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The US General in China, Joseph Stilwell, was known as 'Vinegar Joe'.

China: Under Mao - 1930-1965 - Why And How China Became A Communist State By 1949

Why did China become a communist state by 1949? This GCSE History topic explores war, leadership and long term problems that helped the Chinese Communist Party gain control.

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Fascinating Fact:

The Nationalist government under Chiang Kai shek struggled to control the whole country. Warlords, poverty, and corruption weakened its authority.

In GCSE History, this unit on China under Mao (1930–1965) explains how long term weaknesses of the Nationalists, peasant support, war with Japan and civil war helped the Communists win power by 1949.

Key Terms

Chinese Communist Party (CCP): The political party led by Mao Zedong that aimed to create a communist state in China.
Civil war: A conflict fought between groups within the same country, in this case the Nationalists and the Communists in China.
Nationalists: The Guomindang (GMD) government led by Chiang Kai shek, which tried to rule China before the Communist victory.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Why did China become a communist state in 1949?

China became a communist state in 1949 because the CCP gained peasant support, used effective guerrilla tactics, and benefited from Nationalist weakness, corruption and loss of support during the civil war.

What was Mao Zedong’s role in the Chinese Civil War?

Mao Zedong provided leadership and strategy for the CCP. He promoted peasant based revolution, guerrilla warfare and discipline among Communist troops, which helped them defeat the Nationalists.

What do I need to revise for the China under Mao GCSE topic?

You should revise key dates, the Long March, Japanese invasion, the civil war, reasons for Nationalist failure, reasons for Communist victory and the situation in China by 1949.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which province of Northern China was invaded by the Japanese in 1931, causing the Chinese civil war to be de-escalated as both sides confronted the invader?

Sinkiang

Kwantung

Manchuria

Chungking

The civil war died down, rather than stopping altogether. Japan overcame resistance in Manchuria, where they proceeded to set up a puppet state

2 .

Mao had established a Communist enclave in Central China by 1930. What was this state called?

The Chinese People's Republic

The Chinese Soviet Republic

The Red China Soviet

The Chinese Independent Soviet Republic

Here Mao could set up his model of a Communist state, where he hoped to be free from KMT interference

3 .

Between 1934 and 1935 Mao marched his supporters from Jiangxi province to Yenan in Shaanxi province in order to reform a Soviet enclave there. What name was given to this journey?

The Long March

The Long Journey

The Longest March

The People's March

Approximately 100,000 people set out, of whom 20,000 arrived

4 .

Mao was advised at this time by a Russian government organisation to concentrate on revolution among the industrial working class, rather than among the peasants. He refused to accept this advice, arguing that peasants formed 80% of the Chinese population. With which Soviet body was he arguing?

The Politburo

The NKVD

The Comintern

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Mao was determined to adapt Marxism to the circumstances of China

5 .

Who was Mao's second-in-command at this time?

Lin Piao

Deng Xioping

Zhou En Lai

Sun Yat Sen

Mao used the period in Yenan to consolidate his hold on the Party, and on the line of command within it

6 .

General Stilwell was sent by President Roosevelt to liaise with Chiang Kai-Shek. What advice did he send back to the President about the likely result of the Chinese Civil War, which was certain to re-ignite after VJ Day?

That the KMT was most likely to win as they had more troops, more and better weapons and they occupied more of China's land area and population

That the KMT was most likely to lose because of the popular support enjoyed by Mao's forces among many peasants

That the KMT would win because of clear divisions in the Communist leadership

That the KMT would lose because they were suffering greater losses than the Communists in the war against Japan - the KMT, he told Washington, was making a much greater effort in this campaign than Mao's forces

Stilwell ("Vinegar Joe") was frank in his dispatches to the White House

7 .

Mao believed that the Communist leadership would become stale and corrupt unless they held regular "struggle meetings" where leading figures were expected to criticise themselves in front of their colleagues. What name was given to this programme?

Self-examination

Rectification

Soul-searching

Guided criticism

Mao was suspicious of many of the Party's cadres, of the army and China's bureaucracy generally. He worried that they could lose their revolutionary zeal or even revert to Capitalism

8 .

In 1949 Chiang Kai-Shek fled with his followers to an island off the Chinese coast. What was this island called?

Formosa/Taiwan

Hainan

Luzon

Amoy

Chiang expected to return to the mainland quite soon to re-establish his regime, but this seemed more and more unlikely as Mao consolidated his position

9 .

Chiang did, however, hold on to China's membership of the United Nations. What special position did Nationalist China hold in this body for many years after 1949?

Chairmanship of UNESCO

A discount on its financial subscription to belong to the UN

Permanent membership of the Security Council

The right to host the Headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organisation

The Nationalists fought vigorously to retain this privilege

10 .

What name was given to independent local military commanders and rulers who would do deals with either side in the ongoing Chinese civil war until 1949?

Warlords

Gangsters

Separatists

Feudalists

They were much more likely to ally - if only temporarily - with the KMT. They were brutal and reactionary, and they played their part in alienating peasant opinion away from the KMT

Author: Edward Towne