Paper 1 Practice

7. In Source A, Deng Xiaoping is discussing the state of China’s economy in 1962 and how he thought it could be improved at that time. Historians studying the Great Leap Forward might consider this to be very valuable as a primary source; there are specific numbers for the amounts of grain produced in different years, and the weather that helped cause a major food shortage and famine is mentioned. However, it is very likely that this source is twisting the truth in some ways in order to make Mao’s regime look better. The aforementioned numbers may have been exaggerated, and the changes caused by the Great Leap Forward to not seem to be considered as a factor in the decrease in food production.

Source B offers a different interpretation of the Great Leap Forward than what many historians believe. The author states that Mao’s strategy was not entirely faulty, but that it was carried out ineffectively. This is a relatively recent source, and it is evident that the author has reviewed other interpretations of this event considered them when writing his own opinion. This source may be limited by the fact that it was not written by a person who actually experienced the Great Leap Forward. It is also possible that some of the data he has relied on has been manipulated by the Chinese government.

8. Source D appears to be correct in claiming that the Great Leap Forward “proved an unmitigated disaster for the Chinese economy and people.” Whether the Great Leap Forward failed because of unrealistic ideals or because of poor implementation, it was entirely unsuccessful and it failed to maintain China during a few particularly difficult years.

Mao’s reliance on large numbers peasants and insistence on neglecting the use of experts was one important cause of this disaster, while the focus on industry, specifically steel production, was not helpful either. Because of these things, peasants were overworked and were unable to efficiently produce food, and because of their lack of industrial knowledge, they were not able to produce steel as effectively as experts might have been able to.

Mao’s plan failed to survive the unfortunate weather conditions that afflicted China. Droughts and floods destroyed what little food the peasants were able to produce, resulting in a famine that killed nearly 20 million people.