Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Contributors to Volume IV
- Introduction to Volume IV
- Part I Race, Religion and Nationalism
- Part II Intimate and Gendered Violence
- Part III Warfare, Colonialism and Empire in the Modern World
- Part IV The State, Revolution and Social Change
- 17 Change and Continuity in Collective Violence in France, 1780–1880
- 18 Geographies of Genocide: The European Rimlands, 1912–1948
- 19 Concentration Camps
- 20 Violence in Revolutionary China, 1949–1963
- 21 Anti-Communist Violence in Indonesia, 1965–1966
- 22 The Violence of the Cold War
- 23 Quotidian Violence in the French Empire, 1890–1940
- 24 Violence, the State and Revolution in Latin America
- 25 Structural Violence during the Cambodian Genocide, 1975–1979
- 26 The Origins of Modern Terrorism
- Part V Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
20 - Violence in Revolutionary China, 1949–1963
from Part IV - The State, Revolution and Social Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Contributors to Volume IV
- Introduction to Volume IV
- Part I Race, Religion and Nationalism
- Part II Intimate and Gendered Violence
- Part III Warfare, Colonialism and Empire in the Modern World
- Part IV The State, Revolution and Social Change
- 17 Change and Continuity in Collective Violence in France, 1780–1880
- 18 Geographies of Genocide: The European Rimlands, 1912–1948
- 19 Concentration Camps
- 20 Violence in Revolutionary China, 1949–1963
- 21 Anti-Communist Violence in Indonesia, 1965–1966
- 22 The Violence of the Cold War
- 23 Quotidian Violence in the French Empire, 1890–1940
- 24 Violence, the State and Revolution in Latin America
- 25 Structural Violence during the Cambodian Genocide, 1975–1979
- 26 The Origins of Modern Terrorism
- Part V Representations and Constructions of Violence
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter shows that terror and violence were integral part of the Great Leap Forward in Mao’s China. From the outset of the collectivisation in 1958, terror and violence was used to whip those unwilling individuals into joining collectives. Mao conceived of the People’s Commune as an environment without legal safeguards, which operated strictly as a military organization, meaning that violence could be practiced with impunity. Terror and repression were used against a much wider population, and the level of violence intensified. For many, the practice of violence became a habit that needed no intellectual rationale. Endless ‘struggle’ meetings also provided opportunities for venting personal revenge and for other selfish pursuits. Grass-roots cadres used their positions of power to extract as much benefit for themselves, while punishing anyone they disliked or with whom they disagreed. To survive, peasants fought against peasants in the People’s Commune, and in some cases even family members fought one another. In the pursuit of Mao’s utopia, unleashed by totalitarianism, between 2 to 3 million people were tortured to death or were killed deliberately during the Great Leap Forward between 1958 and 1961.
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- The Cambridge World History of Violence , pp. 408 - 426Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
References
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