Deng Xiaoping: A New China?
Global History and Geography II Name: ______
E. Napp Date: ______
Deng Xiaoping was born on August 22, 1904 in China. As a young man, Deng traveled to France. While in France, Deng joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When Deng returned to China, he participated in the Long March; a forced march of retreat where the Communists chased by the Nationalists traveled six thousand miles inland. When the Chinese civil war resumed after the end of World War II, the Communists defeated the Nationalists due to the support of the peasants. With Mao Zedong, the Communist leader, in control, the Communists began to radically change China. But when Mao instituted the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966, Mao and the Red Guards accused many Communist Party members of not being fully committed to Communist principles. Deng Xiaoping was exiled to a rural province and forced to undergo a re-education program.
Questions:
1. How did Deng Xiaoping change while in France? ______
2. What was the Long March? ______
3. Why did the Communists win the civil war? ______
4. What happened during the Cultural Revolution? ______
5. What happened to Deng Xiaoping during the Cultural Revolution? ______
In 1973, Mao forgave Deng and invited him back to Beijing. When Mao died in 1976, Deng organized the party in his favor and eventually ruled China. By the 1980s, Deng began to reform the Chinese economy and introduced elements of a free market into the state-dominated economy. But while Deng encouraged elements of a market economy, he opposed democratic reform and dealt harshly with pro-democracy student protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The students learned that Deng’s “Four Modernizations” dealt only with economic reform or allowing individuals to profit from their labors but not political reform. Individuals who criticized the Chinese Communist Party were imprisoned and sometimes executed. Freedom of the market did not extend to freedom of the mind.
Questions:
6. What happened to Deng Xiaoping in 1973? ______
7. What happened in 1976? ______
8. Once Deng was the leader of the Communist Party, how did he begin to change China? ______
9. What did Deng oppose as leader of China? ______
10. What did Deng Xiaoping’s “Four Modernizations” deal with? ______
11. What happened to individuals who criticized the Chinese Communist Party? ______
12. What freedom was allowed under Deng Xiaoping? What freedom was not allowed under Deng Xiaoping? ______
Examine the political cartoon!
1. Where are the men? ______
2. What does the man reading the newspaper believe Deng Xiaoping made possible? ______
3. Why is the cartoon ironic? ______
Primary Source: An excerpt from “Uphold the Four Basic Principles”, a speech by Deng Xiaoping given in 1979 (easia.columbia.edu)
“Recently, a tendency has developed for some people to create trouble in some parts of the country. … Some others also deliberately exaggerate and create a sensation by raising such slogans as “Oppose starvation” and “Demand human rights.” Under these slogans, they incite some people to demonstrate and scheme to get foreigners to propagandize their words and actions to the outside world. The so-called China Human Rights Organization has even tacked up big character posters requesting the American president “to show solicitude” toward human rights in China. Can we permit these kinds of public demands for foreigners to interfere in China’s domestic affairs? A so-called Thaw Society issued a proclamation openly opposing the dictatorship of the proletariat, saying that it divided people. Can we permit this kind of “freedom of speech,” which openly opposes constitutional principles?”
Questions:
1. According to Deng Xiaoping, how have some people been creating trouble in China? ______
2. How do these “troublemakers” use foreigners? ______
3. What issue are these “troublemakers” concerned about? ______
4. Define “human rights”. ______
5. What are Deng’s views on “freedom of speech”? ______
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. The success of Mao Zedong and the communists in gaining power in China is explained in part by
1- Aid obtained from Japan
2- Assistance of large landowners
3- Land reform promises to the peasants
4- Use of standard military tactics
2. Deng Xiaoping’s policies stressed the
1- Need for economic reform
2- Importance of the class struggle
3- Necessity of central planning
4- Nationalizing of foreign industry
3. The events of Tiananmen Square in 1989 indicated that the Chinese government was willing to
1- Use force to keep control
2- Relinquish media control
3- Allow peaceful demonstrations
4- Accept student and worker demands
Word Bank:
Deng Xiaoping, Economic Reform, Responsibility System, Capitalist Incentives, Consumer, Factory Managers, Economic Zones, Class Differences, Urban, Migration, Homelessness, Corruption, Tiananmen Square, Tanks
Questions:
1. What is the girl doing? ______
2. Who does the man in the suit represent? ______
3. What is the meaning of the political cartoon? ______
4. Define censorship. ______
5. Why do totalitarian governments rely on censorship? ______
Questions:
1: Who was Mao Zedong?
______
2: How did Mao Zedong change China? ______
3: What was the Great Leap Forward? ______
4: What was the Cultural Revolution? ______
5: Who was Deng Xiaoping? ______
6: How did Deng Xiaoping change China? ______
7: What was Deng Xiaoping’s “Responsibility System”? ______
8: How did Mao Zedong’s leadership differ from Deng Xiaoping’s leadership? ______
9: What happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989? ______
10: What was Deng Xiaoping’s reaction to the pro-democracy movement? ______
11: How were Mao and Deng similar? ______
12: How were Mao and Deng different? ______