China since 1945 From 1945 to 1949 China was involved in a civil war In 1949 the Communists win and establish the People’s Republic of China Mao becomes the leader of China Mao Tse-tung

China since 1945 Mao declared that China was against imperialism, feudalism, bureaucracy and democracy He had many plans to change China and immediately put them into action His new government enacted many plans to fix problems such as inflation and low production

Mao’s Plans for China The Great Leap Forward –Created communes (self- sufficient settlements containing farms and industries) –They did not work at all: production fell, life was difficult, China experienced bad weather, rewards were limited –The plan was abandoned after two years “Long live the general direction! Long live the Great Leap Forward! Long live the People’s Commune!”

Mao’s Plans for China After the failure of the Great Leap Forward Mao attempted a Cultural Revolution The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to change the old order and establish a new socialist society The Red Guard (young men and women) would enforce the policies of the revolution

Mao’s Plans For China The revolution was to destroy the four olds: old ideology, old thoughts, old habits and old customs Those who opposed Mao were publicly punished Farm production fell, factory work stopped and schools closed As a result there was no economy, many people had left and there was no education It was an enormous failure and Mao ended it in 1969

Growing Division ( ) Mao Zedong vs. Deng Xiaoping charismatic leadership vs. bureaucracy Deng Xiaoping

Cultural Revolution ( ) Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution –commitment to revolution and “class struggle” –power struggle to succeed Mao Phase I: the rise and fall of “red guards” Phase II: the rise and fall of Lin Biao Phase III: the rise and fall of the “Gang of Four”

Phase I: Red Guards ( )

Purge of party cadres –Deng Xiaoping Purge of intellectuals

Phase II: Lin Biao ( ) the putative successor to Mao Zedong (tse-tung) In 1971 Lin allegedly tried but failed –to assassinate Mao –had to flee to Soviet Union His departure eroded the credibility of the entire leadership

Phase III: the “Gang of Four” 1972 – 1976 power struggle between –the radical “Gang of Four”, led by Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife –Goal continue Cultural revolution…failed when Mao dies and his power is gone…gang of 4 put on trial and convicted….Dang Xiaoping takes power

Diplomatic Breakthrough 1971, PRC became the representative of China in UN (replaced ROC)

Diplomatic Breakthrough 1972, President Nixon visited Beijing

Mao and Zhou Died in 1976 Turning point in China’s postwar era “Gang of Four” were arrested End of the Cultural Revolution

Mao’s legacies

Reforms and Opening up The 3rd Plenum of the 11th CCP Central Committee in 1978 –Deng Xiaoping’s ascendancy –economic modernization became focus US-PRC diplomatic relations in 1979

China since 1945 Mao dies in 1976 and Deng Xiaoping comes to power. Deng institutes the Four Modernizations, which focuses on improving agriculture, industry, science and technology as well as defense. Deng was in power until his death in 1997