Week 14 Lecture Slides: History and Human Beings

History and Human Beings: Nation, Society, and War in Modern East Asia (GEK10039-01) The School of Global Leadership Handong University Dr. Seungyop Shin  Learning Objectives (1) To explore the division of China along political and...

History and Human Beings: Nation, Society, and War in Modern East Asia (GEK10039-01) The School of Global Leadership Handong University Dr. Seungyop Shin  Learning Objectives (1) To explore the division of China along political and ideological lines before the fall of the Japanese Empire in 1945, and study the Chinese Civil War, including the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and the retreat of the Kuomintang to Taiwan (2) To learn about Mao Zedong’s rise to power as Chairman of China after 1949, the issues and failures during his rule, and the radical socialist movements and their devastating impacts that led to his downfall (3) To discuss the rise of Deng Xiaoping and China’s reforms and opening-up since the 1970s, as well as China’s recent political, diplomatic, and geopolitical issues (4) To examine the political and diplomatic issues in postwar Japan, and the crisis of identity, and explore the nationwide demonstrations opposing the revision of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in 1960 (5) To discuss the emergence and maintenance of the 1955 System in post-war Japan and the challenges it faced  China since 1945: The Chinese Civil War After the war, the US brought Mao and Chiang together for face-to-face negotiations The American hope was to prevent full scale civil war and promote democracy in China The bitter antagonism between the Chinese Nationalists and Communists In late March 1946, the Chinese Civil War began deepened The The TheCommunists Soviets overrun Nationalists The United States Manchuria at the end of WWII and retained control V provided substantial aid to Chiang’s Nationalists over Port Arthur and the S China Eastern Railway until Beijing fell to the Communists in January 1949, and by April the Red Army staged assaults 1954 into south China Chiang retreated with some 2 million followers to the island of Taiwan On October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China  China since 1945: Great Leap Forward Mao soon began to contemplate significant departures from the Soviet Russian model Elitist Soviet-style centralized planning  Industrialization in the form of mass mobilization of labor through popular enthusiam The core idea of Maoism: Economic development could be achieved through people’s power and “spontaneous” support Mao’s Great Leap Forward (1958–62): An attempt to achieve transition to genuine communism - Newly organized rural people’s communes as the basic labor unit in the countryside - Farmers organized into production brigades which were divided into platoons and supervised by battalions - Women joined the labor force, being liberated from household chores by collective nurseries and mess halls  China since 1945: Great Leap Forward Why Did This Radical Socialist Movement Fail? - Because private ownership was forbidden, many farmers simply killed their livestock rather than turn it over to the collective - Many felt little incentive to work hard on the new communal farms - Encouraged to believe that the problem would be what to do with overproduction, farmers allowed crops to rot unharvested in the fields - The yields themselves were much meager than the estimates - Other Maoist mass mobilization campaigns caused deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental damage At least, 15 million people died of malnutrition during the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward  China since 1945: The Cultural Revolution In 1959, Mao stepped down as the head of the Chinese government By spring 1966, Mao encouraged young students to take to the streets to promote a Maoist vision of revolution He then returned to Beijing to attack the party leadership in a Central Committee meeting on July 21 In 1967, emboldened radicals seized power from local governments and party branches, establishing new revolutionary committees The Cultural Revolution (May 16, 1966–October 6, 1976) A sociopolitical movement to reject the old feudal (traditional) and bourgeois (Western) influences in art, literature, and culture generally, and an attempt to replace these with a new socialist culture China since 1945: Deng Xiaoping and Market-Based Economic Reform Mao died on September 9, 1976  An alleged attempt by Mao’s wife and three of her ultra-radical colleagues to seize power Senior military figures staged a preemptive countercoup  3 million people who had been purged during the CR were restored The senior surviving victim of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping, promoted a program of economic and technological reform Deng did not take any top offices or titles for himself to avoid a Mao-style cult of personality China’s dramatic economic growth since the 1980s Deng’s pragmatism: “It does not matter whether a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice” Market-based economic reforms: Foreign trade and investment, the pursuit of profit, and even stock exchanges  A New Japan in the New World Postwar Japan, 1952–1960 Two aspects of the Mutual Security Treaty: ① Both conservatives and liberals objected it as a return to the humiliating 19th-century unequal treaty ② Japan’s integration into the US-led Cold War politics (The US-Japan-SK-Taiwan alliance)  A New Japan in the New World Postwar Japan, 1952–1960  A New Japan in the New World The 1955 System Before the merger After the merger (1955) (1958)  A New Japan in the New World The 1955 System The V The JSP S. LDP The electoral ratio between the LDP and various leftist parties remained basically (Except for 1993 and Clashed between the JSP and the LDP over two major issues: unchanged 2009) ① The 1947 Peace No revision Revision - The sponsors of the JSP merger wanted to defend the Constitution ② The 1951 constitution and Security Disagree Agree abolish the treaty, while the conservatives demanded revision Treaty of the constitution and preservation of the treat  A New Japan in the New World The Anpo Treaty Protests in 1959–1960 Kishi Nobusuke (1896– 1987)  A New Japan in the New World The Anpo Treaty Protests in 1959–1960 ★ Why did Japan’s left-wing parties and students oppose the treaty revision? - Not simply the problem of achieving parity in the relationship with the United States But a rejection of the treaty’s most basic tenet—the military alliance with the US Neither the US nor the Soviets (Refusing rearmament for peace and democracy )  A New Japan in the New World The Anpo Treaty Protests in 1959–1960 - More fundamentally, it was the “identity crisis” “The 1960 clash ultimately arose out of the identity crisis into which Japan was plunged following its defeat in World War II. After decades of escalating state nationalism premised on the notion that Japan was a sacred land ruled by a divine emperor culminated in the disastrous Asia-Pacific War, Japanese citizens were suddenly stripped of this worldview when their government surrendered to the Allied Powers on August 15, 1945... The Allied Powers and especially the United States were not about to let the Japanese decide for themselves... The emphasis of Occupation policy shifted decidedly from demilitarization and democratization to economic reconstruction and remilitarization in support of US Cold War objectives in Asia... The US-led Occupation thus bequeathed to postwar Japan a complex and contradictory legacy. On the one hand, the “Peace Constitution,” combined with a robust labor movement, vigorous socialist and communist parties, and a vibrant civil society... On the other hand, the “Reverse Course” provided conservative forces with momentum in their drive to restore aspects of the prewar system and enhanced policing power to counter leftist movements. - NickBoth sides Kapur, had Japan at been given reason the crossroads: to believe Conflict that their concept and Compromise of after Anpo Japan’s national identity might win out in the end. Accordingly, the 1950s witnessed(2018), a long pp. 8–11. series of escalating clashes between these two forces.”  Questions for Discussion (1) What political and ideological differences led to the conflict between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang, how did the Chinese Civil War unfold, and how was the Communist Party able to achieve victory and establish the People’s Republic of China? (2) Why did the socialist revolutions led by Mao from the late 1950s to the 1970s fail, resulting in numerous casualties and becoming a totalitarian experiment that continues to cause immense suffering for survivors? What are the problems and limitations of socialism in practice? (3) What were the political, social, and economic changes in post-war Japan? What was the role and position of the United States as a pillar of the Cold War in relation to Japan and East Asia during this historical process? (4) How did Japan’s political landscape change following the 1960 protests against the revision of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty? Q&A