Chinese Leaders

Sun Yat-sen – “The Father of Modern China”

•Served as president of the new republic in 1911 for only a brief period

•“Three Principles of the People” were NATIONALISM (end foreign domination and unify China), DEMOCRACY (representative government), & LIVELIHOOD

Sun Yat-sen – “The Father of Modern China”

(ensuring a decent living)

•Helped to organize the Kuomintang (KMT), A.K.A. the Nationalist party

May Fourth Movement•1919 - student protests erupted in Beijing & spread across Chinese cities

•Set off a cultural & intellectual movement whose goal was to strengthen China

May Fourth Movement•Leaders were Western educated - wanted to learn from the West and use that knowledge to end foreign domination

•Rejected Confucian traditions - included women who were agst. footbinding, arranged marriages, and seclusion of women

Sun Yat-sen – “The Father of Modern China”

•Sun Yat-sen rallied his followers at his base in Guangzhou,where he organized an army to restore unity

•He appointed Chiang Kai-shek to command the Nationalist army

Sun Yat-sen – “The Father of Modern China”

•Sun died in 1925 of cancer and Chiang took over as leader of the KMT

•By 1928, Chiang brought China under his control

Chiang Kai-shek – “The General”•Had many challenges to his authority

•1.Chinese felt strong ties to their own families but little loyalty to a national state

•2.China had no experience with representative government

Chiang Kai-shek – “The General”•3. Nation’s economy was badly depressed

•He was especially concerned with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), formed in 1921 by a group of young Chinese•The CCP joined forces w/KMT to expel foreigners and fight the warlords

•But they hoped to eventually win control of the KMT by working from within

•1927 - Chiang moved against them by expelling them from the KMT and killing thousands of their supporters

•Surviving Communists fled to the mountains of southeastern China

Mao Tse-tung – “The Chairman”•Emerged as the leader of the CCP in the late 1920s and 1930s

•Believed CCP would only succeed with the support of the peasants so Communist forces had to treat peasants fairly & politely

Mao Tse-tung – “The Chairman”•Why was this against conventional communism?

•CCP army paid peasants for food - with peasant support, the size of Mao’s army increased

The Long March•The Communists fled from Chiang’s armies when he launched a fierce campaign against them in 1934

•They trekked about 6,000 miles, led by Mao, and chased by the KMT forces

The Long March•Chase lasted more than a year as they crossed rugged mountains, deep gorges, & rivers

•About 100,000 followers went on march

•Between 7,000 and 20,000 survived

The Long March•Stood as symbol of Communist heroism to the Chinese opposed to the KMT & of the bitter hardships they would have to endure before they could take over

The Long March•The Long March further garnered support from the peasants for the CCP since two of Mao’s rules included returning stolen items to peasants and not to steal from the peasants, who had suffered at the hands of the KMT

The Long March•CCP set up a base in remote area of China (Yunan province) where Mao rebuilt his forces and plotted new strategies

•Claimed the retreat to be a great victory

•Why would this be a victory?

The Japanese Invasion•1931 - Japanese had seized Manchuria (Manchukuo)

•1937 - Japanese launched an all-out campaign to take over China, bombing cities and overrunning the most heavily populated regions of China

The Japanese Invasion•KMT called on Chiang to stop wasting valuable resources on Mao and to mobilize against the Japanese instead

•KMT and CCP were eventually forced to unite their armies

- The Japanese set up their puppet government in Nanjing, the former KMT capital- The killing and brutality that accompanied their entry into Nanjing is now known as the “rape of Nanjing”

- Japan was defeated in WWII in 1945, forcing their retreat from China- Mao controlled northern China and Chiang controlled southern China-The Chinese Civil War was renewed after the end of WWII

Triumph of Communism•Chiang Kai-shek had the support of the U.S. (beginning of Cold War)

•Mao had the support of U.S.S.R.

•By 1949, the CCP and Mao were victorious

•Oct. 1, 1949 - People’s Republic of China proclaimed in Beijing

Reasons for Triumph1. Mao’s peasant armies were highly disciplined while Chiang’s forces suffered from low morale due to poor pay and lack of food

2. Massive corruption among Chiang’s officials

Reasons for Triumph3. Mao’s philosophy of communism appealed to the poor & he was able to win their support by pledging to distribute lands to the peasants (who had been oppressed by landlords)

4. He also appealed to women

Reasons for Triumphby rejecting inequalities of Confucianism

5. Even educated and middle-class Chinese were drawn to the Communist program for a new China and end to foreign domination and humiliation

What happened to the KMT?•Chiang retreated with his forces to the island of Taiwan

•He set up a government there and vowed to gain control of the mainland

•Until recently, the Nationalists ruled in Taiwan

Mao’s China•After decades of chaos, China was finally united

•In theory: the CCP set up a People’s Congress, permitted free elections, & protected democratic rights

•Reality: China is a 1-party dictatorship

Mao’s China•CCP members held all the important jobs & controlled the gov’t & econ.

•Set up the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), who silenced opposition

•Totalitarian state set up - gov’t control every aspect of ppl’s lives

Mao’s China•CCP set out to modernize China’s economy through industrialization

•All businesses nationalized and 5-year plans created to develop industry

•Mao encouraged the murder of landlords (the “enemy”) by the peasants

Mao’s China•Gov’t forced peasants to pool land & labor to form COLLECTIVE FARMS (worked for the state & received share of the harvest)

•GREAT LEAP FORWARD (1958) - China divided into COMMUNES (groups of villages), which controlled land & ppl’s lives

Mao’s China•Families were split up & each person was assigned a job

•In return, received from gov’t all necessary items (food, housing, clothing, etc.)

•Was disastrous - food production fell, people became lazy since guaranteed a living

Mao’s China•Industries turned out low-quality and useless goods

•Confucianism was attacked

•Floods & droughts added to China’s problems as famine swept the country & millions died

•GREAT LEAP FORWARD abandoned by the early 1960s

Mao’s China•CULTURAL REVOLUTION: (1966), Mao feared rival groups within the CCP were growing

•He also believed the new generation had to experience revolution firsthand so launched “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”

Mao’s China•Stressed class struggle - urged young ppl.to root out capitalists

•Young people responded by forming the RED GUARDS, which held mass rallies to show support of Mao

•Travelled around China attacking gov’t officials & others who did not fully support Mao

Mao’s China•They abused people who had “bad class backgrounds”:those whose families had been landlords, rich peasants, or KMT supporters

•Forced teachers, factory managers, & even CCP members to confess to “crimes” against Mao and victims were sent to labor camps in distant rural areas

Mao’s China•EFFECTS: Created chaos in China, schools closed, production slowed in factories, gov. shut down

•Many people had been tortured, imprisoned or killed

•1969 - People’s Liberation Army restored order by sending millions of Red Guards to work in distant rural areas

Mao’s China•EFFECTS: Lives of young disrupted as they never finished school; since sent to distant communes, they were cut off from normal family life & careers

•Became the “lost generation”

•Many lost faith in their hero, Mao, and the CCP; disillusioned with communism

China After Mao• Mao died in 1976 & power

struggle took place• On the one side was the “Gang of

Four”, Mao’s widow, & her top supporters and on the other side were moderates, who were majority

• By 1978, moderates won & DENG XIAOPING emerged as the leader

Deng Xiaoping• Stressed economic reform instead

of class struggle, ruled until 1997

• Named his program for modernizing China FOUR MODERNIZATIONS (called for modernizing agriculture, expanding industry, developing science & technology, & upgrading China’s defense forces)

Deng Xiaoping• FARMING: “responsibility

system” where each farm family was responsible for making its own living, including selling some of its products to the gov’t & on the open market for a profit (hmmmm….?)

• INDUSTRY: shifted emphasis from heavy industry (mining & weapons) to light industry

Deng Xiaoping• which included consumer goods• Deng introduced the “responsibility

system” to industry as well, where factory managers were allowed to make their own decisions and were responsible for making a profit

• TRADE: ended China’s policy of self-reliance & isolation

Deng Xiaoping• Called for “open door” to foreign

trade & sent students abroad to study science & tech.

• Allowed foreign companies to set up in the SEZ (Special Economic Zones), where they enjoy tax benefits & free enterprise flourishes

• Deng was more interested in raising output than political purity

Deng Xiaoping• EFFECTS: Brought surge of

growth and a better standard of living for some Chinese

• But crime & corruption grew & inequalities grew again as a new wealthy class emerged

• Gap between poor rural farmers & city dwellers grew

TIANANMEN SQUARE• May 1989: Students, workers &

others supported a democracy movement

• But Deng only allowed economic reform, not political reform

• When they refused to disperse, troops and tanks sent in

• Thousands were killed or wounded

TIANANMEN SQUARE• Many were arrested and tortured,

some were put to death• Crackdown showed China’s

Communist leaders were determined to maintain control and that order was more important than political freedom

• Westerners pushed for end to China’s human rights violations