Great Leap Forward Flashcards
What dates were the Great Leap Forward?
1958-1962
What we’re the two main drives of the Great Leap Forward ?
Agriculture and steel
What did Mao do with agriculture ?
Formed communes with some 5500 households more than 20 times larger than previous co-operatives
He turned mats into apcs
26,000+ by 1959
What was Mao’s mad aim with steel ?
For it to be the biggest steel manufacturer in 15 years. A year after saying this he changed it to one year
He wanted 100 million tons by 1962 meaning he wanted an increase of 2000% in five years
What happened with backyard furnaces?
Farmers alternated between tending crops and smelting steel
When wood became scarce, doors, coffins were burned.
Useful metal was put into furnaces to produce useless lumps of pig iron
Mao didn’t want to pay for big factories and relied on mobilising the masses for success
What were the consequences of backyard furnaces ?
Steel was useless
People weren’t in the fields so food was left to rot
Deforestation
What happened to industrial production by 1962?
Declined by 40% from 1958/59 level
What happened to steel in the Great Leap Forward
1958- 9 million metric tons
1962- 7 million metric tons
After such a large drive for steel, less was produced
What happened with coal in the Great Leap Forward ?
1958- 270 mmt
1962- 220 mmt
Declined by 50 mmt
What happened with cement in the Great Leap Forward ?
1958 - 9 million metric tons
1962- 6 million metric tons
Example of Mao using competition in the Great Leap Forward
Jan 1958 Ministry of Metallurgy declared he would more than double steel production to 20 million tons by 1962 and reach 100 million by 1977
20 mil-1962
100 mil-1977
Worried he would look slow in comparison, the chemical minister said he could construct thousands of chemical fertiliser factories
What were the two successes of the great
Leap forward?
Massive irrigation terracing helped make agricultural land more fertile
Reconstructed cities like Tinamen square
What happened to grain production in the Great Leap Forward ?
It fell by 30%
1957- 185 mmt
1961- 147 mmt
How did the media show the Great Leap Forward to be a success?
Propaganda of happy workers on a field
Mao would visit fields which gave the false impression of mass production
News articles of super sized foods like “the new China news agency” carried the story of an 132 pound pumpkin
This caused people to engage in crop neglect resulting in the famine
Why did Mao introduce the Great Leap Forward?
1952 - agricultural output only grew 2.1% a year
He wanted to transform China into a great industrial economical power overtaking Britain and the USSR
He was optimistic since industrial production had risen 18.3% in the first five year plan
Mao believed in sheer force of will and mobilising he masses would overcome technological obstacles
Mao believed he could ‘walk on two legs’ and increase agricultural and industrial production
Success of space race (Sputnik) - USSR were winning the Cold War
How did the establishment of huge communes lead to mass famine? (5)
Government requisitioned excessive amounts of grain to sell on international markets by
Russian experts disagreed with Mao’s methods so withdrew help under Khrushchev
Cadres falsified statistics to meet impossible quotas so when the target amount of grain was requisitioned, there wasn’t enough food for the peasants
Cadres lied about extent of food shortages
Demotivated peasants
Why did the government requisition excessive amounts of grain?
To sell on international markets
To pay back the $300 million loan the USSR leant in the sink-soviet treaty of 1950
Who objected to Mao and what was the consequence of this?
Khrushchev told Mao not to repeat the same famine that happened in the USSR, Mao didn’t listen so soviet help was withdrew
PENG Dehuai wrote an open letter to Mao at the Lushan Conference asking him to stop the great leap.
He was forced to resign and Mao drove him mad and into an early grave
How did natural disasters cause the great famine?
1959- yellow river flooded causing thousands of people to drown and almost 100 million acres of land was made useless
1959- drought in Shanxi caused crop failures so output declined by 50%
When and where was Mao sidelined ?
1962- conference of 7000 cadres
How was Mao sidelined ?
Mao claimed that success outweighs failures 9 to 1 and weather conditions caused the famine.
Liu Shaqui quoted a peasant from his village that said 70% man made disaster and 30% natural disaster
Mao had to admit his faults
Who were the main 3 people that sidelined Mao?
Liu Shaqui
Zhou Enlai
Deng Xiaoping
What were the successes of the changes of the new leaders?
By 1965, agricultural production recovered to the same level it was in 1957
Production for consumer goods was double the 1957 level
Heavy industry - growing rate 17%
Light industry - growing rate 27%
How did the new leaders change freedom of the peasants ?
Let them produce what they wanted on small plots
They could decide how much fertiliser to use
The free market was introduced
Land could be claimed and cultivated by the peasants
However they still had to meet quotas
What did the new leaders change with aid ?
Bring aid from city factories to rural areas
Tools, fertiliser…
What did the new leaders change with industry?
Changed to support agriculture
Steel, wood and bamboo were used to make tools, carts and boats
What did the new leaders change with influence?
People with tech knowledge were promoted
Experts and intellectuals imprisoned in the anti rightist campaign returned to influence
Managers got more control over state enterprise with aims to make PROFIT
urban cadres sent to countryside
Labour camps put people to work making utensils that were melted in furnaces
