Mao-Topic 2: How far had Communist rule changed China by the mid-1960s?

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  • Created by: chanthi_x
  • Created on: 24-02-16 20:53
What were the key features of the 1950 Agrarian Reform Law?
Land was shared between the peasants and landlords were put on trial in 'People's Courts'.
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What were the People's Courts?
They were trials where landlords were accused of things like charging high rents or mistreating their tenants.
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What was the 'Speak Bitterness' campaign?
Village meetings in which peasants would complain about their landlords.
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Why did Mao introduce the 1950 Agrarian Reform Law?
He wanted to increase support for him.
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What was the problem with food production in the early 1950s?
China's population was rising quickly but food production was not so it had to rise to avoid famine.
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What were Mutual Aid teams?
Peasants worked on each other's land, fertilising, killing pests or harvesting so that each family's plot would become more productive.
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What was the problem with Mutual Aid teams?
There were lots of quarrels about whose land should be worked on first and production wasn't increased quickly enough.
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What did Mao introduce from 1953?
Co-operatives
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What was a co-operative?
Under this system, land was jointly owned so one large crop could be grown effectively.
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Why did Mao think that co-operatives would be better?
The co-operative's resources could be pooled to buy equipment, fertilisers and seeds.
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Why didn't peasants like co-operatives?
Many peasants didn't want to give up the private land they had fought for.
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By 1957, what percentage of peasants belonged to co-operatives?
90% of China's peasants
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What were the industrial actions taken by Mao before 1953?
He ordered prices and wages to be fixed at a low rate, he took over banks and the Chinese currency was stabilised, he increases the taxes paid by businesses and rebuilt railway links.
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What did the Communist government do from 1953?
They took over all the businesses and planned and organised what should be produced.
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What was signed with the USSR in 1949?
The 'Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance'.
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How did the USSR support the 5YP 1953-1957?
Thousands of Russian scientists and engineers supervised millions of Chinese on almost 700 major projects and thousands of Chinese students were sent for training in Soviet universities and colleges.
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What did the 5YP focus on and why?
Heavy industries-steel, coal and chemicals.
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What were the successes and failures of the 5YP?
The Chinese workers surpassed all of the industrial targets but neglected agriculture and light industry.
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What social reforms were implemented by Mao?
Life for women was improved along with literacy and education, crime and health were tackled.
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How was life for women improved?
Mao banned marriages, abolished the system which made women servants of their men, made divorce easier for women and nurseries were planned which made it easier for women to work.
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How was literacy and education improved?
There was a literacy drive which taught villagers to read & write and 'literacy checkpoints' were set up.
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How was crime and health tackled?
Cities were cleaned up and health care became free.
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What were some limitations to the social reforms?
Medicine was not very advanced, Mao was only interested in basic education and smoking couldn't be eliminated.
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What methods did Mao use to control China?
Wall posters, roadside loudspeakers, newspapers, propaganda films and meetings.
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What were the aims behind Communist propaganda?
To brainwash the population, expose opponents and reinforce communist values and ideals.
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What would happen to people who showed resistance?
They were seen as opponents and pressure on them was increased - they were denounced at accusation meetings, some were sent to labour camps and thousands were killed.
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What was the Hundred Flowers policy of 1956?
Mao announced a period of open debate to reflect on how China was being run and to find better ways of running government.
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Why did the Hundred Flowers policy end abruptly in 1957 and what happened to the critics?
Mao's government was bombarded with posters, speeches and books which criticised it and many critics were arrested, re-educated or lost their jobs.
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What did Mao mean by 'The Great Leap Forward' in 1958?
A new revolution to inspire the people and he wanted ordinary people to get involved in small-scale industry.
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What were the aims behind the Great Leap Forward?
Co-operatives to be joined together as communes and in 15 years Chinese steel production would be equal to that of the UK.
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What were communes?
Communes abolished private land and property altogether, family life was replaced by shared facilities, each commune had brigades of 600-1,000 people and brigades were divided into teams of 50-200.
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How did the peasants now contribute to industry as well as farming?
Some peasants mined coal or iron ore and others smelted it in crude backyard furnaces.
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What happened to the USSR's aid in 1960 and why?
Khrushchev withdrew his advisers from China because of a quarrel with Mao.
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What were the successes of the Great Leap Forward?
Farming was improved, massive irrigation terracing helped make agricultural land more fertile, whilst construction projects changed the face of Chinese cities.
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What were the failures of the Great Leap Forward?
Iron produced in backyard furnaces was brittle and unusable, people did less work, in the 1960s there were 2 droughts, a famine which caused between 30-45 million deaths and the government plunged the country into debt.
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Card 2

Front

What were the People's Courts?

Back

They were trials where landlords were accused of things like charging high rents or mistreating their tenants.

Card 3

Front

What was the 'Speak Bitterness' campaign?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Why did Mao introduce the 1950 Agrarian Reform Law?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What was the problem with food production in the early 1950s?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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