Republic Of The Early Chinese Communist Propaganda Mechanism Study (1949-1956)

The Chinese Communist Party established the new government in a very short period of time, from 1949 to 1956. Meanwhile, CCP succeeded in consolidating political power through various methods. In the process of consolidating, propaganda played an very important role. This successful wide spreading of political propaganda campaigns was due largely to the well-established propagandist system of CCP. The thesis discusses the propagandist system building in the early period of PRC through the case study of Beijing, including the establishment of CCP's propagandist system, the related organizations and institutions, the propagandist content and methods, the effects and limitations of this system.In the first chapter, the established process and evolvement of CCP's propaganda system before 1949 are augmented. The reasons of establishment are explained in the context of CCP's propagandist system. The development of CCP's propagandist system is specified in two stages: the period of exploring and the period of initial formation.In the second chapter, the construction of CCP's propagandist institutions and system from 1949 to 1956 is illustrated. By analyzing the political propagandist institution, the propagandist network, the organizations of the masses and the interrelationship of the three elements, the operation of CCP's propagandist system is presented.In the third chapter, the propagandist content and methods of CCP are summarized. The content of CCP's propaganda included communist theory, the lines and policies. The methods of propaganda included oral way, newspapers, performing arts, slogans and banners, broadcasting etc.In the final chapter, the effects and limitations of propagandist system are discussed. During the early period of PRC, the propaganda made the effort to identify the legitimacy of government, introduce the policies and ideas and mobilize the masses of people. Meanwhile, the limitations of this propagandist strategy were obvious, such as sticking to the line rigidly, lacking the channels of response and adjustment, the extreme propagandist content and methods.