1. Communists Take Power in China

3. Background Info
China was invaded by Japan in During this time, China was in a Civil War (Nationalists and the Communists.)
They fought together against the Japanese during WWII.
Civil War ( ) resumed at the end of WWII

4. The Communists Mao Zedong (1893-1976)- NW China
Influenced by Lenin/Marxism and became Leader of the CCP in 1921
Mobilized a guerilla army supported by Soviet Union
Mao’s Promises (food and land) gained him peasant loyalty
Took control of in 1949 & China became the People’s Republic of China
Feb signed a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union.

5. The Nationalists Jiang Jieshi- Southern China (AKA: Chiang Kai-shek)
Nationalist Army outnumbered the Communists and were supported by the U.S.
Did not gain public support
Lost to the Red army and Mao in 1949
- Nationalists fled to Taiwan
- Led to U.S. anti-communist sentiment and intensified the Cold War

6. Two Chinas 1. Taiwan or Nationalist China
13,000 square miles
Aka- Republic of China
Supported by the U.S.
Militarily weak and corrupt
Communist or People’s Republic of China
3.5 million square miles
Supported by the Soviet Union
Soviet-Chinese Alliance to support each other if attacked by the West

7. Communist Transformation in China
1. Set up two political organizations, both headed by Mao until 1959.
The Communist Party and the National Government
2. Agrarian Reform Law of Mao seized land of owners and returned it to peasants. He killed over a million people in the process.
3. Established a 5 Year Economic Plan to boost industry and business and increased output in steel, concrete, coal, and electricity

8. Communist Transformation in China
4. The Great Leap Forward (1958)- called for larger collective farms, communes, where peasants worked and lived together. They owned nothing. It was considered a failure after crop famines killed 20 million people.
5. China and USSR began to compete to lead the worldwide Communist Movement by the late 1950’s.

10. The Cultural Revolution
1966- Led by the Red Guards (militias of Communist supporters).
Goal: To establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal.
Intellectual and artistic ideas were considered useless
Red guards shut down colleges and schools.
Intellectuals had to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor
Thousands were executed and imprisoned.
The chaos threatened farm production and industry.
The Communist National Army was told to suppress the Red Guards and end the revolution.