The Great Leap Forward

Prelude to the Great Leap Forward The Hundred Flowers Campaign had revealed conflicting attitudes within the CCP leadership regarding the pace and type of development Additionally, Mao was very concerned with the increasingly bureaucratic nature of the party and the “loss of vitality” in China What is a dictator to do?

The beginning Why was Mao ready for a change in economic policy by 1958? Despite 5YP’s successes, Mao felt the time was ripe for the transition from socialism to communism Disliked the sprawling bureaucracy and increasing individualism Feared an entrenched system, which would be more difficult to alter Disheartened by disappointing grain yields Also hoped for “spontaneous energizing of the whole nation” as he was very concerned with the lack of revolutionary spirit in China Sino-Soviet relations were deteriorating, desired self-sufficiency What is the significance of the phrase poor and blank? Despite China’s economic “backwardness” Mao felt this description of China’s peasantry was desirable-they were more eager for change Also more likely to become “red and expert”

The Great Leap Forward What was it? When did it take place? “3 years of struggle followed by 1000 years of Communist happiness” A technological and social revolution that would unleash the power of the masses to spur economic development When did it take place? 1958-61 What were Mao’s goals? What were its main characteristics? How did the GLF fit in with Mao’s ideology?

The People’s Communes What were they? How were they organized and run? How much of China’s rural population was organized into communes? How did the development of the communes lead to social changes? What were the political ramifications of the communes? Positives? Negatives?

People’s Communes: Backyard Steel Why did Mao encourage the construction of homemade steel furnaces? What were the results of this effort? Environmental impact?

People’s Communes: Crop Experimentation Mao believed that science had been able to revolutionize food production Lysenkoism Techniques (like close planting) that were supposed to produce 16x the amount of food per acre than traditional methods Sparrowcide Calls to remove “pests” that ate crop seeds, which then resulted in catastrophe because…

The People’s Communes: Stats Why did the communes report inflated grain output?

Industrialization Technically, the GLF was part of Mao’s 2nd FYP Improvements in heavy industry was still a major goal, though Mao seemed more concerned with the scale of the undertaking than the quality In addition to the mobilization of small-scale industry in the communes, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were established Often inefficient Created the “iron rice bowl” mentality Output of some goods actually fell

Large Scale Infrastructure Projects “the empire of the blue ants” Expansion of Tiananmen Square Ming tombs Irrigation Systems Canals, Dams, etc

Problems Arise… What caused the initial excitement of the GLF to dissipate? Shortages, poor management, decline in morale, physical exhaustion What was the purpose and result of the 1958 CCP conference at Wuhan? Attempted to decrease radicalism of the communes and restore economic stability Re-established the control of Party officials over local authorities Mao not very happy about the changes, will step back from power, though retains the title of Party Chairman Despite changes, why did the economic situation grow worse in 1959? Unusually severe flooding, droughts Transportation problems Shortages of raw materials

The Lushan Plenum (summer 1959) What three big issues were discussed? Who is Peng Duhuai? What was his “crime” and what happened to him as a result? Who is Lin Biao and why is he significant? Ultimately, how did the Lushan Plenum affect the Great Leap Forward? How does Mao’s role in the CCP begin to change? Peng and Mao

Results Famine! “When there is not enough to eat people starve to death. It is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill.” -Mao

The Famine What factors contributed to the famine of 1959-62? “Encouraged by expectations of a great leap in agricultural productivity from collectivization, the government diverted massive amounts of agricultural resources to industry and sharply raised grain procurement from the peasants, eventually leading to malnutrition among peasants and decimation of their labor productivity in growing next year's crops. The consecutive years of bad weather also aggravated the fatal economic policies. The decline in food availability was indeed a cause of the GLF famine. But other institutional factors, including urban bias in China's food distribution system, radical local policies, and grain exports, were also major contributors of the excess mortality. By and large, the GLF catastrophe was the result of a series of failures in central planning.” While the inflated numbers reported by communes contributed to the famine, what is more disturbing is that the top CCP officials knew it was happening, and yet continued to take large portions of the grain yields.

The Famine (con.) Estimates range from 30-45 million deaths; it is the worst famine in recorded history 2-3 million of those were beaten to death or buried alive The power of the local cadres also played a role-they could deny food to anyone not “on board” with the GLF In 1962, having lost about ten million people in Sichuan, provincial leader Li Jingquan compared the Great Leap Forward to the Long March in which only one in ten had made it to the end: “We are not weak, we are stronger, we have kept the backbone”

Discussion Were there any successes associated with the Great Leap Forward? How does the Great Leap Forward compare to Stalin’s collectivization efforts? “Therefore, central planning was the main culprit of the catastrophes, as the governments acted on false premises, imposed aggregate risks through the implementation of nationwide economic plans, and insisted on deleterious policies with dogmatic certainty. The amplifying effects of central planning on natural calamities can explain much about the long duration and the monumental scale of the catastrophes.” To what extent does Mao bear responsibility for the famine?