Political History of China

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Four influences:

Geographical Influences

Historical Influences before 1949

Historical Influences of the PRC

The Political Culture

Influences before 1949: Dynastic rule

The political culture inherited from centuries of dynastic rule centers around:

Confucian values, such as order, harmony, and a strong sense of hierarchy - "superior" and "subservient" positions. 

China has traditionally valued scholarship as a way to establish superiority

Strong sense of cultural identity and a relatively high degree of cultural homogeneity. 

EthnocentrismA strong merit-based bureaucracy long

before the Europeans adopted it

Revolutionary upheavalsMajor revolutions occurred in China in

1911 and 1949, with many chaotic times in between. 

Three themes dominated this revolutionary era:

NationalismEstablishing a new political community Socioeconomic Development

China after 1911

The Revolution of 1911 was intended to create a modern republican form of government in China.

Instead, the country broke up into warlord-dominated regions with increasing poverty and violence.

The Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party led the revolution, but controlled few areas.

Kuomintang PartySun Yat-sen was the

main leader of the 1911 Revolution and the Nationalist Party (KMT).

He died in 1925 and was succeeded as leader by Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang cooperated with the Communists for a time, but then massacred them in 1927.

Life of Mao Zedong Mao led a Communist area in Jiangxi

Province in 1934, but attacks by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) government army forced them to undergo the “Long March” lasting over a year and covering 6,000 miles to a new, safer area to the north in Shanxi Province. Mao emerged as a hero of the people, and

many of his loyal friends on the March lived on to be prominent leaders of the People's Republic of China after its founding in 1949

Land ReformMao discovered even in the 1920s that the

Communists could win the support of the peasants by taking away land from the rich and sharing this with the poor.

Mao learned how to get the vast majority of peasants on his side by concentrating the confiscations on a small minority of wealthy farmers.

Yan’an, 2At the end of the Second World War, the

Russians moved into Manchuria against the Japanese and were able to share some weapons with the Chinese Communists.

Stalin urged Mao to ally with Chiang Kai-shek rather than to fight him.

Communist Victory, 1949Due to corruption and

inefficiency among the KMT leadership, the Communists took power in mainland China in October, 1949.

The KMT leaders retreated to the island of Taiwan.“Two Chinas”

Now Mao was in charge of the whole country.

Maoism• Mao Zedong was strongly influenced by

Karl Marx and Lenin, but his version of communism is distinctly suited for China. 

• He believed in the strength of the peasant, and centered his philosophy around these central values:

– collectivism– struggle and activism (don’t let people

get comfortable, leads to corruption)– mass line– egalitarianism (focus on peasants)– self-reliance

Mao in 1949

The political development of the PRCPhases:The Soviet Model (1949-1957)

Land Reform. Civil Reform

Worked to eliminate opium addiction and prostitution, ending arranged marriages which increased legitimacy

Five-Year Plans nationalize collectivize socialize

IndustrializationBetween 1949 and 1960, China followed

the Russian strategy of industrialization.They built large factories in the cities.Many Russian engineers came to China to

assist in this effort.Many of the largest factories in China today

were built during this period.

Anti-Rightist Campaign 1957100,000’s of people

were accused of enemies of the Revolution and demoted, fired, or sent to labor camps

Hundred Flowers Campaign – govt encouraged dissent to appease the people( briefly)

“Struggle against the anti-rightest resolutely”

The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)

• In 1958, Mao decided that the Russian strategy of industrial development was not suitable for China because it was not helping countryside.

• The Great Leap Forward was a utopian effort to transform China into a radical egalitarian society.   It's emphasis was mainly economic, and it was based on four principles:

• All-around development • Mass mobilization• Political unanimity and zeal • Decentralization• The Great Leap Forward was a big flop

• Misreporting common and starvation occurred on mass scale 

The Cultural Revolution (1966-1978)

• Political, social and economic change:• Mao’s main goal was to purify the party and the

country through radical transformation. • Remove all vestiges of the old China and its

hierarchical bureaucracy and emphasis on inequality. 

• Included self-criticism session in the xiaozu’s• People would admit their shortcomings and promise to

change• Included attacks on elites/capitalists; students would

attack those who harmed them and they were sent to farms and not school

• Mao died in 1976, leaving his followers divided into factions:– Radicals– The Military – The Moderates

Cultural Revolution, 2Cultural Revolution followed the Hundred

Flowers Campaign (1957) which encouraged open criticism, but actually helped government locate those against government who were later imprisoned

The Cultural Revolution started among students, but it began to affect other sectors of society.

Red Guards…carried out Mao’s police/soldiers who carried out the goals of the revolution

“Reactionary” teachers and officials were common targets, who were often killed or committed suicide

Cultural Revolution

Publicly criticized

Deng Xiaoping's Modernizations (1978-”Present”)

1978, the new leader was Deng Xiaoping. 

New policies"Open door" trade

policy Special Economic

ZonesReforms in

education  Institutionalizatio

n of the Revolution

After MaoFrom 1975 to 1997, China was led by Deng

Xiaoping who welcomed economic reforms in the direction of capitalism (socialism with chinese characteristics).

Peasants were allowed to farm on their own and to leave the collective farms.

Local governments were permitted to establish industrial companies that functioned like capitalist firms.

After MaoMao would be turning over in his grave at

the foreign investment and the consumer culture that is spreading in China today.

However, Mao’s efforts did create a strong, united Chinese state that after Mao’s death was able to make serious reforms to compete in a global economy.

Political legitimacy rests on economic growth and a rising standard of living.

Deng Xiaoping Theory- "It doesn't matter whether a cat is white

or black, as long as it catches mice." 

The result of his leadership was a dramatic turnaround of the Chinese economy through a combination of socialist planning and the capitalist free market. 

True to Communist Party

Participation Citizens are subjects of

government, not participants in a political system. 

The communist state redefined political participation by creating a relationship between the Communist party and citizenship, and by defining the economic relationship between citizens and the government. 

In recent years popular social movements that support democracy, religious beliefs, and community ties over nationalism have influenced Chinese politics and helped to define China's relationships with other countries.

BACKGROUNDS OF PARTY MEMBERSTransition in the backgrounds of party

members.  Cadres were peasants or factory workers, and

few were intellectuals or professionals.  Increasingly "technocratic"Today less than 40 percent of party members

come from the peasantry, although peasants  still make up the largest single group within the CCP. 

The fastest growing membership category consists of officials, intellectuals, technicians, and other professionals. 

Women make up only about 20 percent of the membership and only about 4 percent of the Central Committee.

INTERESTS, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AND PROTESTS

Policy Making in ChinaHow to maintain the power of the elite

Desire to make China a world power

An orderly society

Compliance of a politically-passive people

Hope for respect from the global community

Protest

Difficult for the party-state to monitor citizens.Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 Major protests have been staged by religious

groupsVillage protests Labor strikesStability issues