A Tentative Study On Mao Zedong’s Fundamental Policy On Food Of New China

In the road of revolution and construction of socialism with Chinesecharacteristics, Mao Zedong has been always attaching importance to solve foodproblem and making some relevant guiding principle and policy. This thesis depictsfive related sections of grain work, the state monopoly of the purchase and marketingof grains,“taking grains as key link”, the grain distribution system of rural people’scommune, the guiding principle of “preparing against the war, preparing against thenatural disasters, for the people”, the campaign of “learn from Dazhai in agriculture”,analyses the background it brings up, the relationships between it and Mao Zedongand the real influences it makes, and makes the historical evaluation of the effort MaoZedong has made in the food problem. So, I look forward to this thesis could afford uslessons to today’s food problem.1. The state monopoly of the purchase and marketing of grains is regarded as oneof the most valuable and the most profound economic policy. It was put forward byChen Yun, approved and supported by Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong thinks highly of thispolicy for the reason that the policy coincides naturally and without efforts withMao’s thought of reforming individual peasant household, with Mao’s choose ofsocialism industrialization, with Mao’s demand of reforming privately ownedindustrial and commercial enterprises. The policy also reflects Mao’s thought ofcentral and local in the early founding of China.2. The plan of “taking grains as key link” was proposed by Mao Zedong. Itreflects the worry and importance of the food problem by Chinese Community Party,and illustrates the inclination of solving food problems by Community Party andgovernment. Mao put forward it because he has always been attaching importance tofood problem’s real inflection and natural continuation. Besides, there are two moreprofound factors. First, the food-production central agriculture work has to makemore contribution to industrialization of the country. The capital of nationalindustrialization relies on the accumulation of inside country, while the accumulationof inside country relies on agriculture mainly. The center of agriculture is foodproduction. So, grasping it, the capital, market and raw material that industrializationneeds could all be solved. Second, when Mao Zedong put forward the policy in1958,he considers the plan that agriculture Great Leap Forward promote industry, especially promoting the iron and steel industry Great Leap Forward. In the GreatCulture Revolution, the “taking grains as key link” plan makes senses in two aspects.Firstly, the “taking grains as key link” plan was put forward and affirmed by MaoZedong. It has become the best reason for the cadres from the State Council toprovince, city and county to attach importance to food production especially the grainwork. Secondly, the plan has make some protection for the work of agriculturetechnology and the worker of agriculture technology in the Great Culture Revolution.But, the policy hasn’t been really implemented in the agriculture production, in theother way, the policy has changed into “taking grains as key link, sweeping theremains” instead. The damage to ecology and environment has made unhealthy effecton the food production, in reverse. Thus, it comes the vicious circle. Finally, theCentral Committee of the Communist Party of China give up the plan since thecountry enters the new period of reform and opening up.3. The relationships between Mao Zedong and the grain distribution system ofrural people’s commune. The thesis states the rise of public canteen, analyses thefeature of equalitarianism system of public canteen and points out that although, MaoZedong is not the inventor of it, he is the encomiast, supporter and foster. After theexposure of the public canteen’s shortages, Mao is still the sustainer of it. At last, Maogive up the plan from a practical point of view. This thesis depicts the evolution ofpeople’s commune. After the people’s commune establishes, the forms of ownershiphas experience three stages, from people’s commune collective ownership to brigadebased calculating unit to production team based calculating unit. The finalestablishment of “three level ownership, team based” system has intimate relationshipwith Mao Zedong. In the end, thesis analyses the basic elements of influencing MaoZedong’s decision on rural food distribution system from five aspects. First, thelooking forward to “new village” ideal in youth. Second, the fascination of thewartime military communism and the supply system of life.Third, themisunderstanding of “bourgeois rights”. Forth, Mao’s feature of practice makes himgood at finding out problems from practice and correcting mistakes. Fifth, Mao’ssolicitude to people’s life and their interests.4. Under the guide of formulation of the Third Five-Year Plan for the nationaleconomy, Mao Zedong proposed "prepare against natural disasters, for the people"approach. There are many factors to put forward the approach especially the close linkwith Mao Zedong of China’s grain problem. It is a profound reflection of Maozedong’s clearer understanding of the serious difficulties in foods.after the “Great Leap Forward” and the strategic thinking to solve the food problem, which has animportant effect on Chinese food work of the sixties and seventies.5. The relationship between Mao Zedong and emulating Da-Zhai agriculturemovement, paper briefly introduces the Da-zhai in agriculture as a red flag in front ofthe after, and analyzes why MAO zedong called on the cause of the "emulatingda-zhai on agriculture" and the "emulating da-zhai on agriculture" movement’sinfluence on China’s grain production. The article thinks,"great leap forward" and themovement of people’s commune suffered serious setbacks, including agriculture,national economic and social development was in serious trouble, and all sorts ofblame, reproach and raised questions both inside and outside the Party and abroadflushed, including the criticism of and commune collectivization of agriculture, MaoZedong felt the heavy political pressure inside and outside the party. Therefore, hetried to find various remedial measures, in order to eliminate the political pressure. Inthis context, Da-zhai typical as a powerful weapon to fight back non-collectivizationhas entered the field of vision of Mao Zedong. That is to say, back to the agriculturalcollectivization of criticism and questioning was the main factors of influence amongthe various factors that affect Mao Zedong call of the “emulating da-zhai onagriculture”. The "emulating da-zhai on agriculture" movement’s influence on China’sgrain production was analyzed mainly from two aspects. First, the development of"emulating da-zhai on agriculture" movement promotes the leading cadres at all levelsand the people’s attention and investment for agriculture. This is an important reasonfor China’s grain production and steady increase during the "emulating da-zhai onagriculture" movement. Second, the "left" ideology,"left" policy that advocated in"emulating da-zhai on agriculture" movement severely fettered, depression and evendestroyed the production enthusiasm of workers. This is an important factor inmoving from Dazhai in agriculture has not fundamentally solve the problem of grainin china.6. Finally，solving the new problems to Chinese food was made a historicalevaluation of Mao Zedong paid from the overall with three sentences. The threesentences includes Mao Zedong has always attached great importance to the foodproblem, Mao Zedong had been thought to solve the food problemand Mao Zedonghad not solved the problem of food.