Rise of Mao

Context (End of the Qing Dynasty)

1839-42 Opium War: Britain defeated China and forced the Emperor to open some Chinese
ports to trade with the outside world (treaty ports of Guangzhou, Amoy, Foochow, Shanghai and
Ningbo were opened to all traders). Britain also took control of the island of Hong Kong. Further
treaty ports were ceded through the next few decades.

Foreign Encroachment: By the 1890s, the Qing Empire was being “carved” up between
various European powers and Japan. Foreign companies were building railways, factories,
mines and ports. Foreign soldiers guarded foreign bases on Chinese soil. Foreign residents in
China were not bound by Chinese laws but only subject to justice administered by their own
extraterritorial courts (extraterritoriality). Christian missionaries sought to convert Chinese
peoples and extend their influence. The inability of the Qing Emperor to resist growing foreign
influence undermined his authority, which led to the growing nationalist movement seeking to
restore China’s national pride and to modernise the system of government as a first step
towards removing foreign influence.

Economic Crises: Corruption among local officials meant that a large portion of tax revenues
did not reach the central government.

Political Crises:
1851-64: Taiping Rebellion, wanted to share property in common (popular amongst the poor). It
was led by Hong Xiuquan (brother of Jesus dude), eventually failed with a death toll of 20 million

1900: Boxer Rebellion – rebellion against foreigners in China, led by the boxers (Righteous and
Harmonious Fists) but were eventually defeated with help from foreign powers (Japan, Russia,
US, Britain, Austria-Hungary, France etc.)

1911: Republican Revolution aka Double Tenth Revolution /Xinhai Revolution

Led to the abdication of the Emperor and the proclamation of the Chinese Republic. Yuan Shikai
assumed the role of President after Sun Yat-sen resigned. However, the failure of Yuan Shikai to
set up a legitimate central government before his death in 1916 led to decades of political
division and warlordism, including attempts at imperial restoration.

Warlord Era (1916-27)

Nationalists (Guomindang) led by Sun Yat-Sen won elections to the new House of
Representatives but Yuan Shikai outlawed political parties and declared himself Emperor in
1915. Upon his death in 1916, he left no clear successor and no stable form of government
(power vacuum). There was a de facto government in Beijing but as it had no form of
enforcement, independent warlords and their own militias undermined any attempt at
centralisation. Provincial warlords governed different parts of the country and wars between rival
warlords left areas devastated. Heavy taxes were also imposed on peasants to pay for the
warlords’ growing armies.
1919 May 4th movement: More than 3,000 students from 13 colleges in Beijing held a mass
demonstration against the decision of the Versailles Peace Conference, which drew up the
treaty officially ending World War I, to transfer the former German concessions in Shandong
province to Japan. They also denounced the 21 demands by the Japanese. The Chinese
government agreed to this decision (the Versailles peace conference), which was seen as a
national humiliation and underlined China’s impotence. This also stirred up nationalist feelings
amongst the people.

The First United Front (1923-27)

1921: Chinese Communist Party was established. It was heavily influenced by Russian
advisers sent by the Comintern because the Comintern supported Mao’s xenophobia against
the Westerners as Western military supported the Whites against the Reds in the Russian civil
war, indicating that the West wanted the communists in Russia gone. Membership grew rapidly
but it was still a small party. The aim was concentrated on recruiting industrial workers in cities
in its early years.

1923: First United Front

An alliance was formed between the CCP and the GMD which was brokered by the USSR as
the USSR believed that the Communist Party alone was not enough to stop warlordism. CCP
members were allowed to join the GMD as individual members but there was no merger
between the two parties. A military training academy was set up at Whampoa. The main aim of
this was to end warlordism in China.

1926: Northern Expedition

Chiang Kai-shek launched the Northern Expedition to break the power of the warlords and
create an effective national government. By the end of 1928, the campaign was successful.
However, Chiang did not defeat all of the warlords but rather brokered deals with several of
them. The CCP only provided a limited number of troops to this campaign but communist
propaganda among peasants led to many revolts which undermined the warlords’ power.

White Terror
Chiang kai-shek was worried about the growing strength of the CCP. GMD’s wealthy backers
(businessmen and landlords) were also fearful of the CCP which was urging for strikes and
revolts. This led to...

April 1927: Shanghai Massacre

Where 5000 - 10000 communists and communist supporters were massacred by nationalist
forces. This was extended to other cities (eg. Guangzhou, Changsha) during the year. Surviving
communists were either forced underground or into rural and provincial areas outside
Guomindang control. The events of April 1927 also marked the end of Soviet Russian support
for the Nationalists. The First United Front between the Nationalists and the CCP collapsed.
Nanjing Decade (1927-37)
Chiang established a Nationalist government with its capital at Nanjing. China once again was
ruled by a single central government, although in reality it was a loose federation of
semi-independent provinces. Some positive achievements include the building of infrastructure,
growth of industrial and commercial centres. However, foreign influence remained strong.
Politically, Nationalist China was essentially a one party state under Chiang’s dictatorship.

Communist Survival
The CCP was forced to retreat to remote rural areas. A base was established in the
mountainous Jiangxi Region – Jiangxi Soviet.

Futian Incident (Dec 1930)

Mao ruthlessly suppressed supporters of his rivals within the CCP; thousands tortured or
executed. Mao became Party Secretary of the CCP in 1931. He confiscated land from landlords
for redistribution to poorer peasants and instituted reforms to win peasant support. However, the
communists suffered from several encirclement Campaigns launched by the GMD. By 1934, a
decision was made to abandon the Jiangxi base.

1934-35:Long March
Communists under Mao’s leadership broke out of the Jiangxi area and marched to the Yanan
area. Of the 80000 who set out, only around 5000 remained by the end. Important event!
Showed that Jiang’s control was not absolute.

Mao’s consolidation of power within the CCP (tgt with 2nd Sino-Jap war)
After the Long March, Mao’s position of the communist party was pretty much consolidated and
Yanan was isolated enough to ensure that Mao was out of reach of the GMD and the
communists gradually began to build up their base there.

Mao started revising the Marxist-Leninist thought to transpose the ‘bourgeoisie-proletariat’

model of the Marxist revolutionary model to the rural realities in China. He was also aided in the
creation of Maoist ideology by Chen Boda, his secretary. The ‘cult of Mao’ was hence emerging,
and was consolidated in 1943 by Mao’s adoption of the titles Chairman of the Communist
Central Committee and the Chairman of the Politburo.

Sino-Jap war and the Second United Front (1937-45/46)

Japanese Aggression in China:
Taiwan and Korean peninsula were taken by Japan in 1895. After WWI, Japan was given
control over former German concessions in China.

1931: Japanese occupation of Manchuria. Chiang put up little resistance because

preoccupied with crushing the communists. Tanggu Truce (1933): Chiang recognised Japanese
control of Manchuria.
1937: Second Sino-Japanese War
War with Japan completely transformed the situation in China. Nanjing was captured by the
Japanese in 1937.
Xian Incident: Chiang was kidnapped by rebellious generals and forced into a truce with the
CCP in order to mount a Second United Front against Japan. This enabled the survival of the
CCP.

In 1941, the GMD army tried to annihilate the communist armies in the south and Jiang
withdrew all financial support to Mao. These actions led to widespread criticism of Jiang both
from within China and abroad, with the result that Jiang began to lose support. Jiang’s army was
also riddled with corruption and the conditions were so bad (food shortage) that many soldiers
deserted. This led to aggressive conscription of peasants and Jiang’s attitude towards the
peasants resulted in him losing popular support in the countryside.

Jiang’s leadership gradually became more dictatorial as he issued contradictory orders and
interfered in the work of others. He neglected reports of corruption and when inflation was
spiralling out of control, he simply printed more money which led to hyperinflation. This had a
devastating impact on the middle class in the cities - the main support base of the GMD.
Censorship was also extremely prevalent and China’s intellectuals were slowly turning away
from Jiang to support the communists.

Although Jiang re-obtained some recognition after the atomic bombs ended Japan's conquest
and he was seen to have won the war, it was not sufficient as all this while Mao had been
working in the shadows to consolidate his power. He instituted a series of ‘Rectification
Campaigns’ that eliminated many of the divisions within the CCP. The Rectification movement of
1942 aimed at purging the party of undesirable elements and revising Maoist thought. He also
enhanced his support among the peasants following the principle of the ‘mass line’ (this refers
to the means of leadership of the people) and organising study sessions among the
communists. The guerilla warfare strategies learnt in the Jiangxi period and still employed by
the Red Army were successful (against the Jap when they pushed too deep) and the CCP were
seen as the true nationalists now. Mao also insisted on equality within the communist ranks
which gave the impression of the CCP being the people’s force and there was also the
perception within China that Mao was superior to Jiang (this was cultivated by Mao himself).
The shift in support would play a part in leading to the civil war between the CCP and the GMD.

Civil War (1946-49)

Conflict and rivalry between GMD and CCP left a legacy of mistrust and suspicion. The two
parties had very different aims. The GMD was in favour of maintaining a capitalist, private
enterprise system whereas the CCP aimed for classless society with communal ownership of
land and business.

Phase 1: Early setbacks (Jul 1946- May 1947)

● GMD enjoyed early victories; Larger army and better equipment.
● Communists retreated to Manchuria; Undertook guerrilla resistance.
Phase 2: CCP seized initiative (May 1947– Nov 1948)
● The People's Liberation Army (PLA) moved from guerrilla warfare to conventional
battles.
● Victory over GMD in Manchuria and Shandong.
Phase 3: Final CCP offensives (Dec 1948– Oct 1949)
● Victory in Beijing and the rest of northern China; Capture of Nanjing and Shanghai.
● Push to the south to mop up remaining GMD resistance; Chiang fled to Taiwan
1 Oct 1949: Mao announced establishment of People’s Republic of China

Why was the CCP victorious?

Military Strength

CCP GMD

● Learnt how to fight numerically ● Weakened by fighting the Japanese

superior forces in the Sino-Jap War;
Guerilla warfare very successful
● Mao directed military operations
decided on strategy
● Lin Biao - an outstanding military
commander who transformed the PLA
into a conventional army
● Many nationalist commanders were
communist agents (General Liu Fei
and Guo Rugui)
● Political indoctrination enhanced unity
and motivation
● Army was larger, better equipped, with
aerial support at the beginning of the
civil but was mainly made of
conscripts who had little incentive to
fight - poorly trained, low morale and
lacking discipline
● Troops often went days without food
and water; pay was frequently stolen
by officers
● Heavy losses which led to desertions
● Military errors made by Chiang, eg.
sending his best troops to Manchuria
where they were overextended
(became susceptible to guerilla
warfare tactics)

Popular Support

● Mao emphasised the need for ● Troops brutal and ill-disciplined;

discipline and to treat civilian
populations with respect
● Presented itself as truly patriotic vs
GMD which fought against the
communist instead of repelling Japan
● Land reforms, often accompanied by
“struggle sessions” (struggle sessions
criticise and humiliate landlords)
against landlords and richer peasants
● Fear of reprisals by landlords also
pushed peasants to support CCP
● In the cities, CCP officials effective in
battling crime, controlling distribution
of food supplies and introducing fair
terrorised local populations
● Nationalists did not deliver three
principles of “Nationalism, Democracy
and People’s Livelihood”
● Did not defend national interests;
created a dictatorial not democratic
regime and did little to improve the
livelihoods of people
● Corruption and inefficiency
● Mismanagement of economy eg.
hyperinflation (prices rose more than
a thousandfold because GMD keep
printing shit tons of paper money)
● Relied on support from businesses
 system of taxation
Foreign Intervention
● Soviet troops occupied Manchuria
after Japan’s surrender
● Red army provided training and
equipment to PLA
● Captured Japanese equipment were
also given to PLA
● Aid was conditional as Stalin put
interest of USSR first - he urged Mao
to concentrate his forces in the North
instead of South
● American intervention also provided
indirect help to the CCP - persuaded
Chiang to agree to a ceasefire which
gave CCP some room to breathe
Second Sino-Japanese War
● Rectification campaigns: Eliminated
divisions within the party
○ Mao consolidated leadership
● Principle of “Mass Line”: leadership of
the people
○ Study sessions
● Successful guerilla warfare tactics
○ CCP now seen as true
nationalists
● Mao cultivated image that he was
superior to Jiang
and landlords but did not build rural
support
● USA provided financial and military
assistance to the GMD
● $3 billion in aid, transported nationalist
troops to the north at the end of the
war
● However, this was not enough to
overcome the weaknesses of Chiang
and the GMD
● Furthermore, the CCP portrayed
Chiang as dependent on foreign aid
which shows that China could never
become independent if it were
nationalist
“The Japanese are a disease of the skin, but
the communists are a disease of the heart.”
● Chiang was mostly inactive,
conserving his forces and waiting for
the US to win the war for him.
● In 1941, Chiang attacked communists
and broke truce → widespread
criticism
● Conscription policy: 1.5 million men
per year!
○ Many died due to war or
starvation/disease
○ Peasants most hit, led to
resentment and many joined
CCP
● In cities, secret police was rampant,
many arrests and executions
● Censorship of the press
○ Many intellectuals were
disillusioned and joined the
CCP too
Rule of Mao

Present state of China when Mao came into power

● China faced economic difficulties:
○ There was little industry as many were destroyed after years of war
○ Inflation
○ High unemployment
○ Food shortages, which was exacerbated by China’s increasing population and
the effects of the Korean War (1950-53)
■ North vs South Korea - Mao backed North Korea and the US backed
South (other nations also took part but not impt)
● Consolidating rule Mao’s rule
○ Peasants, who were the largest support base, were rewarded for supporting the
communists
○ Landlords were eradicated

Agrarian Reform Law (1950)

● Animals, machinery & land given to peasants

● ‘Speak Bitterness’ Meetings: To air grievances against landlords - often led to landlords
being harassed and beaten
● People’s Courts: encouraged peasants to put landlords on trial - the fate of the landlords
were decided by the jury of peasants, often people who had onced worked under the
landlord
● Land Redistribution + Cooperative/ Collective Farms (introduced in 1953)

Outcomes

● Farming efficiency and effectiveness increased

● Landlords were often beaten up or harassed
● Landlords were executed (1 million between 1949 and 1953), imprisoned or sent to
special camps
● By 1956, 95% of peasants were in collectives
● Good for the party since landlords were traditional supporters of GMD.
● Private ownership eliminated, families cease to own land
● Peasants under the control of the state - receive a wage for their production.

Thought reform and Antis campaigns (1951-1952)

● Started with the ‘Thought reform’ – a study of Mao’s writings and public self-criticism.
● Propaganda campaigns to isolate and shame targets, use of the police, courts,
imprisonment, execution.
 ● Use of mass mobilisation campaigns to enhance control over society.
● 1951: Three Antis Campaign – corruption, waste, and bureaucracy (target: party
members).
● 1952: Five Antis Campaign – bribery, tax evasion, fraud, theft of state property, and
spying (target:bourgeoisie).

Outcomes

● Thought reform:
○ Encouraged individuals to reform their thoughts and arm themselves with Maoist
thought. Self-criticism was encouraged to study themselves and restructure their
thoughts
● Propaganda:
○ removal of all non-conformers to Maoist thought, and those seen as a threat to
the regime. Mao consolidated his power, creating a cult of personality and
brainwashed people with his propaganda.
○ Mao could remove all enemies who opposed his philosophy.

First Five Year Plan (1953-57)

● Based on the Soviet model of centralised planning, state ownership of industries,

agricultural collectivisation
● Primary emphasis on industrial development (coal, steel, petro-chemicals) at the
expense of agriculture
● Spectacular civil engineering projects to boost morale
 ● Cooperative farming to increase agricultural efficiency
● USSR provided aid – although had to be paid for by China
● First FYP was considerably successful in stimulating production
● From 1952 to 1957:
○ Steel from 1.3 million tonnes to 5.2 million tonnes
○ Coal from 63 million tonnes to 124 million tonnes
○ Oil from 1.9 million tonnes to 5.8 million tonnes
● 9% economic growth between 1953 and 1957

Outcomes

● A huge success
● Experience of Soviet advisors helped to organise the Chinese economy and the
propaganda of the Communists helped to motivate the workforce.
● Plans transformed China with rapid growth in the size of cities and the development of
infrastructure such as railways.

Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-57)

Mao actively encouraged the Chinese people to express their opinions of the CCP.
● "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."

However, this caused a massive rush of harsh criticism of CCP and Mao. However, after a very
brief period of liberalisation, Mao began cracking down on the detractors of the CCP.
● The Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957-1959) targeted those who had criticised the CCP
during the Hundred Flowers Campaign.
○ There was no set definition of a “Rightist”, but mainly included any critic of the left
of the government, as well as those who favoured capitalism, or opposed one
party rule.
○ Around 500,000 people were killed and 100,000 were sent to reeducation camps
(mostly intellectuals)
● The aim of the campaign is debated
○ Some argue that Mao’s intentions were good but was shocked by the actual
amount of criticism against him and later decided to use the opportunity to crack
down on critics of the CCP
○ Others posit the campaign was, from the start, meant to expose
counter-revolutionaries and rightists
● What did this cause?
○ Created a climate of fear in China, with many terrified of expressing criticism of
the government
○ Effectively silenced dissent toward the government for years
Great Leap Forward (1958-62)

The GLF was also known as China’s second five year plan.

Reasons for the GLF:

1. Ideological context. Mao proclaimed that China could be rapidly transformed into a
leading industrial power. This would be achieved through mass mobilisation of the
Chinese people and correct leadership from the CCP. A continuous revolution was
necessary to increase the vitality of Chinese communism. Peasantry were deemed to be
the revolutionary class thus the emphasis was placed on rural communes. Mao also
wanted to get rid of middle class ‘experts’ who controlled agriculture and industry as it
was more important to be ‘red’ than to be an expert.
2. Economic context. The first five year plan was extremely successful in increasing
industrial production but agricultural production lagged far behind. Increased agricultural
production was needed to boost industrialisation. Additionally, the vast unemployment in
towns, cities and countryside prompted Mao to make more effective use of the vast
manpower.
3. International context. Growing strains in the relationship between PRC and USSR. Mao
became increasingly convinced that China would have to rely on itself to achieve great
power status. He aimed to overtake Britain in 15 years, USA in 20-30 years.

Features of the GLF:

1. Communes to organise China’s vast labour force

a. Collective farms joined into 26,000 people’s communes with an average
population of 30,000 people. People in the communes organised into work teams
(50-200), which were then joined into brigades (1,000-2,000).
b. Aimed to abolish the private, family sphere of peasant life. Peasants’ private plots
of land were taken over by the commune and all work was organised in a
communal, military style.
c. Lived communally: children cared for in kindergartens, ‘happiness homes’ for the
elderly, meals in mess halls, etc.
d. Large-scale civil engineering projects (e.g. canals, dams) built by mobilising
labour to work by hand rather than using machines.
2. Industry
a. New, higher targets for industry introduced.
b. Central planning abandoned in favour of local organisation.
c. Communes also ordered to be centres of industrial production (‘walk on two
legs’)
d. ‘Backyard furnaces’ established to produce iron and steel.
 e. Small commune factories were set up to make all kinds of industrial products e.g.
cement, ball-bearings, chemical fertilisers.
f. Local industries were set up to mine coal, iron.
3. Propaganda
a. Poster, slogans and newspaper articles were to encourage mass enthusiasm as
well as long hours of work no matter the conditions and weather
b. Loudspeakers played revolutionary music and stirring speeches encouraging
workers to go beyond their targets
Outcomes
● Positive:
○ Initial success, boosted Mao’s image among the people
○ High enthusiasm - large numbers joined communes, output of iron, timber, grain
increased in 1958 ( iron production improved by 45 percent)
○ The model of communes was accepted or at least tolerated by the Chinese
population. At the end of the campaign, 23,000 communes were created with 700
million people in them.
○ Communal development led to increased education of peasants
○ 1958: Good harvest due to favourable weather conditions
● Failures:
○ 1959-61: Three Bad Years - The combined effect of the diversion of labour to
steel production and infrastructure projects, and cyclical natural disasters led to
an approximately 15% drop in grain production in 1959 followed by a further 10%
decline in 1960 and no recovery in 1961.
○ Unrealistic targets - if commune leaders didn’t accept, they were sent to prison
○ Due to poor expertise amongst peasantry, standards of rapidly produced
machinery poor - tools often unusable; machinery produced was low quality and
broke easily
○ Factories experienced a wave of industrial accidents due to worker fatigue and
safety regulations being ignored. Equipment breakdowns resulted in injuries or
fatalities and costly, time-consuming repairs.
○ Backyard furnaces took up time and resources, resulting in decreased farm
yields as workers were taken away from the fields and large coal consumption for
the furnaces resulted in a lack of coal for trains.
○ Workers taken away from fields-food not harvested, fertile crop wasted
○ Officials wrongly believed there was sufficient food to feed the people as farmers
often faked the values in order to escape being persecuted - false sense of
security
○ Thus, much-needed food often sold abroad as officials believed there was
surplus; food was also exported to pay for industrial equipment and repay loans
from USSR
○ Split with USSR in 1960 led to withdrawal of Soviet experts and loans
○ (1959-62) Famine resulted - 20 to 40 million died
Cultural Revolution (1966-76)
After the failure of the GLF, Mao took part of the blame and resigned as China’s head of state,
and now China was now controlled by three leading communists: President Liu Shaoqi, Prime
Minister Zhou Enlai and CCP General Secretary Deng Xiaoping. They introduced new policies
that abandoned the GLF, such as reducing the commune sizes to ⅓ the original, allowing
private enterprises which were rewarded for increased output, closed down thousands of
factories and hired professionals to operate them instead and finally many peasants were put
back on farms. The cultural revolution was thus Mao’s way of trying to regain total control.

The main aims of the cultural revolution were:

1. Remould chinese culture
a. Attack on all modes of thought and expression that did not conform to Mao’s
vision of a truly communist society.
2. Eliminate power struggle within the CCP
a. Mao was largely at odds with the leadership of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping
b. He felt that he was being side-lined and became increasingly concerned about
his succession and legacy
3. Rectification campaign
a. Mao was convinced that the CCP at all levels had become over-bureaucratic,
corrupt, and ineffective as a revolutionary force.
b. The CCP needed to be reformed and rectified through criticism from the people it
served to prevent revisionism.

The Early Years (1962-66)

● Context: Relaxed policies (e.g. de-collectivisation) under Liu Shaoqi had helped China
partially recover from the GLF.
● Mao signalled his reassertion of control and return to the political stage with his July
1966 swim in the Yangtze River.
● Socialist Education Campaign to raise revolutionary vigilance and clamp down on
economic activities that took place outside the planned economy
● Movement began in Sept 1965 with Lin Biao’s speech - Urged pupils in schools
and colleges to return to the basic principles of the revolutionary movement.
● Youths were encouraged to openly criticise the liberals in the CCP and those influenced
by Nikita Khrushchev of the USSR (Sino-Soviet split)
● Educational establishments were considered to be too academic and, therefore, too
elitist.

The Red Years (1966-68)

● Students, who had undergone years of indoctrination under the Socialist Education
Campaign, lashed out at Peking University leaders as a poster had appeared on campus
alleging them to be Khrushchev-type revisionists.
● They were punished for their activities by work teams sent by Deng Xiaoping and Liu
Shaoqi but Mao supported them → gave rise to the Red Guards
● Student Red Guards organised to defend Mao and denounce enemies.
 ○ Mao held enormous rallies in Beijing involving the Red Guards.
○ Red August (August 1966) was instigated by the Red Guards
■ Attacked their teachers, elite party members, intellectuals, artists and
writers, miscellaneous class enemies (Five Black Categories)
● Subjected them to beatings, torture and humiliation
● Daxing Massacre (August 27-31) killed 325 people
■ Raided homes in search of bourgeois articles or signs of decadent
lifestyles - articles of worship, luxury items, reactionary literature, foreign
books, weapons, hidden gold, foreign currency, etc.
● All motivated by removing elements of the past

● Divisions and rivalry within the Red Guards

○ Chaotic series of campaigns, work team investigations, and political reversals.
○ Street battles between rival Red Guard factions.
○ Activists dependent on Mao’s approval; Never knew when a signal for radical
behaviour one day would be rescinded.

● ❖ Intervention of the PLA

○ Mao eventually brought in the military to quell factional violence, but China
descended further into civil war as the army, too, took sides and sought revenge.
○ The country became a dictatorship under the command of Lin Biao, who installed
revolutionary party committees to direct institutions throughout the country.
○ Another wave of purges, counter-purges, and armed battles ensued.
○ Ordinary people paid for the elite’s political struggle but they were also
responsible for the petty vendettas they carried out when given the chance.

The Black Years (1968-71)

● Rustication campaign
○ The Cultural Revolution moved to the countryside as former Red Guards were
sent for work-study programmes among the peasants.
○ Party cadres and intellectuals were ordered to live in rural May 7th Cadre
Schools. Forced to undertake self-criticism and hard labour.
○ An unremittingly terrible time of suffering, hunger, rape and abuse.
○ Rusticated youth arguably helped China break with its Maoist past.
○ Later became known as the “awakened generation” and the “thoughtful
generation” as they gradually inherited the leadership of the country.
○ Their experiences in the countryside gave them the chance to re-evaluate the
very premises of the revolution and undermined their faith in Maoist ideology and
China’s political system.

● The Third Front (1964)

○ Afraid of enemy attacks from the USSR or the USA, the CCP began moving 1800
factories to remote areas in China, far away from the populated cities
 ■ Made it hard to access as well as more difficult for factories to acquire
supplies or sell their goods in potential markets
○ Made up an extremely large part of the total national investment (42% in 1965)
○ In the end, it was extremely wasteful use of capital and a complete failure,
causing even greater harm to the economy

● Purging the PLA

○ The PLA had been responsible for restoring order and emerged as a dominant
political force in Chinese society.
○ Mao had used Lin Biao to launch and sustain the Cultural Revolution and Lin had
expanded his own power base during the turmoil.
○ Mao began to have doubts about Lin’s ambitions and reliability.
○ Lin Biao died in 1971 in a plane crash in Mongolia. He is alleged to have tried to
flee China after conspiring to assassinate Mao.
○ Senior military commanders and allies of Lin in the Politburo purged and
members of the PLA were targeted as well

The Grey Years (1971-1976)

● Widespread passive resistance and noncompliance
○ Elite-level power struggles continued, but the extreme policies of the Mao period
essentially fizzled out.
○ People were exhausted by the continuous purges, rallies and criticism sessions
and conducted a diffuse revolution from below.
○ Destitute peasants and complicit cadres abandoned the collective model out of a
need to survive. People replaced the economic dominance of the state with their
own initiative and ingenuity.
○ They secretly opened black markets, shared out collective assets, divided the
land, restored private plots, sold produce, hawked their skills and revived private
factories.
○ In Zhejiang, by late 1971, two thirds of villagers were independent

● Mao, in failing health, relaxed state interference in daily life.

● In 1972, US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China led to greater openness, and
tensions with the Soviet Union abated.
● Mao died in Sept 1976