China’s Great Famine (1959-1961): Origin
- The famine’s beginnings can be traced back to Mao Zedong’s decision, supported by China’s communist party leaders, to start the Great Leap Forward. This ambitious plan aimed to rapidly boost China’s economy, mimicking the progress other countries took decades to achieve. Mao believed heavily in heavy industry, so he focused on making steel, ordering millions of peasants to work in mines and build furnaces instead of farming. Unfortunately, this effort mostly produced low-quality iron. People were forced to stop farming for themselves, and communal farming was pushed, leading to less grain being grown, which was a major food source.
- False reports of great harvests were spread to show off communal farming’s success. But in reality, grain production dropped drastically, and by 1959, famine hit a third of China’s provinces. The famine was caused by actions and decisions made by those in power, like not admitting the problem and not seeking help from other countries quickly enough. The government’s actions, like taking away private food sources and prioritizing cities and the elite, made the situation worse.
- Mao’s government didn’t feel the consequences of their decisions like the people did. In a democracy, where leaders are accountable to the people, there’s more pressure to prevent or stop famines. But China didn’t have this accountability during Mao’s rule.
- While bad weather made things worse, it wasn’t the main cause of the famine, despite what official reports claimed. China’s own data contradicts this. It was only when China started to adopt more sensible economic policies and opened up to the world that things began to improve. In the 1970s, after Mao’s death, China started buying modern fertilizer plants from the US and later dissolved communal farms, allowing farmers more freedom. By 1984, food rationing ended in cities, and China’s food supply nearly matched Japan’s.
China’s Great Famine (1959-1961)
Around forty years ago, China faced the world’s biggest famine. It happened from around 1959 to 1961, and sadly, about 30 million Chinese people died because of it. Additionally, nearly the same number of births didn’t happen or were delayed. The famine was mostly caused by ideological reasons. It’s considered as significant as the two world wars in terms of public deaths caused by humans, according to Richard Rhodes, an expert.
Now, after two generations, China has become economically successful and can provide enough food. In this article, we take a look at a detailed explanation of China’s Great Famine (1959-1961).
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