The first years of the Peoples Republic of China under the CCP rule 1949-1958
Topic: The first years of the People’s Republic of China under the CCP rule 1949-1958 I agree with this statement to a certain extent, I believe the changes the CCP initiated in the years 1949-1958, prior to the commencement of the Great Leap Forward, were in fact, beneficial to China as a whole nation, but however, were not of benefit to the peasant’s life specifically. This stance can be supported through the success of the Five Year Plan, the contradictions of Land Reform, and the primary stages of the Great Leap Forward. In 1950, Mao was planning a campaign designed specifically for the peasants; Land reform. Land Reform had great potential for the peasants. It advertised the annihilation of the cruel landlord class, and an overall better life. With Land Reform, landlords were “reduced to below average wealth” (Wood and McManus, 1998) as they lost their land, money, grain, tools and animals. Because of the newfound equality (landlords had less, rich peasants remained rich) between all peasants, one could say the peasants were generally happy with the CCP. On the contrary, in 1955, Mao aimed at progressively moving private property ownership into fully socialist farms. First, mutual-aid teams were created, consisting of 7-10 families sharing their resources to work on each family’s farm separately. Then, lower-stage cooperatives were formed from about 30-40 families, collectively
farming the individually owned land. The ‘truly socialist’ system was achieved in higher-stage cooperatives contained of over 100 families. These soon progressed into People’s Communes. Initially the peasants were satisfied with the Land Reform law, however, it is evident that in ten years, the peasants were given land, told to share land, and lost the land. In terms of China as a nation, the number of statistics that demonstrate economical, industrial, and agricultural growth number many. This is due in part to the Five Year Plan (FYP). For example, Source 3 is a graph of the grain production in China ...
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farming the individually owned land. The ‘truly socialist’ system was achieved in higher-stage cooperatives contained of over 100 families. These soon progressed into People’s Communes. Initially the peasants were satisfied with the Land Reform law, however, it is evident that in ten years, the peasants were given land, told to share land, and lost the land. In terms of China as a nation, the number of statistics that demonstrate economical, industrial, and agricultural growth number many. This is due in part to the Five Year Plan (FYP). For example, Source 3 is a graph of the grain production in China from the years 1950-1970. From 1950-to approximately 1958, there is an obvious positive trend line in the data. The increase in grain depicted, is shown in both, the output of grain per capita, and the total output of grain. The upward trend continues to just before 1960 where there is a dramatic drop in grain production. From my own knowledge I know that the Great Leap Forward was launched in 1958, at the exact point where there is a sudden downfall in grain production. This proves that China’s grain production increased steadily and rapidly from the years 1950-1958, thus benefiting the nation, however it declined in the following year. In terms of industry, before the FYP, China’s steel center was Anshan, in the northeast. Prior to the FYP China produced 1.35 million tons of steel, and during the FYP china produced 5.35 tons of steel. (Encyclopedia of Nations, 2008, China Industry). The FYP also reduced the inflation rate to 15% in 1951. These statistics show that the situation in China was improving; however it is not specific to the life of the peasants. After the success of the Five Year Plan, and China’s apparent slow advance forward, one would assume this trend to continue on and fulfill its aim to catch China up with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, Mao’s initial steps of the Great Leap Forward resulted in major steps backwards for China. Source 2 takes place during the end of the Five Year Plan, and the beginning of the Great Leap Forward, 1958. The source reveals the fabrication and lies that became routine in the countryside. The people wanted so desperately to impress Chairman Mao, so the officials set higher standards for the agricultural output, in turn; the following offer would improve on this output. The source illustrates that the peasants after being tortured say they will reach ridiculous and unrealistic amount of jin per mu. Being impossible, the standards were never reached by the peasants; and consequently, the officials would lie to the CCP. The gap between what was said to be the agricultural output, and the reality, was beginning to grow. From this source it is evident that the early stages of the Great Leap Forward were taking toll on China and the peasants. In summary, I agree with the statement to a certain degree. I believe the Five Year Plans managed to improve China as a nation, and were successful. I believe Land Reform improved the life of the peasants initially, however, overall being a drawback to them. Furthermore, in the final year of the time frame, 1958, the build up of the Great Leap Forward, we can observe that China’s progress was beginning to fall backwards. Throughout the period 1949-1958, China under Mao reached a peak as a nation, whereas the peasant’s lifestyle specifically, although being targeted as an area for improvement, remained just as hard. Word Count: 7962. The Great Leap Forward occurred in 1958. It was targeted at modernizing China in the hopes of having an economy equal to that of America. Unlike the first Five Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward was a major drawback for China and it’s progress, as it brought millions of deaths, and was overall, a failure. The source itself is an extract from the novel Wild Swans by Jung Chang. Jung Chang is a woman who lived during the years of Mao with her grandmother and mother. The book was written in the voice of her, her mother and her grandmother, to illustrate the hardships her and her family underwent throughout this period. The source has a negative tone towards Mao and the CCP as it reveals the overwhelming amounts of labor forced unto the peasants at this transitional period into the Great Leap Forward. Taking the author into consideration, there is obviously room for bias in the extract, thus other sources would have to support this source and its’ content in order for a historian to create a thesis of the impacts of the Great Leap Forward. Moreover, in 1958, Jung Chang was only six years old; this meaning her first person narrative derives from accounts of her mother and grandmother. Another fault of the source is the period it is referring to. Yes it is reflecting the events of 1958, which in theory is the Great Leap Forward, in contrary; this is merely the beginning of the plan, as it lasted until 1963. One cannot accurately predict the exact path of the Great Leap Forward after this one year, thus the source is reduced to being a secondary source. These flaws are the limitations of the source. The source could serve as additional research to a historian to support the facts of other primary sources discussing the initial stages of the Great Leap Forward. Still, Source 2 is not very useful to a historian aiming to research the overall impacts of the whole Great Leap Forward from 1958-1963 upon the people of China. Word Count: 310Total Word Count: 1110Bibliography:Ward, Harriet. China in the 20th Century. Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 19990.Wood, McManus, John, Andrew. China Revolutionary Leadership. Auckland, New Zealand: Macmillan, 1998."China." Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2007. 16 Nov. 2008<http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/China.html>."Mao's China." Casa Historia. 2008. 17 Nov. 2008 <http://www.casahistoria.net/mao_china.htm#3._Communist_victory_&_early_reform>."The Great Leap Forward." History Learning Site. 2008. 17 Nov. 2008 <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/great_leap_forward.htm>.
