: A public health initiative that targeted sparrows, among other "pests". The mass killing of sparrows caused a locust population explosion that decimated grain crops.
: Local officials, desperate to meet impossible state targets, inflated production figures. This led the central government to over-procure grain, leaving the rural population with nothing to eat. Impact and Legacy
: While official figures suggest around 15 million deaths, historians like Frank Dikötter, author of Mao's Great Famine , place the toll as high as 45 million due to starvation, exhaustion, and state violence.
: Despite this history, Mao remains a central figure of Chinese communism, with his image still adorning national currency and monuments across the country.
: Peasants were herded into massive people's communes where their land, tools, and livelihoods were confiscated.