Final review
The midterm composed of two sections.
Section 1: 5 identifications (4 points each for a total of 20%)
You will be able to choose 5 out of 7 identifications. Identifications will
focus on items appearing in my class outlines.
Section 2: Essays (40% each)
You will be able to choose two out of three questions/topics and write a
two-page essay for each.
The three questions/topics will be taken from those listed below.
1) Discuss the relationships between the
GMD and the CCP, form the first united front to the years of GMD rule in Taiwan.
First united front: 1924-27, deep differences b/n GMD and
CCP, but both wanted to unify the country.
Northern expedition (CCP mass mobilization n propaganda), in reaction to
may 30th incident (japs kill Chinese soldier in a strike), unifies China
under the GMD. 4Chen Duxu of CCP follows
Soviet Union method; urban proletaria based
revolution, united front with GMD.
However, with Northern exp. Comes increasing power of CCP inside GMD,
conflict arises as military grows too strong with Chiang KaiShek. GMD now has two sides, the old reformist side
and the new military soul. Mao becomes
leader of CCP. GMD factionalized, Civil
War (45-49). GMD had corruption, no
support, CCP has high motivation, support of ppl, guerilla technique. CCP has new democracy, GMD inflation and
mainly support from rural elite, not modern elite. 1949 Mao establishes People's Republic of China, move to Taiwan
(GMD has lost war, US helps relocation to Taiwan.)
2) Discuss Mao Zedong's political
thought: its original contribution to Marxism-Leninism, its developments in the
years of war with Japan
and of the civil war, and after the establishment of the PRC.
Mao sought to change traditional Marxism-leninism into a political ideology
that could be implemented into a traditional agricultural economy like china’s.
Marxism was focused on industrial workers but since china was more agrarian,
the focus was on peasant uprising. Mao believed that the only way Communism
could be implemented in China
was by making revolutionary changes to the social systems and the economy in
the countryside. This led this his theory of New
Democracy and the New Democratic Revolution. Mao temporarily partnered with Chiang
Kai-shek’s Chinese republic during the war with japan, but quickly turned on
them after the Japanese invasion was over. After the establishment of the PRC
mao launched a rapid period of collectivization in which peasants peasants were
not paid wages but rather a share of the crop.
3) The PRC period has been
characterized by sweeping rectification campaigns, from the three-antis to the
Great Leap Forward (GLF) and the Cultural Revolution (CR). What were the main
characteristics of these campaigns? How did they affect the life of the Chinese
people? (Do not describe each campaign. Focus on their methods of mass
mobilization and other common traits).
From 1951 to 1952, the CCP initiated the “Three Anti Campaign" and the
"Five Anti Campaign,” movements with the stated goal of eliminating
corruption, waste and bureaucracy within the Party, government, army and mass
organizations. These created the preconditions needed for economic growth.
The Great Leap Forward (Simplified Chinese: 大跃进;
Traditional Chinese: 大躍進; Pinyin: Dà yuè jìn)
of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social plan to use
China's vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily
agrarian economy dominated by peasant farmers into a modern, industrialized
communist society. Mao Zedong based this program on the Theory of Productive
Forces.
The CR was an upsurge by Chinese students and workers against the
bureaucrats of the Chinese Communist Party. It was launched by Communist Party
Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 to secure Maoism (known domestically as
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought) in China as the state's dominant
ideology.
5) Discuss the 1950 land reform in China.
What were its goals, beyond the mere redistribution of land, and how was it
carried out? What was its significance in the general style of policy
implementation in the PRC?
In the mid-1950s, a land reform compelled individual farmers to join
collectives, which, in turn, were grouped into People's Communes with centrally
controlled property rights and an egalitarian principle of distribution. This
policy was generally a failure in terms of production. In some places, the law
was executed with more force than was called for, leading to the mistreatment
of former landlords. In all, about one million of them were executed.
How:
-- Elimination of the local elite (often violent) and reorganization of
socioeconomic relations in the rural village
-- Land
redistribution
General style of policy implementation – not really sure about this…maybe a
lot of usage of propaganda.
- Carried out as political campaign
- villages mobilized by party cadres
- village meetings to express grievances against the land owner and "local
bullies"
- meetings supposed to raise class consciousness of peasants
- land redistribution
- according to New Democracy enough land was left to landowners to ensure their
survival
- seized land distributed equally among men and women
- violence against target of land reforms varied according to area
http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/tg.html
is good
6) Discuss the main economic trends in
the PRC from the 1950s to the 1970s (excluding the post-Mao period).
Mao decided to accelerate the pace of the transition to socialism
The first five-year plan:
-- Soviet influence and aid
-- development of heavy industry
-- agricultural production geared to development of heavy industry
Mao also had the Great Leap Forward
(1958-59)( dayuejin)
Mao's four main goals:
1) Avoid growing gap between rural and urban areas
2) Jump-start industrialization (produce more steel than US and GB)
3) Regain control and initiative within the Party against the moderate
economists such as Chen Yun and Bo Yibo.
4) Show the world, divided by the Cold War, that the Chinese socialist system
was superior to that of the epitome of capitalism (US and GB)
7) Discuss the Four Modernizations:
what fields they affected, who sponsored them, and ideological tenets.
-agriculture, industry, science n tech, defense
sponsored by Third Plenum by Deng Xiaoping in 1978
-tenets were socialism with Chinese characteristics, to get
rich is glorious
-privatization of economy, reopen relations with US and west
-integration of international economy, consumerism
8) Discuss the idea of "Socialism
with Chinese characteristics:" its main principles and contradictions. Do
you think this is a sustainable formula? Why or why not?
Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economy. Term for mixed economy of PRC in transition
from public owned economy to simultaneous operation of private and public. Say market economy happens in socilalism, and
planning happens in capitalism. Contradiction: not really socialism, but more
like capitalism operated by single party state
9) What do you think are the main
political, economic, or social problems (choose two) that face China
today? Explain why they are the most important.
Economic: continue expanding consumerism, open international trade, foreign
investment. Barriers face not only internally but externally, with embargos and
trade restrictions wars. Finance will drive politics, market demands will
require greater change than putting pressure on the government. Large
portfolios of nonperforming loans.
Social: expanding human rights, growing income inequality. Unemployment
numbers greatly underestimate true unemployment (ignores rural unemployment),
will likely rise. Huge influx to cities,
requiring infrastructure and building change.
Severe corruption; lots of capital leaves to family members living
abroad (17 billion dollar error in 1997)
10) The Fifth
Modernization: discuss the Chinese democracy movement in the post-Mao period.
A signed wall poster placed by wei jingsheng on November 1978 on democracy wall
in Beijing.
Advocated individual liberties, freedom as the only modernization that matters
(over improved living standards), a response to Four Modernizations campaign
Deng Xiaoping announces four cardinal principals: socialism,
dictatorship of proletariat, leadership of ccp, subscribe to
Marxism-leninism-mao Zedong
Tips for writing a good short essay:
- read the question carefully and understand what it is its goal. A
question/topic often includes different components. Be careful to address all
in your answer.
- try to stay focused on the topic/questions (do not provide details or
examples that are not directly related to the topic)
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