Inability to deal with foreign

domination
Manchus treatments of civilians
and compliance with Europeans
(Taiping Rebellion)

Weak government (two-year-old

Emperor)

Causes of the 1911 Wuchang

Rebellion:
Discontent with the Qing family (who ruled over China as
part of the Manchu dynasty) and Europeans
Reforms came too late and were
too little

Cixis opposition towards reform

(Emperor Guangxus Hundred
Days of Reforms)

Harsh repressive measures after

Boxer Rebellion

Harsh life of peasants

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Inability to deal with European

influence and domination
Corruption in government led to inaction
Opium wars throughout 19th Century
Unequal treaties: Europeans had control
of Chinas sea ports, special trading
privileges, European migration to these
treaty ports
Spheres of influence: European countries
carved up China and slowly expanded by
building infrastructure
pwntheigcse

Qing familys treatment of civilians

Taiping rebellion (mid 19th Century)
destruction of fertile land and 600 cities; the
deaths of 20 million people, many of whom
were innocent
Manchus put down rebellion with European
help

pwntheigcse

Cixis opposition towards reforms

Attempts to modernize China by Emperor
Guangxu (Hundred Days of Reform: new
colleges, new examination system, improved
gov. budget and dismissal of corrupt officers)
were crushed by Empress Cixi
1898: Empress Cixi becomes empress through
gaining support from conservative court officials;
imprisoned Guangxu

pwntheigcse

Harsh lives of peasants and

discontent among rich
1900 -- Yellow river flooded fertile farm
land which ruined two successive harvests
Reforms Cixi put forward (creation of New
Army) were opposed by rich due to heavy
taxes

pwntheigcse

Repressive measures after Boxer

Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion (1900) against European domination
(Cixi gained their support by encouraging this rebellion)
Gained support of Chinese military
Attacking and killing innocent Europeans and Christians
they captured esp. in Beijing where they burned French
cathedrals, killed innocent Christian converts, trapped
foreign embassy officials and took them hostage

Military intervention six nation army invaded China

Captured and looted Beijing, boxers executed publicly, 67
million pound fine: harsh repressive measures continued
to build hatred towards Europeans

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Reforms were too little and came

too late
1905: Empress Dowager Cixis reforms
Modernization of education system
New Army based modeled on European
armies
Promised democratic reforms

pwntheigcse

Manchu government was weak

Cixi dies, position of Emperor given to
Cixis niece, a two-year-old child
In reality ruled by Prince Chun (boys
uncle) who was a conservative
Dismissed many powerful and highranking officials i.e. Yuan Shikai (chief
military commander in Northern China)

pwntheigcse

Local demonstrations in Wuchang, Sichuan turn into

nationwide rebellion through involvement of Army

Yuan Shikai appointed to crush rebels but later

negotiates with and helps rebels

Events of the 1911 Wuchang

Rebellion
Yuan Shikai and Sun Yatsens contest for leadership

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 September 1911: Local demonstrators spark rebellion in

Sichuan; police fired on protestors, killing many of them
Sun Yat Sens Sworn Chinese Brotherhood moved to
Sichuan to help spread rebellion
Soldiers of the New Army in Wuchang joined the
rebellion on the 10th of October known as the Double
Tenth
Demonstrators took control of Wuchang; rebellion
spread to Southern and Central China; 15 out of 18
provinces were in a revolutionary state
Provisional government formed in Nanjing in direct
opposition to Manchu gov.
pwntheigcse

 Yuan Shikai, made Prime Minister and

Commander-in-Chief of the army by Manchus to
surpress rebellion
Yuan Shikai quickly defeated the rebels and
recaptured Wuchang
Negotiated with rebels and turned on Manchus:
would help overthrow dynasty and convince
Prince Chun and Puyi to abdicate if given spot of
President in new republic
grudge against Chun from expelling him from office
own ambition opportunity to capture total power
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1911-1912: Yuan Shikai and Sun

Yatsens contest for leadership
Sun was on a fundraising tour in the US
December 1911 (Christmas Eve): Sun returned to China and
elected President of the United Provinces of China by
representatives of the rebels in Nanjing
Sun was the democratic choice of rebels, but Yuan had
military superiority (support of the New Army) and convinced
assembly in Nanjing that he should be President
Yuan elected President; Sun stepped down without protest to
avoid civil war between his supporters and Yuans army
Chun and Puyi abdicated in February 1912

pwntheigcse

Initial Democracy in China

and end of dynastic
government: National
Assembly

Results of the 1911 Wuchang

Rebellion
Yuan Shikais
suppression of
democracy
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Democracy in China
1912: Constitutional republic set up
intended to be democracy
Elections for a parliament known as the
National Assembly were held in 1913
Sun Yatsens Peoples National Party or
Guomindang (Nationalists) won majority of
seats in National Assembly

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1912-1916: The Presidency of Yuan Shikai

and the suppression of democracy
Yuan not interested in sharing power
Ignored Assemblys decisions (sometimes
inefficient and slow)
Intended to govern China as dictator

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1912-1916: Yuan Shikai as a dictator

January 1914: dissolved the National Assembly by
making himself President for the next ten years
Gained support of major European powers who
wanted a stable China in order to protect trading
interests (a China plagued with war made it
difficult for trading to occur)
Twelve out of the eighteen provinces were under
Yuans control; local military governments in
provinces were under Yuans control
Yuan tried to make himself Emperor in 1915 and
wanted to found a new dynasty
pwntheigcse

Opposition from GMD,

Generals in Yuans Army and
Japanese gov

Yuans fall
Mutiny in Army in
Yunnan

Acceptance of twenty-one
demands
pwntheigcse

1912-1916: The problems Yuan

faced
Opposition to Yuan sprung from three
major parties:
Sun Yatsens party, the Guomindang, which
wanted a democratic government
Generals in Yuans army and the military
governors in each province who feared they
would lose control if Yuan became too
powerful
Japanese government who wanted to bring
China under its control
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1912-1916: The problems Yuan faced:

Japans Twenty-one Demands
Japanese presented Yuan Shikai with Twenty-One Demands,
which requested for control over many of Chinas factories,
railways and ports
Japan threatened war
Fervent wave of nationalism washed over China; people
naturally outraged
Yuan accepted many of its requests and quickly lost
popularity
Army in Yunnan rebelled against him; this act of mutiny
spread to other provinces
Military superiority was the source of his power; rebellion
meant he no longer could make himself Emperor
Yuan died in June 1916

pwntheigcse

Regional rulers no one able

to control China

China divided: The Warlords

Civil wars (largest in
1920-1922) for power
and land

Cruel treatment
towards civilians

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1916-1927: The Warlords

No one popular enough to command loyalty
over all of China leading to collapse of central
government
People called warlords quickly took control
of small areas in China; most powerful
warlords occupied entire provinces

Army leaders
Bandits and thieves (local mobs and gangs)
Leaders of local military governments
The GMDs rival government in Guangzhou under
Sun Yatsen
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1916-1927: Life under the Warlords

Warlords were interested only in their own power and
wealth
Imposed high taxes on the local population
Enlisted peasants into their armies; conscription enforced
which tore families apart
Used private armies to terrorize local population
Brutal punishments for those who opposed their rule;
beheadings and public executions
Took property and crops from peasants
Soldiers were ill-disciplined and received low wages;
pillaged local villages because of this
Peasant women badly abused
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1916-1927: Civil War between the

Warlords
Warlords tried to fight each other for
territory and power
Largest civil war took place between 19201922
Poorly equipped and armed soldiers: some
had no clothes and fought naked
Armed with knives and revolvers

pwntheigcse

Unfair treatment of China in

peace treaty after WWI
despite Chinas involvement
on side of Allies

Causes, events and effects of the

May 4th Movement
Nationalism; New
Culture and New Tide
movement

Anti-Jap movement,
primarily in Beijing

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1919: Causes of the May 4th

Movement
Protest movement against peace treaties that
ended WWI (1914-1918)
Nearly one million Chinese laborers aided
war effort on side of Allies in Labor
Battalions
Building and maintaining infrastructure such as
roads, railways, telegraph and telephone systems
Fortification work on trenches

German shops in China were closed down

and confiscated; German ships in Chinese
seas were seized
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1919: Causes of the May 4th

Movement
Kiaochow and other sea ports, which were at
first occupied by the Germans and then
seized by the Japanese, were not returned to
China
Allies supported Japanese claims in
Shandong province
Unequal treaties not put to an end despite
Chinas war effort
Twenty-one Demands that Japan requested
of China in 1915 were not withdrawn
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1919: May 4th Movement

10,000 Beijing students and pupils organized
massive demonstration
Movement spread across China
Strikes
Boycott of Japanese goods
Blocked travelers from boarding Japanese ships

Broke into the house of the Japanese foreign

minister and other pro-Japanese officials

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1919: Wider Consequences of the

May 4th Movement
Marked beginning of nationalism
Contributed to a movement coined as the
New Tide or New Culture movement
which aimed to introduce new ideas such as:
Freedom, equal rights, scientific progress
Basic literacy for all esp. Chinas peasant
population: simplification of the Chinese language
(allow for an informed electorate)
Womens rights: end to arranged marriages
Intellectual revolution: overthrow of Confucian
ideas
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Three Principles: nationalism,

democracy and peoples
livelihood (socialism)

1916 onwards: Changes to the

GMD and Chiang Kaishek
Aid from USSR
weaponry, training
(Huangpu Military
Academy), cooperation
with CCP

Death of Sun in 1925

and Chiangs
leadership
pwntheigcse

Sun Yatsen and the GMD: 1917

onwards in the Warlord Era
In control of Guangdong and mainly
influential in southern provinces
Based on Three Principles:
Nationalism: regain pride and devotion to country;
rid China of foreign control and interference
Democracy: a government elected by the people
Peoples livelihood or socialism: lives of the poor
improved, industry and transport modernized,
land given to peasants
pwntheigcse

1917: Sun and the GMD seek aid

from the USSR
Wanted to unite China and turn it into a
republic; Sun turned to the USSR for aid
Russia unlike other major European powers
(who refused to support Sun liked China
divided to retain influence and protect trading
interests) did not have control or influence
over China
Wanted to extend its influence into the Pacific
area through China
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1922-23: Reorganization of the

GMD
Reorganization of the GMD according to strict
Russian Communist guidelines
Expansion of party
Strict discipline and obedience
Training in Huangpu Military Academy, which was
run by Chiang Kai-shek (Suns brother-in-law)
Russian rifles and weaponry
Active cooperation between GMD and CCP
Both wanted revolution despite differences in aims
Allowed CCP members to join

pwntheigcse

1925: The Death of Sun Yatsen and the

resultant change in leadership
March 1925: Sun Yatsen died of cancer
led to a dispute about future leaders of the
GMD
Chiang Kai-shek became commander-inchief of the new GMD army, became
powerful (military superiority); Huangpu
Academy produced more than 500
capable officers
pwntheigcse

Aimed to unify China by

defeating Northern warlords
Political agents used to stir
up support

The Northern Expedition, 1926-7

Success all territory south of
Yangtze River belonged to
GMD

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1926: The Northern Campaign

Chiang Kaishek began a March to the North in
June 1926:
Main power base was in the Southern provinces
(Guangdong); Chiang hoped to expand GMD
influence and defeat the Northern warlords.
Unification of China one sovereign state

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1926: Reasons for Success of the

Northern Campaign
Little resistance from warlords as armies had
little enthusiasm; many mutinied and joined the
GMD
Political agents were sent ahead to generate
support for GMD through:
promises of a national revolution (propaganda)
peasants often welcomed GMD due to brutality
and harshness of warlord rule
Communists worked in cities organized trade
unions and helped get rid of landlords
bribery (cash given to leaders of villages)
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1926-1928: Results of the Northern

Expedition
Slowly expanded North-East
By mid-1927, all of China south of the Yangtze River
was in GMD hands.
Control over industrial and modern cities such as
Shanghai and Nanjing richest parts of China

pwntheigcse

Student radicals in
1921

The Origins of the CCP

Saw peasants as
revolutionary force
unsuccessful
revolt (Hunan,
1927)

Trade unions and

industrial workers

pwntheigcse

The Origins of the CCP

Founded in 1921 by student radicals
including Mao Zedong
Followed traditional Marxist ideas;
believed that in an ideal world all property
and goods would be shared
Helped industrial workers form unions in
order to improve wages and working
conditions
pwntheigcse

The Origins of the CCP

Mao Zedong later saw that it was possible to
use peasants as a revolutionary force
Offered land reform, which meant taking away
land from rich landlords and handing it out to
peasants
95% of the Chinese population worked on the
land
Represented over 10 million people
Supported a revolt by peasants in 1927 in Hunan;
this failed but peasants saw the CCP as a means
of dealing with the landlords
pwntheigcse

Rebellion in Shanghai against

warlord, CCP takeover
Chiangs fear of CCP
leadership and influence

Shanghai Massacre, 1927

10,000 massacred
CCP escape to Jiangxi and
Hunan
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The Shanghai Massacre, 1927

The workers in Shanghai, led by Zhou
Enlai, rebelled against the warlord in
charge and set up a Communist council
Chiangs army arrived several days later
and rounded up and brutally murdered all
the Communists they could find
Over 10,000 were massacred
Forced thousands to flee for their lives
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Why did Chiang Command that

Shanghai Massacre?
Chiang learnt that the CCP were planning to
remove him as leader
Feared CCPs growing influence: won support of
the working class and often took over the city
councils with majority support
Shanghai was one of the most important cities in
China: relatively advanced infrastructure,
technology, transport and size of its population
GMD becoming left-wing; under pressure from
sponsors (business interests) to take action

pwntheigcse

Results of the Shanghai Massacre,

1927
After being expelled from the cities the
Communists retreated to strongholds in
the countryside in provinces such as
Jiangxi and Hunan, or became
underground secret organizations
Split between CCP and GMD

pwntheigcse

Peasant
councils
Land law

Taxes
reduced

Reorganization of the CCP 1927-34

Banned outmoded practices
Schools for peasants

Three Rules of Discipline and

Eight Points of Attention
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Increased support from the

peasants
Gained support of peasants in Jiangxi
1930: Land Law was passed which divided up land among
farming population (private ownership) first time for
millions landlords removed
Taxes on land were reduced
Peasant Councils set up peasants had say in running of
government
Abolished outmoded practices i.e. arranged marriages,
sale of brides and foot binding
Schools were opened up for peasants
Strict discipline of Communist Red Army: three rules of
discipline and eight points of attention established in 1928
i.e. speaking politely, return everything, never abuse
women, dont ill-treat prisoners
pwntheigcse

2nd Northern Expedition relies

on two other warlords, Feng and
Yan
Modernization

Chiangs attempts at reunification,

1928
Feng and
Yans
rebellion

Lack of support
Unable to control
China bandits
pwntheigcse

Modernization
Nanjing made capital set up National
Government
Construction of new factories, railways
and roads
Education was improved and foreign trade
increased

pwntheigcse

2nd Northern Expedition

Go much further North
June 1928: Beijing captured; China appeared to be
reunified and Chiangs government was recognized by
foreign powers
Less successful as distant from main powerbase
Northern warlords were too strong; had to ally himself
with two other powerful warlords (Feng Yuxiang and
Yan Xishan) who added 300,000 men to combined
army
Together they fought against Zhang Zuolin, ruler of
Machuria task was made easier when Zhang was
killed by a bomb on a train, and his son surrendered

pwntheigcse

Disunity in China; Chiangs lack of

control over China
Feng and Yan rebelled leading to civil war
Yan was defeated but still able to set up own
government in Shanxi
Lack of support
Peasants remained poor due to heavy taxes
Ruled as dictator
Little attempt to force Japan out of Manchuria

Large gangs of bandits terrorized districts and

existed by looting, kidnapping and theft
Cruel and inhumane practices i.e. torturing victims
during interrogation to make them reveal locations
where valuables were stored
pwntheigcse

Guerilla tactics
rendered first 4
ineffective

Hans von
Seeckt and
Blockhouse
strategy

The Extermination Campaigns,

1930-4
Otto Braun, New Russian
Tactics and Battle of
Guanchang
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First four Extermination Campaigns

Regarded CCP as major threat
4 Extermination campaigns were
unsuccessful
CCP used guerilla warfare to fight larger army of
GMD
Did not fight head-on in pitched battles
Lured GMD into deep CCP-held territories and
ambushed each unit separately
However the GMD were able to capture villages as they
advanced 1 mil peasants killed or starved to death;
Mao criticized as cowardly

pwntheigcse

The fifth campaign

1933: new military adviser from Germany (Hans
von Seeckt)
Blockhouse strategy: surround Jiangxi, which
aimed to stop movement in and out of the area
Half a million troops advancing slowly
Blockhouses (concrete shelters) built
Trenches dug and barbed wire fences put up

Stopped all movement in and out of Jiangxi

drainage of resources (food, fuel, ammunition,
weapons)
Reduced area CCP controlled Oct 1934, CCP
lost over half of territory, 60,000 soldiers lost
pwntheigcse

New Russian tactics

Otto Braun Russian agent insisted that Red
Army should defend borders and fight headon
Mao expelled from Partys Central Committee
Weakened CCP significantly
Battle of Guanchang in April 1934: lost 8,000 men
Could not replace losses (i.e. weapons) four
lines of blockhouses

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Escape to HunanHubei carrying large

amounts of
equipment -> slow

Zunyi
Conference
Mao in power

Battle at Xian
river

The Long March

New tactics
constantly
changed
directions and
split up

Battles and
natural
landscape
(Snowy
Mountains,
Grasslands)
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Propaganda,
Mao hailed as
hero, safe
from GMD
attack in
Yanan

Escape to Hunan-Hubei border

Braun planned retreat break through blockhouse
lines and head for Hunan-Hubei
Maos plan to attack from rear of GMD rejected
Braun backed up by 24 Russian-trained leaders from
Jiangxi

Carried huge amounts of weaponry and

ammunition
Took all equipment needed to set up new
government
Office furniture
Radio equipment
Gold bars
pwntheigcse

Mao back in power

Slow, predictable movements gave GMD time
to prepare attacks and intercept
Forced to fight major battle when reaching
Xiang river
Resulted in huge failure took 6 weeks to
break through and lost half of army`
Zunyi Conference Braun blamed for defeat
and suspended; military control given back to
Zhu De and Mao in Jan 1935
pwntheigcse

The Long March under Maos

Leadership
Red Army constantly changed directions
and split forces when travelling to confuse
GMD
New destination was Shanxi province
(Yenan), another CCP stronghold where a
Soviet had taken control

pwntheigcse

Challenges during the Long March

(Jan Oct 1935)
Fewer than 10,000 reached final destination
but armies in other areas (Sichuan and
Hunan) joined Red Army, totaling 80,000 men
Battles (12 in total)
Local warlords, GMD and hostile non-Chinese
tribesmen

Physical challenge
Disease, exposure, hunger
Snowy Mountains (among highest in world) led to
accidents
Grasslands many drowned in deep marshes
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The importance of the Long March

New base was remote enough for GMD or Japan to be
unable to attack it
Mao was hailed as hero and re-established as leader
Lived in same conditions as normal soldiers (caves and
villagers houses)
Grew much more tight-knit and united

Many saw the CCP was great heroes: Long March

became a legend paintings and propaganda material
was produced showing soldiers bravery
Crossing of the Dadu River: 22 soldiers swung across a
river gorge on chains (left over from a broken-down
suspension bridge) while under enemy fire, securing a
crossing for rest of army

pwntheigcse

Japanese expansion: 1895

(Taiwan), 1905 (South
Manchurian Railway), 1910
(Korea), 1915 (Twenty-one
demands)

Lack of resources in
Japan; investment in
Manchuria in 1927

War with Japan: Reasons for War

Manchurian Incident, 1931
- Jap takeover of Manchuria
(claimed soldiers blew up SMR
in Shenyang) Chiangs
reluctance to act, slowness of
LON
- Demand for separation of
Northern and Southern China
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More extermination
campaigns, Zhangs
armistice with CCP;
kidnapped Chiang at
Xian Incident

Japanese expansion
1895: fought war with China for Taiwan, forced
China to allow Korea (previous colony) to become
independent state
1905: Increased influence in Manchuria by fighting
Russia gained South Manchurian Railway
1910: Made Korea a Japanese colony
WWI (1914-1918): Japan on side of Allies and
took control of Kiaochow (German-held port)
1915: Twenty-one demands to increase economic
influence (control over railways and ports)
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Continual expansion (Manchuria)

Manchuria: attractive due to scarcity of
population, forestry, minerals and
agricultural products to support growing
Japanese population
1927: Investment in Manchuria
economically dependent on Japan (Japan
controlled its most important mines,
railways, factories and ports)
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The Manchurian Incident, 1931

Great Depression in US shattered Japanese trade
collapse in economy
Foreign conquest new raw materials, trade and jobs
Sept 1931 occupied town of Shenyang claiming that
Chinese soldiers attempted to blow up the South
Manchurian Railway
Chiang Kaishek relied on League of Nations to resolve
crisis (did not take any military action)
By Feb 1932 Japan took all of Manchuria whilst LON
were still travelling by sea to China
Expanded Southwards and by 1936 demanded
separation of Northern and Southern China

pwntheigcse

Chinese reactions to Japanese

domination
Wanted Chiang to declare war on Japan
Chiang believed that China had to be united under his
control first
suppressing Communism through another extermination
campaign in 1936; ordered Zhang Xueliang (Northern
warlord) to wipe out Yanan Soviet

Zhang wanted revenge against Japan (for killing his

father) and wanted to recover provinces he lost to
Japan and instead signed an armistice with CCP
Communists wanted to fight Japan Chinese should
not fight Chinese was main propaganda slogan in
1935
close to areas most threatened by Japan
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December 1936: The Xian Incident

Chiang flew to Xian to renew
extermination campaign, captured by
Zhangs troops and kept prisoner
Zhang had long discussions with GMD
representatives and the Russian
government
Chiang agreed to form United Front with
CCP and made commander-in-chief
Russia agreed to give military aid
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Marco Polo Bridge, Beijing

Capture of territory up to
Yangtze industrial cities

Japanese Invasion of China

Capital moved to Chongqing

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July 1937 - 1938: Japanese

invasion of China
July 1937: Attack of Chinese troops at Marco Polo
Bridge outside Beijing, later occupying the city itself
Japan claimed that Chinese soldiers fired first
Full-scale invasion Japanese troops swept
southwards
Late 1937 (Nov) Siege and heavy aerial bombing led
to capture of main cities commercial ports around
Yangtze river:
Most fertile and densely population areas i.e. Shanghai
Capital in Nanjing
Southwards expansion captured Guangzhou

Chiang forced to set up new temporary wartime capital

in Chongqing
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Cut off from industrialized areas

-- weak

Focus of Japans attacks

bombings in Chongqing

The GMD during the War

American aid Burma road,
airfields, attack on
Japanese ports

Chiangs inaction

Scorched Earth policy

pwntheigcse

The GMD during the War

Emerged weaker
Cut off from main industrialized areas near
Nanjing could do very little, unwilling to act
Was the focus of Japans attacks
Chongqing: the most bombarded city in the world

American aid and entry into war against

Japan (Pearl Harbor)
delivery of supplies along Burma Road to
Chongqing
American airfields to help America destroy ports
and cut off imports
pwntheigcse

The GMD during the War

Corruption officers trying to gain personal power
Seen as weak
Seen as unpatriotic because of reluctance to form UF
Stockpiling supplies from allies (US), stayed on
defensive saving them for later civil war?
Rejected attempts of US Army to train Chinese
soldiers fear of rebellion

Scorched earth policy

destruction of crops, villages and equipment so the
land would be useless when the Japanese advanced
Hardship for Chinese civilians
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Military
dictatorship

Modernization

Life in GMD China

Programs trivial
(Rural Service, New
Life Movements)
pwntheigcse

Hardship for
peasants

Life in Kuomintang China

Modernization of China
Railways, postal services and
telecommunications
ICI and Standard Oil encouraged to invest and
build new factories
Did not positively impact everyday peasants

Military dictator
Private army of Blueshirts who hunted down
enemies of the GMD (especially Communists)
kidnapping, torture and spying
Chiang went under name of Generalissimo
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Life in Kuomintang China

Did not deal with Chinas most basic problems
Poverty, poor housing, lack of medical care, shortage
of schools
Heavy land taxes which took over a half of a
peasants income

Programs disregarded as being trivial

Rural Service: organization that sent students into
countryside to help peasants
New Life Movement in 1934: stress on public health,
hygiene and honesty, slogans (i.e. one encouraged
blowing your nose onto handkerchiefs)

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CCP takeover of
loosely guarded
Japanese territories

Guerilla warfare
Hundred Regiments
Battle

The CCP during the War

Three All Campaign
by Japanese army
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The CCP during the War

Japanese could not guard all the areas they
conquered because of lack of manpower
CCP able to move into areas and take control
1937 to 1940 moved Eastwards from base
at Yanan
Use of guerilla warfare
Ambushing, hitting important targets in deep
Japanese territory and retreating

Hundred Regiments Battle attacked railway

communications through north China
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The CCP during the War

Three All Campaign: kill all, burn all,
destroy all
Aimed to turn civilians against Communists
Burning down villages, slaughtering animals,
murdering peasants, poisoning wells
Actually intensified hatred that peasants had
towards the Japanese now more willing to
support CCP
30,000 square miles -> 300,000 square miles
2 million supporters -> 95 million supporters
pwntheigcse

Peasant
support info,
shelter,
recruits, war
effort (mines)

Farming
reforms

Agricultural
schools

Life in CCP liberation areas

Community
Saturday
Brigades

Equality and
social progress
(banning
outdated
practices,
womens rights)

Propaganda
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Life under CCP rule during the War

liberation areas
Land and farming reforms: land shared out
amongst peasants, small landlords allowed to
keep land, interest-free loans, rent
reductions, taxes lightened
Red Army engineers created new farming
tools
Agricultural schools
Saturday Brigades made up of children,
soldiers and party officials who helped
peasants farm on the weekends
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Life under CCP rule during the War

liberation areas
Banning outdated and inhumane practices
foot binding, murder of unwanted babies,
child slavery, prostitution and sale of women
Womens associations to help women free
themselves of violent husbands or brothersin-law
Propaganda
Equality lived in caves after villages
destroyed by bombing; top leaders did not
receive special luxuries
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Benefits of peasant support for the

CCP
Information about Japanese activities
Children taught to spy whilst playing in fields

Food and shelter

Laid mines in unsuspecting place
Built underground tunnels and caves for
PLA soldiers to hide themselves
Recruits

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War ended
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki by US
Japanese government surrendered

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GMD
advantageous
at first (airlift,
US training,
transport, 3 mil
soldiers)

GMD
Offensive,
captured
Yanan

Civil War
Guerilla
tactics; CCP
took Northern
and Central
China

CCP wins
Battle of
Huai-Hai
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Race for Control between the CCP

and GMD -- 1945
GMD obviously at an advantage
Most CCP forces were based in Chongqing 1500 km inland
USA opposed Communist takeover of China massive airlift
to fly 80,000 GMD troops to Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing -GMD seized coastal ports and cities from this better position
and half of the cities in Manchuria
3 million American-trained soldiers
Held main railway lines and richest areas of China
Chiang recognized by other nations as true leader of China
CCP
Communists controlled eighteen liberation areas in the North
Army of 1 million no navy, airforce, few railways
No backing or support from foreign nations

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Events of the civil war

June 1946: 1 mil GMD troops launched offensive
in Northern China.
March 1947: Series of victories, captured Yanan
(Communist capital)
Peoples Liberation Army (PLA, formerly known as
the Red Army) avoided major battles and used
guerilla tactics
Night raids on GMD bases
Ambushed patrols
Attacked railway lines

Took Northern and Central China where peasants

supported CCP, GMD on to the defensive
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CCP victories
1948: large enough to tackle GMD head on in
large-scale Battle of Huai-Hai GMD lost half
a million men and masses of equipment
CCP could move freely in central China
captured Beijing in April, Shanghai in May
and Guangzhou in October in 1949
Peoples Republic of China established on 1
Oct 1949
Chiang retreated to Taiwan with 200,000 men
and gold reserves
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GMD weaknesses

CCP strengths

Corruption

Guerilla warfare

Absenteeism and favoritism

Peasant support

Inflation and social disorder

Propaganda

Blueshirts brutality

Reasons for CCP success

US cut aid, 1947
Desertion (Northern isolated
garrisons) and betrayal
Poor morale
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Soviet supplies when

CCP took Manchuria

Reasons for CCP success

GMD weaknesses
Chiangs government unpopular as it was
seen as corrupt US funding squandered
and went to support his luxurious lifestyle
Absenteeism in GMD leadership; favoritism vs
genuine military skills
High inflation (bag of rice cost mil dollars);
people suffered hardship and many went on
strike, middle class lost savings public
disorder, leading to migration to CCP
controlled areas
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GMD weaknesses (cont)

Brutality of Blueshirts murdered enemies who
were often innocent
American gov. who gave Chiang $200 mil cut off
all aid
GMD forces fell to 1.5 mil as many deserted to
PLA (garrisons isolated in the North swapped
sides), taking equipment with them
Betrayal: secret Communist spies in GMD
Poor morale peasant conscripts (most of
Chiangs supporters were middle-class)
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Reasons for CCP success

CCP strengths
Successful guerilla tactics
Support of peasants and behavior of Red
Army army grew to 4 mil by 1949 due to
peasant recruits
Propaganda simple woodcut pictures, film
units targeted illiterate peasants
Established in Manchuria link to Soviet
Union for supplies
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COMMUNIST CHINA: 1949

ONWARDS

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Economic problems Mao faced:

1949 - 1953
Agricultural output dropped
Civil war took millions of peasants away from farming jobs
Destroyed dams and irrigation systems
Growing population (15 mil per year) yet food production
dropped 25%
Industrial sector in chaos
Transport, telecommunications and energy systems destroyed
50% down pre-war production
Rapid inflation
Gold and foreign currency reserves taken by GMD to Taiwan

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Social problems Mao faced

Peasants illiterate
Chinese people mistrusted modern ideas
in farming, industry, education, medicine
and womens rights

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Foreign problems
Threat of GMD -- held 200,000 troops and
much of Chinas gold and foreign currency
reserves
Only Soviet Union willing to help; other
nations refused to acknowledge
Communist government in China

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Political problems
Bribery and corruption under Chiang; slow
and inefficient government

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How the CCP addressed its

economic problems
PLA (massive force of 5 mil people) used
to drive reparation and rebuilding efforts
(railway lines, bridges and ports)
formed production and construction
armies to rebuild backward economies

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Maos one-party state:

consolidation of power
One-party state
Opposition parties suppressed in series of purges
public trials of those who collaborated with Japanese
or fought in GMD armies (1 mil executed)
Anyone against CCP ideas would be labeled a
counter-revolutionary and dismissed from office
Fear and intimidation Chinese tried to prove loyalty
by accusing others
Gained control of cities almost 100,000 people were
killed in Shanghai and Guangzhou
All religions were attacked
Maoist slogans appeared on walls
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Maos one-party state:

reorganization of the party
Grouped provinces into regions
Series of councils set up at every level of
organization and subdivision of a region
provinces, cities, districts and towns
Centralism all councils had to give total
obedience to CCP decisions CCP
committee made sure councils put policies
into effect
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Maos one-party state:

indoctrination
Encouraged to join Party-run interest
groups i.e. Womens League for
Democracy, the Young Pioneers
Control of organizations allowed Party to
use mobilize people for movements:
Mass rallies in Tiananmen Square
Swat the Fly campaign: kill 10 flies every day
flies became nearly extinct in some areas
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Political campaigns: thought reform, Three

Antis Campaign and Five Antis Campaign
1951: thought reform: Movement for the
Study of Mao Zedongs thought close study
of Maos writings and public self-criticism
1951: three Antis campaign: against
corruption, waste and too much bureaucracy
(red tape)
1952: five Antis campaign: bribery, tax
evasion, fraud, theft of government property
and spying
Anyone found guilty sent to labor camps to
be re-educated
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Land reform
Some land already divided among peasants
before 1949
Mutual aid teams: share and pooling of
equipment and animals
June 1950: Agrarian reform law
Intended to take away power of landlords
CCP members went into countryside to teach
peasants how to categorize people into social
classes
1950-1952: 40% of all cultivated land taken away
from landlords and rich peasants
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Speak Bitterness campaigns or

Peoples Courts
Mass meetings; peasants encouraged to
denounce landlords who had treated them
badly in the past
landlords often suffered physical punishments
(i.e. holding a plank of wood between their arms
and back, which was physically strenuous)
became violent, brutal executions of landlords (24 mil executions)
Peasants given control, felt empowered and
supported Mao
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Economic reform
Nearly all major banks, railways and heavy
industry made into state property
Profits used as source of government
revenue
Peoples Bank: control over money supply,
eliminating inflation decreased from 1000%
to 15% p.a. (new currency, the Yuan,
introduced)
Peasants forced to sell 20% of produce at
fixed low prices -- overcome shortages
Pay Agricultural Tax
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Rights of Women
Broke traditional attitudes (women expected
to fully obey men, patriarchal society)
1950: Marriage Law
Ended arranged marriages, marriage of children,
killing of unwanted girl babies, bigamy
Minimum age for marriages fixed at 20 for men
and 18 for women
Divorce by mutual consent

1951: Law gave mothers full-paid maternity

leave for two months women encouraged to
work outside of home
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Social changes
Health care became free technology not
advanced but emphasis on prevention and
hygeine
Literacy drive party workers taught
peasants how to read and write
Peasants had to pass literary checkpoints
when entering markets
90% of population had basic literacy skills
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First Five-Year Plan, 1953-1957:

loans from Soviet Union
Asked USSR for financial aid and technical
advice
Treaty of Friendship
Alliance
Mutual Assistance

USSR reluctant to help

only $300 million over five-year period, mostly in
the form of credits
10,000 engineers and planning experts
13,000 Chinese students sent off as trainees in
Soviet Union
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First Five-Year Plan, 1953-7: focus

on heavy industry
Government-run industry
Economic growth at 9% p.a.
Priority on heavy industry for transport and
infrastructure
Steel, coal, machinery, petro-chemicals
700 new production plants in central China and Manchuria
Most targets achieved: coal production doubled (from
around 60 to 120 million tons) and steel production more
than triples (from 1.3 tons to 5.2 tons)
Factories in small towns new resources nearby

Light industry cotton making and food processing --neglected

Limited choice of consumer goods i.e.l bicycles
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First Five-Year Plan, 1953-7:

Reasons for the co-operatives
Expanding industries and mass migration
to cities meant fewer people working on
farms CCP had to avoid food shortages
Mao feared that private property and land
would lead to capitalism (peasants only
concerned about profits)
Peasants farms too small to be farmed
effectively
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First Five-Year Plan 1953-7: Cooperatives

1953: Lower-stage
cooperatives
thirty to fifty families
(one village)
pooled land and labor
to make one farm
peasants still legally
own land, which was on
permanent loan to
cooperative peasants
received rent

Later: higher-stage
cooperatives
200-300 families
Not paid rent for land:
surrender title deeds to land,
equipment and animals
Very small plots of private
land few square meters for
personal use (growing
vegetables or raising
chickens)
1956: 95% of families had
joined cooperative

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Reasons for the Hundred Flowers

Campaign, 1956-7
Five-year plan: city population rose causing food
shortages, housing problems and overpopulation
CCP losing early popularity
Received very warmly during early 1950s
overconfidence in popularity; Zhou and Mao
thought it would fuel generation of socialist ideas
Many peasants opposed higher-stage
cooperatives
CCP officials accused of acting heavy-handedly;
laziness and incompetence (short novel by Wang
Meng titled Young Man Who Has Just Arrived at
the Organization Department)
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What was the Hundred Flowers

Campaign?
Allowed free speech, discussion and criticism of the
government
Initial response: reluctant due to cracking down of
reactionaries in past
Mid-1957: Mao became forefront of program; writings and
speeches to the public
1957 onwards: Intellectuals and academics (from Chinas top
universities) voiced opinions; CCP offices flooded with letters
Topics of dissent:
education (too orthodox in following Marx and Lenon)
political system (too authoritarian and cruel towards
reactionaries)
Corruption and personal attacks on Mao as well as how the CCP
was idealistic
Unfulfilled promises i.e. private ownership of land
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Shutdown of Campaign and antiRightist campaign

June 1957: cracked down on critics
Leading critics forced to retract statements
Opposition leaders had to make public
confessions and sent off to camps in
countryside for re-education
Critics unemployed
Press censored
500,000 people punished

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Maos intentions
Genuine attempt to
promote free speech,
but overconfident
fierce response too
much to handle?

Planned crackdown
from very beginning in
order to target
counterrevolutionaries?

OR
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Reasons for Great Leap Forward

Mao wanted China to become leading
industrial nation surpass Britain in 15 years
and US in 20-30 years
State control of agriculture and industry
was then run by middle-class experts like the
mandarins in Chinas imperial past (China too
capitalistic)
Manpower not used effectively lack of
financial resources but lots of labor
(unemployment still existed)
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Key Features of the Great Leap

Forward

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Party propaganda
Many construction projects completed in record time
Roadside loudspeakers and revolutionary music
State-controlled press
Films
1957-8: University of Beijing produced 0.5 mil posters
ran out of wall space
Propagandists 1.5 mil
Posters
Organized discussion groups and memory meetings
(recalled sufferings before CCP took over)
Targets to meet and competitions getting the most
people to see anti-American films Resist-America, AidKorea
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The communes
Reorganization of the people
Groups of villages 5000 families who gave up land,
animals, equipment to common/state ownership
Large scale enough to tackle irrigation works, running
of own schools and clinics
Controlled every facet of life: organized so that nothing
could distract people from work

Family life replaced by dormitories

Shared canteens and communal meals
Children placed in full-time nurseries, taken care by others
Old people into houses of happiness

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The communes
Local government formed from CCP
members and local representatives
Party committee made sure commune
followed Party decisions
Brigades and work teams each handled
separate, individual task (i.e. mining,
smelting)
Approx. 90% of population in communes
by 1958
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Industrialization: the backyard steel

campaign
Small commune factories
Industrial products such as cement and
chemical fertilizer

Backyard steel campaign

600,000 around China
Melted household appliances pots, pans
and bicycles

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The Three Bitter Years

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Effects of the Great Leap Forward:

Industry
Overworked
Machines fell apart
Factory workers fell asleep and suffered
accidents due to carelessness

Drained coal supplies

Locomotives had no fuel to run on could not
transport steel to industrial centers

Backyard steel too impure (pig iron)

No traditions of steelmaking or ironmasters killed,
no understanding of blast furnace
3/11 mil tons useless
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Effects of the Great Leap Forward:

Agriculture
Farming crisis
Party officials in 1958 did not take into account lack of
manpower to harvest reported false numbers (260
million tons) -> Very generous meals in communes, used
more than produced
Floods and droughts in 1959-1960
1960: 144 mil tons only
Needed to import grain in 1961; rationing introduced
20 mil Chinese died of starvation and related diseases

Not enough labor

1 in 10 employed in steel-making, took workers away from
fields weather in 1958 was great but not enough people
to harvest

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Effects of the Great Leap Forward:

Communes
Some too large to be run effectively
Peasants bitter about loss of private plots
and attack on family life

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Reasons behind failure

Natural disasters (Yellow River irrigated half of land in
China but dried up); flooding in the South
Maos ignorance neglected practicality issues
Idealistic industrial development needs capital
investment, technology and planning Mao afraid of
training experts (discouraged university education)
and
Mao fell out with Soviet leader Khrushchev
disapproved of the GLF
In 1960 ordered all scientists and engineers to return
home
Shortage of technical expertise
Half-finished factories, supply of spare parts dried up
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Political restructuring
Mao held responsible for failure of GLF but to popular
to be removed from CCP
Mao pressured to resign in 1958; Head of State given
to Liu Shaoqi Mao only Party Chairman
Moderate leaders: Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and CCP
General Secretary Deng Xiaoping
GLF abandoned in late 1960
Communes reduced in size by 2/3
Millions moved from industry to farming private plots
allowed allowed to sell produce in markets
Town workers wages increased
Factories closed down; technicians and advisers invited

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Disputes between 1962 to 1966

about direction of CCP
Moderates (Liu Shaoqi and Deng
Xiaoping) had capitalist tendencies:
Incentives for peasants; larger plots of lands,
wages according to work done/ amount of
produce
Back to ideas of first Five-Year Plan; industry
built on Russian lines
New class of skilled managers to manage
industry
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Disputes between 1962 and 1966

about direction of CCP
Mao opposed moderate policies hated CCP
officials (self-serving used power to
increase personal wealth, told them to keep
in touch with ordinary people but advice was
ignored)
Thought that China was become capitalist and
selfish peasants worked harder than city
workers
Change in Chinese culture: 1964: Shanghai
drama festival traditional opera (featuring
Emperors) replaced with revolutionary plays
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Disputes between 1962 and 1966

about direction of CCP
1962: Socialist Education Movement and the
four clean-ups campaign (which aimed to
cleanse politics, ideology, economics and
organization)
intellectuals sent to countryside for re-education
(Mao thought that education needed to be less
academic, more revolutionary and influenced by
peasants)
discouraged capitalist behavior i.e. peasants who
spent more time on private plots than communal
land
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Maos return to the political scene

(pre-Cultural Revolution)
1965: Gained the support of Lin Biao,
Minister of Defense
abolished all ranks in PLA
every soldier in PLA (4 mil) given copy of a book,
Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong Little
Red Book indoctrination

1966: Maos 15 km swim in Yangtze river

Show vigor and authority/strength, mark return
Parade
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Key Features of the Cultural

Revolution

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Education
Schools and colleges shut down for six
months
Rewriting of curriculum
Children recited quotations from Little Red
Book

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Red Guards
Students (due to school shutdowns) had
plenty of time to dedicate to politics
Organized themselves into military groups
Four Olds campaign against old ideas,
old culture, old customs, old habits
Expressed criticisms on posters on walls
Mass parades and rallies at Tiananmen
Square millions of students
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Red Guards turn violent

Attacked anything capitalist or bourgeoisie
Shaved hair of girls with Western hairstyles; ripped off Westernstyled clothes
Destroyed shops selling Western goods
Burnt bookstores, libraries, closed museums, galleries, theaters
Stopped couples from holding hands in public

Civil war-like conditions: street battles; Red Guards and

groups/militias (formed by peasants or ousted managers and
officials)
Strength in numbers established control (i.e. Shanghai)

Law and order broke down

400,000 people killed
Counter-revolutionaries beaten up, tortured, imprisoned
1967: British Embassy stormed by Red Guards

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Mass mobilization of students

Maos role in mobilizing students
Mao encouraged students to attack
authority and to go against the capitalist
road: To rebel is justified
Propaganda
Given right to travel free on Chinese
railways
Police on orders not to oppose them
Lin Biao supplied weapons to Red Guards
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Attacks on the Party

Small students taught to denounce Liu chants:
Down with Liu!
Red Guards broke into his house, assaulted him,
cruelly forced him to write confession
1969: Expelled from Party
Refused medical treatment for diabetes and
pneumonia and died
Red Guards targeted all in power and all
influenced by foreign ideas school teachers
(shouted at headmasters one example where
they put a dunces cap on his head), doctors,
factory managers, artists, musicians (Ding Ling)
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Cult of Mao
People memorized the Little Red Book 740
mil copies printed during Cultural Revolution
Pictures and statues put up
People bowed before his pictures habitual
(once in morning and night)
Treated like emperor Communist meetings
ended with everyone saying May the
Chairman live ten thousand years what
they used to say to Emperors
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End of Red Guards

Sept 1967 schools and colleges reopened
PLA used to restore order disarm and
disband Red Guards
18 mil students relocated to countryside
for re-education
Order re-established Revolutionary
Committees implemented (consisted of
Red Guards, soldiers and peasants)
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Effects of Cultural Revolution

Industry
Factories reorganized power given to workers; all received
equal wages
Technicians dismissed and production fell and transport
nearly stopped
Production almost stopped in 1968 as factories destroyed by
Red Guards
Education
Students refused to sit examinations showed inequality
Students made to learn from peasants by spending education
in farms or factories
Missed education resulted in lack of literacy (1981: 120 mil
people could not read or write)

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Massive casualties
Many killed and tortured by Red Guards
Countryside
Private land taken away peasants only allowed one fruit
tree, four chickens, one pig
Closed markets, family shops and restaurants
Government
Opponents killed or exiled
Deng Xiaoping removed from post
Revolutionary Committees made to run country
95% of Party officials given jobs back but Mao made much
more powerful as supporters gained top positions

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