The Maoist Years in
China
Loyal parents who sacrificed so much for the nation
Never feared the ultimate fate.
Now that the country has become Red,
Who will be its guardians?
Our mission, unfinished, may take a thousand years;
The struggle tires us, and our hair is gray.
You and I, old friend,
Can we just watch our efforts being washed away?
———Mao
Zedong, poem to Zhou Enlai in 1975, months before both died
1949 Communist victory over KMT forces, "Liberation"
of China, establishment of PRC. Begin decade of Sino-Soviet exchange.
Soviets send 10,000 advisors to China, Chinese students study in Moscow.
1950 Chinese troops enter Korean war in response to N.
Korean request for aid. In 1951
the UN declared China to be an aggressor in Korea and sanctioned a global
embargo on the shipment of arms and war material to China.
1952 Land Reform campaign. The redistribution of land
was accelerated, and a class struggle landlords and wealthy peasants was
launched. An ideological reform campaign requiring self-criticisms and
public confessions by university faculty members, scientists, and other
professional workers was given wide publicity. Artists and writers were
soon the objects of similar treatment for failing to heed Mao's dictum
that culture and literature must reflect the class interest of the working
people, led by the CCP.
1954 First National People's Congress. The congress promulgated
the state constitution of 1954 and formally elected Mao chairman (or president)
of the People's Republic; it elected Liu Shaoqi (1898-1969) chairman of
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress; and named Zhou
Enlai premier of the new State Council.
1956-7 Hundred Flowers and Anti-rightist Campaigns. As
part of the effort to encourage the participation of intellectuals in
the new regime, cultural and intellectual figures were encouraged to speak
their minds on the state of CCP rule and programs. Mao personally took
the lead in the movement, which was launched under the classical slogan
"Let a hundred flowers bloom, let the hundred schools of thought
contend". At first the party's repeated invitation to air constructive
views freely and openly was met with caution. By mid-1957, however, the
movement unexpectedly mounted, bringing denunciation and criticism against
the party in general and the excesses of its cadres in particular. Startled
and embarrassed, leaders turned on the critics as "bourgeois rightists"
and launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign, resulting in a year-long purge
of party members, sending officials "down" to the countryside
(xiafang), and persecuting intellectuals who spoke out against the party.
1958 Great Leap Forward. Mao and his supporters consolidate
their control gained during the anti-rightist campaign to oppose party
"revisionists" arguing for more gradual reform and attempt to
mobilize the country quickly and achieve pure Communism in one step. Rural
communes established, mass kitchens, day care organized, women encouraged
to work, industry emphasized. All ethnic customs, dress, language discouraged.
Results were disastrous, an estimated 20-25 million people die of hunger
in subsequent famines.
1959 Party conference at Lushan. Mao's policies criticized
by Minister of National Defense Peng Dehuai. Peng later deposed and replaced
by Mao supporter Lin Biao. Mao steps down, on political sidelines in semiseclusion.
1960 Soviets withdraw support from China.
1961-65 In an effort to stabilize the economy, the party--still
under Mao's titular leadership but under the dominant influence of Liu
Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Peng Zhen, Bo Yibo, and others--initiated
a series of corrective measures. Recognizing public apathy, leaders deemphasized
rhetoric of mass movements.
"The thought of Mao Zedong is the sun in our heart, the root of our life, and the source of all our strength. Through it one becomes unselfish, daring, intelligent, and able to do anything; no difficulty can conquer him, while he can conquer any enemy. The thought of Mao Zedong transforms men's ideology, transforms the fatherland... Through it the oppressed people of the world will rise". PLA newspaper, 1966.
1966-1976 The "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution".
In order to re-establish his power in Beijing, Mao and supporters launch
attacks against "rightist" elements in the party, especially
faction led by Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi. Mao encourages radical youth
to organize (as "Red Guards) and destroy the "elites",
launches "Destroy the 4 olds" Campaign. Red Guard factional
fighting sends country into anarchy.
Feb. 1972 President Richard M. Nixon's visit; Sino-U.S.
diplomatic relations re-established.
1973 Mao makes last official appearance at Party's 10th
congress. Ailing and feeble, he retired to seclusion at his residence
in old imperial section of Beijing.
Jan. 8, 1976 Death of Zhou Enlai at age 78, China's Premier,
and indefatigable statesman who worked to stabilize the country after
the Cultural Revolution.
Apil 5, 1976 April 5th Movement: April 4 100's of 1000's
of people came to Tiananmen square in Beijing to pay respects to Zhou
Enlai in defiance of govt. ban on traditional festival of Qingming. Govt.
workers remove wreaths and posters, and enraged citizens protest the next
day. Some posters, poems likened Mao to tyrannical emperors. Deng Xiaoping
blamed and removed from office.
September 9, 1976 Death of Mao Zedong at age 82. His
widow, Jiang Qing, tries to maintain radical policies.