Ignoring the failure of the “Hundred Flowers Campaign”, the CCP launched “The Great Leap Forward” in 1958. It was aimed at accomplishing the economic and technical development of the country at a vastly faster pace and with greater results. The announcement of such expectations led the party to an intensified mobilization of the peasantry and mass organizations, stepped-up ideological guidance and indoctrination of technical experts, and efforts to build a more responsive political system. These hasty actions would only emphasise China’s incapability to maintain such production levels without the dependency on foreign aid, an issue which will lead to future conflicts and struggles.
The first step of the Great Leap Forward was to address the immediately threatening issues facing China. One concern of that nature was the uneven distribution of food, considering that peasant farmers overfed their own families and were oblivious to provide food for the urban workers. A collectivisation plan was implemented, much like the one during the 1949 Revolution. The land of the landlords was confiscated, leaving 750,000 co-operatives to be evenly amalgamated into circa 70,000 communes by 1958. Each commune was planned as a self-supporting community for agriculture, small-scale local industry (for example, the famous backyard pig-iron furnaces), schooling, administration, and local security. The system also was based on the assumption that it would release additional manpower for such major projects as irrigation works and hydroelectric dams, which were seen as integral parts of the plan for the simultaneous development of industry and agriculture.
Initially this idea had the potential to be a success, but Mao didn’t consider the consequences of removing private farming. The farmers lacked motivation to work, thus produced only the minimum. One major factor that also contributed to the upcoming agricultural disaster was the introduction of the Russian Lysenko. He allegedly made a food production breakthrough, which became the bible that the Chinese workers based their work on. None of his ideas were practical and only worsened the situation. One particular idea led to the complete deterioration of Chinese crops, the concept of pest control. Sparrows were blamed for missing crop, and their annihilation was considered a top priority. Their elimination increased insect numbers, which gorged on the available grain.
These failures led to a period of severe starvation, deeply effecting areas, Qinghai in particular, where half the population was wiped out. Silence was golden during this period, where officers didn’t report the realistic results of these policies back to Mao, but elucidated the situation to be flourishing. The officers would move crop from other areas and let it accumulate to one particular region where Mao wished to visit. He would assume that food production is thriving, but the moment he would leave, the crops would be slyly placed back to their original segments. The circumstances only deteriorated, and led to cannibalism and genocide. Eventually Mao realised that reality of the situation, and not for one moment did he consider blaming himself for the circumstances. Instead, he released his anger on his officers, whom he accused of being ineffective and incompetent.
Meanwhile, Industrial figures rose as families were encouraged to build primitive smelting devices on their own premises. They were told that their own iron and steel production would greatly contribute to the advance of China. In time, remarkable creations such as giant span bridges, canals, and dams were formed, not to mention the development of atomic bombs and nuclear power in general. These were introduced as evidence of the resurgence of China under communism. Unfortunately, the overall value of the Great Leap Forward was heavily criticized. Among its economic consequences was a shortage of food; raw materials for industry; overproduction of poor-quality goods; deterioration of industrial plants through mismanagement; and exhaustion and demoralization of the peasantry and of the intellectuals, not to mention the party and government cadres at all levels. Mao aggressively insisted that blame should be placed on the bourgeois elements of Chinese society, as well as the incompetence and sabotage of the administration.
By 1958, Mao withdrew from the political scene, and gave up his position as chairman of the CCP, to allow factions to develop. Meanwhile, he also had to pay attention to the growing support Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun were receiving, men who motivated anti-collectivist movements that led to several uprisings in Gansu and Qinghai. Mao asked for the guidance of Lin Biao, who produced “The Little Red Book”, that encompassed all of Mao’s greatest quotations. It soon became used as the communist bible, used daily in work practices, and especially the army, whereby nationalism was thus provoked more vigorously.
Mao didn’t give up his hopes of reshaping Chinese society. Though his previous domestic policies could only be considered failures, Mao was determined to still prove he can make a difference in China His four main aims were to eliminate old culture; old thoughts; old customs; and old habits. It is questionable why Mao would enforce more domestic policies considering it only recently recovered from a famine, foreign occupation, and a civil war. It may be assumed that after his withdrawal from the political scene, he feared he was losing power to Deng and Cheng. Mao’s other concern was the CCP’s state; he was worried capitalism may be spreading within the party segments, as well as individual members thirst for personal power. Mao needed the party to remain a self-justifying party, eliminated of bureaucrats and intellectuals to maintain proletariat dominance.
Mao’s fear of his supporters losing their revolutionary fervour led to the beginning of public movements and campaigns in 1966, to steer intellectuals towards the revolutionary path. Severe activities took place, led by eager communist students proudly displaying their ‘Red Guard’ arm bands.
As time went on, rumours were constantly circulating regarding Mao’s health. It was questionable whether he was still a suitable leader for China if he was unable to make proper decisions. An allegedly staged swim across the Yangzi River by Mao himself must have altered the views of the Chinese public, to demonstrate Mao’s apparent capabilities and state of control.
Mao’s paranoia extended further to purge those he felt were a threat to him, namely Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaogi. They constantly attempted to motivate people to go against Mao’s collectivist program, but by this time, Mao lost patience. Both men were portrayed as betrayalists in China, and were subjected to humiliation and labour.
By this time Mao accomplished himself as the ultimate leader of China, respected and adored by all of the public. He was considered their saviour, who saved their country from humiliation, as well as from foreigners. Mao was also considered the man who dispatched the USSR as the international socialist movement leader. Thus, Mao was left with the public hanging on to his every word, whom he could easily manipulate to form his planned socialist order.
Mao also insisted to the people that every act they carried out should be done with vehemence in order to demonstrate their strong revolutionary spirit, and passion for China. Disrespect was encouraged in families towards each other, and to intellectuals such as teachers as well. All shrines and temples representing China’s previous ‘corruptions ‘ were vandalised and destroyed, to make way for a new cultural society.
All links to the Western world were eliminated, and the Red Guards ensured that by seizing public transport and television networks. Those found practising western tendencies or ones mirroring intellectual or revisionist inclinations were terrorised, forced into physical pain, and made to exercise severe self-criticism.
The Red Guards also attacked homes and raided them in pursuit of Western souvenirs, which were immediately confiscated and the owners were beaten or assassinated. Within 2 weeks, these terrorist implementations accumulated to 2000 deaths. There was no room for shock or sympathy, otherwise those people would be categorized as ‘bad elements’ and prosecuted.
Tradition was undermined and in its place came brutality and aggression, the motto of this new culture. All western influenced publications, broadcasts and works of art as well as music were banned, ensuring that only contemporary works were apparent in China. Those who didn’t conform to the expectations of this new society such as painters and artists were sent to be re-educated, destroying all remaining sources of prevailing culture.
Eventually, all educational systems were shut down, and severe agricultural and industrial torpor was experienced. Not only was China financially inept, but it found itself in a cultural vacuum, motivated by inhumanity and terror. The number of labour camps came as high as 1000, and the death toll amounted to an astounding 30 million.
Conclusion
It cannot be denied that Mao’s domestic policies in the 5 year plan did amount to something, since it did develop industrial produce and a breakthrough in nuclear technology, but his tactics with China’s economy, society, and agriculture proved insufficient to challenge Western powers, as it was based on the terroristic and ill-intentioned implementations of Mao, and not on his goodwill to develop China into a strong country. If Mao would have paid attention to the realist outcome of all his policies as opposed to listen to the incorrect and exaggerated statistics of his officers, maybe Mao could’ve steered his country away from its overall ruin.
