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Great Chinese Famine Timeline

(1959–1961)

The Great Chinese Famine was a catastrophic famine that struck mainland China between 1959 and 1961, resulting in an estimated 15 to 45 million deaths. It was largely triggered by the policies of the Great Leap Forward, including forced collectivization, unrealistic production targets, diversion of labor to steel production, poor weather conditions, and the suppression of accurate reporting on food shortages. Less

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Causes and Policies

CCP begins over-reporting grain production

1957

Beginning in 1957, the Chinese Communist Party began to report excessive production of grain because of pressure from superiors. However, the actual production of grain throughout China was decreasing from 1957 to 1961, creating a dangerous gap between reported figures and reality.

Image source: Great Chinese Famine

CCP begins over-reporting grain production

Statistical Exchange Meeting established

1957

The Statistical Exchange Meeting (SEM), established in 1957, led to the severity of the famine in various ways, including causing the 'illusion of superabundance' (浮夸风), in which inflated production figures distorted central planning decisions.

Great Leap Forward launched

1958 - 1962

The Great Leap Forward, launched by Chairman Mao Zedong from 1958 to 1962, was a major contributing factor in the famine. Its policies included inefficient food distribution within the planned economy, extremely high grain confiscation rates for foreign exports, poor agricultural techniques and irrigation projects, and the rapid transition of millions of farmers to industrial labor, iron production, and steel production.

Image source: Great Leap Forward

Great Leap Forward launched

People's communes established nationwide

1958

As part of the Great Leap Forward, people's communes were launched across China under Mao Zedong's leadership. The collectivization disrupted agricultural incentives and food distribution, becoming a major contributing factor to the famine that followed.

Image source: People's commune

People's communes established nationwide

Eliminate Sparrows Campaign disrupts ecosystem

1958

The Eliminate Sparrows Campaign significantly disrupted the Chinese ecosystem by wiping out sparrows, which allowed insect populations to flourish and devastate crops. This campaign was one of the major contributing factors in the Great Chinese Famine.

Image source: Four Pests campaign

Eliminate Sparrows Campaign disrupts ecosystem

Three Red Banners spark fanaticism of 1958

1958

The Three Red Banners of the Chinese Communist Party—the General Line, the Great Leap Forward, and the people's communes—'sparked the fanaticism of 1958', driving radical policies and unrealistic production targets that contributed to the famine.

Mao observes claimed 'sputnik launches' in Henan

1958

In visits to Henan province in 1958, Mao observed what local officials claimed were increases in crop yield of one thousand to three thousand percent, supposedly achieved in massive 24-hour pushes organized by the officials which they called 'sputnik launches'. These inflated claims reinforced false beliefs about record harvests.

Sichuan reports rising grain collections despite decline

1958 - 1961

In Sichuan Province, even though the collected grain was decreasing from 1958 to 1961, the numbers reported to the central government kept increasing, exemplifying how falsified statistics worsened the famine by prompting excessive state requisitions.

Government continues exporting grain at worst time

1959 - 1961

At the worst time of the famine, the government was still exporting grain. The state's extremely high grain confiscation rates for foreign exports deprived rural populations of food supplies and is considered a major man-made cause of the disaster.

Famine Years

Gansu grain yield declines by over 4 million tonnes

1957 - 1961

In Gansu province, the grain yield declined by 4,273,000 tonnes from 1957 to 1961, illustrating the dramatic collapse of agricultural output in some of the hardest-hit regions during the famine years.

Yellow River flood hits Henan and Shandong

Jul 1958

In July 1958, a notable regional flood of the Yellow River affected part of Henan Province and Shandong Province. It was reported as the most severe flood of the Yellow River since 1933, affecting 741,000 people in 1708 villages and inundating over 3.04 million mu (over half a million acres) of cultivated fields.

Mao kept unaware of rural starvation

1959

Mao was kept unaware of some of the starvation of villagers in the rural areas who were suffering, as the birth rate began to plummet and deaths increased in 1958 and 1959. Political suppression within the CCP discouraged honest reporting of conditions.

Crop production falls to 170 million tons

1959

According to China's governmental data, crop production decreased from 200 million tons (400 billion jin) in 1958 to 170 million tons (340 billion jin) in 1959, and further to 143.5 million tons (287 billion jin) in 1960, deepening the food crisis.

Weather deteriorates sharply, driving down crop yields

1959

Weather had been relatively mild for much of the 1950s, but became particularly bad by 1959, driving down crop yields. The harvest was down by 15% in 1959 compared to 1958, and by 1960 it was at 70% of its 1958 level.

Great Chinese Famine begins

1959 - 1961

The Great Chinese Famine, also known as the 'three years of great famine', occurred between 1959 and 1961 in the People's Republic of China. Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. It became one of the deadliest famines in human history.

State granaries hold far less grain than believed

1960

Beijing believed that 'in 1960 state granaries would have 50 billion jin of grain', when they actually contained only 12.7 billion jin. This massive discrepancy between expectation and reality left the government unable to respond effectively to shortages.

Special supply system established for high-ranking officials

Nov 1960

In November 1960, a special supply system (tegong) was established nationwide during the Great Famine, providing food and daily necessities exclusively to high-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government, while ordinary citizens faced severe shortages.

Human Toll

Birth rate plummets and death rate soars

1958 - 1961

Due to the lack of food and incentive to marry, China's birth rate decreased from 2.922% (1958) to 2.086% (1960) and the death rate increased from 1.198% (1958) to 2.543% (1960). Mortality peaked in 1961 and began recovering rapidly after that.

China's population drops by nearly 15 million

1959 - 1961

According to China's official statistics, China's population in 1961 was about 658,590,000, some 14,580,000 lower than in 1959, reflecting both excess deaths and a collapse in births caused by the famine.

Mao abstains from meat; Zhou cuts grain consumption

1960

In 1960, as gestures of solidarity with the starving population, Mao reportedly ate no meat for seven months and Zhou Enlai cut his monthly grain consumption, symbolic acts during the height of the famine.

More than 10 million deaths estimated in 1960 alone

1960

It is estimated that in 1960 alone, more than 10 million people died as the famine reached its most devastating point, with death rates soaring across rural China due to starvation and related causes.

Hunger reaches Da Fo village

1960

Dire hunger did not set in to places like Da Fo village until 1960. Studies also found that public dining hall participation rates were not a meaningful cause of famine in Anhui and Jiangxi, suggesting local variation in how the famine unfolded.

Aftermath and Reassessment

China increases grain purchases and imports

1961 - 1963

Beginning in 1961, China increased grain purchases and imports. Between 1961 and 1963, China imported grain from countries including Australia and Canada; these imports supplied cities and made it possible to reduce grain collections demanded from rural producers.

Policy of readjustment initiated at 9th Plenary Session

Jan 1961

In January 1961, the 9th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee initiated a policy of readjustment summarized as 'adjustment, consolidation, filling out, and improvement', marking a shift away from some of the Great Leap Forward's most extreme measures.

Liu Shaoqi concludes famine was 70% man-made error

Apr 1961 - May 1961

In April and May 1961, Liu Shaoqi, then President of China, concluded after 44 days of field research in villages of Hunan that the causes of the famine were 30% natural disaster and 70% human error (三分天灾，七分人祸).

Image source: Liu Shaoqi

Liu Shaoqi concludes famine was 70% man-made error

Seven Thousand Cadres Conference held in Beijing

Jan 1962 - Feb 1962

In January and February 1962, the '7000 Cadres Conference' took place in Beijing, attended by more than 7,000 CCP officials nationwide. During the conference, Liu Shaoqi formally attributed 30% of the famine to natural disasters and 70% to man-made errors (三分天灾，七分人祸).

Image source: Seven Thousand Cadres Conference

Seven Thousand Cadres Conference held in Beijing

Mao launches Socialist Education Movement

1963

In 1963, Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement, part of his political response following the famine years, which preceded the Cultural Revolution and intensified ideological campaigns within the party.

Image source: Socialist Education Movement

Mao launches Socialist Education Movement

Cultural Revolution begins; Liu Shaoqi persecuted

1966 - 1969

In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, during which Liu Shaoqi was accused of being a traitor and enemy agent for attributing only 30% of the famine to natural calamities. Liu was beaten and denied medicine for diabetes and pneumonia; he died in 1969.

Image source: Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution begins; Liu Shaoqi persecuted

Deng Xiaoping launches Reform and opening up

Dec 1978

In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the new Paramount Leader of China and launched the historic Reform and opening up program, which fundamentally changed the agricultural and industrial system in China and paved the way for official reassessment of the famine.

Academic studies on the famine become more active

1980

Academic studies on the Great Chinese Famine became more active in mainland China after 1980, when the government started to release some demographic data to the public, enabling scholars to research the famine's causes and toll more openly.

CCP renames famine 'Three Years of Difficulty'

Jun 1981

During the 'Boluan Fanzheng' period in June 1981, the CCP officially changed the name of the famine to 'Three Years of Difficulty' (三年困难时期), thus no longer blaming nature alone. The party stated the famine was mainly due to the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward as well as the Anti-Right Deviation Struggle, in addition to some natural disasters and the Sino-Soviet split.

Image source: Boluan Fanzheng

CCP renames famine 'Three Years of Difficulty'

Key Facts

  1. The Great Chinese Famine is widely considered the deadliest famine in human history, with death toll estimates ranging from 15 million to as high as 45 million people.
  2. It occurred during the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong's campaign launched in 1958 to rapidly transform China from an agrarian economy into a communist industrial society.
  3. Key contributing factors included forced agricultural collectivization, inflated grain procurement quotas based on false harvest reports, backyard steel furnaces diverting farm labor, and natural disasters such as droughts and floods.
  4. The famine led to widespread starvation, disease, cannibalism in some regions, and a dramatic decline in birth rates due to malnutrition and social disruption.
  5. In the aftermath, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping implemented recovery policies in the early 1960s, and the disaster contributed to political tensions that culminated in Mao launching the Cultural Revolution in 1966.

Source

This Great Chinese Famine timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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