Great Leap Forward (1958–1962)

1. Mao outlines Great Leap at Nanning meeting

   Jan 11, 1958Labels: Mao Zedong, Nanning meeting

   • ChinaKnowledge
   • CIA FOIA

2. Four Pests Campaign officially launched

   Feb 12, 1958Labels: Four Pests, PRC Public

   • Four Pests
   • Britannica

3. Experimental commune established at Chayashan

   Apr 1, 1958Labels: Chayashan commune, Henan

   • Great Leap
   • Britannica

4. 1958 Yellow River flood disrupts agriculture

   Jul 1, 1958Labels: Yellow River, 1958 flood

   • 1958 Flood
   • Great Famine

5. Politburo decides to expand people’s communes

   Aug 1, 1958Labels: Politburo, People s

   • Great Leap
   • People s commune

6. Beidaihe Conference endorses nationwide communes

   Aug 17, 1958Labels: Beidaihe Conference, Politburo

   • Beidaihe Conf

7. Backyard steel furnaces spread nationwide

   Sep 1, 1958Labels: Backyard furnaces, Steel campaign

   • Backyard furnace
   • Britannica

8. Great Chinese Famine begins (1959–1961)

   Jan 1, 1959Labels: Great Chinese, 1959 1961

   • Great Famine
   • Britannica

9. Lushan Conference confronts Great Leap failures

   Jul 2, 1959Labels: Lushan Conference, Peng Dehuai

   • Lushan Conf
   • Great Leap

10. Anti-Right Deviation Struggle launched after Lushan

    Aug 1, 1959Labels: Anti-Right Deviation, Mao Zedong

    • Anti Right Dev
    • Lushan Conf

11. CCP begins rolling back Great Leap policies

    Jan 1, 1960Labels: CCP policy, Readjustment

    • Britannica
    • Great Leap

12. Sparrow-killing campaign officially ended

    Mar 18, 1960Labels: Sparrow campaign, Four Pests

    • Sparrows
    • Four Pests

13. Seven Thousand Cadres Conference reassesses catastrophe

    Jan 11, 1962Labels: Seven Thousand, Liu Shaoqi

    • 7000 Cadres
    • Great Famine