Mao's Great Famine: The History Of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62
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- Author：Frank Dikötter
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Summary
Between 1958 and 1962， China descended into hell。 Mao Zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the Great Leap Forward， an attempt to catch up and overtake Britain in less than 15 years。 The experiment ended in the greatest catastrophe the country had ever known， destroying tens of millions of lives。 Access to Communist Party archives has long been denied to all but the most loyal historians， but now a new law has opened up thousands of central and provincial documents that fundamentally change the way one can study the Maoist era。 Frank Dikotter's astonishing， riveting and magnificently detailed book chronicles an era in Chinese history much speculated about but never before fully documented。 Dikotter shows that instead of lifting the country among the world's superpowers and proving the power of communism， as Mao imagined， in reality the Great Leap Forward was a giant - and disastrous -- step in the opposite direction。 He demonstrates， as nobody has before， that under this initiative the country became the site not only of one of the most deadly mass killings of human history （at least 45 million people were worked， starved or beaten to death） but also the greatest demolition of real estate - and catastrophe for the natural environment - in human history， as up to a third of all housing was turned to rubble and the land savaged in the maniacal pursuit of steel and other industrial accomplishments。 Piecing together both the vicious machinations in the corridors of power and the everyday experiences of ordinary people， Dikotter at last gives voice to the dead and disenfranchised。 Exhaustively researched and brilliantly written， this magisterial， groundbreaking account definitively recasts the history of the People's Republic of China。
Reviews
Angela Han
，
The book brings insight into the suffering people faced during Mao's reign。People starved while government's focus was on politics。 They made efforts to industrialize while hiding proof of famine。 The book brings insight into the suffering people faced during Mao's reign。People starved while government's focus was on politics。 They made efforts to industrialize while hiding proof of famine。 。。。more
Anuraag Sharma
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Part 528 Children29 Women30 The ElderlyPart 631 Accidents32 Disease33 The Gulag34 Violence35 Sites of Horror36 Cannibalism37 The Final TallyNOT A BOOK FOT THE FAINT-HEARTED！Yea， they had to eat hearts of buried corpses。Learnt a new word。 It's called Necrophagy。 Part 528 Children29 Women30 The ElderlyPart 631 Accidents32 Disease33 The Gulag34 Violence35 Sites of Horror36 Cannibalism37 The Final TallyNOT A BOOK FOT THE FAINT-HEARTED！Yea， they had to eat hearts of buried corpses。Learnt a new word。 It's called Necrophagy。 。。。more
Hairo Jorge Paitan
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Un libro que pudo haber tenido 200 páginas menos， o 300 menos， o haber sido solo una página e incluso apenas medio párrafo: «Mao fue lo peor que tuvo China。 Si no me creen， lean mis 400 páginas de datos»。 Repetitivo a más no poder。
Alastair Heffernan
，
In Guangshan county， ground zero of the famine， they were met by quiet sobs of despair from famished survivors， huddled in the bitter cold among the rubble of their destroyed homes， surrounded by barren fields marked by graves。 The hearths were stone cold， as everything from doors， windows and lintels to the straw roofs had been ripped out for fuel … one in four people in a local population of half a million had perished in Guangshan。 Mass graves were dug。 Ten infants， still breathing， had been In Guangshan county， ground zero of the famine， they were met by quiet sobs of despair from famished survivors， huddled in the bitter cold among the rubble of their destroyed homes， surrounded by barren fields marked by graves。 The hearths were stone cold， as everything from doors， windows and lintels to the straw roofs had been ripped out for fuel … one in four people in a local population of half a million had perished in Guangshan。 Mass graves were dug。 Ten infants， still breathing， had been thrown into frozen ground in Chengguan。 This quote， picked effectively at random from the hundreds like it in Frank Dikötter’s masterful work Mao’s Great Famine， speaks for itself。 If you want a data-rich， statistically detailed yet always human-focussed， justifiably angry look at the least known tragedy of the twentieth century， this is it。 The book covers the disastrous attempt by the People’s Republic of China to exceed Britain in iron production within fifteen years and catapult itself into the ranks of advanced industrialised nations。 This was to be achieved by a series of reforms， mostly involving mass mobilisation of the peasants in the countryside into various work schemes。 These include the famous ‘backyard’ foundries that spewed out useless iron， to the less familiar: huge irrigation schemes; attempts at revolutionary farming methods， successful on tiny ‘sputnik fields’ but tragically failing on the countryside at large; or quixotic attempts to rid the country of pests， such as a sparrow purge that （as things always do in nature） led to a much more invasive species， the locust， descending on the fields。In all of this， the Chinese government under Mao treated its people （especially in the countryside） indescribably badly。 In recent years I’ve read a considerable bit about the Russian gulags， famed for their cruelty。 Having read Dikötter’s book， I’d wager you’d be hard pressed to decide which was worse。 Hundreds of millions in the countryside were forced off their land， out of their homes and press-ganged into indentured servitude by the state in the name of the common good （indentured because many incurred huge debts trying to buy ultra-scarce food or basic necessities like cloth）。 The lives of those who suffered in this way， far beyond anything George Orwell could envisage （writing his famous book， by great irony， in the year the communist party took over China）， passes comprehension。 I kept having to remind myself throughout: this was not the middle ages; these were not prisoners; this is not fiction; these were ordinary， very real people trying to live their lives and all within my mother’s lifetime。 The damning evidence against the party and the horrors of this book are virtually limitless。 Not only were villagers conscripted and worked to death but they were roundly abused and treated like cattle。 “Two out of three cadres in Chahua routinely resorted to corporal punishment， depriving villagers who were too weak to work of the right to eat。”。 In another horrific section were hear how， in the drive to put more and more fertiliser on fields， everything was ripped down and used， including houses and everything in them。 The dead were not spared this final indignity， as some ended up as food for the crops。 The thing that makes this book so impressive is not simply the attention drawn to these awful events and the sensitive way they are discussed。 It is the shear challenge of getting the evidence at all。 As then， as now， the Chinese government is in no hurry to acknowledge the full toll of the catastrophe， or open up its most secret archives that could tell the best possible picture。 This book is a manifest labour of love by an author keen on getting to the truth and keener still on speaking that to the still powerful party that may never admit to what really happened。 Of those who were directly culpable， Dikötter pulls no punches。 The author is always clear on the level of knowledge the upper echelons of the party had。 Dikötter takes us into the words of Mao at the time to prove there is blood on his hands， pushing hard against the notion that the great famine was simply an unfortunate confluence of natural disasters， poor harvests and economic policy: In Luliang some 13，000 were reported to have perished: thousands were also starving in Lunan， Luoping， Fuyuan， Shizong and other counties … Xie Fuzhi， the party boss in Yunnan … finally decided to report the losses to Mao in November 1958。 The Chairman liked the report。 Here， it seemed， was somebody the could rely on to tell him the truth。 A year later Xie was promoted … As to the deaths， Mao considered them to be a ‘valuable lesson’。 As to the causes， we have Mao’s words for that too: “Bad people have seized power， causing beatings， deaths， grain shortages and hunger。 The democratic revolution has not been completed， as feudal forces， full of hatred towards socialism， are stirring up trouble， sabotaging socialist productive forces。” As the author points out， Mao could not deny the extent of the disaster， but he could “blame the trouble on class enemies”。 When looking over my notes and a few quotes I scribbled down， I was struck by two from opposite ends of the book。 The first gives a brilliant precis of the movement as a whole: The Great Leap Forward was a military campaign fought for a communist paradise in which future plenty for all would largely compensate for the present suffering of a few。 Every war had its casualties， some battles would inevitable be lost， and a few ferocious clashes might exact a tragic toll that could have been avoided … but the campaign had to press on。 At the end of the book， the author returns to the military theme in one of the few attempts I’ve seen to try and understand the tragedy from the minds of those who caused it。 The deeply unsettling direct quote at the end gives a clear insight into how a system constructed around the supposed good of the many could result in killing 45 million of them instead。 These were not merely martial terms rhetorically deployed … All the leaders were military men … They had spent twenty years fighting a guerrilla war in extreme conditions of deprivation。 They had coped with one extermination campaign after another unleashed by the nationalist regime of Chiang Kai-Shek， and then managed to survive the onslaught of the Japanese army in the Second World War … The glorified violence and were inured to massive loss of life … In 1962， having lost millions of people in his province， Li Jingquan compared the Great Leap Forward to the Long March， in which only one in ten had made it to the end: ‘We are not weak， we are stronger， we have kept the backbone。’ 。。。more
Adam
，
This book is full of primary sources and quantitative data regarding the Great Leap Forward， not the most exciting thing I've ever read but it was very comprehensive and I'm looking forward to the other books in this series。 There are so many moving parts in an economy and I think this book comes close to detailing everything that can and did go wrong。 This book is full of primary sources and quantitative data regarding the Great Leap Forward， not the most exciting thing I've ever read but it was very comprehensive and I'm looking forward to the other books in this series。 There are so many moving parts in an economy and I think this book comes close to detailing everything that can and did go wrong。 。。。more
Lennert
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3。5/5
Boothanew
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This is a depressing but important book。 The book details the great famine under Mao’s regime and the events that took place leading up to the Cultural Revolution in China。
Marlon Austin
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This book made me feel sick to my stomach in a way that nothing since Night has done。 The human cost of Mao’s famine， explored in depth in the last few chapters and conservatively estimated at 45 million deaths， is simply horrific。
Willy Robert
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O livro é excelente， apesar da história relatada ser algo horripilante。 Entre 36 a 55 milhões de pessoas mortas por causa de uma política desastrosa que， infelizmente， muitos ignoram ou fingem que não sabem。 O comunismo é isso， por onde passou deixou pra trás um rastro de fome， miséria e caos。
Eric
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Excellent investigative journalism to uncover one of the largest and most horrifying man-made atrocities in history。 In a four year span， approximately 45 million Chinese people were starved， worked， beaten， or tortured to death。 Through a combination of error， idiocy and purposeful persecution， the communist government committed unthinkable horrors， then covered it all up。
Shobha
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The numerous， grotesque details of the suffering was almost impossible to read through。
Jean Graham
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To add to the excellent reviews above， which more than adequately summarize the contents of “Mao’s Great Famine”， the following:1）tA case can be made that the Great Leap Forward was partially an outgrowth of China’s humiliating defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and an attempt to “regain face”， that is， elevate China to a place among the world’s industrial powers。 Mao’s stated goal was to surpass the United Kingdom in industrial and agricultural output within 15 years， and to eventually To add to the excellent reviews above， which more than adequately summarize the contents of “Mao’s Great Famine”， the following:1）tA case can be made that the Great Leap Forward was partially an outgrowth of China’s humiliating defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and an attempt to “regain face”， that is， elevate China to a place among the world’s industrial powers。 Mao’s stated goal was to surpass the United Kingdom in industrial and agricultural output within 15 years， and to eventually surpass the Soviet Union as well。 It was also an outgrowth of his megalomania and desire to be seen as on a par with his hero， Joseph Stalin， whose callous disregard for human life during the Harvest of Sorrow in the 1930’s， the forced collectivization of Ukraine， was matched and exceeded by Mao’s own。 “A single death is a tragedy…a million is just a statistic” （Stalin）。 And this disregard for his fellow citizens was passed on to those below him in every province of the vast country。2）tThe militaristic atmosphere in which the decrees of the GLF were implemented， and， indeed， the entire operating philosophy and spiritual environment of the Chinese Communist Party， created an atmosphere of fear， suspicion and paranoia which infected Mao’s sycophants and party functionaries at every level: “One is an anvil to one’s superiors， and a hammer to one’s inferiors。” And those who suffered were those at the bottom of the ladder: poor farmers in rural areas who were starved， beaten， impoverished， buried alive， hanged， burned， worked to death， and otherwise mistreated or done away with if they failed to meet the artificially inflated production quotas， along with forced collectivization， which party functionaries imposed in order to impress those above them。 The natural environment suffered as well in an increasingly descending spiral of devastation from 1958-1962 as forests were cut down， soil stripped away， and farmland flooded as one misconceived idea （backyard furnaces， etc。） followed another。 And when all was said and done there was little accountability; when everything was said to belong to “the state”， no one took responsibility and there was no motivation to change any of the ideas or projects that were supposed to turn China into a paradise， but instead made it a living hell。 China was an agricultural country which did not have the infrastructure， the trained people， or the financial means to cope with so much drastic change so quickly。 It was a recipe for absolute disaster which quickly became exactly that。3）tThose who dared speak out against Mao were later singled out for his revenge during the Cultural Revolution beginning in 1966， which also convulsed the country and resulted in millions of deaths。 Only after Mao’s death in 1976 did his successor Deng Xiaoping realize that Mao’s brand of communism simply did not work and begin to re-introduce a bit of capitalism and free enterprise into the economy （and to blame Mao’s wife and the other members of the “Gang of Four” for the lingering effects of the GLF and Cultural Revolution）。 This policy was continued and expanded by his successors and has helped to make China the 4）tpowerhouse it is today。 Communism simply does not work。 Free enterprise and the profit motive do。 China learned this lesson the hard way， and many of the scars still remain。**** review by Chuck Graham **** 。。。more
Robert Jeens
，
This is a fast-paced， intensely readable， reliable， and comprehensive account of the Great Leap Forward。 Dikotter details the developments of international politics and intra-Chinese Communist Party struggles， and then how these trickled down out to the regional chiefs and into the villages。 The Great Leap Forward was the worst famine in human history， and it was completely man-made。 What really happened during this unparalleled disaster and who was responsible？ The book is divided into short， e This is a fast-paced， intensely readable， reliable， and comprehensive account of the Great Leap Forward。 Dikotter details the developments of international politics and intra-Chinese Communist Party struggles， and then how these trickled down out to the regional chiefs and into the villages。 The Great Leap Forward was the worst famine in human history， and it was completely man-made。 What really happened during this unparalleled disaster and who was responsible？ The book is divided into short， easily digestible chapters and has six parts: The Pursuit of Utopia， Through the Valley of Death， Destruction， Survival， The Vulnerable， and Ways of Dying。 The Great Leap Forward was Chairman Mao’s plan to seize control of international communism by making China the most powerful， most communist country， bypassing his hated rival Nikita Krushchev， the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union。 Krushchev had denounced Stalin and Stalinism and the cult of the personality and counselled caution in dealings with the capitalist West。 Mao wanted further communism and world revolution， with China in the forefront of the poor masses of peasants in the developing world。 Mao announced his intention for China to surpass Britain in industrial production within fifteen years at a large communist conference in Moscow， in 1957， as one part of his plan to put Krushchev down and raise himself up。 Rather than the decentralization that Krushchev had been advocating， Mao proposed a giant collectivization effort centred around himself in a giant cult of personality。 He started in autumn， 1957。 Collectives of up to 20，000 households were formed in the countryside; as private property was abolished and communal kitchens were created， along with collective creches for child-rearing。 Instead of the individual farmer controlling his land and goods， the state and communist party controlled production and people’s lives， so that Communist Party officials had total control， according to a production plan conceived by bureaucrats at the centre of the state， far removed from the reality of people’s lives。 “Every meaningful incentive was destroyed for the cultivator – the land belonged to the state， the grain he produced was procured at a price that was often below his cost of production， his livestock， tools and utensils were no longer his， often even his home was confiscated。 The local cadre， on the other hand， faced ever greater pressure to fulfil and overfill the plan， having to whip up the workforce in one relentless drive after another。” The result was a regime of violence。 Because there were no carrots to offer， beatings and starvation were used to keep people in line。 Collective village events such as funerals， weddings and markets were abolished and replaced by Party-led struggle sessions， at which farmers were exhorted to ever greater efforts， ever greater loyalty to the Communist Party， and at which the recalcitrant were named， shamed and abused。 People slaughtered and ate their livestock rather than have it commandeered by the communes， and that which survived was often not well taken care of。 Most surviving livestock starved in the famine。 Tools were not taken care of because they belonged to everybody and nobody。 Eventually， the entire economy of rural China broke down。 This was made worse by a massive program of irrigation works started in the autumn of 1957。 These were built by millions of people working with primitive tools， people who were generally famers who should have been tending their fields， with the result that crops rotted because they were not harvested。 The laborers were worked hard and fed poorly， so that there were reports of starvation by spring， 1958。 Millions of cubic meters of earth were moved all over the country to build dams and reroute rivers to improve the availability of water for agriculture。 If this had worked， perhaps some good would have come of it， but many or most of these projects were useless。 Mao denigrated the work of experts like hydrologists， so that the projects were not properly designed。 Many of the dams and weirs and water works never worked at all， and others collapsed later， leading to worse flooding and more crop failures and intensifying starvation and misery rather than alleviating it。 This was a giant disaster。 How was it possible to direct such a great disaster？ By January， 1958， as negative reports began seeping in， Mao launched a great purge of the Communist Party。 He bullied his more conservative rivals on the Politburo， the central decision-making body of the government。 Anyone who opposed Mao’s ideas was labelled a rightist and at least humiliated if not purged。 He had the support of allies like Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi， who backed him up in speeches and ensured ideological compliance all down the line。 From all levels， from the Politburo to the province to the county to the village， Mao’s vision was enforced。 People who tried to speak the truth or resisted were fired， beaten， or even killed。 New agricultural techniques， based on no scientific evidence or experience were introduced with the fervent belief that they would increase crop yields。 Fields were plowed up to two meters deep， in the belief that this would make crop roots deeper。 The actual result was that valuable top soil washed away。 Another technique was called close-cropping， and this involved planting seeds closer together and adding more fertilizer。 The fertilizer washed away and the plants didn’t get enough sunlight。 Targets for agricultural production were greatly increased based upon these beliefs， but the result was that crop yields dropped anywhere up to 90%， and the crop was appropriated from starving peasants。 Officials who questioned the policy were replaced by those who would carry them out no matter the cost。 Everybody lied about how much was being produced as people starved。 China’s international policies made everything worse。 China imported large quantities of high-tech goods， mostly from the Eastern Bloc， but also from Western Europe， for example， power plants， factories and military technology。 It exported mostly minerals and food in return。 Great quantities of rice， edible oils， and meat were exported while the country was starving。 At these giant new factories and power plants， there was a huge emphasis on output， with workers being pushed to work harder and produce more， but little emphasis on input， maintenance or quality control。 The result was that there was great waste and much production of shoddy， useless goods including steel， coal， cement and other basic commodities， which had a knock-on effect further down。 Although industrial workers in cities were generally treated better than rural peasants， in the end there were terrible working conditions， insufficient food or shelter。 By 1961， output in the factories was collapsing。 All of this was to pass British industrial output， and one of the worst ideas for this was backyard steel making。 Local communes were urged to build their own blast furnaces， but the quality of their output was terrible。 Even pots， pans and tools were forcefully collected from farmers and thrown into these neighbourhood blast furnaces， making huge piles of useless junk。 In some provinces 50% of forests were destroyed as wood to fuel the blast furnaces because insufficient coal was available。 Conditions were worse in the countryside than the cities。 Life in a Communist society is not equal。 Rather， society is divided up into good elements and bad， largely upon the basis of ideology and class。 At the top was Mao， and then other top Communist bosses。 The Communist Party itself was over society， and industrial workers in cities were prioritized over peasants in the country。 Rations， housing and other goods portioned out accordingly。 The party bosses ate well in luxurious villas surrounded by servants while hundreds of thousands of people fled the countryside looking for work in the cities。 This was not allowed， but sometimes tolerated。 Or “local cadres beat， starved and tortured those who tried to flee， or exacted punishment from family members。” There was no escape。 The Ministry of Justice was abolished in 1959， and its power was taken up by the local militias， controlled by party cadres。 This led to a system of summary justice in which there were often no trials。 Mao’s word was law， and its interpretation by the local official was iron。 Collectives ran their own prisons， and there were official labour camps and re-education camps as well。 The few judges who remained completely deferred to the Party。 What was happening was the almost total breakdown of society， with it only being sustained by a massive system of coercion。 There was great resistance to collectivization at the local level “As famine spread， the very survival of an ordinary person came increasingly to depend on the ability to lie， charm， hide， cheat， pilfer， forage， smuggle， trick， manipulate or otherwise outwit the state。” The communist system survived because people refused to become communists。 By mid-1958， Mao and other party leaders were receiving reports of starvation， beatings， and terror， but mainly just made “gestures to appease concern” These hardened revolutionary fighters’ attitude was basically that the conversion to communism would require some casualties。 By November， 1960， as the extent of the deaths became clear， the turnaround started。 Mao avoided responsibility by blaming local “rightist elements” for carrying out directives exactly as he had ordered。 Thousands of officials were sacked for zealously doing their duties as they saw it， which included the systematic starvation of those who couldn’t work and the imprisonment， torture or death of anyone who resisted。 By 1961， investigation teams spread out over China and reported on the devastation that had been wrought。 Food was imported and party leaders at the Politburo level were openly denouncing the Great Leap Forward as the disasters became clear。 They carefully absolved Mao of blame， but he lost influence nevertheless， tThe author estimates that at least 45 million people died in the Great Leap Forward， from 1958-1962。 Most starved to death， but many （around 10%） were tortured to death， shot， or deliberately denied food。 Up to 40% of housing was destroyed。 The mud bricks were used for fertilizer， or the bricks were cannibalized to build other buildings， which often were not completed。 There is a genuine debate about to what extent Communism inevitably led to situations such as these。 Certainly， we can see that it has， such as Stalin’s persecution of the Kulacs， or the Killing Fields in Cambodia， or the Great Leap Forward。 To what extent was famine a product of China being a poor country， or being a Communist country。 Well， while Chinese officials at the time tried to blame the famine on weather conditions， in reality the debacle was man-made， specifically by one man， Chairman Mao Tse-tung。 The book is based on very good sources。 The author used regional archives from all over China， interviews with survivors， archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing， secret party reports， minutes of top party meetings and speeches of officials。 In a totalitarian country， information is strictly controlled， but if there was any truth to be extracted， it has been。 What the author has not covered， may never be fully known。 Mao got his revenge in the Cultural Revolution。 Beginning in 1966， he started denouncing those who had halted the Great Leap Forward， feeding them to hordes of Red Guards。 But that is another story。t 。。。more
Bahndosi
，
Dikötter paints a harrowing picture of one of the world’s worst human catstrophes in this spectacular book。
Danilo Lipisk
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 the book is so good that I sometimes felt like stopping reading because of the great detail of the pervsities committed during the "Mao’s Great Leap Forward”。 It is outrageous to discover that millions of people suffered to death， that nature was destroyed and even the dead were used as fertilizer because a madman who only knew how to fight guerrillas believed he could take the reins of a country the size of China。 the book is so good that I sometimes felt like stopping reading because of the great detail of the pervsities committed during the "Mao’s Great Leap Forward”。 It is outrageous to discover that millions of people suffered to death， that nature was destroyed and even the dead were used as fertilizer because a madman who only knew how to fight guerrillas believed he could take the reins of a country the size of China。 。。。more
Jillian
，
An excellent， well constructed review of one of the darkest points in China's modern history。 Dikötter has exhaustively delved into every contributing factor to the famine， then into how it permeated every aspect of Chinese life， beyond just lack of food。 In developed countries where hunger is scarcely confronted， it can be too easy to gloss over the unpleasant details， but the author pulls no punches in describing the brutality that consumed the countryside。 At times， it can be graphic， but thi An excellent， well constructed review of one of the darkest points in China's modern history。 Dikötter has exhaustively delved into every contributing factor to the famine， then into how it permeated every aspect of Chinese life， beyond just lack of food。 In developed countries where hunger is scarcely confronted， it can be too easy to gloss over the unpleasant details， but the author pulls no punches in describing the brutality that consumed the countryside。 At times， it can be graphic， but this achieves a closer representation of what was really going on and allows greater empathy in the reader。 Also notable was the separation of the sections discussing politics at the top party levels， and the reality on the ground; both perspectives were honored， but didn't intrude on the importance of one another。 Overall， it was deeply respectful to the many， many victims of the famine， while still being accessible to the modern reader， who will invariably turn the last page with a feeling of great grief for the losses， and a refreshed appreciation for how lucky we are to live in a freer time。 This should be recommended as required reading in schools。 。。。more
Mike
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I have mixed feelings about this book。 The author has done some respectable and extensive research into previously classified historical archives to be able to write so thoroughly on the famine。 He describes what happened in a level of detail that is important for the historical record， but that also goes past what readers are likely to find interesting or insightful。So I did learn a bit out of this book， but it was quite a slog to get through。 About 3/4 of the book contains endless statistics a I have mixed feelings about this book。 The author has done some respectable and extensive research into previously classified historical archives to be able to write so thoroughly on the famine。 He describes what happened in a level of detail that is important for the historical record， but that also goes past what readers are likely to find interesting or insightful。So I did learn a bit out of this book， but it was quite a slog to get through。 About 3/4 of the book contains endless statistics about pretty much every imaginable economic， political， and social indicator of the Chinese society's failure to thrive in the time period under study。 While these do support the broader points made in each chapter， I would have preferred a much-condensed version of these sections， including just enough numbers to convince me and then emphasizing the author’s interpretation。 To be fair to the author， these stats work fine in an academic context for backing up claims， but they just make the book less readable for a more general audience。 So I can't really recommend reading this book unless you're using it directly for research。I would have also liked to see more synthesis and contextualization。 E。g。， some more comparative analysis of how exactly the implementation of the Great Leap Forward differed from the the earlier Soviet Five Year Plan， in which grain shortages were common and widespread famine struck regions such as Ukraine。 Or a description of previous famines that occurred in China， with a focus on the specific evidence that indicates this famine was manmade in contrast with others that were more of the natural course of events。 Or some discussion of how Dikötter’s view fits into the broader landscape of historical research into this time period， including where his views differs most from that of other historians。 （We do at least see some of the works that inspired the author in the note on sources at the end of the book。） Instead though， Dikötter has presented a lot of individually shocking facts and figures and mostly just lets them speak for themselves; the result is that it often comes across more as a work of accounting than as a particularly analytical coverage of this time period in relation to a broader context。What I did find quite interesting were the sections discussing the rivalry between China and the Soviet Union， and how the Great Leap Forward was concocted due to this growing pressure that Mao and the Chinese leadership felt to keep up with （and exceed） their fellow Communists next door。 The book at least left me curious to learn more about Sino-Soviet relations during the Cold War period。 。。。more
Adam Wang
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馮客的「人民三部曲」，近三年來都是在七一或十一選一本開始讀，終於在今年某黨百年之際讀完。這麼充滿苦難、慘劇的一套書讀起來相當艱難，有時甚至於會發惡夢，但是又不能不讀，要認識、瞭解共產黨統治下的中國，無法忽略這段歷史，即便我們能讀到的這段歷史的史書都是不完美的。這段歷史被該黨深深忌諱，難以有充分可信的史料供專家、史家研究，也許在可預見的未來也沒有這樣的機會，不得不說是很遺憾。
Jim Milway
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Yet another book I have read on the brutality of the Communist regime in China。 This one focuses on the insane Great Leap Forward implement by Mao。 It was an insane set of policies destined to fail。 But before admitting defeat， the regime had killed something like 45 million Chinese people。 A horrifying book that keeps you shaking your head。 So many stories of the inhumanity of the totalitarian regime there。 More technically proficient and polished these days， but not really different。
Daniel Platon
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I'm just going to use a quote from the end of a movie here， I think it sums up the book pretty well。。。"The horror。。。 The。。。 horror"。（10 points if you guess the movie）。 I'm just going to use a quote from the end of a movie here， I think it sums up the book pretty well。。。"The horror。。。 The。。。 horror"。（10 points if you guess the movie）。 。。。more
Vasil Kolev
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Not for the faint of heart。 I had to skip some parts， as they angered and saddened me at the same time， especially the parts related to children。What Mao did to China is pretty much the largest and most cruel man-made disaster （overtaking the second world war and the holocaust）。 The stupidity of the whole thing is mind-boggling。
Kredithai
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basically what if aoe2 normal ai ran china
Merie Shen
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Note: I did not read every chapter of this book， but I probably will sometime in the future。This was a heartbreaking account of the Great Leap Forward。 I am in awe of all those I know who lived through these horrors and whose children continued to suffer the consequences even decades after。 There is so much deep， real， raw pain buried in the pages of this book--the pain of the largest nation of people on earth。 It's a hard and often horrible read， but such is history。 Note: I did not read every chapter of this book， but I probably will sometime in the future。This was a heartbreaking account of the Great Leap Forward。 I am in awe of all those I know who lived through these horrors and whose children continued to suffer the consequences even decades after。 There is so much deep， real， raw pain buried in the pages of this book--the pain of the largest nation of people on earth。 It's a hard and often horrible read， but such is history。 。。。more
Karla
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A little dry in the delivery but a good jumping-off point for more reading about China's revolution。 A little dry in the delivery but a good jumping-off point for more reading about China's revolution。 。。。more
James Godin
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A disturbing book that should be read by all。 A book about genocide that should be discussed so the same atrocities that continually keep occurring throughout “ALL SOCIETIES， COUNTRIES， AND CULTURES does not happen again。
Howard Jaeckel
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“Mao’s Great Famine，” by Frank Dikotter， details one of the greatest， and least known， catastrophes in human history。 Starting in 1958， and extending to 1962， the Chinese Communist Party sought to implement Mao’s vision of a “Great Leap Forward” in agricultural and industrial production。 The plan was to overtake Great Britain’s advanced economy in fifteen years。 The reality was mass starvation， unsurpassed totalitarian terror， and the deaths of some 45 million – yes， 45 million – people。Agricult “Mao’s Great Famine，” by Frank Dikotter， details one of the greatest， and least known， catastrophes in human history。 Starting in 1958， and extending to 1962， the Chinese Communist Party sought to implement Mao’s vision of a “Great Leap Forward” in agricultural and industrial production。 The plan was to overtake Great Britain’s advanced economy in fifteen years。 The reality was mass starvation， unsurpassed totalitarian terror， and the deaths of some 45 million – yes， 45 million – people。Agriculture was completely collectivized， and private ownership of even the most basic tools and personal items abolished。 Instead of attending to their crops， farmers were drafted en masse to toil on massive irrigation projects， which largely turned out to be useless due to lack of basic know-how and technical sophistication。 Huge sums were spent on importing heavy industrial equipment that the Chinese economy did not yet have the capacity to use。 The resulting debt was paid by the state’s seizure and export of massive quantities of grain and other agricultural goods， at a time starvation was already widespread and the effects of collectivization had drastically reduced the country’s agricultural output。Based on prodigious research in such Chinese archives as he was able to access， Mr。 Dikotter provides both narrative examples of the suffering all this inflicted on ordinary people and a massive statistical accounting of the ruin to various aspects of the Chinese economy that resulted from the rigid application of Mao’s ideology。 The author’s scholarship is most impressive but works against the readability of his history。 Having been already convinced of the madness of Mao’s “leap forward，” the reader’s eyes may well start to glaze over at page-after-page of statistical comparisons， made in such measures as yuan and hectares， intended to show how much worse Mao’s “leap” made things in China。 That’s what happened to me， and the unusually long time it took me to finish this book of about 330 pages is largely attributable to my lack of desire to pick it up once I had put it down。“Mao’s Great Famine” is an important book， especially at a time when some of our noted pundits are given to praising the efficiency of the Chinese system （which has admittedly been greatly liberalized and achieved remarkable economic growth in recent decades）。 Read it， because your knowledge of the horrific Twentieth Century will not be complete without understanding the death and destruction wrecked by the “Great Leap Forward。” Read it， but don’t expect a page-turner。 。。。more
Yair Zumaeta Acero
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La historia de esta raza -humana- maldita está plagada de atrocidades y crímenes abominables que ninguna otra especie que haya pisado la faz de la tierra a lo largo de sus lentos eones， ha cometido en contra de su propio género。 No hay que irnos a los albores del tiempo， basta con dar una mirada al siglo que nos precede para encontrarnos las trincheras en el Somme y Verdún; los campos de concentración Nazi; el Holodomor ucraniano; el napalm norteamericano en Vietnam; los Jemeres Rojos en Camboya La historia de esta raza -humana- maldita está plagada de atrocidades y crímenes abominables que ninguna otra especie que haya pisado la faz de la tierra a lo largo de sus lentos eones， ha cometido en contra de su propio género。 No hay que irnos a los albores del tiempo， basta con dar una mirada al siglo que nos precede para encontrarnos las trincheras en el Somme y Verdún; los campos de concentración Nazi; el Holodomor ucraniano; el napalm norteamericano en Vietnam; los Jemeres Rojos en Camboya o el genocidio en Ruanda para ver cara a cara el horror， la crueldad y la barbarie que como especie， somos capaces de infligir a nuestros semejantes。 Dentro de esa cuasi interminable lista de atrocidades que “adornan” el espeluznante siglo XX， nos encontramos con la que tal vez sea la mayor catástrofe causada por la mano del hombre en toda su historia: La Gran Hambruna China， calamidad inenarrable que asoló los campos de China entre 1958 y 1962 y que estima sus muertos entre 30 y 46 millones de almas。En el año 2010 el historiador holandés， profesor de la universidad de Hong Kong y especialista en la historia moderna de China， Frank Dikötter publicó su aclamado libro "La gran hambruna en la China de Mao 1958-1962"， texto que fue alabado por la crítica y se granjeó el prestigioso premio británico “Samuel Johnson Prize”。 Gracias al acceso a datos y archivos que han sido progresivamente desclasificados en los niveles provinciales y distritales del Partido Comunista de China （PCCh）， Dikötter ha podido comparar y estudiar informes secretos， discursos originales sin censura， conversaciones de cuadros provinciales， actas de reuniones de comités comunistas; informes de cuotas de requisa de alimentos; reportes de muertos por inanición y enfermedades derivadas de la desnutrición; todo para poder determinar las causas reales de la Gran Hambruna （inicialmente achacadas por los altos cargos del PCCh a “graves desastres naturales”）; el conocimiento que tenían los altos cargos dentro del PCCH -incluido el propio Mao- de la hambruna y la mortandad sin precedentes que se estaba dando en las áreas rurales del país; la poca y tardía respuesta de las autoridades chinas; así como una acercamiento a las desoladoras cifras reales de muertos a causa de la hambruna， sustentadas por el autor en 45 millones de personas， rebatiendo las anteriores estimaciones que daban una cifra de fallecidos entre 30 y 36 millones。Pero más allá de las cifras anónimas y etéreas que pueda mostrar cualquier libro o investigación， la verdadera proeza de Dikötter con este gran texto es humanizar los números y las estadísticas para enfrentarnos a los horrores abominables que padecieron millones y millones de Chinos a lo largo y ancho de las áreas rurales de tan extenso país， gracias a la megalomanía y ambición de un solo hombre: Mao Zedong， quien en su intento por modernizar China y alcanzar los niveles de producción de potencias como Gran Bretaña o la Unión Soviética se embarcó en un absurdo proyecto llamado “El Gran Salto Adelante”， el estilo chino-comunista como pretendían convertir a una sociedad eminentemente rural， en una potencia industrial-rural a través de una rápida y agresiva colectivización， pésimamente planeada y aún peor ejecutada。 El resultado fue la destrucción de la agricultura， la industria， el comercio， la vivienda， el entorno natural （especialmente con el proyecto de conservación de aguas a gran escala， el desvío de ríos y la construcción de represas sin estudios técnicos; junto con la “campaña del acero” que provocó una terrible deforestación）; los vínculos sociales y familiares， todo lo cual desencadenó en una hambruna de dimensiones apocalípticas que se deriva de pésimas cosechas producto de absurdas e incorrectas técnicas agrícolas de siembra implementadas por el gobierno central; requisas indiscriminadas por parte del cuadros locales para cumplir con las cuotas establecidas por el partido; la insistencia de Mao en mantener el flujo de alimentos constante hacia las grandes ciudades así como las altas cantidades de exportación de granos a países comunistas aliados de China – como Rumanía o Albania， así como la aceleración para atender el pago de la deuda con la Unión Soviética luego del rompimiento de relaciones con Jruschov; y especialmente la ilusión de la superabundacia que alimentaron cuadros locales al inflar las cifras de producción regional de granos para cumplir con las cuotas exigidas por el Plan Central， lo que conllevó a requisas de hasta el 90% de los cultivos para alcanzar las metas impuestas por los superiores。De todas las atrocidades y padecimientos descritos en este grimorio de horror comunista， es tal vez el capítulo dedicado al canibalismo el que más nos hará horrorizar。 La antropofagia y la necrofagia son comunes denominadores en otras hambrunas producidas por el hombre – el sitio de Maarat an Numan durante la Primera Cruzada; el Asedio de Leningrado entre el '41 y el '44; la hambruna de Bengala del '43; el Holodomor ucraniano entre el '32-'33-; sin embargo y para el caso Chino， la hambruna fue producida por su propio gobierno， sin influencia de un atacante o enemigo foráneo y como demuestra el autor en el libro， con conocimiento de ciertos miembros del Partido Comunista。 Una crueldad absoluta y una indiferencia aún más terminante。Podrá achacársele al autor una clara tendencia anticomunista， un excesivo registro estadístico， una falta de orden y narración cronológica en su relato （situación que corrige en su siguiente libro La tragedia de la liberación: Una historia de la revolución china 1945-1957）， o que muchas de sus conclusiones no pueden ser 100% verificables hasta tanto no sean abiertos los archivos centrales del PCCh y puedan cotejarse las cifras provinciales con las centrales。 En todo caso La gran hambruna en la China de Mao 1958-1962 es un grandioso libro que nos permite ser testigos del ilimitado alcance de la maldad y la crueldad del espíritu humano， de los macabros detalles de una tragedia que muchas veces se minimiza o se olvida， y de los irremediables peligros de la planificación estatal， el culto a la personalidad y los regímenes dictatoriales representados en un tipo como Mao Zedong， quien en su momento pudo haber aprendido la lección que en sangre hambre y muerte le estaba dando la historia y sin embargo decidió retirarse temporalmente únicamente para lamer sus heridas en privado y planear desde la oscuridad su gran venganza y regreso triunfal al poder， un regreso que tan solo cuatro años después en 1966， volvería a bañar en sangre y muerte a China a través de la Revolución Cultural。 Aún quedaba un capítulo de la tragedia China del Siglo XX。“Cuando no hay comida suficiente， la gente muere de hambre。 Merece la pena que la mitad muera para que la otra mitad pueda comer bien”Mao Zedong， discurso del 25 de marzo de 1959， Gansu。 。。。more
Erasmo Neto
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Livro excelente， que conta em detalhes como se desenrolou o desastroso projeto do Grande Salto Adiante concebido e desenvolvido por Mao Tse-Tung （Mao Zedong）， e como o sistema reduziu a qualidade de vida do país， dizimando tantas milhões de vidas。 Passado que não deve ser esquecido， que deve ser aprendido e jamais repetido。
Horace Derwent
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