Interview with Yan Linggang

Yan Linggang (b. 1931) is a resident of Yanzhuang Village, Shandong Province. In this interview, Yan talks about the life during the Great Famine. The Great Leap Forward started in 1958: all land became the commune’s property and everyone ate at the communal canteen. Soon the villagers were too hungry to work and the production decreased. The famine became worse in 1961 because of the flood. Like many other villagers, Yan took clothes and socks to Tai’an in exchange for dried yams. The policy of “Allocation of Land to Individual Households” was not put into practice in Yanzhuang Village until 1982, which was three years later than other places. After that, their life started to get better.

闫岭岗1931年出生，是山东省德州市陵县丁庄乡闫庄村村民。在这段口述中，闫老人回忆了大饥荒时期的生活。58年开始大跃进，土地入社，吃大锅饭，不久村民饿得干不了活，产量下降。61年大涝，加重饥荒，闫老人和很多村民一样，拿衣服袜子去泰安换山药干。闫庄村82年才分田到户，比别的地方晚了三年，那之后生活逐渐好转。

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。