The Great Leap Forward 1958 “During this trip I have witnessed the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any Task whatsoever “

The Great Leap Forward The second five year plan was to run from 1958 – 1963 Intention that China would overtake Britain in fifteen years and America in twenty

The Communes Communes were groups of villages which varies on size The average commune contained about 5000 families The purpose of the communes was to release what Mao called the ‘tremendous energy of the masses’ The speed with which the communes were created astounded not only the Chinese but the rest of the world By the end if 1958 about 700 million (roughly 90%) of the population had been placed in 26,578 communes.

Learning Objective; To understand how the countryside changed after 1949 Learning Outcome; By the end of the lessons you will be able to: Identify the Differences from the way of life for most people before Evaluate and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Commune System. Important factors to be aware of for controlled assessment: The first Five Year plan Hundred Flowers Campaign

Chinese communes Commune Brigade 1 – 2,000 people Team Households 1 – 200 people Small village Large village

A model commune The Shuang-Wang people’s commune is in Shensi province. It has a population of 16,000 in 33 villages and a total area of 4,300 acres. The commune is led by a revolutionary committee of 25, elected by representatives of the production brigades. The committee manages taxes, the bank and the public grain supply. It is responsible for law and order and has to inform the brigades of new policies made by the central government.

A model commune There are 11 brigades in this commune containing over 300 households and 1,800 people, farming 429 acres. The brigade supplies the production team with tractors, chemical fertilisers, vets and other services. It also has its own undertakings – cows, a clothing workshop, a forest, a brick factory. It runs a primary school. Money from these is used to pay the brigade’s workers, maintain the old, pay for ‘barefoot doctors’ and for entertainment.

A model commune Most commune members work for production teams. An average able bodied man works 300 days per year on team lands, 8 hours a day. The team discusses how it will carry out the tasks given it by the brigade and how the income will be used.

Pay In most communes work points and labour days are the units for working out how the commune members are to be paid. At Shuang-Wang, each peasant gets work points according to the type of work they are doing and the time they spend doing it. Usually, heavy work like manuring gets more work points than light work such as weeding. Ten work points equal one labour day. At the end of the year, the team’s income after taxes is divided by the total number of labour days and the money due to each person is calculated.

The weekly routine 4.30 am The alarm bell rings. My wife and I get up. I smoke a pipe of home grown tobacco. We don’t have anything to eat. I don’t even have a glass of warm water in the morning. Then I go out and see that people get off to their work. Ten of them are to plough the wheatfields. Fifteen are to weed. I myself go with the ploughers am The food fetchers brings our breakfast. This is our first meal of the day. One man in the team is detailed to collect all our breakfast dishes. He goes from household to household. We take it in turns to do this. He gets his work points for carrying our food. It isn’t so easy carrying food for ten people.

The weekly routine We stop our morning’s work. We drive the oxen down. They are tired now and need rest. Then we ourselves go home to eat and rest. My wife has food ready. After eating, I sleep for half an hour In the afternoon the ploughers get up potatoes. The others go on weeding When work is over for the day we go home. I fetch four buckets of water from the well. Then I eat. Then we all go to bed.

Were there any advantages to living in a commune? FeatureAdva/DisadvaWhy? People gave up their ownership of tools Everything was owned by the commune People now worked for the commune and not for themselves Schools and nurseries were provided by the communes Health care was provided for all

Were there any advantages to living in a commune? FeatureReason for thisAdvantage or not The commune provided entertainment for all The elderly were moved into "houses of happiness” The life of an individual was controlled by the commune Propaganda was everywhere including the fields Babies were placed in nurseries

Results By the end of 1958, 700 million people had been placed into 26,578 communes.

An accurate impression?