The Great Famine 1958-62 (2a.2) Flashcards
1
Q
When was the Great Famine?
A
1958-62
2
Q
What did Mao declare the harvest figure had been for the year at the CCP Central Committee meeting 1958?
A
- 430 million tonnes of grain
- Revised down to 375 million tonnes of grains before making public
- Real figure was around 200 million tonnes
3
Q
When did Mao step down as Chairman of the PRC and who did he hand over to?
A
- 1958
- Handed over to Liu Shaoqi
4
Q
What happened after Peng Dehuai’s letter at Lushan Conference 1959?
A
- Published letter
- Challenged delegates to pick a side
- Krushchev made speech in Russia raising similar points to Peng making it look like he had gone behind Mao’s back
- Peng sacked
- Liu and Deng has convenient illnesses, Zhou was so ashamed at his failure to stand by Peng he drunk himself into a stupor
5
Q
Death toll for famine
A
30-50 million
6
Q
How many died in Tibet?
A
- 25% of its 4 million killed
- Gov deliberately made it worse by forcing Tibetans to switch from growing barley to other crops not suited to local conditions (attack on culture)
7
Q
What happened to Dali Lama?
A
- Sent Mao long report accusing him of attempted genocide
- He was jailed
8
Q
How many died in Shandong?
A
7.5 million
9
Q
How many died in Anhui?
A
8 million
10
Q
How many died in Henan, Hubei, Gansu and Sichuan?
A
9 million
11
Q
What appalling things happened as a result of the famine?
A
- Eating tree bark and plants
- Selling wives and children
- Prostitution and banditry
- Cannibalism (families switched children to eat)
12
Q
Grain requisitioning
A
State procurement took:
- 17% crop in 1957
- 21% in 1958
- 28% in 1959
21% in 1960
13
Q
What caused the famine?
A
- Tried developing commune system at same time as launching 2nd 5 year plan and mobilising masses to work on engineering projects. Too much too soon, too ambitious
- Uncritically accepted Lysenkoisim, insisting it be applied in full. ‘Super crops’ would produce yields 16X more than conventional methods
- Dismissive of experts (purged in anti-rightist campaign)
Climate of fear the anti-rightist campaign generated caused cadres to pass on excessively optimistic reports on how much communes were producing. Planners set even higher targets - Demotivating effect: ‘like beating a drum with a cucumber. The harder you beat the less sound is made’
- Mao’s priorities for china: convincing rest of world that China Communism was successful was more important than lives of millions ‘expendable’ peasants
14
Q
What part did adverse weather play in the famine?
A
- 1960 worst drought for a century
- Followed by severe flooding across central China
