The Chinese Communist Revolution Unit 7 Section 3

Section Overview China established the People’s Republic of China in 1949 Communists rose in China in 1930s and 1940s In China there was military superiority Communism began under the dictator Mao Zedong

Two Chinas 1. People’s Republic of China- Communist Had many natural resources 2. Taiwan- Republic of China- Non-Communist

Communists Rise to Power Jiang Jieshi- took over for the Guomindang (Nationalist Party) after Sun Yat-Sen died. Jiang Jieshi began striking against the Communist Party Mao Zedong- was a Communist leader in the 1930s Mao Zedong had 100,000 followers Long March: ,000 survivors marched over 6,000 miles to battle Communists, Guomingdang, and Japanese to find out who would control China After World War II- Mao’s forces were successful

Reasons for Communist Success Mao won the support of the huge peasant population of China by promising to give land to peasants Mao won the support of women by rejecting the inequalities of traditional Confucian society Mao’s army made good use of hit-and-run guerrilla warfare Many people opposed the Nationalist government, which they saw as corrupt Some people felt that the Nationalists had allowed foreigners to dominate China

Communism Under Mao Zedong Communists set up the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 Goal: transform China from an agricultural society to a modern nation Under communism: literacy increased, old business classes were eliminated, rural Chinese were provided health care Mao set up a one party dictatorship and denied basic human rights

Women in China Women were treated as inferior to men prior to Communism In the new constitution, women won equality Women were expected to work alongside men Few women held top jobs Women did made less in wages than men did

Great Leap Forward 1958 Program under Mao Zedong Goal: increase agricultural and industrial output Created communes- groups of people who live and work together and hold property in common Communes had production quotas Outcome: Communes failed and agriculture output declined

Cultural Revolution 1966 Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to renew people’s loyalty to communism and establish a more equitable society Mao feared uprising Shut down schools and universities and urged people to join the revolution Student formed groups known as the Red Guards- attacked professors, government officials, and factory managers

United States Recognition The United States refused to recognize People’s Republic of China China won admission to the United Nations in United States recognized China

China after Mao Mao Zedong died in 1976 Deng Xiaoping took control Four Modernizations- promoted foreign trade Farming Industry Science and Technology Defense Deng got rid of communes and allowed land to be leased to individual farmers Deng welcomed foreign technology

Outcomes of Deng Xiaoping Economy grew Better standard of living Foreign relations improved Gap with social classes widened

Tiananmen Square May 1989 Beijing People demanded more rights and freedoms Government sent in troops and tanks to crush protestors Thousands were killed Event demonstrates how powerful Communist rulers can be

Hong Kong Hong Kong was being controlled by Britain Britain helped the island modernize China takes Hong Kong back on July 1, agrees not to change any modernizations that Britain did