The History of the People’s

Republic of China

Macau

People’s Republic of

China Taiwan

Hong Kong

Pronunciations

• Z pronounced “dz” (President Jiang Zemin)

• X pronounced “sh” (Deng Xiaoping)

• Q pronounced “ch” (Emperor Qin)

• ZH pronounced “j” (Zhongguo, Chinese for China)

General Information•Capital – Beijing•Area – 3,705,286 mi2 (slightly

larger than U.S.)•Population – 1,306,000,000•Unitary system of gov’t•Constitution – published in

1982•GDP: $1.16 trillion•Literacy – 91%

General Information•Despite great economic

growth, estimated 1/3 of population live in poverty

•2/3 live in rural areas and make living off land

•Biggest coal producer and was self-sufficient in oil production until mid-1990s

General Information•China is relatively homogeneous•Vast majority are ethnic Han

Chinese and only 8.1% from minority

•17 million Thais, 6 million Mongols, and 5 million Tibetans

•Poor record of assimilating minorities as Chinese tend to see aliens as culturally inferior

Imperial China•1766 B.C.E. – 1911 C.E.•Dynasties had right to govern

through Mandate of Heaven only so long as emperor ruled with honor and virtue – dynastic cycle

•Confucianism played major role – emphasized importance of obeying the authority of emperor and citizens knowing their roles

Imperial China•Emperors ruled though senior

gov’t officials (Mandarins) who won appointment through civil service exam (merit-based)

•Theoretically open to anyone but was based largely on test of “morality” and knowledge of Confucian ethics

•HUGE BUREAUCRACY!!!!!•Urbanization occurred much

sooner than in Europe

Imperial China•Qing (pronounced Ching) was last

dynasty•Manchus (seen as foreigners) were

in power•Were unable to respond to needs

of growing population for land & food

•Further weakened by Opium War with Britain, which forced China to open doors to Eur. traders & missionaries (spheres of influence)

Nationalism and Chaos•1910-1911 – Fall of Qing dynasty; warlords battle for power

•1912 – Sun Yat-sen helped establish Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT) and attempts to address China’s problems

•1913 – Dalai Lama returns to Tibet & declares independence

Nationalism and Chaos•Sun’s gov’t relied heavily on military for authority and Westerners continued to make inroads into China; lost control

•1916-1926 – warlords fight for power though Sun was leader with no power or credibility

•1921 – founding of CCP

Nationalism and Chaos•Brief & acrimonious coalition formed between CCP and KMT

•1925 – Chiang Kai-shek took over after Sun’s death & he abhorred communism

•1927 – “Shanghai Massacre” – Chiang launched lightning strike against CCP & set up own gov’t

Nationalism and Chaos•KMT centered in Nanjing and was recognized by West as legitimate gov’t of China

•Chiang improved administrative & educational systems & modernized army in German style

•But fatal mistake was ignoring peasants

Nationalism and Chaos•Turn to CCP for solutions to land reform though was outlawed in 1927

•Mao Zedong goes underground and sets up gov’t in Jiangxi

•1934 – KMT campaign forced Mao to uproot 150,000 followers & move west

Nationalism and Chaos•Became known as LONG MARCH (6,000 mile trek lasted 1 year)

•1936-1945 – Chiang obliged to ally w/CCP to stave Japanese invasion but clashed frequently

•1945 – Japan surrendered at end of WWII and China broke out into civil war

Nationalism and Chaos•Attempts by U.S. to mediate and help KMT financially and militarily failed

•1949 – Chiang and KMT fled to Taiwan

•Oct 1, 1949 – People’s Republic of China officially proclaimed in Beijing

Mao in 1949Mao in 1949

The Communist Era•CCP forge new political structures, w/network of party branches in every village

•Declare men and women legally equal

•People organized into work units, which provide housing, employment, health care, & edu

Maoism•Peasantry much more important than traditional urban proletariat

•Mass line – need to connect with peasants and workers so CCP policy is legitimized

•Stressed communalism & rejected elitism

•Thought reform & indoctrination

The Communist Era•Mao first in authority followed by Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping

•1950 – 300 million landless peasants organized into cooperatives

•Industry – 5-yr. plans which produced growth but…

The Communist Era•Relied too heavily on professionals and bureaucrats, ignoring the peasants

•China isolated itself except for reliance on USSR for loans & industry advisors

•This alliance broke in 1958 when Mao threatened to invade Taiwan

The Communist Era•1958-1960 – disastrous Great

Leap Forward – Mao said China would progress “20 years in a day”

•Mobilized peasant masses, put unemployed to work, forced employed to work harder under military discipline, & to create classless society he promoted indoctrination

The Communist Era•1959-1960 – floods and famine led to 15-20 million deaths

•Mao came close to losing power and Liu Shaoqi effectively became president

•1966 – Mao attempted to regain lost influence through Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

Mao during the cultural revolutionMao during the cultural revolution

The Communist Era•Deng Xiaoping exiled to remote village, Liu Shaoqi was attacked, beaten, & put under house arrest for 2 years (died in remote prison)

•Red Guard – radical student factions who ran criticism sessions

The Communist Era•Leaders, bureaucrats, “intellectuals”, those following “capitalist road” sent to rural areas to work on land and discuss Maoist thought (Little Red Book)

•Education came to standstill•1966-1976 – came to be known as Ten Catastrophic Years

The Communist Era•1976 – death of Mao•Power struggle between Mao’s successor (Hua Guofeng) and Gang of Four (Mao’s widow w/3 others)

•Gang of Four arrested & jailed for life

•Deng Xiaoping functioned as power behind the throne

The Communist Era•Introduced FOUR MODERNIZATIONS

•Industry, agriculture, national defense, & science & techno.

•Combination of socialist planning and capitalist free market

The Communist Era•1978 – drafting of new constitution that established liberalizing tendencies, leading some to call democracy the FIFTH MODERNIZATION

•But cracked down on Democracy Wall movement

The Communist Era•1982 – Thatcher visits & agreement signed regarding handover of Hong Kong

•1988-1989 – gov’t split b/t hardliners who want to restore old order and reformers seeking openness

The Communist Era•1989 – Tiananmen Square – student & worker demonstrations

•Deng sees as challenge to his authority & joins hardliners in brutal crackdown

•Reformers dismissed

The Communist Era•Jiang Zemin named new Party chief

•1997 – takes over after Deng dies

•Continued process of economic reform & growth

•Admitted into WTO 2001

The Communist Era•But CCP still repressed challenges to authority

•2002-2003 – Hu Jintao, Zemin’s protégé, brings renewal as new Party secretary

•Hu and Jiang new type of leader

The Communist Era•Technocrats – officials with academic training who worked way up party ladder through professional competence & political loyalty

•Mao & Deng were career revolutionaries

The Communist Era•Transfer of power from Jiang to

Hu was predictable & orderly•First relatively tranquil top-

level political succession in more than 200 yrs.

•Hu holds 3 titles – CCP general secretary, PRC president, and Chair of Central Military Commission (controls armed forces)