CHINA (1976-89)

• who was in the 'Gang of Four'?

  Zhang Chungqiao, Wang Hangwen, Yao Wenyuan, Jiang Qing (Madame Mao)
• how did the 'Gang of Four' rise?

  • during the Cultural Revolution - when Jiang Qing launched the anti-Confucius campaign (to promote communist ideas & attack on Zhou Enlai & Deng)
  • Deng was removed from the Party & government (April 1976)
  • Zhou Enlai died (January 1976)
  • Gang of Four seemed in control of CCp until Mao's death (September 1976)
• How did the Gang of Four fall?


  • Mao promoted Hua Guofeng as premier of PRC and vice-chairman of CCP
  • Gang of Four failed to manipulate Hua and was arrested (October 1976) along with their supporters
  • Gang of Four put on trial (1980-81) and foud guilty - sentenced to long prison terms
  • Politburo thought Hua as a temporary leader and Deng waited to be the new leader by securing military support and developing his role within the party
• when was Deng the leader of the PRC?

  October 1978
• what made Deng more favourable to be the leader of China?

  • played an important role in organising the recovery from Great Famine (early 1960s)
  • played a key part in planning a major programme of industrial growth (1970s)
  • helped to develop China's foreign policy
• what were Deng's aims once he came into power?

  • to modernise the Chinese economy
  • to develop trade with the outside world
  • to encourage foreign investment into China
• what were the agricultural changes under Deng?

  • 'household responsibility system' - each xiang (original village) had a quota of produce that it had to supply to the state, but farmers could sell any extra produce for personal profit
  • farmers were allowed to concentrate on growing the type fo crop which grew best in the area - instead of rice & wheat that Mao instructed
  • the income of agricultural workers tripled (1977 and 1983)
• what was the reason for the agricultural reform under Deng?

  cooperative farms were failing to produce enough food - China had to import 13.7 million tons of grain to feed its population
• what was the reason for the education reform under Deng?

  • by 1976, less than 6% of the population had been educated to degree level
  • Under Mao, examinations were boycotted - seen as creating an unequal society
• what were the educational changes under Deng?

  • university entrance exams were reintroduced
  • private universities were allowed
  • Chinese students were encouraged to travel to the West for university - in order to bring back their knowledge of Western technology & methods of manufacture
  • why - train a million technical students to use their skills to modernise industrial processes in China
• what was the reason for the industry reform under Deng?

  • economy suffered hugely under Mao & Gang of Four
  • economy was too micromanaged by Beijing - factories producing declining produce because the managers were under order to do so
• what were the industrial changes under Deng?

  • 'open door policy' - China would trade with foreign countries & encouraged competition to boost Chinese buisnesses
  • 'Special Economic Zones' (SEZs) - encouraged western firms to establish themselves in China (e.g Shanghai) through the promise of cheap labour and local labour. Expectation to train Chinese personnel and prioritise using Chinese raw material
• what was the reason for the birth control reform under Deng?

  • during the cultural revolution birth control spiralled out of control - estimated the population would be 1.3 billion by 2000
  • would make it impossible for economic policies to provide resources for the whole population
• what were the birth control changes under Deng?



  • CCP introduced 'one-child policy' - led to a rise in female infanticide within peasants
  • new Marriage Law passed - married couples only allowed 1 child, minimum marriage age was 22 (men) and 20 (women)
• why was Deng opposed to political reform?

  • he was a hard-line communist - he maintained four principles about how China would be goverend (CCP would keep a leading role, no multi-party system, no free elections, no free speech)
  • firmly rejected democracy
• Who was Wei Jingsheng?

  • a writer who published an article (1979) called 'Democracy or New Dictatorship' which attacked Deng - he was like many Chinese people who suffered during the Cultural Revolution and struggled to benefit from Deng's reforms
  • Wei trialed and sentenced for 15 years imprisonment
  • Wei was viewed as the first 'martyr' of the Democracy Movement
  • Wei's punishment was used as a warning to not personally attack Deng during the Movement
• what was the Democracy Wall?

  a brick wall in Avenue of Eternal Peace (near Tiananmen Square) where people pinned letters and posters of political grafitti & anti-party/anti-government feelings
• what was the Democracy Wall Movement?

  • initially Deng was supportive of the Democracy Wall - the wall supported Deng and criticised his opponents
  • students began to criticise the lack of democracy - thought Deng would introduced democracy
• what were the origins of the democracy movement?

  • intellectuals and students were involved in the movement
  • called for political reforms to match modernisation in the economy
  • after students came back from the West and experienced their liberal politics, they wnated to end the CCP's corruption & for the party to honour its claims that it represented the will of people
  • this threatened to challenge the very existence of the CCP
• what was the emergence of privatisation & westernisation?

  • privatisation - SEZs relied on forgein technology and Western business practices
  • privatisation - spread inland to businesses producing for the domestic market
  • privatisation - small scale businesses in the countryside could sell goods for a profit outside their areas (also known as Town and Village Enterprises (TVEs))
  • westernisation - western influences brought back to China via students & businessmen
  • westernisation - younger generation were now getting western hairstyles and clothing, also obsessed with 'decadent' western music and materialistic (thought it could weaken fundamental communist ideals)
• why did university students protest (1986)?

  • poor student living conditions
  • high rent & prices - caused by government's economic reforms
  • blamed poor job prospects on the party - hiring on connectiosn than merit
  • government controlled what they were allowed to study and which books they could read
• what were Deng's & CCP's reaction to the students protesting (1986)?


  • Hu Yaobang was sacked - showed sympathy for students & criticised the slow pace of reform
  • censorship tightened further - ordered arrests of leaders he blamed for the unrest, repression ended the 1986 protest
• what caused the Protest in 1989 (Tiananmen Square Massacre)?

  • culmination of tension built up over ten years
  • death of Hu Yaobang - large crowds gathered in Tiananmen Square for his memorial
  • students tried to give a petition to premier Li Peng - he refused which sparked boycotting univeristy classes & sit-ins
  • transport workersallowed students to travel for free to Beijing on public transport
• what happened during the Tiananmen Square Massacre?

  • Mid-May, 300 students went on hunger strike - recieved worldwide publicity & refused government calls to end it
  • Deng declared martial law as protests continued & non-students began to join protest, blocking roads to the Square
  • June 2 1989 - 350,000 PLA troops surrounded Tiananmen Square
  • June 3 - shots were fired and could be thousands killed, many imprisoned, government imposed a news blackout but information leaked
• what were the effects of the Tiananmen Square Massacre?

  • demonstators were imprisoned
  • CCP members who showed sympathy for the peasants were dismissed from office
  • government admitted 23 students were accidentally killed
  • marked the end of the democracy movement - CCP confirmed criticism was not permitted & political reform would not be allowed
• what was the international results of the Tiananmen Square Massacre?

  • universal condemnation - USA introduced economic sanctions against China, USSR was greatly saddened by the events
  • Chinese government refused to speak on the matter - Deng's government claimed it was a legitimate attack on -counter-revolutionaries' & descried as merely 'political turmoil'