One of the key differences between communism in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and communism in China is how it first began to develop in those countries. The communists in China obtained their power from the bottom up. Mao Zedong, the son of a former peasant farmer, supported peasant revolts and saw the potential power that they had in their communities. Mao realized that the working class in his country was too small to win the revolution alone. He knew that he needed more people in support of the revolution, so he decided to include the peasants. Mao became convinced “that the peasantry was capable of being, not merely the leading force, but virtually the sole force in the revolutionary process.”(1) While working to win the revolution against the Kuomintang, Mao had the idea of creating a revolutionary army out of the peasant class. This ended up working in his favor, because it gave him the support of enough people to win the revolution. In 1947, Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the Communist Party of China. Contrary to China, the rise of communism in Russia was not supported by as many people. The Russian people were hungry and desperate for change. This lead to a less difficult rise to power for Vladimir Lenin. His rebellion was assembled by a small force that overthrew the power of an already weak government. The citizens of the USSR felt less passionate about the revolution because they were not all involved in it together like the Chinese people
China and Russia are seen as two of the most powerful nations in the world. Their strong military, economy, and large amount of land and population. These two nations have many similarities and differences that effect their relationship and how other nations see them across the globe. One major trait they have in common in their governments political view, communism. Communism was seen as one of the biggest threats to the world once it swallowed China and Russia.
While Mao’s interpretation of Marxism included using peasants as the basis for revolution, Stalin felt that workers were meant to lead an urban-based class war. This led to Stalin’s view that the revolution in China was not genuinely Marxist and his refusal to support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, Stalin also feared Mao as a rival, did not want the Cold War to spread to Asia, and favored the Guomindang over the CCP. These personality clashes and Stalin’s instinct for self-preservation convinced Mao that Stalin wished for a divided and weak China that would be unable to
The Chinese communist party had a great influence on the peasants, this sparked a sense of nationalism between the two classes this is shown in documents 1 and 2. Mao Zedong stated in document 1 that “peasants will rise like a mighty storm” and that “they will smash all chains that bind them and rush forward along the road to liberation”. Here Zedong’s tone is intimidating and determined. Zedong shows confidence in the peasants and their abilities
The Russian and Chinese revolutions outcomes were similar as well. As stated on (“Chinese Revolution”) “Chinese Revolution, (1911–12), nationalist democratic revolt that overthrew the Qing (or Manchu) dynasty in 1912 and created a republic…” Chinese wanted to rebuild a democracy, because people were not having enough freedoms. Just like The Russian Revolution which wanted to change their social aspects in complications “The causes of this unrest of the common people towards the Tsar and aristocratic landowners … key factors to consider were ongoing resentment at the cruel treatment of peasants by patricians, poor working conditions experienced by city workers in the fledgling industrial economy and a growing sense of political and social awareness of the lower orders in general (democratic ideas were reaching Russia from the West and being touted by political activists)” (“1917 Russian Revolution”) Similarly to the Chinese revolution they held strikes to protest against their rights because of the unfairness under the rule of the czars.
The Chinese Communist Party took control of the government in 1949, after defeating the Nationalist party and its un-communist policies, laws, and views. During this time period WWII was also going on bringing with it new ideas and technologies that changed China for better or worse. With this change the peasant class experienced a major shift in rights, power, and influence. The Chinese Communist Party and the peasant class between circa 1925 and circa 1950 had a relationship that greatly benefited both sides, the Chinese Communist Party empowered the peasants and advocated for social and economic equality which strengthened the anti-japanese viewpoint and instilled a sense of nationalism.
“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” John F. Kennedy, September 25, 1961
A line of thousands of Chinese communists hiked up the mountains of Northern China. The years of struggle and harsh life they lived did not deter these fighters. Their goal was to create a better future for the common Chinese citizen by using communism; something which their leader called “a hammer which we use to crush our enemies.” He stayed true to his word. This bold and charismatic leader was at the head of a mass revolution in which China was forever changed. He led a movement which transformed China into the powerful and influential nation which they had never envisioned for themselves. This man’s name was Mao Zedong. Mao’s actions drove forward the process in which he turned both his nation and himself into world leaders.
It is clear that Mao’s initial goal was to gain power in China, which is demonstrated by his determination to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT) via his idiosyncratic version of communist revolution. In order to do so, Mao utilised methods he deemed most suitable for the communists and, more broadly, Chinese society. For example, unlike his Marxist predecessors, Mao believed that peasants, not urban workers, were the key to rebellion in China. Subsequently, in 1926, he organised peasant unions
The rise of Communism in China is due to a man named Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong was born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China. His rise to power began after The Boxer Rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-imperialist uprising that took place of 1900. It left China’s citizens experiencing starvation, extreme poverty, and grief. It resulted in the loss of many lives. This set the stage for the acceptance of men like Zedong and the Communistic philosophies. After, many chinese citizens began joining revolutionary groups and political parties in hopes of changing their country. These times of chaos and desperation played a large role in acceptance of Mao. He had the support of roughly 85 percent of the nation who were poor
Mao’s strength and superior methods allowed to him to exploit the weaknesses of the GMD government. Mao believed that a permanent, two-stage revolution derived from the peasants was a key aspect. Thus the support of the peasants was crucial success to any political party and Mao’s strategy for winning their support was discipline and land reform. He believed rent reduction must be the result of mass struggle, not a favour from the government and the policy of
Mao had to overcome the Nationalist to come to power and bring communism to China during the Chinese Civil War in the early
China has been a communist country since the communist revolution took place in 1949, since then China has been ruled by the dictator Mao Tse-Tung. However the Chinese dictator died in September 1976, he was hailed abroad as one of the worlds’ great leaders. Certainly one of the more impressive aspects of the Chinese communist government, has been the willingness of the people to protest against it (3, pg. 4).
As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class.
Marx understanding of society shift into modernism lead to develop a form of communism that would come to be known as Marxism, communism is the economic thought of Marxism. Marx understands that Modernism calls for society to embrace equality for the betterment of society. Part of the problem with Capitalism comes from its exploitation of the working class; Marx understands this problem to be a vein of Pre-modernism and not a pillar of Modernism. Marx calls for the working class to rise up over their bourgeoisie oppressors and seize the equality that rightfully belongs to them. “Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other – bourgeoisie and proletariat. (Communist pg. 9)” If society wants to embrace modernism, then society needs to shift its focus from fighting each other and one exploiting another to a classless society. Marx highly criticizes the bourgeoisie in The Communist Manifesto, and this stems from the problems they created for themselves and for the rest of society. In their attempt to gain more power, land, and resources, their material conditions, upon the prominence which their families had been formed, were dissipating due to the lack of foresight and selfish greed. If the Bourgeoisie continues to exploit the proletariat then society will head to conflict, as is expected of Pre-modernism, but if the Bourgeoisie cease its exploitation and relinquish its power for the group,
To better understand the nature of Sino-Soviet relations in the twentieth century, one must analyze the emergence of communism in the respective nations of Russia and China. Communism was first developed by German philosopher Karl Marx in the 1800s, and is defined as a socioeconomic policy structured around the common ownership of property in the absence of any social distinctions such as class, wealth, or race. Marx saw this arrangement as the zenith of human society, the paragon of interaction where the resources of economic production are fully socialized and everything, from basic nutrition to education, is freely allocated based on necessity. These egalitarian doctrines and policies of social, economic, and political freedom greatly appeased to the working-class populations in politically oppressed regions of the world, especially in the situations of the repressed poor and peasant classes of early twentieth-century Russian and Chinese societies.