Intro to Communism in China

Communism

• a political theory advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

People’s Republic of China

• Mao’s idea for what his communist China came from
• Karl Marx’s (German: 1848) wrote in the Communist Manifesto
• Lenin’s (Russian: 1917): first to practice Communism in Russia (1917).
• Communism is supposed to be about equality for all, but it has historically proven to always turn into a dictatorship where the goals and objectives of leader are above everyone else's.
• When the CCP won the civil war after WWII, the United Nations refused to recognize China as a country and as a result China was isolated from global trade.

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Changes to Chinese Culture

• The ideas of Confucianism such as the 5 Relationships & Filial Piety, which were central to Chinese Rule are replaced with communist dreams of Mao.
• Mao weakened family ties because people needed to focus on values & goals of Mao and not be distracted by their families.
• Filial Piety is replaced with worship and respect to China. Goes as far as changing children's stories to glorify labor & hard work that will benefit China as a whole.

Positive Changes to Chinese Culture

• Some good things come from China’s transition from a Dynasty to a Communist regime such as an increase in rights.
• Marriage becomes a choice
• Women have increased rights
• Education for all
• And, Mandarin Chinese becomes the official language of China, creating unity.

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Propaganda of Communism

• Everyone has to carry a copy of the “Little Red Book” that everyone had to carry with them all the time
• Inside the book are sayings from Mao, his goals for the nation, and pictures of Mao.
• The book talks of ending foreign influence and China being self-sufficient again
• Isolationism is the best policy
• Mao stressed industry & going through an Industrial Revolution, which was called the 5-Year Plan. However, they focused on quantity not quality, so the products were not made well.

Getting Rid of Religion

• Communism believes that religion is the opiate (a drug) of the masses, making people mindless followers. So, Mao gets rid of any traces of religion, especially Buddhism. Remember their “headquarters” are in Tibet, a region that used to belong to China. In 1950, China invaded Tibet and takes it back. The Dalai Lama is forced to flee Tibet and goes to India, which creates tension between these two countries. Since 1949, 6000 Buddhist building have been destroyed and 500,000 Tibetans have been killed, imprisoned, or tortured.
• (Kundun: 1:35 meeting with Mao)

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Collectivization: Five Year Plan and Great Leap Forward

Collectivization: Five Year Plan and Great Leap Forward

Cultural Revolution (1965-68)

• Mao was not a successful leader and feared that others might overthrow him in the Communist Party.
• Mao encouraged the youth to rise up to rid “purge” the impure elements of society. Many joined the Red Guard who were in support of Mao and the started to target elitists (upper class), who were educated (engineers, scientists, factory managers, teachers, etc) or anyone criticising Mao.
• Violent way to reestablish goal of communism; no one is better than anyone else, Individuality was discouraged.
• Schools and colleges closed and economy suffered and the whole country went into lock down where people were forced to stay in one location
• Different Red Guards started to fight each other believing they knew best how to move forward
• Opponents were put in labor camps
• Zhou Enlai (President) helped stop chaos and with potential rivals gone, Mao ended the revolution.
• 500,000 - 8 million died