1912 – Puyi, the last Emperor of China, stepped down from his throne. This brought an end to the...
Transcript of 1912 – Puyi, the last Emperor of China, stepped down from his throne. This brought an end to the...
China’s Last Emperor
•1912 – Puyi, the last Emperor of China, stepped down from his
throne.•This brought an end to the Qing
Dynasty.
Civil War in China
•2 Sides •1 - The Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek.•2 – The Communists, led by Mao Zedong.
World War II
•During WWII, both sides worked together to defeat Japan.•China lost 20-30 million people during the war.•Images of the Japanese army in China.
Mao and the PLA
•1945 – after the end of WWII,
millions of peasants joined Mao’s People’s
Liberation Army.•1949 – Mao’s PLA
defeated the Nationalists.
Mao in front of his People’s Liberation
Army.
Taiwan
Chiang Kai-Shek and 2 million followers fled to island of Taiwan.
Now called ROC – or the Republic of China.
The Great Leap Forward
•1958 – Mao’s goal was to catch up with the USA in terms of Industrial might.
• His goal – turn China from an agrarian power to an industrial power.
“Hard work for a few years, happiness for a thousand.” – Government slogan.
The Great Leap Forward
“Take steel as the principle. Leap forward in all fields.” Or “Steel is essential, fully
leap forward.”
Collectivization
• 1955 – Land was taken from wealthy landowners, and given to peasants. • 2/3 of all peasants received land.
Who would support Mao? Landowners or Peasants?
Collectivization
•He created collective farms with 30,000 people who were to live and work together.•It was a huge failure.
The Great Leap Forward
•The Great Leap Forward was a disaster and a failure!•15 million people died from starvation.•Natural disasters and policy decisions made by Mao were to blame.
China’s Great Famine
•“He knew how to organize a
revolution but he did not know
how to run a country.” –
Comment from one of Mao’s advisors about
Mao.
4 years later…Mao is Back
•Mao’s new ideas were published in the Little Red Book.•He called for a new “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.”
Mao’s Cultural Revolution
•Mao’s Revolutionary Guards or Red Guards
brought on death and destruction.• 30 – 40 Million people were arrested,
harassed and killed.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution
•The Red Guards were to eliminate the 4 Olds:•Old Ideas•Old Culture•Old Customs•Old Habits
Mao’s Cultural Revolution
• Torture, rape, imprisonment, harassment, and seizure of property
were common.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution
Intellectuals were targeted for attack:•Professors, teachers, doctors, artists, people who had traveled or studied in the USA. “Pro-Western.”
• In 1968, the Red Guard was disbanded.• The PLA carried out mass executions of
Red Guard members.• This brought an end to the Cultural
Revolution.
The Red Guard
Deng Xiaoping
•Sept. 1976 – Mao died at the age of 82.•After Mao, China was 20 years behind the rest of the world. •Deng Xiaoping seized power and ended the Cultural Revolution.