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In doing this activity, complete each numbered step before you do the next one. 1. Your teacher will assign you one of these four roles: Landlord, Peasant 1, Peasant 2, or Peasant 3. There should be an equal number of students in each role. 2. During the first part of this activity you will work alone, reading your roles and filling out a rating form that your teacher will give you. For each role there are three sections of readings, dated 1936, 1943, and 1945. For example, if you are assigned the role of Peasant 2, you will read the sections entitled Peasant 2, 1936; Peasant 2, 1943; and Peasant 2, 1945. 3. Your teacher will give you a rating form like this one: Chaos, Confusion, and Civil War, 1920–1949 1 Section RATING FORM Handout A How would you rate your financial condition? Name Role Rate the following categories by marking an X on the rating scales. You may mark any point along the line. Economic status Political power Future prospects 1936 Guomindang rule How would you rate the amount of political power you have in the village? What is your family’s outlook for the future? 1943 Japanese occupation 1945 How would you rate your financial position in the village under Japanese occupation? Economic status Political power Future prospects How would you rate the amount of political power you have in the village under Japanese occupation? What is your outlook for the future under Japanese occupation? What do you think your financial condition would be if the Communists controlled the village? Economic status Political power Future prospects How would you rate the amount of political power you would have if the village were under Communist control? What would be your outlook for the future if the Communists controlled the village? much worse worse same better much better none weak fair strong very strong extremely poor poor fair good very good extremely poor poor fair good very good none weak fair strong very strong much worse worse same better much better much worse worse same better much better none weak fair strong very strong extremely poor poor fair good very good B etween the advent of the May Fourth Movement and the Communist takeover of the mainland in 1949, a multitude of conflicting social, political, and economic forces kept China in a precarious state of flux—trapped between its imperial past and an uncertain future. New political ideologies attacked time-honored Confucian traditions, and urban modernization and industrial growth created both unprecedented economic opportunity and social change. Meanwhile, civil war and foreign invasion ravaged the country, threatening the very existence of China as a sovereign nation. Throughout this volatile period two political parties , the Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party, locked horns in a life-or-death struggle to see who would win the hearts and minds of the Chinese people. To the victor would go the right to determine the future of China. Activity: A Chinese Village It has been estimated that during the first half of the twentieth century, 90 percent of all Chinese lived in the countryside and 75 percent lived in small villages. To understand the conflict between the Guomindang and Communists, you must know something about life in the countryside. This activity will give you a feeling for how people living in an imaginary farming village in northern China might have felt about their lives and place in society during the turbulent years 1936–1945. In this activity, four roles represent major socioeconomic groups in a typical Chinese village at this time. After you complete this activity, read “Fragmentation to Unification,” which briefly examines the people and events leading up to the period covered in the activity, as well as the four years following 1945. 5. Read each section of your role, then rate your situation for the corresponding year on the rating form. For example, after finishing your 1936 reading, fill out the 1936 box on the form before you read about your 1943 situation. Keep your completed rating form for use later in this activity. Section 1: Chaos, Confusion, and Civil War, 1920–1949 159 4. When you fill out the rating form or work with others in small groups, you must act as if you were the person described in your role. You are no longer a student studying China; you are a Chinese landlord or peasant evaluating your living conditions and making decisions that will affect your family. (You will...

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