The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1962
- Mao's new economic plan after five year plans criticized
- China organized into 28,000 communes
- Main factors:
- Great industrial and scientific activity
- Muscle power used to build, dams and irrigation
- Small communal factories
- Famine a huge problem (30,000,000 deaths )
Sino-Soviet Split, 1959
- USA realized they could not work with China after their invasion of Tibet and support for North Korea
- The former allies split ways in 1959
- Reasons for this:
- Kruschev's Peaceful coexistence idea (Chinese felt they were getting closer to the USA)
- Soviet intention to treat China as another satellite
- Lack of Soviet help during the Korean War
- 4,000 border skirmishes
- Open fighting between 1964-69 on the Ussuri River
- 1964 Chinese get A-bomb and 1968 and N-bomb
Summary
After being put into play Mao's five year plan was highly criticized due to a lack of greater prosperity. As a result, China was organized in 28,000 individual communes in which there was massive scientific and industrial activity. On the same note, massive amounts of muscle power were required to build dams and set up irrigation while small communal factories began to pop up. Eventually famine became an undeniable issue with over 30,000,000 deaths in the span of five years.