Still Seeking Synthesis: China’s Urban Poor 1900 to Present The ideal synthesis of capitalism and communism, as presented by Dr Martin Luther King Jr, is a system in which everyone has what they need to live a happy and productive life. While no one has exorbitantly more than they need, people are still encouraged to perform well at their given tasks in order to support themselves and contribute whatever extra they have to others. In short, the synthesis is a capitalist system with a much stronger social safety net that is supported by the feelings of brotherhood and sisterhood amongst all fellow citizens. An analysis of the changing lived experience of China’s urban poor from the pre-revolutionary 1900s through modern day indicates that this
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The urban poor became the targets of rampant recruitment from Jiang Kai Shek and the rest of the GMD, as he tried to appeal to the middle and lower class. City dwellers also were scarred by the crossfire, and in some cases became the subjects of attacks. In 1937, the residents of Nanjing were terrorized by Japanese soldiers. One study of this Nanjing Massacre emphasized the vast differences in accounts, mentioning that “the predominantly Chinese side of the scale... estimates that total deaths ranged from a ‘conservative’ 260,000 to 350,000, and asserts that between 20,000 and 80,000 women were raped” (Sedgwick). However, “the other end of the spectrum is occupied by Japanese 'revisionists ' such as Higashinakano Shudo who has concluded that ‘seven cases of rape was the entire scope of the Nanking Incident’” (Sedgwick). While neither of these figures can be wholeheartedly trusted, it is clear that violence occurred against innocent civilians. In her momoir Bend Not Break, Ping Fu asserts that “the city erupted in violence, becoming the scene of one of the biggest massacres in modern history,” adding that “an estimated three hundred thousand Chinese civilians were slaughtered, with mass beheadings, live burials, burnings, and other forms of torture” (Ping 25). The amount of controversy that surrounds all reports on Nanjing is evidence of the continuing political tumult that the event created between Japan and China. Regardless, the events in Nanjing are important reminders of the hardships faced by innocent Chinese citizens during the Chinese Civil War and the Sino-Japanese
The urban poor became the targets of rampant recruitment from Jiang Kai Shek and the rest of the GMD, as he tried to appeal to the middle and lower class. City dwellers also were scarred by the crossfire, and in some cases became the subjects of attacks. In 1937, the residents of Nanjing were terrorized by Japanese soldiers. One study of this Nanjing Massacre emphasized the vast differences in accounts, mentioning that “the predominantly Chinese side of the scale... estimates that total deaths ranged from a ‘conservative’ 260,000 to 350,000, and asserts that between 20,000 and 80,000 women were raped” (Sedgwick). However, “the other end of the spectrum is occupied by Japanese 'revisionists ' such as Higashinakano Shudo who has concluded that ‘seven cases of rape was the entire scope of the Nanking Incident’” (Sedgwick). While neither of these figures can be wholeheartedly trusted, it is clear that violence occurred against innocent civilians. In her momoir Bend Not Break, Ping Fu asserts that “the city erupted in violence, becoming the scene of one of the biggest massacres in modern history,” adding that “an estimated three hundred thousand Chinese civilians were slaughtered, with mass beheadings, live burials, burnings, and other forms of torture” (Ping 25). The amount of controversy that surrounds all reports on Nanjing is evidence of the continuing political tumult that the event created between Japan and China. Regardless, the events in Nanjing are important reminders of the hardships faced by innocent Chinese citizens during the Chinese Civil War and the Sino-Japanese