(f) Second five year plan 1958-62

When was it introduced?

The Second Five-Year Plan formed part of the Great Leap Forward, which was announced at the Eighth CCP Congress in May 1958.

What was introduced under the plan?

• While agriculture was to be modernised by the development of the People's Communes, ambitious new targets for industrial growth were to be pursued at the same time

• Mao called this' the Great Leap' because he was impatient at the relatively slow pace of economic progress made so far

• He now wanted China to become a modern industrial power without bothering to go through the normal phases of development that other leading powers had experienced

How was economic planning managed in early Communist China, especially during campaigns like the Great Leap Forward?

By February, economic planning shifted from the state to the Party. Implementation relied on local cadres’ initiative, guided by slogans and threats. Targets were constantly revised upward, either by Mao or ambitious officials seeking to impress superiors.

What were Mao’s economic reasons for launching the Great Leap Forward?

Mao aimed to industrialise China, which required more productive agriculture to feed workers and free peasants for urban jobs. Early successes in collectivisation and People’s Communes encouraged acceleration by 1958.

What debates influenced his approach?

• Conservatives (Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun): reward high producers (“carrot”)

• Radicals: punish low producers, requisition food (“stick”)

• Mao initially feared the “stick” approach because 70% of Party members were peasants, but the “carrot” was limited by scarcity of consumer goods and state funds.
  → The Great Leap Forward was not purely rational economic planning, but also shaped by unresolved internal debates.

Mao's reasons for launching it: Why was Mao confident about launching more ambitious schemes during the Great Leap Forward?

Mao’s confidence came from:

• Rapid collectivisation exceeding expectations

• Successful water conservancy projects in winter 1957-58

• his provincial tour of early 1958 had been enthusiastically received.

Mao's reasons for launching it: How did local cadres’ behavior influence Mao’s confidence in launching ambitious schemes?

Local cadres, anxious to prove loyalty after the Anti-Rightist Campaign, exaggerated peasants’ revolutionary fervor, which reinforced Mao’s belief that more ambitious schemes could succeed.

Mao's reasons for launching it: How did Mao’s trip to Moscow influence the launch of the Great Leap Forward?

Mao wanted to show the USSR he could act independently. By pursuing the “Chinese road” from socialism to communism instead of following the Russian model, he aimed to demonstrate leadership in the communist world. The Great Leap Forward, with simultaneous industrial and agricultural development and mass peasant mobilisation, was designed to achieve this.

Mao's reasons for launching it: Why did the Great Leap Forward appeal to Mao ideologically?

It relied on mass peasant mobilisation, aligning with Mao’s belief in people-powered revolution. Its greater decentralisation allowed local initiative, which fit his ideological preference for grassroots participation in economic and social campaigns.

How the plan worked: backyard furnaces: How did the Great Leap Forward plan to increase steel production, and why were backyard furnaces introduced?

Mao aimed to quadruple steel production to 20 million tonnes (later doubled). Inspired by the success of the 1957 water conservancy campaign involving 100 million peasants, he encouraged mass mobilisation: every family was urged to build backyard furnaces and melt metal objects to produce steel.

How the plan worked: backyard furnaces: How did steel targets in 1958 lead to the backyard furnace campaign?

The 1958 steel target rose from 6 → 8 → 10.7 million tonnes. Existing conventional steel plants couldn’t meet these goals, so Mao ordered the backyard furnace campaign to mobilise peasants and boost production.

How the plan worked: backyard furnaces: What happened during the backyard furnace campaign, and what were its consequences?

The campaign became a national movement:

• Night skies red, smoke blotting the sun; peak: ¼ of population involved

• Steel output: Sept 1958 – 14%, Oct – 49% from local furnaces

• Food production strained, schools closed, shock brigades deployed to harvest

• By spring 1959, only large smelters produced usable steel; home-made steel was worthless

• Campaign continued to avoid loss of face, with pots and pans melted and buried

• Economic damage: diverted labor from agriculture

• Ecological damage: deforestation → soil erosion, flooding, increasing need for water conservancy

How the plan worked: Decentralisation: How did economic decentralisation during the Great Leap Forward reflect Mao’s priorities?

Key points:

• Central government retained control, but economic activity decentralised

• Local Party cadres given more freedom to mobilise the masses

• Mao believed state bureaucrats slowed change, while peasants/workers were China’s greatest asset

• Goal: unleash mass participation to accelerate national transformation

How the plan worked: What were the features and problems of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) after 1956?

• Nationalised private enterprises → became SOEs

• State set prices, output targets, wages; no bargaining

• Workers had guaranteed jobs/wages (“iron rice bowl”), plus medical and educational benefits

• Inefficient system: removed incentives to work harder

• Like People’s Communes, state control caused demotivation; surplus went straight to the state regardless of efficiency

Construction projects: Where did the term “Great Leap Forward” originate, and what did it reflect about Mao’s thinking?

• First used for water conservancy projects in late 1957

• Involved millions of peasants

• Reflected Mao’s belief that China’s main asset was its population

• Sheer numbers could achieve results without advanced machinery

Construction projects: How were water conservancy projects carried out during the early Great Leap Forward?

• Work brigades from the People’s Communes were sent to build dams and reservoirs

• Used rudimentary tools: shovels, baskets, carrying poles

• Mao likened this mass labour effort to the building of the Great Wall by old emperors

Construction projects: What went wrong with water conservancy projects during the Great Leap Forward, and how did Mao evaluate them?

• Many projects poorly planned, causing disasters (e.g., Three Gate Gorge Dam: more mud downstream, had to be rebuilt)

• Hundreds of smaller projects: some successes, but huge cost in lives and diverted labour from farming

• Disruption of drainage → increased salinisation, reducing land productivity

• Technical advice often ignored if it slowed progress

• Mao judged success by volume of earth moved, not effectiveness

• Encouraged competition between provinces, but projects often lacked real utility

Successes and failures of the Second Five-Year Plan: Why did the Great Leap Forward fail in terms of industrial production?

• By 1962, heavy industry output was half and light industry three-quarters of 1958 levels

• Soviet experts withdrawn in 1960 during the Sino-Soviet split → loss of guidance

• Lack of clear planning and technical knowledge from Mao; reliance on manpower over expertise

• Some successes (Tiananmen Square, nuclear weapons), but mainly haphazard development in which basics were ignored

• Quality control poor → export orders often unusable

• Cutting corners to meet targets led to inefficiency and damaged China's trade reputation

The Lushan Conference, July 1959: What was the significance of the Lushan Party Conference for the Great Leap Forward?

• Officially called to assess progress at the end of the first year

• Politically and economically significant: affirmed continuation of the Great Leap Forward

• Any earlier signs of moderation (e.g., scaling back backyard furnaces

The Lushan Conference, July 1959: What happened at the Lushan Conference regarding Peng Dehuai and Mao’s response?

• Mao brought his wife Jiang Qing for support, anticipating trouble

• Only Peng Dehuai openly challenged Mao, reporting on famine and policy failures

• Other Party leaders stayed silent, isolating Peng as a troublemaker

• Mao’s position remained unshaken, and the Great Leap Forward continued at full speed

The Lushan Conference, July 1959: What was the economic outcome of the Lushan Conference on the Great Leap Forward?

• After Lushan, the Great Leap Forward continued at full pace

• Before the conference, Mao had considered moderating aspects, such as reducing backyard furnace activity

• Post-Lushan, agricultural policies and industrial targets accelerated, marking the start of the “second leap”

The Lushan Conference, July 1959: How did the Lushan Conference affect Party leaders’ ability to criticise Mao?

• It became clear that no one could criticise Mao except Mao himself

• Party leaders grew much more guarded in expressing their views

• Mao’s dictatorial authority was strengthened, consolidating his personal control over the Party