HW #6

1. Explain three tactics/methods Mao used to conquer China and secure power acording to this source.

1

Starvation: In the city of Changchun, which was held by Nationalists, the Communists imposed a blockade. This led to the deaths of at least 120,000 people from starvation, citizens who were not necessarily Nationalists themselves. The only people allowed to go free were those of value to the Reds, usually rich people, doctors, etc. Mao used the starvation and deprivation to entice Nationalists over to the Reds.

Psychological Warfare: The Reds used loudspeakers to assault starving Nationalist soldiers, taunting them with the fact that they had food -- promising things like pancakes when the Nationalist soldiers were literally reduced to eating their own shoe soles and leather belts.

Class Warfare: Reds used the landlords as scapegoats to incite peasants in their favor. The "land reform" was actually as the source puts it, "violence against the relatively better-off". There were rallies where peasants were forced to watch terrible acts of violence against the landlords. Where there was no violence, obstruction of the land reform movement was cited as the reason.

2. What are three major differences between the way this source portrays the Communists' treatment of the common people with other sources we've read?

This source differs from the other sources we have studied in its basic depiction of the Communists.

1. "China Since 1900" generally depicts the Communists as helpful to and admired by the peasants and commoners, leaving out details of mistreatment. For the most part, the book doesn't mention things such as the starvation of the city of Changchun and all the civilian casualties. According to the chapter "China Conquered", when a direct assault against Changchun failed Mao ordered his armies to starve it into surrender; he banned civilians from leaving the city, so attempts at evacuation were fruitless. Over 5 months, the civilian population had dropped to 170,000 from half a million; even the 'watered-down' estimates of the CCP put the deaths to 120,000 people. The intention of this was to force the defending troops to surrender, and it was a tactic used in multiple cities.

2. Exploitation of civilians is generally not recorded in "China in 1900"; the book claims that the Reds actually won civilians over by including them in the army, but "Mao" claims that civilians were forced. Accroding to the book, in Manchuria the Reds conscripted 1.6 million laborers. These people were used to do "frontline tasks" such as transporting ammunition and the wounded and dismantling fortifications. Women had to care for wounded, mend uniforms, make shoes and cook for troops and laborers. Households had to hand over a designated amount of food, which amounted to 225 million kg of grain just in the Huai-Hai Campaign.

3. The Red use of psychological warfare is not referenced in "China in 1900". Because nationalists were constanstly in short of food, they relied on unreliable methods of getting it, such as supplies brought by railway and airlifts. Nationalist Army members resorted to eating tree bark, killing each other for airlifted food, and eating their belts and shoe soles. To take advantage of this, the Reds used loudspeakers to entice the Nationalists, promising "pancakes" and other food.

3. Explain at least two practices of the Chinese Civil War you learned from this source.

1. Exploitation of peasants: Many peasants in addition to being drafted lost their houses, 'pulled down to provide fuel for cookies and materials for building bridges". I was under the impression that the Reds got the peoples' support through their policies and didn't exploit them.

2. Class Warfare as propaganda: The Reds essentially forced the peasants into "struggle against the landlords". There was organized violence against the relatively better-off, in which targets were made to stand facing crowds which were "psyched up to come forward and pour out their grievances against them...the crowds would then be led to shout slogans while brandishing fists and farm tools". If peasants weren't participating, they were considered reactionaries and would be punished. This also counts as terror as a method to control peasants.

4. The Communists fought a "total war." Cite two pieces of evidence from this passage that support that view.

1. Everyone was a target: The starvation of cities such as Changchun prove that the Communists were fighting a total war, because they didn't limit their targets to Nationalists alone. Civilians who could be uninvolved, nationalists, or even in support of the communists were starved because of their location, in an attempt by the Reds to subdue the Nationalists,

2. Economy/people re-geared towards war: The peasants' lives were changed drastically by the war, because the Communists brought them forcibly into the conflict: peasants in communist-run areas were conscripted as laborers for the army, crops went to the communists, and even houses were pulled down in order to provide for the needs of the communist army.

5. According to this source, what part of land reform really mattered to Mao?

According to this source, the real reason for land reform was to incite violence rather than to improve anybody's lot or redistribute land. The source claims that the appointment of Kang Sheng by Mao, "a man who was an expert not in agrarian reform, but in terror (and who knew nothing about land issues)" proves that Mao was not truly interested in creating land reform that was advantageous for the people.

6. Mao's main aim was to secure power, not to improve the lives of the peasants. To what extent do you agree with that claim?

Based on this source, I do agree with that claim to a great extent. Mao touted the Communist mantra of reform and doing things for the betterment of peoples' lives; however, peasants truly suffered just as much under Mao as they would under the Nationalists. Peasants were conscripted into the Red Army to do dangerous tasks; their supplies were taken to support the Reds, sometimes having their homes torn down for fuel and other needs; and peasants who didn't actively participate in "land reform" were killed just as if they were landowners. If Mao's true aim were to give the peasants better lives, then so many of them wouldn't have suffered in trying to attain that goal.

HW #2

For Tuesday, 2/2, identify three major land, air or sea practices of the Chinese Civil War. (Write a paragraph on each)

Reading to complete HW 2: China Since 1900 Chapters 5-11; Modern World History 409-414

Three Major Land Practices of CCW:

Taking Cities:

The Red army was inferior to the Nationalists in terms of manpower and supplies, which made them an easier target for the Nationalist Army. and had suffered through the war. In order to eliminate the Communist threat, Chiang Kaisheck would attack and capture Communist-held cities. The Guomingdang army attacked Red-controlled Shanghai, and Chiang Kaisheck ordered all the communists rounded up and killed. This happened again in Guangzhou later that year, and forced thousands of Communists into the country. This strategic use of the nationalist army's superior power led to Communists being expelled from nearly all the major cities. The Reds retreated to the Jiangxi and Hunan countrysides where they had less influence over government matters. This also put Chiang Kaisheck himself in control of cities and "at the head of the government in Nanjing, now... ready to conquer the rest of China.

Extermination Campaigns:

Kaisheck had not managed to gain control of the Jiangxi province, because when the Communists fled to the province they won the support of the peasantry. Chiang Kaisheck considered this even more of a threat to his power than warlords or bandits, so he launched the Extermination Campaigns (1930-34). His army outnumbered the Reds. The first four were failures because he sent his armies directly into Red territory, but in the fifth campaign he used a new method of attack advised to him from General Hans von Seeckt of Germany. This tactic was similar to the trench warfare of WWI: the Nationalist armies surrounded the Jiangxi soviet and slowly moved forward while building blockhouses and digging trenches and putting up barbed wire fences. This was highly successful, and by October 1934 the Communists had lost over half their territory, 60,000 soldiers, were running out of food and fuel and weapons and ammo, and their territory was still being taken.

Guerilla Warfare:

Although the Red Army was smaller than the Nationalist army, the first four Extermination Campagins against the Reds were failures because the Reds successfully employed guerilla warfare tactics. In the first four extermination campaigns, the Reds never fought the Nationalists head to head; rather they lured them into Communist territory and then attacked each Guomingdang unit separately, "knocking them out in deadly ambushes". Mao's guerilla tactics that he controlled his army with were:

1. "When the enemy advances, we retreat!"

2. "When the enemy halts and encamps, we trouble them!"

3. 'When the enemy seeks to avoid a battle, we attack!"

4. 'When the enemy retreats, we pursue!"

These tactics met criticism because they allowed the Nationalists to take peasant villages as they went through the territory, which ultimately led to the deaths of more than a million peasants. However, these tactics were highly effective because they were used to outwit the plans of the Nationalist Army successfully, even though the nationalists were superior in numbers.

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.