China: Understanding Its Past

3. “Dare to Act”: Restructuring Society and the Economy, from 1949

3 Section “Dare to Act”: Restructuring Society and the Economy, from 1949 A s you learned in Section 1, the Chinese Communists told the landless peasants they would take land from the rich and redistribute it to the poor. The Communists did as they had promised. Millions of peasants supported the Communist Party over the Guomindang, bringing the Communists to power in 1949. In this section we examine further reform efforts of Mao Zedong and Communist Party officials. These efforts aimed to change agricultural and industrial production as well as people’s ways of life, with the goal of speedily improving the circumstances of poverty-stricken peasants . Mao used the phrase “dare to act” in pushing through sweeping fundamental changes. Reading: Land and Economic Reforms in the First Decade Once in power, the Communists continued to redistribute land and to seek other ways to improve the lives of the peasants. The leaders believed that one way was to bring families together in a collective effort to boost production . At first, peasants formed mutual-aid teams while being allowed to work their own land. Later, they formed cooperatives, pooling land and equipment and reaping rewards according to their contribution. Still later, they received an income based on the type of work they did and the size of their families. By the end of 1956, collectivization had spread throughout the counAfter the Communists came to power, they rounded up landlords and former Guomindang officials for public denunciation and trials by “people’s tribunals .” In this picture a landlord in Kwangtung province is on trial for his life. People’s tribunals executed many landlords throughout China. Courtesy of UPI/Bettman. try. And despite some resistance and disruption, production and incomes rose considerably. While farms were being grouped into large collectives, Communist leaders instituted the First Five-Year Plan, modeled after a similar plan in the Soviet Union. Chinese officials designed the plan, which lasted from 1953 to 1957, to develop heavy industries such as production of steel, coal, and electric power. Their thinking was that heavy industry would employ surplus laborers from the countryside and stimulate production in other areas of the economy. Section 3: “Dare to Act”: Restructuring Society and the Economy, from 1949 203 Communist soldier reading new land reform law to peasants after it was passed on June 28, 1950. Just a few years after the Communists had given poor peasants land, they began to abolish private property and create huge collectives . Courtesy of Shanghai People’s Press. Party cadres joining work on a reservoir project in Hubei province, circa 1957. During the 1950s the government carried out many large public works projects, such as the construction of dams and reservoirs to control flooding and produce hydroelectric power. Courtesy of Shanghai People’s Press. In general the First Five-Year Plan succeeded , but it failed to absorb the huge surplus of rural labor. Dissatisfied, Mao changed his strategy to push production to greater heights. The next step was the Great Leap Forward, Mao’s grand design to mobilize the whole population in an effort to industrialize China quickly. As part of this effort, officials in 1958 abolished the vestiges of private plots and other means of production to create people’s communes. Each commune included about thirty cooperatives of about 5,000 households , or 25,000 people each. Thus one commune A commune childcare center in Jiangxi province. A slogan on the wall says, “. . . People’s commune, superior and happy.” Courtesy of Shanghai People’s Press. held about 750,000 people, about as many as a medium-sized city. Commune officials decided what to farm and manufacture, collected taxes, operated public kitchens and mess halls, and ran childcare centers, banks, and schools. By November 1958, party officials had transformed the entire countryside into communes. Unfortunately, Mao set unrealistic targets ; he purged Communist Party leaders who disagreed or pointed out problems. Poor leadership, bad weather, and withdrawal of Soviet aid ended the Great Leap Forward in failure and famine. 204 Chapter 3: Transforming Society: Chinese Communism, from 1920 Questions 1. How does collective farming differ from individual farming? Why did the Communists institute collectivized farming? 2. The First Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, and people’s communes were instituted in response to challenges confronting China’s rulers. What were these challenges? Reading: Experiencing the Great Leap In the following excerpt, author Jung Chang describes her experiences during...