Chapter 3 - Change under Mao, 1934-49

Question 1

What did Mao want to achieve as the leader?

Answer 1

• Establish a Communist System - how the economy was run and how people lived their lives
• modernise China’s economy

Question 2

What views did the 1950’s Agrarian Reform Laws reflect?

Answer 2

• Property of large landlords were taken away and give to peasants
• The property of enemies of state (eg. Chiang or foreign nationals) were confiscated

Question 3

What did the Marriage Law of the 1st of May do?

Answer 3

Marriageable age of men = 20
Marriageable age of women = 18
Both Parties had to consent to get married

Question 4

After Landlords were removed what happened to the peasants working on farms?

Answer 4

• Encouragement of shared equipment, animals and work in Mutual aid teams (10 households)
• 3-5 Agricultural Produces Co-operatives to effectively produce large yield.

Question 5

Stages of the Land Reforms?

Answer 5

1) Agrarian Reform Laws / attack on landlords 1950
2) Mutual Aid Teams 1951-55
3) Agricultural Producers Co-operatives 1953-56
4) Collectivisation 1958-62

Question 6

What Factors Contributed to the Great Famine of 1958-62?

Answer 6

• No incentive
• The Four Noes Campaign (Four Pests Campaign)
• Political Pressures
• Fear
• Natural Causes

Question 7

What did the Four Noes Campaign do?

Answer 7

• Get rid of Sparrows, Flies, Mosquitoes and Rats
• Make as much noise as possible to drive off birds
• This damaged more crops insects which were prey of the birds eat even more crops and grain

Question 8

What specific example shows the political pressure which help to cause the Great Famine?

Answer 8

• The claim to have a method to increase crop yield by 16x
• Mao believed this
• If peasants tried to revert to traditional they were declared ‘enemies of the state’

Question 9

Why did fear cause the Great Famine?

Answer 9

• Communist Officials didn’t dare to speak out about the failures of the production
• They tried to impress Mao and so they lied about production

Question 10

What did the 5 Year Plan largely focus on?

Answer 10

• Rapid Expansion of the heavy industry - Coal, Iron, Steel, and Petroleum
• It was very successful
• Coal Production Doubled
• Electric Power increased 3x
• Steel Production increased 4x