Transcript The Communist Revolution

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The Communist
Revolution in China
The Chinese Civil War
Battle for control of China between…
 Nationalists
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Led by Chiang Kai-Shek
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Communists
Led by Mao Zedong
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**Began after the Boxer rebellion and turmoil between 1911-1928. Catalyst
= Chiang expels Communists from Nationalist party in 1930s
1930s-40s and during WWII
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In 1934, the Nationalists set out after the
Communists and forced them to flee to
northwest China
This 6000 mile journey was called the “Long March”.
 About 90,000 communists and their families made the
journey; about 7000 survive
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Japan invades in 1937
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Nationalists and Communists join forces once again to fight
invaders
After the war, however, they go back to fighting each other
The Chinese Civil War
(1945-1949)
The Communist Victory

Why did the Communists succeed?
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Won the support of the peasants through his
policies of land reform
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Mao preached to the poor; promised to establish a
“dictatorship of the people”
Denounced imperialism and promised to remove
foreign influence
Called for China to industrialize; take its place as a
leading world power
Won support of middle-class and educated Chinese by
promising to end humiliation of China by foreigners
The Fate of the Nationalists

The Communist victory forces the
Nationalist forces and Kai-Shek to
the island of Taiwan, where they
set up a Nationalist government.
 Still
exists to this day, though China
claims the island as its own

Taiwan also known as
“Nationalist China”
Creating the Communist Order

The Communist Constitution
Set up a National People’s Congress
 Permitted free elections, other democratic rights
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In practice, however, China became a one-party
dictatorship
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Mao Zedong becomes Chairman of the Communist
Party, strongest leader
Communist party members held all of the important jobs
in government
Communists did not allow dissent, used the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) to maintain order
Flag of Communist China
Symbolism of the Chinese Flag
Red = Revolution, bloodshed
 Large star = Chinese Communist Party
 Smaller stars = 4 ethnic groups in China
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Mongolians, Manchurians, Tibetans, Muslims
The Rule of Mao Zedong
(1949 – 1976)

“Chairman Mao” was seen as
a hero
 Communists
used propaganda
to create mythical, heroic
status for Mao
 Chinese taught to respect and
revere his leadership; he had
all the answers, was infallible
 Children and adults
memorized his Quotations
From Chairman Mao (“The
Little Red Book”)
Quotations from Mao

“In class society, everyone lives as a member of a
particular class, and every kind of thinking,
without exception, is stamped with the brand of a
class.”
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“We should support whatever the enemy opposes
and oppose whatever the enemy supports.”

“The revolutionary war is a war of the masses;
only mobilizing the masses and relying on them can
wage it.”
• “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a
picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and
gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A
revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class
overthrows another.”
China Under Mao
• Under Mao, China essentially
becomes a totalitarian state
- Government controls all
aspects of the lives of citizens

China restores order and ends foreign influence
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Food production increases, schools are built, health care provided to
many
Over the years, Mao launches several efforts to strengthen
China
Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution
**These meet with mixed results…
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The Death of Mao

When Mao dies in 1976, though some
discontent with his policies exists, he is still
venerated and honored by the Chinese
Review
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Give one reason why the Communists succeeded
in winning the Chinese civil war.
Where were the Nationalists forced after the
Communist victory in 1949?
What position did Mao Zedong hold in China?
What do the stars on the Chinese flag
represent?
What method did the Communists use to create
a mythical status for Mao?
Under Mao, China became a ________________
state.