Communal living (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Notes
Communal living in Mao's China
Introduction to the communes
In 1958, Mao introduced massive collective farms known as communes as a central part of his Great Leap Forwards campaign. This represented a dramatic shift in China's agricultural system and marked a revolutionary transformation in how Chinese peasants lived and worked. The policy moved away from the more gradual agricultural changes that had been implemented between 1951-57, instead demanding immediate and comprehensive collectivisation across the country.
The Great Leap Forwards (1958-62) served as Mao's second Five-Year Plan, designed specifically to rapidly industrialise China. By 1958, participation in collective farming became mandatory rather than voluntary, fundamentally changing rural Chinese society.
This shift from voluntary to mandatory collectivisation represented one of the most dramatic social transformations in modern history, affecting hundreds of millions of rural Chinese families virtually overnight.
The driving force behind communal living
Mao's decision to establish communes stemmed from his ambitious vision to transform China into a modern industrial power quickly. He believed that China needed large-scale, efficient agricultural production to support the growing industrial workforce. The communes were designed to achieve this by combining agricultural and industrial work within single units.
The policy was driven by Mao's conviction that the Chinese people could accomplish extraordinary feats through revolutionary spirit and determination. One of the campaign's key slogans declared "politics in charge," reflecting Mao's belief that ideological commitment could overcome practical limitations and achieve remarkable results.
Communist Party officials worried that existing bureaucratic structures were hindering revolutionary progress, leading them to embrace this radical restructuring of rural life without adequate consideration of practical consequences.
Lysenkoism and communist science
The communes operated according to agricultural theories developed by Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet scientist whose ideas became known as Lysenkoism. These theories claimed to offer socialist alternatives to conventional farming methods, promising dramatically increased crop yields through new techniques.
Lysenko argued that subjecting crops to harsh environmental conditions would make them stronger and more productive. His recommendations included storing seeds in cold, damp environments rather than the traditional cool, dry conditions, and planting seeds much deeper and closer together than conventional practice suggested.
Critical Scientific Problem
Although Lysenkoism lacked reliable scientific evidence and appears questionable by modern standards, Chinese Communist leaders embraced these ideas because they aligned with communist ideology. They believed that socialist countries could develop superior scientific approaches compared to capitalist nations, viewing Lysenko's theories as proof of communism's intellectual superiority.
This demonstrates how political ideology can override scientific methodology with devastating consequences.
Organisation and structure of commune life
The communes represented enormous social units, typically housing around 5,000 households each. By the end of 1958, approximately 400 million Chinese people had been organised into over 26,500 communes, demonstrating the massive scale of this social transformation.
Life within the communes followed a highly structured, military-style organisation. People surrendered all private land and resources to the collective, eliminating individual farming entirely. Families were organised into work teams, which were then grouped into larger brigades. Each work team received specific assignments and targets to meet, creating a hierarchical system of responsibility and accountability.
Typical Commune Structure
A standard commune might be organised as follows:
- Total size: ~5,000 households (approximately 25,000 people)
- Work teams: 10-15 people per team
- Brigades: Multiple work teams grouped together
- Activities: Combined agricultural work with industrial production (backyard furnaces)
- Militia service: All residents aged 15-50 participated
- Shared facilities: Communal childcare, dining halls, healthcare centres
The communes combined agricultural work with industrial production, requiring members to engage in activities like steel production using backyard furnaces alongside traditional farming tasks. Communities also collaborated to construct irrigation channels and other infrastructure projects.
Essential services became communal responsibilities, with shared facilities for childcare, education, and elderly care, allowing all adults to participate in productive work. Food and healthcare were provided collectively to all commune members according to their needs, reflecting important communist principles.
Every person between ages 15-50 joined the commune's militia and received military training, creating a semi-military atmosphere throughout rural China.
Control and monitoring systems
The communes operated under strict supervision from Communist Party officials. A community police force, drawn from the militia, maintained order and ensured people followed commune regulations. Those who failed to comply with expectations faced punishment from this internal security system.
The Chinese Communist Party closely monitored each commune's activities, with Party representatives ensuring that all decisions aligned with official policy. This created an extensive network of oversight and control that reached into every aspect of daily life.
Total Social Control
The commune system effectively meant that authorities controlled every dimension of people's lives, from work assignments to living arrangements to social activities. This level of control was unprecedented in Chinese history and eliminated virtually all individual autonomy.
Timeline of key events
- 1951-57: Gradual, voluntary agricultural collectivisation
- 1958: Introduction of compulsory communes as part of Great Leap Forwards
- 1958: Enforced collectivisation becomes mandatory across China
- End of 1958: 400 million people organised into 26,500+ communes
- 1958-62: Great Leap Forwards period with commune system at its height
Key Points to Remember:
- Communes were massive collective farms introduced in 1958 as part of Mao's Great Leap Forwards to rapidly industrialise China
- Lysenkoism provided the pseudo-scientific justification for commune agriculture, claiming harsh conditions would create stronger crops
- Each commune housed around 5,000 households and combined agricultural work with industrial production like backyard steel furnaces
- Life was highly regimented with military-style organisation, shared resources, and collective provision of food, childcare and healthcare
- The Communist Party maintained strict control through monitoring systems and militia-based community policing