November 14th, 2014
6th Period AP World History
Chinese peasant and Communism DBQ:
Between circa 1925 and circa 1950, the relations between the Chinese peasants and the Chinese Communist Party became out of hand due to the peasant rebellions/uprising groups present, the tension between Japan and the communist party, and most notable the mass reform during this time period. In 1927 the rising leader of the Chinese Communist party was acknowledging that soon the upsurge of peasant rebellion was soon, and that will soon rise up and overpower the wealthy landowning class. (DOC 1). In 1941 a Japanese official report had noted that due to extreme similarities between the peasants and local communist guerrilla unit. These similarities would’ve made it hard from a commoner point of view to distinguish between the two groups, and allowing the rebels to remain hidden easier. (DOC 3). William Hinton of the Chinese Communist Land reform reported that in 1948, the arming of the peasants to fight Japan had a substantial effect. Arming of the peasants gave them a trouble-free way to rise up and make the landlords pay for their abuse and make them repay the overcharges and restore land to proper owners. (DOC 6). As the peasants where preoccupied in their uprising the Communist party struggled to attract the peasant population to their side in fighting Japan. An Additional document that may help strengthen this argument would be a journal from a noble in a city or town close to the heart of China where the uprisings where present. As Communist China strived to attract the peasant majority to fight against China it brought quite a lot of tension throughout the state. The attraction began in 1942 with a report from the Communist Central Committee implying that the peasants contribute to the basic strength of the Anti-Japanese War. That they must improve life for the peasants and grant more rights if they even wish to have them voluntarily fight for them.(DOC 5). A