Mao topic 2- agriculture and industry Flashcards
(133 cards)
1
Q
What law was imposed to tackle landlordism?
A
1950 Agrarian Reform Law
2
Q
What did the Agrarian Reform Law lay down?
A
The legal framework under which land reform took place and to eradicate exploitation of peasants by ‘the landlord class’
3
Q
What was hoped that the legislation would help do?
A
Restrain overzealous activists from taking the law into their own hands, and that land reform meant redistribution, not lower rents or low interest loans
4
Q
Some historians suggest that landlords did not dominate society to the point where they became the ‘ruling class’, why did Mao class them as the ‘ruling class’?
A
To generate hatred towards them in order to rally the peasants to his side and to justify his claim to have successfully adapted Marxism to fit Chinese circumstances
5
Q
What evidence is there to spport the fact that the landlords were portrayed as the exploitative ruling class?
A
A study conducted by Nanking University, where it shows that only 6% of farmers were tenants and they were not much poorer than the landlords
6
Q
How did the army play a role in the land reform process?
A
By silencing those who might have been hostile to the new government and helping the local Party officials organise work teams
7
Q
How was tax calculated?
A
By calculating how much land people owned
8
Q
How were the landlords targetted?
A
People who were labelled as ‘landlords’ would be publically humiliated and accused of exploitation, if they were found guilty, their land and possessions were confiscated and divided among the other villagers, the victims were usually beaten up by villagers
9
Q
By the end of 1951, how many landlords lost their land and how many % of land had changed hands?
A
10 million lost their lands, 40% of land had changed hands
10
Q
What were the roles of peasants and middle-ranking peasants in attacking landlordism?
A
They conducted the ‘speak bitterness’ meetings and passed the sentence against landlords, villagers also carried out the killings themselves
11
Q
Why did the Party move towards collectivisation quickly after attacks on landlordism?
A
They never intended for the peasants to become established as the new class of landowners
12
Q
From 1951, groups of tens or so families were encouraged to unite to form–?
A
Mutual Aid Teams
13
Q
What was the point of Mutual Aid Teams and who was it managed by?
A
To pool their labour, animals and equipments while retaining their rights of private ownership, it was managed by the peasants association
14
Q
Even though the MAT were voluntary, what was the consequences of the people who were outside the MAT that forced them to join?
A
People outside the MAT would find it hard to get hold of resources, and villagers who stayed out on their own ran the risk of facing hostility
15
Q
In 1952, successful MATs were encouraged to combine and form–?
A
Agricultural Producers’ Co-operatives (APCs) of 40-50 families
16
Q
Under APC, why will the efficiency increase?
A
Land was pooled and could therefore be consolidated into larger units and cultivated more efficiently than in traditional strips
17
Q
How did the system of APC encourage the richer families to join?
A
Families with larger holdings were still allowed to keep back some land for their personal use while renting the rest to APC
18
Q
How were profits shared under APC?
A
According to resources contributed and food produced
19
Q
How did the failures of the APC lead to the slowdown in 1953?
A
Since only 14% of rural households were in APCs by March 1955, many local officials wanted to satsify Mao by rushing the creation of APCs, which eventaully led to them being in debt because they had to borrow money to buy equipment
20
Q
What happened after the slowdown and what led to the halt to APC development?
A
Peasants started to buy and sell their land and food, reverting back to capitalism, so Mao pressured peasants to join APCs again, but better-off peaants would slaughter their animals instead of giving them to the officials, the harvest was poor in 1954, but Mao met with rural protest against food requisitioning
21
Q
What policy did Mao call for the halt the APC development, when was it announced?
A
In Jan 1955, ‘Stop, Contract and Develop’
22
Q
What happened six month after the halt to APC development?
A
In july 1955, Mao announced all-out collectivisation
23
Q
What many households were under APC by Jan 1956?
A
75 million (from 17 million)
24
Q
What was the official reason given for the drive towards collectivisation, how did it contrast with Mao’s real reason behind it?
A
that it was a response to the demands of the peasantry, but in reality, Mao feared that supplies to the cities would continue to be unrealiable as long as the peasants still owned the lands, there was a risk of reverting back to capitalism
25
What were the new APCs later classed as which drove towards collectivisation?
HPCs, where peasants no longer owned the land or the equipment, and the profits were shared out according to work points earned by the labour contributed
26
Why was collectivisation a success to Mao? (ideologically)
The state now owned the means of production of food, the land, on which 90% of the population worked
27
How was collectivisation a success to Mao politically? Name two
The speed in which collectivisation was implemented was a tribute to his authority and he was able to outmanoeuvre powerful conservative opponents like Zhou Enlai, it also helped increase the control of the party over local people
28
How did collectivisation mark a change in the relationship between the CCP and the peasantry?
The peasants now became servants of the Party rather than loyal allies, it also made Mao overconfident since he now didn't care about the obstacles that stood in the way of change, which was one of the main reasons for the failure of the Great Leap Forward of 1958
29
Did collectivisation help the economy or worsen it? (5)
Worsen
- under the First FYP, food production was still insufficient to sustain the growing industrial workforce, even though it increased by 3.8% per annum
- amount of cultivated land per head of the population was so low
- yields per hectare were quite high but labour productivity was so low and it would have been hard for peasants to produce a surplus
- there was also lack of state investment in agriculture
- demotivating effect due to the fact that people no longer owned their own land
30
Why did the idea of forming communes appeal to Mao?
Since they would be bigger collectives, it would enable the pooling of even larger resources of equipment and labour, which meant higher food yields and more peasants being freed up to work on construction schemes
31
Why did Mao want to modernise China so quickly?
Mao wanted to overtake Britain as an industrial power
32
Who supported the idea of People's Communes?
Liu Shaoqi (vice chairman of the CCP) Deng Xiaoping (CCP secretary general)
33
What were some ideological reasons for launching the People's Communes?
To prevent bureaucratisation of the revolution if collectives were simply allowed to evolve at their own pace
34
What was announced at the 8th CCP Congress of May 1958?
Great Leap Forward
35
What would the Great Leap Forward involve?
developing industry and agriculture at the same time, the People's Communes were to be expanded and the labour force was to be mobilised on water conservancy and other civil engineering schemes
36
What were the two main prioritized production materials and how were the production of these two linked?
The farmers were to produce the grain to feed the workers, who would make the steel
37
How did Mao plan to achieve the production of steel and grain at the same time?
By decentralising economic planning, so that enthusiastic local officials could push changes forward without being restrained by government technical experts
38
Where was the first People's Commune located in and when was it established?
In Henan province in April 1958. It was called Sputnik.
39
Despite not having any significant changes to the villagers' lives, what changes were made under the commune system?
There were communal canteens where peasants ate together and slept in communal dormitories despite being in the same houses and being around the same people
40
How were the peasants' working lives managed, and where would they receive their resources?
a new management team was set up which divided peasants into production brigades, they would have a tractor station to provide tractors
41
What did the communes also organise in terms of industrial enterprises?
They would organise whatever industrial enterprises feasible locally, like flour mills, brick works, tool repair workshops and backyard furnaces
42
In what ways are the communes different from a huge collective farm?
They were a unit of local government that provded local services like education, public health, policing and the militia, there was also childcare and canteen facilities to free up women from work
43
How did freeing people up from domestic responsibilities help mobilisation?
So that people could work on civil engineering projects like water conservancy and irrigation schemes or building new roads and bridges
44
What was Mao's next plans regarding the People's Communes?
To transform the cities after the countryside had been transformed
45
How were the communes an act of abolishing private farming?
The villagers were forced to live in the commune and had to abolish all of their private property, land, agricultural equipment, livestock and household possessions without compensation
46
How did the communes differ from the collectives?
The membership of the collectives were voluntary, and peasants were rewarded with work points for the work they contributed
47
What was the result of abolishing private farming?
The loss of motivation since the rewards were the same, and due to the loss of personal possessions
48
How was there a loss of personal freedom except for the loss of personal possession?
Everyone between the ages of 15 and 50 had to be militia members and periodically train with weapons
49
Who was Lysenko?
a Ukranian agricultural scientist that Stalin relied upon after the Great Famine
50
What policies did Mao implement based on Lysenkoism?
development of new farm tools, use of breeds and seeds, improved field management, increased irrigation, close planting, deep ploughing increased fertilisation and pest control- potentially dangerous
51
What did peasants do to control pest and how was it problematic?
peasants would waste hours banging pots and pans to prevent birds from landing, which meant the that insects and small creatures the birds usually ate multiplied a lot, which destroyed the plants
52
What was the result of the increased fertilisation of soil?
destruction of thousands of peasants' homes, which were ploughed to the ground with animal dung
53
How many communes were in place by December 1958?
26,000
54
What did Mao do as a result of him knowing that the Great Leap Forward was failing?
Stepped down as head of state, but still remained as head of Party
55
At what conference did the failures of the Great Leap Forward became apparent and who challenged the wisdom of the plan?
July 1959 at a Lushan conference, Peng Dehuai challenged the wisdom of the plan
56
How did the failure of the support for Peng intensify the famine?
It pushed Mao into even stronger support for the communes into a 'second leap'
57
What was the estimated number of deaths during the great famine?
around 30-50 million
58
When was the Great Famine?
1958-62
59
Which region was the worst hit region and how did it link the CCP's attack on the region?
Tibet, 25% of its population were wiped out, part of this was due to the CCP's intention of destroy Tibet's cultural identity since the 1950 invasion
60
Give 3 examples of regions that were badly hit during the great famine
Shandong, Henan, Hubei
61
How bad were the famines?
Peasant reduced to eating tree bark and plants, prostitution and banditry became widespread
62
Despite the famine, what did the state still do that worsen the situation? What was the % of state procurement like?
They still requisitioned grain, state procurement was at around 25% between 1959-60
63
At what year was grain production the highest? What was the production figure? (million tonnes)
1958, it was at 200
64
At what year was grain prodouction the lowest? What was the production figure? (milllion tonnes)
1960s. at around 140
65
At what year was meat production the highest? What was the production figure? (million tonnes)
1958, at 4.3
66
At what year was meat production the lowest? What was the production figure? (million tonnes)
1960s, at around 1
67
How did Mao's ambition contribute to the reasons for the Great Famine?
He tried to develop the commune system at the same ttime as launching the Second FYP amd mobilising the masses to work on engineering projects, peasants could not bear with the workload, espeically with the inadequate facilities, he had blind faith that communes would work simply because private ownership had ended
68
How did Lysenkoism worsen the famine?
Mao insisted to accept Lysenkoism and insist that it be applied in full
69
Why were there no experts and how did the lack of experts disadvantage the farmers?
Experts were purged in anti-rightist campaigns, and peasants who were adjusting to live in communes had to embrace totally new approaches to cultivation that was counter to the mthods they had used successfully for generations
70
How did the use of terror contribute to the worsening of the famine?
Cadres did not dare speak out when things went wrong, so they would produce over optimistic reports of how much their communes were producing, which encouraged the planners to raise the targets, they were not aware of the famine, which meant that they continued requisitioning grain
71
How did the loss of private property impact the famine?
Peasants lost thier private property, knowing that their reward would be minimal, and didn't even know if they'd have enough food in the canteen, which demotivated them, leading to a decreased productivity
72
What were Mao's perspectives on China's priorities and how did it worsen the famine?
He believed that indsutrialising China rapidly was the priority, and that it was more important than the lives of the peasants, China continued to export food during the famine, like exporting rice to Communist Germany
73
How did the Lushan Conference of 1959 made things worse for the peasants?
After Peng was demoted, other leaders acted like the famine didn't exist due to fear, they continued to export food to other countries to make it seem like Great Leap Forward was successful
74
Other than political factors, what was a factor that also contributed to the famine?
The worst drought happened in 1960, and was followed by severe flooding
75
Did Mao take personal responsibility for the famine?
No, he didn't want the famine to affect his leadership, so he blamed the famine on local officials, who were later labelled as counter-revolutionaries, and launched a campaign to overthrow management of communes and root out corrup elements, as well as to resotre private farming and local markets
76
Who initially introduced this retreat?
Li Fuchan
77
Who did Mao ask to take responsibility of resotring food production levels and ending the chaos?
Liu Shaoqi and Deng XiaoPing in 1962
78
What happened as a result of the retreat?
The communes were back into smaller collectives, villagers were rewarded according to their individual input, and some reverted back to private farming
79
What did Mao rely on to help recover grain harvest to the levels of 1957?
There were massive grain imports from Canada, Australia, USA in 1961, level of imports remained high until the 1970s
80
Despite the successes of recovering from the Great Leap Forward, why was Mao unhappy?
Since people rejected the communes, and didn't like that they were reverting to a capitalist practices, he also suspected that Liu and Deng were using the popularity they gained from this to plot against him from within the Party
81
Why wasn't the FYP immediately introduced after the CCP took control?
They needed to consolidate their power by removing Nationalist opposition, and the reduce the annual inflation rate which stoof at 1000%, it was then delayed due to the costs of the Korean War
82
Mao planned to use the central planning system, how was the existing system in China helpful for him?
There was already some degree of state intervention in Chinese industry, espeically with the National Resources Committee established by Chiang Kai Shek, he was able to take advantage of the expertise of the managers of the NRC
83
What did the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950 state?
That Soviet advisers would go to China and teach them how to run a communist state, over 10,000 civilian technicians brought their speicalist knowledge to China
84
What were some financial problems regarding the Treaty?
The advisers came to a cost, and they had to be house at the Chinese's expense due to European concessions, even though Russian lent China money, the loans were to be repaid with interest
85
How did the Russians take over Chinese culture as a result of the Treaty?
The Russians would implement their ideas into education, and construction projects were to be built according to the Soviet way
86
What were the overall aims of the First FYP?
To make the PRC as self-sufficient in food and manufactured goods as possible
87
How was central planning practised in the First FYP?
Targets would be set by economic planners rather than in response to consumer demands, and heavy industry was to be prioritised
88
How did the government plan to fund the industrial investment under this plan? (4 ways)
By encouraging investment in patriotic saving schemes, and to force them into collective farms to sell food at low prices to the gov, they also used higher levels of taxation in the cities and loands from the USR
89
How did the use of terror, and which campaign made it possible for nationalisation to happen at a wider scale?
In 1956, the fear generated by the 'five antis' campaign brought an end to private ownership
90
In terms of coal production, how had levels of production increased? (million tonnes)
Went from 69 in 1952 to 130 in 1957, which was higher than target
91
In terms of steel production, how had levels of production increased? (million tonnes)
Went from around 1 in 1952 to aorund 5 in 1957
92
In terms of cement production, how had levels of production increased? (million tonnes)
Went from around 3 in 1953 to around 7 in 1957
93
What were some successes of the First FYP?
Most sectors of economy achieved their target, annual growth rate was at 9%, urban living standards improved in terms of wages and living standards, city population grew
94
Why would the figures provided be unreliable?
Officials had to exagerate the numbers in order to please their superiors, and it put more emphasis on quantity rather than quality
95
What were some other negative aspects of the plan? (name 3)
Soviet guidance was invaulable and exposed the shortcomings in skills and literacy levels of Chinese workers, children under 16 were in full-time education and had no chance to receive education, moreover the 'anti' campaigns drove out Nationalist economic planners, which threatened the standard of bureaucratic administration, there was also competition for resources between private and state-owned enterprises
96
How did the plan affect the countryside negatively?
The peasants in the communes had food shortages since food were being exported to China to pay for Soviet advice and was sold cheaply to feed the urban workers
97
What was the Second FYP a part of?
Great Leap Forward
98
What was an economic reason for lanching the Great Leap Forward?
Industrialisation depended on agriculture being efficient and productive to free up peasants to work in cities
99
Mao wanted to accelerate industrialisation due to the successes of the People's Communes and collectives, however, what approach did the conservatives advocate?
The Conservatives like Zhou Enlai and Chen Yun advocated rewarding high food producers with material incentives
100
What did the radical hardliners advocate?
Harsh punishment towards those who produce less, and call for requisitioning of food
101
What was the personal reason for launching the Seond FYP for Mao?
He was confident that he could push through with the plan due the successes of collectivisation, water conservancy projects, however, it was mainly due to the fear of local cadres that made it seem like the goals were all met when in reality, it was the opposite
102
What was the political reason for launching the Second FYP?
Mao was determined to prove to the USSR that the Chinese were moving to communism along the 'Chinese road', which was by developing industry and agriculture at the same time
103
Ideologically, why did Mao launch the second FYP?
The reliance on mass peasant mobilisation, and a greater degree of decentralisation for local initiative to thrive
104
Why did Mao decentralise economic activity?
So that local Party officials, the cadres will be given more freedom to harness the energies of the masses instead of having state bureaucrats control planning
105
What was the targets for steel production in Sep 1958, and what campaign did Mao launch due to the lack of conventional steel plants to produce enough steel?
10.7 million tonnes, the backyard furnances campaign
106
What was the backyard furnance campaign?
Every family were urged to construct their own backyard furnance and melt down their metal obects to produce 'steel'
107
What were some successes of the backyard furnaces campaign?
The campaign became a national movement immediately, and by October, 49% of steel came from local furnances
108
What were some drawbacks of the campaign in terms of agriculture?
People abandoned their normal activities to take part in the campaign, which put an unsustainable strain on food production
109
What happened as a result of people abandoning their normal activities to participate in the campaign?
Food production was really bad to the point where schools were closed and peasants were deployed from shock brigades to get in the harvest
110
What was the major failure of the backyard furnance campaign and what happened as a result?
The steel produced was useless, however, since the Party didn't want to lose face, they cut back the campaign, but peasants still continued melting metals, which then go buried away, which greatly impacted the ecologcal consequences like faster soil eroision and worse flooding
111
What did the second FYP also involve? (enterpirses)
To have state-owned enterprises, where prices, output targets and wages were set by the state
112
What was a major drawback of state enterprises?
The removed incentives to work harder and demotivation because everything was controlled by the state despite having medical and educational benefits
113
What was one example of a irrigation scheme that became a total failure?
The Three Gate Gorge Dam, desgined to control the flow of the Yellow River, by 1961, twice as much mud was being deposited downstream and foreign visitors were banned from visiting
114
What were some consequences as a result of the water conservany projects?
Many lives were lost, and labour taken away from farming was colossol, and it also led to increase in salinisation which reduced the productivity of the land
115
Even though water conservancy schemes were needed, why did they fail?
Expert advice were only welcomed if it speeded things up, but if the technical issues will cause delays, they were usually ignored
116
How much have steel production increased from 1958-64?
From 8 to 10
117
How much have coal production decreased from 1958-64?
From 230 to 200
118
What were some failures of the Second FYP?
The production of heavy industrial goods was half of that in 1958 and manfuctured goods 3 quarters of that in 1958
119
What were 2 reasons for the failure?
Khrushcev's withdrawal of Soviet advice in 1960, lack of clear central planning
120
What were two of the most significant successes of the Seconf FYP?
the constructio of Tiananmen Sqaure in Beijing and the development of nuclear weapons in 1964
121
What were 2 drawbacks that delayed the speed of industrialisation?
The lack of necessary levels of technical and managerial expertise, the poor quality which threatened China's reputation as a trading partner
122
When was the Lushan Conference?
July 1959
123
Who stood up to Mao in this conference and what happened to him?
Peng Dehuai, he was isolated as a troublemaker
124
What was the economic consequence of the Lushan Conference?
To push forward with the Great Leap Forward, which made things worse, Mao was considering moderating aspects of the Second FYP
125
What was the political consequence of the Lushan Conference?
It became clear that any other leading Party comrade were not allowed to criticse Mao, which allowed him to become more dictatorial
126
What did the Third FYP mainly focus on?
The shift back to centralised control, where production targets were being reviewed annually and made more realistic, and experts were back in favour, which increase financial incentives to encourage workers
127
What were the successes of the 3rd FYP?
agricultural production recovered to 1957 levels, oil and natural gas, and manufactured goods increased significantly
128
Under Liu and Deng, what was done to retreat from the Great Leap Forward?
Allowing the communes to be broken up, closed down thousands of insufficient projects and announced more realisitc goals and targets
129
What did Mao do as an attempt to prevent any further drift away from strict communist principles?
By summoning a conference of 7000 cadres in January 1962
130
Why was the Conference in 1962 significant?
Liu suggests that Mao should share some of the blame for China's past mistakes, which threatened Mao's leadership, leading to his withdrawal from public life afterwards
131
Who did the right of the Party consist of and what did they advocate for the economy?
Liu, Deng and Chen Yun, they believed that mass mobilisation was no substitue for expertise and planning, and private trade was justified if it motiavted people to work harder
132
Who was on the left of the Party and what did they advocate?
Mao, he argued that continuing revolution was the priority and mass mobilisation was the way to achieve that
133
What is revisionism?
A term of criticism describing the action that betray communist ideology
