Communist China a project

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COMMUNIST CHINA

A PROJECT

BY

PONMUHIL

CLASS- T4

China before communism:

               Before 1911 imperialists under the ‘MANCHU DYNASTY’ ruled china for 4000 years. In October 1911, a rebellion broke out in China. In 1912 the Emperor was forced to abdicate. China was then ruled by the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party, under Dr Sun Yat-sen. The new government faced threats from local warlords and the Japanese. The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist party worked together. The Kuomintang wanted to make China a liberal, modern and capitalist country. Their aims for China were announced in 1921 as the 'three people's principles'.

Sun Yat-sen asked the Western democracies to help him but he got no response. In 1923, however, the Soviet Union offered to help the Chinese Nationalist Revolution. This 'friendship' included the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However the CCP was provoking a Communist revolution.

In 1925, Sun died. Chang Kai-shek became the leader of the Kuomintang. He was afraid of the growing power of the Communists. In 1927, in a bloody purge, thousands of Communists were slaughtered. Mao Tse-tung escaped and was declared a 'red-bandit'. The Communist Party was outlawed.

The Jiangxi Soviet was formed when Mao won the support of peasants in the province of Jiangxi by giving them what they really needed. He took away the land from the rich landowners and gave it to the peasants. He also created the Red Army.

Chiang Kai-shek was furious at Mao's success and so he sent a huge army to invade and surround the Soviet. In October 1934, 100,000 Red Army soldiers smashed through the strangehold and began to retreat. Mao soon realised that they would be attacked by Chiang's air force. Communists would have to retreat to Yenah Soviet in the north. This was 6,000 miles away! It became known as the ‘Long March'. The ‘Long March' is still seen as one of the most important events in China's history.

War against Japan:

                    In 1937 Japan began a full-scale invasion of China. The Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek were forced to stop the civil war against Mao and the Communists, in order for the two sides to work together against the Japanese.

The war against the Japanese brought terrible hardship to the people of China. Northern China was quickly overrun and hundreds of thousands of Chinese were killed. The Chinese were used as slave labour to make goods for the Japanese war effort. The Japanese took all the available food. They tortured and beat people.

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The Kuomintang retreated into safe areas. The Nationalist Government did little to help the ordinary people who were forced to pay taxes even though they were starving. On the other hand, the Communists fought bravely, aided by the peasants. They took control of the countryside, and won the hearts of the people of China. The Sino-Japanese war only ended in 1945 when Japan was defeated in World War II.

The civil war and the liberation of communist China:

                   Chiang Kai-shek was supported by the USA and even the USSR. His ...

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