1. Communists Take Power in China 17.2

2.  Soviets had been training revolutionaries across the world to spread communism Communists Gain Control of China

3. Prior to Japanese invasion (1937):  Civil war in China  Between nationalism led by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) and communism led by Mao Zedong Civil War Divides China

4.  Soviet Union supported Mao  U.S. sent billions of $$$ to aid the Nationalists  Corrupt Nationalist leaders (anti-communists) pocketed most of $$  Generals were reluctant to fight as well  Ppl were starving + Mao promised the peasants food + land and by 1945 Mao controlled most of Northern China Civil War Divides China

5.  Renewed Chinese Civil War lasted from 1946-1949  Nationalists at first had the advantage over Mao’s Red Army b/c of the size of the Nationalist army but…  Nationalist army lost many supporters who deserted to the Communists as China’s economy collapsed Civil War Resumes after WWII

6.  1948 – Mao’s forces dominated the war  1949 – The Red Army captured all of China’s major cities.  He won the countryside w/ the promise of land for the peasants.  Jiang fled China + took control of the Chinese island of Taiwan  ∴ Mao + Communists took over China naming it the People’s Republic of China  Communists now controlled ¼ of world’s land, 1/3 world’s ppl Communists Win China

7.  China had split into 2 nations and the Superpowers react:  Taiwan  Nationalist China  This is the China that the Western world supported + recognized.  U.S. gave Taiwan financial aid.  People’s Republic of China  Communist China  The Soviets pledged their support.  S.U. + China promised to come to each other’s aid if attacked.  This intensified the Cold War The Two China’s Affect the Cold War

8.  Chinese troops expanded into Tibet, India, and southern Mongolia.  In 1951 China brutally gained total control over Tibet and forced the Dalai Lama (their religious leader) out.  He fled to India along w/ other Tibetan refugees.  Led to lasting conflict b/w China and India. China Expands Under the Communists

9.  Communists had to strengthen their rule over 550 million ppl  China had been at war for decades + needed to rebuild. The Communists Transform China

10.  Communists had to tighten their rule as their 4.5 million members made up only 1% of the Chinese pop.  Set up two entities to rule China:  Communist Party  National Government  (Mao was the leader of both). Communists Claim a New “Mandate of Heaven”

11.  Mao enacted the Agrarian Reform Law of 1950:  Mao seized land holdings of wealthy landlords  Killed approx. 1 million+ of these landlords + divided the land among the peasants.  Then, Mao transformed these areas to collective farms w/ 200-300 households on each.  Nationalized private companies (took them under gov’t control).  Launched a 5 Year Plan and greatly increased industrial output. Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism

12.  Mao’s second 5 Year Plan called “The Great Leap Forward”  Called for larger collective farms called communes.  1958: 26,000 communes had been created @ 25,000 ppl each  Life was strictly controlled: all ate, slept, lived in the same space.  Had no motivation to work hard b/c they weren’t benefiting from the output at all. “The Great Leap Forward”

13.  Was actually a GIANT step backward:  Inefficient and poorly planned communes  1961 crop failures killed 20 million ppl + Mao ended the program  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujbapnrAKXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujbapnrAKXA “The Great Leap Forward”

14.  Good relationship b/w China + Soviet Union was fading.  Competed to be leader of worldwide communist mvm’t + both wanted longest country boarder in world  = territorial disputes Mao Has International Trouble

15.  Mao reduced his role in gov’t after failure of Great Leap Forward + split w/ S. Union  New leaders were less strict:  Allowed families to live in individual homes w/ small plot of land to sell crops from + factories allowed wage competition  Mao thought this weakened China’s Communist goal of social equality  ∴ He encouraged millions of high school + college students to revive the Communist revolution  They formed militia’s and called themselves the Red Guards New Policies and Mao’s Response

16.  Red Guards led a major uprising called the Cultural Revolution.  Goal of the Cultural Revolution:  Establish a society of workers + peasants in which all were equal  Peasants = heroes, Intellectuals = dangerous  ∴ Red Guards shut down schools + colleges  Intellectuals had to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor  Took down anyone who resisted The Cultural Revolution

17.  Chaos across China due to the Cultural Rev.  Seriously hurt farm production + factory output  1968: Mao ordered the Cultural Rev. to stop  Called out the Chinese army to put down the Red Guards  Zhou Enlai (new Chinese leader) began to restore order. The Cultural Revolution

18.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoc_09s_p08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoc_09s_p08