How successful was Mao Zedong in improving the life of China?

Question:Whose life was improved/ who lost?

THANKS!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Whose life was improved/ who lost?

THANKS!

To add to Jordan's very fine points, I will say that in the years between 1949 - 1955, life expectancy rose in the countryside, people ate better and grain production steadily increased. These were fantastic gains in such a short amount of time.

However, Mao's decision that things weren't happening fast enough where we begin to see things steadily decline for the Chinese peasants. The disastrous Great Leap Forward almost undid all of the gains in the countryside. There was "crash industrialization" a desire to increase agricultural output by more than was reasonably or realistically possible, and the backyard steel mills were disastrous for the people living in the country.

But things have improved and peasants generally have made some strides. Clearly the post-Mao reforms have contributed to vast successes in the industrial / technological sector, but that's post-Mao.

I would say drawing the distinction between the early land reform movement and the GLF will give you the answers you need.

The chinese think life became better but it all depends on how you look on it. It incrased patrisom in young people but made stricter rules.

The imperialist contries, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and others, where controling China for their benefits. Mao expel all this countries who where doing business there, so China, at least, could rule their country by their own.

Mao Zedong advanced the social and economic development of Chinese society.

Before 1949, for instance, the illiteracy rate in Mainland China was 80 percent, and life expectancy was a meager 35 years. At Mao's death, illiteracy had declined to less than 7 percent, and average life expectancy had doubled to 70 years.

As a result of these increases (and the relatively equitable distribution of medical resources and public food), and despite the massive death-toll of the Great Leap Forward, the total population of China increased 57% over the course of his rule to 700 million, from the constant 400 million mark during the span between the Opium War and the Chinese Civil War.

Supporters also state that, under Mao's government, China ended its "Century of Humiliation" from Western and Japanese imperialism and regained its status as a major world (and even nuclear) power.

They also point out that Mao industrialized China to a considerable extent and absolutely ensured China's sovereignty.

Of course, if you happened to be an educated Chinese person in 1949 and were forced to watch your feet rot away as you worked 20 hours a day in a Re-education Paddy, none of this would matter to you.

Quoting statistics can't really be used to justify monstrous crimes -- and people who try to do so are monsters themselves.

After the commies came to power, they were able to kick western powers out out. Generally there was less poverty and things improved a bit.