Years of Great Change

Think about the ‘intentions’ speech, how can the Communist government keep their promises? Think about the following what can be done to improve: Women's Rights The ownership of land The development of land The economy The organisation of people

Marriage Law April 1950 the government introduced the Marriage Law This ended; arranged marriages, Marriage of children, killing of unwanted girl babies and bigamy. The minimum age for marriage was fixed at 20 for men and 18 for women Husbands and wives jointly owned family property Divorce by mutual consent was introduced February 1951 maternity benefit was introduced

Agrarian Reform Law 30 th June 1950 Agrarian Reform Law was introduced Party member went into the countryside to ascertain who was a rich and poor peasant and the amount of land available Peasants were then encouraged to hold mass meetings (speak bitterness meetings) where they denounced their landlords (land owning peasants) they were encouraged to tell people how their landlords had treated them badly on the past. The speak bitterness meetings often ended in the execution of the landlord, allowing land to be redistributed. Between 1950 and 1952 around 47 million hectares of land was taken away from rich peasants and redistributed to around 300 million peasants.

What happens next?

What did happen Quian the landlord knelt in the middle of the stage. He read: ‘In the past I committed crimes in the village, making life miserable for the good people…. ‘That’ won’t do! The wicked Quian began to read again: ‘I, Quian, a local tyrant, committed crimes in the village, making life miserable for good people, and I deserve to die a hundred times over; but my good friends are merciful

What did happen Quian had to go on: ‘Spare my dog’s life. In future I must change my past evil ways completely. If I go against the people in any way, I shall be put to death’.

How many died No one knows for sure Some say 2 million landlords were killed Others say 10 million were killed

Mao’s justification This is what some people call ‘going too far’ or ‘exceeding the proper limits in righting a wrong’ or ‘really too much’. The peasants are clear sighted – they keep clear accounts, and very seldom has the punishment exceeded the crime

Mutual Aid teams Although the Agrarian Reform Law (1950) meant that peasants had been given land many had no equipment or the skills to cultivate the land. Mutual Aid Teams were set up where around ten families worked together and shared knowledge and equipment

The Economy – The Peoples Bank The new government needed to take rapid steps to overcome Chinas economic problems Around a third of heavy industry, major banks and railway systems were taken away from their owners and made into state property The profits from these were then paid directly to State Treasury A Peoples Bank was opened in 1951, it had control of all financial transactions and the issue of money. To overcome the treat of food shortage farmers had to sell 15-20% of their grain to the government at a fixed low price and they had to pay Agriculture tax on their produce.

Organisation if the people – Thought Reform During 1950 and 1951 the party organised mass rallies where public enemies and counter-revolutionaries were publically tried. Eventually around 1million of these people were executed 1951 ‘Thought Reform’ was introduced, this was called ‘Movement for the Study of Mao Zedongs Thought’ and involved looking at his writings The ‘Three Antis Campaign began in 1951, this was against corruption, waste and too much ‘red tape’ !952 the ‘Five Antis Campaign’ aimed to get rid of bribery, tax evasion, fraud, theft of government property and spying. People found guilty were sent to labour camps and ‘re-educated’ with thought reform All members of society were encouraged to join party run groups, such as Women's League for Democracy. As these were party ran the party had control over what was being said at such groups. These groups were an example of the power of the party, the ‘Swot the fly’ campaign throughout the 1950’s is an example of this. Every citizen was asked to kill at least ten flies a day,. With a population of 600 million this meant that flies became virtually extinct in some areas!

What are the following; Marriage Law Agrarian Reform Law Mutual Aid Teams Thought Reform

WomenPoor PeasantsRich Peasants Happy Unhappy How would each of these groups of People have felt by 1953? What would They have thought of the CCP? Capitalists Anti revolutionaries