China under Mao Zedong 1949 - 1976

The Great Leap Forward 1958-1963 Done through mass mobilization and people’s communes

Great Leap Forward Collective Farming Communes had up to 75,000 people in each. Each commune would run its own schools, hospitals, farms etc. Communes would set up their own factories to produce the materials they needed to do these things. Each family in the commune would receive a share of any profit made and each also had a small plot of private land where they could grow things for profit.

The Failure Unrealistic project Ill-trained peasants While industrial output does leap by 55% in 1958, subsequent years see large falls Just two years later in 1960 agricultural output falls by 14% About 30 million people died in the famine

Great Leap Forward (1958-1963) Unrealistic output targets industry agricultural and human disaster

Growing Opposition Mao questions the commitment of the Chinese people (are there still those in China that want Capitalism?) Mao even believed that there were people in the government that opposed his direction for China and were secretly Capitalists (is this McCarthyism in China?)

Growing Division (1962-1965) Mao Zedong vs. Liu Shaoqi (Mao’s 2nd in command and president of the P.R.C) and Deng Xiaoping (General Secretary of the P.R.C) Mao felt they were a threat to his power

The Cultural Revolution Photograph taken in February 1967 of Red Guards displaying leaders of “Anti-Revolutionary Groups.” The accused, wearing dunce caps, commonly were teachers and professors. http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1924825_1951838,00.html

Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution Commitment to revolution and “class struggle” Decade of chaos – “to rebel is justified!” Destroy the Four Olds Ideas Culture Customs Habits

Mao’s Motives Regain decision making in China Wanted the youth in China to experience their own revolution! By supporting the Cultural Revolution he was able to regain power and have many rivals arrested or put in labor camps like Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping Mao’s personal philosophy of continuous revolution

Red Guards (1966-69)

Red Guards (1966-69) Mobilized students and young adults to act as agents of the Revolution Why were students involved and why did they respond to Mao? 1. Idealism and love for Mao 2. Need to belong to something 3. Venting frustration at the school system 4. Thrill seeking?

The “Gang of Four” 1972 – 1976 Power struggle between the radical “Gang of Four”, led by Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife the “moderates”, led by Premier Zhou Enlai and Hua Guofeng

Mao and Zhou Died in 1976 Turning point in China’s postwar era The fate of Deng Xiaoping Mao and Zhou Enlai dies leaving Hua Guofeng in power. Hua has the Gang of Four arrested and turns power over to Deng Xiaoping Arrest marks the end of the Cultural Revolution

Reforms and Opening up Economic modernization became focus US-PRC diplomatic relations in 1979 Ping Pong Diplomacy (opened the way for re-opening of China-US relations) President Richard Nixon knew mending relations with China would be critical in the future

Ping Pong Diplomacy of 1971 (USA & CHINA) According to one PBS article, “One of the first public hints of improved U.S. – China relations came on April 6, 1971, when the American Ping-Pong team, in Japan for the 31st World Table Tennis Championships, received a surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues for an all-expense paid visit to the P.R.C. Time magazine called it “The ping heard round the world.” Ushering in a new era of “Ping Pong Diplomacy,” they were the first group of Americans allowed in China since the Communist takeover in 1949.

China and Deng Xiaoping World Cultures East Asia Unit China

Policy of Four Modernizations Agriculture Expand Industry Develop Science and Technology Upgrade China’s defense forces *5th – Democracy ? Democracy Wall – 1979 in Beijing

Responsibility System Each farmer is responsible for making their own living Each farmer responsible for selling a certain amount to the government at a fixed price All surplus is yours to keep and either eat or sell on open market Effects: Profits encouraged more production Private enterprise Did not label this capitalism

Deng Xiaoping “It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.” “Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious.” Dismantled collective farming Lifted price controls Allowed private (market based economy) enterprise in special free market zones

Special Economic Zones Areas where Chinese investors and entrepreneurs could start businesses with little government intervention Increased migration Increased outside investment in China

Measures of Success world’s largest economy at the end of 2008 world’s fastest growing economy second largest consumer of oil largest producer of steel, coal, and cement Admitted into World Trade Organization in 2001 2006 trade surplus with the United States was $233 billion

Effects at Home Social change – linking people with outside world The environment Financial fragility – overheated economy Income Gap: Economic development has taken place in the eastern coastal provinces, leaving the rural interior underdeveloped Increase in urban poor

Concerns of Trading Partners Human rights abuses Health and safety concerns Value of China’s currency Environment