The New China
Collectivized farm
- Mao Zedong immediately gives land to peasants
- 2/3 of land is given to the peasants
- He collectivized private lands and made them into communes _
- Communes fail drastically
- 15 million people die due to drought and lack of food
- These communes were part of The Great Leap Forward in 1958
Zedong's Philosophies
Mao speaking to the people about the Revolution
- Zedong's ultimate goal was a classless society
- Encourages permanent revolution
- This means that people should always have a passion for change
- All of Zedong's thoughts were put into The Little Red Book
- The books were put into mass production and it was like a bible for China
- These changes in culture were part of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
- The Red Guards were groups of young people who enforced the revolution
- Had to eliminate "four olds": old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits
- Wanted to completely eliminate traditional Chinese culture
The Hundred Flowers Period
"political demonstration"
- In February of 1957, Zedong began to call forth critics of the government
- From May to June of 1957, he held conferences for people to voice opinions
- Zedong then killed the critics
- This allowed Mao to see how people opposed him