week9

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Third Mid-term review

Please review relevant chapters, lectures, powerpoint presentations, and readers

for the exam! Icons designed by Vectors Market

Exam format

Part I. ID section (30%)—

Matching—10 items will be given to you. Match each of them to two other items on

the second list, which will be provided during the exam.

True or False—10-15 statements will be given to you. Pleases indicate whether they are

true or false.

Part II. Essay question (70%)—you have two questions to prepare for. During the

examination, only one question will be listed. Work on the only question available. Since

you won’t have any choice, you should prepare for both questions. Please make sure

you do the following: your answer should be based on a synthesis of various kinds of

course-based reading materials, including lectures, textbook chapters, powerpoint

presentations/minilectures, and readers relevant to the question.

*A very important issue to note: your response must reflect your own independent

effort to reflect on and organize relevant information. If you just copy from course

materials (such as textbook, lectures and powerpoint presentations) and outside

sources, this is considered plagiarism. You will not receive any score for your

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“answer.” In addition, quotes should be used sparingly—at least 95% of your

answer should be in your own words.

Essay question 1

“Marxism, which originated in Europe, was not particularly relevant to China. It was

revolutionaries who imagined its relevance, and made it relevant, to China.” Please

comment on this statement by analyzing information related to the Chinese Communist

Revolution (early 1920s-1949).

*Occasionally, you may need to revisit pre-first mid-term materials to formulate your

response.

“Context” is always important !!! To examine why Marxism was not extremely relevant

to China, you could think about the following questions: What are the main features of

Marxism? How would you explain the contrasts between Marxism and Chinese tradition

(especially Confucianism)? Hint: please think about how well-established Confucian

values clashed with Marxism as an ideology. For instance, Confucianism emphasized

respect for tradition. How did Marxism conflict with this emphasis in early 20th-century

China? Please look for other contrasts.

In addition, Marxism did not seem highly relevant to China’s social and economic

conditions. According to Marxism, a socialist revolution would take place in a highly

industrialized society with a very mature proletarian class (Why did the Marxists think

that the proletariat would be rebellious? Or why did they think that the proletariat was

conditioned to disapprove the modern industrial system?). But who made up the majority

of the Chinese population? How industrialized or how rural was China in the first half

of the 20th century? These are questions you should think about.

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Then, now, the question is how Chinese radicals saw relevance in Marxism when

they reflected on the direction in which China should travel. Socialism in general, as I

pointed out, was accepted by radicals in specific contexts. First, in the early 20th

century, the 1911 revolutionaries (like Sun Yat-sen) did not want China to go for

capitalism. Second, in the wake of the May Fourth protest, some New Cultural radicals

appreciated Marxism. Why did they feel attracted to Marxism? Please explain and give

details.

The CCP was founded in 1921. This is essential: how did the Chinese Communist

revolutionaries make Marxism relevant to China? In other words, how did they localize

the Marxist revolution in the Chinese context?

Please examine the process in which the Communists learned to adapt/respond to

China’s environments locally or nationally. It is important that you reflect on how the

earlier generations of Communists made the transition from urban revolutionary struggle

to a more rural approach to the revolution. Please reflect on the mistakes they made in

the 1920s.

In addition, regarding those revolutionaries who decided to invest in the rural

revolution in the late 1920s/early 1930s, they worked hard to adapt to the rural setting.

From whom did they learn? Who had taken the lead in building the “tradition” of a rural

revolution long before the CCP leadership became more serious about the contributions

that peasants could make to the revolution? It is important that you examine Peng Pai and

his work. Your reader (the report by Peng) is vitally relevant.

As more Communists began to pay attention to the rural revolution, they developed

their own strategies in the rural area to appeal to poor peasants. How would you

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describe the social conditions in the rural area in the 1930s and 40s? How poor were

Chinese peasants? How did peasant women suffer? After explaining peasants’ difficult

conditions, please think about how the CCP developed its own strategies to attract the

peasants to join the revolution. Make sure that you examine such issues as land reform.

In addition to adapting to the rural conditions, the CCP also responded skillfully

to China’s national social-political context.

First, the CCP handled the issues surrounding its main enemy, the Nationalist

Party (GMD), effectively. Why was it that the Nationalist Party was not popular in

China? How did the CCP capitalize on the Nationalist Party’s unpopularity and pose its

vision of change as an attractive alternative to the Nationalist Party? For instance,

Chiang Kaishek prioritized suppression of his domestic enemy (the Communists), and

this policy was by no means well-received. How, then, did the CCP handle this situation

and create its reputation of being patriotic?

Second, warfare was an essential party of the Communist Revolution. Why?

Against whom did the CCP had to fight? How did the CCP manage to connect to the

people through warfare (especially through its efforts to manage its soldiers)?

These are basic questions you may think about when you formulate your answer

to this essay question.

Essay Question 2

“The Japanese people suffered a great deal in the Second World War. However, many of

them complied with, or remained loyal to, the Japanese empire till the end of the

war.” Please comment on this statement by analyzing information related to the history

of the Japanese empire (from the beginning of the empire to the end of WWII).

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*Occasionally, you may need to revisit pre-first mid-term materials to formulate your

response. Once again, make sure that you draw from both your textbook and lectures

(and powerpoint/minilectures could also be relevant).

To a significant extent, to analyze this question is to explore Japanese citizens’

historically conditioned experiences and perspectives. Japanese imperialism has been

condemned by the Chinese, the Koreans, and others in Asia since WWII. Imperialism in

general is regarded as illegitimate in our world. However, it was regarded as a very

admirable thing in the 19th and early 20th century (not only in Japan but also in West).

The Japanese people had suffered—or had made sacrifices—as the Japanese state

became very aggressive. Japan had to fight hard to win the Russo Japanese war. As we all

know, the Japanese were impacted a lot by the WWII (please find relevant information

from your textbook). But still, the Japanese remain committed to—at least complied

with—the imperialist ideology of the state. It will be important for you to explain why.

First, this question is about how the Japanese were conditioned by their historical

experiences to embrace a militarized imperialist empire. And the first question is related

to the second question: how did the Japanese state actively cultivate the Japanese

people’s support for expansionism?

To some extent, it can be argued that the Japanese liked imperialism as they were

influenced deeply by the West. The Japanese identified with expansionist thinking—the

notion that the empire added glory and land to their country. It may also be important for

you to explain the fact that under the influence of Social Darwinism, the Japanese

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regarded themselves as the strong who could compete with other powerful nations in the

world, Moreover, the Japanese also felt insecure in the international order dominated by

the West. How did their sense of insecurity determine the patterns of Japanese

imperialism? This is also an issue you can discuss.

In addition, the Japanese became more immersed in imperialism as their

aggressive acts led to positive outcomes. How so? Discuss what the Japanese gained

from major wars like the Sino-Japanese war and Russo-Japanese war. When I define

“gains,” I refer to both the tangible resources (example: land) and intangible resources

(example, reputation and glory) the Japanese acquired.

In the 1920s-1930s, because of a number of global conditions (factors outside of

Japan), a militarized imperialist empire looked attractive and beneficial from the Japanese

perspective. Any analysis?

However, the Japanese were not merely conditioned by history to embrace

imperialism. They also acted in ways which supported or even nurtured their appetite

for an empire. As for how, we can first take into consideration the Japanese political elite

and the military. To begin with, in the Meiji period, the Japanese political elite

constructed a state structure supporting the military (and their expansionist ambitions).

It is necessary that you examine the following questions: How did the Meiji state lay the

foundation for the military’s capacity for independent action? How did military officers

in Japan act independently? How was the power of the military further strengthened in

the 1930s and 1940s as Japan evolved into a Fascist state? The textbook/lecture should

provide relevant information.

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Culturally the Japanese elite actively cultivated the Japanese people’s support for

imperialism. Please consider discussing a couple of the following examples.

Example 1. the use of religion. How did the state make use of religion to

cultivate loyalty to the empire? Please make sure that you provide a couple of examples

to discuss the question.

Example 2. the state’ efforts to mobilize women to get involved in war efforts.

Please provide examples.

Example 3. the Japanese state manipulated details in everyday life to harness the

people’s support for imperialist ideology. Please examine the case of Hachikō.

One very important issue to note: true, the state deliberately fashioned a culture

to nurture the Japanese people’s support for the state. But the Japanese responded

positively to the political messages conveyed by the government as well. While this is

not the focus of the textbook and lecture, you could still find relevant details in the

lecture if you read it with care. Hope this helps!