Confucius vs.

Mao Zedong

2 very different ideologies!

Confucius• 551-479 BC • Kongfuzi – later called

Confucius by Europeans• Was not a religious

leader nor did he claim any special divine status – rather he was a teacher

– Importance of moral character

– Individuals must take responsibility for their society

– Society works best when everyone respects laws and behaves according to their position …ALSO, when those in superior positions rule with respect and kindness• Rulers superior to subjects• Father superior to children• Men superior to women

Developed a new philosophy…

• After his death, his students wrote down his teachings in a book called the Analects

• The teachings of Confucius remained important in Chinese education until the Communist Revolution in 1945

And then along cameMao Zedong

http://www.biography.com/people/mao-tse-tung-9398142 Watch video

Mao vs. Chiang Kai-shekCommunist Party vs. Nationalist Party

• 1921 – Mao - founding member of China’s Communist Party

• 1927 – Chiang Kai-shek – Nationalist Party – • Mao and other communists retreated to south east

China • 1934 – Kai-shek’s army surrounded the communists

– Feared the popularity & growth of the communist party / army that Mao was building

– Launched anti-communist purge

• so Mao lead his fellow communists on the Long March

Long March

• 8000-mile march to northwest China to establish a new base

• 12 months 100,000 communists (and their families) cross Chinese mountains and swamplands

Long March• Only about 30,000

survived• When others heard

of their heroic journey, they joined Mao

• He eventually emerged as the top communist leader

July 1937 Japan invades China

• Chiang Kai-shek and his armies were unable to hold off the Japanese armies

• Therefore, reached out to Mao and the two temporarily agreed to become allies during an 8-year war with Japan

1945 Civil War again

• As soon as Japan was defeated at the end of WWII, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao were at war again!

• October 1, 1949 – in Tiananmen Square, Beijing – Mao announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and establishes communist government

• Chiang Kai-shek & his followers fled to Taiwan

Mao’s new China

• Mao set out to reshape Chinese society.

• Industry came under state ownership and China's farmers began to be organized into collectives.

• All opposition was ruthlessly suppressed.

Great Leap Forward

Let’s watch a short video on the Great Leap Forward.Make note of the following … •What was the goal?•What was the method used to

achieve this goal?•What were the results of this campaign?

Great Leap Forward• In 1958• Purpose - to improve agricultural and

industrial production.• How to achieve this goal?

– People forced to live in communes– Land taken from individuals and given to

commune

• Examples of programs and results – Steel production – everything people owned made of steel melted

down to produce steel – this was very low-quality steel and essentially useless

– Sparrow massacre – sparrows ate the grain in the fields so Mao said kill all sparrows and the people obeyed. Result – without sparrows to eat bugs, now bug numbers exploded and they ate all the grain!

Great Leap ForwardResult of the Great Leap Forward … •Massive decline in agricultural output –

– led to famine and death of millions

•1959 – 1960 – more than 40-million people died! Considered one of the worse manmade disasters in human history!•This information was kept hidden from China!

– People not allowed to travel outside of their commune! Therefore, people thought it was only their commune that was suffering! They had no idea this was happening all over China.

Because of these failures, Mao began to lose his authority and power in the government.

Cultural Revolution • 1966 - In an attempt to re-assert his

authority, Mao launched the 'Cultural Revolution'

• 1966 – at 73-years old – he went to the Yangtze River and swam for several minutes – to show the public that “he was back”!

• Then, held many public rallies – appealing to the young people of China … Why? He thought that the young people would be too young to remember his failures!! This paid off!!

• With the Cultural Revolution, Mao attempted (and almost completely succeeded) in doing away with the old, traditional Chinese mentality and implementing his new ideologies!

• Let’s compare …

Cultural Revolution Ideologies

vs. Confucius ideologiesConfucius Mao Zedong

Importance of moral character No one is greater than Mao

Those in superior positions rule with respect & kindness

Those in superior positions rule with oppression & violence

Cultivation (improve the growth of) of virtue (moral excellence, goodness,

rightness) & maintenance of ethics (rules of conduct towards others)

Cultivation of Mao’s beliefs, rules, and policies

Upholding of righteousness & doing good

Upholding of Mao’s rules & policies

Students respect teachers Teachers don’t deserve respect – they have only lied to the students

Children respect their parents Communist party & Mao more important than parents!

Cultural Revolution • Let’s watch a short video about the

Cultural Revolution.

Cultural Revolution • “In a classic autocratic

method to gain control, Mao Tse-tung manufactured a crisis that only he could solve. Mao told his followers that bourgeois elements in China were aiming to restore capitalism, and declared these elements must be removed from society.”

• http://www.biography.com/people/mao-tse-tung-9398142?page=3

Cultural Revolution • His youthful followers

formed the Red Guards and led a mass purge of the "undesirables."

Cultural Revolution

• Schools closed • Youth living in the

cities were sent into the countryside to be "re-educated" through hard manual labor.

Cultural Revolution

• Results … – The Revolution destroyed much of China's traditional cultural – created economic and social chaos in the country– 1.5 million died … millions more imprisoned, had their

property seized, were tortured, and humiliated

Later years … • Mao appeared victorious, but his health was

deteriorating. His later years saw attempts to build bridges with the United States, Japan and Europe.

• In 1972, US PresidentRichard Nixon visited China andmet Mao.

• Mao died in September 1976.

Today … Mao Zedong is regarded by many Chinese as a great political and military

leader – officially

Your turn …

• SUMMARIZE Mao’s impact on China.

Words and people to know…

• Confucius – ancient Chinese philosopher / teacher • Analects – book written by Confucius’ followers – includes

all his teachings • Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) – Chinese leader who brought

communism to China in 1949• Communism – form of government where there is a

dictator and 1-party system• Great Leap Forward – program implemented by Mao

Zedong – purpose to revolutionize agriculture and industry in China

• Cultural Revolution – program to do away with the “old China” in order to create a more modern China