Topic 2: Agricultural and Industrial Changes (1949-1965) Flashcards
In 1949, how much of the population lived in the countryside?
80%
What was Mao suspicious off?
Mao thought peasants were mini-capitalists as they wanted thier own land and profit
What did the 1950 Agarian Land Reform do?
Aim was to destroy landlords
- Struggle sessions held against landlords (1-2m killed)
- Over 40% of land redistributd
- Peasants worked harder on land they owned
- Landlord class was destroyed
In 1951/52 MutualA Aid Teams were set up?
What did these encourage?
How many People took part?
- Encouraged peasants to share tools, fertiliser and animals
- Around 10 households
By 1952, How many peasants were in MATs?
40%
Agricultural Producers’ Cooperatives (APCs)
- What yr were they set up in?
- How many households?
- Key features?
- In 1952/53
- 30 - 50 households
- Land pooled as well as tools but Peasants still owed thier land
During 1953-55, how many times did Mao change his mind?
4 times
Summer 1955. what was instroduced?
What was the main feautre of this?
Higher APCs
Profit incentives reduced
How many households did HAPCS contain?
200-300 households
By July 1955, 17m peasants were in HAPCS,
By Jan 1956, what does this number rise to
75m households = 63% of peasant population
By the end of 1956, what percentag of peasants still farmed privately?
only 3%
by 1956, Mao is pleased with collectivisation but agriculture figures remain poor.
Grain production rises by only ?% in 1957
1%
All reamaining prive plots are ablished by?
1958
Communes were made up of 5,500 households or 25 HAPCs
Communes were compulsory
What are other key feature of People’s Communes
-APCs rewards for work are removed and incentive to work decreases
- Men and women sleep in separate dorms
-Commune militia punsihed those who took too much food
-Women have to take on harsh physical labour - 90
% of women worked in farming in 1958/59
What delayed the implementation of the first 5YP?
The Korean War - 50% of 1951 budget on army
Positives of SIno-Soviet Treaty (1950)
- 10-11k soviet advisor in China to help;28k chinese go the other way
- Over 150 major industrial enterprises builty with USSR Aid
Negatives of Sino-Soviet Treaty (1950)
- Adivsors wages were high
- 300m dolar loan China’s gold reserves as secrutiy and interets rates were high - grain sold to pay loans leavign peasants on rations
- Soviet inlfuence has big impact - Lysenkoism
3 Success of first 5YP
1) Heavy industrial output tripled
2) Living standards of industrial workers improve
3) Annual industrial growth rate averaged 16% - Increase from 14.7% target
1 Political Reason GLF was launched
Nobody would speak out agaisnt Mao after 100F
1 economic reason GLF was launched
More food needed to drive indsutrialisation/ feed growing urban population
1 International Reason GLF was launched
Need to catch up with West and USSR
1 Ideological Reason GLF was introduced
As before, peasants were key to China’ development so Mao returned to them
Two Slogans linked to GLF
- “More, Faster, Better, Cheaper”
- “Walking on Two legs”
What was the steel target in autmun 1957?
40m tonnes per yr by the 1970s
What was the steel target in autumn 1958?
700m tonnes per yr by early 1970s
100m tonnes per yr by 1962
Give 5 main Reaosn for the failrue fo the GLF
1) Overambitious nature - puts too much pressur eon communes
2) Climate of fear - noone wold tell Mao to stop
3) Sino-Soviet Split 1960: removed thousands of soviet advisors + 59/60, millions of tonnes of grain exported to USSR to rpay ealrier debts despite famine
4) Poor Weather (fllods in south, Droughts in North)
5) Mao’s refusal to listen (Lushan Conf’59)
Grain Harvest of 1958 ?
Good Harvest?
375m tonnes claimed - probs only 200m
Grain Harvest of 1959?
Worst harvest for years (weather)
270m tonnes claimed - probs less than 170m
Why was steel unsuable?
Background furnaces were not hot enough
by 1958, 50% of steel produced in BFs - only 8m tonnes usable
Impact of Famine (4 reasons)
1) 30-50m died, further 15m not born
2) Cannibalism, selling kids, prostitution
3) Force used to seize graind - uprsing in Tibet
4) Govt forced to import food (failure of self-reilaince): 6m tonnes in 1961
Jan conf of 7k impacts
Liu criticises “Party Centre”
Mao becomes more of a figue head
Liu, Deng and Chen Yun bring back “rightists” who had been purged
Communal living ended, re-introduction of private plots and profit
Central planning re-introduced
