Mao Zedong, son of a landlord, grew up being much aware of the hardships of Chinese peasants. He later organized a nation of peasant farmers to overthrow the current government. Mao then created the People's Republic of China and subjected it to his own brutal vision of communism. Due to Mao, China saw increased health care, schooling, and income, especially for the peasants. Unfortunately, the new Communist government also investigated and executed "counterrevolutionaries" and forced people to undergo "thought reform." The new regime killed millions of people. There were also no elections and no free speech in the new China, just as there had been none in the old.
Mao Zedong's Policies
Great Leap Forward (1958)
Mao Zedong hoped to improve agricultural and industrial production using mass mobilization and labor. He had said, "three years of suffering and a thousand years of happiness," except that the Great Leap Forward ended in disaster. Millions of peasants were forced onto huge communes in which they were supposed to produce, not only crops, but everything they used, including industrial products. It ended with a massive decline in agricultural output, poor harvests, famine, and deaths of millions of Chinese. The failure of the policy caused Mao to abandon it, but it still lowered his position and power in China. Caused economic disaster in China. Mao had to abandon his position of chairman of the People's Republic of China. Had also demoralized peasants.
Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956)
This campaign was meant as a platform to develop the arts and the sciences. Mao Zedong said that truth would grow out of its struggle with falsehood, and that good things and good people will develop by struggling against bad people. Mao even began liberalizing politics in China, although much to his surprise, once this campaign was brought about, many Chinese began publicly protesting the Communist Party's policies and practices. Not expecting such a response, Mao quickly and abruptly ended the campaign and put in place the Anti-Rightest Campaign to arrest, imprison, and execut all those against Communism.
Socialist Education Movement (1962)
Mao's campaign against capitalism and revisionism in the People's Republic of China. He had intended to end elitism of Chinese scholars, intellectuals, and artists. Mao hoped to bring people of all social classes all over China closer together. This movement was also meant to remove corruption from the government and to reduce the peasant's need for material incentives.
Xaifang/Rectification Program
An education reform program meant to provide education for the masses and to reeducated scholars and intellectuals by forcing them to perform manual labor. This reform was meant to fit in with the work schedule of communes and factories. Mao Zedong sent students and intellectuals to the countryside to get a taste of the "Real China" in an effort to reeducate them in the ways of the peasants.
Cultural Revolution (1966)
Mao Zedong aimed to rid China of so-called impure elements in a hope to revive the revolutionary spirit. Mao encouraged groups of students to get together as "Red Guards" and march around the country as he had in the Long March. Schools ended up closing because groups of Red Guards attacked opponents of Mao and Western art, music, and clothing. Even things connected to Chinese tradition, such as temples, books, and art were burned. The Little Red Book, or Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, became the sacred text of the Red Guards. Fortunately, by the early 1970s, mainstream Communist Party members began to regain control of the country. This Revolution ended up destroying China's historical heritage and over 1.5 million people died. Having no other choice, in 1967, Mao sent in the PLA to restore order throughout the country. The Cultural Revolution was Mao's last great attempt to shake up China.
A decade had passed and Mao had greatly changed China. China had better medical care, schools, land, and increased industrial production. Unfortunately, Mao's programs and campaigns for change had killed millions and China's government was profoundly undemocratic.
Mao Zedong hoped to improve agricultural and industrial production using mass mobilization and labor. He had said, "three years of suffering and a thousand years of happiness," except that the Great Leap Forward ended in disaster. Millions of peasants were forced onto huge communes in which they were supposed to produce, not only crops, but everything they used, including industrial products. It ended with a massive decline in agricultural output, poor harvests, famine, and deaths of millions of Chinese. The failure of the policy caused Mao to abandon it, but it still lowered his position and power in China. Caused economic disaster in China. Mao had to abandon his position of chairman of the People's Republic of China. Had also demoralized peasants.
Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956)
This campaign was meant as a platform to develop the arts and the sciences. Mao Zedong said that truth would grow out of its struggle with falsehood, and that good things and good people will develop by struggling against bad people. Mao even began liberalizing politics in China, although much to his surprise, once this campaign was brought about, many Chinese began publicly protesting the Communist Party's policies and practices. Not expecting such a response, Mao quickly and abruptly ended the campaign and put in place the Anti-Rightest Campaign to arrest, imprison, and execut all those against Communism.
Socialist Education Movement (1962)
Mao's campaign against capitalism and revisionism in the People's Republic of China. He had intended to end elitism of Chinese scholars, intellectuals, and artists. Mao hoped to bring people of all social classes all over China closer together. This movement was also meant to remove corruption from the government and to reduce the peasant's need for material incentives.
Xaifang/Rectification Program
An education reform program meant to provide education for the masses and to reeducated scholars and intellectuals by forcing them to perform manual labor. This reform was meant to fit in with the work schedule of communes and factories. Mao Zedong sent students and intellectuals to the countryside to get a taste of the "Real China" in an effort to reeducate them in the ways of the peasants.
Cultural Revolution (1966)
Mao Zedong aimed to rid China of so-called impure elements in a hope to revive the revolutionary spirit. Mao encouraged groups of students to get together as "Red Guards" and march around the country as he had in the Long March. Schools ended up closing because groups of Red Guards attacked opponents of Mao and Western art, music, and clothing. Even things connected to Chinese tradition, such as temples, books, and art were burned. The Little Red Book, or Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, became the sacred text of the Red Guards. Fortunately, by the early 1970s, mainstream Communist Party members began to regain control of the country. This Revolution ended up destroying China's historical heritage and over 1.5 million people died. Having no other choice, in 1967, Mao sent in the PLA to restore order throughout the country. The Cultural Revolution was Mao's last great attempt to shake up China.
A decade had passed and Mao had greatly changed China. China had better medical care, schools, land, and increased industrial production. Unfortunately, Mao's programs and campaigns for change had killed millions and China's government was profoundly undemocratic.
Other Points of Interest About Mao Zedong
1. Every person in China had a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong.
2. Mao who was the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949-1976.
3. Mao's model for the People's Republic of China was the Yenan Way - an experiment in socialist living.
4. The new Communist government took over private companies; people's courts tried and executed landlords; and land was redistributed to peasants who worked on cooperatives.
5. Mao set about rebuilding a China that had been devastated by 30 years of war. He stressed industrial development through his Five-Year Plan just as Stalin did with the Soviet Union.
6. Joseph Stalin, didn't like Mao - he considered him a peasant who didn't understand the finer points of Marxism.
7. Mao used to work in the fields alongside peasants.
8. Chinese land controlled by the Communists provided cheap land for peasants, low taxes, and good schools while Nationalist controlled China was the complete opposite.
1. Every person in China had a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong.
2. Mao who was the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949-1976.
3. Mao's model for the People's Republic of China was the Yenan Way - an experiment in socialist living.
4. The new Communist government took over private companies; people's courts tried and executed landlords; and land was redistributed to peasants who worked on cooperatives.
5. Mao set about rebuilding a China that had been devastated by 30 years of war. He stressed industrial development through his Five-Year Plan just as Stalin did with the Soviet Union.
6. Joseph Stalin, didn't like Mao - he considered him a peasant who didn't understand the finer points of Marxism.
7. Mao used to work in the fields alongside peasants.
8. Chinese land controlled by the Communists provided cheap land for peasants, low taxes, and good schools while Nationalist controlled China was the complete opposite.