Modern China

1
Modern China

• Modern Chinese history program at MH developed by
  Th. Thorhallsson for IB-History students at MH

2
Chinese civil war

• Chinese civil war 1911?-1949 (topic 1. War...)
• Emphasis on
• Origins of war, political, ideological, economic
  sources.
• Civil warfare, resistance movements,
  non-systemized warfare or guerilla warfare,
  revolutionary movements and war.
• Political, social and economic effects.

3
Mao and Communist China

• Communist China (Topic 3 Single-party state)
  Themes
• Origins - Conditions that produced CC.
• Establishment, methods, form of government,
  totalitarianism, treatment of opposition.
• Ideology of Mao and Chinese communists.
• Role of education, media, the arts, propaganda.
• Successes and failures in solving political,
  social and economic problems.
• Role of women, minorities, and religious groups.
• Impact on world affairs.

4
Introduction.

• What do we know about China?
• Where is China in the world? What are its
  neighbouring countries?
• Status in the world to day.
• What kind of Government do we have there?
• What is the contribution of China to the world
  in technology, culture, arts, religion...?
• What do we know about Chinese history.

5
Chinese past

• Why should we probe Chinese past?
• It seem that the Chinese themselves are obsessed
  with history.
• China is one of the oldest civilization in the
  world
• It seem that Chinese history tends to move in
  cycles From rise of dynasty to fall of dynasty
  to anarchy to new dynasty.
• Maybe this pattern is still going on.

6
Chinese thought

• Continuities with the past do exist, especially
  in thought and attitudes.
• What are these
• The Confucian school
• The Daoists (taoists)
• The legalist scool
• Buddhism
• Customs and habits.

7
Confucious

• What are the main principles of confucian
  thinking?
• What does C. think is womens place in society
• What is the relationship between ruler and
  subject according to Confucius?

8
Birth of China

• The Shang dynasty. Earliest kings in the Valley
  of the Yellow river around 1300-1200 BC.
• Shang knew the art of writing and it is
  recognizable
• 1040-770 BC the Zhou dynasty. Yangzi river
  becomes part of the state.
• 500-200 Chaotic period. Period of the thinkers
  and philosophers.
• Confucius fifth century BC

9
Unification of China

• Qin dynasty. To 206 BC
• Controlled China south to Vietnam
• Standard coinage, improved communication,
  standardized writing system, built the Great
  wall. Legalist.
• Subjects revolted against the ruthless legalist
  dynasty.

10
The dynastic cycle

• The Han dynasty 206 BC to 220 AD was the first
  to go through the dynastic cycle

11
Song dynasty 960-1279

• The peak of urban culture in China
• Vigorous Merchant class. Foreign trade.
• Educated civil servants that had to pass the
  state examination in Confucian classics.
• Military strength declined and China became the
  prey of the Mongol Kublai Khan. Mongol rule
  lasted to 1368.

12
Ming dynasty 1368-1644

• Rule mixture of Confucian and legalist
  principles. State exams for officials.
• The officials view of society
• The scholars who rule
• Peasants who grew food
• Artisans who make important things
• Merchants who make nothing but shuffle goods from
  one place to another
• Merchants raised the sons to be scholars

13
Ming cont.

• Early Ming supported the great merchants
  adventure around the Indian ocean in the 15th
  century but late Ming developed distaste for
  trade and foreigners.
• Why didnt the Chinese conquer the world instead
  of the Europeans.
• Progress and technology slowed down unfortunately
  because the westerners were coming
• The first Portugese in China 1514

14
Qing dynasty 1681-1911

• The Manchu invaded China and formed the Qing
  dynasty.
• The empire at its biggest
• Corruption among the ruling class in the 19th
  century. Dynasty weakens.
• Overpopulation, low technology and corruption.
  Internal revolts and external wars

15
The Collapse of the old order

• The Manchu government collapsed under both
  internal and external pressures
• Example
• The Opium War, external pressure
• The Taiping revolution, internal pressure.
• The Boxer rebellion internal pressure and
  external when foreign armys helped crushing it.

16
The Opium war 1839-42

• What was the Opium war about?
• What has opium to do with it?
• Why did the Chinese loose the war?
• What concessions had the Chinese to make?
• What is a treaty port? The most favoured nation
  principle, extraterritorality.
• What are the long term effects?

17
Taiping revolution.

• After 1800 we see the symptoms of downward cycle.
  
• The rebellion was chrushed but at the cost of
  strengthening regional armies only partly under
  central command even if the were loyal.
• Li Hongzhan was one of the leaders of the
  regional armies. Began efforts to introduce
  western technology.

18
China and the west

• Chinese werent used to learn from other nations.
  
• The chinese wanted to retain the traditional
  confucian culture but only use western
  technology.
• Only around the turn of the century some Chinese
  started to think that society had to be changed
  fundamentally.

19
Cont..

• The empress was afraid of that any changes would
  hurt the Qing Dynasty because of its
  Manchu-origins.
• Chinese businessmen met opposition from
  bureaucrats in Chinese dominated cities but they
  were growing in the treaty ports. Still the
  always lacked access to capital.
• The hundred days of Kang 1898 show that the idea
  of reform was there but it was suppressed.

20
The Boxer rebellion 1899.

• What can the Boxer rebellion tell us about the
  situation? Why was there no rebellion in the
  southern provinces?
• Why wasnt China carved up among the western
  powers?
• What is the open door policy?

21
After the Boxer Rebellion.

• Finally the imperial court showed som
  understanding of reforms necessary
• Tried to regain control of tariffs
• Tried to end opium imports
• abolished the old civil exam system
• Students sent abroad
• New armies formed
• Provincial assemblies elected and a National
  Assembly

22
Effect of reform

• The government couldnt handle it
• Expectation rise
• Regional governors like Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan
  and Yuan Shikai in the north were removed from
  office.
• These were however the actual bulwarks of
  government in the provinces and whith them gone
  the danger of rebellion increased.

23
Revolution 1911

• Revolution in the provinces
• Army takes control under leadeship of Yuan ShiKai
• Dissolved the parliament
• Shikai abdicated in 1915
• Made the mistake of proclaiming himself emperor

24
Warlord Era 1916-28

• First phase of civil war in China
• Warlord leaders of provincial armies emerging
  from the ruins of the empire
• strong flamboyant personalities building armies
  by preying on the peasantry
• Peasants suffer in the sturlungaöld
• Main centers of government in the south (Canton)
  and in the north (Beijing)

25
China and WW1

• Japan seized German holdings in Shandong
• 1915 China forced to accept Japanese control of
  Southern Manchuria
• An other humiliation for China when Versailles
  treaty accepts Japans rule of Shangdong
• Middle class and nationalist anger explodes in
  the 1919 may 4th movement
• Opposing foreign domination and Warlord rule

26
Kuomintang (Nationalist Party)

• Originally founded by Sun Yat Sen in 1912
• Sun set up a government in Canton 1917
• Revitalized in the May 4th movement 1919
• Extends its power from Canton to the North
• K was able to overthrow the warlords in 1928

27
Sun Yat-sen

• Three principles of the people
• Nationalism
• Democracy
• Livelihood (not revolutionary)
• Sun was willing to work with communists (1923)
  and organized the party along bolshevik lines
• Died 1925

28
Sun replaced by Chiang Kai-shek

• Right wing
• General
• Middle class
• Landowners
• Worked with Communists until 1927
• Managed to win warlords 1928

29
Mao and the Communist party

• Mao Tse Tung (1893-1976) Revolutionary leader and
  poet
• Founder and leader of the Peoples Republic of
  China.
• Born in Southern China of peasant origin
• Joined the revolutionary army when the Manchu
  dynasty was overthrown 1911
• Advocated womens right and attacked aranged
  marriage
• Joined a marxist studygroup at Peking university
  1919
• Participated in the may 4th demonstrations 1919

30
Communism beginning

• Communist manifesto translated and published 1906
• Like in many countries with huge peasantry
  anarchism had been popular
• Doctrinate marxism did not fit China because in
  1918 only 2 million out af population of 300
  million were urban workers
• The peasants were the real underclass, supressed
  by the gentry in a feudal relation

31
Beginnings cont.

• Two events gave the radical movement a start
• May 4th movement against the Versailles treaty
• Versailles betrayed chinese interest
• Dissillution with democracy and capitalism
• The Russian revolution
• Revolution in a neighbouring peasant state
• Li Dazhao urged marxist to go into the countryside

32
Formation of the communist party

• Soviet agents helped in the organization of the
  party.
• Established in July 1921 Mao head in Hunan
• Still Lenin and Stalin later had not much
  confidence in communism in China and always
  advocated cooperation with the KMT The struggle
  against imperialism

33
KMT and the communists

• Russia supported Sun Yat-sen and until the
  victory of KMT over China 1927 there was
  cooperation with the communists
• Chiang Kai-shek studied military science in
  Moscow
• After victory Chiang was urged to turn against
  communist by industrialists and landowners in the
  party
• The white terror, massacre of communist workers
  in Shanghai 1927

34
The new revolutionary strategy after 1928

• Mao was the thinker of the new strategy
• KMT was strongest in the cities so workers
  revolution was hard to achieve
• Peasants were alienated from KMT because it
  supported the landowners
• Mao started to build base areas in the
  countryside by adopting
• Old guerilla tactics
• Introduced land reform
• Landlords were allowed to keep some land

35
The Jiangxi Soviet 1931-34

• In Jiangxi Mao formed a Chinese Soviet republic
  based on his peasant revolution principles
• Chinese communist returning from Moscow tried to
  undermine Maos efforts with emphasis on class
  struggle and a broad front against KMT army
• KMT was able to chase the communist away on the
  so called long march 1934 1935 to northern
  China
• The bolsheviks were discredited becaus of this

36
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37
Long march

• In 1931 the Japanese invaded northeastern China
  and set up a puppet government. Instead of
  resisting Japan, Nationalist troops (under Chiang
  Kai-Shek) launch a series of military campaigns
  against the Communists.
• Chiang's extermination of the communists began in
  October 1933, and a year later the Communist were
  driven into a small area in Kiangsi (now Jiangxi)
  Province. Close to defeat, the Communists decided
  to march north to Yenan in Shansi (Shanxi)
  Province, a distance of 8000 km over some of the
  most inhospitable terrain. On the way the
  Communists confiscated the property of officials,
  landlords and tax collectors, and redistributed
  the land to peasants.
• They armed thousands of peasants with weapons
  captured from the Nationalists and left soldiers
  behind to organise guerrilla groups to harass the
  enemy. The march proved that the Chinese peasants
  could fight if they were given leadership and
  weapons. Of the 90,000 people who started the
  Long March, only 1 in 4 made it to Shansi. During
  the march a meeting of the CCP hierarchy
  recognised Mao's overall leadership, and he
  assumed supreme responsibility for strategy.
• Japan launches a full-scale invasion of China in
  July 1937, and within five months the Japanese
  enter Nanking and massacre 200,000 people. The
  government retreats to Chungking, a remote area
  ruled by rival warlords. America enters the war
  in 1941 and finds Chiang (Nationalist) keeping
  his best troops to fight the Communists.

38
The Long March

• Heroic myth
• Of 100.000 communists 20.000 survived
• Maos policy survived and became the model for
  future China
• The LM provided the future leadership of Peoples
  Republic of China
• From the new base Communist would conquer China

39
Chinese foreign policy

• 1927-28
• Kuomintang controls all of China.
• Communist expelled from the party and links with
  Soviet Union severed
• Civil war between Guomintang and Communists starts

40
Japanese influence in China

• 1931-32 The Japanese occupy Manchuria
• Was their sphere of influence before
• Founded the state of Mandsjukuo
• 1936 Ceasefire between communist and kuomintang
• 1937 Japanese declare war on China and occupy the
  coast. Soviet Union supports China.

41
The War with Japan 1937-45

• The effect on the future
• Old authorities cleared in the North East
• KMT had to turn against Japan instead of the
  communists (internal-external pressure)
• Still KMT proved corrupt and used US money for
  private consumption
• The Communist became the resistance heros
• Communist created new bases in freed regions
• Some landreform rent and interst control
• Taught peasant to read and write

42
Japanese war against China

• Mars 1940 Japanese establish a Chinese puppet
  government in Nanking
• Fall 1941 USA does not want to make agreement
  with Japan unless they withdraw from China.
• USA supports Chiang Kai-check. General Stilwell
  USA agent in Chine but says that Chiangs
  government is bad and corrupt. He wants USA to
  support the communists but Roosevelt continues
  his support with Chiang.

43
After WWII

• 1945 Japanese have to leave China. General
  Marshall tries to reconciliate Communists and
  Guomintang. Chaing refuses.
• 1945-48 USA gives Guomintang weapons. Chinese
  communists press for victory before the US public
  starts to press for armed intervention in China.
  (before the cold war start to take effect)

44
Communist position at the end of war

• Had already revolutionized big parts of China
• 19 base areas with 100 million people
• Had big experienced army
• Symbols for reform independence national
  unity abolition of feudalism
• The US supported KMT

45
Problems facing Mao 49

• Economy and infrastructure in ruins
• Agriculture inefficient. Food Shortages.
• Superhuman task to control 600 million people but
  Mao managed it.
• Purges against class enemies
• How was the constitution? How is Government
  organised? What is the role of the party?

46
Agricultural and industrial changes

• Redistribution of land
• Then peasants were persuaded to enter the coops.
  How could this collectivization succeed without
  violence?
• Nationalization of most businesses
• Five year plan for building heavy industry
• Some success with help from Russia but Mao had
  doubts.

47
Hundred flowers 1957

• What does it mean?
• Call for criticism
• Government for.
• The party for.
• Campaign called off (to much criticism) and next
  step was to further advance and consolidate
  socialism

48
The great leap forward 58

• Supposed to increase output the chinese way
• Introduction of the Commune (30 000 people)
• What was the role of the commune?
• Local government
• Work organisation
• Party organ
• Small factories in the countryside to provide
  machines for agriculture.
• Backyard furnaces.
• Didnt go well at first. Hunger and shortages.

49
Effect of great leap

• Historians do not agree on effect
• Norman Lowe is relatively possitive
• Agriculture and small industry did improve
• The communes did prove a balance against
  centralization
• The Chinese way was supposed to be
  labor-intensive
• Most other historians seems to think that the
  great leap was a total disaster, leading to
  economic ruin, bad harvests, hunger and the
  backyard furnaces were useless.
• After the Great leap the rightists (moderates)
  wanted to ease things

50
Cultural revolution 66-9

• Against the right opposition that were calling
  for incentives, managers, and private ownership
  of farms.
• Mao stuck to socialism, avoid the making of a
  privileged class.
• Lin Biao abolished ranks in the army
• Schools closed en students roam the country
  exposing the four Olds.
• Mao encouraged the red guards to roam the
  country. The little red book
• Brought chaos and almost a civil war.
• Mao called in the army to restore order.

51
Life after Mao

• Power struggle after Maos death 1976
• Deng came back and took the leadership from Hua
  Guofeng and the militant gang of four.
• Deng was a liberal communist and tried to reverse
  the effects of the cultural revolution, more
  freedom of expression and communes were
  democratically elected.
• China entered the international economic world
  and wanted foreign loans, capital and technichal
  know how.
• Internally he encouraged productivity by lowering
  taxes and incentives.

52
Demands for liberty 89

• Right to criticize government
• Non-communist parties in Congress
• Freedom to change jobs and travel abroad
• Abolition of communes
• Deng was infuriated
• Without the party China will regress into
  division and confusion

53
Modernization

• Zhao Ziyang prime minister
• Had communal land divided up among individual
  peasants
• Compulsory state purchase of crops limited
• This market socialism did have its problems
• Inflation and increase in imports more than
  exports
• Deng wanted to encourage capitalist initiative
  and decentralization

54
Tiananemen Square 1989

• Is it possible to have a market economy, the
  freedom to buy and sell but to deny people all
  choice in politics? Under what situation is this
  possible.
• Gorbachevs visit encouraged demonstrators.
• The army brought in 3-4 june 1989 killing
  1500-3000.
• Deng believed in the single party system to
  supervise transition to social market economy.

55
Ný konfúsíasmi

• Fyrrum forsætisráðherra Singapúr talar um asísku
  leiðina til nútímans
• Kapítalískt efnahagskerfi
• Sterkt ríkisvald
• Konfúsískur lífstíll
• Traust fjölskyldubönd
• Virðingu fyrir hinum eldri
• Hópvinnu í stað einstaklingshyggju
• Agi og vinnusemi

56
After the takeover 1949

• 1950 Agreement with Soviet Union. Soviet union
  promises technical and financial aid. China not
  part of U.N. Britain and India acknowledge China.
• 1950 Invasion and occupation of Tibet.
• 1950-53 Entered the Korean war when USA armies
  came close to the border. Managed to keep US
  away.

57
China in World politics

• Zhou Enlai places China in the leadership of
  neutral third world countries but is not able to
  reach agreement with US
• 1958 Cooling relations with Soviet Union after
  death of Stalin. Mao says the east wind is
  stronger than the wind from the west.
• Support to African nations. Trying to get
  goodwill so they can enter UN.

58
New directions

• 1964 Chinese explode their first atom bomb
• 1960-70 The situation on the Soviet-Chinese
  border comes close to a war. Competition for
  support of third world countries. Eurocommunists
  confused.

59
US-Chinese relation after 71

• US-feels isolated in South East Asia during
  Vietnam war
• Nixon sends feelers to China in the form of
  Ping-Pong 1971
• Nixon in China feb. 1972
• From then on relations with Chine have started to
  normalize.

60
Foreign policy after Mao

• 1984 agreement about reverting Hong Kong to China
  (Hong Kong aquired from 1842-98)
• 1979 Us fully recognize PRC and abandon support
  for Taiwan
• China most favoured nation status in US after
  1992
• After Dalai Lama got Nobel Peace prize in 1989
  the Chinese have releaved some of their
  repression in Tibet.

61
Mynd
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63
Mao and the peasants in Hunan

• In 1926 Mao observed the peasant revolution in
  Hunan and wrote an extensive report that shaped
  his attitude towards the peasant revolution.
• How did the peasants organize themselves?
• How many peasants took part in the revolution?
• Percentage Number
• What was the aim of the revolution? (p. 76)

64
Hunan peasants

• P. 78. How does Mao answer the criticism against
  the terror in the countryside.
• P. 79. Who are the poor peasants making the
  revolution?
• P. 80. The revolutionary government.
• What is done with the landlords and the old
  elite? How far do these actions reach? All the
  way?
• How is the situation of women improved?
• How is the situation of the peasants improved?

65
What was done with landlords in Hunan

• Settling of accounts
• Imposition of fines
• Compulsory contribution of funds
• Questioning
• Demonstrating
• Humiliation(e.g wearing tall hats and parading
  around town)
• Imprisonment
• Banishment
• And only for the most powerful landlords,
  execution.
• Yet the peasants still left them with some land
  and property.

66
Situation of women in Hunan

• Many women established their own associations.
  Were able for the first time to raise their
  voices and make a difference.
• So-called husband power became weaker and weaker
  and women had a say in family affairs.
• Within family, women gained influence.

67
Situation of Peasants in Hunan

• Removal of feudal system and militia
• Clan elders lost power
• Outlawing of gambling and opium
• Successful elimination of banditry
• Successful promotion of cultural movement
• Credit unions established
• Improved the transport system (eg. Roads,
  irrigation canals and flood-control dykes)

68
Short lecture with handouts

• Due Week after Lagningardagar.
• The Hundred Flowers 1957 Úlfur
• The Great Leap Forward 1958 Kristin Jóna
• The Cultural Revolution 1966 Erna
• Death of Mao 1976 Hildur
• Deng comes to power 1978 Katerina
• Tiananmen Square 1989 Tómas jon bjarni
• Soviet Union and China Hjörleifur
• USA relations with China Bragi
• Art in China HElga
• Women in China Lea Assel
• Religion in China Solveig
• Population and Economy. Chris

69
Questions

• Why was the US angry towards China until Ping
  Pong
• What kind of historical break was made with the
  revolution in 1949
• What was the Ideology of Chinese communists, how
  has it changed?
• Compare Russia and China, were are the
  similarities?