Interview with Feng Silan

Feng Silan (b. 1939) is a resident of Langyaciwan Village, Shaanxi Province. In this interview, Feng recalls the life during the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine. During the Great Leap Forward in 1958, when Feng’s husband was producing iron, Feng was building reservoirs and dams, so they had to ask the older generation to take care of their children. At that time, they built a dam in Fengjiayan, however, in the end, because there was no water, all the work was wasted. When eating at the communal canteen, people couldn’t even find wild vegetables, so they had to eat all kinds of grass and leaves. Although no villager died of starvation, many developed edema and constipation and some even lost hair.

冯四兰1939年出生，是陕西省榆林市子洲县高平乡狼芽刺湾村村民。在这段口述中，冯老人讲述了大跃进和大饥荒时的生活。58年大跃进时，冯老人的丈夫去炼钢铁，冯老人则修堤打坝，孩子都给老人带。当时他们在冯家岩那里造了一个大坝，结果没有水，所有的工作都白费了。吃食堂的时候连野菜都找不到，只能吃些草叶。村里虽然没有人饿死，但不少村民饿得浮肿、便秘，甚至有人头发都掉了。

Transcripts for this interview and more may be available under the ‘Documents’ link above. 采访抄录和相关内容，请点击查看上面的’Documents’链接。