Review of book The Devil and Communist China: From Mao Down to Xi. Stephen Mosher. 2024. Kindle online sample. Section 6.
Chiang Kai-shek, determined to excise the cancer of Communism from China once and for all, launched an encirclement campaign against the largest Red base in 1933.
As the noose gradually tightened around the Communist “capital” of Ruijin, THE PARTY LEADERSHIP, FACING ANNIHILATION, DECIDED TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT the following year.
They hoped to make their way close enough to the border of the Soviet Union so their “Soviet Older Brothers” could resupply them with weapons and ammunition.
…
Constantly harried by Nationalist forces, it took the Red Army over a year to reach the northern city of Yan’an.
Only a few thousand troops survived the six-thousand-mile journey, but in the course of it, Mao’s fortunes dramatically improved.
For IT WAS DURING THIS “LONG MARCH,” AS IT WAS LATER ROMANTICIZED IN COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA, THAT MAO ZEDONG FINALLY SEIZED CONTROL OF THE CCP.
Only his death forty-two years later would finally end the tyrannical reign of the first Red Emperor.
…
The CCP was further saved from defeat by Imperial Japan, which sent its forces into China in 1938.
While Chiang’s Nationalist army heroically fought against the invaders for the next seven years, MAO REFUSED TO LET HIS FORCES ENGAGE THE JAPANESE.
Instead, working behind Chiang’s back and behind the Japanese lines, he relentlessly fortified his forces and expanded the Red Base Areas under his control.
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Following Japan’s defeat in the Second World War by the United States, and using arms and equipment supplied by the Soviet Union, the chairman finally sent his long-husbanded armies on the march.
Paying no attention to the mounting death tolls, Chairman MAO ORDERED CITY AFTER CITY BLOCKADED AND THEIR POPULATIONS STARVED INTO SUBMISSION.
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It was a campaign of unmatched brutality.
After the Manchurian city of Changchun was encircled, for example, one of Mao’s leading military commanders, Lin Biao, ordered his forces to turn the capital into a “city of death.”
DURING THE SIEGE THAT FOLLOWED, AN ESTIMATED 160,000 PEOPLE DIED.
General Lin’s men then easily captured the city, declaring victory on October 20, 1948.
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On October 1, 1949, Mao stood on top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace overlooking Tiananmen Square and proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
The chairman of the CCP had posed as a simple “land reformer,” even a believer in democracy, during the civil war.
NOW MAO SHOWED HIS TRUE FACE, EMBARKING ON A BRUTAL CAMPAIGN TO IMPOSE HIS VISION OF COMMUNISM ON CHINA.
One group after another was targeted in nationwide campaigns of terror called “purges.”
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In the cities, this meant targeting officials of the former government and successful businessmen (“capitalists”).
While in the countryside, it meant anyone who owned more land than they could farm themselves (“landlords”).
THOSE WHO WERE TARGETED LOST THEIR BUSINESSES, THEIR FARMS, AND OFTEN THEIR LIVES AS WELL.
…
Farmland was redistributed equally to all, but the party soon took it away again.
They forced the farmers into larger and larger collectives, where they were ordered to farm the land in common.
But the purpose of the purges was not just the redistribution of wealth or land.
MAO PROMOTED THE PURGES AS OFFICIAL STATE POLICY TO ELIMINATE OPPOSITION TO THE CCP.
According to Frank Dikötter, “Mao emphasized terror should be ‘stable,’ ‘precise,’ and ‘ruthless’: the campaign should therefore be carried out with surgical precision, without any slippage into random slaughter, which would undermine the standing of the party.”
…
At the same time, Mao cautioned against killing too few, saying, “In provinces where few have been killed a large batch should be killed; the killings can absolutely not be allowed to stop too early.”
THE COMMUNIST PARTY ADMITS TWO TO THREE MILLION PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES TO SUCH PURGES IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC.
…
However, based on my own research in rural China in 1979–80, I BELIEVE THE ACTUAL NUMBER IS MUCH, MUCH HIGHER, AND OTHERS AGREE.
The official statistics released by Communist officials in China are constructed for political advantage and often bear little resemblance to the actual reality.
Political campaigns resulting in purges have remained a feature of life in the People’s Republic of China down to the present day.
…
The end of the civil war and the strong work ethic of the Chinese people set the stage for rapid economic growth in the 1950s.
Borrowing the Soviet economic model in the hope of quickly industrializing, the CCP introduced its First Five-Year Plan in 1953.
But even as China’s economy grew, the party bureaucracy grew even faster, and Mao grew impatient with the pace of change.
HE DECIDED FOOD AND FACTORY PRODUCTION COULD BE GREATLY INCREASED IF CHINA’S PEASANTS WERE FORCED INTO HUGE COLLECTIVE FARMS called “people’s communes.”
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Mao laid out his plans in the Second Five-Year Plan, which called for “launching the country into a race to catch up with more developed countries through breakneck industrialization and collectivization of the countryside.”
Mao, who couldn’t read a balance sheet but excelled at crafting clever slogans, ANNOUNCED IT WAS TIME FOR CHINA TO TAKE A “GREAT LEAP FORWARD.”
He declared China must catch up to industrialized nations like Great Britain in steel production within three years.
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Mao’s fantasy of overnight industrialization did not speed up China’s economic development.
Instead, it resulted in a cascading series of disasters.
Many villagers were unhappy about being drafted into “industrial armies” and were tortured, or even beaten to death, for refusing to join the new “people’s communes.”
MORE THAN 2.5 MILLION PEOPLE PERISHED IN THIS WAY AS THE COMMUNES WERE ORGANIZED AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD BEGAN.
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The quotas handed to commune officials for the production of iron— “to catch up to Great Britain in steel production”—set in motion another disaster.
Since the vast majority of China’s eighty thousand communes had no access to iron ore, or the coal they would need to refine it, this was the equivalent of being told to weave straw into gold.
FEARFUL OF FAILING TO MEET THEIR QUOTAS, COMMUNE OFFICIALS ORDERED VILLAGERS TO STOP TENDING THEIR CROPS AND INSTEAD BUILD CRUDE “BACKYARD FURNACES.”
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To make up for the lack of iron ore, they were then told to throw everything made of iron they could find, including their own cooking pots and water buckets, into the furnaces.
Finally, to make up for the lack of coal, THEY WERE TOLD TO FIRE THE FURNACES BY STRIPPING THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE BARE OF TREES and their own homes of furniture.
In all, perhaps 10 percent of China’s forests were cut down to use as fuel.
…
But the real tragedy was just beginning.
In their haste to produce “steel”—most of which had to be later re-smelted if it could be used at all—the cadres in charge of the communes had neglected their primary duty: to allow the villagers to produce enough food to feed China’s massive population.
BY LATE 1959, THE COUNTRY WAS IN THE GRIP OF THE WORST FAMINE IN ALL HUMAN HISTORY.
During the following three years, forty-five million or more people starved to death.
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The chaos, death, and destruction caused by the Great Leap Forward generated enormous resentment and anger toward the CCP and the leader who had ordered it.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens wrote letters complaining about the lack of food, excessive working hours, poor housing, and more.
Even within the party, Mao faced a barrage of criticism.
Stung by this criticism, Mao was forced to retreat.
THE BACKYARD FURNACES WERE TORN DOWN, AND PEASANTS WERE ALLOTTED SMALL PLOTS OF LAND ON WHICH TO GROW VEGETABLES.
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Control over food production was shifted from the giant “people’s communes” down to smaller, village-sized collectives called “production brigades” and “production teams.”
One thing didn’t change, however.
COMMUNIST CADRES WOULD CONTINUE TO CONTROL MOST OF THE LAND, AND WIELD ALL THE POWER, IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.
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The seething chairman, who would never admit his critics were justified, plotted revenge for this loss of face.
He had two aims.
The first was to resolidify his grip on power by purging his enemies within the party.
The second was to systemically destroy all traces of China’s traditional culture and beliefs in order to replace it with a new Communist society according to his own vision.
The Great Sloganeer announced China was in need of a Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
FOR HIS SHOCK TROOPS—HIS BROWN-SHIRTS, AS IT WERE—HE WOULD USE CHINA’S MILLIONS OF YOUNG, IMPRESSIONABLE STUDENTS.
He even coined a term for them.
They were to be called Chairman Mao’s Red Guards.
(end of section 6, end of online sample, bought Kindle)
… …
Mao’s Cultural Revolution, details.
ChatGPT:
Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution was a tumultuous and highly disruptive socio-political movement that took place in China from 1966 to 1976.
Here are some key details about it:
Initiation:
The Cultural Revolution was initiated by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, as a way to reassert his authority and revive revolutionary fervor within the party and the population.
Goals:
Mao aimed to purge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of what he saw as capitalist and bourgeois elements, as well as to rid Chinese society of traditional and cultural remnants of its pre-revolutionary past.
He envisioned a society where everyone was equal and committed to communist ideology.
Red Guards:
Mao mobilized young people, primarily students, to form paramilitary groups known as Red Guards.
These groups were tasked with enforcing the revolution's ideology, targeting perceived enemies of the state, including intellectuals, artists, and party officials deemed to be revisionist or counter-revolutionary.
Violence and Chaos:
The Cultural Revolution led to widespread violence, persecution, and chaos across China.
Red Guards often resorted to physical violence, public humiliation, and intimidation to enforce Mao's directives.
Many intellectuals, artists, and professionals were sent to labor camps or subjected to "struggle sessions" where they were publicly denounced and sometimes tortured.
Impact on Education and Culture:
Schools and universities were shut down, and education was disrupted for years.
Traditional cultural artifacts, such as temples, historical sites, and artworks, were destroyed or defaced as part of the campaign to eradicate the "Four Olds" (old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas).
Economic Disruption:
The Cultural Revolution disrupted China's economy, leading to inefficiencies, shortages, and economic decline.
Many industries were disrupted, and agricultural production suffered as a result of the chaos.
Political Intrigue:
The Cultural Revolution also saw intense political infighting within the CCP, with different factions vying for power and influence.
Mao himself was often at odds with other top party leaders, including Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping.
Legacy:
The Cultural Revolution left a lasting impact on Chinese society and politics.
It led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and caused immense suffering for millions more.
Its traumatic legacy continues to shape China's politics and society, and it remains a highly sensitive topic in contemporary Chinese discourse.
Overall, the Cultural Revolution was a dark and turbulent chapter in China's history, characterized by ideological extremism, mass mobilization, and widespread violence and repression.
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