Communist China

Ch.16 section 1

Chairman Mao

• Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese communists won the civil war in 1945– People’s Republic of China

• Chaing Kai-shek and 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and declared it the Republic of China

• Mao began the Red Guard to destroy old culture and pushed to build a socialist society

The Great Leap Forward

• Combined collective farms into vast communes– 30,000 lived and worked cooperatively – Hoped it would create a classless society

• Bad planning and bad weather drove food production down– 16 million starved to death

The Cultural Revolution

• 1966 Mao launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution– Wanted to create a permanent revolution– Wrote the Little Red Book-became their “bible”– Used the red guard to eliminate the “four olds”

China After Mao

• Mao died 1976 and Deng Xiaoping seized power and brought the cultural revolution to an end.

• Called for 4 modernizations– Industry, agriculture, technology, and national

defense.• Agriculture and industry increased

dramatically and China now has the worlds fastest growing economy

Movement for Democracy

• More and more students were studying abroad and learning the ways of the West

• Began protests like the one in Tiananmen Square– Protests began again in 1999

Chinese Society Under Communism

• Women were now allowed to participate in politics and had equal rights with men in marriage

• Children were encouraged to report on their parents

• After Mao’s death more clothing choices were available

• One-child policy began in 1979