The Chinese Revolution   Term Paper ID:27178 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the developments & immediate aftermath of the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Focuses on ideology, strategy, tactics, & leadership.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses the developments & immediate aftermath of the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Focuses on ideology, strategy, tactics, & leadership. Paper Introduction: The Chinese Revolution in 1949 altered the structure of Chinese society both in the immediate sense and the long term. In the immediate sense, it shifted from the previous regime to a Communist system; in the long term it altered the degree to which Chinese traditions would be followed or changed. These changes were in response to the perception of certain foreign and domestic problems extending back to the beginning of the century. The long term change included modernization of the economy. The effort to change Chinese society began before the Revolution, with the efforts of the Communists. First they tried to attract people to their cause, and then they tried to make that cause understandable as a force which would empower the people and lead them to revolution. After the Revolution, efforts at changing society were Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Mao's thought developed during the early years of this decade, aperiod of great turmoil, with growing conflict between traditional Chinesethought and new ideas from the West. This was part of the strategy of staying close to the masses inorder to organize them through effective leadership; this doctrine laterformulated as the "mass line" (Meisner, 1986, 44). Mao clearly falls on the side of the dialectic, which isa process of change applied to society. The CCP also developed claimsof allegiance by pursuing tasks that benefited the peasants. New York: Free Press, 1977.----------------------- 1 Mao became an active local leader inthe May Fourth Movement of 1919, and he retained his revolutionary fervor.However, he also became convinced that more was needed than massenthusiasm, and change also required an organization of dedicatedrevolutionaries. The leadership of the CCP was solid,while that of the KMT was not. The Chinese Revolution in 1949 altered the structure of Chinesesociety both in the immediate sense and the long term. From their own past they took the idea of the "united front," and thetechnique of campaigns to mobilize the masses for social change. First they tried to attract people to theircause, and then they tried to make that cause understandable as a forcewhich would empower the people and lead them to revolution. Landlord power was broken with the land reformeffort. The massivechanges wrought in Chinese society were far-reaching, and were the directresult of the Revolution . Still, the mobilization of the masses was the key element in therevolution, in the immediate reforms, and in subsequent efforts at reform.Members of the party learned about peasants by living with them, and nearthem, and by knowing the villages so well that they would be able todiscern who was a committed to the cause and who was an enemy. Indeed, the regime always tried to enlist the support of thevarious groups in Chinese society. After the Revolution, efforts at changing society were undertaken ina more methodical and all-inclusive manner. The long term change included modernization of the economy.The effort to change Chinese society began before the Revolution, with theefforts of the Communists. The changesinvolved in land reform in particular went to the heart of the issuesinvolved and made real and lasting reform. It was this vision that was crucial in determining the social and economic policies that the victorious revolutionaries pursued (Meisner, 1986, 114). This was one of the reasons for Mao's development of arural strategy for the Chinese revolution. Certain traditionalpractices were eliminated by law, such as the excessive domination of menover women which was outlawed in a new marriage law. The campaign again mobilized support from thecountry. While it was probably inevitable that such ahierarchy would form and would calcify to a degree, thus setting anideological pattern more than responding to the needs of the masses. The groupalso recruited new activists in each village while also isolating itsenemies. Conflict between thetwo for control of China was heated. In theearly 195 s the state created functional ministries coordinated by a StateAdministrative Council and by the consolidation of the Party bureaucracy. The legacy of economicdomination by the former regime had done nothing to alleviate problems inthe cities either. The significance ofChina's land reform cannot be overstated. Rivalry between the KMT and the CCP continued, but the CCPwas succeeding in surviving the KMT military attacks. What emerged was a new, masspolitics. The CCP looked both to its ownpast and to the example of the Soviet Union for ideas as to how to proceed. The victory in 1949 can be partlyattributed to this fact. Again, Mao writes, If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. The KIT was allied with the warlords andwas thus stronger militarily than the CCP, leaving the CCP struggling inthe rural areas. The CCP instituted changes in several areas of society. There was a certain cost in thiseffort that may have delayed economic reconstruction, but the Chinese sawit as an important effort. Two parties developed in the 192 s, the CCP and the KNT (Kuomintang).The KMT-CCP United Front had formed first and then divided into the twoseparate units. The doctrine held thatpaying close attention to the well-being of the masses would mean that themasses would then support the revolution. The rural strategy included theconfiscation of the land of landlords and rich peasants, and thedistribution of this land to poor peasants. Mao wrote in "On Practice," Marxists hold that man's social practice alone is the criterion of the truth of his knowledge of the external world (296).He mirrors Lenin who said that practice is higher then theoreticalknowledge. The policywas highly successful, and the mass line policy has to be seen as a keyelement in the CCP victory. An intellectual commitment to Marxism not only demanded a political commitment to revolutionary action but also a social commitment to the liberation of the oppressed and exploited. In "On Contradiction," Mao writes about the essential Marxist concernfor reconciling opposing forces through the process of the dialectic. Some traditional institutions persisted in spiteof Communist efforts to stamp them out, while other areas of the societywere changed completely. Mao's China and After. This was an essential element in economic development; theold regime of landowners had deliberately blocked industrialization,because they saw it as a drain on their manpower resources and a way offreeing the peasants. By 1945, membership in the CCP had increasedto 1.2 million. He emphasizes again and again that knowledge is gained throughaction, and that action tests theory and reshapes it into something closerto truth. ReferencesBianco, Lucien. During the next several years, there were many campaigns to changesociety, and the CCP and its related organizations managed to make somechanges quickly while others took a good deal of time. Hetalks here of the two world outlooks, metaphysical versus the dialecticalconception. The victory of the CCP also reflects theeffectiveness of its combination of action and ideology: The Chinese Communist Party originated as an intellectual elite, to be sure, but one that was intellectually committed to Marxism and socialism. These changes were in response to the perception ofcertain foreign and domestic problems extending back to the beginning ofthe century. This involved more thansurrounding the cities from the countryside; instead it became a complexand interdependent synthesis of military, political, and economic elements,utilizing techniques of guerrilla warfare. The era of the Red Guard is only an extreme example of thistendency. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience (3 ).Inherent in Mao's view is the idea that ideology has to be changeablerather than imposing a framework on reality and trying to force reality tocomply. Yet, Mao was at the same timechallenging the beliefs of those same masses, beliefs long held andenshrined in tradition. Within a short time of establishing nationwide control, the newregime had set China on a new course. In the immediatesense, it shifted from the previous regime to a Communist system; in thelong term it altered the degree to which Chinese traditions would befollowed or changed. Mao had encouraged peasant activities against landlords,and this had hastened the split. It was a complete change fromthe old regime. This was in sharp contrast to the weakresistance the former regime had shown in previous eras to gun-boatdiplomacy and full-scale invasion alike. These efforts had varying results and were of varyingdegrees in effectiveness. One reason for thismay relate to the theory behind the mass line--the land reform institutedin the beginning derived from the people rather than from an upper echelonin a government hierarchy. Many traditional institutionswere either dismantled, prohibited, or downgraded in the effort tomodernize and to bring about a new political and social attitude on thepart of the people. An examination of the process indicates how theemergence of the Chinese Communist Party and Mao Zedong thought served asresponses to China's problems. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971.Meisner, Maurice. The Chinese leadership now decided to defend the revolution outsidethe nation's borders as well. In the long term, ideology hasoften interfered to reduce the effectiveness of reform and of any attack onthe historical problems the CCP was formed to combat. This was a major effort given that thecountry had over 5 million people in it. Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949. [T]he Communists emerged from a rural revolutionary movement without having abandoned their vision of a socialist future. Land reformwas given priority, as might be expected from a regime that had come topower with the particular support of the peasants. Intellectually, the Chinese Revolution originated in the challenging of China's cultural heritage by Western civilization. . Yet, it is clear that over time the CCP attempted at times toimpose ideology rather than to shape it to the reality learned throughpractice. May Fourth was the culmination of that challenge: the brutal, wholesale repudiation of Confucianism, the symbol of Chinese culture and Chinese history (Bianco, 1967, 28). In keeping with the belief that a strong government would mean astrong economy, the CCP fashioned new political institutions that helpedreshape all of Chinese society. There was also an effort at change in the urbanregions, which had their own problems of recovery. They certainly had much to do with the economicdevelopment that has taken place, and their consequences are still felt inChina today. However, social transformation had yet to be accomplished inother areas, and economic development had barely begun. . Unhealthy tiesbetween private businessmen and Party or government officials wereeliminated by a Three-Anti Campaign (corruption, waste, and bureaucracy)and by the Five-Anti Campaign (bribery, theft of state property, taxevasion, theft of economic secrets, and embezzlement in carrying outgovernment contracts). He also states, There are many contradictions in the process of development of a complex thing, and one of them is necessarily the principal contradiction whose existence and development determine or influence the existence and development of the other contradictions (331).In the process of changing Chinese society, contradictions would be createdby the effort, and this should be kept in mind in analyzing how the partyaddressed the historical problems it faced in coming to power. The Confucian view would be metaphysical, and the communistview dialectical. One measure of theeffectiveness of Mao's thought is the degree to which it served to resolvethe intellectual conflict underlying it: The importance of the May Fourth Movement should by now be apparent. The Russian revolution was a model, and Mao attended thefounding of the CCP in Shanghai in 1921 and organized the Hunan branch. There were both military and political components of the Chineserevolution and the actions of the CCP. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.