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How successful was ‘The Hundred Flowers Movement’?
The Hundred Flowers Movement was launched under the slogan, "Letting a hundred
flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting
progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land."
Some historians have argued that the policy was designed to encourage dissidents to
criticize the regime, therefore making their views public and making it easier for the
communists to identify them and deal with them effectively. Other historians argue
that the intention of the movement was to allow free debate, which it was thought
would prove that socialism was the right way forward for China.
The Hundred Flowers Movement was [supposedly] established to allow intellectuals
discuss the problems faced by China and the possible routes forward. Initially the
response was quite muted with minor issues being debated and little in the way of
constructive criticism being offered by intellectuals. In the spring of 1957 Mao stated
that criticism was preferred and encouraged healthy debate of issues. In doing so he
hoped that socialist ideals would become evident as the best route forward.
In some ways the Hundred Flowers Movement was quite successful following Mao's
pleas for debate. Millions of letters were sent offering opinions. However the idea
backfired in many ways. A lot of the criticism was directed at the party and at Mao
himself. Instead of suggesting that socialism was the answer, a lot of the views
suggested that the party and its policies were the problem. As far as Mao was
concerned, the critics had gone beyond what he considered to be reasonable debate
and criticism.
Consequences of the Hundred Flowers Movement
One of the consequences of the movement, and its subsequent ending, was that
dissidents were unlikely to voice their opinions and were not willing to risk their lives
criticizing Ma and the party. As a result the movement inadvertently made controlling
the people and minimizing dissent a lot easier for the communist party.
Failures of the Hundred Flowers Movement
