Transcript Chinese communes

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 1949.
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
Team
1 – 2,000 people
1 – 200 people
Households
Large village
Small 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.
8.00 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
12.00
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.
14.00
In the afternoon the ploughers get up potatoes. The others go
on weeding.
19.30
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?
Feature
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
Adva/Disadva
Why?
Were there any advantages to living in a
commune?
Feature
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
Reason for this Advantage or
not
Results
By the end of 1958, 700 million people had been placed into 26,578
communes.
An accurate impression?
An accurate impression?