The Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1957

What was the Hundred Flowers Campaign?

The Hundred Flowers Campaign was a policy to encourage free speech and expression on opinions of the communist regime in China.

When was the Hundred Flowers Campaign?

The campaign began unofficially in May 1956, before being formally introduced in spring 1957.

Why was the Hundred Flowers Campaign introduced?

There were 4 reasons behind Mao's decision to relax censorship and encourage free speech:

• ❖ Mao wanted to encourage intellectual freedom in order to restart scientific advancement. Since the Soviets had left, progress in science and technology had slowed.
• ❖ Mao also wanted to use this as an opportunity to identify disloyal CCP members.
• ❖ The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 had highlighted the dangers of having limited support from the people. Mao wanted to listen to, and address concerns.
• ❖ With Khrushchev taking power in the Soviet Union and criticising Stalin's rule in the 'Secret Speech', Mao wanted to ensure he avoided such comparisons and criticisms.

What were the consequences of the Hundred Flowers Campaign?

There 4 significant consequences to emerge from the Hundred Flowers Campaign:

• ❖ The campaign was abruptly halted following criticism of Mao and other CCP officials. He had thought it would raise trivial issues, rather than direct criticism.
• ❖ Mao launched a counter Anti-Rightist Campaign, which labelled critics as enemies and enforced harsh punishments such as re-education on them. Eventually, 750,000 CCP members were sentenced to receive punishments.
• ❖ Mao replaced Peng Dehuai, who had voiced concern over the Great Famine.
• ❖ Mao also removed himself as head of state. This allowed him to retain control of the CCP but also separated him from any failures by the CCP and the state.