Transcript Lecture

Mao Zedong and China:
Origins and Rise to Power
IB History: Authoritarian and Single-Party States
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About the Unit
Authoritarian/Single-Party State = A government controlled by a single
political party and/or regimes that defend their political or economical
control by keeping all of society passive.
Authoritarian/Single-Party States developed and operated throughout
the 20th Century (1900-2000) and we will study three examples.
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Hitler and Nazi Germany (Fascism)
Mao Zedong and China (Communism)
Stalin and the Soviet Union (Communism)
We will study these examples through four areas:
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Origins (how did they begin)
Ideology and Nature (what beliefs did they promote)
Establishment (how did they get power)
Policies and their impact (what they did and the effects)
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Establishment and
Consolidation of
Power
The Chinese Communist party established government structures and mass
movements to keep control of the Chinese people and Mao purged the party and public
of those opposed to his ideas and actions
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The new government in China under the communist government was democratic in
name only because it was designed in a way to keep the party in power
Mass movements of supporters of the Chinese Communist Party provided surveillance
over the population and identified opposition to the party.
The army was used to take control of areas that were remote or had operated
independently under the Nationalist government, and new laws greatly reduced the
power of wealthy land owners.
Four mass campaigns removed officials Gao Gang and Rao Shushi from the Chinese
Communist Parties because of their opposition to Mao, and even Mao’s former
colleagues and loyal advisors, such as Deng Xiaoping, Lin Biao, and Liu Shaoqi were
“purged.”
In order to fight against public opposition to him, Mao implemented the “Socialist
Education Movement” and the “Cultural Revolution” in which people were either
convinced to support Communism through propaganda or experienced violence at the
hands of the supporters
Constant propaganda, fear, and the Chinese Communist Party’s control over the police
Propaganda from the
Deng Xiaoping, one of
“Cultural Revolution,” which Mao’s colleagues who was
includes images of Mao “purged” for opposing his
Zedong
ideas
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Domestic Policies
and their Impact
Mao believed he could turn China into a world power by putting his Chinese version of
Communism into practice, but his success was limited, he persecuted intellectuals and
creative minds, and destroyed some of China’s cultural history
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Mao could not immediately put his ideas into practice because he needed to rebuild
China after the civil war and needed to use some Capitalist practices from the former
government to do it
Collectivism, or the practice of doing everything in terms of what’s best for the
community, was introduced in stages starting the farmers and then moving to collectives
and communes.
Central planning of the economy was attempted through the efforts called the “Five-Year
Plan” and the “Great Leap Forward” but it failed as some peasants resented collectivism
and industrial production slowed.
The economy was revived by leaders Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping but then
deteriorated as they were “purged” from the Chinese Communist Party for opposing Mao.
Efforts to bring equality to women and to improve education failed because strong
women were alienated socially and intelligence and creativity weren’t rewarded unless it
supported Mao’s ideas.
The Chinese Communist Party tried to decrease the power of organized religion by only
allowing Churches that supported Mao’s ideas, but there success was still limited.
Photograph of Chinese
Photograph from a
workers producing steel at
Chinese Commune, night, during the “Great Leap
where people live and Forward” China attempted to
work together
double steel production to
compete with the United
Kingdom and United States
Summary
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The Chinese Communist party established government structures and
mass movements to keep control of the Chinese people and Mao
purged the party and public of those opposed to his ideas and actions
Mao believed he could turn China into a world power by putting his
Chinese version of Communism into practice, but his success was
limited, he persecuted intellectuals and creative minds, and destroyed
some of China’s cultural history