Mao’s China, 1949–76: Practice Questions

• a.

  A network of forced labor camps designed to achieve the 'reform through labor' of political and class enemies.

• b.

  The formal bureaucratic structure used to coordinate the First Five-Year Plan's industrial targets.

• c.

  A specific wing of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) tasked with the reunification campaigns in Tibet and Xinjiang.

• d.

  A series of state-owned agricultural cooperatives intended to replace private peasant landownership.

• a.

  The campaign led to a massive economic boom that made the First Five-Year Plan's targets obsolete.

• b.

  The scale and severity of the criticism directed at the CCP's fundamental right to rule shocked Mao and the party leadership.

• c.

  The intellectuals refused to speak out, proving to Mao that his 'mass line' strategy had failed.

• d.

  The Soviet Union intervened directly to stop the campaign, fearing it would lead to a Hungarian-style uprising.

• a.

  The infrastructure remained intact as the fighting had primarily occurred in the deep countryside.

• b.

  The retreating Nationalists had successfully secured the major power grids to prevent looting.

• c.

  Soviet financial aid had already restored the majority of the rail network to functional status.

• d.

  Industrial production was at a fraction of pre-war levels and transport networks were largely destroyed.

• a.

  They strengthened it by giving the head of the household absolute control over the distribution of communal grain.

• b.

  They reintroduced the practice of foot binding to ensure women remained within the domestic sphere.

• c.

  They encouraged the return of extended family living arrangements to share the burden of the state-mandated taxes.

• d.

  They undermined it by requiring communal dining and nursery care, aimed at freeing women for labor and breaking down ancestral ties.

• a.

  China possessed a modern, integrated industrial base across the coastal regions, though it lacked raw materials.

• b.

  The Soviet Union had already rebuilt the majority of the rail networks in the north-east following the Japanese surrender.

• c.

  Agricultural production was stable due to the effective implementation of GMD land reforms in the southern provinces.

• d.

  Hyperinflation had rendered the national currency worthless, and industrial production was significantly lower than pre-war peaks.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.