The Great Leap Forward

when and what was the great leap forward?

the 2nd 5 year plan between 1958-1962

overall, how was the great leap forward?

a catastrophic failure where 30-40 million people died of starvation

what were its goals?

improve agriculture, independence, mass mobilisation, collectivisation

what was the four pests?

getting rid of pests to protect agriculture. rats, sparrows, mosquitoes, flies

what was Lysenkoism?

being able to alter genetics by changing the environment for crips and that pesticides are a western obsession. it fails.

who is Trofim Lysenko?

a soviet agrobiologist who had cult status under Stalin

what were backyard furnaces?

the people making furnaces to produce steel but it was low quality and unusable to meet targets

what was the great famine?

1958-1962 cause by Lysenkoism, sparrowcide, and the communes. 50 million died

what was the Lushhan meeting?

1959, to discuss PRC progress and Peng Dehui stood up but was imprisoned and famines were covered up

what was the death toll of the famine?

45 million

what did the people eat to survive?

bark, white mud, roots of banana trees

how did the govt. hide the famine from the rest of the world?

parties and specific scenarios for the visitors

what made the famines so bad?

the granaries were full but the govt. would let the people have anything