the communes (theme 2) Flashcards
how many people died in the great famine partially due to communes?
anywhere between 30-50million
when was private farming abolished?
August 1958
when was the first commune established?
July 1958
what percentage of peasants lived in communes?
99% of the population
what was mass participation?
huge growth in both industry and agriculture from sheer man power alone
what was communal living really like?
miserable - families were forced apart and were spied on relentlessly. food was low quality or just wasn’t available and people resorted to eating rats
what was the four pests campaign?
a campaign aimed at removing sparrows, rats, flies and mosquitoes
why was the four pests campaign such a disaster?
the sparrow population was reduced, but this only caused bugs to flourish and destroy crops more than the sparrows ever did
what was Lysenkoism?
a theory based on fraudulent ‘discoveries’ made by a Russian scientist called Lysenko which were implomented in Chinese agriculture
