Chapter 31 Household Responsibility System saves farmers’ lives 1961

Journalist: “Wouldn’t the package to the household guarantee production? Why did you strongly oppose it?”

Mao: “The contracting of production to households is the same as dividing up the land into separate units. Land is the lifeblood of the peasants, I fully understand, I just want to seize the lifeblood of the peasants, so that all the peasants listen to my orders. The land was not allowed to be planted by the peasants themselves, which is the root cause of starvation.

In Anhui province, more than 6 million people died of starvation in 3 years, but the secretary Zeng Xisheng bravely implemented the package to the household, and by the autumn of 1961, the package to the household accounted for 85%. The wind of Anhui’s package production blew across the country, and by the summer of 1962, the national package production to households reached 20-30%. Liu Jianxun, the secretary of Henan, said: ‘This is a life-saving policy.’ Tao Zhu, the secretary of Central South, said: ‘If this is called capitalism, rather capitalism, not starvation.’”

Journalist: “The package to the household can save lives, is not very good?”

Mao: “Yes, in the summer of 1962, I asked Tian Jiaying to go to Shaoshan to investigate, he came back to me and said: the peasants strongly demanded the package to the household.

On July 8, 1962, Chen Yun went to his hometown to investigate for 15 days and came back to report to me that: the peasants urgently demanded that the production be contracted out to the households, which I did not deny.

On July 9, 1962, Liu Shaoqi came to see me with the opinions of the majority of the Standing Committee, I was swimming, I knew his intention, and said loudly to him in the water: What is your hurry? Can’t hold down the line? Why not hold up? When I went ashore, Liu said: so many people starved to death, history to write on you and me, to be on the book. I said: three red flags denied, the land is also divided, you do not hold out, I died how to do? In my opinion, Russia death matter small, against me matter big, no matter how many people die, I will never package to the household.”

Journalist: “Oh, you are starving to death personnel small, hold on to your red flag matter?”

Mao: “Yes. I also catch the blind stream, the peasants fled for survival, I ordered in 1959 to urgently stop the blind stream, not allowed to leave the village, the militia stand guard and blockade, intercepted back to the village or escorted to reform through labor, forced to take in, not given food. The tragic case of Zhumadian in Henan caused the death of 530 people. The peasants said: “When the Japs came, we could run; now we are not allowed to escape, and 5 of my family of 6 died. But my policy is to die in the village, not to be known outside.”

Journalist: “You want the peasants to die in the village, not allowed to blind flow, is not too cruel?”

Mao: “I only talk about the general situation of my revolution, not about cruelty or not.”