The Great Leap Forward

People Communes

25,000 People’s Communes forcibly established 100,000 people per commune). Peasants formed Production Brigade under the close watch of Communist cadres Frank Dikotter estimates that at least 2.5 million people were beaten or tortured to death and 1-3 million committed suicides during the course of the Leap “The state had become the ultimate landlord” – John King Fairbank

Backyard Steel

Peasants were forced to establish their own backyard furnaces - 750,000 furnaces established 9% decrease in crops grown as peasants because consumed with steel production

Lysenkoism

Developed by Soviet agriculture expert Trofim Lysenko. His ideas included planting seeds deeper in the ground and closer together. Led to widespread crop failures + drastic decline in production led to cadres falsifying records for the CCP

Famine 1959 – 1961

Food production decreased by 25% between 1958 and 1961 Fear of failing to meet targets led to false reporting of food - in 1958, the harvest was reported 450 million tons but in reality, was only 200 and in 1959 it was reported as 500million tons but in reality, was only 170million. People ate bark from trees and soil and cannibalism was widespread – people ate their neighbors’ children. “at least 45 million people died unnecessarily between 1958 and 1962 and it might be even worse than that” – Frank Dikotter In 1961, the government finally changed tack and imported grain

Learn From Campagin

“Learn From Lei Feng” which celebrated a truck driver in the PLA who was viewed as a model work and loyal comrade. This was used to indoctrinate China’s youth into supporting the CCP and Mao.

Little Red Book

750million copies printed and distributed through the PLA, schools, danwei and communes Through Lin Biao’s assistance, Mao slowly indoctrinated China into accepting his leadership and restored his public image as the main source of ideology and wisdom. Mao “steadily fuelled his personality cult” - Historians Chang and Halliday