📝 Three-anti
Target: Party members and government officials. Charge: corruption, waste and bureaucracy. Date: late 1951.
Change Under Mao, 1949-63 » Thought Reform and the Three-Anti and Five-Anti Campaigns
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B4, Key topic 3
- How China became a one-party state after 1949
- What Thought Reform was and how it worked
- Who the Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns (1951-52) targeted, and how
- What the campaigns achieved for the Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power on 1 October 1949. Winning the civil war was only the start. The Party also wanted to control how people thought and to remove anyone who might challenge it. In 1951 and 1952 it launched a run of campaigns to do exactly that.
Key terms:
- One-party state: a country where only one party really holds power and opponents are not allowed to challenge it.
- Thought Reform: the campaign to change the beliefs of teachers, writers and other educated people so that they accepted communist ideas.
- Self-criticism: admitting your faults and wrong thinking, in speech or in writing, in front of other people.
- Denunciation: publicly accusing someone of a crime or of wrong beliefs.
- Three-anti Campaign: the campaign (late 1951) against corruption, waste and bureaucracy among officials.
- Five-anti Campaign: the campaign (early 1952) against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts and stealing economic information, aimed at business owners.
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Unlock This CourseA one-party state
After 1949 the CCP controlled the government, the army, the courts and the newspapers. A few small parties were allowed to exist, but they had to accept that the CCP was in charge. Nobody could set up a real rival. The Party knew that many people, such as teachers, officials who had worked for the old Guomindang government, and rich business owners, were not communists. It did not trust them, and it also wanted loyal helpers who would carry out its plans.
China was also at war. In October 1950 Chinese troops entered the Korean War. The Party said that in a time of danger everyone had to be loyal and honest. This helped it to justify tough action at home.
Thought Reform
From 1951 the Party began Thought Reform. Its main targets were intellectuals: university lecturers, teachers, writers and students. Many had studied Western ideas or had worked under the old government. The Party wanted them to give up those ideas and accept communism and the leadership of Mao.
The methods were:
- Study groups. People met in small groups to read the works of Marx and Mao and discuss them.
- Self-criticism. Each person had to write out and read aloud a confession of their past wrong thinking.
- Criticism by others. Colleagues and classmates then criticised the confession. If it was not honest enough, the person had to write it again.
The aim was not just to punish people but to change what they believed. Most people played safe and said what the Party wanted to hear. Thought Reform made educated people nervous and careful about what they said, and it made it hard to disagree with the Party in public.
The Three-anti Campaign, 1951
The Three-anti Campaign started in late 1951. It was aimed at Party members and government officials. The "three antis" were against corruption (taking bribes or using a post to get rich), waste and bureaucracy (officials who were slow, careless and out of touch). The Party said that the Korean War made such behaviour even worse, because the country could not afford waste. It was also worried that some of its own officials were being tempted by money in the cities and by the habits of the old government.
Officials were questioned in meetings. They were encouraged to confess, and others were encouraged to report them. Those found guilty could be dismissed, sent for labour or imprisoned, and a few senior officials were executed as a warning to others. The campaign tightened discipline inside the Party.
The Five-anti Campaign, 1952
In early 1952 the attack widened to business owners in the cities. The "five antis" were against bribery of officials, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts and stealing economic information. The Party claimed that many capitalists had bribed officials and cheated the state. Officials took the bribes and business owners paid them, so the two campaigns went hand in hand.
Work teams were sent into firms. Workers and shop assistants were urged to report their bosses, and accounts were inspected. Business owners were called to mass meetings, accused in front of crowds and told to confess. Many were fined heavily and had to pay back money. The pressure was great, and some people took their own lives. The campaign was strongest in big commercial cities such as Shanghai.
💼 Five-anti
Target: owners of private businesses. Charge: bribery, tax evasion and cheating the state. Date: early 1952.
Methods and effects
All the campaigns used mass meetings and denunciations. Ordinary people were drawn in as accusers, so that the Party seemed to have the people on its side, and nobody could easily refuse to join in. The effects were large:
- The Party's grip grew. Officials, teachers and business owners all learned that the Party could single out anyone.
- Private business was weakened. Owners lost money, status and independence, and the state gained more control over firms. This made it easier to bring private firms under state control by 1956.
- Fear and caution. Many educated people kept their opinions to themselves.
- Cleaner government, in the Party's eyes. The Party said that corruption was reduced, though the campaigns also went too far in some places.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up the targets. Three-anti hit officials, Five-anti hit business owners and Thought Reform hit intellectuals.
- Saying that the campaigns were run only by the police. Mass meetings and ordinary people's accusations were central.
- Describing these campaigns as part of the Hundred Flowers Campaign. That came later, in 1956-57.
Exam-style question
Explain two ways in which the Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns (1951-52) were similar to the land reform campaign in the countryside (1950-52). [6 marks]
Remember: under land reform in the countryside, work teams sent to villages gave people class labels, held "speaking bitterness" meetings and put landlords on public trial. Each way must say something about both sides of the comparison.
Model answer
One way they were similar is the methods used. In land reform, villagers were gathered in mass meetings to speak bitterness and landlords were put on public trial. In the Five-anti Campaign, business owners were also called to mass meetings, accused in front of crowds and told to confess, while workers were urged to report their bosses. Both campaigns used public denunciation to turn ordinary people into accusers.
A second way is that both targeted a group the Party saw as an enemy of the new China, in order to break its power. Land reform took land and local influence from landlords. The Five-anti Campaign fined business owners heavily and took away their independence. In both cases the group lost wealth and status and the CCP's control grew stronger.
What lifts this to the top level: each way gives a precise fact about both land reform and the 1951-52 campaigns.
Exam tip
Use "similarly" or "in the same way" and give a fact for each side in the same paragraph, so the examiner sees an explicit comparison.
Recap
- China was a one-party state: the CCP controlled the government, army, courts and press.
- Thought Reform (from 1951) used study groups and self-criticism to change intellectuals' beliefs.
- The Three-anti Campaign (late 1951) targeted corruption, waste and bureaucracy among officials.
- The Five-anti Campaign (early 1952) targeted business owners who bribed, evaded tax or cheated the state.
- Mass meetings and denunciations spread fear, weakened private business and strengthened the Party.