The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution

Great Leap

• The Great Leap Forward would

modernize China’s economy by building
up the coal, steel, and iron industries.

• It also called for increasing farm

productivity.

• The plan revolved around the

Communist idea that citizens don’t work
for personal gain, but rather for the good
of the community and country.

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Multiple Choice

What was Mao's plan called that would increase China's productivity and modernize the country?

• The Cultural Revolution

• The Hundred Flowers Campaign

• The Great Leap Forward

• The Long March

Communes

• Under the Great Leap Forward, the

government took over all businesses,
factories, and private property.

• The government set up communes

where up to 25,000 people lived and
worked as a group.

• The government was in control of the

people’s work schedules and social
lives.
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Women working together during the Great Leap

Forward.

Rations

• Workers did not own the land they worked,

nor did they get to keep the goods they
created.

• Goods made in the communes were

collected by the government and then
distributed to citizens.

• A ration system was in place in the

communes and each family was given set
amounts of food, clothing, and other
necessary items.

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Collecting Rations

Open Ended

How did the government organize the people to increase productivity?

Did It Work?

• The Great Leap Forward was a huge

disaster.

• Within a year, the plan failed due to poor

management, environmental issues,
and government corruption.

• Instead of growing stronger, China’s

economy actually shrank during this
time period.

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Multiple Select

Why was the Great Leap Forward a disaster?

• poor management

• environmental issues

• government corruption

• not enough workers

Problems

• The Communist government did a terrible

job of managing the communes and
industries.

• Droughts and floods damaged the farming

regions, and the farming communes could
not feed the starving country.

• Corrupt government officials kept more

than their share of rationed food and
goods.

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Outcomes

• From 1958-1960, one of the largest

famines in history struck China.

• The Great Leap Forward left the Chinese

people ill-prepared to handle it and about
20 million citizens died during this time.

• Individual rights and freedoms also

suffered during this time, and many people
did not like the government making all of
the decisions for them.

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Multiple Choice

Ultimately, the Chinese felt as though the government should be in control of everything

• True

• False

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The Great Famine

Result

• When the Great Leap Forward failed,

many Chinese lost confidence in Mao’s
leadership.

• They questioned his ability to take care

of and provide for the country.

• More and more people began calling for

government reforms.

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Cultural

Revolution

• Mao realized that he was losing control of

the country.

• In response, he created a new program

called the Cultural Revolution in 1966.

• Mao promised that the revolution would

restore the spirit of Communism and bring
Chinese culture back to the country.

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Multiple Choice

What is the Cultural Revolution?

• Mao's plan to convince the world that the Chinese are superior

• Mao's new plan to restore the spirit of Communism and bring Chinese culture back

• Mao's plan to revise the Great Leap Forward by ending corruption

• Mao's plan to get rid of Communism and bring Capitalism into China

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Cultural Revolution

Propaganda

Red Guard

• In reality, Mao created the Cultural Revolution

to stop all opposition to his Communist rule.

• He urged students to quit school and wage

war on anyone who opposed communism.

• The students were organized into an army

known as the Red Guards.

• They attacked, imprisoned, and even killed

those suspected of not agreeing with Mao.

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Multiple Choice

What was the purpose of the Red Guards?

• To attack, imprison, or even kill anyone that did not agree with Mao

• To protect Mao

• To spread Mao's teachings and ideology

• To promote economic growth and development

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Red Guard
Propaganda

Posters

Culture?

• Any artist, writer, professor, or religious leader

who opposed Communism was tortured,
imprisoned, or killed.

• Monuments, statues, and artwork created

before the Cultural Revolution were destroyed.

• Schools and factories shut down, and the

economy grew weaker.

• Fear and distrust of the government created

mass chaos in China.

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Multiple Choice

Fear and distrust of the government created mass chaos in China

• True

• False

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It served

End

• The purpose of the Cultural Revolution was to

restore ancient Chinese culture and traditions;
but in reality, it served as a brutal way to
eliminate opposition to Mao’s Communist rule.

• Mao declared the Cultural Revolution

complete in 1969, although many of the
attacks continued until Mao’s death in 1976.

• As a result of this program, many Chinese

became more fearful and distrustful of the
Communist government.

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It served

New Leader

• After Mao’s death, China’s new leader,

Deng Xiaoping, made many reforms to
Mao’s rules, but the government still
stuck to its communist roots.

• Xiaoping allowed farmers to own their

own land, opened China to foreign
investments, and he allowed some
private businesses to open.

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Multiple Choice

After Mao's death, China's new leader, Deng Xiaoping, made what changes?

• He implemented a one-child policy

• He continued the Cultural Revolution even though it ended in 1969.

• He abolished the death penalty

• He allowed farmers to own their own land

It served

Control

• Despite the economic reforms, the

Chinese people were still not given
basic human rights like freedom of
speech, freedom of religion, or the right
to a fair trial.

• The government continued to imprison

and torture those who spoke out against
Communism.

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It served

Protests

• In 1989, over 10,000 Chinese students

gathered to protest China’s corrupt
Communist government in Tiananmen
Square in the capital city of Beijing.

• They filled the square for 7 weeks,

peacefully protesting Communism and
calling for a move towards democracy.

• They inspired other protests throughout

China.

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It served

Tiananmen

• On June 4, 1989, the Chinese

government had enough and took
action against the peaceful protestors.

• Soldiers and tanks were sent into the

square and opened fire on the
protestors that refused to leave.

• Hundreds of innocent lives were lost,

and the tragedy became known as the
Tiananmen Square Massacre.

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It served

Pressure

• The Tiananmen Square Massacre raised

international attention to China’s poor
treatment of human rights.

• Countries around the world condemned this

violence and began urging China to improve
the human rights of its citizens.

• Finally, the international pressure began to

have some effect and the Chinese
government began making some real
reforms in human rights.

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Open Ended

Explain what happened at the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the changes that occurred after.