Part 4/10:
The initial years under the Communist regime saw optimistic reforms, particularly in agriculture, as land redistributions lifted much of the peasantry. However, by the mid-1950s, paranoia about the resurgence of capitalist landowners led Mao to advocate for collectivization — the pooling of peasant lands into communal farms, which sowed the seeds of distrust and resentment among the newly empowered populace.