Over thirty million perished in a grain shortage brought on not by flood, drought, or infestation, but by the insanely irresponsible dictates of chairman mao zedong s great leap forward, an attempt at utopian. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading mao s great famine. Called the great leap forward, maos grand schemelike so many other utopian dreams of the 20th centuryproved a monumental disaster, resulting in the mass destruction of chinas agriculture, industry, and trade while leaving large portions of the. Until recently, the west knew little about the causes and magnitude of. The muchanticipated definitive account of china s great famine. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Author yang jisheng is determined to change that with his book, tombstone. The unknown story is a 2005 biography of chinese communist leader mao zedong 18931976 written by the wife and husband team of writer jung chang and historian jon halliday, who depict mao as being responsible for more deaths in peacetime than adolf hitler or joseph stalin.
Famine was a hallmark of the glf, as the data on annual rural mortality rates shown in table 1 demonstrate. Evidence of maos hidden famine, inside chinas state archives. Chairman mao, the great leap forward and the deforestation. Read maos great famine the history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862 by frank dikotter available from rakuten kobo. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe, 195862, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great chinese famine of 19581962 in the people s republic of china under mao zedong 18931976. Jan 01, 20 the famine that killed up to 45 million people remains a taboo subject in china 50 years on. Forgotten voices of mao s great famine, 19581962 by zhou xun call number. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 1958 1962. Many were idealists, some were opportunists, others thugs.
The world has hardly noticed the connection between marxism and famine. Mao s famine was a consequence of a fantastical initiative, a great leap forward into communism, that he believed would turn china into an economic powerhouse, catapulting over its rivals. It argues the death toll in the great leap forward was at least 45 million. The subsequent cultural revolution was the leaders attempt to take revenge on. These are the sources and citations used to research mao s great famine. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 1958 62, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great. Vey interesting, and important for nonchinese historians too. Through previously unreleased fbi files and her reporting from across the united. Frank dikotter, maos great famine, the history of chinas most. The line showing improvements in life expectancy in china suddenly shows a total reversal, a deep plunge into an. Dec 15, 2010 but most of all i wrote about maos great famine because in the years before the beijing 2008 olympics the party archives were quietly opening up, offering a real bounty of hitherto unseen party. Maos great famine, the history of chinas most devastating. A retouched picture released by chinese official news agency of mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party from 1935 until his death in 1976, delivering. Fromm hall enter from parker street between golden gate and fulton.
Mao zedong 18931976 leader of chinese communist party president of popular china 19491959 and 19681976, here c. Called the great leap forward, mao s grand schemelike so many other utopian dreams of the 20th centuryproved a monumental disaster, resulting in the mass destruction of china s agriculture, industry, and trade while leaving large portions of the. In 1958, china s revered leader mao zedong instituted a program designed to transform his giant nation into a communist utopia. Mao s great famine by frank dikotter, 9781408886366, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Based on survivors testimonies, this book was greeted with huge acclaim when published in hong kong as an essential work of reckoning. Recording the untold stories of chinas great famine. More people died in mao s great famine than in the entire first world war and yet their story remains substantially untold. Professor dikotter says that between those years, at least 45 million.
Nov 29, 2012 vey interesting, and important for nonchinese historians too. Maos great famine isbn 9780802777683 pdf epub frank. It lead to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe. Dec 09, 2012 there are good earlier studies of the famine and one excellent recent one, maos great famine by frank dikotter, but yangs is significant because he lives in china and is boldly unsparing. The most authoritative and comprehensive study of the biggest and most lethal famine in history. The great chinese famine, 19581962 by yang jisheng 2012 epub 1. Hong kong the worst catastrophe in china s history, and one of the worst anywhere, was the great famine. Search for more suggested terms to look for include diary, diaries, letters, papers, documents, documentary or correspondence.
The experiment ended in the greatest catastrophe the country had ever known, destroying tens of millions of lives. Center for advanced study, university of illinois at urbana. Frank dikotter takes a new look at mao s great leap forward 195862, using the recently opened communist party archives. Mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party, threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to overtake britain, then still seen as an industrial superpower, in less than 15 years. Dangerous and shrewd, mao zedong made china whole and succeeded in. 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. Mao s great leap forward, designed to make china the world s leading communist state, generated the worst famine in history. Maos great famine frank dikotter the grey zone from 1958 to 1962 china was pitched into a hell of inconceivable proportions. Maos great famine and depraved indifference econlib.
Maos great famine history bibliographies cite this for me. An estimated thirtysix million chinese men, women, and children starved to death during china s great leap forward in the late 1950s and early 60s. The causes for the disaster are many, and they primarily come from the topchairman mao, the communist dictator from 194976. Johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao. These citations may not conform precisely to your selected citation style. Maos great famine by frank dikotter overdrive rakuten. The great irish famine and factors that contributed to its intensity matthias giepen. Jul 06, 2011 a book about chinas disastrous great leap forward policy has won the. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and overtake britain in less than 15 years the experiment ended. Great leap forwarda0 conceived by mao so that china could drive industrial output ahead of great britain and achieve autonomy from the might of the neighbouring ussr led to a catastrophic famine resulting in the death of between 36 and 55 million people. This first authoritative expose of the 19581962 famine prompted by china s collectivization plan, the great leap forward, comes at a time when the cult of mao is. They displayed astonishing faith and almost fanatical conviction, sometimes even after they themselves had ended up being devoured by the party machinery. The great chinese famine is widely regarded as the deadliest famine and one of the greatest manmade disasters in.
Maos great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of. Dec 16, 2010 maos great famine was not merely an isolated episode in the making of modern china. Mao s great famine download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The basic narrative of the great famine that hit the people s republic around 1960 has been known outside china at least. Buy the ebook maos great famine, the history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862 by frank dikotter online from. A riveting and heartbreaking and illuminating read by an expert in the field. The initiative was designed to reinforce his own power within the communist party, and to show china s independence from the soviet union and its model of development. But even as every promise was broken, the party kept on gaining followers. Tombstone by yang jisheng, translated from the chinese. Combine these these terms with the event or person you are researching. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and overtake britain in.
Frank dikotter takes a new look at maos great leap forward 195862, using the recently opened communist party archives. Winner of the bbc samuel johnson prize for nonfiction 2011 between 1958 and 1962, 45 million chinese people were worked. Aug 01, 2011 in a brilliant and horrifying book, professor dikotter lays bare the devastating consequences of chinas great leap forward. Tombstone mubei in 2008 and frank dikotters maos great famine in. The unknown story maos great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million. Evidence of maos hidden famine, inside chinas state.
Maos great famine, by dutch historian frank dikotter, beat five other. Winner of the bbc samuel johnson prize for nonfiction 2011 between 1958 and 1962, 45 million chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe duration. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the western world in less than fifteen years. From 1958 to 1962 chairman maos communist regime forced through a programme of breakneck industrialisation and agricultural collectivisation that resulted in the worst famine in human history. Forgotten voices of maos great famine, 19581962 rakuten kobo. Apr 12, 2018 there can never be enough novels dealing with the horrors of the great chinese famine and the cultural revolution. Please use this display as a guideline and modify as needed. The great irish famine and factors that contributed to its intensity.
A, farmers were given a plot of land in exchange for overthrowing their. One of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century, the famine is poorly understood, and in china is still euphemistically referred to as the three years of natural disaster. Antisocialism, democide mao zedongs great leap forward, a farreaching program of forced modernization intended to transform china into a socialist paradise, instead results in the greatest holocaust in human history with a death toll of 45 million. Estimates of deaths due to starvation range in the tens of millions. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great. Maos great famine comments leading light communist. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962.
Mao s ambitions for the people s republic and the acquiescence of most. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and, isbn 9780802777683 buy the mao s great famine ebook. Some scholars have also included the years 1958 or 1962. The worst catastrophe in china s history, and one of the worst anywhere, was the great famine of 1958 to 1962, and to this day the ruling communist party has not fully acknowledged the degree to which it was a direct result of the forcible herding of villagers into communes under the great leap forward that mao zedong launched in. Winner of the samuel johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of china s great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the people s republic of china. The policies of ruler mao zedong contributed the most to the famine. The unknown story mao s great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million people. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up wi. These statistics indicate that the third phase of the leap exacted the greatest toll in human life. Read maos great famine online by frank dikotter books free 30.
This site currently has over a thousand free books available for download in various formats of maos great famine. Still banned in china, tombstone draws on the author s privileged access to official and unofficial sources to uncover the full human cost of the tragedy, and create an unprecedented work of historical reckoning. Oct 01, 2010 winner of the samuel johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of china s great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the people s republic of china. This acclaimed book by frank dikotter is available at in several formats for your ereader. Though mao s great leap forward was celebrated in the west as a major advance, the reality was captured by the name villagers gave to the vast irrigation schemes on which they were forced to labour they called them the killing fields. Mao s great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million people, from the dictator and his henchmen down to the villages of rural china.
Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward. Mao s goal was to slingshot china into the ranks of the world s superpowers. More people died in mao s great famine than in the entire first world war, yet this story has remained largely untold, until now. The book certainly leaves one in no doubt that the famine was caused entirely by the dictator, who had little regard for human life. Mao s great famine is a sensational account of china during the great leap forward. Most bizarrely, it makes the claim that 3040% of all homes in china were demolished during the great leap forward. A famous documentary maker has inspired more than a hundred young people to take part in an oral history project to collect peasants stories of the great famine in. Remembering the great famine in online, open epub for. An estimated thirtysix million chinese men, women, and children starved to death during chinas great leap forward in the late 1950s and early 60s. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe, 19581962. Called the great leap forward, mao s grand schemelike so many other utopian dreams of the 20th centuryproved a monumental disaster, resulting in the mass destruction of china s agriculture, industry, and trade while leaving large portions of the countryside forever scarred by. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe.
Yang jisheng tombstone the untold story of maos great famine. Having read mao s, the untold story, i was fascinated to read this, a first hand account by someone who had access to all the reports, many of which were falsified, to curry favour with mao. Maos great famine by frank dikotter this book is an excellent account of the great famine of china from 195862. Based on four years of research in recently opened chinese provincial, county, and city archives. Opinion maos great leap to famine the new york times. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great famine of 19581962 in the peoples republic of china under mao zedong 18931976. Called the great leap forward, mao s grand schemelike so many other utopian dreams.
In 1958, chinas revered leader mao zedong instituted a program designed to transform his giant nation into a communist utopia. The untold story of mao s great famine by yang jisheng, translated by stacy mosher and guo jian. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on thursday, june 22, 2017. Maos great famine wins samuel johnson prize bbc news. Biography of the life of chairman mao zedong of china duration. Winner of the samuel johnson prize an unprecedented, groundbreaking history of china s great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the people s republic of china. The origins of the famine can be traced to mao zedongs decision, supported by the leadership of chinas communist party, to launch the great leap forward. The untold story of maos great famine by yang jisheng, translated by stacy mosher and guo jian. Mass famine engulfed numerous villages by late 1959, but.
In january 1958 mao zedong launched the great leap forward, a campaign to accelerate china s industrialisation, aiming to surpass the british economy within 15 years. Stalin deliberately caused a famine in ukraine in order to kill the kulakspeasants who were seeking independence. Germany has yet to rid itself of its guilt over the nazis, says 2010 arts correspondent. Mao s great famine is the story of how mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party, threw his country into chaos with the great leap forward 195862, a disastrous attempt to transition from socialism to communism via radical collectivization. The collectivisation of farming failed completely, with grain yield figures being. The famine is popular as a case study in the field of demographics. Recent research on how the great chinese famine was debated on weibo, the. The subjects have been covered in fine nonfiction books, such as frank dikotter. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and, isbn 9780802777683 buy the maos great famine ebook. Human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution. Sep 04, 2010 the basic narrative of the great famine that hit the people s republic around 1960 has been known outside china at least. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 hardcover published october 1st 2010 by walker books first u.