China was in terminal decline in the late 1800s. The period until 1980s was not decline, it was attempt to recover with various success. Mistakes were made, but

China was in terminal decline in the late 1800s. The period until 1980s was not decline, it was attempt to recover with various success. Mistakes were made, but success were also made. Despite the famine, life expectancy was steadily increasing during the Cultural Revolution, in no small part thanks to the "barefoot doctors" program of organizing and allocating medical personnel. Western comments on the Cultural Revolution is one-sided and myopic. The Great Famine was a failure to recover. It was also the last famine: famines were a regularly occurring event even before PRC. And Taiwan also wasn't a great place back then.