China Essay Plans
Theme 1 Plans
‘The role of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was the key factor in establishing communist
rule in China in the years 1949-57’. How far do you agree with this view?
● Role of PLA in government: PLA Key Factor: PRC divided into 6 regions,
governed by regional party bureaux. Each party Bureaux had 2/4 posts filled by PLA
officers. PLA not Key Factor: Mao was the chairman of the Military Affairs
Commission which controlled the PLA. The PLA therefore ultimately reported to him.
● Role of PLA in suppression: PLA Key Factor: “Suppression of bandits campaign”
1950-53 - over 100,000 “bandits” (any opposition to CCP) killed by the PLA. PLA not
Key Factor: Mass participation in struggle meetings in the Antis Campaign; April
1951 Ministry of Public Security published a manual titled “How to Hold an
Accusation Meeting.”
● Role of PLA in securing land: PLA Key Factor: Reunification campaigns 1950;
PLA invading Tibet & Xinjiang. Destroying 60,000 opposition in Tibet, 1952 PLA built
a massive highway into TIbet to encourage migration of Han Chinese & dilution of
Tibetan population. PLA not Key Factor: CCP used some negotiation/covert ops in
order to gain control of Xinjiang province. Nationalist leaders of Xinjiang were invited
to the Political Consultative Conference in 1949. Plane “crashed” on the way to
Beijing, CCP suspected.
● Role of PLA in economic policy: PLA Key Factor: PLA Officers’ dependents
compelled to work in co-operative farms. Work teams of PLA soldiers contributed up
to a week’s free community labour per year. Poor Peasants. PLA not Key Factor:
Poor Peasant Associations under Agrarian Reform Law mobilised the peasant
masses. Peasants executed 1 to 2 million Landlords.
‘The popularity of Mao’s land reform policies in the years 1949–57 was mainly responsible
for the successful establishment of communist rule in China.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?
● Land Reform: Significant: 88% of households took part in Land Reform policies,
43% of the land had been redistributed to 60% of the population garnering huge
popular support for Mao. Not Significant: In the North of China, only 15% of farmers
rented land; exploitation by landlords was not a serious problem.
● Reunification Campaigns: Significant: Guangdong; traditionally a pro-nationalist
stronghold specifically targeted by “Suppress the Counter-Revolutionaries campaign”
1950 28,000 executed. Not Significant: Without popular support of population & in-
migration of Han Chinese, Campaign might not have been so successful.
● Lao gai: Significant: By 1955 1.3 million people undergoing forced labour including
300,000 “intellectuals”. Not Significant: Between 400,000 and 700,000
“intellectuals” purged in Hundred Flowers Campaign contributed to fraudulent
agricultural practices being adopted by the Party.
● Korean War: Significant: Many peasants donated wages to the PLA due to the
impressive feat of resisting UN forces, businessmen signed “patriotic pacts” agreeing
to pay taxes on time. Not Significant: “Resist America, Aid Korea” huge Propaganda
campaign contributed greatly to public support gained due to Korean War, not the
actual War itself.
How far do you agree that Mao launched the Hundred Flowers campaign in 1957 as a
genuine attempt to encourage political debate?
● Asking Intellectuals for Help: Genuine: 1956 there was a notable shortage of
skilled labour, especially scientists and engineers which Mao recognised was
, stopping China from developing into industrial super-power. Trick: End of 1957
600,000 intellectuals purged, labelled “rightists”, many committed suicide (Same stat
as before)
● Rectification of the Party: Genuine: Late April 1957, Hundred flowers campaign
became aimed at the CCP’s own “bureaucratism, sectarianism and subjectivism”
(quote from Mao) Trick: Mao promised CCP cadres would be treated “gently”
contradicting his statement.
● Removal of Mao’s Enemies within Party: Genuine: Mao said “90% of high ranking
officials disagreed” with Hundred Flowers policy, but Mao insisted it go ahead. Trick:
May 1957 Mao said in a party memo “Now that a large number of fish have come to
the surface by themselves, there is no need to bait the hooks.”
● International concerns: Genuine: China relied on USSR support 1956-7, Mao felt
the need to initiate a similar thaw as the “Secret Speech” had produced in the USSR.
Trick: Sino-Soviet Split of 1961 - Total international relations breakdown between
PRC and USSR. Shows that International concerns ultimately weren’t a top priority
for Mao.
Theme 2 Plans:
How accurate is it to say that Chinese industry underwent a major transformation in the
years 1949-62?
● Technological advancement: Success: First Five-Year Plan Railway freight
volume more than doubled, enabling raw materials, equipment, machines and PLA to
be moved around the country more quickly & efficiently. Failure: First Five-Year
Plan & Second Five-Year Plan Supply of consumer goods still very low, little to buy
in shops so people saved money and bought government bonds.
● Self-sufficiency: Success: First Five-Year Plan Geological exploration discovered
vital resources like oil, uranium and minerals in Xinjiang, contributing some way to
the amount of Crude oil drilled increasing by 3x. Failure: Second Five-Year Plan
Backyard furnaces; all possible sources of metal e.g. vital cooking implements and
woks being melted in furnaces fuelled by wood from furniture, doors and roofs. Steel
produced was effectively useless causing steel production to ½ by 1962
● Heavy industry: Success: First Five-Year Plan Heavy industrial output nearly 3x
for example industrial production in Manchuria more than outstripped its pre-Civil
War peak. Failure: Second Five-Year Plan By 1962, Industrial output had shrunk by
27 billion yuan, with Coal production decreasing by 50 mil metric tonnes 1958-62
● Transformation to Socialism: Success: First Five-Year Plan Industrial working
class grew from 6 mil to 10 mil. Workers organised into Danwei units that controlled
access to welfare support and provided permits for marriage and travel. Failure:
Second Five-Year Plan Many factories closed due to shortage of raw materials
Many Industrial workers died due to the Great Famine 1958-62.
‘The CCP’s agricultural policies in the years 1949-57 failed to improve the state of Chinese
agriculture.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
● Production: Success: Between 1950-52 total agricultural production increased at a
rate of 15% per annum Failure: First Five-Year Plan agri production target had
been 23%, however in 1953 and 1954 production had risen less than 2%.
● Ideological: Success: By 1952 membership of MATs (pooling labour & equipment)
estimated 40% of all peasant households, by January 1956 80% were in APCs
(pooling land, animals etc), by December 1956 88% were in higher-level APCs
(bigger APCs). Failure: Gradualists like Liu Shaoqi and Premier Zhou Enlai were
concerned about the lack of modern equipment and agricultural practices, their
concerns were ignored by Mao declaring that a “high tide in new socialist mass
