This course introduces major issues and events in contemporary Chinese history from the success of the Communist revolution in 1949 to China's postsocialist transitions in the 1980s and early 1990s. Topics include the development and victory of the Chinese Communist revolution, the rule and legacy of Mao Zedong (particularly the Hundred Flowers movement, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution), and economic reform and political repression in the era of Deng Xiaoping.