20 Neibu cankao, 21 Oct. 1960, p. 12; Sichuan, 25 May 1959, JC1-1721, p. 3.
21 Guangdong, 23 March 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 10–13.
22 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4.
23 Hebei, 27 June 1961, 880-1-7, p. 55.
24 Sichuan, 27 Jan. 1961, JC1-2606, p. 65; 1960, JC1-2116, p. 105.
25 Guangdong, 12 Dec. 1960, 217-1-643, pp. 33–43.
26 Guangdong, 23 March 1961, 217-1-642, p. 33.
27 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-644, pp. 32–8.
28 Guangdong, 29 Jan. 1961, 217-1-618, pp. 42–6; also Hebei, 27 June 1961, 880-1-7, p. 55.
29 Hunan, 3 and 14 April 1961, 151-1-24, pp. 1–13 and 59–68; also 3 Feb. 1961, 146-1-582, p. 22.
30 Neibu cankao, 21 Oct. 1960, p. 12.
31 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4.
32 Neibu cankao, 30 Nov. 1960, p. 17.
33 Hunan, 3 Feb. 1961, 146-1-582, p. 22.
34 Hunan, 10 Aug. 1961, 146-1-579, pp. 32–3.
35 Sichuan, 1960, JC1-2112, p. 4.
36 Guangdong, 16 April 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 123–31; 25 Jan. 1961, 217-1-646, pp. 15–17.
37 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-644, pp. 32–8; 1961, 217-1-618, pp. 18–41, in particular pp. 21 and 35.
38 Hunan, 1961, 151-1-20, pp. 34–5.
39 Interview with Mr Leung, born 1949, Zhongshan county, Guangdong, 13 July 2006.
40 Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4.
41 Hunan, 8 April 1961, 146-1-583, p. 96; also 12 May 1960, 146-1-520, pp. 69–75.
42 Hunan, Sept. 1959, 141-1-1117, pp. 1–4.
43 Macheng, 20 Jan. 1959, 1-1-378, p. 24; Guangdong, 1960, 217-1-645, pp. 60–4; Neibu cankao, 30 Nov. 1960, p. 17.
44 Beijing, 7 Jan. 1961, 1-14-790, p. 10.
45 Hunan, 1961, 151-1-20, pp. 34–5.
46 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-644, pp. 32–8.
47 Report by Xu Qiwen, Hunan, 12 March 1961, 141-1-1899, pp. 216–22.
48 Yunnan, 9 Dec. 1960, 2-1-4157, p. 171.
49 Report by provincial party committee work team, Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2616, pp. 110–11.
50 Hunan, 15 Nov. 1960, 141-2-125, p. 1.
51 Hunan, 8 April 1961, 146-1-583, p. 95.
52 Report by Xu Qiwen, Hunan, 12 March 1961, 141-1-1899, p. 222.
53 Xinyang diwei zuzhi chuli bangongshi, ‘Guanyu diwei changwu shuji Wang Dafu tongzhifan suo fan cuowu ji shishi cailiao’, 5 Jan. 1962, pp. 1–2.
54 Sichuan, 5 Jan. 1961, JC1-2604, p. 35.
55 Speeches on 21 and 24 Aug. 1958, Hunan, 141-1-1036, pp. 24–5 and 31.
56 Speech by Li Jingquan on 5 April 1962, Sichuan, JC1-2809, p. 11.
57 Hunan, 4 Feb. 1961, 151-1-20, p. 14.
58 Hunan, 1961, 151-1-20, pp. 34–5.
59 Report from central inspection committee, Hunan, 15 Nov. 1960, 141-2-125, p. 3.
60 Sichuan, 29 Nov. 1960, JC1-2109, p. 118.
61 Hunan, 4 Feb. 1961, 151-1-20, p. 14.
62 Ibid., pp. 12–13.
63 Yunnan, 9 Dec. 1960, 2-1-4157, p. 170.
64 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-644, pp. 32–8.
65 Sichuan, 2 May 1960, JC1-2109, pp. 10 and 51.
66 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2610, p. 4.
67 Interview with Wei Shu, born 1920s, Langzhong county, Sichuan, April 2006.
68 Sichuan, 1960, JC133-219, pp. 49 and 131.
69 Adam Tooze, The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, New York: Allen Lane, 2006, pp. 530–1.
70 Guangdong, 8 May 1960, 217-1-575, pp. 26–8.
71 Sichuan, 3 May 1959, JC1-1686, p. 43.
72 Yunnan, 22 May 1959, 2-1-3700, pp. 93–4.
73 Guangdong, 5 Feb. 1961, 217-1-119, p. 44.
74 Guangdong, 2 Jan. 1961, 217-1-643, pp. 61–6.
75 Kaiping, 6 June 1959, 3-A9-80, p. 6.
76 Nanjing, 15 Sept. 1959, 5003-3-721, p. 70.
77 Nanjing, 8 May 1959, 5003-3-721, p. 12.
Chapter 35: Sites of Horror
1 Hunan, 6 Aug. 1961, 146-1-579, pp. 5–6.
2 Material quoted in Yang, Mubei, pp. 901–3.
3 Gansu, 5 July 1965, 91-5-501, pp. 4–5.
4 Ibid., p. 24.
5 Ibid., pp. 5–7.
6 Ibid., p. 7.
7 Gansu, 12 Jan. 1961, 91-4-735, p. 79.
8 Gansu, 10 Feb. 1960, 91-4-648, entire file; 24 March 1960, 91-4-647, entire file.
9 Gansu, 21 April 1960, 91-18-164, pp. 153–60.
10 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2608, pp. 1–3 and 21–2; 1961, JC1-2605, pp. 147–55.
11 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2605, p. 171.
12 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2606, pp. 2–3.
13 Reports by Yang Wanxuan, Sichuan, 22 and 27 Jan. 1961, JC1-2606, pp. 48–9 and 63–4; also 25 and 27 Jan. 1961, JC1-2608, pp. 83–8 and 89–90.
14 Sichuan, 8 Dec. 1958, JC1-1804, pp. 35–7.
15 Sichuan, 4 April 1961, JC12-1247, pp. 7–14.
16 Report from the supervisory committee, Chishui, 1961, 2-A6-2, pp. 25–6.
17 Chishui, 30 Sept. 1958, 1-A9-4, pp. 30–1; 14 Jan. 1961, 1-A12-1, pp. 83–7; Dec. 1960, 1-A11-30, pp. 67–71; also 25 April 1960, 1-A11-39, pp. 11–15.
18 Chishui, 9 May 1960, 1-A11-9, pp. 5–9.
19 Guizhou, 1960, 90-1-2234, p. 24.
20 Guizhou, 1962, 90-1-2708, printed pages 1–6.
21 Chishui, 9 May 1960, 1-A11-9, pp. 5–9.
22 Letter from Nie Rongzhen to Mao Zedong sent from Chengdu, Gansu, 16 March 1960, 91-9-134, p. 2.
23 Shandong, 1962, A1-2-1130, pp. 39–44.
24 Shandong, 1962, A1-2-1127, pp. 7–11.
25 Report by Tan Qilong to Shu Tong and Mao Zedong, Shandong, 11 April 1959, A1-1-465, p. 25.
26 Confession by Shu Tong, Shandong, 10 Dec. 1960, A1-1-634, p. 23.
27 Ibid., p. 9.
28 Letter by Yang Xuanwu on Shu Tong to the provincial party committee, Shandong, 9 April 1961, A1-2-980, p. 15; see also 1961, A1-2-1025, pp. 9–10.
29 This is the estimate of a group of official party historians from Fuyang: Fuyang shiwei dangshi yanjiushi (eds), Zhengtu: Fuyang shehuizhuyi shiqi dangshi zhuanti huibian (Compendium of special topics on the party history of Fuyang during the socialist era), Fuyang: Anhui jingshi wenhua chuanbo youxian zeren gongsi, 2007, p. 155.
30 Fuyang, 17 Aug. 1961, J3-2-280, p. 114.
31 Fuyang, 12 March 1961, J3-1-228, p. 20; 18 Aug. 1961, J3-2-280, p. 126.
32 Fuyang, 10 Jan. 1961, J3-2-278, p. 85.
33 Ibid., p. 86.
34 Fuyang, 12 Aug. 1961, J3-1-228, p. 96b.
35 Fuyang, 17 Aug. 1961, J3-2-280, p. 115.
36 Fuyang, 10 Jan. 1961, J3-2-278, p. 86.
37 Fuyang, 30 Jan. 1961, J3-2-278, pp. 2–9.
38 Confession by Hao Ruyi, leader of Jieshou, Fuyang, 10 Jan. 1961, J3-2-280, p. 48.
39 Ibid.
40 Confession by Zhao Song, leader of Linquan, 15 Feb. 1961, Fuyang, J3-2-280, p. 91.
41 Fuyang, 6 Jan. 1961, J3-1-227, pp. 54–5.
42 Fuyang, 12 June 1961, J3-2-279, p. 15.
43 Fuyang, 20 March 1961, J3-2-278, pp. 67 and 69.
44 Ibid.
45 Fuyang, 29 Feb. 1961, J3-2-278, p. 64.
46 Report from party secretary Liu Daoqian to the regional party committee, Fuyang, 6 Jan. 1961, J3-1-227, pp. 54–5.
Chapter 36: Cannibalism
1 Yunnan, 28 Feb. 1959, 2-1-3700, p. 103.
2 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-646, pp. 25–30.
3 Xili county was a combination, at the time, of Lixian county and Xihe county; police report to the Ministry of Public Security, Gansu, 13 April 1961, 91-9-215, p. 94.
4 Ibid.
5 Report by work group sent by the provincial party committee, Shandong, 1961, A1-2-1025, p. 7.
6 Confession by Zhang Zhongliang, Gansu, 3 Dec. 1960, 91-18-140, p. 19.
7 Confession by Shu Tong, Shandong, 10 Dec. 1960, A1-1-634, p. 10.
8 Minutes of county party committee meeting, Chishui, 9 Dec. 1960, 1-A11-34, pp. 83 and 96.
9 Neibu cankao, 14 April 1960, pp. 25–6.
10 Gansu, Jan.–Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 271.
11 Gansu, 3 March 1961, 91-4-898, pp. 82–7.
12 Sichuan, 1961, JC1-2608, pp. 93 and 96–7.
13 Very much the same happened in the Soviet Union; see Bertrand M. Patenaude, The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002, p. 262.
Chapter 37: The Final Tally
1 Basil Ashton, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza and Robin Zeitz, ‘Famine in China, 1958–61’, Population and Development Review, vol. 10, no. 4 (Dec. 1984), pp. 613–45.
2 Judith Banister, ‘An Analysis of Recent Data on the Population of China’, Population and Development Review, vol. 10, no. 2 (June 1984), pp. 241–71.
3 Peng Xizhe, ‘Demographic Consequences of the Great Leap Forward in China’s Provinces’, Population and Development Review, vol. 13, no. 4 (Dec. 1987), pp. 639–70; Chang and Holliday, Mao, p. 438.
4 Yang, Mubei, p. 904.
5 Cao, Da jihuang, p. 281.
6 Becker, Hungry Ghosts, pp. 271–2.
7 Hubei, 1962, SZ34-5-143, entire file.
8 Hubei, March 1962, SZ34-5-16, p. 43.
9 Gansu, 16 March 1962, 91-9-274, p. 1; followed by a reminder sent on 24 May 1962 on p. 5.
10 Fuyang, 1961, J3-1-235, p. 34.
11 Sichuan, Nov.–Dec. 1961, JC1-2756, p. 54.
12 Sichuan, Oct. 1961, JC1-2418, p. 106.
13 Sichuan, 2 Nov. 1959, JC1-1808, p. 166.
14 Hebei, 10 Jan. 1961, 856-1-221, pp. 31–2; 17 Dec. 1960, 858-18-777, pp. 96–7.
15 Hebei, 29 Dec. 1960, 855-18-777, pp. 126–7.
16 Sichuan, May–June 1962, JC67-4; also in JC67-1003, p. 3.
17 Sichuan, 23 Feb. 1963, JC67-112, pp. 9–12.
18 Yunnan, 16 May 1959, 81-4-25, p. 17; for the average death rate in 1957 see Zhongguo tongji nianjian, 1984, Beijing: Zhongguo tongji chubanshe, 1984, p. 83; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 191.
19 Speech by Liu Shaoqi, May 1961, Hunan, 141-1-1901, p. 120.
20 Hebei, 21 Jan. 1961, 855-19-855, pp. 100–4; on Hu Kaiming, see Yu, Dayuejin ku rizi, pp. 451–75.
21 Cao, Da jihuang, p. 234.
22 Hebei, 19 Jan. 1961, 878-1-7, pp. 1–4; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 246.
23 Hebei, 19 Jan. 1961, 878-1-7, pp. 1–4; Cao, Da jihuang, pp. 240 and 246.
24 Gansu, Jan.–Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 57; Cao, Da jihuang, pp. 271 and 465.
25 Gansu, Jan.–Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 94; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 273.
26 Gansu, Jan.–Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 107; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 275.
27 Gansu, Jan.–Feb. 1961, 91-18-200, p. 45; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 275.
28 Guizhou, 1962, 90-1-2706, printed page 19.
29 Chishui, 14 Jan. 1961, 1-A12-1, pp. 83–7; Dec. 1960, 1-A11-30, pp. 67–71; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 158.
30 Chishui, 9 May 1960, 1-A11-9, pp. 5–9; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 164.
31 Report on Yanhe county, Guizhou, 1961, 90-1-2270, printed page 1; Cao mentions 24,000 premature deaths for the Tongren region as a whole; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 166.
32 Shandong, 1962, A1-2-1127, p. 46; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 219.
33 Shandong, 1962, A1-2-1130, p. 42.
34 Shandong, 7 June 1961, A1-2-1209, p. 110; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 231.
35 Guangdong, 1961, 217-1-644, p. 72; Cao, Da jihuang, p. 129.
36 Guangdong, 20 Jan. 1961, 217-1-644, p. 61; Cao, Da jihuang, pp. 126–8.
37 Hunan, June and 28 Aug. 1964, 141-1-2494, pp. 74 and 81–2.
38 Ministry of Public Security report on population statistics, 16 Nov. 1963, Chishui, 1-A14-15, pp. 2–3.
39 Report by Central Census Office, 26 May 1964, Chishui, 1-A15-15, pp. 6–7.
40 Becker, Hungry Ghosts, p. 272.
41 Yu, Dayuejin ku rizi, p. 8.
Epilogue
1 Liu’s speech on 27 Jan. 1962, Gansu, 91-18-493, pp. 58–60 and 62.
2 Li, Private Life of Chairman Mao, p. 386.
3 Lin Biao speech, Gansu, 29 Jan. 1962, 91-18-493, pp. 163–4.
4 Zhou Enlai speech, Gansu, 7 Feb. 1962, 91-18-493, p. 87.
5 Liu Yuan, ‘Mao Zedong wei shenma yao dadao Liu Shaoqi’, quoted in Gao, Zhou Enlai, pp. 97–8. For a slightly different version from Liu’s wife, see Huang, Wang Guangmei fangtan lu, p. 288.
A Note on the Author
Frank Dikötter is Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong and Professor of the Modern History of China on leave from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has pioneered the use of archival sources and published seven books that have changed the way historians view modern China, from the classic The Discourse of Race in Modern China (1992) to his last book entitled China before Mao: The Age of Openness (2007). Frank Dikötter is married and lives in Hong Kong.
By the Same Author
The Age of Openness: China before Mao
Exotic Commodities: Modern Objects and Everyday Life in China
Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China
Crime, Punishment and the Prison in Modern China
Imperfect Conceptions: Eugenics in China
Sex, Culture and Modernity in China
The Discourse of Race in Modern China
Copyright © 2010 by Frank Dikötter
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Dikötter, Frank.
Mao’s great famine : the history of China’s most devastating catastrophe, 1958–1962 / Frank Dikötter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8027-7768-3 (hardcover)
1. Famines—China. 2. Food supply—China. 3. China—Economic policy—1949–1976. I. Title.
HC430.F3D55 2010
951.05’5—dc22
2010013141
First published by Walker Publishing Company in 2010
This e-book edition published in 2010
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Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962 Page 47
