Notes on Chinaand Notes on Nationalism

ChinaGovernment and History

Mao Zedong1. The man who made China a Communist nation was born

to a peasant family in the Hunan Province. 2. Working in a library in Beijing, Mao Zedong was attracted

to the ideas of communism. 3. He witnessed the inequalities around him—hardworking

peasants and farmers lived in poverty, while landlords who owned large tracts of land amassed great wealth.

4. Mao’s dream for China was said to be based on his belief that everyone should work together for the good of all people.

5. His face became familiar throughout the world. People in China repeated his slogans and studied his writings.

Cultural Revolution1. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong gave the

Red Guards complete power to root out what he called the Four Olds:

• old culture • old customs • old habits• old thoughts 2. Young people were encouraged to challenge or even

denounce their elders. 3. They were also urged to attack any hint of new ideas,

especially music, literature, and concepts such as economic freedom from the West.

Cultural Revolution Continued…

4. The Red Guards often used violent methods; including murdering anyone they believed to be disloyal to Mao.

5. Over the course of a decade, thousands of people were executed, and many thousands more were threatened and beaten.

6. Even today, many years after the Cultural Revolution, it is difficult for the Chinese to look back at this painful period.

Tiananmen Square1. For weeks, the students of Tiananmen Square had been

protesting the corruption of Communist officials as well as calling for democracy and greater equality among the people.

2. The tragic climax to this protest came when Deng Xiaoping, the head of the government, ordered the army to break up the demonstration.

3. On June 4, 1989, television viewers from around the world watched in shock as the events in Tiananmen Square unfolded.

4. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed; as many as 30,000 were jailed.

“Great Leap Forward”1. This was a series of policies that Mao thought would

help China become equal to the leading powers of the West in agricultural and industrial production.

2. Mao believed in the power of the peasants to bring about great results.

3. Collective farms became huge communes, which grew crops, ran small industries, and provided education and health care for their members.

4. Unfortunately, the peasants’ labor was not enough and famine resulted.

5. Millions of Chinese starved and died.

Nationalism: Led to independence in India and Vietnam

SS7H3: The student will analyze continuity and change in Southern and Eastern Asia leading to the 21st century

Nationalism

• Organized political movements, which as their goal is the restoration of their country's independence.

Background

1. During the 1500s and 1600s the Europeans were able to take control of the international trade of Asia, thereby diverting the profits from this trade to Europe

2. As a result, the Europeans became stronger while Asian empires and kingdoms became weaker.

India and Vietnam

1. The growth of nationalism is closely connected to the anti-colonial movement

2. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism

3. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together.

4. But each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently, their experiences were varied, and their notions of freedom were not always the same

India

1. British control 2. Gandhi, along with many other leaders played

a large role in the independence 3. Many different groups within India formed to

rebel against the British4. At midnight, on August 15, 1947, India

became an independent nation and the political leaders of India adopted the liberal democratic system.

Vietnam

1. French control2. The Vietnamese nationalist forces - the Viet

Minh - under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh were outshined by the might of the French imperial army, but triumphed against the odds

3. Brought an abrupt end to French imperial rule4. September 2, 1945 Vietnam gained its

independence, but it took another 3 decades before Vietnam became a fully unified and independent state

Communism and Containment

1. Communism: a system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

2. Containment: United States government policy uniting military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to contain the spread of Communism in the world after World War II

Communism in Vietnam3. Vietnam War- North Vietnam (Communist)

trying to take over South Vietnam (non- Communist)

4. The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment

Communism in Korea

5. Korean War- period of military conflict between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea)

6. The U.S. entered the war when the Communist government of North Korea had crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded the American-backed South Korea

Answer the EQ

• How did nations in Southern and Eastern Asia gain their independence?