The Three-Anti/Five-Anti Campaigns

Posters showing Jiang Qing and her political presence

The Mao era was a turbulent period in the history of the People’s Republic of China. In these first few decades of the People’s Republic, China’s leaders struggled to achieve political stability, to consolidate central power, to reduce corruption, to develop economic growth and to create a successful socialist society free from the inequalities of capitalism. The leaders of China, including the Chinese Communist Party’s patron, Mao Zedong, the first chairman of the CCP faced the incomparable challenge of creating social equality in a nation as populous as China characterized by centuries of social stratification.

The Three-anti/five-anti campaigns ( 三反五反 )was the result of Chairman Mao’s attempts to create a stable socialist society free of corruption and those who threatened the stability of the People’s Republic also called, the enemies of the state.

The three antis imposed were corruption, waste and bureaucracy.This campaign launched in Manchuria at the end of 1951 came to target members of the Communist Party and the bureaucracy who were guilty of any of the three antis and former Kuomintang members who were found to threaten the stability of the state.

The five anti campaign was launched in January 1952 and was targeted at the capitalist class and was part of the CCP’s effort to create social equality. The five antis imposed were: bribery, theft of state property, tax evasion, cheating on government contracts and stealing state economic information.

The five anti campaign became an all out war against capitalist elements and the bourgeoisie while the three anti campaign charged communist cadres who had become too close to the capitalist class as corrupt and enemies of the state. Both campaigns were designed and coordinated to eliminate capitalist elements in Chinese society. The campaigns also brought the revolutionary essence of the CCP home to key urban groups.

These massive campaigns to reform a nation like China had involved thousands of communist cadres who began spying on business affairs of fellow citizens and tens of thousands of propagandists and the mainstream media which was in complete support of government actions. Hundred thousands of employees’ complaints letters and thousands of corporate apologies characterized the campaigns.

Among those found guilty, the majority of them were humiliated, some were sent to labor camps due to the seriousness of their offences and some were even killed. Many were also fined by the state.

At the end of the campaign, Mao Zedong had consolidated his power base and political opposition and wealthy capitalists were nearly annihilated.

The impact of the campaign on contemporary Chinese society is subject to various interpretations. It has been pointed out that the campaign had no long term success as during the era of reconstruction (1976-1989) or the Deng era, capitalism was revived in China and China today has moved to be a free market capitalist economy. Also, China still suffers from high levels of corruption which questions the long term effectiveness of the campaigns to reduce corruption and bribery.

Yet, the importance of the campaign in the time is widely recognized. In the young socialist state that China was then, the Mao Zedong initiated campaign helped cement his reputation as a revolutionary leader and strengthened central authority, it also increased public faith in the revolutionary state (critical for a socialist society to have worker support in its measures), weakened the bureaucracy and helped the Chinese state to strengthen its hold of the economy – which has served to be a strong catalyst for China’s breathtaking progress in recent years. Thus, the campaign was indeed necessary at the time.


A poster saying "Destroy the old world! Make a new one!


Author: Aivan Raj


Credits:
Wiki Page for The Three-Anti/Five-Anti Campaigns
Source for Poster of Jiang Qing
Source of "Destroy" Poster
Britannica Encyclopedia