page_title: Great Chinese Famine
section_title: Cultural Revolution
hierarchical_section_title: Great Chinese Famine / Aftermath / Cultural Revolution
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 1963-11 1963 刘少奇访问朝鲜 崔庸健陪同
context_page_description: The Great Chinese Famine was a period in the history of the People's Republic of China which was characterized by widespread famine between the years 1959 and 1961. Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. The Great Chinese Famine is widely regarded as the deadliest famine and one of the greatest man-made disasters in human history, with an estimated death toll due to starvation that ranges in the tens of millions.
  The major contributing factors in the famine were the policies of the Great Leap Forward and people's communes, in addition to some natural disasters such as droughts which took place during the period. During the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference in early 1962, Liu Shaoqi, the second Chairman of the PRC, formally attributed the famine 30% to natural disasters and 70% to man-made errors. After the launch of Reforms and Opening Up, the Communist Party of China officially stated in June 1981 that the famine was mainly due to the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward as well as the Anti-Rightist Campaign, in addition to some natural disasters and the Sino-Soviet split.
context_section_description: In April and May 1961, Liu Shaoqi, then President of the People's Republic of China, concluded after 44 days of field research in villages of Hunan that the reasons for the famine were 30% natural disaster and 70% human error. In January and February 1962, the "7000 Cadres Conference (七千人大会)" was called and Liu formally announced his conclusion, while the Great Leap Forward was declared "over" by the Communist Party. 
  The failure of the Great Leap Forward as well as the famine led Mao Zedong to withdraw from active decision making within the Communist Party and the government, and turn various future responsibilities over to Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. However, the disagreement between Mao and Liu (and Deng) gradually increased; Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement in 1963 and the Cultural Revolution in 1966, during which Liu was accused of attributing only 30 percent to natural calamities and was accused of being a traitor and an enemy agent. Liu was persecuted to death in 1969. On the other hand, Deng was accused of being a "capitalist roader" during the Cultural Revolution and was purged twice.
caption: Liu Shaoqi visiting North Korea (1963).
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