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Before exploring the historical context of the Chinese Revolution, consider the current state of the country from an economic, social, cultural, and political perspective. Before you watch and read, brainstorm using the following questions as a guide:
Before exploring the historical context of the Chinese Revolution, consider the current state of the country from an economic, social, cultural, and political perspective. Before you watch and read, brainstorm using the following questions as a guide:
- What system of government does China have today?
- What degree of freedom do Chinese citizens enjoy in modern society?
- What is China's level of economic development in 2021?
- How powerful is China today? How can we measure this?
Learn more about modern China's success and challenges under Xi Jinping by reading and annotating the article below and answering the questions as you watch the video. As you read and watch consider the extent to which you think China can be considered a successful country under Xi.
Learn more about modern China's success and challenges under Xi Jinping by reading and annotating the article below and answering the questions as you watch the video. As you read and watch consider the extent to which you think China can be considered a successful country under Xi.
What were the causes and consequences of
What were the causes and consequences of
the Chinese Revolution?
the Chinese Revolution?
In order to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves, which one? China has undergone changes that could be considered revolutionary for over a century, and despite the relative stability of the current regime, major internal challenges and external threats remain.
In order to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves, which one? China has undergone changes that could be considered revolutionary for over a century, and despite the relative stability of the current regime, major internal challenges and external threats remain.
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION
Today, the People’s Republic of China is one of the most powerful nations on Earth. With its huge population, a diverse economy worth more than $US8 trillion per annum and the most imposing military force in Asia, China is set to become the world’s preeminent superpower.
Today, the People’s Republic of China is one of the most powerful nations on Earth. With its huge population, a diverse economy worth more than $US8 trillion per annum and the most imposing military force in Asia, China is set to become the world’s preeminent superpower.
Despite this, China was a comparative latecomer to the modern world. At the turn of the 20th century, the Chinese nation was fragmented and still mired in the past. Its government was dominated by feudal monarchs who claimed to rule on behalf of heaven. Its economy was largely agricultural, carried by labouring peasants, while its social structures, practices and traditions were more medieval than modern.
Despite this, China was a comparative latecomer to the modern world. At the turn of the 20th century, the Chinese nation was fragmented and still mired in the past. Its government was dominated by feudal monarchs who claimed to rule on behalf of heaven. Its economy was largely agricultural, carried by labouring peasants, while its social structures, practices and traditions were more medieval than modern.
Pre-revolutionary China was also disorganised and disunited, making it easy prey for imperialist nations like Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan. These foreign powers established spheres of influence within China, exerting control and exploiting its people and resources.
Pre-revolutionary China was also disorganised and disunited, making it easy prey for imperialist nations like Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan. These foreign powers established spheres of influence within China, exerting control and exploiting its people and resources.
The seeds of the Chinese Revolution can be found in the anti-imperialism and rising nationalism of the 19th century. The Chinese Revolution was a revolution against many things: foreign imperialism in China, the Qing monarchy, privilege and inequality, exploitation and corruption, national disunity, China’s military and economic weakness. Because of this, change was driven by different groups and leaders, each with different ideas and aims.
The seeds of the Chinese Revolution can be found in the anti-imperialism and rising nationalism of the 19th century. The Chinese Revolution was a revolution against many things: foreign imperialism in China, the Qing monarchy, privilege and inequality, exploitation and corruption, national disunity, China’s military and economic weakness. Because of this, change was driven by different groups and leaders, each with different ideas and aims.
The Chinese Revolution had several distinct phases:
The Chinese Revolution had several distinct phases:
- and the Chinese Civil War (1945-49). During these periods, different groups and leaders vied for control of China.
A final victor emerged in October 1949, when Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. Mao and the communists had their own plans for rebuilding and modernising China – but their visions for a modern China would come at an enormous human cost.
A final victor emerged in October 1949, when Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. Mao and the communists had their own plans for rebuilding and modernising China – but their visions for a modern China would come at an enormous human cost.
Source: “The Chinese Revolution.” Chinese Revolution, 7 June 2019, alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/
Source: “The Chinese Revolution.” Chinese Revolution, 7 June 2019, alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/
- Take the quiz by clicking on the link above. You can click on the links in the article to search for answers in the timelines or rewatch the video if you are unsure.
Mao Zedong, The Great Leap Forward and The Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong, The Great Leap Forward and The Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong:
Mao Zedong:
Mao Zedong was a Marxist theorist, revolutionary, and, from 1949 to 1959, the first chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Mao was one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the 20th century, in China and abroad. The sweeping urban and agrarian reforms he enacted throughout his leadership—via China’s first five-year plan (1953–57), the Great Leap Forward (1958–60), and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76)—often had disastrous consequences for China’s people and economy. Mao ultimately resorted to increasingly authoritarian tactics to maintain principal control over the trajectory of his country.
Mao Zedong was a Marxist theorist, revolutionary, and, from 1949 to 1959, the first chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Mao was one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the 20th century, in China and abroad. The sweeping urban and agrarian reforms he enacted throughout his leadership—via China’s first five-year plan (1953–57), the Great Leap Forward (1958–60), and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76)—often had disastrous consequences for China’s people and economy. Mao ultimately resorted to increasingly authoritarian tactics to maintain principal control over the trajectory of his country.
Maoism:
Maoism:
Maoism is the doctrine formulated by Mao Zedong and his associates. Mao’s particular strand of revolutionary theory took from the Marxist, Leninist, and Stalinist traditions but was also culturally tailored for the Chinese people. Maoism departed from other strands of Marxism in its understanding of peasantry: not as a class incapable of achieving political consciousness but as one with a dormant but tappable source of revolutionary energy. Maoism harbored other idiosyncrasies, including its conception of contradictions and of permanent revolution. Although regarded as something of an ideological relic in present-day China, the doctrine has nonetheless inspired other revolutionary movements.
Maoism is the doctrine formulated by Mao Zedong and his associates. Mao’s particular strand of revolutionary theory took from the Marxist, Leninist, and Stalinist traditions but was also culturally tailored for the Chinese people. Maoism departed from other strands of Marxism in its understanding of peasantry: not as a class incapable of achieving political consciousness but as one with a dormant but tappable source of revolutionary energy. Maoism harbored other idiosyncrasies, including its conception of contradictions and of permanent revolution. Although regarded as something of an ideological relic in present-day China, the doctrine has nonetheless inspired other revolutionary movements.
Mao's Legacy:
Mao's Legacy:
Few would deny Mao Zedong the major share of credit for devising the pattern of struggle based on guerrilla warfare in the countryside that ultimately led to victory in the civil war and thereby to the overthrow of the Nationalists, the distribution of land to the peasants, and the restoration of China’s independence and sovereignty. Those achievements must be given a weight commensurate with the degree of injustice prevailing in Chinese society before the revolution and with the humiliation felt by the Chinese people as a result of the dismemberment of their country by the foreign powers. “We have stood up,” Mao said in September 1949. Those words will not be forgotten.
Few would deny Mao Zedong the major share of credit for devising the pattern of struggle based on guerrilla warfare in the countryside that ultimately led to victory in the civil war and thereby to the overthrow of the Nationalists, the distribution of land to the peasants, and the restoration of China’s independence and sovereignty. Those achievements must be given a weight commensurate with the degree of injustice prevailing in Chinese society before the revolution and with the humiliation felt by the Chinese people as a result of the dismemberment of their country by the foreign powers. “We have stood up,” Mao said in September 1949. Those words will not be forgotten.
Mao’s record after 1949 is more ambiguous. The official Chinese view, defined in June 1981, is that his leadership was basically correct until the summer of 1957, but from then on it was mixed at best and frequently wrong. It cannot be disputed that Mao’s two major innovations of his later years, the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution, were ill-conceived and led to disastrous consequences. His goals of combating bureaucracy, encouraging popular participation, and stressing China’s self-reliance were generally laudable—and the industrialization that began during Mao’s reign did indeed lay a foundation for China’s remarkable economic development since the late 20th century—but the methods he used to pursue them were often violent and self-defeating.
Mao’s record after 1949 is more ambiguous. The official Chinese view, defined in June 1981, is that his leadership was basically correct until the summer of 1957, but from then on it was mixed at best and frequently wrong. It cannot be disputed that Mao’s two major innovations of his later years, the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution, were ill-conceived and led to disastrous consequences. His goals of combating bureaucracy, encouraging popular participation, and stressing China’s self-reliance were generally laudable—and the industrialization that began during Mao’s reign did indeed lay a foundation for China’s remarkable economic development since the late 20th century—but the methods he used to pursue them were often violent and self-defeating.
There is no single accepted measure of Mao and his long career. How does one weigh, for example, the good fortune of peasants acquiring land against millions of executions and deaths? How does one balance the real economic achievements after 1949 against the starvation that came in the wake of the Great Leap Forward or the bloody shambles of the Cultural Revolution? It is, perhaps, possible to accept the official verdict that, despite the “errors of his later years,” Mao’s merits outweighed his faults, while underscoring the fact that the account is very finely balanced.
There is no single accepted measure of Mao and his long career. How does one weigh, for example, the good fortune of peasants acquiring land against millions of executions and deaths? How does one balance the real economic achievements after 1949 against the starvation that came in the wake of the Great Leap Forward or the bloody shambles of the Cultural Revolution? It is, perhaps, possible to accept the official verdict that, despite the “errors of his later years,” Mao’s merits outweighed his faults, while underscoring the fact that the account is very finely balanced.
Source: Schram, Stuart Reynolds. "Mao Zedong". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Dec. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mao-Zedong. Accessed 12 April 2021.
While you watch:
While you watch:
- What is The Great Leap Forward?
- What is the Cultural Revolution?
- How did this catastrophic period in Chinese history pave the way for the development of modern China?
Read and annotate the article below to find evidence of the impact of The Cultural Revolution on Chinese society.
Read and annotate the article below to find evidence of the impact of The Cultural Revolution on Chinese society.
Cultural Revolution - Definition, Effects & Mao Zedong - HISTORY.pdfExtra for experts - two perspectives on modern China:
Extra for experts - two perspectives on modern China:
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