Mao Zedong and the People's Republic of China
Many today believe that China is on its way to becoming one of the world's top superpowers. Increased diplomatic talks with the United States and its recent admission into the World Trade Organization only emphasize its growing political and economic importance. According to an article in TIME Magazine: "the People's Republic is the buzz of all Asia as a candidate superpower of the next century." All this from a country that at the beginning of the last century lacked an effective central government, and was still holding fast to socio-political traditions that were centuries old. Today, China has achieved the unity that has so long been an issue in its history, and that eluded political leaders from 1912 to 1949. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, no one could have imagined such progress, and it is possible that China would not have progressed at such a rate were it not for one man. Mao Zedong led China through a successful revolution, and instituted vital changes that allowed China to begin its journey to superpower status. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, China was a land of tradition, mostly untouched by time. About ninety-four percent of the Chinese population lived in small rural villages. With a popu
As influence spread over northern China, the CCP instituted moderate reforms such as reducing taxes, land rent, and introducing elections, voting, and more rights for women. Working conditions in the cities and countryside were still terrible, and Chiang was not successful in getting rid of the majority of the warlords. In the rural areas, land redistribution programs were started, with nearly one-half of China's arable land being eventually distributed to the peasants. The People's Republic, barely a year old, had forced the world strongest nations into a stalemate. The changes were mostly cosmetic however, and many problems remained unsolved. In 1934, however, the CCP decided to listen to a European advisor, Otto Braun. The role of the CCP was to monitor the effects of socialist reform, consult with the people, and then adjust policies accordingly. In January 1941, the United Front ended when the KMT attacked the Communists, and once again, they separated. Sun Yat-sen agreed, and in 1926, the Kuomintang Northern Expedition led by Chiang Kai-shek defeated the warlord-backed Beijing government. In 1945 the United States detonated atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered. The Party reformed personal relations as well. In this way, the Long March can be compared to the Winter of 1777 at Valley Forge during the American Revolution. Braun had said that guerrilla warfare was outdated, and that more direct confrontation was necessary. Chiang had the Communists surrounded, and was slowly tightening his grip, when the Communists suddenly broke out. In February, the Communists took Beijing, and in October they reaching the center of Southern China, Guangzhou.
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