Famine 1958-62

Question 1

What is the famine widely considered to be and how many deaths?

Answer 1

The worst famine of the 20th century and around 30-50 million deaths

Question 2

What was the worst hit region in terms of proportion of people being killed?

Answer 2

25% of 4 mil population in Tibet

Question 3

How many dead in Shandong in the East?

Answer 3

7.5 million

Question 4

Anhui deaths

Answer 4

8 million

Question 5

Consequences during famine

Answer 5

Husbands sold wives and parents sold children for food. Prostitution and banditry reappeared
Reports of cannibalism

Question 6

While the suffering in China went on, the state continued to requisition grain. How much did State Procurement take in 1959?

Answer 6

1959- 28%

Question 7

Grain production 1952 and 1961

Answer 7

1952- 163.9 millions of tonnes

1961- 147.5

Question 8

Meat production (millions of tonnes) 1952-61

Answer 8

1952- 3.4

1961- 1.2

Question 9

Too much too soon cause of famine

Answer 9

Launching Second Five-Year Plan for industry and mobilising masses to work on engineering projects too much
Peasants could not be producing food, supervising backyard furnaces and working on water conservancy projects miles from their homes all at same time

Individual families could not generate surpluses

Question 10

Lack of experts cause

Answer 10

Mao dismissive and shortage as anti-Rightist campaign

Question 11

What did climate of fear mean (cause)

Answer 11

Cadres dared not speak out when things went wrong and passed on to their superiors excessively optimistic reports of how much communes were producing so planners set even higher targets
When Mao went on a provincial tour of inspection, local officials known to transplant whole fields of seedlings to line his route
Anyone who spoke out laogi
So continued grain requisitioning

Question 12

What comment sums up the futility of working hard

Answer 12

‘Like besting a drum with a cucumber, the harder you best, the less sound it made’

Question 13

Mao’s perspective as a cause

Answer 13

Ends justified the means- industrialising China rapid and convincing outside world Chinese Comm a success.

Question 14

What did Mao say on his 1957 trip to Moscow?

Answer 14

Declared that the death of half the Chinese population in a nuclear war was a sacrifice worth paying for victory
This is why China continued to export food during a famine- Zhou encouraged people to consume less so they could maintain exports and show success of Great Leap Forward

Question 15

What happened in 1960 that worsened famine?

Answer 15

Worst drought in more than a century followed by severe flooding across much of central China

Question 16

What happened in November 1960?

Answer 16

Villagers allowed to keep their private plots of land and engage in side occupations as well as farming
A commune system could now be dismantled

Question 17

What were many communes broken up into and what was reintroduced?

Answer 17

Smaller collectives of about 30 households and rewards according to individual output

Question 18

How was pressure reduced on urban food supplies?

Answer 18

25 mil city dwellers forced to move to countryside

Question 19

Where were massive grain imports arranged from in 1961 until 1965 when China grain harvest better?

Answer 19

Canada, Australia and USA!!