Mao Zedong_Haque_Nasir_Qaiser
Consolidation and Maintenance of Power
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Charismatic Leadership: Mao gained most of his support from the peasants and from them, Mao built a cult of personality. Many treated him as a God-like figure and praised his teachings. Mao's picture would be pictured everywhere in the country.
Dissemination of Propaganda: As mentioned above, the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-57) / Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957) limited the citizen's freedom of speech. Many who criticized Mao ended up being killed or being sent to the countryside. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), propaganda was very popular. Culture, essentially, was destroyed. This included paintings, art, music, films, however those that were pro-Mao were kept.
Use of Force: The Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-57) allowed citizens to criticize Mao's rulings as a way for Mao to listen to the public. However, Mao did not expect harsh comments and in July 1957 (led by Deng Xiaoping) conducted the Anti-Rightist Campaign. This was where "struggle meetings" were held, leading to killing intellectuals or sending them to the countryside to "learn" from the peasants.
Nature, extent and treatment of opposition: Mao had conducted "struggle meetings" for those who opposed him, in which the targeted group is either killed or sent to the countryside to learn Maoism from the peasants. He encouraged peasants to conduct meetings against their landlords, which also allowed these peasants to gain land. These meetings were also conducted against the intellectuals (Anti-Rightist) and the Red Guards led them against their own parents or teachers.
Impact of the Success and/or Failure of Foreign Policy on the Maintenance of Power:
Use of Legal Methods: "Reunification Campaign" (1950) was created for the purpose to unite China under one government, rather than sections being controlled by separate Warlords. He established his own party, The PRC (People's Republic of China) and ensured that it was the only party in China. The Politburo served as the policy-making committee of his party.
Aims and Results of Policies
Aims and Impact
Domestic Economic: Mao had created domestic change in the economy as well. For example, Mao had implemented the Land Reform in 1950 which was the destruction of the landlord class. 2 million landlords killed because peasants encouraged to speak out. Five Year Plan (1952-1957) , the idea in which heavy industrial increased such as the making of steel. Agricutlure neglected and industry important.
Political Policy: Three Anti Campaign (1951)- Mao to eliminate corruption, waste and etc in the party itself. (CCP). The Hundred Flowers Campaign during 1957 in which Mao allowed everyone to criticize him, once when it got severe a purge followed with about 50,000 people going into labour camps or country side and being punished for saying all that.
Cultural and Social Policies: Mao had multiple policies in order to take control of China. One of Mao's policy would be in the beginning was the National Capitalism from 1942-1952, which was the government taking control over the industry and the banking system. A social policy would be is the cultural revolution from 1966-1976 in which all the old ideas, social ideas, culture and etc was denounced. This was where the Red Guard came in and Mao became important for the people. Everyone worshiped him like some sort of god and they followed his Little Red Book. Everything western was banned and the Chinese were in charge of their own revolution.
Social Policies: He had the Great Leap Forward (1958-61)- Mao wanted to be like Joseph Stalin of the USSR by creating his own version of the Five Year Plan. In this he focused developing agriculture and industry simultaneously . 1958 harvest was good, however , soon a famine resulted killing 20 million. The change of culture and following of Red Book became important.
Impact of policies on Women and Minorities
Impact on Women: Women were impacted by the Marriage Reform Law (1950) in which both male and female had equal footing in marriage. This expanded rights of women impacting them in a good way, they could have land and be in control and etc . Mao wanted women to be part of their contribution to a better society as he stated in his Little Red Book.
China and the Soviet Union: The relations between China and the Soviet Union had flourished at the start, however, there were ideological differences. There was a stronger sense of nationalism within Maoism and the personalities of Mao and Stalin clashed in many ways. The Sino-Soviet Treaty was signed in 1950, but it was seen as exploitative by Mao. After Khruschev's destalinization speech (1956), the relationship between China and the Soviet fell. (1959-62) Other factors that worsened this relation was the Great Leap Forward (1958-62) and the border clashes (1960s-70s). Failure in the end.
Leadership consolidated in 1943 by Mao's adoption of the titles Chairman of the Communist Central Committee and Chairman of the Politburo. Constitution of the Communist Party published in 1945 - Mao Zedong's thoughts as the thought that unites Marxist-Leninism theory and the practice of the Chinese Revolution as the guide for all its work and opposes all dogmatic or empiricist deviations
Policies impact on Minorities: Mao tried to let the minorities live in peace in China and not interfere with them. He promised them some sort of freedom at first, however once he got the power he went to being an autonomic. The policy which most effected the minorities in a negative way was the cultural revolution during the 1960's which had damaged cultures in China about 6,000 of them. Minorities were not really paid attention to because the Revolution was for the Chinese and it mattered to them more.
China and America: Originally, China and America were not on good terms as Mao believed that America had the intent of exploiting and using China to their own benefit. However, in 1971 Mao invited President Nixon to China. Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai had prepared ground for this relation. USA purpose was to create a powerful relationship that would undermine the Soviet Union and to allow the PRC to replace Taiwan as a member of the UN Security Council. The two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1979. China's purpose was to block Soviet-initiated actions and to relax tensions with Japan. This was also China's way of coming out of isolationism. Success.
Emergence of authoritarian states
World War 1 lead to more problems such as since China joined the allies so that they would gain Chinese territories controlled by Germany back. However the treaty of Versailles ended up giving those territories to Japan. which angered the Chinese.
Authoritarian Control and to what extent it was achieved:
In China there was authoritarian control to a good extent when Mao took over. In the beginning Mao was easy, however over time Mao had hardened as a leader and implemented new rules which affected everyone negatively or positively. He was in charge of the revolution and also the party, he started the Anti-Campaign movements which was the fact of no one being allowed to talk against him and if they did they were punished. This is authoritarian because Mao was controlling everything within the political system and was only following his beliefs to create something called Maoism which was the idea of . Also, to a good extent was his control over China authoritarian due to the fact he had all these policies in place and revolutions such as the Culture Revolution during the 1960's in which the teens rebelled against schools and etc and worshiped Mao's Little Red Book. That Little Red Book made Mao seem like god type and his book bible type which clearly demonstrates that to a good extent did Mao have control over China because everyone followed and looked up to his rules.
This lead to the the "May Fourth Movement" by the Beijing students protesting and spreading across the cities to reject the treaty of Versailles.
Many chinese intellectuals also rejected the Sun Yixins belief in western democarcy and were more in favor of soviet communism.
Overthrow of Qing dynasty lead to nationalists (Mao) and creating the communist party Jiang Jishei with the head of Kumontag with a more democratic view.
Lead to a civil war in which Mao and the Communist Party ended up winning through guerrilla warfare and other attacks and also having more of an impact on the sino-Japanese wars and made him more successful.
Mao was more successful due to having the mass support of peasants through his 1928 lad law of the agrarian reform law and also mass line He also had a strong military force with guerrilla tactics which helped him be shown as a strong maintained leader and show sort of propaganda .
Mao having more to do more in the sino japanese war showed how Jiang was not as capable to rule over China and also didn't have the strength, thus this giving kind of a propaganda and charismatic look to Mao of being a leader.
Mao's Long march showed how he was overcoming Jiang and that Jiang did not have complete control over the people and how the GMD communist members had decreased.
This made the revolution of the peasants come out for wanting a communist society where there is the ideology of authoritarianism for having equality and Mao further extended the idea to gain support.
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