Class Work 2/26

Aims of Mao

• Unite China under a single government and maintain control
  
• Gain support from the USSR (1950 Treaty of Mutual Aid and Assistance)
  
• Rebuild China (improve conditions in order to maintain support of the peasants/common people)
• Improve industry/industrialize China
  
• Improve agriculture
• Maintain power

To what extent was a single party dictator successful in achieving his aims?

Mao's Methods

• 1950 Marriage Law- no arranged/child marriages, no killing of female babies, joint ownership of property, maternity benefits (full wages for two months after the birth of a child)
• Agrarian Reform Law- redistribution of land, people were classified as landlords, rich peasants, middle peasants, or poor peasants, took land from the wealthy and gave it to the poor, "speak bitterness" meetings (peasants speak against landlords, 2-4 million landlords were killed)
  

Effects of the Chinese Civil War (HW 5)

Political

• 1949 - Nationalists form a government in Taiwan (still exists today)
• 1949 - People's Republic of China (PRC) was formed (inherited the corruption left behind by the Nationalists)
• China becomes a single party state
• PRC forms an alliance with USSR during the Cold War, is immediately isolated by the West (Treaty of Mutual Aid & Assistance- 1950, USSR gives China advisors and credits)
• Fear and suspicion from USA + West about the spread of communism (1945-1991, United States opposes expansion of communism in Asia, containment policy)
• Wars in Korea (1950-1952) and Vietnam (1965-1975)
• Mao Zedong becomes the leader of the PRC (1949-1976)
  
• The PLA is put to work rebuilding China/infrastructure (a method Mao uses to unite China)

Economic

• Infrastructure (bridges, railways, dams, canals, farms) was destroyed
• Food shortages
• Inflation
• High unemployment
• June 1950 Land Reform Law (Mao's domestic policy)

Social

• Land reform
• Collectivization
• Peasants Associations
  
• People who opposed the Communists were labeled as "reactionaries" and treated very strictly by the government
• Equality given to women
• Free speech/political rights taken away from reactionaries/nationalists
• Strikes (1945-49)
  

HW 4

1. The Communists made use of their territory; they were fighting on land that was familiar to them, so they were able to take advantage of it for guerrilla attacks. They were also able to convince the population to do what they wanted. Civilians helped the Communists by keeping their resources away from the Guomindang, and many even joined the Communists' army. A third reason for the success of the Communists was the aid they received from Russia, which helped them by setting up a Military Advisory Group.

2. This source suggests that foreign aid from Russia was the most important strategy that "tipped the scale" so that the Communists could defeat the Nationalists. Russia supplied the Chinese Communists with information and gave them advice about military tactics.

3. The sources all seem to agree that guerrilla warfare was a very important part of the Communists' victory. However, Jung Chang's view seems to be that Mao took such tactics to unnecessary levels, using terror in order to defeat the Guomindang. Jung Chang also puts a greater emphasis on the importance of Russian assistance.

4. The GRU was the organization responsible for Soviet military intelligence. CCP refers to the Chinese Communist Party. HQ means headquarters, likely referring to that of Chiang Kaishek, which was infiltrated by Russian spies.

5. It could be argued that Russia had a more important role in leadership than Mao did. According to Jung Chang, the advice and intelligence provided by the Soviets were what allowed Mao to lead his soldiers effectively in the first place.

6. This source claims that the Nationalists were more patriotic in fighting the Japanese, and that history has been rewritten to make the Communists look better.

7. Based on the other sources I have read, I do not believe the above claim. Other sources provided examples of Communist propaganda supporting the war against Japan, while this source offers no evidence to support the idea that the Nationalists were in fact the ones who wanted to form a united front.

8. This source says that the Japanese invasion helped Mao rise to power because the Nationalists suspended their war with the Communists in order to defend their country from Japan.

Chapter 11 Questions

A.

• After World War 2, the Communists were more spread out through China, and so they were able to gain control over the areas that had been taken by Japan more quickly than the Guomindang.
• The Communists' "People's Liberation Army" used guerrilla tactics (destroying railways, raiding Guomindang bases at night, ambushing patrols)
• The Guomindang was unable to maintain the support of the people, causing many of them to join the Communists.
• According to Chiang Kaishek, Guomindang soldiers were not disciplined enough.
• The Communists were flexible and willing to change strategies.
• The Communists fought very carefully, avoiding major battles that they could not win.
  
• The People's Liberation Army expanded very quickly, gaining more support with every success. It was eventually able to fight the Guomindang head-on, rather than through the use of guerrilla tactics.
  
• Corruption and poor economic management under the Nationalists caused peasants to join the Communists.
• America cut off all aid to China in 1947.
  

B.1. Chiang Kaishek felt that his followers were unprincipled and undisciplined, and that this was causing the Guomindang to lose the war.
B.2. The Guomindang did not seem to think ahead, causing them to lose land to the Communists after World War II. Also, the Guomindang did not seem to efficiently use its resources- it had many more weapons, soldiers, and supplies than the Communists, but it was unsuccessful in using them.

In Class Work 2/12

1. The woodcut on page 22 shows Guomindang officers taking animals and food from a house. The miserable appearances of the family in the house suggests that life under Chiang Kaishek's regime would be terrible. This would make becoming a communist much more appealing to the Chinese people; people who were aware of the communists' ideology might have believed that such things would never happen in a communist country, where everybody would work together and share their food and animals with each other.
2. The Chinese Communist Party poster on page 23 shows the communists ideology of peasants working together collectively, an image which may have gained the support of China's peasant population. It also shows that the goal of this cooperation was to assist the Red Army in resisting against the Japanese invasion. The communists may have been taking advantage of the unpopular decision of Chiang Kaishek to refuse to open a united front against Japan and instead focus on eliminating the communists.
3. Source A in the book is a statement made by Chiang Kaishek about the state of the Guomindang. Chiang Kaishek seems to be trying to understand and explain why his organization was failing against the communists. This is valuable in that it is a primary source and it reveals some of the Guomindang's ideology, stating that people should know have spirit and discipline, caring for more than just themselves. Chiang Kaishek seems to believe that the lack of these qualities in the Guomindang was helping the communists win. However, it does not give any specific examples of what "right and wrong" are, and very little context is given to the source. Meanwhile, the excerpt from Mao: The Unknown Story was written by a historian many years after the communists won the Chinese Civil War, with the purpose of teaching what the author saw as the true reason for the communist victory. This is valuable because Jung Chang writes very different interpretations of why the communists won, saying that it was mostly due to foreign aid and the use of fear. Some claims, however, are not supported with any significant evidence.
   

Blog Update

Updated China Chapter 1 questions

HW 3

Why did the Communists, and not the Nationalists, win the Chinese Civil War?

• Communists gained the support of the peasants through land reform (land was given to peasants), propaganda (Long March, images portraying Nationalists negatively and emphasizing the Communists' will to cooperate with each other), and the formation of the Jiangxi Soviet.
• The use of guerrilla warfare kept the Red Army together as a fighting force- the Long March allowed the Communists to regroup, bringing their numbers to about 80,000
• Mistakes by the Nationalists + Chiang Kaishek- Failure of the Extermination Campaigns, Loss of US support by 1949, Failure to gain support of the peasants, Refusal to resist against the Japanese invasion (makes him look bad, opposition takes advantage of this with propaganda, causes him to lose support), Cooperation with northern warlords
  
• Support of the USSR- spies, leadership/advisors
• Mao called for a "United Front" against Japan
  

2/5/10 Notes

• 45 minutes into movie
• Updated Homework 2
• Need questions for part B of in class work 1
  

Class Work 2/4

A.

1. Between Jiangxi and Zunyi, the communists marched along a very straightforward route.
2. After Zunyi, the communists took a much less direct path, dividing the Red Army at some points and making full circles around certain areas before moving forward.
3. Chiang Kaishek and the Guomindang was able to predict the communists' movements and interrupt them when they were marching in straight lines. The communists changed their movements so that they would not be caught so easily.
4. The Red Army may have been trapped and defeated by the Guomindang if they had not changed their tactics.

B.

1. Source A is supported by the fact that less than a quarter of the 87,000 communists who started the Long March finished it. However, the fact that any of them made it to Shaanxi makes the Long March a success for communists to some extent. The countless obstacles that the communists had to overcome, particularly the crossing of the Dadu river, proved the determination of the communists, supporting the claim made in Source B. However, Chiang Kaishek was very successful in reducing the numbers of the communists, even if he did not exterminate them completely.
2. I think that the first view is much more accurate. Many communists were lost in the Long March, but as the source says, it was not a decisive defeat; the communists eventually won the civil war and gained dominance over China, despite the great losses after 1928.
   

Class Notes 2/3/10

Communists worked to gain the support of peasants:

• Land reform
• Ended arranged marriages
• Ended foot binding
• Lowered rents
• Peasant associations
• Propaganda (everybody has a job and is treated equally)
• Class warfare
• Compare to Soviets purging the kulaks (wealthy land owning peasants)
• Jianxi Soviet (1930s)
  

HW 2

Air:

• Airlift (after WWII) - Americans brought 80,000 Nationalist troops to Nanjing, Shanghai, and Beijing to prevent Communists from gaining any more land
• Bomber Aircraft used against communists in extermination campaign
  

Land:

• Guerrilla Warfare - In 1934, Mao led communists on the "Long March," a movement that allowed them to avoid the nationalists and unite the Red Army in Shaanxi
• Nationalist troops chased communists throughout the Long March
  
• Communists took over railways, shipping, mining, forestry, agriculture, led night raids on nationalists
  
• Tanks/armored cars used against communists in extermination campaign

More Long March Notes:

• March starts October 1934 with 87,000 communist troops
  
• Communists are losing, about to be defeated
• Otto Braun's conventional tactics (fighting face-to-face, no guerrilla warfare) are questioned
• Mao replaces Braun, resumes guerrilla tactics
• March ends October 1935 with fewer than 10,000 communist troops