Imperialism and Revolutionary Upheavals

• 19th century, weakened Qing Dynasty victimized by imperialist nations– Carved China into ‘spheres of influence’

• 2 major revolutions – 1911 and 1949

• revolutionary era dominated by 3 themes:– nationalism: re-establish China as an independent,

sovereign nation– new political community: competition between Nationalist

Party [Chiang Kai-shek] [Kuomintang] and The CCP [Mao]

– socioeconomic development: followed Soviet model until split in 1928, CCP driven underground

• failed revolution: Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925)– multiple military coup attempts– 1905, KMT established– 10/10/11: rebellion in Wuhan spread peacefully

throughout the country, establishment of PRC– central government nominally under control of

KMT, but country run by warlords• 1919: Treaty of Versailles: German concessions

transferred to other Allied powers, not to China• May Fourth Movement

– student run– politicized but disorganized

• 1921: formation of CCP– headed by Chen Duxiu, composed of intellectuals,

quickly dominated by Moscow

• KMT also sought approval of Soviets– KMT and CCP briefly merged – ‘united front’

• growing conflict erupted in violence in Shanghai, 1927– massacre of thousands of CCP members by

Nationalist troops

• Mao: revolution could only be based on mass mobilization– China’s population overwhelmingly rural– KMT controlled most cities– only path was guerilla war from the countryside, not

spontaneous uprising in cities

• it would take years to organize a peasant revolution

• Autumn Harvest Uprising: Mao launched attacks on Changsa

• KMT campaign to exterminate the ‘communist bandits’

• The Long March

• for almost a year, CCP fought daily against KMT or local warlords

• costly but lasting success for CCP– party used time to organize– built relationships with peasants

• January, 1936: Mao elected Chairman of CCP

• The Mass Line

• Mao and CCP rejected:– urban proletariat– vanguard of the revolution

• all correct leadership is “from the masses, to the masses”

• turned Marxism into a philosophy that could appeal to millions of peasants in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

• resistance to Japanese imperialist aggression– invasion of Manchuria, 1931– control of northern China by 1935

• Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the south, while CCP fought the invaders– resistance expanded its base of support

• message: nationalism, anti-imperialism, social justice

• initial superiority of KMT forces eventually overcome by CCP

• CCP army regained control of Manchuria, moved south, forced KMT to flee to Taiwan

• 1949: creation of People’s Republic of China

• Mao: China’s weakness due to oppression and exploitation by– foreign imperialism– reactionary domestic government

• “China has stood up.”

Factionalism

• PRC: 30 years to establish stability and continuity

• interim conflict between radicals and moderates

• struggle for ideological dominance involved– attacks on party and state institutions– personalization of power

• eventual predominance of moderates put China on a lasting path to reform

The People’s Republic of China

• 2 phases– (1) The Soviet Model (1949-1957)

• land redistribution• civil reform• 5-year plans

– (2) The Great Leap Forward (1958-1966)• radical egalitarianism• economic development• mass mobilization• political unanimity• decentralization

• world communist movement:

• North Korean conflict: Chinese had no choice but to support fellow communists in North Korea

• relied on Soviet military aid to repel UN forces

• Sino-Soviet Split

• divergence from Soviet model and philosophy– CCP depended on cult of personality– Mao criticized SU’s movement away from Marxist

goals

• SU eventually withdrew its advisers and cut off economic and military aid

• split gave CCP autonomy to develop in its own way

• factionalism: Maoists vs. Marxists

• campaigns: organized efforts to mobilize the masses to attain various goals

• Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1956 : encouraged expression of ideas– ‘success’ of campaign required immediate end

• Great Leap Forward: opposite direction– sought rapid transition to socialism and

communism– required full commitment of all Chinese people– “red-vs.-expert” conflict : ideology vs. technology

• a disaster – mass starvation

• failure of Great Leap forward undermined Mao’s authority– forced from chair of PRC– challenge to his authority precipitated the Cultural

Revolution– why?

• Mao had been the architect of the popular revolution– CCP becoming increasingly bureaucratized, rigid

and elite– new generation had not experienced the

revolution- “self-satisfied and flabby”

The Cultural Revolution

• 1963: with support of the PLA, Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement

• ideology and mobilization once again center stage

• launched frontal attack on Party leadership and bureaucracy

• Red Guards: student groups turned into revolutionaries/vigilantes

• “seizures of power” throughout the country

The Cultural Revolution

• Mao’s goal: purify the party and the state• remove all vestiges of old China (bureaucratic,

hierarchical)– scholars sent to the fields, universities/libraries destroyed– Extremely disruptive and regressive

• Mao’s death, 1976, left factions– the “Gang of Four”– the military– the Moderates: Zhou Enlai

• process of fang-shou: cycle of tightening up, loosening up

Modernization, 1978-1997: Deng Xiaoping

• “Four Modernizations”– industry, agriculture, science, military– Have continues at heart of China’s official policy

ever since

• economic liberalization– “open door” trade policy– educational reform– institutionalization of the Revolution

• Deng did not support political liberalization

Citizens, Society and the State

• Profound changes in relationship of citizen to Chinese state as leadership has changed since Mao

• For most citizens, communist ideology no longer central to their lives

• CCP now emphasizes nationalism, patriotism, pride in Chinese identity

cleavages

• minority populations within China: 8% of population, 60% of territory

• general government policy: encourage economic development, suppress dissent

• 5 autonomous regions: Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet and Xinjiang

• Tibet: failed uprising 1959, continuing tension

• Xinjiang: Uyghur militants seek to create a separate Islamic state

• cleavages, cont.

• linguistic: CCP has always tried to make Mandarin the official language of government and education, but dialects remain embedded in Chinese society

• urban-rural: most economic growth has been concentrated in cities – new meaning to “2 Chinas”– talk of new programs to lift the lagging rural

economy