Mao notes
,THEME 1 2
China in 1949: 2
NEW POWER STRUCTURE 6
DEFEATING CCP OPPONENTS 8
Campaign to suppress counter-revolutionaries 8
3 Antis Campaigns, Aug 1951- June 1952 9
5 Antis Campaign, Feb-May 1952 9
REUNIFICATION CAMPAIGNS: 10
Tibet, Oct 1950: 10
Xinjiang: 11
Guangdong: 11
LAOGAI: 11
THE HUNDRED FLOWERS CAMPAIGN: 12
ANTI-RIGHTIST CAMPAIGN: 13
KOREAN WAR 13
THEME 2 14
AGRICULTURE 14
IMPACT OF COMMUNES ON PEASANTS LIVES 15
1st 5YP 1952-56: 16
2nd 5YP 1958-62: 18
The Great Famine 1958-62: 19
Liu, Deng, and Economic Reform 1962-65 21
THEME 3 22
CULTURAL REVOLUTION 22
Reasons for launching: 22
Red Guards and Red Terror 24
Attacks on Mao’s political and class enemies: 28
Winding down of the CR- 1968-76 29
THEME 4 31
WOMEN 31
EDUCATION 35
HEALTH 36
CULTURAL CHANGE 37
RELIGION 38
,MAO’s CHINA
THEME 1
China in 1949:
- 80% of pop lived in rural areas and survived on farming
- Nearly 40 years of conflict, notably the civil war starting in 1927 between the nationalists
and communists had killed millions, destroyed infrastructure and spread poverty and
malnutrition
Although forced to flee to Taiwan in Dec 1949, nationalists still posed a threat, bombing
ships on the coast to prevent a communist attack, and killing hundreds of civilians in
cities on the mainland
Civil War 1946-49:
- In Oct 1949- Mao declared the creation of the PRC
- He led the CCP formed 1921
- They grudgingly cooperated with the Guomindang to repel a Japanese invasion in 1937
until the end of WW2 in 1945 but resumed fighting a civil war 1946-49
- Ferocious fighting on both sides
One general of the PLA reminisced on how the PLA ‘practically flattened villages using
thousands of shells and countless bombs’
One pilot reported every village he flew over was burning and ‘the fields were covered
with bodies’
- Despite GMD having more numbers about 4-1, the CCP was more popular, esp among
the poor who made up the maj of the population, leading to their victory
China at end of civil war:
- Tens of millions killed in the conflicts aiming to suppress warlordism, repel the Japanese,
and win the civil war- China was bankrupt, chaotic, and ruined
- Politically, the CCP had not won through a democratic election, but in its military success
and the ineptitude of the nationalists, whose generals were corrupt and incompetent
- Did have support from the poorer population, but not with the businessmen and middle
class in large cities like Shanghai. The peasants also had little understanding of Mao’s
essays
Administrative chaos:
- Although the nationalists had fled, they vowed to return to reclaim power
- Before leaving, they stripped the country of assets like gold, silver, and dollar reserves,
alongside cultural treasures such as those from Beijing's Forbidden City
- Many of the educated elite, such as bureaucrats and businessmen had left w them
, - Few experienced officials left to run cities or with enough technological knowledge to
rebuild the economy
- CCP members ideologically committed and experienced in guerilla fighting but lacked
sufficient knowledge in civilian govt
- Situation exacerbated by the lack of planning due to the speed in which the nationalist
forces collapsed in 1949
Lawlessness:
- Estimated 1 million bandits began to roam the countryside, preying on displaced
refugees from the Japanese invasion and civil war
- Clogged up the transport system, wandered aimlessly, or crammed together in
unsanitary cities
- In many ways, China was living up to its nickname ‘the sick man of Asia’
Economic problems:
- Economy devastated
- No stable or unified currency
- Biggest problem hyperinflation
- Without the support of taxation, the GMD began printing money to bankroll its armies
- In places, the money system had collapsed and citizens reverted back to bartering
- Shortages of consumer goods led to customers hoarding scarce supplies, making the
situation worse
- 1940- 100 yuan could buy a pig
1946- 100 yuan an egg
Industry:
- During Civil War, much of the industrial equipment was destroyed
- In places, retreating nationalist forces aimed to sabotage industrial areas
- Areas where local power stations had been bombed or coal stocks were low, lacked in
electricity
- The soviet union had control over Manchuria, during WW2 one of China’a main industrial
sites, to ensure the Japanese left. However, following WW2 they dismantled the
industrial equipment and tools, and confiscated tools and gold and shipped it back to the
USSR
- One observer reported Shenyang, China’s largest city region, was reduced to a ‘tragic,
way station’ from its previous ‘great industrial city’
- Situation worsened from civil war
- Industrial output levels in 1949 were 44% lower than 1937
- Scarce raw materials and was difficult to transport it to factories
- Many skilled personnel with the knowledge to rebuild the industry had fled with the
natitonalists to Taiwan
- Even Mao acknowledged the problem, the industry only contributing to ‘10% of the
total…national economy’
,THEME 1 2
China in 1949: 2
NEW POWER STRUCTURE 6
DEFEATING CCP OPPONENTS 8
Campaign to suppress counter-revolutionaries 8
3 Antis Campaigns, Aug 1951- June 1952 9
5 Antis Campaign, Feb-May 1952 9
REUNIFICATION CAMPAIGNS: 10
Tibet, Oct 1950: 10
Xinjiang: 11
Guangdong: 11
LAOGAI: 11
THE HUNDRED FLOWERS CAMPAIGN: 12
ANTI-RIGHTIST CAMPAIGN: 13
KOREAN WAR 13
THEME 2 14
AGRICULTURE 14
IMPACT OF COMMUNES ON PEASANTS LIVES 15
1st 5YP 1952-56: 16
2nd 5YP 1958-62: 18
The Great Famine 1958-62: 19
Liu, Deng, and Economic Reform 1962-65 21
THEME 3 22
CULTURAL REVOLUTION 22
Reasons for launching: 22
Red Guards and Red Terror 24
Attacks on Mao’s political and class enemies: 28
Winding down of the CR- 1968-76 29
THEME 4 31
WOMEN 31
EDUCATION 35
HEALTH 36
CULTURAL CHANGE 37
RELIGION 38
,MAO’s CHINA
THEME 1
China in 1949:
- 80% of pop lived in rural areas and survived on farming
- Nearly 40 years of conflict, notably the civil war starting in 1927 between the nationalists
and communists had killed millions, destroyed infrastructure and spread poverty and
malnutrition
Although forced to flee to Taiwan in Dec 1949, nationalists still posed a threat, bombing
ships on the coast to prevent a communist attack, and killing hundreds of civilians in
cities on the mainland
Civil War 1946-49:
- In Oct 1949- Mao declared the creation of the PRC
- He led the CCP formed 1921
- They grudgingly cooperated with the Guomindang to repel a Japanese invasion in 1937
until the end of WW2 in 1945 but resumed fighting a civil war 1946-49
- Ferocious fighting on both sides
One general of the PLA reminisced on how the PLA ‘practically flattened villages using
thousands of shells and countless bombs’
One pilot reported every village he flew over was burning and ‘the fields were covered
with bodies’
- Despite GMD having more numbers about 4-1, the CCP was more popular, esp among
the poor who made up the maj of the population, leading to their victory
China at end of civil war:
- Tens of millions killed in the conflicts aiming to suppress warlordism, repel the Japanese,
and win the civil war- China was bankrupt, chaotic, and ruined
- Politically, the CCP had not won through a democratic election, but in its military success
and the ineptitude of the nationalists, whose generals were corrupt and incompetent
- Did have support from the poorer population, but not with the businessmen and middle
class in large cities like Shanghai. The peasants also had little understanding of Mao’s
essays
Administrative chaos:
- Although the nationalists had fled, they vowed to return to reclaim power
- Before leaving, they stripped the country of assets like gold, silver, and dollar reserves,
alongside cultural treasures such as those from Beijing's Forbidden City
- Many of the educated elite, such as bureaucrats and businessmen had left w them
, - Few experienced officials left to run cities or with enough technological knowledge to
rebuild the economy
- CCP members ideologically committed and experienced in guerilla fighting but lacked
sufficient knowledge in civilian govt
- Situation exacerbated by the lack of planning due to the speed in which the nationalist
forces collapsed in 1949
Lawlessness:
- Estimated 1 million bandits began to roam the countryside, preying on displaced
refugees from the Japanese invasion and civil war
- Clogged up the transport system, wandered aimlessly, or crammed together in
unsanitary cities
- In many ways, China was living up to its nickname ‘the sick man of Asia’
Economic problems:
- Economy devastated
- No stable or unified currency
- Biggest problem hyperinflation
- Without the support of taxation, the GMD began printing money to bankroll its armies
- In places, the money system had collapsed and citizens reverted back to bartering
- Shortages of consumer goods led to customers hoarding scarce supplies, making the
situation worse
- 1940- 100 yuan could buy a pig
1946- 100 yuan an egg
Industry:
- During Civil War, much of the industrial equipment was destroyed
- In places, retreating nationalist forces aimed to sabotage industrial areas
- Areas where local power stations had been bombed or coal stocks were low, lacked in
electricity
- The soviet union had control over Manchuria, during WW2 one of China’a main industrial
sites, to ensure the Japanese left. However, following WW2 they dismantled the
industrial equipment and tools, and confiscated tools and gold and shipped it back to the
USSR
- One observer reported Shenyang, China’s largest city region, was reduced to a ‘tragic,
way station’ from its previous ‘great industrial city’
- Situation worsened from civil war
- Industrial output levels in 1949 were 44% lower than 1937
- Scarce raw materials and was difficult to transport it to factories
- Many skilled personnel with the knowledge to rebuild the industry had fled with the
natitonalists to Taiwan
- Even Mao acknowledged the problem, the industry only contributing to ‘10% of the
total…national economy’
