Interview with Zhang Jiuxi and Rong Shunzhi

Zhang Jiuxi (b. 1949) and Rong Shunzhi (b. 1949) are residents of Shaziying Village, Yang Town, Shunyi District, Beijing. In this interview, they recall the life during the Great Famine. In 1958 when people could eat whatever they wanted at the communal canteen, food went gone very quickly, so the officials from the production team went to everyone's home to check if they were hiding any food. To make space for the communal canteen, many people had to move, including Zhang's family. One of Zhang's uncles was a deserter from the army, so in order to protect this brother, Zhang's dad gave away one of his sons to the cadre of the production team. Zhang Jiuru, who is Zhang Jiuxi's relative, reported his own family members to the government so that he could become the accountant of the production team. He even changed the categorization of Zhang Jiuxi's family from middle peasants to rich peasants. However, because of corruption, Zhang Jiuru was later arrested and sentenced with 12 years in prison.

张久希和荣顺志1949年出生，是北京市顺义区杨镇沙子营村民。在这段口述中，两位老人回忆了大饥荒吃食堂时的经历。58年敞开肚皮吃饭的时候，粮食一下吃没了，生产队就上老百姓家里翻，看有没有人私藏粮食。当时为了给生产队的食堂让地方，好多人都被迫搬家，包括张老人家。张老人的叔叔当兵逃回了家，为了保护自己的弟弟，老人的爸爸把一个儿子送给了生产队的干部。张老人家的亲戚张久如为了自己当官，举报家人，并在四清时把张老人家从中农改成了富农，后来成了大队会计的张久如因为贪污被抓进监狱，被判了12年。

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。