A Study On The Rural Public Dining Hall In Yongcheng County Of Henan Province During The"Great Leap Forward"

In China’s rural area, farmers have the habit of partnership eating when they are busy. In the early period of mutual aid groups, in order to work early and work together, farmers usually adopted "partnership for dinner". When stepped into the co-operatives, in the busy season, some agricultural cooperatives began to cook collectively, producing a "busy cafeteria". After the "Great Leap Forward" and the movement of People’s Commune, busy slack divided gradually,"busy cafeteria" transferred into perennial canteen. Early spontaneous partnership cooking is essentially different from the "Great Leap Forward" and the movement of People’s Commune in public.During the period of the "Great Leap Forward" and the People’s Commune, public canteens were seen as "communist bud","adhere to the socialist position", becoming the important content Chinese transition to communism indispensable. Under the guidance of "left" errors thinking, for the realization of industrial and agricultural production overall "Great Leap Forward", the public canteens in rural areas was set up, which make the consequences of the "Great Leap Forward" increase. That is the cause of three years’ difficult economic times for the rural population, and one of the important causes of non normal death. Henan province is the birthplace of rural People’s Communes in China, and Chayashan Henan province People’s Commune is the first People’s Commune in the country, during the "Great Leap Forward", Henan Province performed enthusiastically, enjoying the "honorary title" of "one of the Great Leap Forward advanced provinces", Henan is the typical holding rural public canteens, the number and proportion of the province of holding rural public canteens ranks first in the country.Yongcheng belongs to the Henan Shangqiu area, Henan province is located in the East. During the "Great Leap Forward" movement, Yongcheng showed quite "outstanding", and Yucheng、Xiayi won the "advanced" fame. As everyone knows, Henan province is the hardest hit areas in the "Great Leap Forward", which shocked the world, is "Xinyang incident", but "Xinyang incident" continues "the eastern event", Yongcheng rural public canteen is a part of the research work in the event, the "Great Leap Forward" period of rural public canteens problem is the history of blood the lesson, it is worth considering and remember.Yongcheng rural public canteen has experienced four stages:the first stage is the summer of1958to the end of1958, Yongcheng rural public canteens generally established. In order to promote members joined the rural public canteens, in-depth development of socialism and communism education in Yongcheng, turning in everything captured and getting rid of the family private ownership,"Communist wind" throughout the county. At the same time, Yongcheng actively implement the central policy, developing the national rectification, the anti rightist conservative ideas, anti rightist opportunism, in order to accelerate the transition to communism preparation conditions, the vigorous development of rural public canteens; the second stage is the end of1958to the summer of1959, Yongcheng rural public canteens contradictions, which is difficult to maintain. Being anxious for success and exaggerate the subjective initiative, the development of productive forces and production relations of rash advance reform, some cadres in the use of administrative power, force of rural collective dinner. Flat member material, break the family private ownership, destroy the capitalist residual,"Communist wind" disaster caused by flooding water."Coxcombical wind" prevailed, grain "satellite" exist everywhere, food shortages, reduce the mass ration standard,"don’t eat the money, open the belly to eat" become empty, the masses have doubts about communism. Partial cadre quality is low, some cadre corrupted, and some cadre ate too much, making specialization, violating the law and discipline, and the increasingly acute contradictions. To ease the contradiction, and solve the "trouble", Yongcheng rectified the "Communist wind", with the development of society and the accounts; the third stage is the summer of1959to the end of1960, Yongcheng rural public canteens was recovered and forced to adhere. Because of the "Communist wind"," Coxcombical wind","Cadres wind" effect, a serious shortage of food in Yongcheng, Yongcheng each commune public canteens ceasefire phenomenon occurs, the public canteens cease to exist except name. In July of1959, Mount Lu meeting criticized the "Peng Dehuai led the anti Party group", carrying out anti rightist movement nationwide, public canteen once again become a "Communist bud", and to "socialist position" in height, the re-emergence of a public canteens climax. In order to set up public canteens, Yongcheng got food substitutes, carried out a variety of business; the fourth stage is the end of1960to the summer of1961, Yongcheng rural public canteens finally disbanded. As early as the end of1959, due to megasporocytes, food shortages, Yongcheng experienced population fled, dropsy and non normal death. In spring of1960, the food crisis was serious day by day, population of non normal deaths was widespread throughout the country, the central to carry out "war five wind"、severely punish violations of the law and discipline of basic level cadre、fight bad people and bad things, trying to solve the problem of public canteens, the central carried out a thorough investigation、found out the problem in1961, Zhu De went to Henan and carried out depth investigation, after that public canteens problem thoroughly exposed. In May1961, the central through the-"Rural People’s Communes Regulations (Revised Draft)", the members decide whether do public canteens, Yongcheng rural public canteen without exception all the dissolution, in order to solve the problem of life of the people of Yongcheng, Yongcheng carried out level compensation, and settled old scores. The masses of the people restore unshared housing lifestyle, restoration of spontaneous eating right, grain allocation to households, the government assigned to the members of certain plots, allowing the development of household sideline production to supplement the rations, and using the method of evaluation of work and score distribution according to work. People’s enthusiasm for production increased, which made rural present a new atmosphere.