Do you have any context for the photo? You have to remember that until the economic reforms of the 1980s took hold, the vast majority of Chinese citizens were essentially subsistence farmers, so the fact that they look destitute is not surprising.

Additionally, during the Cultural Revolution, mass campaigns were a common form of mobilizing the public. In each farming village, local party committees would stage mandatory village meetings to drive home the message of whatever campaign was being promoted from the top. These political campaigns were usually to flush out the enemies of communism (usually more imagined than real but that’s material for another post) such as rich peasants or capitalist roaders, or to strengthen national defense. Farmers all attended though the extent to which they really absorbed the campaign message is questionable.

It seems likely this photo was of one of these campaign meetings but without context it’s hard to tell which one or when exactly during the Cultural Revolution this photo was taken.

Source: Chen Village - Chen, Unger and Madsen