peoples Republic of China & the Nationalists on the island of Taiwan The U.S. gave support to the Nationalists in Taiwan (Republic of China) The Soviets gave aid to the People’s Republic & they pledged to defend each other The U.S. & Soviets set up their influence in Korea as well In the early years Mao’s troops expanded into Mongolia, Tibet, & India

Mao’s Changes Mao wanted to restore China as a powerful nation He rapidly moved to strengthen his rule over the 550 million Chinese Communists claimed to have “Mandate of Heaven” Mao re-shaped the economy based on Marx socialism 80% of the population lived in rural areas, but most didn’t own land 10% of the population controlled 70% of the land Under the Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 Mao seized the land from the landlords Mao’s forces killed over a million landlords From Mao forced peasants to work collective farms He made women more equal & instituted govt. sponsored health care

Mao’s Economic Changes Mao’s changes also transformed business & industry The govt. brought all private companies under private ownership (nationalized) In 1953 Mao launched a Soviet style five year plan that set high targets for industry By 1957, China’s coal, electricity, & cement doubled while steel production quadrupled Sparked by this success, Mao started the “Great Leap Forward” in 1958 It was a program to make even larger collective farms or communes The original communes were households The new ones were 15,000 acres & supported 25,000 people

The Great Leap Forward In the strictly controlled life in communes, peasants organized into “production battalions” Under the leadership of company and squad leaders, they worked the land together They ate in communal dining rooms, slept in communal dorms, & raised children in communal nurseries. They owned nothing The peasants had no incentive to work hard when only the state (govt.) profited Most hated living in the large communes Great Leap Forward proved to be a leap backward It was poorly planned and some operated their own private backyard industries Worst of all, crop failures between unleashed famine that killed 20 million The govt. ended the program in 1961

China & Soviet Split In the 1960s things got worse as China and the Soviet Union ended their alliance Mao reduced his role in govt. Farmers were able to work small private farms Factory workers could compete for promotions & wage increases Mao disapproved of the new economic policy b/c it went against the Communist philosophy of equality Determined to revive the revolution he launched a new campaign in 1966 He urged millions of China’s young people to lead the revolution They left their classrooms and formed military units called Red Guards

The Cultural Revolution The Red Guards led a major uprising known as the Cultural Revolution The goal was to establish equality for peasants & workers The hero was the peasant who worked with his hands The villain was an artists or intellectual The Red Guards shut down schools They lashed out at professors, govt. officials, factory owners & even parents Exiled intellectuals had to purify themselves by doing hard labor in fields The chaos threatened factories & farm production Civil war seemed possible & by 1976 even Mao admitted the Cultural Revolution had to stop

China Opens Up Instead of saving radical communism, Mao’s Cultural Revolution turned many people against it In the early 1970s, China entered a less extreme under Zhou Enlai Zhou had been premiere since 1949 During the Cultural Revolution, he tried to restrain the radicals China’s isolation worried him In 1971, Zhou shocked the world by inviting American table tennis players to China Nixon visited & met with Mao & Zhou They agreed to limited open trade In 1979 the U.S. & China opened to formal diplomatic relations

Four Modernizations Both Mao & Zhou died in 1976 In 1980, Deng Xiaoping emerged as the new powerful leader Although he was a lifelong Communist, Deng supported modern economic policy Unlike Mao, he was willing to use capitalist ideas to support the economy He embraced a new set of goals known as the Four Modernizations These called for progress in agriculture, industry, defense & science/technology It was called the Second Revolution He allowed farmers to grow a portion of private crops & allowed private businesses Food production increased 50% from His policies changed daily life, as Chinese bought appliances & even participated in western fads

Tiananmen Square Deng’s economic policies provided unexpected problems Living standards improved, but there was corruption & a large gap between rich & poor Some Chinese students were studying in western schools & brought back the ideas of democracy In 1989 students sparked a political uprising In April more than 100,000 students gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing The students mounted a protest for democracy 1 million gathered in support & called for Deng to resign Deng responded by sending troops About 3000 remained & made their own 33 foot statue resemble the Statue of Liberty On 6/4/1989 armed soldiers stormed Tiananmen Square w/ tanks & opened fire Hundreds died, but Deng claimed the group was plotting against the govt. However, Television news stations around the world showed the truth