China’s Communist Party seized power in 1949 after a long period of guerrilla insurgency followed by full-scale war, but the Chinese revolution was just beginning. What were the distinctive accomplishments and failures of that revolutionary period, and what drove Mao Zedong’s motivations in launching the Great Leap Forward and the attack on his own party-state during the Cultural Revolution?
In this talk, Professor Andrew Walder will examine the rise and fall of the Maoist revolutionary state from 1949 to 1976 ― an epoch of startling accomplishments and disastrous failures, steered by many forces but dominated above all by Mao.
The series is supported by a range of Cornell departments and centers, reflecting a commitment to a collaborative approach in promoting a comprehensive understanding of Chinese history, politics, and society. The current sponsors include The Einaudi Center, the East Asia Program, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, the Department of History, the Society for Humanities, Cornell External Education, eCornell, the Department of Government, and the Department of Asian Studies, among others.
Photo credit: "China’s Chairman Builds a Cult of Personality"
Related links:
Unmasking the CCP: A Groundbreaking Lecture Series on Post-1949 China http://tinyurl.com/2yuftan4
Speaker series focuses on China’s communist past and present http://tinyurl.com/22jurkth
Courtesy of TIME. Photo © Tim O'Brien.
