The Great Leap Forward (1958-62)

Land reform, where estates had been taken from rich landowners and redistributed to the peasants had taken place shortly after the communists had come to power.
Collectivisation, where peasants lost their own pieces of land and instead worked for wages on land owned by the state had also begun to take place.

Mao believed this was not enough to expand both agricultural and industrial production and instead introduced the second five-year plan in 1958.
This would become known as the ‘Great Leap Forward’.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner

Narrator:

Chris Kane

Music Credit:

Sources:
Tombstone. The Untold story of Mao’s Great Famine.
By Yang Jisheng.

Red Inc.: Dictatorship and the Development of Capitalism in China, 1949-2009
By Robert K. Schaeffer

Socialism in China (1919-1965)
By Yu Youjun

Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62
By Frank Dikötter

The Great Famine in China, 1958-1962: A Documentary History

[Mirokuofnite]

They didn't tell them the leap forward was into a grave.

[Mitjitsu]

Even Stalin said Mao was out of control and that's coming from a madman.

[gtlegacy]

When you have no idea wtf you're doing in Civilization 5.

[JayJay-wfoe]

My grandma lived through that period of time. To this day she still doesn't waste a single grain of rice.
She often asks me to eat as much as possible in fear of I would suddenly die of hunger.

[EvoSwatch]

Mao is still considered as a hero... let that sink in...

[noparty]

As the old joke states: "Put a Communist in charge of a desert and eventually you run out of sand."

[CommanderTornado]

1 step forward, 60 million steps back

[skaterpulse]

It's sad to see alot of people starting to glorify Mao and his revolution in the west

[akeller]

It's astounding how little about Mao is taught in US schools today

[josephb.]

“Did you ever hear the Tragedy of the Great Leap Forward?”
“No.”
“It’s not a story the Chinese government would tell you.”

[austinsmurf]

My Grandfather lived through this and somehow survived.

[kylewilson]

Mao: We are going to make a Great Leap Forward!

Chinese Civilians: That is fantastic! Where are we leaping?

Mao: This cliff over here!

[samcompany]

A farm worker greets Josef Stalin at his potato farm.

“Comrade Stalin, we have so many potatoes that, piled one on top of the other, they would reach all the way to God, ” the farmer excitedly tells his leader.

“But God does not exist, ” replies Stalin.

“Exactly, ” says the farmer. “Neither do the potatoes.”

[IAmMadMan]

I still remember my History teacher saying "Great Leap Forward, more like a giant step back." She was right.

[RoopeRontu]

Chinese farmers: kill sparrows
Crickets: Hippity hoppity, your food is our property.

[mistermarcus]

It is a real shame that everyone knows the horrors of the Nazis, but people don't know anything about the things that happened in Imperial Japan, Communist China or Soviet Russia.

[James-cqbj]

Chinese civilians: Thank god we survived the Japanese invasion

Mao: You spoke too soon

[DaGoook]

I live in Shanghai and asked Xiaomi's version of Alexa "What is the Great Leap Forward?" To which she replied, "let's talk about something else." LOL...

[dennisalindogan]

story told by my father: His family were one of the wealthiest in the city during this period. They were living the best of their lives until the great leap happened. Land reform took all of his family's assets, leaving only one house for them to live in--my grandfather, grandmother, and 8 kids. My grandfather was drafted to the factory and my grandmother was drafted to the kitchen, being businessman, they had to learn everything from scratch. Food rations are given to them everyday. However, the given ration was not enough to feed the family, so they had to add water to their rice and make porridge. My grandmother, working in the kitchen, tries to sneak food everyday to give to her kids. This goes on until my grandparents died. Once my father's siblings are grown up, they are then sent to provinces far from home to work in factories.

Thinking about this now, it pains my heart knowing my father has suffered so much during his childhood. From wealthy to poor in an instant with no parents to guide them during the day.

[deleted_]

Mongols: “We killed the most Chinese people!”
Japan: “No, WE did!”
China: “Amateurs”