Introduction
In recent history, the Chinese citizens have been greatly interested in forging a new life in the United States. Starting from the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in the mid 19th century, the Chinese flocked to America hoping to create a better life for themselves and their families. Ever since the 1860s, the Chinese have been notably interested in relocating to America, and even more so in response to Mao Zedong's, "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". Demographics highlight this interest as the population of foreign-born Chinese Americans increased almost tenfold between 1970 to 2000 ("Migration"). This statistic suggests that the citizens of the People's Republic of China were under the heavy influences of "push and pull" factors causing them to ultimately leave their native land in favor of the United States. But what possible factors during the Cultural Revolution influenced such a heavy reception of Chinese immigrants? The desire to leave the PRC will be explained by investigating a variety of possiblities regarding politics, the economy, and society.
Mao Zedong's rise to power over China
The period prior to Mao's rule was plagued by numerous conflicts among various parties. In 1912, the epoch of the ancient Chinese dynasties officially ended, and the most dominant revolutionary, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, established the Republic of China earning the right to be named president. Naturally in the times of post revolution, much of the land was occupied by opposing military leaders known as warlords. In response to this dissociation Sun organized another revolution in order to unify the country under his Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang or Guomindang (Kesselman). However, the Nationalist Party did not satisfy Chinese intellectuals who were inspired by the Russian revolution of 1917. These scholars condemned the Kuomintang as being too conservative to properly address China's problems. Therefore in 1921, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao among other intellectuals finally founded the radical Chinese Communist Party. (Buel).
Through the distresses imposed on the Chinese Communist Party by the Nationalists, Mao Zedong was able to rise to the top of the party's hierarchy. Despite a brief period of cooperation between the two organized parties, relations rapidly declined after Chiang Kai-shek succeeded Sun Yat-sen as the head of the Nationalist Party after Sun's death in 1925. Chiang was a ruthless military leader who lead a highly effective suppression against the communists. In order to survive, the Communist Party was forced to retreat deep into the countryside and ultimately relocate to an impoverished area in northwestern China. It was this occurrence that assisted Mao in his rise to power in the near future. During the relocation, Mao set his sights on appealing to the peasants in doing so, he hoped to gain support and recognition. His efforts were rewarded as he was elected party chairman of the CCP in 1943 (Kesselman).
After the Japanese aggression during World War II ended, the Communists ultimately emerged the victors of the struggle for power after the Chinese civil war. The Nationalists failed at defending against the Japanese army and were pushed to the far southwestern part of the country. Mao on the other hand successfully mobilized the peasants to use guerrilla warfare to retaliate against the invaders, significantly increasing support for the party. By the end of World War II, the CCP had vastly expanded its membership and controlled much of the countryside in north China. After the Japanese surrender, the communists finally pushed the Nationalists to Taiwan, and on October 1, 1949, Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In recent history, the Chinese citizens have been greatly interested in forging a new life in the United States. Starting from the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in the mid 19th century, the Chinese flocked to America hoping to create a better life for themselves and their families. Ever since the 1860s, the Chinese have been notably interested in relocating to America, and even more so in response to Mao Zedong's, "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". Demographics highlight this interest as the population of foreign-born Chinese Americans increased almost tenfold between 1970 to 2000 ("Migration"). This statistic suggests that the citizens of the People's Republic of China were under the heavy influences of "push and pull" factors causing them to ultimately leave their native land in favor of the United States. But what possible factors during the Cultural Revolution influenced such a heavy reception of Chinese immigrants? The desire to leave the PRC will be explained by investigating a variety of possiblities regarding politics, the economy, and society.
Mao Zedong's rise to power over China
The period prior to Mao's rule was plagued by numerous conflicts among various parties. In 1912, the epoch of the ancient Chinese dynasties officially ended, and the most dominant revolutionary, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, established the Republic of China earning the right to be named president. Naturally in the times of post revolution, much of the land was occupied by opposing military leaders known as warlords. In response to this dissociation Sun organized another revolution in order to unify the country under his Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang or Guomindang (Kesselman). However, the Nationalist Party did not satisfy Chinese intellectuals who were inspired by the Russian revolution of 1917. These scholars condemned the Kuomintang as being too conservative to properly address China's problems. Therefore in 1921, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao among other intellectuals finally founded the radical Chinese Communist Party. (Buel).
Through the distresses imposed on the Chinese Communist Party by the Nationalists, Mao Zedong was able to rise to the top of the party's hierarchy. Despite a brief period of cooperation between the two organized parties, relations rapidly declined after Chiang Kai-shek succeeded Sun Yat-sen as the head of the Nationalist Party after Sun's death in 1925. Chiang was a ruthless military leader who lead a highly effective suppression against the communists. In order to survive, the Communist Party was forced to retreat deep into the countryside and ultimately relocate to an impoverished area in northwestern China. It was this occurrence that assisted Mao in his rise to power in the near future. During the relocation, Mao set his sights on appealing to the peasants in doing so, he hoped to gain support and recognition. His efforts were rewarded as he was elected party chairman of the CCP in 1943 (Kesselman).
After the Japanese aggression during World War II ended, the Communists ultimately emerged the victors of the struggle for power after the Chinese civil war. The Nationalists failed at defending against the Japanese army and were pushed to the far southwestern part of the country. Mao on the other hand successfully mobilized the peasants to use guerrilla warfare to retaliate against the invaders, significantly increasing support for the party. By the end of World War II, the CCP had vastly expanded its membership and controlled much of the countryside in north China. After the Japanese surrender, the communists finally pushed the Nationalists to Taiwan, and on October 1, 1949, Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China.
