Communism In China

Cade Carter, Belle Walston, Areli Delgado, David

Smiecinski, and Wyatt Ezell
Why are we here?
 K W
Different cultures
Government controls life
Lots of factories
Limited to one child per family
Lots of people
Grandparents raise grandkids
What is it?
What happens if you dont follow
the rules?
Why is there population so high?
Why are we learning about this?
What is the culture like?
L
Baby names were banned to an
extent
Things from chinas history were
destroyed
The chinese gov. Was
concerned about knowledge
Libraries were burned down
Movies were censored by the
gov.
Everything was controlled by
the gov.
Communism is equal for all
Future knowledge of
communism
To learn why we arent
communist
Simulation Time!!!
Simulation Reflection
● Was this activity fair? Why or why not?
● How would you have changed this activity
to make it more fair?
What is Communism?
● Philosopher Karl Marx publishes his book,
The Communist Manifesto, in 1848
● Everything is controlled by the government
● Everything was considered public property
● There are no poor or rich people, which
means there is a classless society
● Work suited to skills and ability with equal pay
● All resources are shared by everyone
Communism in Practice
● Russia was losing a lot of money and
morale in the middle of World War I
● Vladimir Lenin leads revolutions in
Russia during 1917 that puts
communism into place
● After Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin
comes to power in 1927 and sets in
motion the Five Year Plan, a plan to
industrialize the now-named Soviet
Union (USSR)
Positives
● Communism treats every person equally
regardless of education and income
● Everyone receives equal share of money and
can have enough to maintain a healthy life
● Communism seeks out to support social
welfare and make improvements in public
health and education
● The lower class workers benefit from
communism
Where is China?
Negatives
● Little motivation to work hard (someone
who works hard all of their life will make
the same amount of money as a person
who does not work)
● No personal freedoms (speech, ability to
make financial decisions)
● Government dictates all people and often
leads to authoritarian rule
Rise of Communism in China
● As China suffers conflict and great economic
decline, the Communist Party of China, greatly
inspired by Russia, begins in 1921
● Mao Zedong comes to power within the party in
1927 and realizes that nearly 80% of China’s
population was part of the working class.
● In 1945, Japan loses WWII and gives up
control of China, and the communist party
fights against current government in the
Chinese Communist Revolution
● Communists win and the People’s Republic of
China is established
The Great Leap Forward
● Peasant life in China was centered around family farming and traditional
practices (festivals, homage to ancestors, etc) prior to 1949
The Great Leap Forward cont
● By 1958, the government had
collectivized all agricultural land
● Instead of many different people
making agricultural decisions for many
different pieces of land, one
government is now making decisions
for all land use
○ Is this good or bad?
Cultural Revolution in China
● May of 1966 Mao launched the Cultural
Revolution to “lead people in the right
direction”
● Goal was to remove elements of Western
influence and traditional practices
● People belonging to the upper class were
harassed, publicly executed, jailed, tortured,
or forced to work in labor camps
● Students sent to live in the countryside where movie clip
they were removed from the rest of society
(“reeducation”)
Film Analysis
Answer these questions on the back of your notes.
Be prepared to share your responses.

● Why would the government hold an

execution in public?
● Why do people attend the execution? Why
does nobody speak out?
● Would you speak out against the
execution? Why or why not?
Book Passage
Luo broke the silence. “I expect they’re
books,” he said. “The way you keep your
suitcase locked up and hidden away is
enough to betray your secret: you’ve got a
stash of forbidden books.”
Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress
Passage Analysis
Answer these questions on the back of your notes.
Be prepared to share your responses.

● What does Luo’s dialogue say about

his feelings towards books?
● Why might books be dangerous or
something to be forbidden?
● What else do you think the
government did not allow?
Other Bans and Censorships
● Babies were not to be given old or
traditional-sounding names
● Ancient architecture and relics were
destroyed
● Entire libraries were burned
● Radios, newspapers, and theaters were
controlled by government
China Today
● Still called People’s Republic of China
● Still consider themselves under one
party communist rule, but really they
trade and work like a capitalist country
● No more dictatorial rule; current
president is Xi Jinping
● Censorship still in place, but not as
harsh
○ Some books and films still banned

○ Social media (twitter, facebook)

regulated
Thank You!