China under the Influence of Mao - Book Report/Review Example

 China under the Influence of Mao Introduction Mao Zedong was born in Chaochan, China. He was a son of a peasant farmer. When Mao Zedong ruled China, he influenced the country socially, economically, and politically. He developed a five-year plan and strategies that could aid in its achievement. Such strategies included the Long March implementation, the Great Leap forward, and the Cultural Revolution. This paper discusses the desire for reforms in the Chinese society through the political dominance of Mao Zedong. It focuses on the growth and development of China through the transformational strategies formulated and implemented by the leader. Some of the strategies failed, but due to the level of his integrity, Mao governed the country efficiently. Discussion In the Long March, the Chinese Communists led by Mao Zedong, took a long journey through China that covered an average of six thousand miles. The aim of the Long march was to ensure the survival of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao took over the leadership of the party that restructured to the People’s Republic of China. The party was under attack from the Guomindang army that was the Nationalist Party of China. This is because the parties were in conflict in relation to their interests in the country. Mao mobilized many men who joined his army for a battle with the Nationalist Party. This was for safety purposes in case of interference from the Guomindang army during the march. There were several battles during the march and Mao as their communist leader exercised effectiveness. This is because the number of deaths that occurred due to the attacks was minimal. Most of the deaths that occurred were because of diseases and starvation during the march. Mao was not able to influence the nature of diseases and starvation because it was a case of survival. In addition, the communist later dismissed Mao and identified him with the failure. They later appointed another leader named Braun, who launched direct attacks to their rivals-the Guomindang. This move was a costly affair for the communists as they lost some of their men and property. Mao tried to gain back the support of the people, but the people favored Braun and his ideas over Mao. Braun’s tactics failed the communists and they adopted Mao’s tactics of the movement during battles. The tactics involved moving in random directions, in order, to ensure that the Guomindang army does not trace them easily. Mao also developed another tactic that required the division of the communists into smaller units. This gave their enemy difficulties in identifying them in open areas in China. Mao identified a destination that was in the north of China and led a sufficient number of the communists to the area. He formed troops with other men that were in the destination area and made a strong army to fight the Guomidang. This was a brilliant move by Mao and the strategy proved successful through his leadership effectiveness. In the year 1949, Mao travelled abroad away from his country, after an establishment of his government. He went in search of foreign aid for the people of china. Mao disagreed with the terms and conditions that foreign states provided before issuing aid. He abandoned seek for aid from individual states and sought help from the Soviet Union. Mao hoped for economic development in china through the Soviet model (Meisner, p. 11). The Soviet Union declined the concessions from Mao due to China’s provisions of foreign policies. Mao placed emphasis on the industrial production of heavy merchandise, although, the plan failed. As a result, Mao developed strategies that could thrive the agricultural industry. China under the influence of Mao became a bureaucratic country with material incentives for agricultural purposes. Afterwards, the events that occurred consecutively, led to armed clashes among different countries. These events deviated Mao’s focus on a food independent China, as a result, of improved agricultural practices. Mao had a clear mission on the use of aid from the Soviet Union. This could have led to the advancement of the heavy industry in the country. The plan failed due to foreign policies concerns of other countries with China. Therefore, if Mao executed his strategies, then they could be effective for the growth and development of China. Afterwards, Mao initiated the Great Leap Forward plan in 1958 in order to compensate for the loss of Soviet aid. The Soviet Union withdrew its experts who were working in the country. In 1962, the country resorted to traditional methods of economic production. Following the loss, he developed the plan to modernize China and make it an independent nation. It emphasized on industrial development and the improvement of agricultural practices. In industrial development, Mao organized groups of people for the production of steel, according to (Maurice, p 17) this was an authoritative decision. His aim was to produce enough sell that could surpass their competitors’ level of production. However, Mao placed emphasis on quantity rather than the quality of steel. The industry failed due to poor production and the negative effects the steel products had on the environment. In agriculture, the plan included the establishment of huge agricultural communes from the rural cooperatives. The level of production was low as Mao mobilized a large population for the production of steel. China could have become a communist society if he focused on the massive production of agricultural products. The strategy failed, but Mao made efforts to restore the developments that further failed due to natural calamities. (Heilmann &Perry, p. 21) argues that this was an opportunistic decision and the unfortunate, natural calamities, events limited the effectiveness of his plans. Following the failure of the Great Leap Forward plan Mao developed the Cultural Revolution campaigns. These campaigns focused on the initialization of a transition within the Chinese society. (Meisner, p. 55) argues that the leadership of Mao experienced factional struggles. Such struggles acted as catalysts for the events of the campaigns. The information contained in the posters of was misleading and it led to the occurrence of chaos in the country. (Heilmann & Perry, p. 58) argues that this kind of Mao’s leadership developed guerilla policies that made the people to have more dependency on the campaign’s information that the information conveyed by the media. To explain further, the posters seemed interesting because they exposed the negative situation in the Chinese society. Although the campaign aimed at the improvement and development of China, Mao gave an order that led to its failure. He ordered for the elimination of all the people that were against the campaigns (Meisner, p. 76). For instance, there were rebels in Shanghai that had to quit their powers in different political parties and government organizations. Mao mobilized the rebellious individuals for the formation of a Revolutionary Committee that could empower the goals of the Cultural Revolution. Mao later determined that the committee was ineffective and abolished it in the year 1979. The people’s governments, characterized by corruption, replaced such committees and failed the Mao’s plan. The development of these events led to the failure of Mao’s plans, although he had good intentions for China’s development. Conclusion In conclusion, Mao did not manage to accomplish his reform agenda in China. This was due to the unfortunate event of his death that occurred in the year 1976. Mao had an aim to encourage social movements to maintain their class struggles. Following his death, the Chinese leaders who were in power, experienced problems and failed to achieve the goals set by Mao. Such failures included low industrial production, insufficient agricultural produce, and a decrease in the living standards of the people of China (Meisner, p. 104). Moreover, Mao Zedong was a strong leader and this earned him the support and respect of the communists. He was a successful leader of a nation that held him above the average person, although he failed in some other aspects. He became popular among the Peoples’ Republic due to his policies that focused on a developed China. The long march made the communists to undergo through difficulties with a constant change in the leadership. Finally, Mao through his tactics led the communist to a better place where they formed a large army that could manage their enemy; this was a successful plan (Heilmann & Perry, p. 87). The Great leap forward and Cultural Revolution resulted in many deaths through hunger, torture, and murder. These plans became unsuccessful for both Mao and the communists. He did not achieve his goals in the development of viable steel industries and sustainable agricultural practices. He was successful in having enough followers who believed in him through his policies. Although Mao did not achieve his goals, he developed strategies that the communists and their leaders could emulate. Clearly, he governed China effectively through transformational strategies. However, not all of his strategies became successful. Work Cited Heilmann, Sebastian, and Elizabeth Perry. Mao's Invisible Hand: The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance In China. 1st ed. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2011. Print. Meisner, Maurice. Mao's China and After; a History of the People's Republic. New York: Free, 1986. Print Read More