The
Hundred Flowers period refers to a brief interlude in
Chinese history from
1956 to
1957 during which the
Communist Party of China authorities permitted or encouraged a variety of views and solutions. Subsequently an ideological crackdown re-imposed
Maoist orthodoxy in public expression.
The name Hundred Flowers originates from a poem:
百花齊放，百家爭鳴 "Let a hundred flowers bloom: let a hundred schools of thought contend."
See also: History of the People's Republic of China