Name: ____________________________________________________________________

Date: _________________
Ms.Reyes/Ms.Rust; Global Studies
Mini-Lesson Two: Chinese Communist Revolution
AIM: How did the Communists gain power in China?
DO NOW: What qualities make someone a great leader? Give examples and explain.
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The Two Chinas Affect the Cold War
China had split into two nations. One was the island of Taiwan, or Nationalist China, with an area of 13,000
square miles. The mainland, or Peoples Republic of China, had an area of more than 3.5 million square miles.
The existence of two Chinas, and the conflicting international loyalties they inspired, intensified the Cold War.
The Superpowers React After Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan, the United States helped him set up a Nationalist
government on that small island. It was called the Republic of China. The Soviets gave financial, military, and
technical aid to Communist China. In addition, the Chinese and the Soviets pledged to come to each others
defense if either was attacked. The United States tried to halt Soviet expansion in Asia. For example, when
Soviet forces occupied the northern half of Korea after World War II and set up a Communist government, the
United States supported a separate state in the south.
China Expands under the Communists In the early years of Maos reign, Chinese troops expanded into Tibet,
India, and southern, or Inner, Mongolia. Northern, or Outer, Mongolia, which bordered the Soviet Union,
remained in the Soviet sphere. In a brutal assault in 1950 and 1951, China took control of Tibet. The Chinese
promised autonomy to Tibetans, who followed their religious leader, the Dalai Lama. When Chinas control over
Tibet tightened in the late 1950s, the Dalai Lama fled to India. India welcomed many Tibetan refugees after a
failed revolt in Tibet in 1959. As a result, resentment between India and China grew. In 1962, they clashed briefly
over the two countries unclear border. The fighting stopped but resentment continued.
What are the two Chinas?
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What group did the United States support? Why?
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What group did the Soviet Union support? Why?
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How did the Cold War contribute to Jiangs survival?
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Why did tension increase between India and China?
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Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Date: _________________
Ms.Reyes/Ms.Rust; Global Studies
Mini-Lesson Three: The Great Leap Forward
AIM: Was the Great Leap Forward a giant step backward?
DO NOW: Examine the following quote. Summarize it and predict what China is going to do under the
leadership of Mao Zedong.

Struggle hard for three years. Change

the face of China. Catch up with Britain
and catch up with America.
Activity #1-Review/Check for Understanding: Answer the question in complete sentences.
1. Explain what is meant by the term Two Chinas.
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OBJECTIVE THREE ACTIVITIES:

Introduction: After the Great Leap Forward, China was in bad shape. Mao Zedong had told the Chinese
people that their efforts were going to catch them up with the West (or Europe and America). Instead, parts of
the countryside were ruined, and millions of people starved. Rather than catching up with the rest of the world,
the Great Leap Forward had pushed China backwards. Leaders in the Communist Party started fighting with
each other, and challenging Maos authority. So Mao and his wife, Jiang Qing, launched the Cultural
Revolution. This was an attempt to get people committed to the Revolution, and to Mao, as well as to direct
their anger about the Great Leap Forward towards Maos enemies in the Communist Party.
The first step in the Cultural Revolution was called the Hundred Flowers Movement. Read the following
excerpt from the book, Son of the Revolution, by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro.
My parents were deeply involved in all the excitement of working to transform China into a great Socialist
country, eager to sacrifice themselves for others. They dreamed passionately of the day when they would be
deemed pure and devoted enough to be accepted into the Party. It was only natural that family came
second
In early 1957 the Hundred Flowers Movement had been launched. Its official purpose was to give the Party a
chance to correct its shortcomings by listening to the masses criticisms. Mother didnt know what to do. She really
loved the Party and didnt have any criticisms to make; the Party had given her a job and saved her from the
most abject poverty. Still, her leaders said that everyone should participate actively in the movement, especially
those who one day hoped to join the party. So, regarding it her duty to come up with something, she finally
thought of three points she could make. She said that her Section Head sometimes used crude language and
liked to criticize people, that he should give his housekeeper a bed to sleep on instead of making her sleep on
the floor, and that sometimes when it came time to give raises, the leaders didnt listen to the masses opinions.
But then, with utterly confusing rapidity, the Hundred Flowers Movement changed into the Anti-Rightist
Movement. Perhaps the Party was caught off guard by the amount of opposition and felt compelled to crack
down. Or maybe, as Ive heard said, the Hundred Flowers Movement had been a trap designed from the
beginning to uncover Rightist elements.
It was disastrous. My mother found out she had been given a Rightist cap solely because of those three
criticisms she had made. Perhaps her Section Head was angry at her; perhaps her unit was having trouble filling
its quotasShe know that a terrible wrong had been donebut there was no court of appeals. Mother was sent
away to the suburb of Yuan Jia Ling for labor reform. My nave and trusting mother went to work as a peasant.

What is meant by It was only natural that family came second in the first paragraph?
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What was the purpose of the Hundred Flowers Movement?
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Why did Liangs Mother submit the three criticisms of the Party?
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Why might the Party have changed the Hundred Flowers Movement to the Anti-Rightist Movement?
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Based on the reading, what do you think the term, Rightist means?
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What were the results of Mothers criticisms?
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Predict the results of the Hundred Flowers Movement. What effect do you think this will have on China and its
people at this time?
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CLOSURE: Answer the multiple-choice questions and provide explanations
The Great Leap Forward in China and the five-year plans in the Soviet Union were attempts to increase
1. private capital investment
2. religious tolerance
3. individual ownership of land
4. industrial productivity
Explain:
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After World War II, the Chinese Communists were successful in their revolution mainly because the
1. United States refused to support the Nationalists
2. communists had the support of the peasants
3. communists had more technologically advanced weapons
4. nationalist had been defeated by Japan
Explain:
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Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Date: _________________
Ms.Reyes/Ms.Rust; Global Studies
Mini-Lesson Four: Is Mao Zedong a Hero or a Villain?
AIM: Why did Mao Zedong institute the Cultural Revolution?
DO NOW: In 1964, Mao Zedong published a book of quotes from famous speeches
and previous publications. All people carried their Little Red Book with them
everywhere they went. The book was studied in school and used in the workplace!
It was ones guide to living according to Mao Zedongs communist vision. Read the
quotes below and answer the questions that follow:
All reactionaries* are paper tigers. In appearance, the reactionaries are terrifying,
but in reality, they are not so powerful. From a long-term point of view, it is not the
reactionaries but the people who are powerful.
Our point of departure is to serve the people whole-heartedly and never for a
moment separate ourselves from the masses, to not act in one's self-interest or from
the interests of a small group, and to identify our responsibility to the people with
our responsibility to the leading organs of the Party.
Be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory.
We the Chinese nation have the spirit to fight the enemy to the last drop of our blood, the determination to
recover our lost territory by our own efforts, and the ability to stand on our own feet in the family of nations.
* Reactionaries people who go against a revolution
1. According to Mao, what group is the most important in all of China?
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2. What role should the Communist Party play in peoples lives?
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3. Find evidence of nationalism in one of the quotes above. Circle it with your pen or pencil.
4. Who do you think Mao finds more important in a society, a single person or the whole group? Why?
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5. Why do you think Mao wrote and distributed his Little Red Book?
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OBJECTIVE FOUR ACTIVITIES: The Cultural Revolution

1. Read the various passages about Mao Zedong. Answer the questions and then decide, with a partner: Was Mao Zedong
a hero, or a villain?

Mao is the sun in the sky. He is considered the greatest leader in Chinese history. Mao freed China from its
medieval backwardness and transformed it into a modern nation. Under Maos leadership, China was
transformed. What had taken centuries in the West, took only decades in China. China made the leap from
a semi-colony to a Great Power.
Why is Mao considered the sun in the sky in Chinese history?

Mao liberated the Chinese people from economic exploitation and social oppression. He freed China from
its Confucian past, gave women equal status in Chinese society, opened China to the west and expanded
Chinas economy. Chinas economy grew at an average annual rate of 11% to 15% per year, thereby
creating the industrial infrastructure that laid the basis for the economic transformation that took place
during the rule of Deng Xiaoping.
How did Chinese life improve under Mao?

According to Lee Feigon, author of Mao A Reinterpretation, the Cultural Revolution transformed China for
the better. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao battled corruption, streamlined bureaucracy, strengthened
the economy, reduced and decentralized Soviet-style bureaucracy that was threatening to choke China,
promoted artistic and educational reform, and worked towards social justice and the feminist ideal.
How did the Cultural Revolution change China?

Although urban schools closed for a time, Mao used the Cultural Revolution to dismantle elitist and
formalistic educational system that the country had returned to in the early 1960s. He shifted resources to
rural education, in the process radically expanding Chinas educational system.
- Dongping Han, Impact of the Cultural Revolution on Rural Education and
Development
How did Chinas educational system improved as a result of the Cultural Revolution?

The Great Leap Forward was a failure. Rather than a leap forward, it became a lurch sideways. By 1961,
China was on the brink of economic ruin and internal collapse. As a result of the loss of fertile farmland and
poor management of what farmland remained, the annual harvest declined. The result was widespread
famine. Industrial output also fell. Even Mao himself was forced to admit that his idea was a disaster. He was
forced to step down from his post as chairman of the CCP.
Why was Mao forced to step down from his post as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party?

Mao launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966. The Cultural Revolution remains a titanic
catastrophe in which human rights, democracy, the rule of law and civilization were crushed. During the
decade that followed, literally millions of people were sacked, imprisoned and otherwise ostracized for their
hidden 'bourgeois tendencies,' while tens of thousands were executed. Mao encouraged students to rebel
against authority, inform on their politically incorrect seniors, and join the Red Guard the ideological militia
that pushed the Cultural Revolution forward. China collapsed into a state of near anarchy. Schools shut
down, offices closed, transport was disrupted it was so bad that even today, the full history is still far from
known. While the Cultural Revolution 'officially' ended in 1969, and the worst abuses stopped then, the
politically charged atmosphere was maintained until Mao's death in 1976.
How did the Cultural Revolution affect China?

The Cultural Revolution had a disastrous effect on the educational system and the scientific community
within China; an effect that was felt well into the late 80's. Those people in China who were between the
ages of 15 to 25 during the period of the revolution are now referred to as the lost generation. This is
because they are the ones who lost out: losing the chance for an education, losing the chance for a normal
youth.
Who were the lost generation?

Maos rule brought about more deaths of his own people than any other leader in history. The total death
toll is only exceeded by all the dead people of World War II. Some 12 to 15 million deaths can be attributed
to Stalin. The systematic elimination of the Jews under Hitler was approximately 6 million. Under Mao, over 40
million people lost their lives.
Was Maos rule more brutal than that of Stalin or Hitler?

According the Chen Yuen, Had Mao died in 1956, his achievements would have been immortal. Had he
died in 1966, he would still have been a great man. But he died in 1976. Alas, what can one say?
What conclusion can you draw from this statement?
PARTNER WORK: With a partner, decide if you think Mao was a hero, or a villain. Cite specific information to
back up your argument. Be ready to argue: Would China have been better or worse off without Mao Zedong?
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