Spence, Jonathan. Mao Zedong: A Life. Reprint Edition. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Jonathan Spence is the Sterling Professor of History at Yale University.
Grace Fair April 20th, 2023 Mr. Selitto World History China DBQ Mao and Deng both transformed China in similar and different ways. Mao tended to be harsher, wanting everyone to conform to his idea of the cultural revolution of China. While Deng wanted people to have more capitalistic ideas, allowing people to run things themselves without harsh control from the government. This DBQ will discuss how China ran under the similar and different political, diplomatic, and economic rules of Mao and Deng.
The Chinese communist party gained much power after going after and attacking the Kuomintang and its anti communist policies into Taiwan. With the growth of the communist party’s power, the peasant and lower class experienced major influence that would change the course of their lives forever. Chinese peasants and the Chinese communist party between circa 1925 and circa 1950 had a relationship in which the party fostered and cared the state of the people. This created a sense of nationalism and pride for the peasants, while they were advocating social equality, and showing anti-Japanese sentiment. First of all, the Chinese communist party greatly influenced the peasant class in sparking and igniting a sense of nationalistic unity into the
Any outspoken person of Mao was attacked. The Cultural revolution worked. After Mao Zedong’s death and Hua Guofeng, essentially a Mao fanboy, failed as his successor, Deng Xiaoping took over control of China and basically saved the country. Deng Xiaoping started to undo some of Mao’s policies and began to open up the country. Xiaoping wanted to shift away from Maoism and began to institute 4 modernization to help China grow.
When Japan invaded China in 1937, they started a chain of events leading to their defeat at the end of the second world war. Between circa 1925 and circa 1950 the Chinese communist party took hold of China sparking nationalism and anti-japanese stances, bringing the people new opportunities, and advocating social and gender equality. The Chinese people felt a loss of pride when Japan invaded them, but with the rising of the communist party they felt a new sense of nationalism and pride in their country. When looking at the conversation between a teenager and his grandfather, we get a wider picture at what life was like before the communist party rose to power.
Elections never happened and Diem and Americans feared that communist groups would win. The Domino Theory was activated as well at the containment. U.S dente troops to help Diem’s government. Lastly, Ho Chi Minh Trail supplied route for Communists.
Although Mao claimed that these achievements were to be accomplished in the interests of the Chinese population, it is clear that the damage caused by the Great Leap Forward was too extreme to reflect a policy which was in the interests of the people. Mao introduced the idea of communes as he believed these would increase production.
In August of 1966 the Red Guard had gotten out of hand, the widespread chaos and destruction they had caused even caught the attention of Mao. Mao had sent the Red guards on a mission to destroy “The Four Olds” , old customs, culture, habits, and ideas. In an attempt to call the nation he invited every Red Guard to go to Beijing on public transportation free of charge. Children swarmed to the city in masses to see tiananmen square, the memorial to the fallen heroes of the revolution and Mao’s mausoleum. They crowded into the square in identical uniforms to read quotations from the Little Red Book and to admire the massive image of Chairman Mao that had been placed on the front of the gates to the forbidden city.
He launched the Cultural Revolution in order to maintain that system. First he would use indoctrination to get kids to know he is like the “god” and they need to show loyalty and follow his rules. A group called red guards pledged their devotion to Chairman Mao and the revolution. They were mostly students and teenagers who were part of this group. They wanted to smash the old, non-maoist way of life, by destroying buildings, beat and even kill alleged enemies.
During the Pingjin campaign of Secondly, the generals that aided Mao were also much better than those that aided Chiang. Although Mao Ze Dong was the face of communism, there were many people behind the scenes of the communist party that contributed to the military’s success. Mao’s generals were fiercely loyal to them and would not face much defiance from his generals. As Michael Lynch says, “[Their loyalty] extended to their allowing the credit for their own ideas and military success to go to him.” Two commanders that were pivotal for the CCP’s military victory were Zhu De and Lin Biao.
With the Soviet Union, China had found an ideological partnership which changed in the following decades into rivalry. The relationship with Taiwan was and still is very complex. And finally, the Sino-American relations, which are best described with the transformation from being enemies and becoming friends. In the following essay, I try to highlight the three main foreign relations of Mao‘s China, firstly with the United States, secondly, with the Soviet Union, and thirdly with
Mao Zedong was a Chinese communist leader and is the founder of the People’s Republic of China. Mao was born on the 26th of December 1893 into a poor peasant family in Shaoshan, in Hunan province, which is a province in central China. After becoming a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, Mao has greatly influenced and shaped China into what it is today. He is regarded as one of the most controversial leaders of the twentieth century as a result of the widespread impacts and hardships that the Chinese people had to endure as a result of his policies and reformations. Firstly, the impacts and effects of the Great Leap Forward, which turned out to be a disaster, killing between 20-40 million people and ironically sending China backwards.
Overcoming numerous difficulties and struggles, by October 1, 1949, Mao became the chairman of the Communist Party and founded the new communist People’s Republic of China, governing the country until today. China’s glorious leader during his lifetime proved to be an exceptional hero of China to certain circumstances, leaving influential history behind for the future generation. Mao Zedong displayed incredible and positive leadership traits during the Long March Campaign. During Mao’s time in the CCP, the party encountered continuous conflicts with the Kuomintang nationalist party (KMT) led by Chiang Kai Shek as both sides considered
China’s leader Mao implemented a program called Mao’s Great Leap Forward program this program told peasant framers when to plant crops, what to plant and how much to plant. Also peasants were required to turn over a third of their crops for taxed that was meant to feed the cities. In return the presents were made promises from the government such as the commune would provide workers with food, medical care, and other necessities. This contributed to the people starving and going to great lengths to survive such as trading children and killing and eating them, at this time famine was widespread and killing many people in China. Mao ruled for over twenty-seven years and during that time, “he had doomed China’s people to become some of the poorest on the planet”.
This essay will address the current starting voting age of 18, with a focus on is it too early for high schoolers to make such a decision with such little life experience. There is significant disagreement surrounding this matter with excellent arguments both for and against. Firstly, 18 is the age when most adolescents take their school-leaving tests and continue their education, or finish learning a trade and step into the working world as young adults. Secondly, they have 18 years worth of life experience and decision making already behind them, and they should be included in the voting process.
