Interview with Qiu Haiyun

Qiu Haiyun (b. 1944) is a resident of Renjiagou Village, Shaanxi Province. In this interview, Qiu recalls the life during the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine. During the Great Leap Forward, no matter for what reason, if someone did not work for one day, he or she would be fined. Everything was decided by the production team leader, so the villagers did not dare to criticize or offend him. During the Great Famine, lots of villagers got ancylostomiasis because of eating starch. In order to avoid being criticized by the production team leader, Qiu had to carry her kids on her back while working. After giving birth to four kids, Qiu decided to have an abortion when she got pregnant for the fifth time because her family was too poor.

邱海云1944年出生，是陕西省商洛市商南县城关镇任家沟村村民。在这段口述中，邱老人回忆了大跃进和大饥荒时期的生活。大跃进期间，无论什么原因，如果一天不干活就会被罚款，一切队长说了算，村民因此不敢批评或是得罪队长。大饥荒时，不少村民因为吃淀粉得了钩虫病。当时邱老人为了不被队长批评，只能把孩子背在背上一边干活一边带孩子。生了四个孩子以后，因为家里太穷，邱老人在第五次怀孕后选择堕胎。

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。