(f) The hundred flowers campaign (1957) and its aftermath

When was the hundreds flower campaign announced?

By April 1956, Mao called for open debate from intellectuals: “Let a hundred flowers bloom, and a hundred schools of thought contend.”

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: destalinisation

To avoid criticisms like de-Stalinisation in Russia

Stalin died in 1953 and in 1956 Nikita replaced him.

In February 1956, Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s cult personality and use of terror in a speech labelled the ‘secret speech’ addressed to the 20th party Congress in Moscow and called for the end to dictatorship and move to collective leadership.

Mao had copied some of Stalin’s methods and was worried about being criticised too.

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: first five year plan

Control the pace of change after the First Five-Year Plan- There were problems in the countryside and signs that the performance of the economy was declining. Thousands of workers were leaving the collective farms and attacking party cadres

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: Win over intellectuals

Win over intellectuals to contribute to China’s economy- The economy wasn’t growing fast enough. China wanted to catch up with the West so Mao believed he would need the help of the intellectuals.

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: Rectification of the party

• Mao felt that the party wasn’t radical enough in introducing communist policies or economic reforms. Also he thought that the party cadres had become a new privileged class of managers.

  Mao hoped that the intellectuals would criticise these communists so he could remove them

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: Caution after the Hungarian rising

The Hungarian uprising of 1956 took place against the Communist government of Hungary. A new reformist government was temporarily installed that rejected Soviet dominance of the country. This had to be crushed by the force of the Soviet Red Army

What was the purpose of Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign: overly optimistic

• First Five year plan stimulated industrial recovery after civil war

• Mao’s popularity was boosted by success in Korea fighting the UN showing a movement away from foreign exploitation

• Mao expected endorsement of his policies that would allow him to advance his personal policies and introduce communism rapidly

How did the CCP and intellectuals respond to Mao’s “Hundred Flowers” campaign in 1956–57?

Mao promoted debate at the Nov 1956 CCP Congress and again in Feb 1957, but received little support. Critics were slow to speak up due to fear: recent examples, like the Hu Feng case, had seen ~100 intellectuals arrested for challenging the Party just two years earlier.

How did Mao try to stimulate participation in the Hundred Flowers campaign?

Frustrated by the lack of response, Mao:

• Summoned the editor of the People’s Daily to demand coverage of the debate

• Embarked on a stage-managed railway tour to “engage” with peasants and hear their views firsthand

What mistakes did Mao admit to in his speech?

• He said that the Party had wrongly identified intellectuals as the enemies of the regime and used too much force to control them

• He admitted that 800,000 Chinese people had been killed and implied that the time for violent class struggle was over

• He promised to release people from labour camps

What did people criticise?

• The intellectuals criticised the party’s failure to provide democratic rights or freedom of expression in arts and culture

• They compared the party’s methods to Nazis in Auschwitz

• They criticised economic inequalities e.g. low wages

• The party’s HQ’s were stormed by students who tied up officials and marched them through the streets

What was a step too far for Mao?

People were critical of Mao and his own personal power. They compared him to the Pope.

What happened after the Hundred Flowers campaign turned critical, and what were its consequences?

A trickle of comments grew into a flood of criticisms, including policy and leader denunciations. Mao halted the debate and launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign:

• Critics were branded “Rightists” trying to destroy the revolution

• About 500,000 people were sent to re-education camps

• Mao’s control over the CCP tightened, but intellectuals’ goodwill was permanently lost

• Anti rightist campaign in June 1957

What did Mao say in his speech in June?

He declared that ‘poisonous weeds’ had grown up among ‘fragrant flowers’. These ‘right wingers’ had abused their freedoms and he demanded a campaign of class struggle against them.

• The ‘poisonous weeds’ were defined very broadly so that they included anyone the regime wanted to get rid of. Crimes liable for punishment included ‘opposing socialist culture’ and ‘opposing the fundamental policies of the state’

What were the role of the cadres in the anti-rightist campaign and the stats?

Cadres were given a quota of 5% of people in a danwei to be damned as rightist.

Statistics vary but it is estimated between 400,000 and 700,000 intellectuals were purged and sent to the countryside or laogai for ‘labour reform’. Others took their own life to avoid such a terrifying fate.