The Great Leap Forward was a Setback for China
explanatory Essay
1209 words
Today’s China is perceived as an economic powerhouse and a seriousl player in Asia and more broadly in the international arena. However, China’s path to both economic and political prominence has been long and tortuous.The Great Leap Forward was an attempt to modernize China economy so that by 1988, China would have an economy that rivaled America. The “Great Leap Forward” was a setback to China instead of an economy booster. The main reason this atrocity occurred was the advancement of China economy. The ‘‘Civil War’’ generated economic devastation. It also displaced the majority of Chinese people from their residency into a series of communes. Political decisions/beliefs took precedence over common sense and communes faced the task of doing things which they were incapable of achieving. Party officials would order the impossible and commune leaders, who knew what their commune was capable of doing or not, could be charged with being a "bourgeois reactionary" if he complained. Such a charge would lead to prison. Peasants were a huge part of this major atrocity and they were treated poorly. Food was scarce and declined rapidly during the “Great Leap Forward”." The Great Leap Forward was aimed at accomplishing the economic and technical development of the country at a vastly faster pace and with greater results. People did anything and everything to survive. The Great Leap Forward is one of the biggest genocides to date 20 to 30 million people died. My project is on my opinion of how I feel about the great leap forward in my own words. Mao was born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China, Mao Tse-tung served as chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959, and led the Chinese Communist Party fro... ... middle of paper ... ...erally felt united in the common cause of building up China (Fairbank and Goldman 369).Fully 8 years were wasted in terms of economic growth and the cost of opportunity loss was enormous. Considering that this setback occurred when other Asian countries were taking off economically(Chan3). In late 1960, they abandoned the Great Leap Forward. Private ownership of land was reinstated and communes were cut down to a manageable size. Peasants also had the incentive to produce as much spare food as was possible as they could sell any spare that they had a market.If Mao would have not been so unreasonable and too extreme the people of China would have been able to keep a firm grasp on their farming needs.Therefore China wouldn’t have suffered so harsh of a recession, and people would have not been demortalized Mao had expected too much while the deadline was intimidating.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the great leap forward was an attempt to modernize china economy so that by 1988, china would have an economy that rivaled america.
- Explains that the focus on improving industrialization caused citizens to forget to tend to their crops. the harvest for 1959 was 170 million tons of grain.
- Explains that mao tse-tung's "great leap forward" and the cultural revolution were ill-conceived and had disastrous consequences.
- Explains that mao forced the people of china to live in communes, where people gave up their ownership of tools, animals, and worked for the commune.
- Explains that the great leap forward was aimed at accomplishing the economic and technical development of the country at a vastly faster pace and with greater results.
Related
- explanatory
- opinion
- analytical
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- How Did The Great Leap Forward By Mao Zedongexplanatory essayMao Zedong was born on December 26, 1893 to a peasant family in the province of Hunan China. As a child Mao loved reading books, ironically books involving rebellion. He would constantly clash with his teachers who taught him Confucianism. Mao was not the average Chinese boy either. He refused to show traditional respect to his father that was expected of him as a Chinese son. Mao’s parents hoped that by making an arranged marriage for Mao would allow him to mature. Mao however despised his first wife which led him to detest arranged marriages. At the age of sixteen Mao left home and went to Changsha the capital of Hunan to finish his elementary schooling. During his schooling Mao was introduced to the works of Marxism and communism (“Biographical
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mao zedong was born on december 26, 1893 to a peasant family in the province of hunan china.
- Explains that mao became a volunteer soldier during the chinese revolution that resulted in the destruction of the qing dynasty.
- Narrates how mao founded the chinese communist party in 1921 during a secret meeting held in shanghai. the gmd and the ccp were trying to gain power in china.
- Explains how the two parties became allies in 1937 when japan invaded china. this alliance worked well during the first year of the war, but the communists expanded and by 1941 the relationship between the parties ended.
- Explains that mao started a campaign called the hundred flowers and anti-rightist movement in the late 1950's. chinese intellectuals were allowed to express their opinions on the chinese government.
- Explains that mao's five-year plan called "the great leap forward" led to one of the worst catastrophes of chinese history.
- Opines that socialism should be built faster, better and more economically by exerting efforts to the utmost and pressing ahead consistently.
- Explains that mao hoped to surpass the soviet union and western world in industry output merely through mobilizing peasants. the great leap forward years became known as the great famine years.
- Explains that people were eating leaves, bark, grass, and wild plants to survive the famine in china. the failure of the great leap forward caused mao zedong to withdraw from the political world for a few years.
- Explains that mao's belief in pure communism was being taken away with the new policies, and he had to find a way to get the officials and the people back on his playing field.
- Explains mao's start to the cultural revolution involved clearing china of what he and his wife believed were threatening their revolution. he started the destruction of the four olds through the youth of china.
- Explains that the red guards destroyed everything that represented the four olds. the youth of china had no respect for their elders or authority. many schools and universities shut down to focus on the revolution.
- Analyzes how the destruction of the cultural revolution led to complete chaos. even mao's wife and lin biao saw that the revolution was getting out of control.
- Narrates how lin biao was named mao's successor in 1969, but he didn't want lin to be the next leader. in 1971, the communist party accused lin of attempted assassination.
- Explains that mao's health was in rapid decline, and china’s museums, libraries and universities were practically destroyed. hua guofeng, the communist party second in command, was charged with all the downfalls of the cultural revolution.
1964 wordsRead More - The Downfall of Chinaopinion essayThe Downfall of China China is the perfect example of what happens when one leader is given to much power. The leaders of China were each very afraid of social reform, and the consequences that outside influence may have on their customs. As a means of initiating reform, they shut the entire Western world out almost completely. At the time it was a move that served China well but in the long run it was the downfall of China. While blindfolded, the Chinese were unable to see the great advancements of the Western world.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that china is the perfect example of what happens when one leader is given to much.
- Opines that the government suppressed it as the rest of the world advanced.
- Explains that as a result of heavily trading around the world, each country became very wealthy.
- Explains how individual companies were able to build the most powerful navy in the world.
- Opines that they paid no attention to the world around them. they didn't realize that the rest of the globe was the same.
- Opines that the british initiated the opium wars and continued trading with them.
- Explains that hong kong became a british base and britain established the right to supervise.
- Explains how the western world left china with new technology. china built their armies at a rapid speed.
- Narrates how internal upset led to the taiping rebellion, which resulted in the deaths of a number of people.
- Narrates how china ended up with a new trading agreement.
- Concludes that if china hadn't shut out the western world as a means of preventing the industrial revolution, china would have shut the world out.
- Opines that reform shut the entire western world out almost completely, a move that served china well, but in the long run it was the downfall of china.
- Opines that if china had remained in contact with the western world, it would have been possible.
- Explains that the ironworks that china once prided itself on became obsolete with out a second look, and the army itself was no match for any western army.
- Analyzes how the chinese lived with the fresh scent of flowers and tea for a period of time. as china internally decayed, the citizens had nothing to compare it to.
- Explains that they had no extra time to keep up with their predators, as all of their iron factories were obsolete, and lost their military strength.
- Explains that the boxer rebellion only made their situation worse. the chinese needed reform and fast.
- Opines that had china not shut out the western world, they would have been able to keep advancing their army's equipment.
737 wordsRead More - Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolutionanalytical essayWhen Mao Zedong was born in 1893, his homeland of China was in deep political and economic trouble. Long before the rise of Mao, China believed that they were the most superior country in comparison to all other cultures and religions, resulting in complete isolation and a lack of contact with foreign countries. However, China’s political stability was tested in the early 1830’s when Western countries such as Great Britain, Germany, France, and the United States of America threatened China to open up their main trading port known as Canton, modern day Guangzhou. As a result, the Chinese faced unequal treaties and rights through this sphere of influence, leading to the loss of land to the West. 1 Furthermore, the Imperial Government and Republic
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mao zedong's political stability was tested in the early 1830s when western countries threatened to open up their main trading port, modern-day guangzhou.
- Explains that sun yat-sen, an intellectual nationalist revolutionary, became the president of the new republic of china in 1912.
- Analyzes how mao zedong's relationship with his father led to his rise in the political ranks.
- Explains that mao zedong and nine other men founded the chinese communist party (ccp). sun yat-sen became distant from the west due to their lack of support in a struggling government.
- Describes how chiang kai-shek began a "northern expedition" striving for the unification of china while bringing down all opposition.
- Describes how the united states gave 2 billion dollars to kai-shek to stop the communist spread, but chinese citizens realized that the economy of china would be terrible without the aid from the west.
- Explains that mao's communists were not gentle in making their presence known, and he granted 10 percent of the rural population to control 70 percent farmland and killed over a million landlords.
- Explains that mao zedong's first poor decision came when he dreamed of a movement known as the "great leap forward." he believed only his way of "doing things" was the right way.
- Analyzes mao zedong's second costly mistake, the cultural revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976. he urged a mass movement of youth and fight against the "four olds"
- Opines that mao zedong should be given credit for causing victory in the civil war against chiang kai-shek and the nationalists.
2272 wordsRead More - Cultural Impact Of The May Fourth Movementanalytical essayThe technological modernization for China occurred on May 4th, 1919 known as the May Fourth Movement. During this uprising, a group of Chinese students protested the Chinese government for their weak response to the Treaty of Versailles. At the same time the citizens were arguing to the government on how the Japanese are annexing parts of northern China. According to the Asian Literature Article, “China had a weak and unstable government, torn by internal dissent. There was much chaos and uncertainty about the country’s future. Chinas reputation was declining on the international scene.” (The Cultural Impact of the May Fourth Movement 2014) What the article is trying to say is that throughout the years after the movement the government was
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the technological modernization for china occurred on may 4th, 1919 known as the may fourth movement. during this uprising, chinese students protested the chinese government for their weak response to the treaty of versailles.
- Analyzes how the may fourth movement affected the chinese citizens because it opened the country into experience a transition in modernization from the western cultures.
- Compares the movie street angel to the movement because citizens in shanghai struggled to transition to modernization of the western influences.
- Explains how the city of shanghai experienced a transition from living in an old-fashion chinese era into the modern-era where they are experiencing western modernization.
- Analyzes how a decrease in foreign imports led to poor living conditions for the people in shanghai during the may fourth movement.
- Explains that in the 1930s, the chinese citizens had a hard time communicating with other citizens about current events.
- Analyzes how shanghai's women wore a blend of chinese and western clothing in the 1930s.
- Explains that people in shanghai struggled to transition to modernization from the western influences during the may fourth movement.
1258 wordsRead More - China's Ghandi: Mao Zedongargumentative essayIn conclusion, this paper has demonstrated that, despite some notable economic failures, Mao was mostly successful in achieving his aims. Through mobilisation of the people and, at times, ruthless suppression of those who did not share his ideals, Mao was able to fulfil the majority of the political and societal changes he considered would benefit his country. Chinese society was significantly transformed, and communist China was firmly established as a world power.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how mao zedong transformed a country in poverty and chaos into an educated populous, over which he maintained total control.
- Explains that mao's initial goal was to gain power in china, which was demonstrated by his determination to overthrow chiang kai-shek and the kuomintang via his idiosyncratic version of communist revolution.
- Explains that mao and the ccp followed the soviet model for socialist transition, beginning with agrarian reform.
- Analyzes how mao created a communist society and strengthened and developed china's economy, but his failures in the area far outweigh previous gains.
- Explains that mao established the sino-soviet pact of friendship, which allied china with the world's largest communist nation, and ensured russian economic and military aid.
- Concludes that mao was successful in achieving his aims through mobilisation of the people and ruthless suppression of those who did not share his ideals.
1037 wordsRead More - Mao's Great Famineanalytical essayThis is valuable, as it provides brimful description of conditions in which Chinese economy and its people lied, as well as for many changes and attempts, such as long term plans like “Great Leap Forward”, made initially for stabilizing and boosting Chinese economy, not only for a domestic success, but for a recognition of a broader audience and world acceptance. However, the fact that author’s arguments focused extensively on Mao’s ‘’bad’’ character and leadership and not on the Great Leap Forward and its disastress effects on the economy and people limits the value of the
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the great leap forward was a successful economic development. frank dikötter's book "mao’s great famine" will be examined in depth.
- Analyzes how dikötter's book situates the famine, caused by the great leap forward, as the "most deadly mass killing" in human history, enriched by raiding the contents of a dozen provincial archives that only recently became accessible.
- Explains that ralph a. thaxton, jr.'s "catastrophe and contention in rural china" is a valuable source, but the information source used is mostly recollection of interviews obtained from rural chinese
- Analyzes how the book sheds new light on how china's socialist rulers drove rural dwellers to starvation and toveconomic disintegration. its objectivity gives perspectives of ordinary people, not government officials.
- Explains that great leap forward was an economic and social campaign to transform china from an agrarian economy into modern society.
- Explains that coercion, terror, and systematic violence were the foundation of the great leap forward, which spurred china's economic stagnation.
- Explains that the famine was characterized by low epidemics, edema, and crowded kindergartens. the death rate decreased by 10 million in 1960 compared to the year before.
- Analyzes the impact of the great leap forward on china's agricultural production.
- Opines that the great leap forward was an unsuccessful plan for development of china's economy, as it degraded its most important economic branch and was responsible for tremendous spread of starvation.
- Describes the challenges that historians face in order to obtain necessary information and the different methods they utilize in carrying out their investigations. this helped them develop important skills when approaching different historical sources, such as careful analysis of those sources.
- Analyzes how dikötter's "mao’s great famine" and ralph a. thaxton jr.
- Explains how they analyzed dikötter's book, which was more accurate than thaxton’s, and used similar methods to assess reliability of the sources.
2169 wordsRead More - Chinese Economic Reformanalytical essayChinese Economic Reform Two years after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, it became apparent to many of China's leaders that economic reform was necessary. During his tenure as China's premier, Mao had encouraged social movements such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which had had as their base ideologies such as serving the people and maintaining the class struggle. By 1978 "Chinese leaders were searching for a solution to serious economic problems produced by Hua Guofeng, the man who had succeeded Mao Zedong as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader after Mao's death" (Shirk 35). Hua had demonstrated a desire to continue the ideologically based movements of Mao. Unfortunately, these movements had left China in a state where "agriculture was stagnant, industrial production was low, and the people's living standards had not increased in twenty years" (Nathan, Andrew J. China's Crisis pg. 200).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the cultural revolution eroded popular trust in the ccp's moral and political virtue.
- Analyzes how the chinese communist party's leaders decided to shift the base of party legitimacy from virtue to competence and demonstrate that they could deliver the goods.
- Analyzes how the idea of economic reform was embraced enthusiastically by all members of the chinese communist party in 1978.
- Analyzes how deng took advantage of the economic crisis to discredit hua and aim for post-mao leadership.
- Explains that a surge of private and collective industry and commerce in the countryside allowed rural chinese to leave the villages and become involved in industry in urban centers.
- Analyzes the symptoms of a national character that would subscribe to the above sentiment. many chinese fear that deng's policies were drawing china back toward its former semi-colonial status.
- Analyzes how deng and his allies were able to create and implement the open policy, which was instrumental in the success of the burgeoning chinese economy.
- Illustrates the optimistic feeling of shanghai, an area designated for preferential conditions for foreign investment and as a base for the development of exports in 1988.
- Opines that shanghai has joined the ranks of the modern metropolis, but this is not necessarily a beneficial development.
- Explains that pudong, a free export-manufacturing zone, is attractive to foreign investors and companies because of its tax concessions, duty-free imports of raw materials, and cheap labor.
- Analyzes how the chinese government has made conscientious efforts to promote the strength of the country's economy while protecting its citizens.
- Opines that china's interest in stock markets is no longer restricted to within its own boundaries.
- Argues that the ccp retains the characteristics of insularity and intransigence as discussed by nathan. the united states has been concerned with china's treatment of political dissidents
- Opines that china's problems in joining the community of the world market have more to do with its political ethos and practices.
- Opines that the united states' complaint has to do with china's pirating of musical compact disks, video laser discs and computer software.
- Opines that if china wishes to become a viable member of the world economic community, such shortcomings must be eliminated quickly.
- Analyzes how the ccp has tried to create a market economy while retaining the state controlled system. james dorn saw problems in the areas of chinese banking and finance.
- Analyzes how feng's comments demonstrate the moral force of the chinese communist party vis-à-vis economic reform.
- Opines that boeing plans to invest $100 million for china plant.
- Cites bradsher, keith, "bill to restrict china's imports loss in house."
- Cites cheung, steven n.s., economic reform in china: problems and prospects, ed. james dorn and wang xi.
- Analyzes how china cracks down on dissent after lifting the trade threat.
- Describes dorn, james a., and wang xi's economic reform in china: problems and prospects.
- Analyzes gargan, edward a., "u.s. may thwart china's trade goal."
- Explains gilder, george, and wang xi's book economic reform in china: problems and prospects.
- Quotes hansell, saul, "chinese stock markets bounce back, rising 30%." new york times, 2 august 1994, d2.
- Analyzes shenon's nail-biting ride in shanghai. new york times, 6 august 1994, 33, 41.
- Opines that china halts listing of new stock.
- Explains shirk, susan l., the political logic of economic reform in china.
- Analyzes m. e. sharpe's 1993 article, "stocks surge in china as volume sets record."
4784 wordsRead More - Effects Of Maoism In Chinaexplanatory essayFew historians would disagree that the Maoism ideology had a lasting effect on the people of China. On October 1949, Mao declared china as a republic. The country of China had been fighting a civil war for many years and they finally won, winning the war came with many complications. China had an increasing population which meant a shortage of supplies. On top of that China was in a lot of dept due to the war. Although, the country was independent they still struggled with a lot, like the fact that the new government was still run by the communist party that included fourteen separate parties. As time went on the people of China became very oppressive and Mao decided to change that. To do so Mao started enforcing laws that would change the people’s views about him and the government.in 1950, Mao enforced the “Agrarian reform law”, which stated that the upper class would provide any help needed for the lower class which was ninety percent of the population.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mao's revolutionary ideology had a lasting effect on the people of china.
- Explains that mao was an outstanding person with profound influence and authority. he led the chinse out of internecine strife and forged unity in what was poor backward nation to achieve national dignity.
- Explains that mao zedong was a great politician, strategist, and theorist. he developed the military strategy of the red army and officially put them under the communist party.
769 wordsRead More - Herbert Hoover's Greatest Leaderanalytical essayAccording to Thayer Watkins of SJSU, the Great Leap Forward, with the goal of self-industrialization, included a collectivizing agriculture initiative coupled with compulsory tool-making that backfired, causing a famine (1-4). According to Arifa Akbar of The Independent, at least forty-five million were killed during the Great Leap Forward, just ten million less than the death toll of WWII (1). However, Zedong only dismissed reports, minding not the extremely exorbitant death toll but his control over the populace. In fact, the Chairman remained reticent and refused to accept that his initiative failed and left the rebuilding to an alternative leader (Watkins 4-5). Furthermore, the turmoil only continued to wither away the very foundation of China following Zedong’s Cultural
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how substandard world leaders are often defined by a few, particular events that are initiated by them. hoover's support of voluntarism and business-oriented rfc cement him as the worst u.s.
- Analyzes how hoover's approach of voluntarism, the reliance on small governments and independent organizations to provide relief, did nothing of the sort.
- Analyzes how hoover attempted to provide direct relief to citizens through the reconstruction finance corporation, which made loans to businesses and banks to stimulate economic activity.
- Analyzes how mao zedong, the communist leader of china, began the great leap forward, effectively causing a leap backwards.
- Analyzes how mao zedong pushed his country backwards, prompting decades of reform to rebuild despite alienating many chinese citizens.
- Opines that hoover's presidency began just months before the onset of the great depression, but his term in office is regarded as a failure.
923 wordsRead More - Mao Zedongexplanatory essayMao Zedong had a rough childhood, but eventually managed to get away from his father’s tyranny (Knigge 255). Mao was born on the day of December 26, 1893. As a little child, Mao lived in a small town called Shaoshan. There a disrespectful father constantly harassed the young Mao and the rest of his family. As soon as an occasion came along, the opportunistic Mao left home and joined the Nationalist army when in 1911 the Revolution began. In a training college located in Changsha, Mao was introduced to the philosophy of Marxism (Hoobler 140). The future leader of China had an enormous amount of intelligence that was going to be used in the next couple of years.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mao zedong had a rough childhood, but eventually managed to get away from his father's tyranny. he left home and joined the nationalist army when the revolution began.
- Explains that mao came to command in 1935 as chairman of the party’s politburo during the long march.
- Describes the legendary long march of mao and his supporters, who traveled from the east to the west for over a year to escape the nationalists.
372 wordsRead More