The Great Leap Forward 1958-1960
“The communist spirit is growing apace throughout the country. The political consciousness of the
broad masses is rising rapidly. The backward sections among them are exerting themselves to catch
up with the advanced, which demonstrates that the socialist revolution in our country is forging ahead
in the economic field (in those places where the relations of production have not yet been completely
transformed) and in the political, ideological, technical and cultural fields. Judging from this, it will
probably take less time than previously estimated for our industry and agriculture to catch up with
that of the capitalist powers. In addition to the leadership of the Party, a decisive factor is our
population of 600 million. More people mean a greater ferment of ideas, more enthusiasm and more
energy. Never before have the masses of the people been so inspired, so militant and so daring as at
present. The former exploiting classes have been completely swamped in the boundless ocean of the
working people and must change, even if unwillingly. Undoubtedly there are people who will never
change, who would prefer to keep their thinking ossified down to the Day of Judgment, but that does
not matter very much. All decadent ideology and other incongruous parts of the super-structure are
crumbling as the days go by. To clear away the rubbish completely will still take some time, but there
is no doubt of their inevitable and total collapse. Apart from their other characteristics, the
outstanding thing about China’s 600 million people is that they are “poor and blank”. This may
seem a bad thing, but in reality it is a good thing. Poverty gives rise to the desire for change, the
desire for action and the desire for revolution. On a blank sheet of paper free from any mark, the
freshest and most beautiful words can be written, the freshest and most beautiful pictures can be
painted.”
--Mao Zedong, "Introducing a Co-operative" (April 15, 1958).
Questions:
What was the Great Leap Forward supposed to achieve?
In what ways was the famine of 1959-1960 a state-engineered disaster?
What were some of the main environmental consequences of the Great Leap?
Why was the outcome of the Great Leap Forward so far from its promises?
Core Readings:
Ralph Thaxton. Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China: Mao’s Great Leap Forward Famine
and the Origins of Righteous Resistance in Da Fo Village. Chapter 4. Book available as an ebook:
http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/search~S1?/YRalph+Thaxton&searchscope=1&SORT=D/YRalph+Thaxto
n&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=Ralph%20Thaxton/1,2,2,B/frameset&FF=YRalph+Thaxton&sea
rchscope=1&SORT=D&2,2,
Becker, J. (1998) Henan A Catastrophe of Lies. In: Hungry ghosts: Mao's secret famine . 1st
ed., New York: Henry Holt, Ch.8, pp.112-129.
(available online on the course abstract page of the Library website)
Shapiro, J. (2001) Deforestation, Famine, and Utopian Urgency. In: Mao's war against nature:
Politics and the environment in Revolutionary China. 1st ed., Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, Ch.2, pp.67-94
(available online on the course abstract page of the Library website)
Additional Background Reading (for revision/long essays):
Spence, Chapter 21
For a political narrative of the lead up to and launch of the Great Leap Forward, see R.
MacFarquhar, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution VOL. 2, Chapters 4-6. Available as an
ebook on through the library
http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/search~S1?/Ythe+origins+of+the+cultural+revolution&searchsc
ope=1&SORT=D/Ythe+origins+of+the+cultural+revolution&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SU
BKEY=the%20origins%20of%20the%20cultural%20revolution/1%2C11%2C11%2CB/fram
eset&FF=Ythe+origins+of+the+cultural+revolution&searchscope=1&SORT=D&2%2C2%2
C
Some Mao Speeches:
Speech at the Lushan Conference (23 July 1959) This is Mao’s most defensive speech. It
comes following a personal letter written to him by Peng Dehuai, a major military leader and
Long March veteran, which severely criticized Mao’s Great Leap policies.