Essential Questions: How did Mao Zedong�s government try to rebuild after WW II?
What happened at Tiananmen Square and what were the consequences for China?
I. China Under Mao Zedong
A. Post World War II
1. In 1949, Mao�s Communists finally drove the Nationalists from power
a. Chaing Kai-shek and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan
b. The Communists formed the People�s Republic of China on the Chinese mainland
B. The People�s Republic of China
1. In 1953, the Communists began their first Five-Year Plan for economic growth
a. Part of the plan was to build China�s industry
b. Another part was land reform
-The Communists forced landlords to give their lands to the peasants
-The peasants organized their lands into collective farms
C. The Great Leap Forward
1. In 1958, Mao�s government announced the second Five Year Plan called the Great Leap Forward
a. Created huge farm communities
-People lived in dorms, meals were served in mess halls
-Work hours were long; pay was poor
b. The Great Leap Forward was a terrible failure
-Drought, poor government planning, and lack of incentive led to the starvation of 20 million people
D. The Cultural Revolution
1. After the failure of the Great Leap Forward, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution �
a violent attempt at social change
a. Mao aimed to rid China of is old customs, habits, and traditions
and replace them with a new socialist culture
-Intellectuals were hostile to the state
b. He chose young people (Red Guards) to lead this revolution
-They ruined ancient works of art and killed or beat people who didn�t follow Mao�s philosophy
II. China After Mao
A. Open Society
1. After Mao�s death in 1976, China began moving to a more open society
a. Cultural and scientific exchanges with the West
2. This new direction encouraged many Chinese to speak out in favor of democracy
a. In the spring of 1989, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators occupied
Tiananmen Square (Beijing)
-They wanted to end corruption, a greater say in government, and better conditions at the universities
-Many students ignored government orders to leave
-Finally, armed troops and tanks moved into the square
-Hundreds of protestors were killed on the spot
-As a result, international loans and tourism stopped