Millet plus rifles

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Millet plus rifles
Chinese小米加步槍[1]
Literal meaninga rifle with bags of millet

Millet plus rifles (simplified Chinese: 小米加步枪; traditional Chinese: 小米加步槍; pinyin: Xiǎomǐ jiā bùqiāng),[2][3] also known as "Millet and rifles"[4] or "a rifle with bags of millet",[5] is an opinion that the Chinese Communist Party led the Chinese People's Liberation Army to defeat the well-equipped Kuomintang troops led by the Government of the Republic of China during the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, relying on crude equipment, and to take power in Mainland China.

On August 6, 1946, Mao Zedong raised the view of "Millet plus rifles" in a conversation with American correspondent Anna Louise Strong.[6]

In this conversation, Mao pointed out:[7]

...Take the case of China. We have only millet plus rifles to rely on, but history will finally prove that our millet plus rifles is more powerful than Chiang Kai-shek's aeroplanes plus tanks...

"Millet plus rifles" was the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party during the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War. The most famous claim is that "the Chinese Communist Party defeated the 8 million Kuomintang troops equipped with American weaponry by Millet Plus Rifles".[8]

Paraphrase[]

The so-called "millet" refers to the food of the CCP army, while "rifles" were the main weaponry of the CCP at that time. The opposite of "millet" is "bread", and the opposite of "rifles" is "cannon".[9] The opposite of "Millet plus rifles" is "Bread plus cannon" (面包加大炮).[10]

Evaluations[]

The claim that the CCP defeated the KMT with millet plus rifles during the Civil War was rooted in the hearts of the people of Mainland China through the CCP's strong propaganda.[11]

Some Chinese scholars attribute all the victories of the CCP army from the (第一次国共内战) to the Korean War to "Millet plus rifles".[12] Some researchers argue that "Millet plus rifles" is merely a metaphor for the PLA's victory over the superiorly equipped Kuomintang army with inferior equipment, and does not correspond to the realities of large-scale campaign, defensive, and urban offensive battles in the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War.[13]

Researchers also point out that the view of "Millet plus rifles" avoids the Soviet Government's military assistance to the CCP during the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War.

Although Chen Yun, Hu Qiaomu, and others in the CCP hierarchy have affirmed the importance of Soviet military aid, academic circles in the Mainland China have long avoided the historical facts of Soviet military aid due to political sensitivities.[14]

Others put the idea of "Millet plus rifles" as one of the "self-made myths" made up by the CCP to gain the governance legitimacy.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Chinese-English Glossary of Current Terms. Commercial Press. 1964. pp. 417–.
  2. ^ Kent G Deng (4 October 2011). China's Political Economy in Modern Times: Changes and Economic Consequences, 1800-2000. Routledge. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-1-136-65513-5.
  3. ^ Abraham M. Denmark (18 August 2020), U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century: Empowering Allies and Partners, Columbia University Press, pp. 52–, ISBN 978-0-231-55227-1
  4. ^ James Lilley; David L. Shambaugh (1 July 2016). China's Military Faces the Future. Routledge. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-1-315-50104-8.
  5. ^ Wei-Chin Lee (October 1, 2003). "China's Military after the Sixteenth Party Congress: Long March to Eternity". Journal of Asian and African Studies.
  6. ^ "Talk with the American Correspondent Anna LouiseStrong on August 6, 1946". CCTV.com. 2010-09-15.
  7. ^ Ying-Mao Kau (29 September 2017). Revival: The People's Liberation Army and China's Nation-Building (1973). Routledge. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1-351-71622-2.
  8. ^ Chinese Publications Service Center. Compilation of Important Historical Documents of the Chinese Communist Party. Service Center for Chinese Publications. pp. 17–.
  9. ^ William Hinton; Fred Magdoff (April 2008). Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village. New York University Press. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-1-58367-175-7.
  10. ^ Mao Tse-Tung (18 May 2014). Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung: Volume 4. Elsevier Science. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-1-4831-5434-3.
  11. ^ Peter Van Ness (1973). Revolution and Chinese Foreign Policy. University of California Press. pp. 40–. GGKEY:966F0LCC9P2.
  12. ^ Huo Jianshan (2014-05-01). "The term "Millet Plus Rifles" should not be misused". History Teaching. Tianjin: History Teaching Agency. pp. 56–58. ISSN 0457-6241.
  13. ^ Liu Tong (2008-06-13). "The Liberation War and the "Millet Plus Rifles"". Education Journal for Senior Citizens. Jinan. pp. 12–13. ISSN 1002-3402.
  14. ^ Yang Kuisong (2011). "On the Issue of Soviet Military Aid in the People's Liberation War". Modern Chinese History Studies. Beijing. pp. 285–306. ISSN 1001-6708.
  15. ^ "What is historical nihilism?". BBC.com. 2015-07-01. Archived from the original on 2015-12-21.
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