Communist China

The Chinese Communist Party (中国共产党; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China. It is the second largest political party in the world and governs the most populous country on earth. The PRC, as China is also known, was established on October 1, 1949 not long after the communists drove out the nationalist Chiang Kai Shek and his Kuomintang during the Chinese Civil War. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Communist Party of China experienced an ideological split from the Soviet Union, which led to some skirmishes between Soviet and Chinese troops as well as economic restrictions by the Russians against China’s growing nuclear program. By that time, Mao had begun saying that the "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat" stipulated that class enemies continued to exist even though the socialist revolution seemed to be complete. This led to the Cultural Revolution in which millions were persecuted and killed. It is estimated that, between the Cultural Revolutions and the Great Leap Forward, that around 60-80 million Chinese were killed. The museum’s collection on Communist China deals primarily with China under the rule of Mao Zedong and the period following his death. Items include everything from copies of Mao’s Red Book to material objects supporting leader worship and the Cultural Revolution. Everything from pins, hats, propaganda posters, to hand made porcelain and collectible hand mirrors make up the bulk of the material culture from China under Mao Zedong.

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