Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961)

1. Anti-Rightist Campaign chills policy criticism

   Jun 8, 1957Labels: Anti-Rightist Campaign, Intellectuals

   • Britannica

2. Great Leap Forward begins mass mobilization push

   Jan 1, 1958Labels: Great Leap, Mao Zedong

   • Britannica
   • AAS

3. People’s communes spread across rural China

   Aug 29, 1958Labels: People's Communes, Rural China

   • Britannica
   • Britannica China

4. State procurement based on inflated harvest reports

   Dec 1, 1958Labels: State Procurement, Grain Quotas

   • Britannica China
   • GLF

5. Widespread famine begins as mortality rises

   Jan 1, 1959Labels: Famine Mortality, Multiple Provinces

   • Cairn
   • LinYang

6. Lushan Conference purges Peng Dehuai’s critics

   Jul 14, 1959Labels: Lushan Conference, Peng Dehuai

   • Lushan

7. Grain collection continues despite worsening shortages

   Jan 1, 1960Labels: Grain Collection, Local Cadres

   • Britannica China

8. Soviet experts withdraw amid Sino-Soviet split

   Jul 1, 1960Labels: Sino-Soviet Split, Soviet Experts

   • Britannica China

9. 1960 becomes peak famine year in death rates

   Dec 31, 1960Labels: 1960 Peak, Crude Death

   • Cairn
   • LinYang

10. Emergency retrenchment sends urban residents to countryside

    Jan 1, 1961Labels: Emergency Retrenchment, Urban Policy

    • Britannica China

11. Famine eases as readjustment begins and mortality falls

    Jan 1, 1962Labels: Mortality Decline, Agricultural Readjustment

    • Cairn
    • LinYang

12. Seven Thousand Cadres Conference confronts the disaster

    Jan 11, 1962Labels: Seven Thousand, CCP Conference

    • 7000