The Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1957 Flashcards
What did Mao do during the Hundred Flowers campaign?
(Appeared to) encourage criticism of the party
by intellectuals,
asking them to engage in a discussion
and debate about future policies
Why did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers campaign?
- asking the intellectuals for help
Mao was worried that the economy was not improving fast enough. 🔚🔙🔽
Genuine attempt to encourage educated intellectuals to come forward with advice and answers to this problem? 👂🏼🧠🗣
Why did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers campaign?
- Rectification of the party
Mao feared the party was becoming less revolutionary:
Feared it had become ‘bureaucratic’ & needed to be ‘rectified’
Mao wanted to encourage intellectuals to point out the mistakes of party members
And
Force them to act in the interests of the people again
Why did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers campaign?
- Removal of Mao’s enemies
Mao believed that some members of the party were not RADICAL enough in introducing communist policies
(ESP. Economic reforms: Mao wanted these to happen very quickly)
He hoped that the intellectuals would criticise these more conservative communists, giving him the opportunity to remove them
Why did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers campaign?
- International Concerns
February 1956: Khrushchev’s Secret Speech— anti. Cult of personality, secret police, terror, repression etc.
May have made Mao nervous:
He sought a way to prove he was not a dictator by encouraging debate
Why did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers campaign?
- Over-confidence
Mao launched the campaign because of optimism>worry?
Early years of PRC = success: GMD fled, Korean War success, First Five-Year Plan boosted industrialisation, land reform popular among peasants.
Expected a ringing endorsement of his policies from intellectuals
- > greater influence
- > advance his own PERSONAL policies: introduce communism rapidly, against the less radical’s wishes
How did the intellectuals react to Mao during the Hundred Flowers campaign?
Began to criticise party
Denounced its failure to provide democratic rights or freedom of expression
Attacked the privileged situation the communist leaders had given themselves:
Better food, housing and education for their children
What was Mao’s response to the criticisms reviewed during the Hundred Flowers campaign?
June: speech “Handling Contradictions” published in the People’s Daily
BUT
No mention of compromise/moderation in this version
Said that “poisonous weeds” had grown up along the “fragrant flowers”: “right-wingers” has abused their freedoms, he demanded a campaign of class struggle against them.
What was the aftermath of the Hundred Flowers campaign?
The “Anti-Rightist” campaign
Between 400,000 and 700,000 intellectuals were purged:
-sent to the
Countryside or the Laogai for “labour reform”
- committed suicide
