These errors in implementation were made worse by a series of natural disasters and the withdrawal of Soviet support. [87] The System Reform Institute's (Chen's) estimate has not been published and therefore it cannot be verified.[70]. According to Jonathan Mirsky, a historian and journalist specializing in Chinese affairs, China's isolation from most of the rest of the world, along with the Korean War, had accelerated Mao's attacks on his perceived domestic enemies. 483–486 for quoted text, p. 493 for growth rates table. [104], Benjamin Valentino writes that like in the USSR during the famine of 1932–33, peasants were confined to their starving villages by a system of household registration,[105] and the worst effects of the famine were directed against enemies of the regime. Dikotter (2010) p. 324. Attempts were made to enhance rural education and the status of women (allowing them to initiate divorce if they desired) and ending foot-binding, child marriage and opium addiction. Chinese Government's Official Web Portal (English). He uses 1956/57 death rates as the baseline death rate rather than an interpolation between pre- and post-GLF death rates. p. 281. Yang Jisheng, a long-time communist party member and a reporter for the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, puts the blame squarely on Maoist policies and the political system of totalitarianism,[41] such as diverting agricultural workers to steel production instead of growing crops, and exporting grain at the same time. p. 42, both get their data from Statistical Yearbook of China 1983 published by the State Statistical Bureau. [83] However, Ashton, et al. [110] The unwillingness of the Central Government to seek international aid was a major factor; China's net grain exports in 1959 and 1960 would have been enough to feed 16 million people 2000 calories per day. In the agricultural sectors, crops deemed by the Party to be "full of evil", such as opium, were destroyed and replaced with crops such as rice. Soviet Communist Party First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev proposed not only to catch up with but exceed the United States in industrial output in the next 15 years through peaceful competition. "The Long‐term Health Effects of Fetal Malnutrition: Evidence from the 1959–1961 China Great Leap Forward Famine. 648–649. Who knows how many people have been sacrificed on the battlefields and in the prisons [for the revolutionary cause]? [114] Approximately 30% to 40% of all houses were turned to rubble. Shidai guoji chuban youxian gongsi. Huge efforts on the part of peasants and other workers were made to produce steel out of scrap metal. This was also the era of massive irrigation projects — local, regional, and national in scope — that were to result in impressive gains in crop yields in subsequent years. Victims were buried alive, thrown bound into ponds, stripped naked and forced to labor in the middle of winter, doused in boiling water, forced to ingest excrement and urine, and subjected to mutilation (hair ripped out, noses and ears lopped off). Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... China: New directions in national policy, 1958–61. p. 430. Soon the Great Leap Forward movement entered its high tide, as if a hurricane suddenly surged, stirring up a sea of clouds, with the flooding of boasts and exaggeration, confused commands, and exceedingly high targets. Grain exports were stopped, and imports from Canada and Australia helped to reduce the impact of the food shortages, at least in the coastal cities. [92] Mao refused to open the state granaries as he dismissed reports of food shortages and accused the peasants of hiding grain. But not all of the 45 million died as a result of starvation. "[32], Officials were prosecuted for exaggerating production figures, although punishments varied. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Start studying The Great Leap Forward. There is disagreement over how much, if at all, weather conditions contributed to the famine. He started the Great Leap Forward to do this. The failure of the Great Leap produced a division among the party leaders. Kim, Seonghoon, Belton Fleisher, and Jessica Ya Sun. From these they calculate excess deaths above a death rate interpolated between pre- and post-Leap death rates. The Great Leap was one of two periods between 1953 and 1976 in which China's economy shrank. [52] Fuyang, a region in Anhui with a population of 8 million in 1958, had a death rate that rivaled Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge;[53] more than 2.4 million people perished there over three years. Mao wanted China to become a leading industrial power, and to accomplish his goals he and his colleagues pushed for the construction of … believe that because the reported number of births during the GLF seems accurate, the reported number of deaths should be accurate as well. [66][67][68] Peng uses reported deaths from the vital statistics of 14 provinces, adjusts 10% for under reporting, and expands the result to cover all of China assuming similar mortality rates in the other provinces. The Chinese hoped to develop labour-intensive methods of industrialization, which would emphasize manpower rather than machines and capital expenditure. Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958–1962 (Kindle edition). The Great Leap Forward, the second five-year plan of the Chinese revolution, was an attempt to develop rapidly both industry and agriculture. The Great Leap Forward Period in China, 1958-1960 Economic development under the People's Republic of China government started with about 150 development projects planned, financed and staffed by … Higher officials did not dare to report the economic disaster caused by these policies, and national officials, blaming bad weather for the decline in food output, took little or no action. "Getting My Reestimate Of Mao's Democide Out", "Looking for Great Leap "smoking gun" document | H-PRC | H-Net", Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century, China: a country with 5,000-year-long civilization, "The Great Leap Forward: Anatomy of a Central Planning Disaster", "China's Agricultural Crisis and Famine of 1959–1961: A Survey and Comparison to Soviet Famines.". "[109], Mobo Gao suggested that the Great Leap Forward's terrible effects came not from malignant intent on the part of the Chinese leadership at the time, but instead related to the structural nature of its rule, and the vastness of China as a country. [123] There was also occasional violence against cadre members. The event was again discussed, with much self-criticism, and the contemporary government called it a "serious [loss] to our country and people" and blamed the cult of personality of Mao. [15][16] Mao unveiled the Great Leap Forward at a meeting in January 1958 in Nanjing. The second was to transform China into a collectivised society, where socialist principles defined work, production, even people’s lives. In Daoxian county, 10% of those who died had been "buried alive, clubbed to death or otherwise killed by party members and their militia." "Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017", "Yan Lianke's Forbidden Satires of China", "The Fatal Politics of the PRC's Great Leap Famine: The Preface to Tombstone", Reevaluating China’s Democide to 73,000,000, "45 million died in Mao's Great Leap Forward, Hong Kong historian says in new book", Reevaluated democide totals for 20th C. and China, Chinese author of book on famine braves risks to inform new generations. pp. Becker considers Banister's estimate of 30 million excess deaths to be "the most reliable estimate we have". A moderate faction within the party and Politburo member Liu Shaoqi argued that change should be gradual and any collectivization of the peasantry should wait until industrialization, which could provide the agricultural machinery for mechanized farming. Weiqing only promises 600 million cubic metres, maybe nobody will die. From 1954 onward peasants were encouraged to form and join collective-farming associations, which would supposedly increase their efficiency without robbing them of their own land or restricting their livelihoods.[8]. Dikötter (2010) pp. This left barely enough for the peasants, and in some areas, starvation set in. In the Great Chinese Famine approximately 30 million of a population of 600 million people died, or 5%. [74] Dikötter judged Chen's estimate of 43 to 46 million to be "in all likelihood a reliable estimate. From an interview with Chen Yizi. [8] In one village, once the commune was operational the Party boss and his colleagues "swung into manic action, herding villagers into the fields to sleep and to work intolerable hours, and forcing them to walk, starving, to distant additional projects".[8]. In one case, a provincial party secretary was dismissed and prohibited from holding higher office. "To distribute resources evenly will only ruin the Great Leap Forward," Mao warned colleagues a year later. [30], The ban on private holdings ruined peasant life at its most basic level, according to Mirsky. The Great Leap Forward was a push by Mao Zedong to change China from a predominantly agrarian (farming) society to a modern, industrial society—in just five years. Pots, pans, and other metal artifacts were requisitioned to supply the "scrap" for the furnaces so that the wildly optimistic production targets could be met. At that time, the U.S.S.R. exported grain for international propaganda purposes despite millions dying of starvation across southern areas of the Soviet Union: Net grain exports, principally to the U.S.S.R., rose from 2.7 million tons in 1958 to 4.2 million in 1959, and in 1960 fell only to the 1958 level. [24] The unit was claimed to be manufacturing high quality steel.[24]. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Great Leap Forward approach was epitomized by the development of small backyard steel furnaces in every village and urban neighbourhood, which were intended to accelerate the industrialization process. Mao believed that both had to grow to allow the other to grow. "[60], Estimates contain several sources of error. The results, unfortunately, were catastrophic. ", This page was last edited on 24 March 2021, at 18:47. Industry could only prosper if the work force was well fed, while the agricultural workers needed industry to produce the modern tools needed for modernisation. In the August 1958 Politburo meetings, it was decided that steel production would be set to double within the year, most of the increase coming through backyard steel furnaces. Background to the Great Leap Forward Early in the history of the Chinese revolution, peasants, with the backing of the Chinese Communist Party, formed mutual … The Great Leap was not merely a bold economic project. Chinese Communism boasted that it could move mountains and tame nature, but it left these faithful to die. Peng was replaced by Lin Biao, who began a systematic purge of Peng's supporters from the military. Although many of the more moderate leaders had reservations about the new policy, the only senior leader to speak out openly was Marshal Peng Dehuai. The country became massive collectives called “people’s communes”. He initiated the Socialist Education Movement in 1963 and the Cultural Revolution in 1966 in order to remove opposition and re-consolidate his power. Edward Friedman, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Paul Pickowicz, a historian at the University of California, San Diego, and Mark Selden, a sociologist at Binghamton University, wrote about the dynamic of interaction between the Party and villagers: Beyond attack, beyond question, was the systemic and structured dynamic of the socialist state that intimidated and impoverished millions of patriotic and loyal villagers. Mao was shown an example of a backyard furnace in Hefei, Anhui, in September 1958 by provincial first secretary Zeng Xisheng. Rummel (1991). Traditionally prized local customs were deemed signs of "feudalism" to be extinguished, according to Mirsky. "[39], With dramatically reduced yields, even urban areas suffered much reduced rations; however, mass starvation was largely confined to the countryside, where, as a result of drastically inflated production statistics, very little grain was left for the peasants to eat. Aid to the needy in the countryside totaled less than 450 million yuan per annum, or 0.8 yuan per person, at a time when one kilo of rice on the free market was worth 2 to 4 yuan. 226–228 (Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan). One group blamed the failure of the Great Leap on bureaucratic elements who they felt had been overzealous in implementing its policies. A hunger for the truth: A new book, banned on the mainland, is becoming the definitive account of the Great Famine. When the Japanese foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart Chen Yi of an offer of 100,000 tonnes of wheat to be shipped out of public view, he was rebuffed. All involve corrections for perceived errors inherent in the different data sets. John F. Kennedy was also aware that the Chinese were exporting food to Africa and Cuba during the famine and said "we've had no indication from the Chinese Communists that they would welcome any offer of food. "In the first case, blows to the body caused internal injuries that, in combination with physical emaciation and acute hunger, could induce death." [112][63] He provides some illustrative examples. Banister, Coale, and Ashton et al. The commune is like a gigantic dragon, production is visibly awe-inspiring, 1959 As a result of the successful economic reconstruction that had taken place in the early 1950s under the First Five Year Plan, the Party leadership headed by Mao Zedong considered the conditions ripe for a Great Leap Forward (大跃进, Dayuejin) in early 1958. in any previous campaign were given the lowest priority in the allocation of food, and therefore died in the greatest numbers. These were used as a basis for determining the amount of grain to be taken by the State to supply the towns and cities, and to export. During the Great Leap Forward, cases of cannibalism also occurred in the parts of China that were severely affected by famine. pp. conclude that "It would not be inaccurate to say that 30 million people died prematurely as a result of errors of internal policy and flawed international relations. [101], During a secret meeting in Shanghai in 1959, Mao demanded the state procurement of one-third of all grain to feed the cities and satisfy foreign clients, and noted that "If you don't go above a third, people won't rebel." [75] During the Cultural Revolution, a great deal of the material in the State Statistical Bureau was burned. Rationing was also introduced in the cities to curb 'wasteful consumption' and encourage savings (which were deposited in state-owned banks and thus became available for investment), and although food could be purchased from state-owned retailers the market price was higher than that for which it had been purchased. Corrections? The promulgation of the Great Leap Forward was the result of the failure of the Soviet model of industrialization in China. [96] In light of evidence provided in Chang and Halliday's book, he now believes that the mass human deaths associated with the Great Leap Forward constitute democide. Later, these cooperatives were put together to involve thousands of people. Dikötter (2010) pp. Demographic Consequences of the Great Leap Forward in China's Provinces. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [94] Yang also believes that the Sino-Soviet split was not a factor because it did not happen until 1960, when the famine was well under way. Aid from the United States was refused for political reasons. In the years that followed, Mao mostly abstained from the operations of government, making policy largely the domain of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. ", Peng, Xizhe. [55], The number of famine deaths during the Great Leap Forward has been estimated by different methods. "[25], On the communes, a number of radical and controversial agricultural innovations were promoted at the behest of Mao. The CCP had wanted to further increase China’s production and heavy industry following the First Five-Year plan of 1953–57. [49] Famine deaths and the reduction in number of births caused the population of China to drop in 1960 and 1961. Mahoney describes an elderly man in rural Shanxi who recalls Mao fondly, saying "Before Mao we sometimes ate leaves, after liberation we did not." Under the commune system, agricultural and political decisions were decentralized, and ideological purity rather than expertise was emphasized. The death registration system, which was inadequate before the famine,[82] was completely overwhelmed by the large number of deaths during the famine. Mao decreed increased efforts to multiply grain yields and bring industry to the countryside. Gao says "the terrible lesson learnt is that China is so huge and when it is uniformly ruled, follies or wrong policies will have grave implications of tremendous magnitude". Author Yan Lianke who endured the Great Leap growing up in Henan was taught by his mother to "recognize the most edible kinds of bark and clay. 38,000,000 people dying in a four-year period is hard to fathom, but that's how many starved to death in China from 1958-1961 during the Great Leap Forward.1 This does not even include 10,729,000 that died in labor camps, were executed, or were targeted minorities.2 A population chart is a great aid to better visualize how destructive this period was for the people of China. This breakdown of the Chinese economy caused the government to begin to repeal the Great Leap Forward program by early 1960. Escape was also difficult or impossible, and those who attempted were subjected to "party-orchestrated public struggle", which further jeopardized their survival. 247–251 (Honan, Shantung, Qinghai (Chinghai), Gansu (Kansu), Szechuan (Schechuan), Fujian), p. 240 (TAR). Besides these economic changes the Party implemented major social changes in the countryside including the banishing of all religious and mystic institutions and ceremonies, replacing them with political meetings and propaganda sessions. pp. The failure of agricultural policies, the movement of farmers from agricultural to industrial work, and weather conditions led to millions of deaths from severe famine. "Demographic consequences of the Great Leap Forward in China’s Provinces. Together, taxation and compulsory purchases accounted for 30% of the harvest by 1957, leaving very little surplus. [36], However, J. G. Mahoney, Professor of Liberal Studies and East Asian Studies at Grand Valley State University, has said that "there is too much diversity and dynamism in the country for one work to capture ... rural China as if it were one place." The communes were relatively self-sufficient co-operatives where wages and money were replaced by work points. Counting the number of children who both were born and died between the 1953 and 1964 censuses is problematic. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Implemented in 1958, the Great Leap Forward had two objectives. Food shortages were bad throughout the country; however, the provinces which had adopted Mao's reforms with the most vigor, such as Anhui, Gansu and Henan, tended to suffer disproportionately. [120][124] Raids on granaries,[120][124] arson and other vandalism, train robberies, and raids on neighboring villages and counties were common. 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