A Fresh Look at China's Hundred Flowers Period

Abstract

The 'Hundred Flowers' period, in the opinion of the author, began on 2 May 1956, the day Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the Hundred Flowers policy in a speech he made at the Supreme State Conference. It ended on 8 June 1957, the day the Chinese Communist Party called a halt to it and cracked down on the critics of the Chinese communist regime. The author here examines, in the light of the revelations made during the Cultural Revolution, the proclamation itself, the way the intellectuals responded to it, and its immediate consequences. In another instalment later, he proposes to look at the impact of certain events in the communist world on China's libeïaliza tion drive and to investigate the reported intra-party discord with regard to the same policy and the circumstances leading to its ultimate reversal.—EDITOR