Government, Economy and Society under Mao after 1949

Government of China under Mao

• Mao imposed his will as head of the People's Republic of China (PRC) established in 1949.
• The country was divided into six regions, governed by bureaus including military commanders and political commissars.
• Power resided in the Central People's Government Council (56 members); Mao was the unchallengeable chairman.
• Democratic centralism: The argument that true democracy lay in the obedience of members to the authority of leaders.
  • Government was carried on by the Politburo; the National People's Congress simply rubber-stamped decisions.
• The 'anti-movements':
  • 1951: The three 'anti-movements' (waste, corruption, inefficiency). (aimed at the party)
  • 1952: The five 'anti-movements' (industrial sabotage, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, theft). (aimed at capitalists; so vague that everyone can be tried)
• China became a one-party state by 1952; parties like the Left GMD and Democratic League disappeared.
• Methods of control:
  • Danwei: Job permit.
  • Hukou: Accommodation certificate.
  • Dangan: A dossier holding personal details of every individual.

The Hundred Flowers campaign 1957

• In 1956, Mao suggested allowing greater freedom of expression.
• Launched in early 1957 with the slogan "Let a hundred flowers bloom".
• Critics attacked corruption, inefficiency, and even Mao himself.
• Mao halted the campaign and replaced it with an 'anti-rightist' movement.
• Victims: 500,000 to 750,000 party members were purged or sent to labour camps.
• Debate on motives:
  • Jung Chang argues it was a deliberate trap.
  • Lee Feigon suggests Mao genuinely wanted to undermine bureaucrats.
  • Jonathan Spence views it as a muddled movement resulting from conflicting attitudes.

The Economy: Industry

• Mao aimed for 'walking on two legs': simultaneous growth of food production and industrial production.
• Soviet influence: Mao initially copied the Soviet Union's model of Five-Year Plans and heavy industry.
• First Five-Year Plan (1952-6):
  • Focused on coal, steel, and petrochemicals.
  • Urban population doubled from 57 million to 100 million between 1949 and 1957.
  • Economic growth rate reached nearly 9%.
• The Great Leap Forward (1958-62):
  • The second Five-Year Plan. Aimed to turn PRC into a modern industrial state.
  • Backyard furnaces: Small family kilns produced worthless steel from domestic oddments.
  • State-owned enterprises (SOEs): Provided an 'iron rice bowl' (guaranteed job/wages) but were inefficient.
  • In 1960, the USSR withdrew technical assistance; half of the 300 plants closed.
  • Output of manufactured goods fell significantly by 1962.

The Economy: Agriculture

• Collectivisation:
  • 1958: 750,000 collectives merged into 26,000 communes.
  • Communes contained 120 million households.
  • Private farming was ended; internal passports required for travel.
• Lysenkoism:
  • Adopted theories of Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko (close planting, deep ploughing).
  • 'Sparrowcide': Campaign to kill birds to save seeds; resulted in vermin multiplying and destroying crops.
• China's Great Famine (1958-62):
  • 50 million died throughout China.
  • Severe death tolls: Sichuan (9 million), Anhui (8 million).
  • Tibet suffered worst relative to population: 1 million dead (25% of population). Farmers forced to switch from barley to wheat/maize.
• Lushan Conference 1959:
  • Peng Dehuai recounted witnessing the famine.
  • Mao suppressed criticism, ridiculed Peng, and threatened to use the PLA.
  • Party officials continued to fake production figures to impress Mao.

Social Change under Mao

• Women and Marriage:
  • Marriage Law (1950): Banned arranged marriages, concubinage, and bride-prices.
  • Women granted right to own land, but this was undermined by collectivisation.
  • Family life attacked; ancestor worship prohibited; men and women often lived in separate quarters in communes.
  • Famine impact: Rise in divorce (60% increase in Gansu), wife-selling, and prostitution.
• Birth Control:
  • 1963: Campaign introduced to cut birth rate. Met with peasant resistance.
• Education and Language:
  • Literacy rates improved significantly (from 20% in 1949 to 70% in 1976).
  • 1955: Adoption of Pinyin to standardize written Mandarin.
• Religion:
  • Mao called religion "poison".
  • Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism suppressed.
  • Creation of state-controlled 'patriotic churches' led to conflict with the Vatican.
• Culture and Propaganda:
  • Traditional customs (songs, dances, sagas) replaced by political meetings.
  • Agit-prop performers toured villages promoting Maoism and denouncing landlords.