1. The People’s Republic of China
Economic Development
16:2
February 9, 2006

2. Fill out accompanying worksheet throughout presentation.

3. Essential Questions
What obstacles stood in the way of the modernization of China?
What were the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution?
How did economic policies change after Mao’s leadership?

4. Activating Questions (These should be answered by the end of the Presentation!) *Write them in your notebook and answer throughout Presentation*
What is a “commune”?
What is a “collective farm”?
What is “Capitalism”?
Why did Mao launch the Cultural Revolution?
Who do you associate with the “Long March”, “Little Red Book”, and “Great Leap Forward”?
What was a major goal of the Cultural Revolution during the 1960s?

5. Mao proclaimed three main goals for China’s Communist revolution….
He promised a better life for the poor.
He called for a development of a modern economy.
He pledged to restore China’s position as a major world power.

6. OBSTACLES …
When the Communists took over in 1949 many obstacles prevented them from achieving these goals.

7. ‘Uh-Oh’ Problems Faced by Mao
China’s Huge Population Needed
Fed
Clothed
Housed
Educated
Farming and Manufacturing
Years of war destroyed them
Floods, earthquakes, and droughts
Lacked capital and technology to industrialize quickly

8. REORGANIZING AGRICULTURE
Quickly introduced land reform
Took land from large landowners and divided it among landless farm families
During the early 1950s, the government set up new programs, ending private ownership of land altogether.
Formed COLLECTIVE FARMS
The government forced peasants to pool their land, tools, and labor
Members of collective farms worked for the state and received a share of the harvest (the rest went to the gov’t)
Believed that collective farms would be more efficient and result in greater food production

9. Mao Developed Programs to reform land practices …

10. Mao called on the Chinese to make a superhuman effort to achieve modernization through one …
Great Leap Forward

11. Great Leap Forward Introduced in 1958. Divided China into Communes
Communes included several villages, thousands of acres of land, and as many as 20,000 people
Commune controlled the land and the peasants’ lives
Families were split up
Men, Women, and Children slept in separate dormitories and ate in large dining halls
Commune assigned jobs to each workers. In turn, it provided all workers with food, clothing, housing, medical care, etc.

12. Would you like to live in a commune system?
Think About it!
Would you like to live in a commune system?

13. Big Surprise: The Commune System FAILED!
Peasants resisted the commune system
Sometimes even destroyed crops
Since everyone was guaranteed a living, many workers did not work very hard
Finally, during the early 1960s, Mao had to abandon the Great Leap Forward in favor of less ambitious plans

14. In 1966, to renew the revolutionary spirit, Mao launched the GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION
Methods:
Stressed class struggle
Urged young people to seek out followers of Capitalism
Another term for free market economy.
Young people followed the “Little Red Book
Organized the Red Guards
Red Guards held mass rallies to support Mao
Red Guards abused people with bad class backgrounds
Victims of the abuse were then sent to distant rural areas to do manual labor

15. Yikes! The Cultural Revolution Did Not Work Either!
Created chaos in China
Schools Closed
Slowed production in factories
Emphasis on political struggle continued until Mao’s death
Cultural Revolution left deep wounds
Many people had been tortured, imprisoned, or killed
Millions of young people never completed school
Many lost faith in Mao and in the Communist party

16. Life after Mao …
After Mao’s death in 1976, a power struggle took place
On one side was the “Gang of Four”
Mao’s top supporters and his widow
Favored radical policies of the Cultural Revolution
On the other side were moderate leaders
Won!
Made up vast majority

17. Deng Steps Up! By 1978, Deng Xiaoping had emerged as China’s leader.
Deng’s goal was to help China achieve wealth and power.
He stressed economic reform, instead of class struggle, as the way to achieve his goals.
Named his program the Four Modernizations

18. Four Modernizations It called for …
Modernizing Agriculture
Expanding industry
Developing science and technology
Upgrading China’s defense forces

19. Farming Deng wanted to …
Increase the mechanization of farming
Make China self-sufficient in food production
Introduced the Responsibility System
Think about it!
Would you prefer to
farm in a Commune System
or the Responsibility
System?
Responsibility System:
Each farm family was responsibly for making their own living
Each family raised crops and had to sell a portion of the harvest to the government
The rest could be sold for a profit

20. The Responsibility System Worked
Encouraged by the chance at profits, farmers produced larger crops.
Farm output grew rapidly and raised the standard of living in many areas
Why do you think this system worked?

21. The government was still controlling.
China did not adapt capitalism
The government still controlled much of the economy
There were still some collective farms, because the government feared that small farms cold not produce enough food for all of China’s people
Even as the government made economic reforms, it kept political control.
Supporters of democracy were often harassed and jailed.

22. Industry!
Unlike Mao, who emphasized heavy industry (mining and military weapons), Deng shifted emphasis to light industry.
Emphasis on Consumer Goods
To make factories more efficient, Deng extended the responsibility system to industry
Managers were allowed to make decisions about what to produce, but they were also held responsible for making a profit.
Allowed private entrepreneurs to operate their own businesses

23. ‘Uh-Oh’ New problems in China:
Under the reforms, China’s economy boomed and industrial output rose.
Rapid economic growth brings new problems:
Millions of rural people have crowed into towns and cities
Air and water pollution have increased
China’s crime rate has rise, and corruption has grown
Although the standard of living has risen for many people, large differences between rich and poor have also reappeared.
Brainstorm. What problems do you think China faces because of rapid economic growth?

24. Expanding Trade
Deng, and his successor, Jiang Zemin, ended Mao’s policy of isolating China from the rest of the world.
Opened the door to foreign trade and investment
They realized that China needed foreign technology and capital in order to modernize
To attract foreign capital, Deng set up Special Economic Zones in southeastern China. Today, free enterprise thrives there.