Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962

by Frank Dikotter

  39 Yunnan, 10 and 22 July 1961, 2-1-4587, pp. 82 and 112–14.

  40 Guangdong, 20 July, 2 Aug. and 23 Nov. 1961, 253-1-11, pp. 44, 51 and 53.

  41 Xuancheng, 25 June 1961, 3-1-257, p. 32.

  42 Hunan, 12 Dec. 1961, 186-1-587, p. 5.

  43 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing, 12 June 1958 and 14 Jan. 1959, 105-604-1, pp. 21 and 24–30.

  44 PRO, London, 28 Feb. 1959, FO371-143870.

  45 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing, 23 Aug. 1961, 106-999-3, pp. 40–55.

  46 RGANI, Moscow, 22 May 1962, 5-30-401, p. 39.

  47 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing, 10 May 1962, 118-1100-9, pp. 71–9.

  48 RGANI, Moscow, 28 April 1962, 3-18-53, pp. 2–3 and 8–12.

  49 RGANI, Moscow, May 1962, 3-16-89, pp. 63–7.

  50 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing, 30 June 1962, 118-1758-1, pp. 1–8.

  51 RGANI, Moscow, 6 Nov. 1964, 5-49-722, pp. 194–7.

  52 Hong Kong Annual Report, Hong Kong: Government Printer, 1959, p. 23.

  53 ICRC, Geneva, report from J. Duncan Wood, Sept. 1963, BAG 234 048-008.03.

  54 Hong Kong Standard, 11 May 1962.

  55 According to a defector interviewed by the CIA; see CIA, Washington, 27 July 1962, OCI 2712-62, p. 4; a similar report was carried by the South China Morning Post, 6 June 1962.

  56 ICRC, Geneva, report from Paul Calderara, 5 June 1962, BAG 234 048-008.03.

  57 Ibid.; see also PRO, Hong Kong, 1958–60, HKRS 518-1-5.

  58 Hansard, ‘Hong Kong (Chinese Refugees)’, HC Deb, 28 May 1962, vol. 660, cols 974–7; ICRC, Geneva, report from J. Duncan Wood, Sept. 1963, BAG 234 048-008.03.

  59 Aristide R. Zolberg, Astri Suhrke and Sergio Aguayo, Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 160.

  60 ‘Refugee dilemma’, Time, 27 April 1962.

  Chapter 28: Children

  1 Wujiang, 13 April 1959, 1001-3-92, pp. 63–9.

  2 Beijing, 4 and 18 Aug. 1960, 84-1-167, pp. 1–9 and 43–52.

  3 Beijing, 31 March 1959, 101-1-132, pp. 26–40.

  4 Guangzhou, 9 Jan., 7 March, 29 April, 18 May and 14 Dec. 1959, 16-1-19, pp. 19–24, 51–5, 57–61, 64–6 and 70; on the use of physical punishment in Shanghai see Shanghai, 24 Aug. 1961, A20-1-54, p. 18.

  5 Shanghai, 7 May 1961, A20-1-60, p. 64; 24 Aug. 1961, A20-1-54, pp. 16–24.

  6 Beijing, 4 Aug. 1960, 84-1-167, pp. 43–52.

  7 Beijing, 18 Aug. 1960, 84-1-167, pp. 1–9.

  8 Nanjing, 14 Nov. 1961, 5012-3-584, p. 79.

  9 Guangzhou, 18 May 1959, 16-1-19, pp. 51–5.

  10 Nanjing, 21 April 1960, 4003-2-347, pp. 22–6.

  11 Hubei, 25 Dec. 1960, SZ34-5-16, pp. 2–3.

  12 Guangdong, 1961, 314-1-208, p. 16.

  13 For the rules and regulations in the secondary school system, see Suzanne Pepper, Radicalism and Education Reform in 20th-Century China: The Search for an Ideal Development Model, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 293 ff.

  14 Wuhan, 9 April and 26 Dec. 1958, 70-1-767, pp. 33–45.

  15 Wuhan, 6 Jan. 1959, 70-1-68, pp. 19–24.

  16 Nanjing, 28 Dec. 1958, 4003-1-150, p. 81.

  17 Hunan, 2 June 1960, 163-1-1087, pp. 43–5.

  18 Sichuan, May 1961, JC1-2346, p. 15.

  19 Guangdong, 25 Jan. 1961, 217-1-645, pp. 11–14.

  20 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-646, pp. 10–11.

  21 Hunan, 8 April 1961, 146-1-583, p. 96.

  22 Ibid.

  23 Guangdong, 31 Dec. 1960, 217-1-576, pp. 54–68.

  24 Hunan, 13 Feb. 1961, 151-1-18, pp. 24–5.

  25 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4.

  26 Neibu cankao, 30 Nov. 1960, p. 16.

  27 Yunnan, 22 May 1959, 2-1-3700, pp. 93–8.

  28 Interview with Ding Qiao’er, born 1951, Huangxian county, Shandong, Dec. 2006.

  29 Interview with Liu Shu, born 1946, Renshou county, Sichuan, April 2006.

  30 Interview with Li Erjie, born 1922, Chengdu, Sichuan, April 2006.

  31 On this phenomenon one should read Robert Dirks, ‘Social Responses during Severe Food Shortages and Famine’, Current Anthropology, vol. 21, no. 1 (Feb. 1981), p. 31.

  32 Nanjing, 10 May 1960, 5003-3-722, pp. 27–31.

  33 Hebei, 10 Feb. 1960, 855-18-778, p. 36.

  34 Interview with Li Erjie, born 1922, Chengdu, Sichuan, April 2006.

  35 Nanjing, 4 Jan. 1960, 4003-1-202, p. 1; 21 July, 30 Sept. and 15 Dec. 1959, 4003-2-315, pp. 17, 20, 27 and 36.

  36 Nanjing, 4 Jan. 1960, 4003-1-202, p. 1; 21 July, 30 Sept. and 15 Dec. 1959, 4003-2-315, pp. 17, 27 and 36.

  37 Nanjing, 20 May 1959, 4003-2-315, pp. 12–14.

  38 Wuhan, 20 July 1959, 13-1-765, pp. 72–3; Hubei, 30 Aug. 1961, SZ34-5-16, pp. 35–6.

  39 Hubei, 18 Sept. 1961, SZ34-5-16, pp. 41–2.

  40 Hebei, 17 Aug. 1961, 878-2-17, pp. 142–5.

  41 Hebei, 24 Jan. 1961, 878-2-17, pp. 1–5.

  42 Guangdong, 10 Feb. 1961, 217-1-640, pp. 18–28.

  43 Sichuan, 1 Oct. 1961, JC44-1432, pp. 89–90; a September 1962 report mentions 200,000 orphans; see JC44-1442, p. 34.

  44 Sichuan, 1962, JC44-1440, pp. 46 and 118–19.

  45 Sichuan, 1962, JC44-1441, p. 35.

  46 Interview with Zhao Xiaobai, born 1948, Lushan county, Henan, May and Dec. 2006.

  47 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2768, pp. 27–9.

  48 Hubei, 24 April, 30 Aug. and 18 Sept. 1961, SZ34-5-16, pp. 19, 35–6 and 41–2.

  49 Yunnan, 16 May 1959, 81-4-25, p. 17.

  50 Hunan, 30 June 1964, 187-1-1332, p. 14.

  Chapter 29: Women

  1 See Dikötter, Exotic Commodities.

  2 On this one should read Gao Xiaoxian, ‘ “The Silver Flower Contest”: Rural Women in 1950s China and the Gendered Division of Labour’, Gender and History, vol. 18, no. 3 (Nov. 2006), pp. 594–612.

  3 Hunan, 13 March 1961, 146-1-582, pp. 80–1.

  4 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2611, p. 3.

  5 Hunan, 13 March 1961, 146-1-582, pp. 80–1.

  6 Guangdong, 23 March 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 10–13.

  7 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-618, pp. 18–41.

  8 Guangdong, 2 Jan. 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 61–6.

  9 Beijing, 15 March 1961, 1-28-29, pp. 1–2.

  10 Beijing, 10 Feb. 1961, 84-1-180, pp. 1–9.

  11 The figure for Hunan was an estimate of ‘gynaecological problems’, defined as prolapse of the uterus or lack of menstrual periods for a duration of at least half a year in working women, excluding those who were too sick actually to work; Shanghai, 1 Feb. 1961, B242-1-1319-15, p. 1; Hunan, 8 Dec. 1960, 212-1-508, p. 90; see also Hebei, 19 Jan. 1961, 878-1-7, pp. 1–4.

  12 Hubei, 23 Feb. 1961, SZ1-2-898, pp. 12–17.

  13 Guangdong, 6 April 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 1–9.

  14 Hebei, 27 June 1961, 880-1-7, pp. 53 and 59.

  15 Hebei, 27 April 1961, 880-1-7, p. 88.

  16 Hebei, 2 June 1960, 855-9-4006, p. 150.

  17 Hunan, 21 Jan. 1961, 146-1-580, p. 45.

  18 Hunan, 24 Feb. 1961, 146-1-588, p. 9.

  19 Hunan, 1959, 141-1-1322, pp. 2–5 and 14.

  20 Neibu cankao, 30 Nov. 1960, p. 17.

  21 Kaiping, 24 Sept. 1960, 3-A10-76, p. 19.

  22 Kaiping, 6 June 1959, 3-A9-80, p. 6.

  23 Sichuan, 18 Aug. 1962, JC44-3927, pp. 2–6.

  24 Nanjing, 20 May 1959, 4003-2-315, p. 12.

  25 Neibu cankao, 13 Feb. 1961, pp. 14–15.

  26 Neibu cankao, 12 June 1961, pp. 9–10.

  27 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-618, pp. 18–41.

  28 David Arnold, Famine: Social Crisis and Historical Change, Oxford: Blackwell, 1988, p. 89.

  Chapter 30: The Elderly

  1 Charlotte Ikels, Aging and Adaptation: Chinese in Hong Kong and the United States, Hamden: Archon Books, 1983, p. 17.

  2 Macheng, 15 Jan. 1959, 1-1-443, p. 28.

  3 Deborah Davis-Frie
dmann, Long Lives: Chinese Elderly and the Communist Revolution, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991, p. 87, quoting the People’s Daily dated 15 Jan. 1959.

  4 Beijing, May 1961, 1-14-666, p. 25.

  5 Guangdong, 10 Feb. 1961, 217-1-640, pp. 18–28.

  6 Sichuan, 29 Nov. and 24 Dec. 1958, JC1-1294, pp. 71 and 129.

  7 Sichuan, 1959, JC44-2786, p. 55.

  8 Hunan, 1961, 167-1-1016, pp. 1 and 144.

  9 Hunan, 1960, 146-1-520, p. 102.

  10 Interview with Jiang Guihua, born 1940, Zhaojue county, Sichuan, April 2007.

  11 Hubei, 3 July 1961, SZ18-2-202, p. 70.

  Chapter 31: Accidents

  1 Hunan, 5 Nov. 1958, 141-1-1051, p. 123.

  2 Hunan, 9 March 1959, 163-1-1046, p. 24.

  3 Nanjing, 16 April 1959, 4003-1-279, pp. 151–2.

  4 Nanjing, 31 Oct. 1959, 5003-3-711, p. 33.

  5 Hubei, 5 Jan. 1960, SZ34-4-477, p. 34.

  6 Hunan, 16 Jan. and 12 Feb. 1960, 141-1-1655, pp. 54–5 and 66–7.

  7 Report from the State Council, Hubei, 3 March 1960, SZ34-4-477, p. 29.

  8 Hunan, July 1959, 141-1-1224, pp. 13–14.

  9 Chishui, 27 Feb. 1959, 1-A10-25, p. 2.

  10 Li, Dayuejin, vol. 2, p. 233.

  11 Report by Mao Qihua to the centre, Gansu, 4 Sept. 1960, zhongfa (60) 825, 91-18-154, pp. 99–106; the report estimated that, out of 13,000 casualties, about 5,000 happened in the mining industry.

  12 Sichuan, 15 June to 19 Nov. 1962, JC1-3174, pp. 4–6.

  13 Hunan, 4 Oct. 1959, 141-1-1258, pp. 12–13; July 1959, 141-1-1224, pp. 13–14.

  14 Nanjing, Sept.–Oct. 1959, 5035-2-5, pp. 15–21; 3 Aug. 1961, 9046-1-4, pp. 47–54.

  15 Nanjing, 12 Jan. 1959, 5003-3-721, pp. 1–7.

  16 Nanjing, 9 Jan. 1959, 4003-1-171, p. 17.

  17 Hunan, May 1959, 141-1-1258, pp. 63–4.

  18 Hubei, 12 Sept. 1960, SZ34-4-477, pp. 70–81.

  19 Gansu, 1 Nov. 1961, 91-9-215, p. 72.

  20 Guangdong, 7 Aug. 1961, 219-2-319, pp. 56–68.

  21 Gansu, 12 and 16 Jan. 1961, 91-18-200, pp. 32 and 84.

  Chapter 32: Disease

  1 Li, Private Life of Chairman Mao, pp. 339–40.

  2 Nanjing, 7–10 Oct. 1961, 5065-3-467, pp. 33–7 and 58–61.

  3 Wuhan, 11 Sept. 1959, 30-1-124, pp. 40–2; 22 June 1959, 28-1-650, pp. 27–8.

  4 Sichuan, 18 Jan. 1961, JC1-2418, p. 2; also JC1-2419, p. 43.

  5 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2419, p. 46.

  6 Sichuan, 1960, JC133-220, p. 137.

  7 Guangdong, 30 Oct. 1961, 235-1-255, pp. 170 and 179; Shanghai, 28 July and 24 Aug. 1961, B242-1-1285, pp. 28–37 and 46–9.

  8 Sichuan, 1960, JC1-2007, pp. 38–9.

  9 A systematic analysis of all county gazetteers appears in Cao Shuji, Da jihuang: 1959–1961 nian de Zhongguo renkou (The Great Famine: China’s population in 1959–1961), Hong Kong: Shidai guoji chuban youxian gongsi, 2005, and a good example is p. 128.

  10 Hunan, 5 Jan. 1959, 141-1-1220, pp. 2–3; 1962, 265-1-309, pp. 4–5.

  11 Nanjing, 6 April 1959, 4003-1-171, p. 138.

  12 Nanjing, 25 Oct. 1959, 5003-3-727, pp. 19–21.

  13 Hubei, 1961, SZ1-2-898, pp. 18–45.

  14 Shanghai, 18 Oct. 1959, B242-1-1157, pp. 23–6.

  15 Wuxi, 1961, B1-2-164, pp. 58–66.

  16 Hubei, 25 Feb. and 7 July 1961, SZ1-2-898, pp. 7–11 and 45–9.

  17 Hunan, 25 Nov. 1960, 265-1-260, p. 85; 8 Dec. 1960, 212-1-508, p. 163.

  18 Nanjing, 27 Aug. 1959, 5003-3-727, p. 88.

  19 Hubei, 6 June 1961, SZ1-2-906, p. 29; 21 July 1961, SZ1-2-898, pp. 49–52.

  20 Nanjing, 3 April 1959, 5003-3-727, p. 67.

  21 Wuhan, 19 Feb. 1962, 71-1-1400, pp. 18–21.

  22 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4.

  23 Guangdong, 1959, 217-1-69, pp. 95–100.

  24 Zhejiang, 10 May 1960, J165-10-66, pp. 1–5.

  25 Sichuan, 9 July 1960, JC133-219, p. 106.

  26 Wuhan, 16 Aug. 1961, 71-1-1400, pp. 9–10.

  27 Interview with Li Dajun, born 1947, Xixian county, Henan, Oct. 2006.

  28 Nanjing, 1961, 5065-3-381, pp. 53–4.

  29 Shanghai, 11 May 1961, B242-1-1285, pp. 1–3.

  30 Wuhan, 30 June 1959, 30-1-124, pp. 31–3.

  31 Wuhan, 1 July 1960, 28-1-650, p. 31.

  32 Wuhan, 30 June 1959, 30-1-124, pp. 31–3.

  33 Sichuan, 16 May 1960, JC1-2115, pp. 57–8.

  34 Sichuan, 1960, JC1-2114, p. 8.

  35 Sichuan, 1959, JC9-448, pp. 46–7.

  36 Sichuan, 1959, all of JC44-2786.

  37 Report from the Ministry of Health, Hubei, 24 April 1960, SZ115-2-355, pp. 10–13.

  38 Hunan, 11 May 1960, 163-1-1082, pp. 26–8.

  39 A good description appears in Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Clearwater, FL: Touchstone, 2003, p. 232.

  40 Warren Belasco, ‘Algae Burgers for a Hungry World? The Rise and Fall of Chlorella Cuisine’, Technology and Culture, vol. 38, no. 3 (July 1997), pp. 608–34.

  41 Jean Pasqualini, Prisoner of Mao, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973, pp. 216–19.

  42 Beijing, 1 Feb. 1961, 1-14-790, p. 109.

  43 Barna Talás, ‘China in the Early 1950s’, in Näth, Communist China in Retrospect, pp. 58–9.

  44 Interview with Yan Shifu, born 1948, Zhiyang, Sichuan, April 2007.

  45 Interview with Zhu Erge, born 1950, Jianyang, Sichuan, April 2007.

  46 Hebei, 30 April and Aug. 1960, 855-18-777, pp. 167–8; 855-18-778, pp. 124–5.

  47 Reports from the Ministry of Health, Hubei, March and Dec. 1960, SZ115-2-355, pp. 12–15.

  48 Beijing, 14 April 1961, 2-13-135, pp. 5–6.

  49 Interview with Meng Xiaoli, born 1943, Qianjiang county, Hubei, Aug. 2006.

  50 Interview with Zhao Xiaobai, born 1948, Lushan county, Henan, May and Dec. 2006.

  51 Interview with Zhu Erge, born 1950, Jianyang, Sichuan, April 2007.

  52 Beijing, 3 July 1961, 2-1-136, pp. 23–4.

  53 Sichuan, 1960, JC133-219, p. 154.

  54 Sichuan, Oct. 1961, JC1-2418, p. 168; 1962, JC44-1441, p. 27.

  55 Sichuan, 31 Aug. 1961, JC1-2620, pp. 177–8.

  56 Interview with He Guanghua, born 1940, Pingdingshan, Henan, Oct. 2006.

  57 How hunger works is ably analysed in Sharman Apt Russell, Hunger: An Unnatural History, New York: Basic Books, 2005.

  58 Wu Ningkun and Li Yikai, A Single Tear: A Family’s Persecution, Love, and Endurance in Communist China, New York: Back Bay Books, 1994, p. 130.

  59 Guangdong, 23 March 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 10–13.

  60 Shanghai, Jan.–Feb. 1961, B242-1-1285, pp. 1–3 and 17–27.

  61 Hebei, 1961, 878-1-7, pp. 12–14.

  62 Hebei, 21 Jan. 1961, 855-19-855, p. 103.

  Chapter 33: The Gulag

  1 ‘Shanghai shi dongjiaoqu renmin fayuan xingshi panjueshu: 983 hao’, private collection, Frank Dikötter.

  2 Forty per cent were sentenced to a term of one to five years, 25 per cent were put under supervision; Nanjing, 8 June 1959, 5003-3-722, p. 83.

  3 See Frank Dikötter, ‘Crime and Punishment in Post-Liberation China: The Prisoners of a Beijing Gaol in the 1950s’, China Quarterly, no. 149 (March 1997), pp. 147–59.

  4 Papers from the tenth national conference on national security, Gansu, 8 April 1960, zhongfa (60) 318, 91-18-179, pp. 11–12.

  5 Hebei, 1962, 884-1-223, p. 149.

  6 Hebei, 23 Oct. 1960, 884-1-183, p. 4.

  7 Guangdong, 1961, 216-1-252, pp. 5–7 and 20.

  8 Gansu, 3 Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, pp. 291–2; the novelist Yang Xianhui vividly described the conditions in the camp on the basis of interviews with survivors, and estimated that 1,300 out of 2,400 prisoners perished, which is confirmed by the Gansu archives; Yang Xianhui, Jiabiangou jishi: Yang Xianhui zhong-duan pian xiaoshuo jingxuan (A record of Jiabian Valley: A selection of stories by Yang Xianhui), Tianjin: Tianjin guji c
hubanshe, 2002, p. 356.

  9 Report from the provincial Public Security Bureau, Gansu, 26 June 1960, 91-9-63, pp. 1–4.

  10 Gansu, 15 Jan. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 62.

  11 Hebei, 1962, 884-1-223, p. 150.

  12 Papers from the tenth national conference on national security, Gansu, 8 April 1960, zhongfa (60) 318, 91-18-179, p. 26.

  13 Ibid.

  14 Ibid., pp. 11–12.

  15 Speech on 21 Aug. 1958, Hunan, 141-1-1036, p. 29.

  16 Hebei, 27 June 1959, 884-1-183, p. 128.

  17 Papers from the tenth national conference on national security, Gansu, 8 April 1960, zhongfa (60) 318, 91-18-179, p. 26.

  18 Hebei, 16 April 1961, 884-1-202, pp. 35–47.

  19 Yunnan, 22 May 1959, 2-1-3700, pp. 93–8.

  20 Guangdong, 2 Jan. 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 61–6.

  21 Kaiping, 22 Sept. 1960, 3-A10-31, p. 10.

  22 Neibu cankao, 30 Nov. 1960, p. 16.

  23 Guangdong, 15 Aug. 1961, 219-2-318, p. 120.

  24 Beijing, 11 Jan. 1961, 1-14-790, p. 17.

  25 This is also the estimate of Jean-Luc Domenach, who has written what remains the most detailed and reliable history of the camp system in China; Jean-Luc Domenach, L’Archipel oublié, Paris: Fayard, 1992, p. 242.

  Chapter 34: Violence

  1 Beijing, 13 May 1959, 1-14-574, pp. 38–40.

  2 Interview with Li Popo, born 1938, Langzhong county, Sichuan, April 2007.

  3 Neibu cankao, 27 June 1960, pp. 11–12.

  4 Guangdong, 25 Jan. 1961, 217-1-645, p. 13.

  5 Guangdong, 30 Dec. 1960, 217-1-576, p. 78.

  6 Guangdong, 5 Feb. 1961, 217-1-645, pp. 35–49.

  7 Hunan, 3 April 1961, 151-1-24, p. 6.

  8 Hunan, 1960, 146-1-520, pp. 97–106.

  9 Hunan, 8 April 1961, 146-1-583, p. 96.

  10 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 25–8.

  11 Hebei, 4 Jan. 1961, 880-1-11, p. 30.

  12 Hunan, 1960, 146-1-520, pp. 97–106.

  13 Guangdong, 16 April 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 123–31; 25 Jan. 1961, 217-1-646, pp. 15–17.

  14 Xinyang diwei zuzhi chuli bangongshi, ‘Guanyu diwei changwu shuji Wang Dafu tongzhifan suo fan cuowu ji shishi cailiao’, 5 Jan. 1962, pp. 1–2.

  15 Guangdong, 16 April 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 123–31.

  16 This happened in Rongxian; Sichuan, 1962, JC1-3047, pp. 37–8.

  17 Guangdong, 16 April 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 123–31; 25 Jan. 1961, 217-1-646, pp. 15–17.

  18 Guangdong, 23 March 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 10–13.

  19 Hunan, 15 Nov. 1960, 141-1-1672, pp. 32–3.