Zhao Xiuying (b.1933) is a resident of Zhanggao Village, Heguan Town, Qingzhou City, Shandong Province. In this interview, Zhao recalls life during the Great Famine. When eating at People's Commune canteen, she made steamed buns with sweet potato vines, which were hard to swallow. While starving every day, she also had to work in the farm. The filmmaker's description of this interview has been translated into English.
Zhao Yongyao (b. 1929), who worked as the leader of the production team, is a resident of Wangjiayan Village, Baiyun Town, Shimen County, Hunan Province. In this interview, Wang recalls how he led the "sister group" to conduct farming experiment, how 95% of the reservoir workers had been tied and beaten, and how the bone of some villagers' ancestors were digged out of tombs and then were boiled to make farming fertilizer. Zhao estimates that 18 villagers died of starvation when running the people's commune canteen. Zhao also mentions that few babies were born during 1958 and 1961. The filmmaker's description of this interview has been translated into English.
Zhao Yuanyun (b. 1950) is a resident of Xuanzhongyu Village, Baiyun Town, Shimen County, Hunan Province. In this interview, Zhao recounted how his classmate, Zhao, attempted suicide several times because he was often criticized for his landlord class status.
Biographical information. Faculty/Staff
Zheng Lanfen (b. 1942) is a resident of Yangjiazhuang Village, Hebei Province. In this interview, Zheng talks about the life during the Great Famine when she was working at the production team. The food given by the production team was far from enough: everyone could only get two jins of wheat when wheat was harvested and then some other grains in the Fall. People had to find wild herbs for extra sustenance and most kids suffered from malnutrition.
Zheng Yuanfu (b. 1934) is a resident of Xiguan Village, Shaanxi Province. In this interview, Zheng recalls the life from 1958 to 1960. The villagers were constructing blast furnace for the whole year in 1958. Almost all the villagers did work like mining, carrying coals, transporting, and pumping the bellows. The villagers started to eat at the communal canteen in August, 1959. Each village was a production team and there were around 170 to 180 people in one team. Everyday they had to build reservoir and dig terraced fields day and night. The communal canteen was closed down in 1960. When there was no enough food, the villagers had to eat starch and elm tree bark. While many people from other villagers died of starvation, no one from Zheng's Xiguan Village starved to death.
Zheng Yuping (b.1948) is a resident of Zoujia Village, Shangdian Town, Binzhou City, Shandong Province. In this interview, Zheng remembers life during the Great Famine. At that time, she went begging in other villages with her mother and younger brother who almost starved to death. One time, the villagers mistakenly accused her father of stealing sweet potato, tied him up and denounced him in a struggle session. Her father even thought of committing suicide because of the false accusation. The filmmaker's description of this interview has been translated into English.
政治工作学习文件. Little book with red plastic dustjacket. Includes color photograph of Mao.
Zhen Liying (b. 1929) is a resident of Changxing Village, Gaolong Town, Chaling County, Hunan Province. In this interview, Zhen recalls how she went to Jiangxi Province to carry iron pipes and went to the nearby village to carry charcoal during the Great Leap Forward, and how she ate tree bark, tree roots, as well as chaff and stole turnip during the Great Famine. Zhen also talks about an old man in the village, who died of constipation because of eating chaff. The filmmaker's description of this interview has been translated into English.
Zhen Zhongyun said that in 1958 during the Great Leap Forward movement, people at her village melted their cooking pans to make iron and claimed successful after geting some metal balls, which was nothing but a failure. She and other villagers looked for kaolin clay and wild vegetables as food. She married into this village in 1962 as her mother wanted her to escape the terrible situation at her own village. Luckily her mother in law was very nice to her.