ABSTRACT
Thetwenty-monthperiodof"opposingrashadvance"(janmaojin)beginningin early1956wasanunusual''un-Maoist"interludeinCCPpoliticsduringthemid-
andlate1950s. 1Bytheendof1955theeuphoriasurroundingthatyear's"high
tide"ofagricultura!cooperativizationhadspreadtoeconomicpolicyandproducedthefirstleapforward.YetbylateJanuary1956,moveswereafoottowind
backunrealisticexpectations,movesthatbythemiddleoftheyearhaddevelopedintoacomprehensiveanti-rashadvanceprogram.Changingpoliticalcir-
cumstances(mostnotablypartyrectificationandtheHundredFlowersandthe anti-Rightistcampaigns)2notwithstanding,thisbasicapproachremainedinplace untilthefall1957thirdplenum,whereChairmanMaoZedongcriticizedfanmaojin
andsetinmotionaprocessthat,bythesecondsessionoftheeighthpartycongressin May1958atthelatest,resultedintheGreatLeapForward.Itwas,touseofficial
imagery,apattemofU-shapeddevelopmentwithupsurgesofmassmobilization
from1955toearly1956andlate1957tomid-1960contrastingwiththesober
emphasisonbalancein1956-57.ltwasalsoacontrastbetweentheobviously
forcefulroleofMaointheformerandlatterperiodsandthechairman'smuchlower
profile,atleastasfaraseconomicpolicywasconcemed,inthemiddleperiod,which
mightbeconsideredthemost"bureaucratic"phaseoftheMaoistera.3
