For extensive links to Republican China and the Civil War go to the casahistoria Republican China site.

• For starters the Discovering China "Middle Kingdom" has good overviews of the key historical periods:
  • Early Years of People's Republic of China (1949-1966)
  • Reform of Economy (1976-1997).     
  • Present
• China: Commanding heights A valuable and very detailed chronological look at aspects of modern China from PBS. Well engineered site makes use easy.
• 50 years Inside the Peoples Republic: photographs by the Aperture Asia Society. An excellent collection of images, mainly from the 1970's & 80's
• The Fairbank Chinese History Virtual Library basic set of key links, clearly set out
• Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages A truly massive, comprehensive collection. Much more than just propaganda posters, the pages are thematically set out and well supported by narrative and book links. Perhaps the best way to find an area is to consult the Site Map for an overview of the site's contents.
• China Links for Schools Very comprehensive University of Sheffield links to websites about China and things Chinese which may be of interest to school teachers and students. Please click on the titles below to be taken to the links for that subject. §

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 2. Leadership, ideology and party

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• History for the Masses Geremie Barmé considers the interpretation placed on History and politics by successive communist regimes in China. Not always easy, but places much in a pattern & context.

• An Illustrated History of the Communist Party of China part of the "authorized government portal site to China, www.china.org.cn" (中国网). Offers a survey to CCP history up to 1991 in 6 chapters, each with an introduction, and 30 to 48 images. In addition there is a short essay on the party in general. (China Internet Information Center, Beijing, China)
• Chronology and Lists includes Chronology of Chinese Communist Party National Party Congresses and Plenums, 1921-87; Diplomatic Recognitions, 1949-87. US Library of Congress Federal Research Division. See also the very useful Glossary to key slogans, phrases, movements
• Chronicle of PRC  Dry, but thorough, provided on a yearly basis by People's Daily.
• A Summary of the Chinese Labour Movement Since 1949 By Tim Pringle, China Labour Bulletin, 17 August 2001. This document is an outline of the Chinese labour movement since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949. A background paper prepared for an international conference in Hong Kong, November 2000

Deng Xiaoping

• Deng Xiaoping Concise but useful bio from Thinkquest
• Deng Xiaoping and the fate of the Chinese Revolution – From the World Socialist Website on the death of Deng, 12 March 1997 §
• Deng Xiaoping and the fate of the Chinese Revolution1997 academic  review of book by Bruce Cummings in Monthly review of Maurice Meisners, The Deng Xiaoping Era: An Inquiry into the Fate of Chinese Socialism, 1978-1994
• Selected works of Deng Xiaoping – Edited by the Prople's Daily Online. Monumental. serious research only!

Zhou Enlai

• Zhou Enlai Concise but useful bio from Thinkquest

• Mao Zedong Concise but useful bio from Thinkquest
• Mao biography from Time 100 series
• Maoism Introductory essay on the key aspects
• Mao Zedong Thought Clear basic narrative to support excellent poster coverage from Stefan Landsberger's Poster Pages. Many sub sections to different aspects the ideology - what was read and posters to show who read it
• Mao Zedong and the Chinese Revolution Part of the excellent, well supported Columbia University, East Asian Curriculum Project.
• The Mao Zedong Internet Archive – Collections of Chairman Mao's speeches, 1926 –1940. These documents were compiled, edited and published by the U.S. Government's Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) in 1978 very comprehensive
• Mao zhuxi yulu (The Little Red Book) Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung.  Published in May 1964. The text here is verbatim from the second edition, Peking, 1967. From Terebess Asia Online
• Ask Chairman Mao for the Answers  A 'user's guide' to The Quotations of Chairman Mao, illustrates how Mao Zedong Thought was supposed to be applied to everyday situations. Cleverly produced, perhaps too clever? You need to open the window to full size ...
• Mao Collection Very large collection of Mao's speeches and writing. Set out chronologically from the Marx2Mao site.

• The Mao Cult worthwhile narrative and posters from Stefan Landsberger
• MaoSpeak: Extracts of MaoSpeak, or NewChina NewSpeak (Xinhua wenti), popularised on Mainland China as the political and social lingua franca from the 1940s. The Beijing novelist Wang Shuo used this language from the late 1980s in his satirical studies of life under socialism. Read some of it here...
• A Star Reflects on the Sun: Liu's memoir, from which this excerpt is taken, was written at the height of the Mao Cult. Its passion & sentiment was shared by many of Liu's generation as they looked back on a youth spent under the spell of the Revolution. 
• EveryMao: Something for everyone. Geremie R. Barmé looks at the broad appeal of Mao. From Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader (1996). See also MaoBody which explains the role played by Mao's body for china today.
• World's People Eagerly Seek Chairman Mao Badges Article from China Reconstructs, May 1968, about the spread of Mao badges during the Cultural Revolution
• The Miracles of Chairman Mao: Two Films, "A Song of Triumph" and "Youth" Two paired movies presented here show the treatment of deaf-and-dumb children and how the miracle of Mao helped them! A Song of Triumph is a propaganda film about the successes of PLA soldiers treating deaf-and-dumb children; Youth is a feature film made by Xie Jin in 1976 that features Joan Chen (Chen Chong) in her first screen role. From Morning Sun. Click on the title in the window when it opens, A new window will then show the film extract.

• Glossary of the Chinese Revolution. From the BBC. Interactive, very 'red', but easy to use....
• The People's Republic of China: The Transition to Socialism, 1953-57
• Early Campaigns A comprehensive catalogue of the early campaigns with worthwhile narrative and posters from Stefan Landsberger

• Recovery from War, 1949-52 & The First Five-Year Plan, 1953-57 Useful, accessible outlines from the US Congress
• Land Reform and Collectivization; Early Industrialization; worthwhile narrative and posters from Stefan Landsberger

• Eliminate the Four Pests (1958) worthwhile narrative and posters from Stefan Landsberger
• Lu Ting-yi: Let Flowers of Many Kinds Blossom, Diverse Schools of Thought Contend! Speech Delivered by Lu Ting-yi, Director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, on the Party's Policy on Art, Literature, and Science, May 26, 1956 From Modern History SourceBook
• An Early Spring: Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese Intellectuals and the Hundred Flowers Campaign Lengthy, involved article by John M. Jackson, 2004
• Double-Hundred Policy (1956-1957) worthwhile narrative and posters from Stefan Landsberger

• The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60 & Readjustment and Recovery, 1961-65 From the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Good place to start for an overview. Key words/people/events are hyper linked for further information
• Great Leap Forward Clear basic narrative to support excellent poster coverage from Stefan Landsberger's Poster Pages
• Great Leap Forward from Spartacus. Narrative and documentary support

• China Gets the Bomb, 1964. Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China, October 16, 1964
• The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60 & Readjustment and Recovery: "Agriculture First," 1961-65 Useful, accessible outlines from the US Congress

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5. The Cultural Revolution, 1964-76 

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• The Cultural Revolution Decade, 1966-76 US Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Good place to start for an overview. Key words/people/events are hyper linked for further information
  • The Militant Phase, 1966-68
  • The Ninth National Party Congress to the Demise of Lin Biao, 1969-71

• Morning Sun Stylish site that uses a range of techniques and perspectives to reflect on the origins and history of the Cultural Revolution (c.1964-1976). Contains an extensive collection of primary source documents from the Cultural Revolution (including speeches, newspaper editorials and articles, directives, big-character posters, letters, diaries, pamphlets, and self-criticisms), as well as a wide range of secondary source material, such as essays, memoirs, articles, and book excerpts. These personal narratives, histories, biographies, and scholarly analyses  serve to represent a variety of perspectives on the Cultural Revolution.
• Cultural Revolution from Spartacus. Basic narrative , but with excellent document support and cross linking. Main relevant sections:
  • Red Guards
  • Liu Shaoqi
  • Zhou Enlai
  • Gang of Four
  • Jiang Qing

• History of The Cultural Revolution Excellent basic chronological overview with detailed sections on the key phases. If you find it confusing, start here! From Discovering China.
• The Cultural Revolution Includes history, background info, the impact of the cultural revolution. Good cross linking
• Virtual Museum of Cultural Revolution Massive collection of relevant documents, essays and articles - but - unfortunately mainly in Chinese. The English version, is to be built similarly. As of now though, most of the texts are in Chinese while the table of contents is in English. Keep looking...
• The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution Essay by Brain R. Train looking at origins, events & aftermath.
• Cultural Revolution Clear basic narrative to support excellent poster coverage from Stefan Landsberger's Poster Pages. Many esoteric and interesting sub sections to different aspects of the cultural revolution.
• Slideshow of cultural revolution from Morning Sun
• Picturing Power: Posters of the Cultural revolution Online exhibition

Origins

• Cult of Mao Well set out, concise account linking it to the Cultural revolution.
• The Deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations. Basic overview of how relations worsened
• Red Guards Who they were, what they did.
• The Dynamics of Red Guard Factionalism: Social Interpretation and Political Explanation. Article by Jun Zhang Modern Chinese History program at UCSD

Daily life during the Cultural revolution

 

The following are from the excellently produced Morning Sun site. Each one has a brief general narrative followed by links to excellent academic articles and primary documentary resources

• Red Guards and their culture: music, clothes, language
• Barefoot Doctors
• Schools:  Includes an interactive Take an English Lesson. Other elements: morning exercises, daily classes, content of textbooks, curricula. Feature film "Blossoms of the Motherland."
• Communes and Factories
• Music

 

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 6. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution

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Youth & education

• Impact on the Young concise but useful
• Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966  by Wang You-qin, Well detailed and referenced article. Paper presented at the conference, "The Cultural Revolution in Retrospect," Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1996;  printed in a source book at Harvard University.
• Interview with a teacher Student interview today of Chen Zuen, who experienced the Cultural Revolution at a factory in Shanghai when he was young. from the excellent middle Kingdom site.

Intellectuals, art & literature

• "A Can of Worms" is a collection of witty lines that Huang distributed among his friends; some of the writings made humorous use of Party jargon. In the summer of 1966, these private writings were declared to be counter-revolutionary. Huang was criticized, denounced in public meetings, and severely beaten. Lavishly presented in an interactive way from Morning Sun.
• Mao Zedong, Art, and the Cultural Revolution examines the role and ideology of Mao Zedong as leader of the Chinese Communist Party and originator of the Cultural Revolution. This section discusses the political influence Mao Zedong exerted over art and literature as early as 1930, the Marxist-Lenin basis of Mao's theories, and Mao's speech of 1942, "Talks at the Yenan Forum on Art and Literature." Excerpts from the thesis by Wendy A. Levine
• Jiang Qing, Beijing Opera, and Party Policy discusses the many policies developed and enforced by Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four during the Cultural Revolution. Excerpts from the thesis by Wendy A. Levine
• The Red Detachment of Women  &  White-Haired Girl Two video excerpts fro Revolutionary opera...
• The Cultural Revolution and the Fall of Lin Piao An left wing article by Sam Marcy from Workers world.

Economy

• Impact on Economy general impact described.

Political opposition

• Liu Shaoqi Picture board of his life and work until death whilst under arrest, 1969

Gang of Four

• Gang of Four Clear basic narrative to support excellent poster coverage from Stefan Landsberger's Poster Pages. See the gang as the propagandists saw them!

Human Rights

• A Personnel File (documents on people whose belongings were confiscated and who were sent into exile) from the time of the Cultural revolution. Very cleverly translated in an interactive way, superimposed on the original (?) documents. Morning Sun site
• The Burning Forest by Simon Leys (published in 1978.) Difficult essay, drawing attention to the Human Rights issues in totalitarian China.

 

 

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7. Communist propaganda from the '60s and '70s 

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Music

• The East is Red, A Song-and-Dance Epic — The East is Red became the underlying theme of a song-and-dance epic produced in 1964. Here Morning Sun site provides the entire production, divided into scenes with the original Chinese songs and English translations. This stage production presented a creation myth, an historical vision, a belief system, and a moral landscape in which the generation of the Cultural Revolution came of age.
• Transformation of a Love Song — The East is Red started out as a peasant love song, and here you can follow its progress to becoming a call to arms in the Anti-Japanese War, and a paean extolling Chairman Mao, the saviour of the Chinese people.
• Songs from the Cultural Revolution Over 20 of them!! sing along...

Posters

• Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages Of course. Perhaps the best way to find an area is to consult the SiteMap for an overview of the site's contents.
• The Chairman Smiles – Posters from 1949 – 1997, provided by International Institute of Social History. An intriguing insight into the period

Press & Literature

• The Great Leap Forward Pictures taken from La Chine, issues No 12 and No 16, 1959 and China Reconstructs, October 1961 From the well presented Sinophilia site
• Mao and the others Images from the 1959 La Chine when it  published official pictures portraying President Mao together with foreign personalities. From the well presented Sinophilia site
• The Little White Hen: a propagandist children story From the well presented Sinophilia site
• Newspapers and Magazines Four examples from Morning Sun site of how newspapers and magazines published during the Cultural Revolution served to reflect and promote the government's policies.
• Barefoot doctors of the Cultural Revolution. Report from Tungting - A People's Commune on Taihu Lake by Wu Chou is a booklet published in 1975 by Beijing Foreign Languages Press. It's an exhaustive description (49 pages, 24 pictures) of the Dongting's People's Commune near Suzhou. From the well presented Sinophilia site

Radio, Television & Cinema

• Listen to the Radio and you can hear some of the major songs of the period, including the Cultural Revolution "anthem," Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman, as well as a Mao poem put to music and Mao "quotation songs" (yulu ge). From Morning Sun site
• Watch TV See mass rallies of the kind that marked the progress of revolutionary time. From Morning Sun site
• Watch a Movie Short excerpts from a few of the films in Morning Sun site archive. See:
  • Cultural Revolution movies
  • Film Excerpts of Heroes - The Red Lantern;  The Red Detachment of Women;  Heroic Little Sisters on the Grassland
  • and of villains: On the Docks;  The Ferry Port

Peoples Liberation Army

• Liu Ying-chun: A Fine Son of the Chinese People: propaganda article from China Pictorial 1966  about the "glorious, great and militant life of a proletarian fighter." See also A Heroic Company Armed with Mao Tse-tung's Thought: propaganda article from China Pictorial 1966.
• Chinese Propaganda Posters: PLA Stefan Landsberger's massive sections on the PLA are all worthwhile looking at.
• Lei Feng (Film Extract) tells the tale of a PLA soldier who was a model student of Mao Zedong Thought and whose tireless study of the Chairman’s writings and good deeds are shown in this film. (NB Jiang Qing found fault with this film; in particular, she felt that the image of Mao was inappropriate and politically incorrect.)

Science

• Launching a Satellite China launched its first satellite in 1970. Here you can see documentary footage of the launching of the satellite.

 

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 8. Women in Communist China

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For extensive links to women in Mao's China, visit the section on Communist China in the casahistoria Women in Totalitarian States site.

 

 

Sections include:

• Before the Revolution
• Revolutionary Change & Impact
• The Situation today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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9. Mao, China & the USA 

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• Record of historic Richard Nixon / Zhou Enlai Talks – February 1972. Now Declassified by US NSA
• Nixon in China, The Week that Changed the World – Nixon's trip to China, beginning February 21st 1972
• The Nixon Visit  from the interactive K12 PBS site "Nixon's China Game". The site has useful sections to it. This is a concise overview.
• China and the United States: From Hostility to Engagement, 1960-1998 Edited by Jeffrey T. Richelson, a Senior Fellow at the National Security Archive. A collection of useful documents
• Changes in Mao Zedong's Attitude toward the Indochina War, 1949-1973 Yang Kuisong article documents the changes in China's relations with Vietnam.
• A Preliminary Appraisal -- What the China Trip Signifies By Deirdre Griswold. Written in 1972, this article from Workers world is a (very!) left wing critique of China's policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10. The End of the Mao Era, 1972-6

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• video clip about Mao's death.
• Text of Announcement Issued by Peking Reporting Death of Chairman Mao Xinhua, 10 September 1976. The official notification and obituary...
• Zhou Enlai's death Premier Zhou Enlai, Mao's close associate and one of the great heroes of the revolution, died in January 1976. Video clip
• End of the Era of Mao Zedong, 1972-76 US Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Good place to start for an overview.
• The Post-Mao Interlude, 1976-78 From US Congress Country study

China after Mao: a brief selection

• China and the Four Modernizations, 1979-82 From the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Good place to start for an overview. Key words/people/events are hyper linked for further information.
• Liberalization in China and China at the End of the Century: Youth, Pluralism and the Primacy of Politics Two lectures which gives a brief, but valuable overview of China at the end of the Maoist period. By Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.

China Today

• China - 50 Years of Communism – NY Times 50th Anniversary Survey of China and Chinese Communism
• Then & Now 1978 compared with today - key indicators from Deng Xiaoping front §
• Asia Ascending From the Economist, Reviews of three new books that examine the rise of China and the rest of Asia, and which draw starkly different conclusions about what this means for the rest of the world.  Jun 9th 2005