Idk how much of that was Big Evil Mao telling people to kill the Four Pests and how much of that was the lingering consequences of a 40 year long Japanese genocidal occupation, brutal civil war, and attendant refugee crises. But if you're really interested in what farm life during the era of Chinese Revolution looked like, there's an excellent historical documentary called "Fanshen" that details the day-to-day life in Long Bow Village from '45 to '48 during the land-reform campaign.
Idk how much of that was Big Evil Mao telling people to kill the Four Pests and how much of that was the lingering consequences of a 40 year long Japanese genocidal occupation, brutal civil war, and attendant refugee crises. But if you're really interested in what farm life during the era of Chinese Revolution looked like, there's an excellent historical documentary called "Fanshen" that details the day-to-day life in Long Bow Village from '45 to '48 during the land-reform campaign.