The main cause for this fourfold increase in the shrinkage rate lies in the "grain-first" policy adopted by the Communists in the 1950s to deal with insufficient food supplies.
洞庭面積縮減速度倏然增加了四倍，主因在：一九五○年代，中共為解決人口過剩、糧食不足問題，實施「以糧為綱」政策。