Interview with Liu Quanmin

Liu Quanmin (b. 1937) is a resident of Jiangwan Village, Shaanxi Province. In this interview, Liu recalls the life during the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine. After leaving the army in 1957, Liu first worked as an accountant at the iron factory, then at the communal canteen, and eventually became the brigade leader. When people were eating at the communal canteen, life was very difficult. Several hundred people were eating together and most of the time they could only get thin soups. Only patients and kids could get a little refined grains. During the Great Famine, everyone could only get around 10 Jin of grains. Due to the shortage of grain, people had to look for wild vegetables, corn leaves, starch, mung bean straws, elm tree bark and sweet potato vines. Sometimes they even ate raw food. As a result, many died of starvation. In 1959, the government started to punish the cadres who violated disciplines. One county secretary in Shanyang County was inspected for lying about the grain production and he shot himself in the end. After the communal canteen was closed down, under the cadres’ leadership, people started to farm at home and life started to improve. In addition, Liu also talks about all kinds of movements from 1958 to 1962, including “Three Red Flags”, “People’s Commune”, “Five Winds”, and “Large Formation Warfare”.

刘全民1937年出生，是陕西省商洛市丹凤县月日镇江湾村村民。在这段口述中，刘老人回忆了大跃进和大饥荒时的情况。刘老人57年当兵复员后，先在铁厂当会计，之后在食堂当会计，后来当大队长。吃大食堂的时候，生活很苦，几百人在一起吃饭，经常吃的是汤汤水水，病人和小孩可以吃一点细粮。到大饥荒时，一个人一个月只有十来斤粮食。因为粮食匮乏，人们只能找野菜、苞谷叶、淀粉、绿豆秸、榆树皮、红薯藤等充饥，有时甚至生吃粮食，许多人因此饿死。59年开始政府对违反纪律的干部进行处理，山阳县的一个县委书记因为虚报粮食产量被调查，最终开枪自杀。食堂解散后大家生产自救，干部带头种地，生活才逐渐得到改善。此外刘老人还讲述解释了58年到62年间的各类运动，包括“三面红旗”、“人民公社”、“刮五风”、“大兵团作战”。

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。