Great Famine in China
Historically, China has suffered from more than its share of famines. ... Combined with political instability, this often meant that a crop failure anywhere led to famine since importing food from other parts of the country was extremely difficult. As an example, about 5 million people died during a famine in the 1940s initiated by civil war and the policies of the communist party (Mallory 57). Ironically, the Chinese communists, led by Mao, prevailed in the civil war in part because they won the support of peasants by promising equitable land redistribution and a end to famine (Becker 31). Instead, in 1958-61 the Communist agricultural policies created the worst famine in human history. ... “Knowing nothing about agriculture, Mao insisted that all the food China needed could be produced in less time on a fraction of the land then under cultivation” ( Kane 52 ) The techniques put into practice included: close planting, deep plowing, extreme pest control, no chemical fertilizer and leaving land fallow (Mallory 72). ... Millions and millions of people were taken out of farm production to construct canals, roads, bridges, dams, and railways all around China with little more than their bare hands.