WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Great Leap Forward reversed the downward trend in mortality that had occurred since 1950, though even during the Leap, mortality may not have reached pre-1949 levels. Famine deaths and the reduction in number of births caused the population of China to drop in 1960 and 1961.

Detailed explanation-2: -Instead of stimulating the country’s economy, The Great Leap Forward resulted in mass starvation and famine. It is estimated that between 30 and 45 million Chinese citizens died due to famine, execution, and forced labor, along with massive economic and environmental destruction.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 2012, Yang Jisheng, Xinhua News Agency senior journalist and author of Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962, concluded there were 36 million deaths due to starvation, while another 40 million others failed to be born, so that “China’s total population loss during the Great Famine then comes to 76 million."

Detailed explanation-4: -From 1960–1962, an estimated thirty million people died of starvation in China, more than any other single famine in recorded human history. Most tragically, this disaster was largely preventable.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Great Leap’s failure reduced Mao’s prestige within the CCP. Forced to take major responsibility, in 1959, Mao resigned as the President of China, China’s de jure head of state, and was succeeded by Liu Shaoqi, while Mao remained as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Commander-in-chief.