1955 and Gao Gang

Question 1

Who were the ‘moderates’?

Answer 1

Bo Yibo, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yun, Chen Yi and Zhou Enlai

Question 2

What was the moderates’ view on collectivisation?

Answer 2

There was no point in collectivising until industry could provide the tools and machinery to modernise farming further

Question 3

What was Liu Shaoqi’s specific view of collectivisation?

Answer 3

“false, dangerous and Utopian agrarian socialism… no collectivisation without mechanisation”

Question 4

What was Mao’s view on collectivisation?

Answer 4

If peasants were left to their own devices, their capitalist tendencies would reign unchecked

Material deficiencies could be overcome by revolutionary zeal

Question 5

When was the Gao Gang affair?

Answer 5

1953-1954

Question 6

What was the Gao Gang affair?

Answer 6

Gao Gang attempted to stage a purge of Liu Shaoqi after Mao had complained to Gao about Liu’s seeming lack of enthusiasm for radical pace of socialist development

Question 7

What did Mao call the Gao gang affair?

Answer 7

An “anti-party sinister wind”

Question 8

What was the result of the Gao Gang affair?

Answer 8

• Gao Gang was arrested and purged from the party (March 1934)
• Chen Yun and Deng Xiaoping received promotions for telling Mao
• Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai were cleared of wrongdoing

Question 9

What did the Gao Gang affair say about Mao?

Answer 9

• he is willing to further his power by playing off his comrades against each other
• people’s positions in the CCP relied upon Mao’s continuing favour

Question 10

What was the consensus agreed upon in 1955 within the CCP with regards to collectivisation?

Answer 10

They should only be implemented gradually and carefully

Question 11

When and to whom did Mao deliver his speech on ‘The Question of Agricultural Cooperation’?

Answer 11

July 1955- a conference of regional and provincial CCP secretaries

Question 12

What was Mao’s view of the agreement to slow the movement into collectivising the countryside?

Answer 12

“on no account should we allow these comrades to use the Soviet experience as a cover for their idea of moving at a snail’s pace”

Question 13

What was the result of Mao’s speech to the regional and provincial CCP secretaries?

Answer 13

By December 1956, 97% of the peasantry had joined cooperatives

Question 14

What is the significance of the 6th December 1955? What actually ended up happening?

Answer 14

Mao declared that by the end of 1957, all private enterprises would be taken over by joint state ownership.

This was completed by the end of the second week of January

Question 15

When was the celebration of triumph of socialism over capitalist private enterprise? How many attended?

Answer 15

January 1956 at Tiananmen Square- 200,000 people

Question 16

What was Mao’s concern as the CCP established themselves as the ruling establishment?

Answer 16

Revolutionary sentiment was being lost

Question 17

When was the twelve year agricultural plan endorsed by CCP?

Answer 17

January 1956

Question 18

What did the Twelve Year Agricultural Plan entail?

Answer 18

Doubling of grain and cotton output

“more, faster, better and more economical” pursuit of collectivisation

Question 19

Why did Mao ‘move to the second line’- decrease his official leadership in the CCP?

Answer 19

Criticism of Stalin’s cult-style leadership reflected badly on Mao and the CCP during the 20th Party Congress in the USSR (February 1956)

Question 20

Why were direct references to Mao Zedong thought removed from the PRC constitution?

Answer 20

Criticism of Stalin’s cult-style leadership reflected badly on Mao’s style- thus references to his personality cult were removed

Question 21

Who took over as leaders of the CCP when Mao left?

Answer 21

Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaopeng