Modernisation of China (II): Revolution to Reform and Opening-up
FoundationAfter the PRC's founding in 1949, modernisation passed through the First Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, Readjustment and the Cultural Revolution; the Third Plenum of 1978 launched reform and opening-up, and from the household contract system and special economic zones to the socialist market economy, development entered a new era of sustained rapid growth.
- The founding transition (1949–1956): land reform, the Korean War campaign, the First Five-Year Plan and the socialist transformation established the socialist system
- A winding search (1958–1976): setbacks of the Great Leap Forward, readjustment and recovery, and the decade of Cultural Revolution turmoil — a heavy price
- The turning point (Dec 1978): the Third Plenum adopted reform and opening-up, shifting the focus to economic construction
文體小知識：歷史敘事說明文——按時序講述由建國到改革開放的現代化探索，分析各階段政策與影響。
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1The People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949 and initially practised New Democracy: the Common Programme was promulgated, the land reform of 1950–1952 gave farmers their land, and the campaign to Resist America and Aid Korea consolidated the new regime. In 1953 the general line for the transition period was announced and the First Five-Year Plan launched, prioritising heavy industry with key enterprises such as Anshan Iron and Steel; by 1956 the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce was basically complete, and the socialist system was established.
2In 1958 the Great Leap Forward was launched with sky-high targets: the whole nation smelted steel and the people's communes swept the countryside; the rash advance, defying economic laws, wasted resources and cut output, and from 1959 to 1961 the national economy fell into grave difficulties. From 1961 the policy of 'readjustment, consolidation, filling out and raising standards' was carried out under Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, and only by 1965 did the economy return to a sound level.
3In May 1966 Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to prevent the restoration of capitalism; the Red Guard movement, the destruction of the Four Olds and factional fighting threw social order into chaos, schools closed for years, State President Liu Shaoqi was persecuted, democracy and the rule of law were seriously trampled, and the national economy, culture and education suffered heavy losses. In 1976 Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong died in succession, and in October the Gang of Four was smashed — the decade of turmoil ended and the country awaited rebuilding.
4In December 1978 the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee shifted the party and state's focus to economic construction and adopted reform and opening-up. The household contract responsibility system spread through the countryside and farmers' enthusiasm soared; in 1980 the four special economic zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were set up, and in 1984 fourteen coastal cities opened; foreign capital and technology flowed in, township enterprises surged, and the economy grew fast and continuously.
5In 1992 Deng Xiaoping's talks on his southern tour further liberated thinking, and that year the Fourteenth Congress set the goal of building a socialist market economy. Regional economies such as the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas rose, export-oriented industry drove urbanisation, and in 2001 China joined the World Trade Organization, its trade and investment with other Asian countries reaching unprecedented closeness. From planned to market economy, China's modernisation kept adjusting through the lessons of experience — an influence reaching across Asia.
1Summary 重點摘要
After the PRC's founding in 1949, modernisation passed through the First Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, Readjustment and the Cultural Revolution; the Third Plenum of 1978 launched reform and opening-up, and from the household contract system and special economic zones to the socialist market economy, development entered a new era of sustained rapid growth.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
The transitional policy of the early PRC with multiple economic sectors coexisting, preparing the move to socialism.
The 1953–1957 plan prioritising heavy industry, laying the initial foundation of industrialisation.
The 1953–1956 conversion of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce into public ownership.
The economic campaign launched in 1958; its sky-high targets and mass steel-making defied economic laws and brought grave difficulties.
The 1958 rural organisations combining government and production, practising collective work and living.
The political movement of 1966–1976 that gravely damaged social order, the economy and culture and education.
The December 1978 session that shifted the focus of work to economic construction and adopted reform and opening-up.
The farming system where households contract land, meet state and collective quotas, and keep the surplus.
The 1980 zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen, attracting foreign capital and technology with favourable policies.
The reform goal set by the Fourteenth Congress in 1992, letting the market allocate resources under state macro-control.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: From New Democracy to socialismThe early PRC practised New Democracy with multiple economic sectors: politically the Common Programme served as a provisional constitution; economically bureaucratic capital was confiscated and land reform carried out, with about 300 million farmers receiving land in 1950–1952; abroad, the Korean War campaign consolidated national defence. In 1953 the general line for the transition period was proposed and the move to socialism began. For example, land reform abolished the landlords' ownership of land, raised farmers' enthusiasm for production, and accumulated grain and funds for industrialisation.
- Step 2: The First Five-Year Plan and the socialist transformationFrom 1953 to 1957 the First Five-Year Plan prioritised heavy industry: with Soviet aid, 156 key projects were built, and the Anshan steel works and Changchun No. 1 Automobile Plant went into production, laying the initial foundation of industrialisation. In parallel, agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce underwent socialist transformation, basically completed in 1956, establishing public ownership of the means of production. For example, private factories entered state planning through joint state-private operation, transforming urban industry and commerce and shaping the planned-economy system.
- Step 3: The Great Leap Forward and the people's communesIn 1958 the party put forward the general line of socialist construction and launched the Great Leap Forward: the whole nation smelted steel while grain output was wildly exaggerated, and communisation brought collective living to the countryside. The rash advance, defying economic laws, unbalanced the economy, and together with natural disasters, grave difficulties came in 1959–1961. For example, the iron produced by backyard furnaces was mostly useless, yet it consumed vast manpower and timber — a lesson of enormous cost.
- Step 4: Readjusting the national economyFacing the difficulties, the Ninth Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee in 1961 adopted the eight-character policy of 'readjustment, consolidation, filling out and raising standards': shortening the industrial front, streamlining staff and strengthening agriculture, with new management rules restoring production order; Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping led the work, and the conference of 7,000 cadres in 1962 summed up experience. For example, communes took the production team as the basic accounting unit and some private plots returned; rural life revived, and by 1965 the economy had fully recovered.
- Step 5: The Cultural Revolution — course and impactFrom May 1966 Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution: Red Guards destroyed the Four Olds and travelled the country, factional fighting spread and government organs were paralysed; schools stopped lessons for revolution, intellectuals came under wide attack, State President Liu Shaoqi was persecuted to death, and democracy and the legal system were gravely damaged. The Gang of Four was smashed in October 1976 and the turmoil ended. For example, the university entrance examination was suspended for a decade, leaving a talent gap and slower growth in industry and agriculture; the party later summarised the Cultural Revolution as internal turmoil bringing grave setbacks to the country — a lesson behind the later reforms.
- Step 6: The Third Plenum and the start of reform and opening-upIn December 1978 the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee abandoned taking class struggle as the key link, shifted the focus to economic construction and adopted reform and opening-up. The countryside broke through first: Xiaogang village in Anhui contracted land to households of its own accord, and the household responsibility system spread nationwide; in 1980 the four special economic zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were set up, and fourteen coastal cities opened in 1984. For example, Shenzhen grew from a border town into a modern city — 'Shenzhen speed' became the symbol of reform as foreign capital and technology poured in.
- Step 7: The socialist market economy and regional growthIn early 1992 Deng Xiaoping's southern talks stressed that development is the hard truth, and that year the Fourteenth Congress set the goal of a socialist market economy, pushing reform deeper. Regional economies such as the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas rose; township enterprises and export-oriented industry drove urbanisation; and in 2001 China joined the World Trade Organization. For example, the Pearl River Delta becoming the 'world's factory' deepened the industrial division of labour between China, ASEAN, Japan and Korea — reform and opening-up changed not only China but the economic map of Asia.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Data-response practice: a timeline lists — the founding in 1949, the First Five-Year Plan in 1953, the Great Leap Forward in 1958, the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the Third Plenum in 1978, special economic zones in 1980 and the southern talks in 1992. Taking 1978 as the dividing line, divide the exploration of modernisation into two stages and compare their strategies and results.
- Read the question: first divide 1949–1978 and post-1978 into two stages, then compare 'strategy' and 'results'
- Stage one strategy: learning the Soviet model of planned economy, prioritising heavy industry and driven by political mobilisation (the First Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward), later disrupted by the Cultural Revolution
- Stage two strategy: economic construction at the centre, using market mechanisms and opening-up together (contract system, special zones, market economy)
- Compare results: the earlier stage laid an industrial base but suffered repeated setbacks; the later stage grew fast and continuously with visibly better living standards
- Conclude: stage two absorbed the lessons of stage one — the strategy shifted from political mobilisation to seeking truth from facts, with more notable results
- Answer: Taking 1978 as the line, China's modernisation falls into two stages. From 1949 to 1978 the country followed the Soviet model, advancing construction through planned economy and the priority of heavy industry: the First Five-Year Plan built the industrial frame and the socialist transformation established public ownership; yet the Great Leap Forward defied economic laws and brought grave difficulties, and the Cultural Revolution badly damaged social order, economy and education — modernisation met repeated setbacks. After 1978 the Third Plenum made economic construction the centre; reform and opening-up advanced through the household contract system, special economic zones and coastal opening, and the socialist market economy was set as the goal in 1992, with the economy growing fast and continuously. Both stages shared the goals of industrialisation and national strength; they differed in strategy — from political mobilisation and planned control to seeking truth from facts with market and opening-up — and the later stage, drawing on earlier lessons, achieved far more notable results.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What was the focus of the First Five-Year Plan?
Q2What were the main features of the Great Leap Forward and its consequences?
Q3When did the Cultural Revolution end and how was it officially summed up?
Q4What decisions did the Third Plenary Session make?
Q5When were the special economic zones and the socialist market economy respectively established?
8Recap Recap
- The founding transition (1949–1956): land reform, the Korean War campaign, the First Five-Year Plan and the socialist transformation established the socialist system
- A winding search (1958–1976): setbacks of the Great Leap Forward, readjustment and recovery, and the decade of Cultural Revolution turmoil — a heavy price
- The turning point (Dec 1978): the Third Plenum adopted reform and opening-up, shifting the focus to economic construction
- The reform path: rural contract system → special economic zones → coastal opening → the 1992 southern talks and market economy
- Reform reshaped China and Asia: regional economies rose, WTO entry in 2001, and ever closer trade with other Asian countries