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Mao’s China, 1945–76

The Great Leap Forward

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

The second Five-Year Plan of 1958–62, Mao's faith in China's population, walking on two legs, the break from Soviet dependence, the backyard furnaces and their failure, what the campaign achieved, false figures, the Lushan Conference and Peng Dehuai, the communes and communal living, Lysenkoism, and the causes, death toll and effects of the Great Famine.

What you need to know

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Key term

How did relations with the Soviet Union shape Mao's new plan?

Key term

What were the backyard furnaces?

Key term

Why did the backyard furnaces fail?

Questions from this subtopic

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  1. 1

    What were the dates of the second Five-Year Plan?

    Model answer

    It ran from 1958 to 1962.

  2. 2

    Which resource did Mao believe would let China grow faster than the Soviet Union had?

    Model answer

    Its enormous population, whose labour and enthusiasm he thought could replace machinery and foreign money.

  3. 3

    What did Mao mean by walking on two legs?

    Model answer

    Building up industry and agriculture at the same time, in the villages as well as in the cities.

  4. 4

    How did relations with the Soviet Union shape Mao's new plan?

    Model answer

    Mao distrusted Khrushchev and wanted a Chinese road to socialism that did not depend on Soviet money or advisers.

  5. 5

    What were the backyard furnaces?

    Model answer

    Small home-made steel furnaces built in villages and yards, where families burned their furniture and melted down pots and tools.

  6. 6

    Why did the backyard furnaces fail?

    Model answer

    The metal they produced was brittle and useless, and the labour and fuel spent on them were taken away from the harvest.

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