China Under Mao Zedong

1. China Under Mao Zedong Kevin J. Benoy

2. A New China • China was completely transformed since 1945. • First came the great changes brought by Communism. • Next there was the Cultural Revolution. • Finally came the transformation under Deng Xiaoping. • This presentation will deal entirely with China under Mao.

3. Revolutionary Transformation • Mao and his communists faced a situation not unlike that of Lenin. • Utopian promises had been made, but the country they ruled was in an appalling mess. • In the first year, the tasks were to eliminate the influence of foreigners and national reactionaries. • Aristocrats and landlords were ruthlessly eliminated as People’s Courts pronounced sentence on opponents and potential opponents of the regime. • At least 2 million were killed and many more fled the country.

4. Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture • Mao sought to replace small-scale private farms with large collective units. • Though land was initially parcelled out to individual farmers, the small holdings – often less than an acres – simply were unworkable. • To modernize and mechanize, larger farms were needed. • By 1954, as many as 200 million people worked on collectives.

5. Revolutionary Transformation - Agriculture • By 1954 around 200 million worked on collectives. • In 1956 the pace picked up so that soon 95% of available land was within large-scale communes, numbering 26,000 by 1958. • Each had as many as 40,000 to 50,000 members. • Communes were responsible for all services in their area – schools, road construction and factory management.

6. Revolutionary Transformation - Industry • Mao inherited a mainly peasant society. • Industrialization was still a key aim of the Communists. • Within 2-3 years of the revolution, about 85% of heavy industry and 50% of light industry was under state ownership. • The first 5 year plan was announced in 1951 and began in 1953. • Emphasis was on heavy industry, as it had been in the USSR. • Some small business were allowed to remain in private hands.

7. Revolutionary Transformation - Society • A key goal was the social transformation of China. • Here, more than anywhere else, change was dramatic. • The position of women in China had not improved greatly since feudal times. • Though the KMT passed laws, they had little effect. • In 1950 the communist marriage law finally abolished child marriage and infanticide.

8. Revolutionary Transformation - Society • Public health was greatly improved – though it remained rudimentary. • Medical services were extended and public hygiene improved. • Paramedics were sent into the countryside to deliver health care to even the most remote areas.

9. Social Transformation - Society • Population was a pressing issue. • In 1950 China numbered 450 million. In the 1960s it was increasing by at least 20 million per year – 50,000 a day. • Though Mao seemed to be of the opinion that China could support even greater numbers, others argued something needed to be done. • In the 1970s Chinese leaders began population control schemes, culminating in the one child policy, whereby penalties were applied to larger families and encouragement was given to family planning.

10. The Hundred Flowers Campaign • In 1957 the pace of change produced political strains in China. • Mao offered to lift restrictions to prevent an opposition forming. • Criticism of officials was allowed and intellectuals were encouraged to speak their minds. • However, the campaign did not last and soon those who spoke out were silenced.

11. The Great Leap Forward • In 1958 Mao launched an ambitious plan to achieve “the work of twenty years in a single day.” • Small scale industries were promoted in the countryside, including 600,000 backyard furnaces to produce iron and steel.

12. The Great Leap Forward • Peasants were given rudimentary training by specialists to produce metals, machine tools, farm machinery and other tools – so there would be less dependence on centralized factories. • Vast public works schemes were also undertaken – dams, bridges, irrigation canals and the like. • The result was increased industrial production at the cost of agriculture.

13. The Great Leap Forward • Food rationing was required from 1959-1961. • Even so, starvation was widespread and the death rate rose enormously. • Local industrial goods were often shoddy and almost useless. • Major construction projects were often ill-conceived, poorly engineered, and sometimes even abandoned before completion.

14. The Great Leap Forward • Opposition to Mao’s policies grew as failures mounted. • Mao’s criticism of the Soviet leadership further complicated matters as the Soviets withdrew their help. • Mao was outflanked. Though he kept the post of Chairman of the Communist Party, he was forced to resign as Chairman of the People’s Congress. • In the background the Soviets seemed to be helping engineer his complete removal.

15. The Cultural Revolution • The growing strength of the right wing of the Party alarmed Mao – who feared bureaucratisation of China. • In 1966, while Liu Shaoqi appealed for support within the Communist Party of China, Mao went to the Chinese public with his call for support.

16. The Cultural Revolution • Young Maoists, calling themselves Red Guards, toured the countryside whipping up public support. • Purges were organized, resulting in the closing down of schools and factories as meetings took precedence over productive work.

17. The Cultural Revolution • Managers were fired. • Teachers were lynched. • A wave of Maoist hysteria swept the country, destroying the opposition who were killed or “sent down.” • Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, were forced out of their jobs and into the countryside to learn the value of peasant labour.

18. The Cultural Revolution • Mao sought to destroy all privilege and remove elitism in society. • Everyone wore the ubiquitous plain “Mao suits” and waived copies of Mao’s little red book.

19. The Cultural Revolution • For more than 2 years the upheaval continued. • Ultimately, in 1968, the Cultural Revolution ran its course. • The army stood aside in the earlier phases, but came into conflict with the Red Guards and ended their activities.

20. The Cultural Revolution • Zhou Enlai and others convinced Mao that the chaos must end. • Though peace was restored, the right/left struggle continued behind the scenes. • In 1971 Lin Biao, an important party leader, died under mysterious circumstances. Lin may have been plotting against Mao. • The public struggle did not return.

21. Sino-American Normalization • The early 1970s saw an opening up of relations with the USA. • Mao understood that the Sino-Soviet split was extremely dangerous. • War looked very likely and it is known that the Soviets went so far as to enquire as to American intentions if the Soviets went so far as to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike. • Mao determined that China could not afford continued American hostility.

22. Sino-American Normalization • Ping-pong Diplomacy – sporting competition as a front for secret negotiations – bore fruit in 1971. • American President Nixon visited Mao in China and normal relations began between the two countries. • China wanted an end to US hostility at a time of great tension with the USSR. • America wanted to play the Chinese off against the Soviets.

23. Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • In January 1976 Zhou Enlai died. • In September Mao died as well. • Hua Guofeng, who had replaced Zhou as Premier now became chairman of the Party. • He brought back Deng Xiaoping as his premier – a man who only recently had been forced out of leadership by leftists.

24. Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • The Right/Left struggle was now fought in earnest. • The so-called Gang of Four – including Madame Mao, Jiang Qing, were arrested and vilified in a well-publicized show trial. It was this group who had arranged Deng’s purge in 1976. • Unbroken and unrepentant, Jiang Qing swore at her accusers and argued her case. • All were found guilty. Two were sentenced to death, later commuted to life sentences. Two others received life sentences.

25. Mao’s End and the Struggle for Leadership • The struggle for primacy continued between Hua and Deng, with Deng emerging the clear victor. • Hua was conservative and resistant to change. Deng was prepared to make dramatic changes at least insofar as the economy was concerned. • Freeing parts of the economy, while maintaining strict political orthodoxy was Deng’s objective.

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