History of China

HISTORY OF CHINA Until 20th century: Dynastic Cycles

Long periods of family rule divided by times of chaos.

Mandate of Heaven Legitimacy, right to rule, came from

ancestral wisdom from heaven.

REVOLUTION OF 1911 Overthrew emperor Birth of the Republic of

China Weak central

government under. . . Sun Yat-sen

Nationalist Party (Kuomintang [KMT])

Provincial warlords retained much power Supported by various

foreign powers

CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY (CCP) Formed by intellectuals in 1921. Controlled by USSR. Initially united with KMT to defeat

warlords and unite the country.

NATIONALISTS V. COMMUNISTS 1927: KMT surprise attack against

Communists Beginning of Civil War KMT led by. . .

Chiang Kai-shek Communists led

by. . . Mao Zedong

1931-1949 1931: Japanese invade

Manchuria 1937: KMT and

Communists ally to fight Japanese.

1945: WWII ends. Civil War back on.

1949: People’s Republic of China

Chiang to Taiwan

MAOIST PHILOSOPHY Collectivism

Community above individual Self-Reliance & Struggle Egalitarianism Mass Line

Line of communication (back and forth) from CCP leaders, through members, to peasants.

Leaders take ideas of the masses, shape them into policy, then explain that policy to the masses.

“Iron Rice Bowl:” Guaranteed Employment.

MAO AND LENINBoth

Democratic centralism Pre-industrial society

Mao More Egalitarian social

structure Mass line: greater

political efficacy (in theory)

More agrarian based

DEVELOPMENT IN THE PRC (1949-1957)

Heavily influenced by Soviet expertise Land Reform– redistribution from rich to

poor Began developing industry

SINO-SOVIET SPLITCauses

USSR would not support: China’s nuclear development Attempts to attack Taiwan

USSR relaxed hostility with U.S.

HUNDRED FLOWERS MOVEMENT (1957) Mass line

Give and take of ideas Invited criticism of party performance Mass complaints by intellectuals about

the political system. Critics labeled as “rightists.” Start of Anti-Rightist Campaign

Thousands of intellectuals persecuted

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD (1958-1962) Develop industry AND agriculture

Become equal of Western World in 15 years. Mass Mobilization Collectivization of farms

Contradicted earlier land reform People’s Communes

Thousands of households in one unit Competed with other communes

DANWEI: Work units Lower part of CCP’s hierarchy linking individual to

state. Controlled education, housing, employment and daily

life.

FAILURE OF GREAT LEAP FORWARD Communes made their own steel.

Cheap and useless Beijing set high goals for farm output

Local party members lied on reports Party members afraid to challenge Mao’s policy Not enough food for commune workers

Unusually bad weather Three year famine

Famine and false reports led to 30 million deaths 1960 pop=approx. 600 million.

AFTERMATH OF GREAT LEAP FORWARD Mao withdrew from

public for several years after failure of Great Leap Forward.

Deng Xiaoping: Party leader that lead recovery. Allowed farming on

the side. Relaxed restrictions

on peasants.

THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION (1966-1976)“IT’S RIGHT TO REBEL”

Reasons

Mao feeling obsolete.

Declared that the party itself was an obstacle to revolution

Factions in CCP Reds

Politically reliable ideologists

Utopians Versus

Experts Intellectuals Economic growth

TARGETS OF CULTURAL REVOLUTION“THE FOUR OLDS”

IdeasCultureHabits

Customs

Party Officials Landlords Capitalist Roaders Rightists Intellectuals Businessmen Associated with foreigners___________________________ Red Guard:

Followers of Mao who carried out Revolution

CULT OF MAOCult of Personality

The excessive adulation of a single leader

Little Red Book Book of Mao quotes

Loyalty Dance Twice a day homage

to Mao.

END OF CULTURAL REVOLUTION Sent-Down Youth

Mao sent Red Guard to live in most rural areas to learn from peasants.

1976: Mao Dies

1976: Arrest of the Gang of Four Included Mao’s wife Radical architects of

the Cultural Revolution

IMPACT

Over ½ million killed.

10 years of closed schools.

No scientific or technological advancement

Deng Xiaoping, a moderate “expert,” became new leader.

DENG XIAOPING (1978-1997)BLACK CAT/WHITE CAT

“It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.”

Focus on economic prosperity, not socialism. Dramatic turn-around for economy Combined:

Socialist Planning Capitalist Free Market SOCIAL MARKET ECONOMY

DENG XIAOPING Economic Pragmatist Political Authoritarian

Absolute authority of Communist state.

Economic Liberalization NOT

Political Liberalization

GRADUAL economic change, NOT “shock therapy”

DENG XIAOPING’S MODERNIZATION (‘78-‘97)

FOUR MODERNIZATIONS

IndustryAgriculture

ScienceMilitary

Open Door Trade Policy

Reformed Education Visited U.S. and

normalized relations

END OF THE COMMUNES (1983)(BLACK CAT/WHITE CAT)

Household Responsibility System Peasants could lease land. Keep the surplus crop. Greatly reduced poverty in the

countryside.

“Mao Zedong gave us liberation. Deng Xiaoping gave us food.”

Popular saying in countryside

ENTREPRENEURS AND PRIVATIZATION (1980S)

Small entrepreneurs begin to emerge.

Township and Village Enterprises (TVE) Rural factories and businesses Run by local government and private

entrepreneurs.

Beginning stages of privatization

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZ)(BLACK CAT/WHITE CAT) Tax breaks and incentives for foreign

investors (FDI) in certain cities. 1979: 4 SEZ

“TO GET RICH IS GLORIOUS!”

-- Deng Xiaoping

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZ)(BLACK CAT/WHITE CAT) Tax breaks and incentives for foreign

investors (FDI) in certain cities. 1979: 4 SEZ 1984: 18 SEZ 1990s: Began to create:

Free Trade Zones High-Tech Zones Economic & Tech Zones

Various zones get different preferential policies

“TO GET RICH IS GLORIOUS!”

-- Deng Xiaoping

CHINA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH

STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES (SOE) & PRIVATE INDUSTRY

Number of SOEs is decreasing.

Number of private enterprises is increasing.

STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES (SOE) & PRIVATE INDUSTRY The size and

assets of SOEs is on the rise.

RMB=Renminbi (“people’s currency”)

Yuan is the primary unit.

Made in China…

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR THE U.S.?

ISSUES ACCOMPANYING ECONOMIC GROWTH

UrbanHouseholds

RuralHouseholds

SIGNIFICANTINCOMEINEQUALITY

ISSUES ACCOMPANYING ECONOMIC GROWTH

SMOG COVERING THE SKYLINE OF WUHAN CITY (DECEMBER 2009) HTTP://WWW.FOREIGNPOLICY.COM/ARTICLES/2010/12/02/THE_GREAT_WALL_OF_SMOG#9

SMOG BLANKETS MAIN STREET IN LINFEN (2009) HTTP://WWW.FOREIGNPOLICY.COM/ARTICLES/2010/12/02/THE_GREAT_WALL_OF_SMOG#7

THREE GORGES DAM (2006) Generates

electricity equivalent to 11 nuclear power stations.

World’s largest hydroelectric project.

40 stories high (600 feet)

1.25 miles long 10 years to build

ISSUES WITH THE DAM