[Katrina Oh]

Once the CCP gained power, they undertook drastic reforms to improve agricultural and industrial productivity. One of the earliest policies was land redistribution, in which the government seized land from rich peasants and redistributed the land to poorer people. But when this policy had failed to boost production, Mao then established cooperatives. Farmers working on cooperatives were directed to share tools and farm animals with other farmers and each person would receive a return based on what they contributed to the project. But this too turned out to be inefficient and would be overturned by Deng Xiaoping. Starting in 1978,  Deng Xiaoping allowed peasants to keep the surplus from the land they worked, incentivizing them to work more. And unsurprisingly, agricultural production soared. 

I find it interesting how the Chinese Communist Party was still able to maintain control and have political legitimacy during the periods of economic stagnation and even downright famine. How did the Communist Party avoid a revolution around the time of the Great Leap Forward?

 

[Katrina Oh]

The proliferation of internet cafes (wangbas) in China’s rural areas has allowed poorer Chinese denizens to connect to the internet. The government has simultaneously shut down many internet bars for failing to block web sites considered subversive or pornographic.Most residents use the local internet to play multiplayer video games. E-commerce is not as popular in the rural areas because of the lack of infrastructure, the difficulty of transportation, and low population density.

[Katrina Oh]

Sometime last year, one of my students, who happened to be Chinese, first told me about WeChat. The way she described it- WeChat is like Facebook, but better. Initially, I thought Facebook's limited penetration into China was the result of the state's firewall but after watching the Discovery video, I realize WeChat mobile messenging app has done a better job of satisfying the demands of the Chinese market. For instance, it offers users the ability to record and send voice messages- a feature appreciated by Chinese users, who wish to avoid having to spend so much time sending complex Chinese script.

In the United States, we hear of technology juggernauts like Amazon, Apple, Facebook- but now I see there are other firms outside the United States that are just as innovative. After learning about WeChat, I too now agree with my student: WeChat is a superior to Facebook by combining communication, commerce, entertainment all in one convenient package.

[Katrina Oh]

In the past, when I taught Chinese history to my world history students, I treated historical events like the Opium Wars, the Revolution of 1911, and Rape of Nanking as isolated events that occurred sequentially one after another, without giving much thought to how these events might have shaped the collective psyche of the Chinese people.  Part of the problem might be attributed to the textbook that I assign to my students in class: While I am a huge fan of Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World, I must admit the author does not offer the most comprehensive account of history. But this week’s lecture on the history of Chinese communism was very enlightening! The lecture strengthened my understanding of the connection between European imperialism of China in the 19^th century and the rhetoric used by Chinese leaders under the Communists from 1950s onwards. In short, while I knew the Chinese had felt humiliated after being defeated by the Europeans and later the Japanese in World War II, I did not know the depth of their humiliation nor the persistence of those emotions. 

[Katrina Oh]

Hi everyone!

My name is Katrina Oh. I am currently a World History/AP World History teacher at Downtown Magnets High School (LAUSD) and have taught these two subjects for the past three years but this is my seventh year teaching. I am excited to learn more about contemporary China and apply the lessons from the seminar to my own courses! Nice to meet all of you!

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