EdX

China and Communism (edX)

China and Communism (edX)

Explore the Maoist period of China, from the Communist Party to the death of Mao and the reopening of China. How did the Communists conquer China? What role does culture play? What are the successes and failures of the Chinese Communist Party after seizing power in 1949? What constitutes liberation?

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course will help you answer these important questions as you explore the profound cultural, intellectual, political and economic changes of this period. You’ll learn how Communist China fits in with a larger socialist world order and how historical interpretations of this period reinforce or challenge the official narrative in China today.

Join us to develop your own approach and gain a critical understanding of the rise of the Communist Party, Sino-Soviet relations, the Cultural Revolution, and, ultimately, the reopening of China.
This course is part of the History of China: The Modern Era XSeries program.

What you'll learn

  • How the rise of the Chinese Communist Party came about.
  • What changed under the People’s Republic under Mao Zedong.
  • What China’s reopening and reform in the 1970s meant for the country.
  • About the cultural, intellectual, political, economic changes in this period.
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Modern China’s Foundations: The Manchus and the Qing (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Modern China’s Foundations: The Manchus and the Qing (edX)

Learn how the Manchus conquered the Qing and established the last of the imperial dynasties. This course, part of a comprehensive series on China, looks at the Qing state in the early 1600s and the challenges that the Manchus faced as minority rulers. While living in Chinese cities and surrounded by Chinese culture — a culture that was far more sophisticated than their own — the Manchus struggled to hold onto their identity as a conquesting people.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
China Humanities: The Individual in Chinese Culture (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

China Humanities: The Individual in Chinese Culture (edX)

Explore Chinese history and culture from the perspective of the individual through philosophical texts, literary works, and art. In China’s history, there has been a longstanding belief that being cultured and being moral are necessary for a person to participate in public life. We often think of China in political terms – and focus on the history of government – or in social terms – and study the role of the family in society. But this course looks at the individual and the striving for culture and morality.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Chinese Politics Part 1 - China and Political Science (Coursera) Coursera
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

Chinese Politics Part 1 - China and Political Science (Coursera)

This course offers a conceptual framework for understanding China that highlights the intersection of politics and economics. It shows that rather than develop into a full blown market economy, state and party officials at all levels of the political system maintain significant influence in economic development. Such a “political” economy has had both positive and negative outcomes, which we will assess in detail.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
文物精品与文化中国:文字与乐礼 | Relics of Chinese History - Part 3: Writing System, Rites and Music (edX) EdX
Tsinghua University,TsinghuaX

文物精品与文化中国:文字与乐礼 | Relics of Chinese History - Part 3: Writing System, Rites and Music (edX)

Discover how writing systems and music played a major role in Chinese history through the study of artifacts and relics. 本课程以精品文物作引子,将学术界探索中华文明的过程作为线索,介绍古代中国在造船、玉器等诸多领域的杰出成就

Self Paced
Self-Paced
ChinaX Book Club: Five Authors, Five Books, Five Views of China (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

ChinaX Book Club: Five Authors, Five Books, Five Views of China (edX)

An exploration of the dynamics of contemporary China using the tools of close reading, discussion, and analysis. How can literature and literary analysis allow us to understand the dynamics of contemporary China? China’s historical and cultural transformations, and its imaginary and actual engagements in everyday life are vividly dramatized by five Chinese authors featured in this course.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
A Global History of Architecture (edX) EdX
MIT,MITx

A Global History of Architecture (edX)

Learn about humanity’s rich architectural history on this journey around the globe – from 100,000 BCE to ca. 1,600 CE. How do we understand architecture? One way of answering this question is by looking through the lens of history, beginning with First Societies and extending to the 16th century. This course in architectural history is not intended as a linear narrative, but rather aims to provide a more global view, by focusing on different architectural "moments."

Oct 18th 2023
5-12 Weeks
Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera) Coursera
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Structuring Values in Modern China (Coursera)

This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Global China: From the Mongols to the Ming (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Global China: From the Mongols to the Ming (edX)

Explore the impact of the conquest dynasties and the world of the Ming. In the 13th century, by force of arms, the Mongols created the greatest empire in human history. Yet by the end of the Ming dynasty in the late 16th century, a new global economy emerged. New World silver brought together the Americas, Europe, and East Asia, and the intellectuals of East and West began to speak to each other directly.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Chinese Language in Culture: Level 1 (edX) EdX
MIT,MITx

Chinese Language in Culture: Level 1 (edX)

Learn both cultural competence and language proficiency for successful participation in Mandarin-speaking societies. This subject is the first of a series that forms an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin, the language with the largest number of native speakers in the world. It is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, and one of the official languages of Singapore.The course presupposes no prior background in the language.

Apr 21st 2022
5-12 Weeks
文物精品与文化中国:农业与制造业 | Relics in Chinese History - Part 1: Agriculture and Manufacturing (edX) EdX
Tsinghua University,TsinghuaX

文物精品与文化中国:农业与制造业 | Relics in Chinese History - Part 1: Agriculture and Manufacturing (edX)

Discover manufacturing and agriculture’s role in the history of China as we explore Chinese culture through artifacts and relics. 本课程以精品文物作引子,将学术界探索中华文明的过程作为线索,介绍古代中国在造船、玉器等诸多领域的杰出成就

Self Paced
Self-Paced