FROM THE “SILENT REVOLUTION” TO THE “MOVEMENT FOR LAND REFORM” (ON THE USE OF VIOLENCE IN THE POLICY OF THE CCP IN 1937–1948)

Abstract

Background. The CCP’s policy in the framework of two independent political campaigns – the “silent revolution” and the “movement for land reform” – has never been subjected to substantive analysis in Chinese, Russian and Western historiography. Moreover, the very names of these campaigns and, especially, the extent of violence committed during them, do not mean anything to many experts. Studying the topic allows to a certain extent to fill the gap. And in this regard, the work aims at analyzing, at least in general terms, the content of both the “revolution” and the “movement”. Results. The main aspects of the party’s general line, its politics and the socioeconomic activities of the Communists in the specified period, including the use of violence in its various forms as the main way to control the peasant masses by the CCP, are examined. Conclusions. The analysis shows that the main content and the most important condition for the success of both the “silent revolution” and the “movement for land reform” was extremely flexible and selectively dosed violence against the masses during the years of the “revolution” with the transition to total terror in the “old” liberated districts during the final phase of the struggle with Chiang Kai-shek, the absolutely ridiculously marked “land reform”.

Keywords

• the ccp
• violence
• “silent revolution”
• “movement for land reform”