Communal kitchens and Mao's Great Famine 1958-61

In 1958 as part of Mao's attempts to improve productivity and create a socialist economic miracle in China, Mao waged war against private property and family life during the disastrous 'Great Leap Forward'. He removed from families the ability to privately farm vegetables and rice, own livestock and prepare food in their own homes. Following the communalisation of entire provinces, families were forced to each at communal kitchen, where food was often withheld for party members and visiting dignitaries, and instead the peasants forced to eat between exhausting work shifts would be fed thin watery gruel.

More from Explaining History

  1. 31:38Black Britain 1948-89: Economic drivers of migrationApr 17, 2024
  2. 33:13Infiltrating the IRA: Terror and Espionage in Northern IrelandApr 08, 2024
  3. 34:42IRA double agents - Terror and espionage with Henry HemmingApr 06, 2024
  4. 33:27A timeline of everything - In conversation with Bruce TappingApr 04, 2024
  5. 34:24Mexico, America and NAFTA 1994-1995Mar 20, 2024
  6. 00:41Neoliberalism VS National Liberation Movements 1945-79Mar 08, 2024
  7. 42:21World War Two: The Good War?Feb 23, 2024
  8. 30:23Socialism and Fascism - what they are and are notFeb 14, 2024
  9. 31:47Resistance from the right: America's campus backlash against the counter cultureFeb 02, 2024
  10. 36:06Wilson, Jenkins and austerity 1968-70Jan 26, 2024