Forgotten Voices of Mao’s Great Famine, 1958-1962: An Oral History

332 Pages·2013·2.165 MB·English

by  Xun Zhou

Forgotten Voices of Mao’s Great Famine
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F O R G OT T E N VO I C E S
O F M AO ’ S
G R E AT FA M I N E ,
1 9 5 8 –1 9 6 2
A N O RA L H I STO RY
Z H O U XU N
New Haven and London
iii
Copyright © 2013 by Yale University.
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Set in Gotham and Garamond type
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zhou, Xun, 1968–
Forgotten voices of Mao’s great famine, 1958–1962: an oral history /
Xun Zhou.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-300-18404-4 (alk. paper)
1. Famines—China—History—20th century. 2. Food supply—China—
History—20th century. 3. China—Population—History—20th century.
I. Title.
HC430.F3Z4672013
363.80951'09045—dc23 2013015473
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992
(Permanence of Paper).
10987654321
I dedicate this book to my grandmother,
a survivor of the Great Famine
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1959
Map of China in xiv
1
Introduction
1 13
The Tragedy of Collectivization
2 66
Endless Campaigns and Political Pressures
3 104
Unnatural Disasters
4 138
Starvation and Death
5 171
Orphans of the Famine
6 198
Famine in the Cities
7 227
Surviving the Famine
8 269
Memories of the Famine
289
Notes
297
Index
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Acknowledgments
First of all I thank the survivors whose courage and generosity
helped to make this book possible.
This book is part of a bigger project undertaken in collaboration
with my colleague Frank Dikötter at the Faculty of Arts, University
of Hong Kong. Between 2008 and 2010 we received a research grant
from the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, and a research
grant from the Chiang Ching-ko Foundation in Taiwan. These
grants allowed me to carry out essential research for this book,
which I acknowledge with gratitude. I also thank the Sino-British
Trust for a pilot grant in 2007 that enabled me to fly to China to
conduct interviews. My deepest gratitude goes to Frank Dikötter,
for he has given me valuable suggestions and encouragement
throughout my research. Without his support this book would not
have been possible.
During the course of my research I have benefited greatly from
conversations with Gao Wanling, formerly of Renmin University of
China in Beijing, and Cao Shuji at Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Cao Shuji also helped me greatly during one of my research trips to
Anhui province. My friend Jiang Anxi, a freelance filmmaker based
in London and Beijing, has given me much help and useful insights
as well as constant support while I was researching this book
in China. I am also grateful to Anna Lora-Wainwright, an
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