China and the Rise of

CommunismDemocracy’s Failed Battleground

Big Trouble in Little China

• The Fall of the Qing Dynasty (1911)– Loss of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895– Boxer Rebellion of 1900– Influx of Western powers in the 1900s– Significant social changes after rebellions

• New republic formed headed by Sun Yixian (Sun Yat-sen), “Father of Modern China”– Three Principles – Nationalism, democracy, and

economic stability• “Twin Evils” – Warlord uprisings and foreign

imperialism

The Father Steps Down

• Sun Yixian stepped down in 1912

• Power went to Yuan Shikai, a powerful general– Attempted to set up a new

dynasty– No military support

Chinese Upheaval• Warlords began to seize

power while rival armies vied for control

• Frequent famines and bandit attacks

• Foreign powers increased influence over Chinese affairs– TWENTY-ONE DEMANDS –

list of demands that sought to make China a Japanese protectorate

• Shikai died in 1916

May Fourth Movement• Cultural and intellectual

movement • The Goal: to strengthen

China– Rejected Confusion ideas– Wanted to use ideas to

break with West (think Meiji Restoration in Japan)

• Women involved: – Pushed to end footbinding– Opened doors for women in

education and the economy

Father Knows Best• 1920’s a small group of

Chinese Communists formed their own political party

• Sun Yixian and his Guomindang, the Nationalist Party, form a gov’t in south China– Plan: Raise an army, defeat

the warlords, and spread his gov’t’s rule in China

– Western powers refuse to help so he goes to Russia

An Unlikely Alliance

• Nationalists (Guomindang) join forces with the Communists to free China

• Mao Zedong – member of the Communist party that helped the Guomindang– believed the Communists

should look for support among the peasants

Death and a Change in Leadership

• Sun Yixian died in 1925 • Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang

Jeishi) took control of the Guomindang

• Not a huge fan of Communism or democracy– Did join with the

Communist party though…

– 1926 – begins the Northern Expedition

The Shanghai Massacre, 1927

• Communists were winning converts, Mao in control

• Chiang wants to consolidate power so… – orders the slaughter of

Communist Party members and workers who supported them

• Beginning of a civil war between the Guomindang and Communist Party that would last for 22 years

Another War…• Defeated all

warlords • Chiang turns fully

on the “Red Bandits”– Guomindang is

lead on a series of “extermination campaigns”

The Long March – 1934-1935

• Harassment results in the Long March for the Communist forces– Use guerrilla tactics to

fight back– 90,000 start 9,000

finish– Finally make it to a

remote area in North China where they start to rebuild

International Problems• 1931 – Japan

invaded Manchuria• 1930’s – continued

Japanese expansion • Depression across

the country• All this distracts

Chiang and allows Mao to survive

If you will please pause for a brief intermission

• Under pressure by members of the Guomindang and the US, Chiang allies with Mao

• For all their hatred, the united Chinese front stays together during the war

The Creation of Two Chinas• WWII greatly weakens

Guomindang• People turn to Mao – 1946-1949 Civil War is again

sparked– US does nothing to aid

nationalists while USSR aids Mao• Eventually, Chiang is forced to

flee China to Taiwan – US only recognizes Chiang in

Taiwan while mainland China is recognized by other world powers

People’s Republic of China (PRC) - 1949

China Flexes – 1950-1953

• US, after failing to aid Guomindang China, gets pulled into Korean War

• Yalu River – US pushes North into Communist Korea and makes it very close to the Chinese border– Gets China involved in

the war

Korean Results

• US comes close to nuclear

• Cease fire signed but no treaty

• North Korea is still Communist today– Nuclear weapons

Chinese Expansion

• Tibet (1950)• Parts of India • Fighting the

French in Indochina

• Southern Mongolia – Clashed with

USSR over Mongolia

Communist Stability - 1955

• Korean War over• Mao tries to start

communist reforms• Redistributes land,

nationalized industry, collective farms

• People reject change

The 100 Flowers Campaign

• Mao decides to let people state their grievances against the state

• Angry and overwhelmed by their demands, he stops the program and murders any dissenters

Great Leap Forward, 1958

• States 1955 plan failed because not bold enough

• Massive collective works forcibly created

• Large families encouraged to industrialize

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Communist Tree

15-40 million people starve to death as the gov’t makes steel not food

Cultural Revolution, 1966

• Mao thinks China’s past is holding back reform

• Little Red Book – explained the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party

• All the past is destroyed by the Red Guard – student military groups

• Leaders Killed

Feb 1972 – Nixon Visits

• Split between China and USSR– Fighting over frontier

• Ping-Pong Diplomacy (April 1971)– Exchange of table

tennis players between China and US

• Visit helps thaw the Cold War

Mao Dies - 1976

• 60-80 million dead due to his policies

• China way overpopulated• Agriculturally based and

backward• Deng Xiaoping – new

leader– Focuses on transitioning to

industry– Illegal to criticize Mao or

the gov’t

Social and Economic Changes

• 1980 – One Child Policy– If you go over the

limit, you are subject to fines up to multiple times your annual income

• Capitalism slowly encouraged– Causes greater

prosperity in 1990s

Tiananmen Square

• April to June, 1989

• 100,000 students protest slow pace of change

• Troops sent to silence dissent

• Unknown number dead

The Future of China

• Hoping world forgets Tiananmen

• Joined WTO and is market driven– Tremendous growth– New social problems

because of lack of equality

– Fascist now?• Olympics of 2008