Communism in ChinaPAGES 550-555

Objectives

Explain how foreign and imperial rule ended in China

Describe the ensuing struggle between Nationalists and Communists

Analyze how communism changed China

Read the Read Aloud

Compare imperial China with:

1. France before their revolution –or--

2. Russia before their revolution

Read “The Big Picture” How was life wretched for

China’s poor?

Natural disasters, heavy taxes

How had China’s independence been lost?

Foreign powers had gained control of parts of China

Why might the Chinese have felt battered from within and without?

China’s government could not solve internal problems, and foreign governments had taken over

Read “The End of Dynasties”

Why did the Chinese want to rebel against the Manchu dynasty?

They wanted a more democratic government and freedom from foreign control

Read “A Voice of the People”

What different places shaped Sun Yat-sen’s ideas?

China, where he was born, and the Hawaiian islands, where he spent his youth

What changes did Sun Yat-sen want in China?

Freedom from Qing and other foreign rule, a representative government, and improved agriculture and industry

How do you think Sun Yat-sen’s ideas reflected time spent away from China?

He picked up Western ideas of independence, democracy, and industrial development

Read “The End of Imperial Rule”

How did dynastic rule finally come to an end in China? A revolt that began in 1905 against

the Qing dynasty succeeded

What government replaced it? Rule by Sun Yat-sen and the

Nationalist party

What problem challenged them in ruling China as a republic? Warlords wanted to rule their areas

instead of being ruled by a central Chinese government

How did the Soviet Union influence China? It supported the fight against the

warlords

Read “Divided Nation”

How did Chiang Kai-shek come to be the leader of the Republic of China?

He took over when Sun Yat-sen died

Why did he turn on his former allies, the Communists?

He did not want China to become communist

How did the set up the possibility for civil war in China?

It set Nationalists against Communists

Read “The Long March”

Why did the Long March begin? Chiang moved his troops to

surround the Communists in southern China, and they were trying to escape

How large was the Communist army that made the Long March? 80,000

Who was their leader? Mao Zedong

Read “Enemies Cooperate- Briefly”

Did the end of the Long March end conflict between Nationalists and Communists? Explain.

No, communism continued to spread, and Nationalist-Communist rivalry continued

What made the Nationalists and Communists cooperate, even briefly?

Japan’s 1937 invasion of China made them unite against a common enemy

When did they resume their civil war?

In 1945, after the defeat of Japan in World War II

Read “Recovering from Civil War”

Who was the first leader of the People’s Republic?

Mao Zedong

What steps did the Communists take to rebuild the People’s Republic of China?

They provided housing, medical care, food, education, and equal rights for women

What price did China pay for Communist rule?

The loss of private property as government took over ownership of businesses and land, death for as many as a million people

Read “China Under Mao”

Why was Mao displeased with China’s economy in the early 1950s? It was not growing as fast as

he wanted

What step did he announce to bring more rapid growth? The “Great Leap Forward” to

increase production

Read “Commune Life”

What is a commune?

An organized community in which all members share work and resources

How were communes in China made up?

By combining several villages into one unit, up to 20,000 people

How did the communes change life in rural China?

They made the government, not farmers, decide what to grow; they assigned members their work; they separated families into housing for men, women, and children

Read “A New Revolution”

Why did Mao order the Cultural Revolution? To cleanse China of all ideas

except communist ideas

How did he trample on human rights to do so? By encouraging violence

against anyone even suspected of anything but communist beliefs

Read “Why it Matters”

How did Mao close off cultural borrowing? How might China’s opening up encourage it again? The Cultural Revolution

ended cultural borrowing while contacts outside would have encouraged it