China POLS 382 Examination

China POLS 382 Examination

1. Maoism

   • Maoism core ideals
     • Adaption of the communist political and economical system under Soviet lines
     • Campaign against REVISIONALISM designed to strengthen the party
       • Revisionism is the idea that things need to deviate from orthodoxy or a need to revise a tradition- ex reds vs experts
     • Fusion of the Chinese Communist Party and the people
       • Mao decided to devise a new branch of Marxist theory that emphasized the poor as the driving force of Communist revolution in China
         • Apart from reliance on the peasantry, the most important part of Mao Zedong thought is the idea that, even after the creation of socialist state, there will always be capitalists restorations elements
     • Collectivization of agriculture
       • Collectivization of agriculture means that individual peasants or land owners had their land taken off them and it was given to mass peasants to look after, however this land went back to the state eventually in the return they received from the work that the peasants were doing on this land leased to them by the governemnt
     • Anti-intellectualism
       • See intellectualism as arrogant, politically motivated and many don't support the results of science. Eg. evolution, climate change etc
     • Self reliance and limited foreign trade & contact
       • Didn't support capitalism and foreign trade
     • Mao 'cult of personality'
       • A cult of personality refers to individuals who use mass media, propaganda to create idealize- creates a hero worship
       • E.g Mao referred to as "the great supreme commander, teach and helmsman"
     • Mao policy reform
       • Land Reform (1950), destruction of the landowning class & forced redistribution of land
       • Suppression of Counter-revolutionaries (1951), designed to remove KMT sympathisers from bureaucracy
       • Three Anit/ Five Anti (1951-2), against corruption & tax evasion
       • Thought reform- mass education campaign in schools to replace western ideals with Soviet
       • Hukou- a work unit created to discourage internal migration, from country into city
   • Mao movements to revive party
     • Hundred Flowers movement (1956)
       • A period in 1956 when they encouraged citizens to openly discuss their opinions about communist regime
       • It was a means of entrapping "enemies of the state"
       • ^
       • "The policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is designed to promote the flourishing of the arts and the progress of science." - Mao
         • "let a hundred flowers bloom", refers to a flush of dissidents by encouraging people to show themselves as critical of the regime, and then imprison them
     • Anti-Rightist movement (1957)
       • A campaign to purge rightists- including intellectuals, capitalists and those against collectivization
       • The campaign saw the political persecution of an estimated 550,000 people
       • Most famous rightists were Zhang Bojun and Luo Longi
       • ^
     • Great Leap Forward (1957-61)
       • establishment of People's Communes
       • Mass mobilization
       • Many communities assigned production of single commodity- steel
       • However, The Great Leap forward failed.
         • Uneducated farmers were expected to produce steel on a massive scale- it was low quality and largely useless.
         • Due to the decline of production of most goods- created Great Chinese Famine
       • ^
       • The Great Leap Forward was a push by Mao Zedong to change China from a predominantly agrarian (farming) society to a modern, industrial society - in just five years.
         • Mao hoped to increase China's agricultural output. He relied, however, on nonsensical Soviet farming ideas, such as planting crops very close together so that they could support one another, and plowing up to six feet deep to encourage root growth
         • Mao also wanted to free China from the need to import steel and machinery. He encouraged people to set up back-yard steel furnaces, where citizens could turn scrap metal (and their own pots, pans and farm implements) into usable steel. The results were predictably bad. Backyard smelters run by peasants with no metallurgy training produced such low-quality iron that it was worthless.
         • Over just a few years, the Great Leap Forward caused massive environmental damage in China. The backyard steel production plan resulted in entire forests being burned to fuel the smelters, which left the land open to erosion. Dense cropping and deep ploughing stripped the farmland of nutrients and left the agricultural soil vulnerable to erosion, as well
           • Anxious commune leaders vastly exaggerated their harvests, hoping to curry favor with the Communist leadership. As a result, Party officials carried off most of the food to serve as the cities' share of the harvest, leaving the farmers with nothing to eat. People in the countryside began to starve.
             • The Great Leap Forward was supposed to be a 5-year plan, but it was called off after just three tragic years. The period between 1958 and 1960 is known as the "Three Bitter Years" in China
   • Maoism is firmly based in Marxist theory, and influenced by other communist movements such as Stalin's Soviet Union.

2. Cultural Revolution (1966-76)

   • The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76), the purpose of the movement was to CLEANSE the Party through revisionist elements by redefying culture. DESTRUCTION OF LIFE OR PROPERTY
   • CR movement dedicated to removing four olds- culture, customs, habits and ideas. Included, Classical Chinese media and Western thought, religion
   • Red vs. Experts- Red guards set against INTELECTUALS, LEGALISTS AND REVISIONISTS .This meant the closure of universities and student to sent to the country purged
   • Main function was to get rid of capitalists, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society. The movement paralyzed China politically, economically and socially
     • Many people were persecuted, executed and ensured across the country- suffering public humiliation, arbitrary imprisonment, toruture, sustain harassment and seizure of property.
     • Historical relics and artefacts were destroyed
     • Mao officially declared to the Cultural Revolution had ended in 1969
       • However, in 1981 under Deng Xiaoping, the central committee announced that the cultural revolution was responsible for the most severe setback and heaviest losses suffered by the Party and state

3. Relationship with Soviet USSR

   • After Mao's proclamation of the People's Republic, keeping the country united the main priorities were re-starting the economy and demobilising soldiers
     • Mao aligned with Soviet Union and cut off all ties with most of Western states.
       • This is evident in the US's decision to eject China from United Nations, this lead to the Korean war.
         • The US responded by supporting the Nationalist regime on Taiwan and convinced its allies to isolate China - Taiwan was seen as legitimate government
           • Ties between Soviet begin to weaken
             • Most of China's government agencies were designed along Soviet lines including the fusion of party and state for the armed forces
             • Despite friendship treaty between China and Soviet, Mao only received $300 million during Stalin's time
             • Stalin's death in 1953 placed further strains on relationship as Nikiya Khrushchev (successor) was wary of China
             • China defied Soviet pressure and tested a nuclear bomb at Lop Nur in 1964. The Sino-Soviet split would last until 1989
               • Reconciled relationship between China and US
                 • With relations icy with USSR, Mao decided to open China to the West.
                 • In 1972, despite being an anti-Communist President Nixon agreed to travel to Beijing to met with Mao- US agreed to one China policy
                   • China would regain UN seat in 1971, and Taiwan rejected.

4. Marxism

   • Belief that material goods are at the root of the social world. Social life is fundamentally about conflict over food, land, money and other material goods. Marx believed that the ideal government would be a communist state where resources were equally shared
   • Imperialism- in the form of an empire, based on ideals of superiority and practices of dominance, involving extension of authority and control of one state or people over another.
   • Socialism- a social and economical term characterised by social ownership, production and co-op management of the economy

5. Capitalism is an economic system, and some suggest that it is a prerequisite for the growth of progressive social values

6. Definition section of exam:

   • Red vs. Expert
     • Red or Expert- cite JR Waler, 2005
     • Throughout the cultural revolution period 1996-76 there was a conflict between "reds" and "experts"- This encompasses the idea of contradicting ideologies. Reds-are persons who follow the political or the ideological attitudes represent the Maoist doctrine. Experts-would then represent those with special skills or knowledge related to science, technology and economic management.
   • National People's Congress
     • NPC is the national legislature of the People\s Republic of China. It's the largest parliamentary body in the world. Under the current Chinese Constitution the NPC is structured as a unicameral legislature, with the power to legislate, the power to oversee the operations of the govt and the power to elect the major officers of state.
     • The NPC is elected for a term of 5 years. In theory, the NPC is the highest organ of state power in China, and all four PRC constitutions have vested with great law making power.
   • Qing Dynasty
     • The exact start dates of various dynasties are open to interpretation, however it dates back to at least 1600 BCE, and the cycle was not broken until 1911
     • Confucius or Kong Zi still resonated with Chinese politics today, although he was denounced under the Maoist government
     • The Qing Dynasty began in 1644, with the fall of the Ming Dynasty. However by 19th century the monarchy had been weakened by several factors
       • The opium war between UK and Imperial China was fought 1838-42 over control of opium and trade. Chinese markets were forcibly opened and Hong Kong Island was ceded to the UK.
       • The Taipang rebellion (1850-64) was a religious revolt against the Qing. Although it was suppressed, the government was severely weakened.
       • The boxer rebellion (1898-1901) was a conflict between foreign powers and the Qing allied with the fanatical 'Fists of Righteous Harmony' movement. Repulsed by US, UK, Russian, French and Japanese forces.
       • Wuchang Revolt in 1911 was the last blow to Qing, which was over railway nationalisation. The Qing fell shortly afterwards with a Republic declared in 1912.
         • China began to be increasingly carved up by other states seeking colonies such as Germany, UK and Japan. This lead to political movements including Nationalist Kuomitang called for unified China.
   • Findlandisation
     • Finlandisation is the influence of a dominant country on the policies of its smaller neighbours. It entails a conscious decision by a smaller country to not confront its more powerful neighbour in foreign relations while maintain national sovereignty.
     • Illustrated in ASEAN- Where the action by China stunned the ASEAN states into silence.
     • Findlanisation of ASEAN? cite- Lee Yooung, 2012
     • The term originates from Findland's decision to not challenge the Soviet Union during the Cold War, while keeping its distance from the Allied forces, all in the name of self-preservation.
   • Beijing Consensus
     • Beijing consensus is also known as the China model or Chinese economical model
     • It is a term that refers to the political and especially economical policies of the PRC that began after the death of Mao Zedong and the rehabilitation of Deng Xiaoping (1976)
       • Is thought to have contributed to China's eightfold in gross national produce over two decades.
     • Characteristics according to Western commentators-
       • Replacing trust in the free market for economic growth with "a more muscular state hand on the levers of capitalism"
       • An absence of political liberalization
       • strong leading role of ruling political party
       • population control
     • Characteristics according to Zhang Weiwei, key features of model are"
       • Down to earth pragmatic concern with serving the people
       • constant trial and error experimentation
       • Gradual reform rather than neo-liberal economic shock therapy
       • A strong and pro-development state
       • Selective cultural borrowing of foreign ideas
       • pattern of implementing easy reforms first and difficult ones later

7. Nationalist Kuomingtang

   • The May fourth movement in 1919 illustrated the growing mistrust of foreign powers, especially in the West. There were student protest against imperialism sparked by the Treaty of Versailles to give the disputed German holding of Shandong in China to imperial China instead.
   • Treaty of Versailles- stirred many political movements including the Communist Party.
   • New Culture movement 1912- began to call for a rejection of archaic thinking, Confusionism, gender discrimination and nationalism/ exceptionalism and advocated the modernisation of the Chinese state
   • The warlord period from 1912-25 was one of the most devastating periods in modern Chinese history.
   • Sun Yatsen was the leader of the Nationalist Party of China. He was named de facto head of the new Republic. He was succeeded by
     • Chiang is a military head Chiang-Kai shek.
   • Chinese Communist Party
     • Chen Duxiu was the first leader of the Chinese Communist Party founded in 1921 and directly attached to the new Soviet government in Russia
     • Younger leaders including Mao Zedong were enthralled by Marxist ideology and the idea of class struggle. Unlike Mao, most other communist leaders had intellectual and overseas background.
     • Although there were violations, the two sides warily worked together until Japan was defeated in 1945. Mao built up a stronger power base by appealing to the agrarian class, painting KMT as elite and corrupt
       • The surrender of Japan broke was left of the Second United Front, and the US began to more openly support Chiang. However, KTM's last stand was in Chengdu in 1949.
         • Chiang fled with his family to Taiwan, and Mao captured Beijing and declared the People\s Republic of China in 1949
   • An attempt to forge a KMT-Communist alliance succeeded in 1925. However, Chiang was highly suspicious of the Communists and maintained ties with both Imperial Germany and Japan.
     • The First United Front soured in 1927 with massive purges of communist sympathisers, consolidating Chiang's leadership of the Nationalists.
     • This betrayal hardened the CCP to resolve to create a democratic dictatorship of the working class. Mao took over as CCP Chair in 1925 after Chen was accused of revisionism
       • In 1937 Japanese forces captured Shanghai and attacked provisional KMT capita Nanjing. The Communist and Nationalists were under heavy pressure to bury their differences and fight against a common enemy. The USSR maintained tactic relations with both sides.

8. Mao and CCP

   • Although Mao was accepted as a founding member of CCP, his origins and his comparative lack of schooling put him at odds with Party intellectuals like Chen Duxiu and Li Lishan.
   • Mao was convinced that the origins of the coming revolution rested with the peasantry and not the workers. His views on guerrilla warfare and avoiding attacks on cities further placed him at offs.