A Very Brief History of China: From Empire to Communist Nation

In 1911, the last Chinese empire, The Qing Dynasty, collapsed. What events that we have already studied were associated with the Qing? Opium Wars, Spheres of influence, Open Door Policy, Boxer Rebellion

By 1945, there were two groups fighting for power: The Communists led by Mao Zedong in Northern China Soviet Union supported. The Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek based in southern and central China United States supported.

Many peasants were attracted to the Communists by the promise of land reform. By 1949, the People’s Liberation Army, commanded by Chairman Mao had defeated the Nationalists. Chiang Kai-shek and two million followers fled to the island of Taiwan.

Chairman Mao Became the leader of Communist China Built up a “cult of personality” while in power Today he is still used as a symbol for Communist China

In 1949, the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took over China. Initially, China used the Soviet Union as a model for how to run a state. China also became involved in one of the first hotspots of the Cold War: _________________.

The Great Leap Forward After a few years, Mao rejects the Soviet way Instead, he wants to mobilize China’s vast population in order to industrialize the country as fast as possible This plan is known as the Great Leap Forward However, it does not go quite as planned….

The Cultural Revolution Mao then decided that Revolutionary spirit was not high enough among the people He wanted to rid China of anything to do with its past He also targeted intellectuals and party enemies

Deng Xiaoping’s Reforms Mao’s successor institutes a variety of economic reforms His goal was to decentralize China's economy and open the country to international trade

Tiananmen Square Student protests for political reform draw international attention With the world watching, Deng sent in the army to clear away the protesters- violently

Your task Each group will become experts on one of the key stages in the history of Communist China Your group will then create a poster about your event –Each poster must contain a title, important details and facts about your event, the results and significance of your event, and at least 2 images. –Your poster WILL be graded so make it good! Then, two people from each group will present their group’s poster at the end of the class period The class will add important information about each event to their timeline