History of the People's Republic of China

From a political point of view, the People's Republic of China had, for several decades, been known as the political entity that is often synonymous with Mainland China. Historically, the same name but implies the most recent of historical eras in Chinese history that was preceded by thousands of years of imperial dynasties and the Republic. The era officially began on China proper on October 1st, 1949, when, after a near complete victory in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on top of Tiananmen. The era is what is now known as the History of the People's Republic of China. This span of history thus lasts between 1949 and the present, and included decades of political struggle, economic and social reform, as well as many movements that left a permanent mark both inside China and on a much larger, international scale.

Mao's Legacy

The large number of deaths during the period of consolidation of power after victory in the Chinese Civil War paled in comparison to the number of deaths caused by famine, anarchy, war, and foreign invasion in the years before the Communists took power.

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Supporters of Mao point out that before 1949, for instance, the illiteracy rate in Mainland China was 80 percent, and life expectancy was a meager 35 years. At his death, illiteracy had declined to less than seven per cent, and average life expectancy had increased to more than 70 years. In addition, China's population which had remained constant at 400 million from the Opium War to the end of the Civil War, mushroomed to 700 million as of Mao's death. Under Mao's regime, China ended its "Century of Humiliation" and resumed its status as a major power. Mao also industrialized China to a considerable extent and ensured China's sovereignty during his reign.

Related Topics:
Opium War - Civil War

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Skeptics will observe that similar gains in life expectancy occurred in the East Asian Tigers (most notably Taiwan) which was ruled by Mao's opponents, the Kuomintang. Some of the gains may have simply been the result of a country no longer at war, so even an incompetent regime could achieve such improvements. Furthermore, the experiences of the Tigers and the Deng Xiaoping reforms suggest that Mao's economic policy led to far poorer economic outcomes than a more decentralized approach. Other critics of Mao fault him for not encouraging birth control and for creating a demographic bump which later Chinese leaders responded to with the one child policy. The one-child limit usually pertains to overpopulated urban areas. In rural areas restrictions are usually more lenient.

Related Topics:
East Asian Tigers - Kuomintang - Deng Xiaoping

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The immediate cause of the post-Mao birth control policy was the demographic bump of people born in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1949 the population of the PRC was about 400 million. In 1970, the population was 700 million. This was largely due to Mao's encouragement of "the more people, the more power" to families. In the late 1970s, the Chinese leadership was alarmed by the fact that the "demographic bump" would soon begin entering childbearing years, and so it was decided to encourage family planning for this generation.

Related Topics:
1970 - 1970s

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Since the mid-1990s there has been considerable relaxation in family planning policies in the People's Republic of China, largely due to the fact that the "demographic bump" of people born in the 1960s is now moving out of fertility age.

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The People's Republic of China, unlike virtually any other Third World nation, no longer has to fear the prospects of over-population, malnutrition, and famine in spite of the doubling of life expectancy during the Mao years. With population growth stabilized, mainland China is sustaining one of the world's highest rates of per capita economic growth in the world.

Related Topics:
Third World - Over-population - Malnutrition

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The ideology surrounding Mao's interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, also known as Maoism, has influenced many communists around the world, including third world revolutionary movements such as Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, Peru's Shining Path and the revolutionary movement in Nepal. Ironically, the PRC has moved sharply away from Maoism since his death, and most of Mao's followers regard the Deng Xiaoping reforms to be a betrayal of Mao's legacy.

Related Topics:
Marxism-Leninism - Maoism - Cambodia - Khmer Rouge - Peru - Shining Path - Nepal - Deng Xiaoping

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