Interview with Shan Zailian

Shan Zailian (b. 1947)is a resident of Shuangjing Village, Shuangjing Town, Xupu County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province. In this interview, Shan recalls life during the Great Famine and Cultural Revolution. In 1958, people first had “Helong meal” (eating freely with unlimited supply,) and later at People’s Commune canteen (many people starved to death then). For taking care of five children, her father often looked for food outside and had eaten all kinds of wild weeds. People sometimes worked all night at the Production Team, and work points would be deducted if they were found stealing grains. In 1968, she got married and moved to Shuangjing village, where life was still hard; she worked everyday at the Production Team. Besides, she remembers how the landlords were struggled by the Propaganda Team and how the brigade called for organizing militiamen.

单再连1947年出生，是湖南省怀化市溆浦县双井镇双井村的村民。在这段口述中，单老人回忆了大饥荒和文革期间的生活。1958年一开始“合拢饭”随便吃，后来吃食堂时很多人饿死了。父亲为了照顾家里的五个孩子经常到外面找东西吃，各种野菜都吃过。在生产队干活经常要熬夜，被发现偷吃的话还会扣工分。1968年结婚到现在的村子，生活仍然很艰苦，每天在生产队赶工。另外，她还回忆了宣传队斗地主的情况和大队通知搞民兵的经历。

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。