Agriculture and Industry 1949-65 Flashcards
When were the Agrarian Reform Laws established
June 1950
What did the MAT’s do
The Mutual Aid Teams were where peasants pooled their tools, ploughs and their own labour. Richer peasants were excluded.
What were the APC’s
Agricultural Producers Co-operatives were comprised of three to five MAT’s joined together. Land was now shared and peasants produce given to the government, in return for payment of money or grain.
In December 1955 what percentage of households were part of APC’s?
63.3%
What year was collectivisation made mandatory
January 1956 private ownership abolished
When did Mao launch the 4 pests campaign and what did it focus on
1958, it focused on killing all sparrows, rats, flies and mosquitoes.
How many households would be in one commune on average
5500 households
Negative consequences of communes
Split up families, no worker motivation, poor living conditions, unjust food for work tokens making people starve etc
When did the First Five Year Plan start and finish
1952-56
What treaty was signed in 1950 to help Mao’s FFYP
The Sino-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty
What did the Sino-Soviet plan offer
The construction or reconstruction of 156 major industrial enterprises, industrial experts to supply technical knowledge (11,000 experts sent to China), inviting 28,000 Chinese technicians to study in Russia and a loan of $300 million US dollars over the next five years
What were the goals of FFYP
A high rate of growth in heavy industry, investment in advanced technology, Self-sufficiency (Mao wanted an autarkic state), very high level of g r a i n procurement (in 1953 Mao wanted 23 million tons of g r a i n)
Successes of FFYP
Annual growth rate averaged 16%, Industrial output grew 15.5% per year outdoing its 14.7% target, heavy industrial output tripled, geological exploration discovered vital resources like oil, uranium and minerals in Xinjiang, the industrial working class grew from 6 million to 10 million
Failures of FFYP
The plan was dependent on loans from the Soviet Union with very high interest rates, the value of agricultural output only grew an average of 2.1% per year (from 14.1% in 1949-52), very low supply of consumer goods so people would buy government bonds that provided funds for plan but there was little to buy in shops,
What the dates of the Second Five Year Plan (Great Leap Forward)
1958-62
Why did Mao want to launch the GLF
Mao wanted to turn China into a great economic power, he had good reason to optimistic (success of FFYP, supposed winning of cold war won the space race etc), Mao wanted to achieve the term ‘walking on two legs’ and Mao believed the sheer force of people would be enough to overcome anything.
Successes of the GLF
Massive irrigation terracing made land more fertile, Tiananmen square built, people in communes lived more closely than ever before.
Failures of the GLF
Absurd targets e.g. in 1958 the Ministry of Metallurgy declared they would double steel production to 20 million tonnes by 1962 and 100 million by 1977, Mao was too over confident of the power of mass mobilisation of the people, Anti-rightist meant there were no intellectuals left to offer advice, backyard furnace campaign and by 1962 industrial production had declined 40% from the 1958-59 level;.
When was the start and finish of The Great Famine
1958-1962
How many people died during the famine in different provinces
Sichuan - 9 million, Anhui - 8 million, Henan - 7.8 million and Tibet - 1 million
What did the local party boss in Henan province do during the famine?
He built seven luxurious villas for high-ranking guests
What year did the Lushan Conference take place?
July 1959
Who spoke during the Lushan Conference and what happened to him
Minister of Defence Peng Dehuai voiced his doubts about the reports of grain harvest. Mao felt betrayed. Mao said he chatted shit about him and the system of the communes to Nikita Khrushchev and stripped Peng of his titles, Peng was also attacked by red guards in the cultural revolution.
What years did Liu Shaoqi rule as head of state
1962-1965
What new reforms did Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping introduce in wake of the Famine
Communes were scaled back in favour of greater freedoms for peasants to produce what they wanted on private fields, peasants allowed to trade what they wanted on the free market, those who possessed technical knowledge were being promoted, many experts imprisoned during the anti-rightest campaign were freed and returned to their influence and production of consumer goods was double the 1957 level.
