Eating Bitterness: New Perspectives On China's Great Leap Forward And Famine (contemporary Chinese Studies Series)

When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, Mao Zedong declared that "not even one person shall die of hunger." Yet some 30 million peasants died of starvation and exhaustion during the Great Leap Forward. Eating Bitterness reveals how men and women in rural and urban settings, from the provincial level to the grassroots, experienced the changes brought on by the party leaders' attempts to modernize China. This landmark volume lifts the curtain of party propaganda to expose the suffering of citizens and the deeply-contested nature of state-society relations in Maoist China. Re-imaging the Chinese peasant : the historiography on the Great Leap Forward -- Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik Romancing the leap : euphoria in the moment before disaster -- Richard King The gendered politics of woman-work : rethinking radicalism in the Great Leap Forward -- Kimberley Ens Manning "The grain problem is an ideological problem" : discources of hunger in 1957 socialist education canpaign -- Felix Wemheuer On the distribution system of large-scale people's communes -- Xin Yi An introduction to the abcs of communization : a case study of Macheng County -- Wang Yanni Food augmentation methods and food substitutes during the great famine -- Gao Hua Under the same Maoist sky : accounting for death rate discrepancies in Anhui and Jiangxi -- Chen Yixin Great Leap City : surviving the famine in Tianjin -- Jeremy Brown How the Great Leap Forward famine ended in rural China : "administration intervention" versus peasant resistance -- Ralph A. Thaxton Jr. A study of Chinese peasant "counter-action" -- Gao Wangling. Re-imaging The Chinese Peasant : The Historiography On The Great Leap Forward -- Romancing The Leap : Euphoria In The Moment Before Disaster -- The Gendered Politics Of Woman-work : Rethinking Radicalism In The Great Leap Forward -- The Grain Problem Is An Ideological Problem : Discources Of Hunger In 1957 Socialist Education Canpaign -- On The Distribution System Of Large-scale People's Communes -- An Introduction To The Abcs Of Communization : A Case Study Of Macheng County -- Food Augmentation Methods And Food Substitutes During The Great Famine -- Under The Same Maoist Sky : Accounting For Death Rate Discrepancies In Anhui And Jiangxi -- Great Leap City : Surviving The Famine In Tianjin -- How The Great Leap Forward Famine Ended In Rural China : Administration Intervention Versus Peasant Resistance -- A Study Of Chinese Peasant Counter-action. Edited By Kimberley Ens Manning And Felix Wemheuer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [295]-315) And Index. When the Chinese Communist Party assumed power, Mao Zedong declared that “not even one person shall die of hunger.” A little over a decade later, China was in the midst of the most devastating famine in modern history. Between 1957 and 1962 – the years commonly associated with Mao's Great Leap Forward – some 30 million peasants died of starvation and exhaustion. Rather than exploring why party leaders stumbled so badly in their attempts to modernize China, the contributors to this landmark collection draw on newly available sources to show how men and women in rural and urban settings experienced the changes during this period. Eating Bitterness lifts the curtain of officially propagated images of mass mobilization to expose the uneven and deeply contested nature of state-society relations in Maoist China. It also illuminates the role that history writing and memory have played in shaping narratives of the recent past. Cover ......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 8 Acronyms......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 Re-Imagining the Chinese Peasant ......Page 39 2 Romancing the Leap......Page 62 3 The Gendered Politics of Woman-Work......Page 83 4 “The Grain Problem Is an Ideological Problem”......Page 118 5 On the Distribution System of Large-Scale People’s Communes......Page 141 6 An Introduction to the ABCs of Communization......Page 159 7 Food Augmentation Methods and Food Substitutes during the Great Famine......Page 182 8 Under the Same Maoist Sky......Page 208 9 Great Leap City......Page 237 10 How the Great Leap Forward Famine Ended in Rural China......Page 262 11 A Study of Chinese Peasant “Counter-Action”......Page 283 Bibliography......Page 306 Contributors......Page 327 Index......Page 328 When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, Mao Zedong declared that "not even one person shall die of hunger." Yet some 30 million peasants died of starvation and exhaustion during the Great Leap Forward. Eating Bitterness reveals how men and women in rural and urban settings, from the provincial level to the grassroots, experienced the changes brought on by the party leaders' stumbled attempts to modernize China. This landmark volume lifts the curtain of party propaganda to expose the suffering of citizens and the deeply-contested nature of state-society relations in Maoist China When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, Mao Zedong declared that not even one person shall die of hunger. Yet some 30 million peasants died of starvation and exhaustion during the Great Leap Forward. Eating Bitterness reveals how men and women in rural and urban settings, from the provincial level to the grassroots, experienced the changes brought on by the party leaders attempts to modernize China. This landmark volume lifts the curtain of party propaganda to expose the suffering of citizens and the deeply contested nature of state-society relations in Maoist China. Eating Bitterness reveals what the Great Leap Forward meant for ordinary men and women in Maoist China.