Timeline

  • 1958�1962
  • Campaign to industrialize China rapidly

Goals

  • Surpass UK steel output
  • Commune system
  • Mass mobilization

Outcomes

  • Steel produced in backyard furnaces
  • Fake reports of agricultural success
  • Massive famine (est. 15�45 million dead)
  • Ecological devastation

Aftermath

  • Mao loses political clout
  • Moderate policies temporarily return