Dictator: Kong Qingyu (Female, born in 1946, native of Qufu, Jining, Shandong Province)
Interviewer: An Bin (male, born in 1988, student of Shandong Arts Institute)
Interview Time: June 2011
Interview location: Jinan City, Kong Qingyu’s Home
Interview notes.
I found Grandma Kong quite by chance in order to complete a documentary assignment for school. She loved to sing, was very active in various cultural performances and TV dramas, and enjoyed participating in various entertainment programs held by the local TV station. At first I just thought this was an old lady who was not willing to be lonely and loved literature and art, but when I sat down to talk with her, I found out that she had a very difficult Life. Her father was a Nationalist officer who died in prison during the Cultural Revolution, her mother was paralyzed in her bed in her old age, and although she had demanded advancement in her youth, she had been suppressed and ostracized because of her poor composition. The following is the story we told during the three years of natural disasters from 1958 to 1961.
Body of the oral narrative
I was thirteen years old in the fifty-ninth year, and I sang with hunger.
In 1960, I was starving the most. I was thirteen years old in ’59 when the Great Iron and Steel Refining took place in ’58. I remember too clearly that I did not eat a single grain for three days. At that time is not love singing it, full of blowing hunger singing, I told them, the hungrier the better the singing, at that time is my Ah Q spirit is particularly strong, and later starved. We are not turning over, to the wall vertical straight, than whose waist thin, tight pull tight pull, the more hungry waist more thin, the last waist pinch so little, my waist more thin ah, but hungry dizzy. I have an officer’s wife in that military district, listen to what she said, you do not have enough Food to eat meat ah. Listen to this sentence, we have not seen a grain of meat hair for several years, is the Spring Festival New Year we can not see a penny of meat, she was in the military district is the noble ah.
The leaves on the road stroked out, go stroking leaves at night to be caught by the garden bureau. Aigoo that wild vegetables, I have eaten what wild vegetables, what leaves have eaten. The most delicious tree leaves is acacia leaves, acacia leaves are the most delicious, once I ate that poplar leaves face swollen. We just stroked the leaves, no leaves on the road in the sixties, all stroked the leaves, and we have to stroke the leaves at night, stroke the leaves during the day the garden bureau to catch you, oops, the garden bureau does not want to, to catch ah. Later, the garden bureau at night with a flashlight to catch. At that time I would climb the tree, barefoot to climb up, my brother and I both climbed up, in the People’s Park. My mother strokes at the bottom, holding the pole, she also makes the pole break, I also stroke at the top, a bag on the ground, a rotten bag, I make that broken rope wrapped around a bag. Oh, a look at the flashlight, bad, we both hurry to climb down it, from the tree to slip down. Garden Bureau people are not cowardly, they said children you slowly (down). After I came down slowly, I saw that they grabbed my mother’s pocket, I and they grabbed that pocket, I had a hard time stroking so many leaves. They said you do not let go, your rod even confiscate the pocket, you do not take, follow me to the police station. I said I would rather go to the police station than ask them to take away. These leaves I have to eat several meals this Family, I do not have a rod I get where to go, I made a strong grab, grabbed after not giving them, they told my mother and my brother to go, I followed them to the police station.
Malnutrition, train diarrhea
Aigoo, there is no rule of law, at that time is simply hungry. Once I took a train, I do not buy a ticket to escape ah, I have money to buy a ticket ah, once upon a time many trains called boring tank cars, there is no outhouse, that is, pulling troops pulling pigs pulling cattle the kind of train, there is no window. I went up after the drumming (holding the shit), this one light drumming, on the toilet drum you have nowhere to go. At that time I ate leaves to eat light diarrhea, I just ran to the train, (train) bam bam bam bam, did not bam to Taian, ouch, I want to diarrhea. The train seems to be just one big station along the way, from here? To Qufu and then to Tai’an, on one or two stations, small stations do not stand (stop). Once in Tai’an, I jumped from the boring car to the ground, can be high, nearly two meters, I snapped and jumped down, jumped down I rushed to the toilet ah, I had diarrhea. After coming down, we these people took off their pants on the pull, no rule of law, who are not ashamed, squatting on the pull, and even butt wipe paper are not. This is not to tell you, down squatting on the dilute ah, on the scurrying ah scurrying dilute (dilute), after the scurrying dilute, take the earth on the ground to hurry a wipe, not yet finished pulling it, (heard) the train opened, they shouted, scared I turned back on the pants to climb, my brother in the top, he dragged me, I broke the train that door, he then dragged up, I can not go ah, from the ground cold (old) high ah.
The old man selling steamed buns was robbed, and the family was so hungry that they didn’t recognize him
At that time, an old man selling steamed buns cost one dollar a piece. At that time, a person (a month) about ten yuan, living expenses must spend eight yuan, he sold a steamed bun for one yuan. He was very hungry at that time, he put five here, a man came over and grabbed one first, once he grabbed it, he came back and the four were gone, the old man was crying.
At that time, people were very hungry, a family was eating there, eating the bran nest, just drinking water, so as to fill the stomach. His girl bought a bun in the canteen on Saturday and Sunday and put it back, she just didn’t want to give it to her father, her father said Niel, look at our chicken cage you get (repair) to go, his daughter left, he quickly bite (bun). His daughter took two bites and put them there, not to say father you also take a bite, that is hungry six relatives do not recognize, this is a real thing. He said Nell you see our chicken is running out, you block the cage to go, his daughter in front of a walk, he rushed to bite a bite, that time is the father and son do not care about the wife and children, that time is this.
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