Agriculture and Industry - 1949-65

Question 1

What was Mao’s main aim after the Communist victory in 1949, and how did he plan to achieve it?

Answer 1

• Mao’s main aim was to modernize China through urbanization and industrialization. This required collectivization of agriculture to feed industrial workers and release peasants for industry, with industrial growth being central to China’s success as a Communist state.

Question 2

How did Mao approach economic expertise and collectivization?

Answer 2

• Mao dismissed expert advice, relying instead on political willpower and mass participation from peasants. Collectivization was initially slow and voluntary but accelerated in 1955 and was completed by 1957.

Question 3

What was the Great Leap Forward (GLF) and what was its outcome?

Answer 3

• The GLF, launched in 1958, aimed to create large communes and modernize industry through collectivization. It resulted in a disaster, with the second Five-Year Plan contributing to a man-made famine that caused at least 20 million deaths.

Question 4

What were the results of the First Five-Year Plan and its impact on China?

Answer 4

• The First Five-Year Plan (1952-1956) was broadly successful in meeting industrial targets, but it also laid the groundwork for the disastrous Second Five-Year Plan during the Great Leap Forward.

Question 5

Why was the Great Leap Forward considered a turning point in China’s development?

Answer 5

• The Great Leap Forward was a key turning point due to its catastrophic consequences, including the famine and the delay of China’s industrial development, which set back progress for years.

Question 6

What was the purpose of the 1950 Agrarian Reform Law, and how did it impact activists?

Answer 6

• The 1950 Agrarian Reform Law aimed to eradicate the exploitation of peasants by the “landlord class” as a first step towards industrialisation.
• It made land reform about redistribution, rather than lower rents or loans.
• The law also sought to restrain activists from taking matters into their own hands, which had been happening during the civil war.

Question 7

What was the debate around the existence of a “landlord class” in China during land reform?

Answer 7

• Some historians, like Philip Short, accept the idea of a distinct “landlord class” that oppressed peasants.
• Others, like Frank Dikotter, argue that while landlords existed, they did not dominate or universally oppress society.
• Mao portrayed the landlord class as an exploitive force to rally peasants and justify land redistribution in China.

Question 8

What did the 1929-1933 Nanking University survey reveal about land tenure, and what does it imply about the “landlord class”?

Answer 8

• The survey found that only 6% of farmers were tenants and were not poorer than landowners.
• Most farms were small, and while farmers supplemented their income through extra activities, they did not blame land tenure for their situation.
• This suggests that the idea of a powerful, exploitative landlord class may have been exaggerated.

Question 9

How did the Chinese army contribute to land reform and the categorization of peasants?

Answer 9

• The army helped silence opposition to the government and assisted local Party officials in organizing work teams.
• These teams calculated land ownership to determine tax liabilities and categorized villagers into groups: landlord, rich peasant, middle peasant, poor peasant, or laborer.

Question 10

What was the process for handling landlords during the land reform, and what were the consequences for them?

Answer 10

• Landlords were publicly humiliated and accused of exploitation.
• If found guilty, their land and possessions were confiscated and redistributed among other villagers.
• Many landlords were beaten and executed, with some executions carried out by villagers themselves.

Question 11

Why did the Party begin moving towards collectivisation after the Agrarian Reform, and what was their goal?

Answer 11

• The Party’s ultimate goal was not to establish a new class of peasant landowners.
• They believed that collectivisation was necessary to modernise agriculture, increase production, and ensure that the land could be used to support industrial growth by freeing up peasants to work in factories.
• The move was part of the larger plan to transform China into a socialist economy where agriculture would be organised collectively, rather than allowing peasants to own and farm their own land.

Question 12

What was Mao’s strategy for collectivisation, and how did it compare to Stalin’s approach in Russia?

Answer 12

• Mao aimed to carry out collectivisation gradually and cautiously, hoping to avoid the strong resistance that Stalin faced in Russia.
• Stalin’s collectivisation was disastrous in Russia because peasants had already been used to private ownership of land under the New Economic Policy (NEP). This led to widespread resentment and resistance from peasants, culminating in the forced elimination of the kulaks (wealthier peasants) as a class.
• Mao’s approach aimed to prevent this by moving quickly, before peasants became too attached to private land ownership, thus avoiding the same backlash that Stalin had encountered.

Question 13

How did the process of collectivisation evolve in China under Mao, and what was the planned timeframe?

Answer 13

• Mao envisioned that collectivisation would take about 15 years to complete, but the process was flexible and evolved based on practical circumstances and the needs of the Party.
• The Party initially experimented with small-scale agricultural co-operatives before pushing for larger, more extensive collectives.
• The process was not uniform, and the Party’s strategies shifted over time. Mao’s leadership, combined with local Party officials and the army, played a crucial role in implementing the changes. However, because of the rapid push for collectivisation, it faced significant challenges and opposition in various regions.
• Mao’s plan was to create communes that would eventually serve as the foundation of a fully socialist agricultural economy, but this process was much faster and more aggressive than originally planned.

Question 14

What was Mao’s frustration regarding the pace of collectivisation and how did it influence policy?

Answer 14

• By March 1955, only 14% of rural households were in Agricultural Producers’ Cooperatives (APCs), which frustrated Mao.
  Mao initially followed a cautious approach, responding to changing circumstances, but the slow progress led him to push for faster changes.
• Local officials, eager to meet Mao’s expectations, rushed to form APCs without proper planning, leading to debt and financial instability.
• This instability caused Mao to call for a slowdown in 1953, only to condemn it later as a “Yash retreat” when peasants rejected the cooperative structure.

Question 15

How did the peasants’ response and the economy impact Mao’s decision to push for full collectivisation?

Answer 15

• In 1954, peasants began to buy and sell land and food, rejecting the collective system and reintroducing capitalist practices. This angered Mao, as it contradicted his revolutionary values.
• The poor 1954 harvest led to grain requisitioning, further exacerbating rural unrest and protests.
  In January 1955, Mao called for a halt to APC development for 18 months to restore order.
• However, by July 1955, Mao decided on full-scale collectivisation and announced it at a Conference of Local Party Secretaries, bypassing internal Party opposition.

Question 16

What were the significant results of the push for full collectivisation in 1955-1956?

Answer 16

• By January 1956, the number of households in APCs increased dramatically from 17 million to 75 million, effectively removing individual farming.
• By the end of 1956, only 3% of peasants remained farming individually.
  Mao justified this drastic move by claiming it was in response to peasant demands, despite evidence suggesting it was driven by Mao’s fear that peasants might return to capitalist practices.
• Mao saw collectivisation as necessary for socialism, and peasants, in his view, needed to be forced into collectives, as they were too “reactionary” to willingly embrace socialism.

Question 17

How did Mao politically manipulate the collectivisation process to consolidate power?

Answer 17

• Mao announced the decision at a Conference of Local Party Secretaries, bypassing higher Party bodies that would have normally reviewed such decisions.
• This public announcement made it difficult for higher-level Party members to reverse Mao’s decision.
• Mao’s quick, decisive actions helped him secure support and reinforced his political authority within the Party, despite opposition from conservatives like Premier Zhou Enlai.

Question 18

What were the characteristics of the Higher-Level APCs (HPCs) formed during collectivisation, and how did they differ from individual peasant ownership?

Answer 18

• HPCs consisted of 200-300 households, where peasants no longer owned land or equipment.
• Profits from the land were shared based on work points, meaning that peasants received rewards based on the amount of labor they contributed, not on land ownership.
• This system meant that peasants who had previously contributed the most assets received the same rewards as those with fewer possessions.

Question 19

Why did some peasants, especially wealthier ones, join APCs despite resistance?

Answer 19

• The Party exerted significant pressure on peasants, using fear, intimidation, and social isolation to force reluctant individuals to join.
• Financial institutions were nationalised in 1949, and peasants who did not join co-operatives could not access loans, leaving them with few options.
• Ideologically, collectivisation was a success for Mao, as it ensured that the state controlled food production, aligning with his vision of socialist economic structure.

Question 20

What were the mixed results of collectivisation in economic and political terms?

Answer 20

• Economically, collectivisation did not meet expectations. During the First Five-Year Plan, food production rose by 3.8% annually, but this was still insufficient to sustain industrial growth.
• The main problem was low land per capita and labor productivity, making it hard for peasants to generate surplus produce.
• Politically, collectivisation increased the Party’s control over local areas and marked a shift in the CCP’s relationship with the peasantry—peasants became servants of the Party rather than loyal allies.
• Mao’s confidence in the speed of change led him to overlook practical concerns, contributing to the disastrous policies of the Great Leap Forward in 1958.

Question 21

What were the broader consequences of collectivisation in terms of Party control and peasant relations?

Answer 21

• Collectivisation solidified Mao’s authority and his ability to bypass opposition within the Party, demonstrating his control over the political process.
• However, it also alienated the peasantry, who lost their independent status and were forced into the collectives.
  While collectivisation was politically successful in consolidating Mao’s power, it led to economic disappointments and deepened the divide between the
• Communist Party and the rural population.

Question 22

What motivated Mao to push for the creation of People’s Communes after 1958?

Answer 22

Mao was impressed by the Soviet Union’s achievements, especially the launch of Sputnik, which pushed him to modernize China independently.
He aimed to overtake Britain as an industrial power within 15 years.
Mao believed the solution was to merge smaller collectives into larger communes, which would handle a wide range of activities such as farming, industrial production, education, welfare, and local defense.

Question 23

What were the reasons behind Mao’s desire to launch the People’s Communes?

Answer 23

• Mao was pleased with the rapid pace of collectivisation and sought to maximize food production to speed up industrial growth.
• Larger collectives, in the form of communes, would pool more resources, increase food yields, and free up peasants to work on construction projects.
• The idea of merging collectives came from local cadres in Henan, who wanted to share resources and labor for water control projects, impressing Mao during his 1958 countryside tour.
• Mao believed that the commune model would prevent the revolution from losing momentum and avoid bureaucratic stagnation.

Question 24

How did Mao gain support for the creation of People’s Communes?

Answer 24

• Mao was convinced that he had the backing of both the peasants and local Party activists.
• Despite some questionable accuracy in the evidence, Mao managed to get support from key leaders like Liu Shaoqi (vice chairman of the CCP) and Deng Xiaoping (CCP secretary general) for the People’s Commune plan.

Question 25

What was the ideological reason behind Mao’s push for the People’s Communes?

Answer 25

• Mao feared that if collectives developed at their own pace, the revolution might stagnate due to bureaucratic resistance and complacency.
• By mobilizing 600 million people in the Great Leap Forward, Mao hoped to keep the revolution dynamic and prevent it from being undermined by conservative forces within the Party.

Question 26

How were the People’s Communes organized, and what was the broader plan for China under Mao’s Great Leap Forward?

Answer 26

• At the Eighth CCP Congress in May 1958, the Great Leap Forward was officially announced, with the goal of developing both industry and agriculture at the same time, described as “walking on two legs.”
• The People’s Communes would be expanded, and peasants would be mobilized for large-scale civil engineering and water conservancy projects.
  Mao faced opposition from conservatives but managed to get the new direction endorsed.
• The aim was for China to overtake Britain economically, reducing the timeline for this achievement to 7.5 years.
  Production of steel and grain were prioritized equally, with farmers tasked with producing the grain to feed the workers who would produce steel.

Question 27

What did Mao mean by the term “walking on two legs” in the context of the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 27

• The term “walking on two legs” referred to the goal of simultaneously developing both industry and agriculture in China, rather than prioritizing one over the other, as the Soviet Union had done.
• This dual focus was intended to accelerate both industrial and agricultural growth in parallel, thus differentiating China’s approach from that of the Soviet model.

Question 28

What was the significance of the Soviet Union’s space achievement and how did it influence Mao?

Answer 28

• The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 was a major achievement that intensified the Cold War and escalated the “space race” with the United States.
  Mao’s reaction to Sputnik was to feel the urgency of modernizing China
• independently, prompting him to push for a more ambitious, self-sustaining development strategy, including the creation of People’s Communes.

Question 29

What were the practical aims of the People’s Communes in terms of resource and labor management?

Answer 29

• The People’s Communes aimed to pool resources such as equipment and labor from larger units, which was expected to
• increase food yields and free up more peasants for industrial work.
• Communes were intended to accelerate progress in agriculture, provide manpower for ambitious construction projects, and contribute to national defense and local welfare initiatives.

Question 30

What was Mao’s approach to modernizing China’s economy, and how did it involve decentralizing economic planning?

Answer 30

• Mao sought to modernize China’s economy by decentralizing economic planning, aiming to reduce reliance on government technical experts.
• His goal was to allow enthusiastic local officials to take charge of economic reforms and push changes forward with minimal interference from centralized authorities.
• This decentralized approach was intended to speed up economic development by giving local cadres the freedom to implement reforms in their regions.

Question 31

What was the first People’s Commune in China, and how was it established?

Answer 31

• The first People’s Commune, known as “Sputnik,” was established in Henan province in April 1958.
• This commune resulted from the merging of 27 local collectives, bringing over 9,000 households under its control.
• The creation of the commune was part of Mao’s broader push to experiment with communal living and collective farming, as well as to mobilize local populations for economic reform.

Question 32

Why did Mao use the term “People’s Commune,” and what historical event inspired this choice?

Answer 32

• Mao chose the term “People’s Commune” to evoke the spirit of the Paris Commune of 1871.
• The Paris Commune was a short-lived but influential left-wing workers’ government that ran Paris for several months after the Franco-Prussian War.
• Just as in Paris, the idea behind the People’s Commune in China was that ordinary people—workers and peasants—would take control of their own governance. However, in China, unlike in Paris, the central government supported the communes rather than opposing them.

Question 33

How did Mao use the example of the Henan commune to promote the idea of communes across China?

Answer 33

• In August 1958, Mao conducted a provincial tour and used the example of the Henan commune as a model to inspire other regions to follow suit.
• He encouraged local cadres in neighboring provinces to replicate the success of the Henan commune, believing that decentralization and local leadership would drive economic and social progress across China.

Question 34

How did the creation of communes spread across China, and what was the scope of the commune movement by 1960?

Answer 34

• Over the next two years, the commune movement spread rapidly, with around 750,000 local collectives being merged into approximately 26,000 communes.
• By 1960, these communes collectively included about 120 million households, representing a significant portion of China’s population.
• The communes were part of Mao’s larger vision of collective agriculture and communal living, with the hope of rapidly modernizing China’s rural areas.

Question 35

What were the restrictions placed on people’s movement once they joined a commune, and why?

Answer 35

• Once a commune was established, individuals were not allowed to move freely to other regions without an internal passport.
• This restriction was part of the government’s attempt to control the movement of the population and maintain order as the commune system was implemented. The internal passport system helped prevent disruption of local communal economies and ensured people stayed within their assigned communes for work and agricultural production.`

Question 36

What was the nature of communal living in the People’s Communes, and how did it differ from previous rural life?

Answer 36

• Communes had local variations, but in many ways, the shift to the commune system was a form of rebranding rather than a complete overhaul of life.
• Villagers often stayed in the same houses and worked with the same people as before, but now there was an added sense of communal identity.
• A significant change was that peasants ate together in communal canteens and, in some cases, slept in communal dormitories.
• Couples were only allowed to sleep together during arranged conjugal visits, reflecting the regimented lifestyle promoted by the communes.

Question 37

How were peasants’ work lives organized within the communes, and what resources did communes provide for agriculture and industry?

Answer 37

• Peasants’ work was directed by new management teams, who divided them into production brigades and smaller production teams, typically organized by village.
• Each commune had a tractor station to provide tractors for brigades that could not afford them, as well as a maintenance service for these tractors.
• The commune also organized local industrial enterprises such as flour mills, brickworks, tool repair workshops, and backyard furnaces for smelting steel.
• Additionally, the commune allocated laborers to work on construction projects, particularly in civil engineering, including irrigation schemes, water conservancy, and infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Question 38

In what ways did the commune go beyond being just a collective farm, and what local services did it provide?

Answer 38

• The commune was intended to function as the unit of local government, taking on responsibility for providing services such as education, public health, policing, and the militia.
• It also offered childcare and canteen facilities to free up women for other work, as well as “happiness homes” for the elderly.
• By taking over domestic responsibilities, the commune allowed the management to deploy people in large-scale civil projects, often focused on infrastructure and communal work.

Question 39

What social and cultural changes did the communes encourage, especially regarding family life and personal attachment?

Answer 39

• The communes encouraged a shift away from “bourgeois emotional attachments,” urging people to adopt a more regimented lifestyle that prioritized work for the communal good rather than personal benefit.
• Parents were expected to abandon traditional family bonds in favor of the collective, working long hours for the commune rather than for individual gain.

Question 40

What were some of the ambitious goals Mao set for the communes, and what ideal did he hope they would embody?

Answer 40

• Mao spoke optimistically about the potential of communes, suggesting that they would serve as the practical realization of “utopian socialism.”
• He even discussed the possibility of moving away from a monetary economy, with the most advanced communes claiming to offer the “ten guarantees,” which included provisions for meals, clothing, housing, education, medical care, and even burial.

Question 41

What were the main consequences of the abolition of private farming under the commune system?

Answer 41

• Under the commune system, villagers had no choice but to be absorbed into the commune, and they were forced to surrender all private property, including land, agricultural equipment, livestock, and household possessions, without compensation.
• Private farming was effectively abolished, and personal possessions were seen as unnecessary since the commune was supposed to provide for everyone’s needs.
• The commune would supply food in communal mess halls, and the idea was that the desire to own material goods would disappear as communist values took root.

Question 42

How did the abolition of private farming affect the motivation to work, and what challenges arose as a result?

Answer 42

• Under the collective system, peasants had been rewarded with work points for their labor, but under the commune system, this was no longer necessary because the state was meant to provide for everyone.
• This led to a loss of motivation to work hard, as rewards were the same for all, regardless of individual effort.
• However, team leaders were compelled to push for high productivity, often competing with neighboring communes.
• Some team leaders boasted of their teams working far beyond reasonable hours, even with little rest, although this was unsustainable, and many villagers simply did the minimum required to maintain appearances.

Question 43

What military elements were introduced within the commune system, and how did they contribute to discipline and communal life?

Answer 43

• The commune system incorporated a strong military dimension, which extended beyond just organizational language (such as brigades, divisions, and units).
• All individuals between the ages of 15 and 50 were required to be militia members and undergo periodic weapons training.
• Marching together to work became common, and peasants worked in the fields with antiquated rifles stacked alongside them, symbolizing their commitment to the “spirit of fighting for a better future.”
• This militarization helped enforce discipline and further emphasized the subordination of individual wishes to the communal good.

Question 44

What was Lysenkoism, and how did it affect Chinese agricultural policies during the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 44

• Lysenkoism was a set of agricultural theories promoted by Ukrainian scientist Trofim Lysenko, which Stalin had adopted following the Russian famine of the early 1930s.
• Despite the fact that Lysenko’s ideas were already discredited by the time of the Great Leap Forward, Mao adopted them in 1958 and made them official policy.
• Mao drafted an eight-point program based on Lysenko’s ideas, which farmers were required to follow. While some points (such as the development of new farm tools, improved field management, and irrigation) were sensible, others were risky, particularly when implemented together.

Question 45

What were some of the most disastrous elements of Lysenko’s agricultural policies, and what were their consequences?

Answer 45

• One of the most catastrophic elements of Lysenkoism was the directive to kill birds to prevent them from eating seeds.
• Peasants spent hours banging pots and pans to scare birds away, leading to many birds falling dead from exhaustion.
• This disrupted the ecological balance, as the birds’ natural role in controlling insects and small creatures was lost. As a result, pests like locusts and rats multiplied uncontrollably, devastating crops.
• The focus on excessive fertilization also led to the destruction of thousands of peasants’ homes, as animal dung used in construction was believed to be useful for soil. Many peasants were forced to seek shelter wherever they could find it, as the communes failed to provide accommodations.

Question 46

What major event occurred at the CCP Central Committee meeting in December 1958, and what was Mao’s announcement regarding the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 46

• In December 1958, at the CCP Central Committee meeting in Wuhan, Mao announced that the commune system had been successfully implemented, collectivizing the entire countryside into 25,000 communes.
• Mao claimed the 1958 harvest had reached a record 430 million tonnes of grain, though the real figure was closer to 200 million tonnes. He also announced stepping down as Chairman of the PRC while remaining Chairman of the Party, a tactical move to shift blame if the Great Leap Forward faced problems.

Question 47

How did Mao initially respond to criticisms of the Great Leap Forward, and what change in his approach occurred in 1959?

Answer 47

• Mao initially dismissed criticisms, claiming the pockets of hunger were isolated incidents. However, by July 1959, he called a special Party conference at Lushan, acknowledging the serious difficulties facing the Great Leap Forward.
• Only Peng Dehual openly challenged Mao at the conference, writing a letter expressing concerns.

Question 48

Who was Peng Dehual, and what role did he play in challenging Mao’s policies?

Answer 48

• Peng Dehual was a Long March veteran and former defense minister who criticized the Great Leap Forward after seeing the widespread suffering it caused.
• At the Lushan Conference, he challenged Mao’s policies by writing a letter, which Mao published, forcing delegates to choose between them.

Question 49

How did Mao respond to Peng Dehual’s challenge, and what happened to Peng as a result?

Answer 49

• Mao responded by forcing delegates to take sides, and the situation worsened when Soviet Premier Khrushchev echoed Peng’s criticisms, making it look like Peng had briefed him.
• Peng was removed from his position and replaced by Lin Biao, effectively ending his political career.

Question 50

What was the extent of the famine from 1958 to 1962, and what was the estimated death toll?

Answer 50

• The famine, which was one of the worst in history, caused an estimated 30 to 50 million deaths, with rural areas suffering the most.
• The famine affected many provinces, with the worst-hit areas being across central China, including Shandong (7.5 million dead), Anhui (8 million dead), Henan, Hubei, Gansu, and Sichuan (9 million dead).

Question 51

What actions did the Chinese government take that worsened the famine, especially in Tibet?

Answer 51

• The Chinese government forced Tibetans to switch from growing barley to crops ill-suited to the region and required nomadic yak herders to settle in villages, worsening the famine’s impact.
• These policies were part of a broader effort to undermine Tibet’s cultural identity, exacerbating the suffering caused by the famine. The Panchen Lama reported these actions as attempted genocide, resulting in his imprisonment.

Question 52

How did state grain procurement contribute to the famine during the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 52

• Despite the widespread suffering in central China during the famine, the state continued to requisition grain from the affected regions.
• State procurement took 17% of the crop in 1957, 21% in 1958, 28% in 1959, and 21% in 1960.
  This continued grain requisition exacerbated food shortages, contributing to the severity of the famine.

Question 53

What were the main causes of the Great Famine of 1958-62, and how did Mao’s policies contribute to it?

Answer 53

• The famine was caused by a combination of overambitious policies, including the simultaneous development of the commune system, industrialisation, and large engineering projects. Mao expected peasants to produce surpluses, but the poorly organised communes and inadequate transport systems failed to meet the demands.
• Additionally, Mao’s uncritical acceptance of Lysenkoism led to disastrous agricultural practices, such as the mass killing of birds to control pests, disrupting the ecological balance and worsening crop damage.
• The overreach of these policies, combined with the climate of fear from the anti-rightist campaign (where local officials inflated reports of crop yields), led to excessively high grain procurement targets, further depleting already scarce resources.

Question 54

How did the abolition of private farming and the loss of personal property affect peasant productivity during the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 54

• The abolition of private farming and the loss of personal property demotivated peasants, as they no longer had ownership of their land and equipment.
• The promise of communal benefits did not materialise, and peasants worked less, knowing they would receive the same food regardless of their effort.
• This lack of incentive led to reduced productivity, with many peasants feeling their hard work was futile, often described as “like beating a drum with a cucumber.”

Question 55

How did Mao’s leadership and his attitude towards the famine impact the severity of the crisis?

Answer 55

• Mao’s leadership was marked by a prioritisation of industrialisation and Communist ideals over the welfare of the population. He believed that sacrifices, including the deaths of millions, were necessary for the greater good of China’s industrial future.
• His disregard for the famine led to the continued export of grain to other countries, including Communist East Germany, even as millions starved. Mao’s belief that the famine would eventually prove the strength of his version of Communism meant that the suffering of peasants was secondary to maintaining appearances abroad.

Question 56

What was the impact of the Lushan Conference of 1959 on the response to the famine, and how did it worsen the situation?

Answer 56

• The Lushan Conference revealed a critical divide in the Party, as Peng Dehual spoke out against Mao’s policies. However, instead of addressing the concerns raised, Mao and other leaders dismissed the issue, demoted Peng, and denied the existence of a famine.
• As a result, the Party raised grain procurement targets, requisitioning food from starving regions. This failure to acknowledge the crisis allowed the famine to continue, with millions more deaths as a result of these decisions.

Question 57

How did weather and natural disasters contribute to the Great Famine of 1958-62?

Answer 57

• Extreme weather worsened the famine. In 1960, China experienced the worst drought in over a century, followed by severe flooding in many central regions. These natural disasters destroyed crops and compounded the food shortages caused by flawed policies and poor planning.

Question 58

What led to Mao’s shift in policy during the Great Famine, and what measures were taken to address the crisis?

Answer 58

• Reports of high provincial death tolls, including millions of deaths in provinces like
• Shandong (7.5 million dead),
• Anhui (8 million dead), and
• Sichuan (9 million dead), forced Mao to reconsider his approach.
• In November 1960, Mao issued a directive allowing villagers to keep private plots, engage in side occupations, and restore local markets, marking a shift in policy.
• This allowed the commune system to be dismantled and represented a key turning point in the famine’s management.

Question 59

How did Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping contribute to the recovery from the famine?

Answer 59

• In 1962, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping were tasked with restoring food production and addressing the chaos in rural China.
• They encouraged local officials to implement the 1960 directive, leading to the breakup of communes into smaller collectives of 30 households.
• Some areas fully reverted to private farming, significantly boosting food production and addressing the famine’s effects.

Question 60

How did Li Fuchun contribute to the policy shift during the Great Famine, and what was his role in restoring agricultural production?

Answer 60

• Li Fuchun presented the grim facts of the famine to Mao without incurring his wrath, offering a realistic approach to address the situation.
• Li managed to navigate the political landscape by suggesting that while Mao’s directives were correct, their execution had led to significant failures.

Question 61

What significant changes were made to urban and rural food supply management during the recovery period?

Answer 61

• To alleviate pressure on urban food supplies, 25 million city-dwellers were forcibly relocated to the countryside, akin to deporting a population the size of Belgium.
• In 1961, large-scale grain imports from Canada, Australia, and the USA helped supplement the domestic harvest.
• By 1965, China’s grain yield reached the level it had been in 1957, before the Great Leap Forward.

Question 62

How did the leadership’s shift from ideological rigidity to economic pragmatism affect China’s recovery efforts?

Answer 62

• Deng Xiaoping’s statement in 1962, “whether white or black, a cat is a good cat so long as it catches a rat,” reflected the shift away from ideological fanaticism towards economic realism.
• Mao was uneasy with the shift, as it undermined his belief in the commune system and the socialist ideals that had driven the Great Leap Forward.

Question 63

How did Mao’s dissatisfaction with the shift away from the commune system affect the leadership?

Answer 63

• Mao was unhappy that communes were dismantled and that private farming was being restored, fearing it contradicted his ideological vision.
• He suspected that these changes could undermine the Communist Party’s credibility and socialist values, especially given the ideological battles within the leadership.

Question 64

What were the initial challenges that delayed the launch of China’s First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 64

• Mao first had to consolidate political control by dealing with Nationalist remnants and outlying provinces.
• The Communists had to reduce inflation, which was at 1,000%, before starting large-scale economic planning.
• Land redistribution for peasants took priority to reward their support and improve agriculture.
• The Korean War (1950) caused further disruption and delayed detailed planning.

Question 65

Why did China adopt the Soviet model for its First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 65

• Mao saw the Soviet model as the best option, inspired by Stalin’s victory in WWII despite the system’s problems.
• China had state involvement in industry since imperial times, which was accelerated under Chiang Kai-shek’s National Resources Committee (NRC).
• Mao aimed to rapidly industrialize China by copying the Soviet model, focusing on heavy industry first.

Question 66

What role did Soviet support play in China’s First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 66

• As part of the Sino-Soviet Treaty (1950), over 10,000 Soviet technicians brought expertise in civil engineering, industry, and education.
• The USSR lent China $300 million to support industrialization, which had to be repaid with interest.
  Despite being costly, Soviet support also included training for Chinese officials and propaganda techniques.

Question 67

How did Soviet influence affect China’s urban and rural areas during the First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 67

• Soviet architectural and educational styles became prominent in cities, such as the construction of Soviet-style office blocks.
• Russian became the primary foreign language taught, and Russian work schedules were adopted.
• Rural communes were influenced by Soviet practices, especially through the controversial Lysenkoism.

Question 68

What were the key targets and goals of China’s First Five-Year Plan (1952-56)?

Answer 68

• The goal was to make China self-sufficient in food and manufactured goods to protect against capitalist influences.
• The focus was on heavy industry (e.g., steel, transport, energy supply, industrial machinery).
• Public works projects, such as the construction of new bridges, were used for propaganda.
  Resources were directed away from consumer goods to fund industrial investments.

Question 69

How did China finance the First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 69

• Financing came from food requisitioning from collective farms, patriotic savings schemes, higher urban taxes, and loans from the USSR.
• Private businesses were nationalized (especially foreign-owned industries and sectors like banking, gas, and electricity) in the mid-1950s.
• The fear generated by the “five antis” campaign helped encourage private business owners to accept compensation and relinquish ownership to the state.

Question 70

What were the successes and reliability of the First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 70

• The plan achieved an annual growth rate of 9%.
• Urban living standards improved, particularly in wages and job security.
• Urban population grew from 57 million in 1949 to 100 million by 1967.
• However, the statistics were likely unreliable due to:
  Officials exaggerating production levels to please their superiors.
• Emphasis on quantity over quality, distorting the true success.

Question 71

What challenges did the workforce and administration face during the First Five-Year Plan?

Answer 71

• Soviet guidance exposed skill and literacy gaps among Chinese workers.
• By the end of the plan, less than half of children under 16 were in full-time education.
• Many experienced Nationalist economic planners were purged during the “anti” campaigns of 1951-52.
• This led to bureaucratic inefficiency in economic planning and administration.

Question 72

How did the First Five-Year Plan affect private and state-owned enterprises (SOEs)?

Answer 72

• There was competition for resources between private enterprises and state-owned enterprises.
• This competition was only resolved when private ownership was abolished in 1956.

Question 73

What were the negative effects of the First Five-Year Plan on the countryside?

Answer 73

The communes suffered food shortages because:

• Grain was exported to Russia.
• Grain was sold cheaply to urban areas to feed workers.
• Lysenkoism, adopted from
• Soviet advice, worsened agricultural productivity.
• This had a negative impact on peasants’ livelihoods.

Question 74

What was the impact of the Second Five-Year Plan (1958-62)?

Answer 74

Part of the Great Leap Forward announced at the Eighth CCP Congress in May 1958.

Focused on:

• Modernizing agriculture via the People’s Communes.
• Ambitious industrial growth targets.

Mao’s goal:

• To turn China into a modern industrial power, bypassing typical stages of development.

Economic planning shifted from the state to the Party in February 1958, resulting in:

• Less detailed planning.
• Slogans and pressure for greater efforts rather than structured targets.

Question 75

Why did Mao launch the Great Leap Forward and the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 75

Economic Reason:

• Needed agriculture to become more efficient to support a growing industrial workforce.
  Peasants were expected to migrate to cities and become urban workers.

Political Factors:

• Mao’s desire to act independently of the Soviet Union.
• To demonstrate his ability to lead the communist world and to prove China could take a different path than the USSR.

Personal Factors:

• Mao’s confidence was high after collectivization and successful water conservancy campaigns.
• Local cadres, eager to show revolutionary fervor, contributed to Mao’s belief in the plan’s success.

Question 76

How did Mao’s political aims influence the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 76

• Mao aimed to show that China could lead communism independently of the Soviet Union.
• Ideologically, the plan emphasized mass peasant mobilization and decentralization, which matched Mao’s preferences.
• The plan sought to develop both agriculture and industry simultaneously while involving peasants in construction projects.

Question 77

What was the role of decentralization in the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 77

• The plan shifted from central control to giving local Party officials (cadres) more power.
  Mao believed that decentralization would unleash the energy of the masses, especially peasants, to drive economic transformation.
• Local officials were tasked with organizing and mobilizing people to actively participate in economic development.

Question 78

What were the backyard furnaces and their role in the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 78

Backyard furnaces were introduced to rapidly increase steel production.

Mao’s target:

• Increase steel production from 6 million tonnes to 10.7 million tonnes in 1958.
• Local communities were encouraged to build furnaces in their backyards, where people melted down metal objects to make steel.

Impact:

• Huge participation: by October 1958, 49% of China’s steel came from these local furnaces.
• At its peak, 25% of the population participated, abandoning normal activities to join the effort.

Question 79

What were the consequences of the backyard furnace campaign in 1958?

Answer 79

Strain on food production:

• Schools were closed, and peasant shock brigades were deployed to assist in the harvest.
• The leadership was deluded into thinking the harvest would be very good and that the steel produced would be usable.

Question 80

What happened by the spring of 1959 in relation to the backyard furnace campaign?

Answer 80

Realization of poor-quality steel:

• Only steel from large smelting plants was of decent quality.
• Home-made steel from backyard furnaces was found to be worthless.

Continued participation:

• Despite the realization, peasants were still urged to melt household objects into steel to avoid losing face.
• The worthless steel produced was buried by authorities to hide the failure.

Question 81

How did the backyard furnace campaign impact the environment?

Answer 81

Destruction of woodland:

• Vast swathes of forest were cut down to supply fuel for the furnaces.

Ecological consequences:

• Deforestation led to faster soil erosion and worsened flooding.
  These issues increased the need for water conservancy schemes.

Question 82

What were state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and how did they function under the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 82

• SOEs were businesses that were nationalized after the Communist takeover in 1949 and were consolidated during the Second Five-Year Plan.
• Prices, output targets, and wages were set by the state.
  Workers were guaranteed jobs and wages (referred to as the “iron rice bowl”).
• There was no bargaining for better conditions between employers and workers.
• The system lacked incentives for workers to perform better, leading to inefficiency.

Question 83

What were the advantages and disadvantages of the state-owned enterprise system during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 83

Advantages:

• Guaranteed jobs and wages for workers.
  Certain benefits such as medical care and education for workers.

Disadvantages:

• Lack of motivation to work harder because workers didn’t have a stake in the surplus.
  The removal of competition and incentive to improve efficiency.
  State control led to demotivation, similar to the inefficiencies seen in the People’s Communes.

Question 84

What was the role of water conservancy projects in the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 84

• The Great Leap Forward was initially associated with water conservancy projects, which began in late 1957.
• Mao viewed the masses as China’s greatest asset and believed that sheer numbers could achieve ambitious goals without advanced machinery.
• Peasant work brigades were used to construct dams and reservoirs with minimal tools like shovels and baskets.

Question 85

What were the results and issues with water conservancy schemes?

Answer 85

Positive Results:

• Some projects were successful in creating irrigation and flood control infrastructure.

Negative Results:

• Many projects, such as the Three Gate Gorge Dam, were failures and required rebuilding.
  Some irrigation systems led to salinisation, which decreased land fertility.
• The disruption caused by large-scale projects diverted labor from farming, which contributed to food shortages.

Question 86

What was the Three Gate Gorge Dam and why did it fail?

Answer 86

• The Three Gate Gorge Dam was an ambitious project designed to control the Yellow River’s flow and reduce soil deposits.
• It was an attempt to improve flood control and irrigation but proved to be poorly planned.
• By 1961, it was causing more problems, with increased mud deposits downstream.
  Foreign visitors were banned from the area due to the failures, and the dam had to be rebuilt within a year.

Question 87

How did Mao assess the success of water conservancy projects?

Answer 87

• Mao prioritized the amount of soil moved over the technical success of the projects.
• His main criterion for judging projects was cubic tonnage of soil displaced, not the actual utility or quality of the projects.
• This led to competition between provinces but did not reflect the true value or impact of the projects.

Question 88

What is salinisation, and how did it impact Chinese agriculture during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 88

• Salinisation refers to the excessive build-up of salt in the soil, which reduces its fertility.
• Some water conservancy projects disrupted drainage patterns, causing salinisation in certain areas.
• This led to a decrease in agricultural productivity, worsening the agricultural crisis.

Question 89

What were the overall outcomes of China’s industrial production during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 89

• Raw material production saw some increases. Manufactured goods production, however, failed significantly:
• By 1962, China was producing only half the amount of heavy industrial goods and three-quarters of the light industrial goods compared to 1958.

Question 90

What caused the failure in industrial production under the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 90

• The lack of clear planning was a major reason for failure.
  Mao’s reliance on intuition instead of scientific and technical expertise led to poor planning and mismanagement.
• The departure of Soviet experts in 1960, following the Sino-Soviet split, further hindered progress, as they had provided guidance during the First Five-Year Plan.

Question 91

How did Mao’s approach to planning impact the industrial development during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 91

• Mao acknowledged his lack of scientific and technical knowledge and relied on intuition rather than informed planning.
• He assumed that massive manpower deployment could substitute for technical expertise and proper planning.
• This approach led to haphazard development, with important basics being neglected.

Question 92

Were there any successes during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 92

Notable successes included:

• The construction of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
• The development of nuclear weapons in 1964.

Question 93

What were the consequences of China’s lack of technical and managerial expertise during the Second Five-Year Plan?

Answer 93

• China lacked the necessary technical and managerial know-how to achieve the desired speed of development.

To meet targets, China cut corners and focused on quantity over quality, leading to:

• Inadequate quality control, especially in manufacturing.
  Export orders were often unsatisfactory and had to be replaced, damaging China’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.

Question 94

What was the significance of the Lushan Conference in July 1959?

Answer 94

• Officially called to assess the progress of the Great Leap Forward after its first year.
• Mao expected trouble, bringing his wife, Jiang Qing, to assist, though her support was not needed.
• Peng Dehual was the only leader to openly criticize Mao, and he became isolated after the conference.
• Economically, the conference meant the Great Leap Forward would continue, leading to ‘the second leap’ and a continuation of agricultural policies.
• Politically, it made it clear that only Mao could criticize himself; this made Party leaders more guarded and allowed Mao to become more dictatorial.

Question 95

How did the leadership and economic policies shift after the Lushan Conference in 1959?

Answer 95

• Mao pushed for a continuation of the Great Leap Forward, including agricultural policies at full speed.
• Peng Dehual’s criticism and the lack of support from other leaders led to his political isolation.
• The conference marked the beginning of Mao’s increased control, as Party leaders became less outspoken and more cautious.

Question 96

What happened after the retreat from the Great Leap Forward under Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping (1962-65)?

Answer 96

• Liu and Deng were put in charge and began reversing aspects of the Great Leap Forward.
• The People’s Communes were broken up, and inefficient projects were closed.
• A relaxation of persecution against intellectuals and scientists occurred, and their expertise was welcomed.

The Third Five-Year Plan (1962) marked a shift back to centralized control:

• Production targets became more realistic.
• Experts were reintroduced, and financial incentives were restored.
• Positive outcomes included increased agricultural production and a boost in oil, natural gas, and manufactured goods.
• In 1964, China successfully detonated its own nuclear bomb, boosting Mao’s confidence.

Question 97

How did Mao respond to the economic recovery and the changes under Liu and Deng?

Answer 97

• Mao welcomed economic improvements but refused to attribute them to the retreat from the Great Leap Forward.
• He saw the economic adjustments as dangerous revisionism, aimed at betraying communist principles.
• In January 1962, Mao called a 7,000 cadres conference, where Liu Shaoqi praised Mao but also implied Mao shared responsibility for past mistakes, which was risky.
• Mao’s infallibility was questioned for the first time, and he withdrew from public life for several months, leaving Liu, Deng, and Zhou in charge.

Question 98

What were the ideological differences between Mao and the pragmatic leaders, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping?

Answer 98

On the right (Liu, Deng, and Chen Yun):

• Advocated for pragmatic economic policies, accepting ideological concessions to restore the economy.
• Believed expertise and planning were essential, and private trade could motivate workers.

On the left (Mao):

• Argued for continuing revolution to prevent a new bourgeoisie within the Party.
• Believed mass mobilisation was key to preserving the gains of the revolution.

Question 99

What was the result of the political struggle between Mao and the pragmatic leaders in 1962?

Answer 99

• Mao returned to the political arena in summer 1962, denouncing Liu and Deng’s revisionism and demanding China follow the socialist road.

The result was an uneasy compromise:

• Liu and Deng outwardly agreed with Mao’s analysis but continued their pragmatic economic approach.
  Private plots and profits for farmers continued despite Mao’s criticism of rural capitalism.

Question 100

What is revisionism, and how was it used in Mao’s leadership?

Answer 100

• Revisionism is a term used by communists to criticize actions that they believe betray communist principles.
• Mao used the term to describe any deviation from strict communist doctrine, notably accusing Khrushchev of revisionism and accusing Liu and Deng of it during the economic retreat.