Lushan Conference Definition and Significance

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Supporters

Mao circulated Peng's letter to delegates, denounced it as an anti-Party programme, and forced the conference to choose between supporting him or Peng. Marshal Peng Dehuai—hero of the Korean War and a Politburo member—was joined in disgrace by Chief of General Staff Huang Kecheng, Hunan Party secretary Zhou Xiaozhou, and Vice-Foreign-Minister Zhang Wentian, branded the "Peng-Huang-Zhang-Zhou anti-Party clique." The plenum stripped Peng of his defence portfolio, replacing him with Lin Biao, who would thereafter cultivate the cult of Mao within the People's Liberation Army. Crucially, the conference reversed the brief liberalisation, intensified the Leap rather than restraining it, and silenced internal dissent—contributing directly to the Great Chinese Famine that killed an estimated 15–45 million people between 1959 and 1962.

Opponents

The Lushan Conference (庐山会议) refers to the enlarged Politburo meeting and Eighth Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), held from July to August 1959 at the mountain resort of Lushan in Jiangxi province. Convened ostensibly to correct the excesses of the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) and Mao Zedong's commune and backyard-furnace campaigns, the conference instead became a watershed in intra-Party politics when it turned on its critics. Its central document, Peng Dehuai's private "Letter of Opinion" (万言书) addressed to Mao on 14 July 1959, candidly catalogued the famine, falsified grain statistics, and "petty-bourgeois fanaticism" of the Leap, prompting Mao to recast a corrective meeting into a struggle against "right opportunism."

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In July 1959 at Lushan, Marshal Peng Dehuai handed Mao Zedong a private letter criticising the Great Leap Forward; Mao branded him a "right opportunist" and stripped him of the defence ministry, installing Lin Biao.

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The Lushan Conference marked the collapse of the relatively collective leadership of the early People's Republic and the consolidation of Mao's personal supremacy, prefiguring the methods of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). Peng Dehuai was rehabilitated only posthumously; he died in 1974 after persecution, and the CCP formally cleared his name in December 1978 at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee, the same meeting that launched Deng Xiaoping's "Reform and Opening." A second Lushan meeting in 1970 saw Mao move against Lin Biao's faction over the question of restoring the state chairmanship, foreshadowing the 1971 Lin Biao incident. The 1981 "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party" retrospectively affirmed Peng's correctness and condemned the anti-rightist struggle launched at Lushan.

For exam purposes, the Lushan Conference appears in modern Chinese history and comparative-politics papers (notably China Guokao history sections and UPSC/FSOT world-history segments) as a case study in the suppression of dissent under one-party rule and the link between political centralisation and policy catastrophe. Typical question angles ask candidates to connect Peng Dehuai's letter to the Great Leap famine, to explain the rise of Lin Biao and the militarisation of Maoist politics, or to trace the 1959 purge to its 1978 reversal. Distinguish the 1959 plenum from the 1970 Lushan meeting, and remember that the conference's significance lies less in what it decided than in what it foreclosed: institutional checks on Mao within the Party.

Frequently asked questions

Who was purged at the 1959 Lushan Conference and why?

Defence Minister Peng Dehuai was purged for his 14 July 1959 'Letter of Opinion' criticising the Great Leap Forward's famine and statistical falsification. Mao recast it as an anti-Party attack, removing Peng along with Huang Kecheng, Zhang Wentian, and Zhou Xiaozhou.

What was the consequence of the Lushan Conference for the Great Leap Forward?

Rather than correcting the Leap, the conference intensified it by silencing internal criticism. This prolonged the policy and contributed directly to the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1962, which killed tens of millions.

When was Peng Dehuai rehabilitated?

Peng died in 1974, persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. The CCP formally rehabilitated him in December 1978 at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee, and the 1981 historical Resolution affirmed his criticisms were correct.

How does the 1959 Lushan Conference differ from the 1970 meeting at Lushan?

The 1959 enlarged Politburo meeting and Eighth Plenum purged Peng Dehuai. The 1970 Lushan meeting (Second Plenum of the Ninth Central Committee) saw Mao move against Lin Biao's faction over restoring the state chairmanship, foreshadowing the 1971 Lin Biao incident.

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Supporters

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Take Lushan Conference beyond the glossary

Research Lushan Conference like a delegate

Positions at a glance

Supporters

Opponents

Research it like a delegate

Ask a follow-up about Lushan Conference

Frequently asked questions

Who was purged at the 1959 Lushan Conference and why?

What was the consequence of the Lushan Conference for the Great Leap Forward?

When was Peng Dehuai rehabilitated?

How does the 1959 Lushan Conference differ from the 1970 meeting at Lushan?

Go deeper than the definition

Take Lushan Conference beyond the glossary

Frequently asked questions

Who was purged at the 1959 Lushan Conference and why?

What was the consequence of the Lushan Conference for the Great Leap Forward?

When was Peng Dehuai rehabilitated?

How does the 1959 Lushan Conference differ from the 1970 meeting at Lushan?