The Great Leap Forward

Question 1

When was the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 1

1958 - 1962

Question 2

When was the Lushan conference?

Answer 2

July 1959

Question 3

When was the Three Bitter Years’ Famine?

Answer 3

1958-1961

Question 4

When was the 7000 Cadres Conference?

Answer 4

January 1962

Question 5

What was the goals of the Second Five Year Plan?

Answer 5

> To harness China’s human energy of 600 million people

> Increase agricultural production, which would allow China to gain an export product: grain

> Increase industrial production, especially steel, to set up China’s heavy industry

Question 6

How did they plan to achieve the goals of the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 6

> Strengthen food output with giant People’s Communes.

> Millions of peasants can be recruited for industrial work, as commune would work effectively in the countryside

> Mass campaigns would be created the generate enthusiasm.

Question 7

How many communes were there by the end of 1959?

Answer 7

28,000 communes, each averaging 5000 households

Question 8

How was commune life?

Answer 8

> Money was eliminated
Communist cadres assigned into specialist roles like managers and school teachers
Peasants assigned to a Production Brigade
Militarised, peasants were expected to have a disciplined and obedient lifestyle

Question 9

What was the impact of communal kitchens?

Answer 9

> Meant to promote work productivity

> In reality, it wasted a lot of food, and peasants would not ration
Removed an incentive to work, as they got fed regardless of their effort

Question 10

What was slogans about the communal kitchens?

Answer 10

“Eat as much as you like, do as much as you can.”

“When communal dining is well run, production will rise.”

Question 11

What was the result of communes?

Answer 11

> Peasants were moved into the cities because the CCP assumed that the communes would make production more efficient

Question 12

How did the creation of communes effect labour movement?

Answer 12

> Urban population grew from 57 million in 1950 to 100 million in 1957
Mines ran for 24 hours a day
Peasants were also expected to build roads, irrigation projects with little assistance

Question 13

What did Spence say about the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 13

“The peasants and workers performed prodigies of labour, working with almost no respite in the fields.”

Question 14

What did Mao say of the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 14

“I have witness the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever.”

“One day equals twenty years.”

Question 15

What were the main mass campaigns in the Great Leap Forward?

Answer 15

> 'Better Red than Expert'
> 'Going up to heaven'
> Backyard furnaces
> Lysenkoism
> Anti-pest campaigns

Question 16

How were statistics of harvests falsified?

Answer 16

Through the ‘Going up to heaven’ campaign, communes constantly tried to outbid each other.

In 1958, the reported grain harvest was 450 million tonnes. The real grain harvest was only 200 million tonnes!

Question 17

How many backyard furnaces were built?

Answer 17

750,000 built with 100 million people spending time working on them.

Question 18

What did Lynch say about the Great Leap Forward/Backyard furnaces?

Answer 18

“The fate of the worthless steel could be taken as symbolising the Great Leap Forward itself: lots of energy, noise and endeavour, but little substance.”

Question 19

What were the goals of the Lushan Conference?

Answer 19

To review the progress of the Great Leap Forward.

Most leaders were hoping to moderate the GLF, in order to prevent economic damage.

Question 20

What did Peng Dehuai do at the Lushan Conference?

Answer 20

Peng wrote Mao a private letter, expressing concerns about the GLF.

Question 21

What was the result of the Lushan Conference?

Answer 21

Peng Dehuai was purged, proving that the CCP’s leaders were unwilling to stand up to or criticise Mao.

A new Anti-Rightist campaign began, which purged 3.5 million “rightists” from the CCP.

The fear generated by Peng’s purge ensured that the Great Leap Forward continued

Question 22

How many people died in the Three Bitter Year’s Famine?

Answer 22

Approx. 30 million Chinese

Question 23

When did the natural disaster begin and how much did it actually impact food production?

Answer 23

> A drought began April 1959, affecting 15 provinces
25 million people needed ‘urgent’ food aid
Of China’s agricultural areas, only 10% was affected

Question 24

How was disaster relief ineffective in the Three Bitter Year’s Famine?

Answer 24

The pattern of lying worsened. Some Communes claimed their area was crippled to have more grain.

E.g. The Anhui province produced enough food to feed its own citizens, yet 8 million people died during the GLF. This is because the CCP boss of Anhui loyally supported the GLF and encouraged high grain requisitioning from Communes within his province.

Question 25

Causes of the famine include…

Answer 25

> Lowered grain production:
Natural disasters, mass campaigns which reduced success of crops

> Grain requisition
Falsified statistics, grain exports to the USSR

> Increased waste
Difficulty harvesting, storing and transporting grain due to labour shortages AND communal kitchens resulted in more consumption

Question 26

What is the sympathetic theory behind Mao’s responsibility for the famine?

Answer 26

Mao did not realise the damage being done by the Great Leap Forward.

> Falsified reports
Propaganda

Question 27

What is the moderate-critic theory behind Mao’s responsibility for the famine?

Answer 27

The fear Mao generated meant that leaders were too afraid to speak up and stop the Leap before famine occurred.

> Hundred Flowers Campaign
Lushan Conference

Question 28

What is the critical theory behind Mao’s responsibility for the famine?

Answer 28

that Mao simply didn’t care and wanted to grow the Chinese economy and increase social control at any cost.

> Callous attitude towards human life.

Question 29

What did Liu Shaoqi do at the 7000 Cadres Conference?

Answer 29

Liu refused to read a prepared speech supporting the Great Leap Forward. Instead, he publicly criticised the GLF.

> Dismissed the argument that natural disasters explained the famine, saying that it could explain no more than 30% of the drop in food production.