Context of the campaign:

1. Economic context

• By 1956 China was in a position to further advance the transition to a socialist economic system¹⁰.

• The tight grip on all aspects of life and bureaucracy was counter-productive for the transition to a socialist economic system. The focus of Mao’s speeches became decentralization of power¹¹.

• Shortage of skilled labor of intellectuals¹² was blocking Mao’s economic plans¹³.

• Mao’s decision to stop mechanically copying USSR (Secret Speech 1956), required intellectuals initiative¹⁴. (Short)

2) International context: Mao’s reaction to De-Stalinization and Hungarian revolution.

• 100 flowers campaign was an attempt to show that there is a difference between Mao and Stalin’s authority to avoid Hungarian-like consequences¹⁵.

• Mao said that “The masses are justified to remove anyone who has a bureaucratic work-style” and estrangement of party from the people was the cause of the crisis¹⁶.

• 15 November 1956 Mao says to his top echelon: “The cause of the Hungarian crisis is not poor living standards it is the fact that they failed to eliminate all of their counter-revolutionaries, Eastern Europe just didn’t kill ….We must kill and we say it is good to kill¹⁷.”

Events of the campaign:

• 1956: 50-60% of the party disagreed with Mao’s idea that masses should be “vaccinated” with harmful ideas¹⁸.

• In February 1957 Mao delivered a speech “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the people”, which called for opened criticism of the party and officially promoted competition of ideas.

• Limited response: intellectuals feared it was a trap¹⁹.

• Mao travelled through the country for 3 weeks promoting the campaign. Pressure put on intellectuals by local officials: amount of letters increased²⁰.

• Typical letters criticized the communist monopoly of power, compared it to Hitler’s Germany, claimed CCP is worse in protecting citizens’ rights than Cheng-Kai-Shek’s government, elitism of the party and its separation from the people, demanded democracy²¹.

• Consequence: Democracy Wall and protests in Beijing University led by Lin Xiling²².

• (May 15)Mao begins to have doubts and publishes a secret memorandum titled:”Things Turning Into Their Opposites” where he first speaks of the danger of Rightists²³.

• 1956: Mao described his plans of a trap to his cronies (Ke Quingshi):“casting a long line to catch a big fish”. “How can we catch the snakes if we don’t let them out of their lairs?24”

• June 1957: A Pamphlet speculating that Mao was a “Khrushchev-like liberal acting against the rest of the conservative party”. This was dangerous for Mao as it could provoke dissent²⁵.

• June 12: Mao issued a circular to all reliable party members stating that he set-up a trap²⁶.

• Quota for victims set: 10 % of intellectuals²⁷.

• Persecution of an estimated 550,000 people ²⁸

Historiographical debate:

• Hundred Flowers was a rectification movement, “a democratic check”, aimed to make the party more responsive to the wishes of the people and to allow the venting of the public dissatisfaction²⁹.