Impact of war with Japan after 1937
What is an example of CCP propaganda during the war?
Claiming the Red Army was brave in fighting Japan.
Explain how land reform in the Yenan Soviet helped the CCP gain support.
Land reform gave peasants land and reduced rent, winning their loyalty.
Explain why corruption made the Kuomintang unpopular in the 1940s.
The KMT was corrupt. Leaders stole money, lived in luxury, and ignored ordinary people’s struggles.
How were those who wanted a western style democracy in China and those who wanted a Chinese revolution similar?
Both were rival factions within the CCP
How would you summarize what happened after Japan attacked in 1937?
The war weakened the Nationalists and helped the CCP gain support.
Compare and contrast land policies in Yenan with earlier 1930s soviet areas.
Yenan land policies were moderate and aimed at broad support, unlike the radical 1930s collectivization.
How are the Kuomintang’s economic policies and military strategies alike and different in alienating social groups?
Economic policies hurt peasants and workers, while weak military strategies upset soldiers and elites.
What evidence supports the claim that the long march was a defeat for the CCP?
Was an unplanned military retreat by KMT forces, up to 90% of the red army was lost
What was the cause of the Nationalist government losing support during the war?
Their failure to protect civilians from Japanese atrocities weakened public trust.
Analyze how the Rectification Campaign consolidated Mao’s control over the CCP.
The Rectification Campaign enforced Mao’s ideology, used self-criticism, and eliminated rivals.
What evidence shows that lack of land reform helped the CCP gain peasant support?
The KMT’s refusal to carry out land reform pushed peasants toward the CCP, which promised fair redistribution.
What can you infer about Mao Zedong from the CCP’s dramatization of certain events on the long march?
He wanted the Long march to be seen as a great success for the CCP
Explain how the CCP’s rural strategy helped its rise to power.
By controlling villages and isolating cities, the CCP built influence and expanded its support base.
Predict what would happen if the CCP had not implemented the Rectification Campaign.
Without the campaign, the CCP might have stayed divided and weaker in the Civil War.
Analyze how Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership style alienated educated and urban groups.
Chiang Kai-shek’s harsh rule and use of secret police drove educated people and middle-class citizens to oppose him.
What was the cause of Mao-Zedong's focus on generating support from China’s peasant population?
China lacked a large working class population
Compare and contrast CCP and Nationalist responses to Japanese aggression.
The CCP gained support through propaganda and guerrilla tactics, while the Nationalists lost support after failed defenses.
Assess the validity of the claim that Yenan created a distinct Chinese communism.
The Yenan Soviet and Rectification Campaign created a unique, self-reliant “Yenan Way” of communism.
Assess whether U.S. military aid could have prevented the Communist victory.
Only massive U.S. military aid might have slowed the KMT’s decline, but without it, the CCP won.
Predict what would happen if the 28 Bolsheviks took complete control of the CCP?
China would undergo a proletarian revolution