Instruction Packet and Readings

Mao Zedong Hero or Villain opinion paper

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st
- Read ALL the instructions.
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- Complete your work on a separate sheet of paper with a proper heading.
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- Read each section of the document Mao Zedong Hero or illian! "#$%s. Answer each set of
"ocument #ased $uestions &efore mo'ing on the ne(t &o(. )ome answers will &e &ased on facts from the
reading and other answers will &e &ased on what you think. *&'iously +what do you think, answers cannot &e
wrong.

4th -hen you ha'e completed all the .uestions/ read ALL the directions on the *pinion 0aper )coring
Ru&ric. 1ype your opinion paper according to guidelines to assure you meet standard.
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2ailure to meet e(pectations will result in a return of you work. 3ou will &e asked to redo and resu&mit
your work.

th
)taple your work to the *pinion 0aper )coring Ru&ric in the order that it appears on the ru&ric4 "#$%s
and then essay.
Mao Zedong - Hero or a Villain!
"ocu#ent $ased %uestions
____________________________________________________________
Instructions& Read each section and answer the .uestions in each section &efore mo'ing to the ne(t section.
)ome answers to the "#$%s will &e &ased on content of the article/ others will &e &ased on what you think.
+-hat you think, answers cannot &e wrong &ecause they demonstrate your thinking a&out the issue. #e sure to
demonstrate your thinking.
' Mao Zedong was a Chinese Communist leader. Mao led the Communist 0arty of China 5C0C6 to 'ictory against the
nationalists 7uomintang party in the Chinese Ci'il -ar. He was the leader of the 0eople%s Repu&lic of China 50RC6 from
89:9 until his death in 89;<. Commonly referred to as (hair#an Mao/ he has &een regarded as one of the most
important figures in modern world history/ and he was named &y 1ime Maga=ine as one of the 8>> most influential people
of the ?>th century.
Mao is officially held in high regard in China where he is known as a great re'olutionary and a military mastermind who
defeated the nationalist party leader Chiang 7ai-shek in the Chinese Ci'il -ar. 1hrough his policies Mao transformed the
country into a ma@or world power. #ut there is a distinction made &etween MaoAs contri&utions to the Communist
re'olution and the BerrorsB he committed later in life. His portrait continues to &e featured prominently on 1iananmen
Cate and on Chinese Money.
Critics &lame many of MaoAs socio-political programs/ such as the Creat Leap 2orward and the Cultural Re'olution/ for
causing se'ere damage to the culture/ society/ economy/ and foreign relations of China. 1he Creat Leap 2orward was a
social plan used from 89DE to 89<8 which aimed to use ChinaAs massi'e population to rapidly transform China from a
peasant farming economy into a modern communist society. MaoAs policies and political purges in the first decades of the
0eopleAs Repu&lic are widely attri&uted to the deaths of &etween :> to ;> million people. "uring the Cultural Re'olution/
Mao &ecame the focus of a personality cult/ and a num&er of the Chinese people regard Mao as the sa'ior of the nation/
who laid the military/ political/ economical/ technological and cultural foundations of modern China.
1) *hat are the con+licting ,ie-s o+ Mao in this paragraph!
2) *hat -as the ./reat 0eap 1or-ard!2
3) *hat do 3ou suppose 4political purges4 #eans in this passage!
4) *h3 do 3ou think 45-65 #illion died in these purges!
Mao had a strong interest in the political system/ encouraged &y his father. Mao was first introduced to communism while
working at 0eking Fni'ersity. He attended the meeting where the Communist 0arty of China first formed. Mao sought to
get rid of the alliance of imperialism and feudalism in China.
5) *hat are i#perialis# and +eudalis#! Hint& te7t8ook inde7
) *h3 did Mao -ant to get rid o+ the alliance 8et-een these things!
1hroughout the 89?>s/ Mao led se'eral la&our uprisings using industrial workers. Howe'er/ these uprisings were su&dued
&y the go'ernment/ and e'entually Mao fled after he was la&eled a radical activist. He pondered these failures and
e'entually reali=ed that industrial workers were una&le to lead the re'olution to impro'e China &ecause they made up only
a small portion of the population. Also/ he &elie'ed that an unarmed la&or uprisings could not resol'e the pro&lems of
imperial and feudal suppression. Later/ Mao &egan to depend on Chinese peasants who &ecame strong/ dedicated
supporters of his theory of 'iolent re'olution. Mao himself was from a peasant family/ and he was a&le to culti'ate his
reputation among the farmers.
6) *h3 #ight (hinese peasants 8e #ore e++ecti,e than industrial -orkers in carr3ing out a re,olution!
Mao &uilt a modest &ut effecti'e army/ undertook e(periments in rural reform and go'ernment/ and pro'ided refuge for
Communists fleeing the cities. MaoAs methods are normally referred to as Cuerrilla warfare.
Gn the Ci'il -ar for control of China/ the F.). openly supported Chiang 7ai-shek and his Hationalist party/ and not the
communist Mao. 1he F.). wanted to contain and defeat world communism. Likewise/ the )o'iet Fnion ga'e .uasi-
co'ert support to Mao acting as a concerned neigh&or more than a military ally to a'oid open conflict with the F.).
9) *hat does it #ean that the :o,iet ga,e 4;uasi-co,ert4 support to Mao!
<) *h3 do 3ou suppose the support -as ;uasi-co,ert!
Chiang 7ai-shek and his nationalist party lost to Mao%s forces and left mainland China. 1hey mo'ed to what is now
1aiwan. 1he 0eopleAs Repu&lic of China 50RC6 was esta&lished on *cto&er 8/ 89:9. Gt was the culmination of o'er two
decades of ci'il and international war.
2rom 89D: to 89D9/ Mao was the Chairman of the 0RC. "uring this period/ Mao was called Chairman Mao or the Creat
Leader Chairman Mao. 1he Communist 0arty assumed control of all media in the country. He used the media to promote
the image of Mao and the 0arty. 1he Hationalists under Ceneral Chiang 7ai-)hek were 'ilified as were countries such as
the Fnited )tates of America and Iapan. 1he Chinese people were e(horted to de'ote themsel'es to &uild and strengthen
their country through Communist ideology. Gn his speech declaring the foundation of the 0RC/ Mao announcedJ B1he
Chinese people ha'e stood upKB
15) *h3 did Mao ,ili+3 =regard as a ,illain> (hiang ?ai-:hek@ the Anited :tates and Bapan!
11) *h3 -ere the (hinese e7horted to de,ote the#sel,es to 8uild their countr3!
After consolidating power/ Mao launched the 2irst 2i'e-3ear 0lan 589DL-DE6. 1he plan aimed to end Chinese dependence
upon agriculture in order to &ecome a world power. 0rograms pursued during this time include the Hundred 2lowers
Campaign/ in which Mao indicated his BsupposedB willingness to consider different opinions a&out how China should &e
go'erned. Ci'en the freedom to e(press themsel'es/ some Chinese &egan openly opposing the Communist 0arty and
.uestioning its leadership. 1his was initially tolerated and encouraged. Howe'er/ after a few months/ MaoAs go'ernment
re'ersed its policy and persecuted those who critici=ed/ as well as those who were merely alleged to ha'e critici=ed/ the
Communist 0arty. 1he num&ers were &elie'ed to &e as high as D>>/>>> people. )ome said that the Hundred 2lowers
Campaign was merely a ruse to root out BdangerousB thinkers.
12) *hat is #eant 83 .a ruse to root out!2
13) *hat #ight ha,e 8een #eant 83 4dangerous thinkers4!
1he success of the 2irst 2i'e 3ear 0lan encouraged Mao to instigate the )econd 2i'e 3ear 0lan/ the Creat Leap 2orward.
Fnder this economic program/ the relati'ely small agricultural collecti'es which had &een pre'iously formed were merged
into larger peopleAs communes. Many farming peasants were ordered to work on massi'e road and city &uilding pro@ects
and in the small-scale production of iron and steel. Land was taken from landlords and more wealthy peasants and gi'en
to poorer peasants. All pri'ate food production was &anned and &egan to &e grown collecti'ely. Li'estock and farm
implements were &rought under collecti'e ownership as well. 0rice controls were introduced. And finally/ in order to
increase literacy/ Chinese characters were simplified.
14) C7plain ho- the 4/reat 0eap 1or-ard4 +its into the idea o+ co##unis#)
Fnder the Creat Leap 2orward/ Mao ordered a 'ariety of unpro'en and unscientific new farming techni.ues. Com&ined
with the di'ersion of la&or to steel production and infrastructure pro@ects and the reduced personal incenti'es under a
commune system this led to an appro(imately 8DM drop in grain production in 89D9 followed &y further 8>M reduction in
89<> and no reco'ery in 89<8. Gn an effort to win fa'or with their superiors and a'oid &eing purged/ each super'isor in the
party hierarchy e(aggerated the amount of grain produced under them and &ased on this fa&ricated success/ they were
ordered to gi'e up a disproportionately high amount of the true har'est for state use in the cities and ur&an areas/ and for
e(port. 1hese things/ com&ined with draught and floods/ the rural peasants did not ha'e enough to eat and many millions
star'ed to death in what is thought to &e the largest famine in human history. 1his famine was a direct cause of the death
of tens of millions of Chinese peasants &etween 89D9 and 89<?.
15) *hat are the +actors that led to the #assi,e +a#ine in MaoDs /reat 0eap 1or-ard!
Mao died on )eptem&er 9/ 89;<. A memorial ser'ice was held in 1iananmen ).uare on 8E )eptem&er 89;<. 1here was a
three minute silence o&ser'ed during this ser'ice. His &ody was later placed into the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. MaoAs
figure is largely sym&olic &oth in China and in the glo&al communist mo'ement as a whole. Mao was regarded as the
undisputed leader of ChinaAs working class in their 8>>-year struggle against imperialism/ feudalism and capitalism/
which were the three-e'ils in pre-89:9 China. N'en today/ many Chinese people regard Mao as a Cod-like figure/ who
led the ailing China onto the path of an independent and powerful nation.
1) C7plain -h3 Mao ,ie-ed i#perialis#@ as one o+ the 4three e,ils4!
ChinaAs youth had generally &een raised during the Communist era/ which had taught them to idoli=e Mao. 1he youth also
did not remem&er the immense star'ation and suffering caused &y MaoAs Creat Leap 2orward/ and thus their thoughts of
Mao were generally positi'e. 1hus/ they were his greatest supporters. 1heir feelings for him were of such strength that
many followed his urge to challenge all esta&lished authority. 51iananmen ).uare6
)upporters of Mao credit him with ad'ancing the social and economic de'elopment of Chinese society. 1hey point out
that &efore 89:9/ for instance/ the illiteracy rate in mainland China was E>M/ and life e(pectancy was @ust LD years. At his
death/ illiteracy had declined to less than se'en percent/ and a'erage life e(pectancy had increased to ;> years.
)upporters also state that/ under MaoAs go'ernment/ China ended its BCentury of HumiliationB from -estern and Iapanese
imperialism and regained its status as a ma@or world power.
1here are disagreements on MaoAs legacy. )ome historians claim that Mao Zedong was a dictator compara&le to Hitler and
)talin with a death toll perhaps surpassing &oth. 3et/ the ideology of Maoism has influenced many communists around the
world. China itself has mo'ed sharply away from Maoism since MaoAs death. As the Chinese go'ernment instituted free
market economic reforms starting in the late 89;>s and as later Chinese leaders took power/ less recognition was gi'en to
the status of Mao. He'ertheless/ the Chinese go'ernment has ne'er officially repudiated the tactics of Mao.
Gn ?>></ the go'ernment in )hanghai issued a new set of high school history te(t&ooks which omit Mao/ with the
e(ception of a single mention in a section on eti.uette. )tudents in )hanghai now only learn a&out Mao in @unior high
school.
16) *h3 do 3ou suppose MaoDs glor3 =position> has +aded!
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O1his reading was taken from -ikipedia and other internet sources on E-?8-?>>9. )ome material from the original documents was
deleted/ added/ and rearranged to make it more reada&le and more easily understood &y a high school history class.
Mao Zedong - Hero or Villain Epinion Paper :coring Ru8ric
Fa#e& GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Per& GGGGGGG "ate& GGGGGGGGG
Instructions& Read all instructions. #e sure to read the scoring criteria. Attached this ru&ric to the front of your work4
Ru&ric/ "#$%s/ Nssay.
(riteria
Master3 C#erging Feeds *ork
"ocu#ent
$ased
%uestions
=1or#ati,e>
5 points
All 8; of the .uestions were
answered using complete
sentences. Answers
demonstrate a high le'el of
learning and understanding
of the topic as supported &y
answers gi'en
#etween 9-8< .uestions were
answered using complete
sentences.
*R
All .uestions were answered
&ut lacked complete sentences
and demonstrate only a
moderate le'el of learning and
understanding of the topic.
1he num&er of
.uestions answered
was insufficient to
gauge student
learning or
understanding of the
topic. Additional
effort is re.uired.
Villain or
Hero
Epinion
paper
=:u##ati,e>
45 points
)tudent was a&le to support
hisPher opinion using four
solid pieces of e'idence
from the te(t. )tudent made
e(act reference to the
location of the e'idence
found in the te(t. )tudent
demonstrates the a&ility to
use and refer to te(t as a
means of supporting opinion
5like a D-:6
)tudent used three or less
pieces of e'idence to support
hisPher opinion.
*R
1he student did form an
opinion &ased on three pieces
of e'idence. Howe'er/ the
student does not identify the
location of the te(t e'idence.
1hus/ the student does not
demonstrate the a&ility to use
and refer to te(t as a means of
supporting opinion. 5like a :-
L6
)tudent does make an
attempt to write an
opinion piece. Gt
appears that the
student is unsure of
how to use te(t
e'idence to support
hisPher opinion.
Additional effort is
re.uired.
5like a ?-86
1or#at
H3ping I15
e7tra credit
Nssay is formatted using
O 8? font 1imes Roman
O 0roper heading
O1itle
O dou&le spaced
O one inch margins
1he essay has some elements
of the re.uired format &ut
lacks others.
1here are not enough
elements to score in
this area
Continued on &ackQQQQQQQ
Peer Re,ie- o+ Mao Hero or Villain Cssa3
Juthor o+ the Cssa3 Fa#e& GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Per& GGGGGG
Re,ie-er Fa#e& GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Hhis author 8elie,ed that Mao Zedong -as a GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG)
1) Hhe +irst piece o+ e,idence the author used to support hisKher position stated&
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Hhat e,idence -as +ound in the Mao article at&GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
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2) Hhe second piece o+ e,idence the author used to support hisKher position -as&
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Hhat e,idence -as +ound in the Mao article at&GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
3) Hhe third piece o+ e,idence the author used to support hisKher position -as&
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Hhat e,idence -as +ound in the Mao article at&GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
4) Hhe third piece o+ e,idence the author used to support hisKher position -as&
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Hhat e,idence -as +ound in the Mao article at&GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG