Session 6 (11/4) - Revolution and Nation Building in China

[Serece Tascione]

     Though the Nationalist and Communists in China were rivals, they both wanted to unify China for the people against the warlords that overpowered the people of China and from foreign intrusions. They were in this fight together for the people of China; however, after WWll, they come into war with one another. Their ideologies about how to accomplish this differed. Where Nationalists principles came from Sun Yasten and backed by Guomindang and the US who believed that “China could not be strong until it rid itself from imperialist encroachment…” They felt resistance was their only way out. Communists, with ideologies from the Soviet Union, were strong in number and laid out a plan that included strict regulations for its members. In the end, the communists succeed. I think their priority is to rebirth the power China once had and regain its reputation.

[Serece Tascione]

I chose the 9 of clubs. It depicts a boy and sister, presumably siblings, in a home. With the sister holding a bucket, and a window view of people farming, the picture emphasizes that the family is a part of the industrial and social production brigade. They are very cheery with the sister smiling at her brother who is being dressed as a Red Guard soldier by his grandparent. He stands proud as he is getting ready to play/pretend in this role.  The kids are excited to be a part of this! This symbolizes that the values of Mao were being encouraged to all, even the lower class and the children, and that it should be something to think highly of. 

[Ester Yang]

Both the Nationalists and the Communists of China were anti-imperialists but they were influenced heavily by the soviets. They also wanted China to stand on its own without any foreign countries taking over or influencing them. After communists took over the country, I’d assume that the party will try hard to get rid of foreign influences by controlling the rules and regulations of China. 

[Ester Yang]

I'll use the playing cards to enhance student's critical thinking skills. This is a great tool to practice Notice and Wonder with the students as they learn to form strong, analylitcal conclusions. Since there are different pictures on each card, I can also have the students make a story line and explain to the class what they created. This can then lead into a class discussion and students can build upon each others' answers. 

[clay dube]

Thomas - your card is about tracking down and cleaning up the filth, (Cleanse the pollution). It is about targeting corruption and other evils.

[clay dube]

Serece, Good analysis. I'm not sure about this one myself. I think the boy has a carrying pole and the girl a bucket to carry. They are part of the effort. But they are also part of the revolution in their garb (young pioneers - red scarves and the boy is even wearing an army hat and belt and wearing an arm band celebrating his little soldier status. He's not in the army, but he's part of the effort. Grandma may be straightening his scarf. Totally open to other ideas on this one.

[clay dube]

Ester - great ideas to build students visual literacy and putting info together from a variety of sources. Some teachers like using the books Little Green or Red Scarf Girl, these fit with that.

[clay dube]

Xi Jinping chose to mark the 70th anniversary of China's entry into the Korean War with a speech stressing that China saw that as a threat to itself and would never shy away from fighting those who threaten it. Others see China's entry as an effort to extinguish South Korea through the aggressive action of North Korea (undertaken with the approval of Stalin and Mao). Perhaps the most important outcome of the Korean War is the US became committed to defending KMT/GMD-ruled Taiwan, something it had not planned to do.

Xi Jinping's speech: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/23/asia/xi-jinping-korea-war-anniversary-intl-hnk/index.html

Bloomberg via Japan Times: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/26/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/seoul-accuses-chinas-xi-distorting-history-korean-war-anniversary-speech/

South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3106806/five-key-takeaways-xi-jinpings-korean-war-anniversary-speech

Highly recommend the documentary They Chose China on US Korean War pows who elected to stay in China:

Film distributor: http://icarusfilms.com/if-they

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDTPhT8mZ9o

 

[clay dube]

Khrystal, I think this is a great idea to spark creative and critical thinking among your students.

[Brigid Schmidt]

This was an interesting clip. Meritocracy implies that the people in power are selected based on ability or merit. In the portrail of China in the clip, it makes it seem like anyone (even a factory worker or a teacher) could become president, where we know most of our presidents have gone to elite schools. However, their example of people did not show any women and it shows Xi Jinping as rising up the ranks from the bottom but his father was an influential Chinese leader. The idea of meritocracy seems good on paper, but is it actually as merit based as it proclaims to be? Dealing with the current political climate, it is clear that no system is truly fair.  

[Betsy Telle]

I chose the 12 of Clubs playing card. My first reaction to the card was that it reminded me of Cesar Chavez. As other have pointed out in the other discussions a lot of these cards show Mao as an equal or at the same level as the people. I guess those are the aspects that remind me of Cesar Chavez. Mao and the Communist Party seemed to at least want to be perceived as a grassroots movement like Cesar Chavez’s movement.

[Jennifer Cutler]

I think one way to use the playing cards is to match them to slogans of the Cultural Revolution. "Never forget the class struggle!" "To rebel is justified!" "We will smash whoever oppses Chairman Mao!" and have the students match the slogan with a card. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24923993) Almost like "Cards Against Hummanity" type of game where each student has to justify why their playing card aligns with one of the slogans of the Cultural Revolution. Another way to look at the cards may be with colors. The Little Red Book was so crucial to Mao, so I would ask students to find hints of the the Little Red Book in each of the cards. I like the 2 of clubs which shows Mao, "serving the People!"

[Betsy Telle]

I like the direction that you took with addressing the system with your students. The Household Registration System made me think of my students a lot. China’s system is very overt in their segregation and inequities and it was easy to be uncomfortable with it and to label it as bad and wrong. But I think that my students would be able to understand the inequity of the system. In the United States we have a lot of the same realities of this system, although it is much more ingrained rather than overt. My students as middle school students already know that their education and opportunities are limited for their entire lives just because they were born in the neighborhood they lived in.

[Susie Suh]

I think it can be described as a meritocracy in terms of having opportunities to rise up in ranks based on your actions rather than purely luck of the genetic draw. However, I think it is a kind of meritocracy that requires a mindset different from our idea of a true meritocracy because one has to totally consume Communist party values in order to succeed. A very narrow yet straightforward path to the possibility of success, but also again of course having resources based on family/wealth helps. 

Also, being a meritocracy doesn't really mean much when so many are still at the whims of the select few. 

 

Definitely agree that there doesn't seem to be any fair system. We can only continue pursuing just systems, I suppose.

[Jennifer Cutler]

I also want to acknowledge some of the differences between the two - especially because the reason the CCP formed was the early founders wanted more radical solutions to China's problems. And the KMT wanted modernism and reform, while resisting foreign influence. And perhaps, addressing Prof Dube's earlier question about Mao's infuence on the rural populations. Part of the reason the CCP moved to the rural area was to survive Chiang Kai-shek turning against the CCP. Mao himself was from a poor/peasant upbringing. In the "Peasants of Hunan" Mao stated "a revolution is an uprising, an act of violence whereby one class destroys another." So it's clear that Mao was taking some Marxist ideology with the percieved lower classes overthrowing the upper/gentry classes. 

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