Interview with Tan Youqi

Tan Youqi (b. 1938) is a resident of Changxing Village, Gaolong Town, Chaling County, Hunan Province. In this interview, Tan recalls that he went to the nearby Changan County to build dikes in 1958, and ate chaff, tree bark, tree roots, plant leaves, and wild herbs during the famine in 1960. In his village, some people died of edema caused by starvation, and some people died of conspilation resulted from eating chaff. Tan also talks about three fellow villagers’ death during the Cultural Revolution; two died because of the brutal treatment in struggle sessions, and one committed suicide.

谭佑起（1938年生）是湖南省茶陵县高陇镇长兴村村民。在这段口述中，谭老人讲述了1958年到隔壁长安县参与修河，1960年粮食匮乏吃糠、树皮、树根、植物叶子、野草等充饥的经历。当时村里有人因为饥饿导致水肿、有人因为吃糠导致大便困难活活胀死。谭老人还回忆了文化大革命期间三位村民过世的情况：两位被批斗致死，一位上吊自杀。

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。