PPT Presentation Talking Points Cultural Revolution and its Aftermath Alyse Craig

Slide 1 (Cover Slide)
Introduction: (2 minutes)

Slide 2
Warm-up Activity: (5 minutes)

How’s everyone doing this evening? Great!

Okay, to get us started thinking about why the Chinese people, mostly peasants, some landowning peasants, and others supported Mao & the Communist’s, we’ve got to know what
China was like before they est. the PRC in 1949.

My name is _______ & my co-instructor’s name is _______.
The title of tonight’s lesson is “Chinese Revolution & its
Aftermath.” We’ll be covering the period in Chinese history, from 1949 to 1976.
Why are these dates significant? (Answer: Oct ’49 Mao &
Communist est. People’s Republic of China & Sept ’76 Mao dies
& the, so-called, “Gang of Four” are prosecuted in Oct ‘76).
The historical events we’re most interest in are the Great Leap
Forward, 1958-61 & the Cultural Revolution, 1966-76. However, we’ll also spend some time on the end of Chinese Civil War,
1949, Mao/Communist Take-over of China, 1949, and the first
Five-Year Plan, 1953-57.
That’s a lot of information to digest rather quickly, so if you missed it or want to refer to it later, it’s written up on the board. Now, posted on the slide behind me is the Central Question of tonight’s lesson, which is “How much violence is justified in building a better society?”
You’ll want to stay focused on this question throughout the lesson. We’ll be making references, directly & indirectly, to it all throughout tonight’s lesson.
At the end of the lesson, were going to ask you to answer this question, using specific examples you learned tonight. So, it’s important to stay focused and take notes.

We’d like you to help us answer this question by taking a couple of minutes to write down on paper what China was like before Mao came to power.
When two minutes have expired, ask if students would teach/share their answer with the class?
Possible Correct Responses:
1. Last ruling dynasty, the Qing, ethnically Manchu, not Han
(90% of population), alienated most of the people.
2. Nationalist era, 1912-49 was a struggle to regain independence from foreign powers who dominate trade/commerce. 3. Local warlords ruled most of China.
4. Nationalist in Peking had little actual power.
5. Mao makes name for himself in 10/34-10/35 (the Long
March: 6K miles/100K reduced to 8K) & in ’37 when
Chinese WWII begins.
6. Japan’s invasion, ’37, destroys quality of the Nationalists army, paving the way for Communists to gain a foothold.
7. After the war, the Nationalists want what they lost back.
This leads to wide spread gov’t corruption & army troops stealing from the peasants.
8. Moreover, the Nationalist base was the gentry
(landowners) class & middleclass, not the country peasantry (the largest group). While they made strides towards a better society, it wasn’t enough.

Chinese Characters translate as “The Chinese People’s
Liberation Army is the great school of Mao Zedong thought.” 1

Slide 3
Background: (2 minutes)

Slide 4
Location: (2 minutes)

Just going to quickly hit the highlights of Chinese history to bring you up to speed for the lesson. If at any time I go to fast or go off on tangent, you can always refer to the slide behind me to get the key information you need to know. So, on the Map behind me you see China’s in a pretty rough part of the global neighborhood.

1) China was a leading civilization for centuries
2) 19th & 20th centuries, China beset by famines, civil unrest, military defeats, and foreign occupation (Does anyone know when? Lost First Opium War, 1840.
Made concessions first w/ GB, then other European powers, USA, & Japan. It only ended after Mao came to power.
3) Mao/Communist takeover in Oct 1949. From? The
Nationalist/led by Chiang Kai-skek/they go Taiwan.
4) First years under Mao was greeted with relief & joy after decades of conflict. The Communist rid the streets of prostitutes, gangs & opium dens. Women granted equal status & the right to divorce (prearranged marriages were banned).
5) First Five-Year Plan, ’53-’57, modelled on Soviet’s, was successful. 6) Mao get rid of foreigners/est. Autocratic Rule/Millions of Chinese die/when 1949 & 1976

During the period we’re talking about 1949-76, two powers that China was not on friendly terms with had Nuclear weapons: Does anyone know which two?

Key facts: They’re surrounded by how many countries (answer: currently 14), which aren’t all too friendly. They’ve had board skirmish with Russia. The most serious in March.

1) USSR: (Russia falls out of favor with Mao in 1961)
2) India: (May 18, 1974)

Slide 5
National Anthem: (2 minutes)

Slide 6
Chinese Civil War Video: (2 minutes)

-

It’s called the “March of the Volunteers” – it was adopted by the Nationalist gov’t in 1934. Then, by the Communist in
’49, but it was replaced in ’68 during the height of the
Cultural Revolution. Then, adopted again in 1978 with words, acceptable to the communists, and in ’82 the original song was readopted.
As it plays read the English subtitles, imaging how this song might rally the peasants behind the new government.

Introduce video: You’re about to watch a ‘49 cinema

-

Play song

-

That’s a pretty powerful & rousing song. – “Its lyrics were written to arouse Chinese nationalism, so the people would fight the Japanese invaders.”

-

What do you guys think? Anything standout to you?

Play video & then, Sum up video:
1) ‘27 fighting began between the 2.
2) They banded together to fight Japanese, sort of. The
Nationalists do the head to head fighting, while the
Communists do guerilla raids.
3) Social revolution in rural China during the WWII helped the communist cause.
4) Peasants joined the movement because of the promise of land redistribution.
5) Increased support of the poor & decreased support of the
Nationalists by the USA gave Mao's forces the ability to take over mainland China.
6) Taiwan & a few other islands stayed in Nationalist hands, as did the country's gold reserves

-

newsreel, reporting on the takeover of China by Mao forces.
Remind students we’ll be asking for concrete examples later in the lesson. To help them focus on what to look for we’ve created 3 guiding questions: What images stand out to you?
Is this a society where you would like to live? Why or Why not?
& Do you think people felt safe living in China at this time?

2

7) Oct 1, '49, Mao established the People's Republic of
China (the official name of the Chinese nation)

Slide 7
The Great Leap Forward Video: (2.4 minutes)

Slide 8
The Great Leap Forward Activity: (20 minutes)

Introduce Subject Matter Covered in Video
- What you’re about to watch is a video clip produced by the History Channel that summarizes the “Great Leap
Forward, 1958-61.” It was the 2nd economic five-year plan aimed at speeding up Chinese modernization efforts. - Ask is this a Primary or Secondary Source.

Provide Background of Event:
1.
2.

3.

Remind students we’ll be asking for concrete examples later in the lesson, so they should take notes.
Play video
Sum up video for students by going onto the next slide.

4.

5.

6.

7.

First Five-Year Plan, ’53-’57, modelled on Soviet’s, was successful. Mao wanted to kick it up a notch & the “Great Leap
Forward” was to his way to fast track China’s modernization. Massive communes (5,500 ppl) replaced the family.
Personal land & livestock were banned. Meals were taken communally. Sleep was rationed at six hours every two days. Each commune was ordered to set up “backyard” blast furnaces to bolster steel production—all manner of metal, like pots, pans, and eating utensils were melted down.
The results were disastrous. With labor diverted from fields, grain yields plummeted. Coupled with some illtimed natural disasters, the agriculture failure result in severe shortages and famine.
An estimated 20-30 million starved to death. The worst was around 1960, when even rats were dying of starvation
& cannibalism was widely reported.
In 1961, starvation eases, as grain was imported from
Canada & Australia.

Before handing out worksheet tell students what the activity is
& what they’ll be asked to do.
Ask students to work in groups of…
Hand out worksheet. Go over directions. Ask if they have any questions. Let them begin activity.
Walk around, helping students who need clarification or help with activity.

3

When they’re ready, ask each group to teach/share their group’s response to the prompt with the rest of the class.

Slide 9
The Cultural Revolution Activity: (20 minutes)

Slide 10
The Cultural Revolution Video: (3.5 minutes)

Provide Background of Event:

Introduce Subject Matter Covered in Video

Before handing out anything tell students what the activity is and what they’ll be asked to do.

Highlight the questions they students should be thinking about as they watch the video.

Students work on this individually.

Remind students we’ll be asking for concrete examples later in the lesson, so write down your thoughts as you’re watching.

Hand out worksheet. Go over directions. Let students read first passage, stopping after reading the passage one.
Then, do a “close” read of the first passage with students.

Play video. After, ask if this a Primary or Secondary Source
Sum it up, highlighting key points from the video.

Let them do the second one on their own.
When they’re ready, ask for student volunteers to teach/share their answers with class.

Slide 11
Assessment: (10 minutes)
Setup Activity by Saying, “Violence in the name of freedom has both plagued and liberated mankind throughout history and continues to do so. The correct dividing line between legitimate violence for freedom and the false use of violence—for whatever other purpose—has never been recognized universally.”
So, how much violence or society upheaval do you think was justified in the name of making a better China, during the
Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution? Use specific examples from today’s lesson to justify/explaining your reasoning.
Possible responses:

4

5