Politics of China 1 WEEK 1: Introduction Unit themes Governance and regime legitimacy Economy prosperity for all? o World s second largest economy o They have moved lots of farmers from countryside to cities! manufacturing growth State strength internally, externally Can the CCP survive? o Can the current political and economical system keep going the way it has been? WEEK 2: China s Revolution Origins and Comparison Questions: What was the May 4 th Movement? Why was it important? What were the main factors that caused the Chinese Revolution? What themes or issues from pre-1949 Chinese history can be found in China today? Why study history? For possible path-dependence o Previous events, institutions shape the realm of what is likely to happen (narrowing the future) o Misses individuals Lessons learned by people in that country Formation of collective identity An ambiguous legacy modern China emerges China s greatness: cultural legacy, regional influence, economic prosperity, military might, imperial power China s weakness: imperial decline from mid-19 th century, West s invasion, Japan s invasion, civil war At the centre of the universe Self-belief that China was at the centre of the world Under the wide heaven, there is no land that is not the Emperor s, and within the sea-boundaries of the land, there is none who is not a subject of the Emperor Book of Poetry Qing dynasty The Qianlong Emperor o 1736-1795 o Presided over this vast land and kept it all going o Kept the boundaries known as China today o Most powerful dynasty Dynasty lasted from 1616-1911
Collapsed in 1911 Conflicted by how you feed all these people! led to demonstrations, social unrest, violence! restricted ability of Qing dynasty to lead Internal pressures led to decline 2 Foreign encroachment Foreigners then showed up! encroach of the west (particularly on the east coast e.g. the Bund in Shanghai) Century of humiliation As the Qing dynasty was getting weaker they decided to open up to trade with the West China then ran a trade surplus didn t need too many things from the West, but West needed Chinese goods British started smuggling drugs (opium) into China. They would grow it in India and then bribing Chinese officials to accept the opium. Chinese more than happy to smoke it, no demand shortage o This is how British managed to resolve trade deficit with China Qing tried to resist British pressures led to a series of struggles Opium Wars First Opium War was 1839-42 Resulted in: reform and uprisings o Self-strengthening (1860s), 100 Days Reform (1898) o Taiping Uprising (1856-64), Boxer Rebellion (1900) Birth of Chinese nationalism 1911 fall of Qing 1912 Sun Yatsen proclaims founding of Republic of China (in Nanjing) 1914 WWI begins in Europe 1915 Japan s 21 Demands made of China 1919 May 4 th Movement 1921 Chinese Communist Party formed Chinese demands in Versailles 1919 Abolition of all privileges of foreign powers in China (e.g. extraterritoriality) Cancelling of 21 Demands made by Japanese Return Shandong to China (German concession, taken by Japan in WWI) Their rejection sparks May 4 th Movement birth of modern Chinese nationalism o Protests across China (demonstrations, boycotts, leaders arrested) o Signals the awakening of modern China Roads to 1949 - origins of the Chinese Revolution 1. Nanjing Decade: 1927-37 2. Japan s Invasion of China: 1931-45 3. Rise of CCP: 1921-49 4. Chinese Civil War: 1945-49 Establishment of the KMT KMT founded in 1912 Won parliamentary elections in 1912 Song Jiaoren (KMT parliamentary leader) assassinated in Shanghai in 1913 Sun Yatsen and other KMT leaders flee China Yuan Shikai establishes control over Republic of China Organised along Soviet models Chiang Kai-shek 1887-1975
Began to pursue military career as Qing falls Served in Japanese Imperial Army until fall of Qing Dynasty Founding member of KMT in 1912 in Guangzhou 1926 he ceases control of the KMT military influence The real challenge of KMT is to unify China 1926 Northern Expedition in order to do this o Trying to terrorize the warlords who had ceased power in their local areas when the Qing dynasty fell o Doesn t want to kill them all but wants them to join KMT 3 Breaking with CCP April 1927: purge of communists, 12 000 killed in Shanghai Reaching out to capitalists in Shanghai and elsewhere e.g. TV Soong KMT weaknesses 1. Lack popular base (elite; not populist) 2. Lack effective territorial control (local warlords remain in place) Influence of Japanese Japanese invasion pushed China towards CCP 1904-05 Russian-Japanese war Japan won Japanese got the Russian concessions particularly north-eastern China (Manchoukuo) Continued to move into north-eastern Asia, took over Korea KMT: Resisting Japan Losses in Northern China, lose Shanghai Nanjing Massacre December 1937 o 200,000 people were slaughtered o Rape, murder, overall violence o Chiang Kai-Shek is forced to relocate Wartime capital Chongqing The start of the party 1921 Inspired by: o Russian Revolution o May 4 th o Poverty and inequity o Nationalism Chased from the cities to the countryside Purges by CKS 1927 Failed urban insurrections Jiangxi Soviet established Chiang s encirclement campaigns Before number 5, they break out and go on the Long March 1934-35 Growing CCP strength A rural base o Fish swimming in the sea of the people Guerrilla warfare Mao (re)emerges as leader
Peasant nationalism Gain fighting experience Build up organizational capacity Establish footholds of support in Northern and Eastern China Gain popular support Build up nationalist credentials 4 Land reform Seizing land from wealthy landowners: re-distributing it to poor farmers Builds popular support Enhances credibility as socialists Truly a revolutionary party Terror was a key part Chinese civil war 1945-9 1. Japan s surrender: August 15 1945 2. US non-intervention in China 3. CCP steadily expands their control 4. KMT retreats to Taiwan 5. PRC proclaimed October 1 1949 Lessons learned External threat, internal chaos Nationalism and social equity as foundations of regime legitimacy Vulnerability of the CCP in 1950 TUTORIAL Rana Mitter, A Bitter Revolution: China s Struggle with the Modern World Focuses on the importance of the May Fourth Movement symbolic as well as functional o 4 May 1919 Closely related to the New Culture Movement, however, they are separate movements May Fourth movements did not occur spontaneously, they were greatly planned Involved marching and protesting, followed by destroying homes of Chinese government officials e.g. Zhang Zongxiang, the former Chinese minister to Japan Events were: led by students, stimulated by events taking place outside China and were violent Students were sick of China being humiliated and defeated by imperial/international powers this was encouraged by the Paris Peace Conference and the Versailles Treaty where China was not going to get back their territories (given to Japan) Chinese nationalists were outraged May Fourth reflects ideas that were recurrent throughout the development of modern China in the 20 th century Greatest challenges to Confucianism: Christianity and capitalist modernity Represented a distinct break from the late Qing empire and the era of the Nationalist government in the 1930s, which was cut short by war Rise of Japan at the same time Many see the period of time before Mao s victory as a time of lost opportunities but really it was also a period of intellectual and social revolutionary ideas Theda Skocpol, States and Social Revolutions: A comparative analysis of France, Russia and China Like Russia and France, the Chinese Revolution occurred after the breakdown of the autocratic Old Regime
5 Centrality of peasants in China yet they could not revolutionize on their own, they needed the help of the communists. Therefore, they were not the sole revolutionary force but were central to the revolution as without their support, the CCP would not have won in 1949 Post-1911 military state with Yuan Shihkai Influence of warlords China had two parallel revolutionary parties: Guomingdang (GMD) and CCP GMD = urban, CCP = peasants and rural They emerged at the same time and became allies against war-lords until Chiang Kai-shek went on the purges of the CCP with the Shanghai Massacre B/w 1923-26 the two parties were joint and achieved three things ( United Front : o Effective nationalist government o Well-armed and well-trained Nationalist Revolutionary Army (politically indoctrinated as well) o Built a centrally organised, yet mass-based, anti-imperialist party oriented towards social reform Northern Expedition to gain control of provinces held by warlords Despite success still didn t have complete control of China and China was still largely disconnected The failures of the GMD led to the success of the CCP wasn t just the CCP all on its own CCP used guerrilla tactics, unique to China s peasantry! they had to get their support and show them that they had their interests at heart Cultivation of the Red Army and cadres Japanese occupation was good for the CCP When CCP won in 1949 looked like it would become a model like the Soviet State, yet this did not happen! broke ties with USSR after China wanted to develop their own nuclear program Questions: 1. Why does Mitter refer to a bitter revolution? What factors brought about the 1949 Revolution? A lot of suffering and turmoil during this time There was change but it wasn t necessarily good e.g. collapse of Qing dynasty but only brought about Yuan Shikhai s militaristic dictatorship 2. Why does Skocpol refer to a social revolution? How accurate/helpful are the concepts of bourgeoisie, national and social revolution in relation to China s revolution? WEEK 3: China under Mao 1949-1978 Questions o Describe China s political, economic, and social structures during the Maoist era. o How did the CCP establish and maintain legitimacy during this era? o What aspects of China s political, economic, and social structures have changed in the reform era? What is similar? ENDURING THEMES: LEGITIMACY AND CONTINUITY/CHANGE Legitimacy What is it and why does it matter? o Right to rule " Regime/government and related institutions accepted as appropriate, with rightful authority. Example: Mubarak (Egypt): loss of legitimacy