theme 2

Why did Mao want to improve agriculture

1. ideological commitment

2. increase peasant standard of living

3. feed the growing urban population to industrialise

Why were the peasants so important to Mao in regard to the revolution

He claimed it was the peasants not workers who could act as ‘vanguards of the revolution’ this was because of their desperation to escape poverty

What was the Agrarian reform law

1950 - the law stated ‘the system of peasant land ownership shall be introduced in order to set free the rural productive forces’

• main aim was to destroy the gentry landlord class and redistribute land back to the tiller

What were the different responses to the agrarian land reform around China

• North - only 10 to 15% of farmers rented their land so it wasn’t a problem here

• south - GMD retained control prior to their escape to Taiwan meaning land reform had not began - landlords more influential (organised in clans based on family ties, peasants were not interested in seizing their families land or seeking their death)

How were landlords attacked during land reforms

Work teams (young people from liberated cities) were sent to organise land reform, landlords subjected to struggle meetings and forced to admit their crimes as ‘class enemies’ - sentenced to death

Why were landlords an easy target

Unlike businessmen, landlords had not escaped with the GMD because their land could not be transferred

Why were many peasants willing to attack the peasants

Despite not being ideologically committed, their anger stemming from years of mistreatment fuelled the violence towards landlords + desperation to obtain higher standard of living

What was the impact of land reform

Completed by summer of 1952, 43% of land redistributed to 60% of the population it also increased agricultural production by 15% 1950-52

What was the impact of the attack on landlords

The movement was successful, gentry landlord class had been destroyed 1-2M executed

how did peasants expectation of land policy differ from the CCPs expectation

• peasants - represented liberation from landlord exploitation and indebtedness, also to improve their quality of life

• CCP - ‘the peasants want freedom, we want socialism’ (Mao) CCP saw land reform as a way to create surplus grain in order to industrialise, creating socialism

what were MATS, what was the outcome of them

Mutual Aid teams - pooled resources and livestock and up to 10 households

• households could farm more efficiently because those who had surplus land could combine with those who had surplus labour

how did peasants react to MATs

enthusiastically accepted because it mirrored a common practice in villages where they would help each other for the benefit of the community, rich peasants however were excluded

why were APCs introduced

CCP was still worried that they allowed capitalist ideas such as buying and selling land or hiring of labourers

what were APCs and what was the outcome initially

began in 1953, land was reorganised into a single unit and peasants were compensated using points according to the value of their land, labour and tools (land still privately owed) + 30-50 households

• in 1953 and 54 output had only risen 2% which was incredibly low considering the 23% increase during the 1st five year plan

How did people react to APCs

• gave poorer peasants the chance to gain access to wealthier neighbours property but peasants did not want to share their new land and only 14% joined the new units

• rich peasants especially were reluctant to join, cadres undervalued property when deciding compensation, rich peasants would rather slaughter their animals than give them to APCs

what did Gradualists believe about collectivisation

china was not ready for large scale farming because it lacked mechanised equipment like tractors and chemical fertilisers, also denounced the premature establishment of APCs

What did idealists argue about collectivisation

Mao wanted an increase in the pace of reform to full scale collectivisation and a end to private property, he believed a ‘high tide in new socialist mass movement’ led by peasants made up for a shortage of mechanisation

what did Mao compare gradualists to in regards to collectivisation

he said they were ‘tottering along like women with bound feet’ constantly complaining ‘your going too fast!’

how did APCs progress

with Maos enthusiasm, by 1955 63% of peasant households were part of APCs, Mao was very impressed and used this as evident to suggest it was not necessary to wait for mechanisation before moving to large scale production

how was collectivisation enforced

by the end of 1956, 88% of households were in higher level APCs, private ownership was completely abolished and peasants would only be compensated for their land labour and equipment taken over by the state

how successful were agriculture cooperatives in 1957

grain production had only risen by 1% and rationing of cotton cloth had to be implemented due to shortages

• mao could not take too much grain from farms because 70% of the population were from rural backgrounds, he couldn’t risk alienating the mass of their support which led to the introduction of communes

what and when was the first commune introduced

established in the Henan province in July 1958, it was called the Sputnik commune named after the first soviet satellite - represented the technical supremacy of the communist world

how quickly did the communes progress and what are the statistics behind this

In August Mao declared ‘the peoples commune is great’ the next day the slogan by plastered over newspapers across the country. By the end of 1958 the party claimed at 99% of the peasant population lived in communes

how were communes organised and what was there aim

around 5500 households, private ownership of land and livestock was abolished. Mao believed the mass mobilisation of the people would allow industry and agriculture to be developed simultaneously ‘walking on two legs’

• each commune would also produce items in short supply such as toothbrushes and thermos flasks

what was Maos vision for the communes

very idealistic, supposed to be the perfect representation of communist life

• creches and boarding schools

• mess halls

• grandparents would no longer be forced to care for grandchrildren - spend time with other elderly people in happiness homes

how were communes supposed to improve women’s life

They would be able to escape domestic drudgery and join the men in fields and factories - equality, propaganda celebrated these iron women for taking an equal role in economic production

• 90% of women laboured in agriculture between 1958 and 1959

what was the reality of communal living

• all able bodied citezen’s 15-50 belonged to the commune milita - police force to enforce the rules of the commune by preventing people from taking too much grain

• party could easily target residents with propaganda as they were all forced into one location

• food was of poor quality causing diets to worse

what was the impact of communal living on families

• traditional family meal was replaced by eating in massive mess halls surrounded by strangers

• parents loss their influence over raising their children and grandparents became isolated from their relatives

what was the reality of communal living on women

women were forced to carry out harsh physical labour which had previously been the role of men

what was the four pests campaign and what were the results

1958 - Mao believed pests particularly sparrows were the reason why food production wasn’t increasing in the communes

• peasants banged drums or pots and pans until sparrows died from exhaustion, small reward was paid for the bodies of birds

sparrowcide reduced the number of birds who ate caterpillars, population increased and ate the harvest

what was Lysenkoism

society scientist who believed crop yeilds could be greatly increased through exposing seeds to moisture and low tempatures, also planting them close together

• he had manipulated his research in order to gain political influence in the society union led to a drop in agricultural production

Why did China choose to rely on USSRs support during the 1st 5 year plan

soviet economic policies had transformed Russia from a backwards agriculturally dependant country into an industrial superpower capable of defeating technologically advanced Nazi Germany

+ trade embargo imposed by Western powers following Chinas involvement in the Korean War meant China had very few trading partners, forcing PRC to rely on the soviet union

how did the USSR provide support for China during the 1st 5 year plan

1. 156 major industrial enterprises including 24 electric power stations were constructed in the Soviet Union and shipped to China

2. 11,00 soviet and Eastern European industrial experts supplying technical knowledge and experience of organising a centrally planned economy

3. a loan of 300M US dollars

what were the targets of the first 5 year plan

the part announced in 1953 that ‘its basic objective is the gradual realisation of the industrialisation of the state’

1. high rate of growth particularly heavy industry

2. self sufficiency - Autarkic state due to lack of trading opportunities

3. high level of grain procurement to fund industrialisation

4. stimulate the transformation towards socialist society

what is an example of grain procurement targets in the 1st 5 year plan

In 1953 the state planned to procure 22M tons of grain in order to fund and feed industrialisation

what were the most significant successes of the 1st 5 year plan

1. industrial output

2. transport

3. ideological success

4. standard of living for industrial workers

5. greater control over the population

why was industry a success in the 1st 5 year plan

1. annual growth rate for industrial output was 15.5%, outstripping the target of 14.7%

2. heavy industry nearly tripled, particularly in Manchuria which outstripped pre war levels

why was transport a success in the 1st 5 year plan

Railway freight volume more than doubled enabling raw materials, equipment and machines to be moved around the country more efficiently

• PLA could be more quickly to control opposition

Why was the 1st 5 year plan an ideological success

1. By 1956 private sector industry had been abolished and large retail firms came under state ownership

2. accelerated the move towards socialism

how did the 1st 5 year plan increase standard of living for industrial workers

Greater job security as work was in high demand and it was needed all year round, peasants fled rural poverty for this

• living conditions in Shanghai particularly improved

How did the 1st 5 year plan give the CCP greater control over the population

The CCP was able to heighten its influence over the population

1. Workers organised into Danwei that controlled access to welfare support and provided permits for marriage and travel

2. due to rail way freight doubling PLA could be moved quickly around the country to tackle opposition

What were the failures of the 1st 5 year plan

1. poor standard of living for peasants

2. consumer goods

3. limited personal freedom

4. Problems with production

Why did the peasants have such a poor standard of living in the 1st 5 year plan

High interest rates from the Soviet Union meant in order to meet the very demanding repayment schedules farmers were forced to sell their crops to the state at artificially low prices - also to feed urban population

• peasants surviving at a substance level

Why were consumer goods so limited in the 1st 5 year plan

Supply was kept low so people bought government bonds that provided funds for the plans

What were the problems with production during the 1st 5 year plan

Despite Soviet advice China still lacked organisational and management experience

• lack of coordination between industries or central planners and local producers causing inefficiencies

Why did Mao launch the GLP

1. He wanted to place China as the leading communist nation in Asia

2. he was very optimistic due to the 18.3% rise in industrial production during the 1st 5 year plan

3. wanted to achieve ‘walking on two legs’ - during 1st 5 year plan agriculture didn’t increase

4. sheer force of the people would be enough to overcome technological obstacles

What were the failures of the GLP

1. Unreasonable targets

2. over reliance on mobilisation of the masses

3. no experts left due to the anti rightest campaign

4. backyard furnaces

5. famine meant workers starved to death

Why did unreasonable targets lead to the failure of the GLP

the atmosphere of competition meant officials knew impressing Mao would advance their career, they did this by telling him his economic policies would produce unprecedented levels of success

• January 1958 the ministry of Metallurgy declared that it would increase steel production to 100M by 1977

Why was Maos reliance on the mobilisation of the people a reason why the GLP failed/was a failure

While reviewing steel production from 6-9M tonnes he announced ‘make it snappy!, let’s just double it! Why dilly-dally?’

• Mao had completely lost sense of reality his knowledge of Chinas productive capacity was dangerously limited

Why was backyard furnaces a reason for the failure of the GLP

all possible sources of metal such as cooking tools were melted in furnaces, doors and roofs were used to keep the furnace hot

• extremely poor quality and useless, taken away and buried

• this meant less people worked in factories fusing the economy to break down

What are statistics showing the failure of the GLP

• Grain fell from 185M tons in 1957 to 147M tons in 1961

• industrial output fell from 163M yuans in 1959 to 94M yuans in 1962

What slogans were used to impose impossible pressures on cadres to outstrip their targets

‘good all out’ or ‘aim high’

What were the extravagantly exaggerated production reports called

The ‘wind of exaggeration’

Why did exaggerated production reports cause the great famine and why were they exaggerated

There was immense pressure placed on local rural cadres to outstrip their targets using slogans like ‘go all out’… this created a false assumption that there was surplus grain leading to party officials demanding even higher quotas

• expectations were so high orders were given to leave a 3rd of the farmland fallow because storage facilities would be insufficient to contain it

What was the death rate in Anhui during the great famine

68.6 whereas before the famine Anhui was self sufficient

How did peasants react to the famine

1. Gangs of starving peasants launched attacks on grain reserves - tortured and killed

2. peasants resorted to scavenging for tree bark to make porridge or grinding leaves for flour

3. cannibalism - children were abducted killed and boiled down for food

What was the impact of the great famine on peasants

1. birth rates dropped as women couldn’t procreate

2. men sold their wife’s into prostitution to make money for food

3. peasant migrants fled the famine escaping to over crowded cities

How many people died during the great famine

30-50M

How did natural disasters cause the great famine

1. Typhoons caused flooding in south China

2. Drought reduced the flow of the yellow river by 2:3

More than 60% of cultivated land was affected by flood or drought and 2M died through drowning or starvation

What impact did the Soviet Union have on the great famine

Khrushchev decided in 1960 to recall economic and scientific advisers from China - Mao abandoned Soviet style central planning

• summer of 1960 there was 1400 specialists by September there was 0

Intellectuals were unwilling to provide advice after the anti rightest campaign leaving only ideologically committed, economically illiterate rural local cadres (who also wouldn’t tell the truth to protect their own positions)

Why were individual party leaders responsible for the great famine

In the Henan province the local party leader built 7 luxurious villas for high ranking guests whilst people starved to death

What year and what happened at the Lushan conference

1959 - Peng voiced concerns about the reports of a record grain harvest at 375M tons, he had wrote Mao a letter raising the issue of exaggerated reporting believing his status would save him (long been close colleague of Mao and a strong military leader), Mao interpreted this as a personal attack on his policies and accused him of forming a ‘right opportunist clique’, he was the striped of his post and forced to live in a run down area of Beijing

What did Mao announce at the Lushan conference

If the criticism continued he would go to the countryside to lead the peasants to overthrow the government

How did Mao withdraw from politics

He took some responsibility admitting that the backyard furnaces had been a ‘great catastrophe’ but encouraged others took take the blame, still hurt by the criticisms he retired from day to day politics

how did Liu and Deng reform industry and agriculture overall

Pragmatism and rationality replaced fanaticism and Utopianism, central control and planning were reinstated

• rather than walking on two legs the party adapted the motto ‘agriculture as the foundation of the economy’

What was Lius speech after taking the role of head of state

January 1962, dismissing Maos claim that the successes outweighed the failures by a ratio of 9-1 and argued the problems were 30% due to natural disasters and 70% due to man made problems

• ‘ natural disasters only hit one region, man made disasters strike the whole country’

What did Liu and Deng actually do to reform industry and agriculture

1. Communes scaled back in favour of greater freedoms for peasants to produce what they wanted and how much fertiliser to use

2. Trade was permitted on the free market

3. profitability was emphasised in industry

4. Those who possessed technical knowledge were promoted

What was the result of Liu and Deng’s reforms

1. By 1965 agricultural production had returned to 1957 levels

2. Private plots provided incentive for harder working, by mid 1960s private production accounted for 1/3 of peasant incomes

3. light industry grew at a rate of 27% and heavy industry grew at 17%