In class 2/25

Political/Social Effects

Women's Rights:

1. The Marriage Law of 1950

Peasants:

1. 1950 agrarian Reform Law

Class Warfare:

1. Speak Bitterness Campaigns were part of the AFL in 1950

Economic:

1. The Peoples' Bank -- Gov't. takeover of banks

2. Govt. takes over railroads, heavy industry, etc. --> Command economy is established.

Social/Political:

1. Targeting of reactionaries (not truly free speech).

HW #3

3 Reasons That the Communists Won Rather Than the Nationalists:

1. The nationalists used poor tactics to win the people over --

There are several examples of this, the most prominent one being the "3 All Campaign". This movement by the nationalists proposed to turn the people against the communists in areas that the communists were supported by "killing all, burning all and destroying all"in 1941. They hoped that by murdering peasants, poisoning wells and burning homes they would be able to terrorize the peasants into supporting them, which really just instigated hatred of the nationalists. Other things, such as nationalist treatment of peasants (taking food and supplies, etc) did not endear them to the peasants.

2. Communists effective guerilla tactics --

The Communists, not as well equipped as the Japanese, were compelled to resort to guerilla tactics to win the war. For example, in the Hundred Regiment Battle of 1940 they crippled Japanese roads and traffic by attacking Japan's railway communications through north China.

This was even more helpful because when they were able to drive the Japanese back to Manchuria and then take over the land they had left. Before the war with Japan, the communists used guerilla tactics to combat the nationalists themselves -- for example, they thwarted the first 4 extermination campaigns by luring the Guomindang units into their territory and then suddenly attacked each unit separately, ambushing them.

3. The Nationalists were poorly organized and failed many of their goals --

The Nationalists tried to win the support of the people by passing laws that would help them, but all of these failed. For example, the Rural Service and the New Life Movement. The New Life Movement was regarded as being superficial (dealing with santitation, honesty, etc.). Chinese people felt like this did not deal with medical care, housing, and other pressing social issues. THe R.S. had little effect because it didn't reduce land taxes or help with the famine of 1932-33 which killed more than 2 million. Therefore, the peasants weren't convinced.

In class 2/21

Examples of Guerilla Warfare by Communists:

1. 1930-34 --> Communists use Guerilla tactics in response to the extermination campaigns.
Communists retreated to countryside (Jaingxi province, etc.). Commies would not fight nationalists head to head.
Ex) Jiangxi province

2) 100 Regiments Battle (1937-40)
-Communists attack Japanese in Northern China (railways, communications)
-Won support for Chinese communists

3) The Long March

2 Examples of Communists gaining peasant support

1) Making land reform -- The Land Laws: Taking land from rich people and redistributing it to the peasants (Land Law 1930)

2) Development of women's rights

Mistakes make by CHiang Kai Shek
1) The nationalists offered the New Life Movement and the Rural Service, but they had no tangible effect and were criticized; commies on the other hand actually did things with results the peasants could see.

I. Political Effects of Chinese Civil War
A. People's Republic of China was formed, October 1, 1949
B. China becomes a single-party state
i. Mao becomes leader of the state
C. China is isolated politically (except for USSR)
D. Fear and suspicion between the US & PRC
i. Adds to Cold War tension
E. Establishment of a Nationalist Government in Taiwan
F. Affects on US Foreign Policy
1. US does not recognize the PRC until the 1970s.
2. US establishes military and economic relationship with Taiwan
a. Give military tech and weapons
b. "Understanding" that US will protect Taiwan from PRC
3. US "containment" of Communism Policy after WWII.
I. Long term effects include
a. Korea war 1950-52
b. Vietnam War 1965-75

OPVL -- unfinished

3. The origin of Source A is that it is an excerpt from Chiang Kaishek's diary, quoted in a high school textbook. Its purpose is presumably for the leader of the Guomindang party to reason through the various things happening in his government -- in it, he admits that his party is corrupt and "degenerate", so the entry is intended to record his personal thoughts. This has value for several reasons: it is from the leader of the Guomindang party, the party that opposed the Communists. It can be assumed that Kaishek would have known the most about the party and its weaknesses. He says that the group is "lacking standards of right and wrong" among other deep flaws that go down to the spirit of the people involved and their dedication to the cause. It can also be assumed that this journal entry is very candid, because Kaishek would be unlikely to say such negative things about his party if he thought it would be published -- therefore, what he recorded can be taken as his very honest opinion, and Kaishek's opinion drove the party. A limitation of this source is that it is shows a limited perspective. Kaishek's opinion is important in understanding why the party did what it did, but it doesn't give any facts, figures or historical facts. It is only Kaishek's opinion that Guomindang was corrupt, and so the reader cannot draw specifics from it. It doesn't give the important perspective of the people, or even of an analyst: rather, it is the opinions of a military leader.

The origin of the excerpt from "Mao: The Unknown Story" is that it is a book written by Jung Chang, an author who lived in Mao's China, and Jon Halliday, who has "written or edited 8 previous books". The purpose of this excerpt is to demonstrate practices of the Chinese Civil War in the early 1930s


1. The woodcut on page 22 is meant to convey the cruelty of the Guomindang tax collectors. The woodcut depicts a collector leading away the last hope of food from a starving, suffering family: there is a man crouching on the ground of a scattered cottage with a hand to his head, holding a baby that is reaching out to the goat the collector is leading away. An old man in the corner stares balefully at the floor, and the family is left in darkness. What this shows is the inhuman cruelty of the party that is willing to condemn innocents to death by starvation while they are well-dressed and well-equipped.

2. The message being conveyed by the Communist Party Poster is that all Japanese peasants were willing and happy to help

IC #3

Practices of CCW

Kidnapping: Kiang Incident -- example of mistakes by Shek.
-Shek does not fight the Japanese in 1936 - focuses on communists still.
- Goes kidnapped by a warlord Zhang Xuelang
-Communists and Russians help negotiate his release; Shek looks weak, commies look good.
- Chiang Kai Shek promises United Front vs. Japanese, Commies &
fight together vs. Japanese.

Communists occupy areas vacated by Japanese in the 1930s --> Puts the commies in a strong position for after WWII to win their civil war
Destroy All Campaign: "Kill all, burn all, destroy all", aiming to turn the people against the communists in areas which supported them by burning down all their villages and crops, slaughtering their animals, poisoning their wells and murdering their peasants.

1940 - Hundred Regiments Battle
Guerilla warfare
disrupt railways and communications of Japanese
Mistakes by Japanese that Commies took advantage of:
1941 - Japanese "3 All" Campaign, use of terror to turn peasants against commies.