Imperialism and Revolutionary Upheavals

1
Imperialism and Revolutionary Upheavals

• 19th century, weakened Qing Dynasty victimized by
  imperialist nations
• Carved China into spheres of influence
• 2 major revolutions 1911 and 1949
• revolutionary era dominated by 3 themes
• nationalism re-establish China as an
  independent, sovereign nation
• new political community competition between
  Nationalist Party Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang
  and The CCP Mao
• socioeconomic development followed Soviet model
  until split in 1928, CCP driven underground

2

• failed revolution Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925)
• multiple military coup attempts
• 1905, KMT established
• 10/10/11 rebellion in Wuhan spread peacefully
  throughout the country, establishment of PRC
• central government nominally under control of
  KMT, but country run by warlords
• 1919 Treaty of Versailles German concessions
  transferred to other Allied powers, not to China
• May Fourth Movement
• student run
• politicized but disorganized

3

• 1921 formation of CCP
• headed by Chen Duxiu, composed of intellectuals,
  quickly dominated by Moscow
• KMT also sought approval of Soviets
• KMT and CCP briefly merged united front
• growing conflict erupted in violence in Shanghai,
  1927
• massacre of thousands of CCP members by
  Nationalist troops

4

• Mao revolution could only be based on mass
  mobilization
• Chinas population overwhelmingly rural
• KMT controlled most cities
• only path was guerilla war from the countryside,
  not spontaneous uprising in cities
• it would take years to organize a peasant
  revolution
• Autumn Harvest Uprising Mao launched attacks
  on Changsa
• KMT campaign to exterminate the communist
  bandits

5

• The Long March
• for almost a year, CCP fought daily against KMT
  or local warlords
• costly but lasting success for CCP
• party used time to organize
• built relationships with peasants
• January, 1936 Mao elected Chairman of CCP

6

• The Mass Line
• Mao and CCP rejected
• urban proletariat
• vanguard of the revolution
• all correct leadership is from the masses, to
  the masses
• turned Marxism into a philosophy that could
  appeal to millions of peasants in Asia, Africa,
  and Latin America

7

• resistance to Japanese imperialist aggression
• invasion of Manchuria, 1931
• control of northern China by 1935
• Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the south, while CCP
  fought the invaders
• resistance expanded its base of support
• message nationalism, anti-imperialism, social
  justice

8

• initial superiority of KMT forces eventually
  overcome by CCP
• CCP army regained control of Manchuria, moved
  south, forced KMT to flee to Taiwan
• 1949 creation of Peoples Republic of China
• Mao Chinas weakness due to oppression and
  exploitation by
• foreign imperialism
• reactionary domestic government
• China has stood up.

9
Factionalism

• PRC 30 years to establish stability and
  continuity
• interim conflict between radicals and moderates
• struggle for ideological dominance involved
• attacks on party and state institutions
• personalization of power
• eventual predominance of moderates put China on a
  lasting path to reform

10
The Peoples Republic of China

• 2 phases
• (1) The Soviet Model (1949-1957)
• land redistribution
• civil reform
• 5-year plans
• (2) The Great Leap Forward (1958-1966)
• radical egalitarianism
• economic development
• mass mobilization
• political unanimity
• decentralization

11

• world communist movement
• North Korean conflict Chinese had no choice but
  to support fellow communists in North Korea
• relied on Soviet military aid to repel UN forces

12

• Sino-Soviet Split
• divergence from Soviet model and philosophy
• CCP depended on cult of personality
• Mao criticized SUs movement away from Marxist
  goals
• SU eventually withdrew its advisers and cut off
  economic and military aid
• split gave CCP autonomy to develop in its own way

13

• factionalism Maoists vs. Marxists
• campaigns organized efforts to mobilize the
  masses to attain various goals
• Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1956 encouraged
  expression of ideas
• success of campaign required immediate end
• Great Leap Forward opposite direction
• sought rapid transition to socialism and
  communism
• required full commitment of all Chinese people
• red-vs.-expert conflict ideology vs.
  technology
• a disaster mass starvation

14

• failure of Great Leap forward undermined Maos
  authority
• forced from chair of PRC
• challenge to his authority precipitated the
  Cultural Revolution
• why?
• Mao had been the architect of the popular
  revolution
• CCP becoming increasingly bureaucratized, rigid
  and elite
• new generation had not experienced the
  revolution- self-satisfied and flabby

15
The Cultural Revolution

• 1963 with support of the PLA, Mao launched the
  Socialist Education Movement
• ideology and mobilization once again center stage
• launched frontal attack on Party leadership and
  bureaucracy
• Red Guards student groups turned into
  revolutionaries/vigilantes
• seizures of power throughout the country

16
The Cultural Revolution

• Maos goal purify the party and the state
• remove all vestiges of old China (bureaucratic,
  hierarchical)
• scholars sent to the fields, universities/librarie
  s destroyed
• Extremely disruptive and regressive
• Maos death, 1976, left factions
• the Gang of Four
• the military
• the Moderates Zhou Enlai
• process of fang-shou cycle of tightening up,
  loosening up

17
Modernization, 1978-1997 Deng Xiaoping

• Four Modernizations
• industry, agriculture, science, military
• Have continues at heart of Chinas official
  policy ever since
• economic liberalization
• open door trade policy
• educational reform
• institutionalization of the Revolution
• Deng did not support political liberalization

18
Citizens, Society and the State

• Profound changes in relationship of citizen to
  Chinese state as leadership has changed since Mao
• For most citizens, communist ideology no longer
  central to their lives
• CCP now emphasizes nationalism, patriotism, pride
  in Chinese identity

19
cleavages

• minority populations within China 8 of
  population, 60 of territory
• general government policy encourage economic
  development, suppress dissent
• 5 autonomous regions Guangxi, Inner Mongolia,
  Ningxia, Tibet and Xinjiang
• Tibet failed uprising 1959, continuing tension
• Xinjiang Uyghur militants seek to create a
  separate Islamic state

20

• cleavages, cont.
• linguistic CCP has always tried to make Mandarin
  the official language of government and
  education, but dialects remain embedded in
  Chinese society
• urban-rural most economic growth has been
  concentrated in cities new meaning to 2
  Chinas
• talk of new programs to lift the lagging rural
  economy