THINGS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT After nearly ten years of communism, Mao was worried that China was settling back into old ways. He saw a middle class of “experts” growing up, running the factories, business, hospitals and universities. To Mao they were too much like the old class who ruled China under the emperors. He wanted another revolution in order to hand control back to the peasants. Despite the successes of the First Five Year Plan, there was unemployment in the cities and peasant had little to do between harvesting and sowing. Finally, there was a problem of how China could raise enough money to build more industries.

WAS THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD A SUCCESS? The Great Leap Forward tried to do too much too fast, and led to huge mistakes: INDUSTRY Thousands of small factories proved to be inefficient and wasteful. Much of the backyard iron and steel was of low quality and could not be used. In 1960, after a deterioration in relations with the USSR, Russia began to withdraw their technicians and advisers. AGRICULTURE Food production also slumped and too many peasants had been moved from agriculture to industry. By 1961 China was having to buy the grain from abroad. This situation was not helped by three years of disastrous harvest caused by floods and droughts.

THE COMMUNES - These were not the great success hoped for. - Many proved to be too large to be run efficiently. - Peasant resented the loss of their private plots and the attacks on family life. - The members of the commune were not, at first, allowed to have any private possessions. - They all received the same wages. In 1958 the harvest was exceptionally high, but the reports were inflated (they were afraid of being accused of defeatists or counter-revolutionaries), which led to another disaster when the government took their quota from the exaggerated figures leaving the peasants with little or nothing to eat.

It was apparent the TGLF targets were unrealistic, the government reduced the steel and grain targets for 1959, but it was too late. The outcome was catastrophic, particularly when the “three bad years” (1959, 1960, 1961) brought drought, floods, famine. Peasant began to starve, the situation was desperate, some villagers were forced into cannibalism and one family strangled and ate their eight-old year daughter. It’s thought that more than 50 million people died as a result of the Great Leap Forward.

RETREAT FROM THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD Mao took part of the blame for the failure and, in 1959 resigned as China’s head of state. China’s affairs were now controlled by Liu Shaoqi. New policies were introduced. INDUSTRY Thousands of factories were closed down. Other factories were grouped together. People were encouraged to set up their own business. Bonuses were given for increased output. AGRICULTURE Millions of peasants were returned from manufacturing to farming. To encourage peasant to produce more food, private plots were returned.

THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION COMMUNES These were reduced in size to about one-third of their original size. Mao was angry at these changes. He felt that the new policies were creating new forms of social inequality. THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION In 1962 Mao came out of semi-retirement to launch the “Socialist Education Movement” (1962 – 1966). This was a campaign to get the people back on the right path to Communism. Mao could do little because he was not the head of the state, therefore he turned to the army for help.

Lin Biao had been appointed as Minister of Defense, and he fully supported Mao Zedong and Chen Boda compiling the “Little Red Book”. Soldiers were ordered to study Mao’s thoughts contained in the “Little Red Book of Quotations from Chairman Mao”. - OATH TAKEN BY THE RED GUARDS: “WE VOW TO APPLY SENTENCE BY SENTENCE EACH OF CHAIRMAN MAO’S ORDERS, EVEN IF WE DO NOT AT FIRST UNDERSTAND THEM” The Socialist Education Movement aimed fostering the three “isms” of collectivism, patriotism and socialism; and getting rid of the “four olds” old ideas, old culture, old customs and old ways of life. By 1965 Mao had enough support to launch the super-campaign known as the Cultural Revolution. Jiang Qing (Mao’s wife) and Lin Biao helped to launch the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” (GPCR)

They began to move against those members of the CPC who had been identified as counter-revolutionaries (Liu Shaoqi and his supporters). In 1966 schools and universities were closed down. The students joined the groups of Red Guards from the army, and destroyed churches, libraries, museums and temples The Red Guards and students were ordered to get rid of Communist Party of the enemies of Mao’s policies. Opponents were humiliated, tortured, or executed and many party officials were removed from their positions. Huge posters with the names and crimes of teachers and party bosses appeared on the streets. Red Guards were fighting with peasants and workers, China was on the verge of civil war.