The final exam consists of the following 2 essay questions. Please note that the essays are of slightly different lengths.
The essays should be double-spaced, 12-point font, and checked for spelling, typos, and grammar. Proofread! Spellcheck does not catch all problems. The essays are due bt December 7 by 4 pm.
Topic 1: This essay should be 4-5 pages.
It is 1949. The CCP has just become the government of the People’s Republic of China, and the Guomindang has begun to govern Taiwan. As a historian, you have been asked to advise on which government the US should recognize. You have been assured that whatever your perspective, your views will not be made public: you need not worry about consequences and are at liberty to express your honest opinion.
Write a report arguing either that the US should recognize the CCP or the GMD. Your report should consider the record of the CCP and GMD from 1921 to 1952, drawing on Schoppa, and essays by Mao Zedong, Chen Xuezhao, Lu Xun, Chiang Kai-shek, Song Meiling, Ding Ling, and Wang Shiwei. Be sure to consider the war with Japan/WWII, CCP social and economic policies and programs (such as land reform, marriage laws, rectification). Also consider the ways in which both parties began as idealistic movements and had to change in the context of political realities. Most important, make your report emphasize history!
Keep in mind that whichever side you argue, it is completely appropriate to refer to aspects of either party that might complicate your view, and then describe how you would contextualize them. Focus on China! (This is not a paper about US history or politics, and so you need not consider the specifics of the US at that time.)
Topic 2: This essay should be 3-4 pages.
Based on Dragon’s Village, what were the major challenges faced in implementing land reform and how were they confronted? What was accomplished and what problems remained impossible to resolve? Your essay should draw very specifically from Dragon’s Village! (only use this book as the source for this question. By Yuan-tsungCheng. A Dragon’s Village.)
Attached are some articles that may be of use, but not necessary.
