SC3222 Lecture 1

Module: focus on Maos period and post economic reform

Final examination: focus on DETAILED dates, measures and
consequences
Key aspects: Ideological, structural, behavioral changes, relationship
changes, stratification, social experiments, and policies
Film: China Yellow, China Blue
Part I: pre 1949
China Yellow
increasing population grown from 400-500 million, 80% on
countryside, shortage of food, famine, tough lives for peasants,
traditional lifestyle (bound feet)
cixi: reigned 40 years, hostile to foreigners, traditional, scornful of
reforms, blind to social and economic problems, do not do anything
puyi: last emperor, 3 years old
kang you wei: reformer, argue for modern system, failed
semi-colony due to forced opening up of markets (treaties)
China Blue
port, keen on exchange, shanghai, canton, hk, macau, taiwan,
concessions with treaties, divided and occupied by foreigners
violent, lots of rebellion, cruel prosecution
1910: discontents raised, rebels from all sides, revolution
1911: wuhan, military mutiny
revolutionary govt installed in nanking
ponytail is the first target
emperor abdicate
sun yat sen as first president, overthrow by general yuan shi kai
(makes it a personal matter, tries to be emperor)
civil war, poverty strikes in countryside, china yellow, power in the
hands of warlord
sun yat sen created kuomintang in canton
1917: soviet union established
chou enlai and mao tzedong
may 4th 1919: student movement against giving land to other
countries

led to other movements and establishment of CCP

CCP-KMT alliance
sun yat sen died in 1925, chang kai shek took over kuomintang,
launched northward campaign
after chang conquered south and central china, chang decided to
break with the CCP, arrest communists
the purge is supported by merchants and foreigners china blue
continued
1931: CCP went underground, guerrilla warfare, chang launched 5
campaigns against revoluntaries
1934: CCP abandoned bases and started the long march, new base
in yanan, mao as head of army and party
1936: CCP-KMT alliance against japan (invaded northern china),
WWII begun, japan took over peking, pu yi as puppet emperor,
manchuria established. japan then conquered shanghai and
nanking. people seek shelter in foreign establishments. massacre.
people flee for their lives. changs military is too weak.
ppl raised up to defend china
CCP-KMT united front against Japanese
Scorch earth tactic, blowing up of dams to set back the Japanese
KMT moved his government to Chongqing
WWII begun
CCP: education of peasants, land reform etc
1945: japan defeated
China blue. business booming. chang wanted to defeat communist
once and for all in 1946.
in 1947: CCP forced to abandon Yanan.
patriotism: save the people against war and Americanism. Chang
blamed communists.
CCP focused on the countryside and peasants abandoned by Chang.
dominated the north and manchuria.
1948: Mao and Liu Shao qi launched all out offensives. advances to
the China blue region. foreigners evacuate from china and shanghai.
Chang flee to Taiwan. Mao ruled china Second Chinese
revolution.
1949: establishment of PRC
China yellow and yellow blue united. its now china red.
Part II post 1949
1950: annex tibet, help Vietnam free from Vietnam, help Korea

in china: country-wide agrarian reform, power resided in the masses

1953: stalin died. Mao wished to take over the international
communist movement.
1954: mao voted president, absolute power.
1955: people organised peoples assembly. traditional family
structure is overthrown. central command economy. following russia
model. 12 year plan for chinas development. authority take full
control over labour and food. 2 types of co-operatives.
mao wants to go further. society resist cooperative. mao decides to
throw away soviets way. chinese way to be embarked upon.
infrastructure need to be improved. family housing are deserted for
dormitory and community living. statistics become vital. kitchen
wares were contributed to be melt down into metal. great leap
forward. wish to take over Britain in terms of annual steel production
in 15 years.
mao is criticized for authoritarian style. brake on great leap
forward.
campaign of a hundred flowers to build schools > launched by
mao and chou to fight criticisms of going too fast.
purge against intellectuals. campaign against right-wing, bad
elements of the society.accusations. sentences carried out publicly.
people as judges. 5 millions execution in ten years.
attention turned to territory struggles.
1959: tibetan rebelled. dala lamai flee. russia and china fall out.
mao isolated and reduced to symbolic role. liu as new president.
great leap forward failed. mao forced to admit making mistake.
1966: maos fight back: support from students (red guards). little
red book. posters. cultural revolution. maos alliance with lin biao.
jiang qing emerged as political figures. liu shaoqi and deny xiaoping
are targets.
everything that symbolises tradition and past is destroyed.
red guards divides into factions. terror. liu expelled from party and
thrown into jail. mao finds the revolution uncontrollable.
1969: mao back in power. lin as successor. revolution is over.
china break with moscow. russia as chinas principal enemy. china
need to find new alliance.
ping pong diplomacy > three years of negotiation. 1972: deng and
nixon meeting.
four modernisations by deng.
1976: chou died. deng is eliminated by hua guoqing. ten thousand
funeral demonstration against jiang qing. deng accused by gang of
four. deng relieved of all duties. mao died. gang of four fabricated
that jangling should be made leader. huo won.

1978: deng rose in power as prime minister. Liu shaoqi is reinstated.

1980: public trial of gang of four. Deng launched reform policies.
Peoples commune and collective structure were abolished. Farmers
allowed to farm their own land. Market mechanism is allowed. One
child policy encourages a massive infanticide. State-ran
enterprises were reformed. Special economic zones were
established. Symbols of consumer market arrive in china. Imports
were allowed. More freedom than the past but not total freedom.
1988: mass colonization in Tibet and triggered riot.
1989: biggest unofficial demonstration at Tianan men for one
month. One million people involved. Violent silent repression.
China remains open to western product and business. The reform
are to continue, with negative consequences such as increasing
income gap, rural-urban migration, increase in crime rates,
counterfeiting, corruption. What matter the color of the cat, as long
as it catches the mouse.

In a century, 2 revolution, 2 invasions, 2 civil war, huge change