Forgotten voices of Mao's great famine, 1958-1962 : an oral history / Zhou Xun.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zhou, Xun, 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Famines--China--History--20th century.

Famines.

Food supply--China--History--20th century.

Food supply.

China--Population--History--20th century.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (332 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

" In 1958, China's revered leader Mao Zedong instituted a program designed to transform his giant nation into a Communist utopia. Called the Great Leap Forward, Mao's grand scheme-like so many other utopian dreams of the 20th century-proved a monumental disaster, resulting in the mass destruction of China's agriculture, industry, and trade while leaving large portions of the countryside forever scarred by man-made environmental disasters. The resulting three-year famine claimed the lives of more than 45 million people in China. In this remarkable oral history of modern China's greatest tragedy, survivors of the cataclysm share their memories of the devastation and loss. The range of voices is wide: city dwellers and peasants, scholars and factory workers, parents who lost children and children who were orphaned in the catastrophe all speak out. Powerful and deeply moving, this unique remembrance of an unnecessary and unhindered catastrophe illuminates a dark recent history that remains officially unacknowledged to this day by the Chinese government and opens a window on a society still feeling the impact of the terrible Great Famine"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Map of China in 1959

Introduction

1. The Tragedy of Collectivization

2. Endless Campaigns and Political Pressures

3. Unnatural Disasters

4. Starvation and Death

5. Orphans of the Famine

6. Famine in the Cities

7. Surviving the Famine

8. Memories of the Famine

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780300199246

0300199244

OCLC:

862746245