Hello Tongzhimen,
The past few years have been far from paradise for our beloved country. Our valiant effort to industrialize China and begin a future of prosperity has included many challenges, which will of course pay off through the wise guidance of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party, but I am worried about the lasting effects of the struggles we have all become so familiar with. It seems as though the general consensus among the Chinese people is that common problems like famine and flooding are only being experienced by one’s own village, but, in the continued spirit of spreading truth, I am here to tell you all that these issues are much more pervasive, and devastating, than one may think.Â
One cannot deny that the mass mobilization of peasants in the countryside was a genius idea of Mao’s, for China would be able to feed all of its people while financing industrial growth and paying off our debts to the Soviet Union. However, the actual mobilization that was carried out has proven to be a little less than perfect. It makes sense that Mao is calling for an increase in China’s population as we simply do not have enough people to sustain both our industrialized and agricultural economies; even with women entering the workforce and going out into the fields, there is not enough people to effectively sustain both our backyard steel furnaces and our farms. Especially with the relocations of farmers to build dams and irrigation canals, there are even fewer hands cultivating the fields. If we had more loyal comrades willing to work hard to produce wheat and steel, maybe we would be better off. We would also be able to finish the many architectural projects that now lay abandoned or are nowhere near the quality they should be. Of course there are more obstacles though, like the natural disasters and shifty cadres who have been taking our hard-earned resources for themselves and lying to the Party about what we’ve produced, as if our best effort isn’t already enough.
Yes, that’s right, you heard me, the local cadres have been lying about our crop production to the Party, completely abusing the trust that has been put in them, which is why so much of our grain is being taken away from us. The famines are not isolated incidents only felt by individual villages, it is a widespread problem that is debilitating our country. I have traveled through multiple villages in the countryside, coming across true horrors in the hopes of discovering the truth about our country’s plight. The lack of food has forced people to turn to food substitutes like leaves, weeds, and even mud; those who are able to sustain themselves off of these end up with destroyed intestines anyway and are still malnourished. During my time in the Gaoguanzhai township, I passed by countless people dragging their swollen bodies to the fields to try and continue working as well as exhausted, extremely skinny peasants who collapsed in front of their homes, probably on the way to work to scrounge up more work points for food. It would be a disservice to not also mention the corpses just left on the sides of roads as well, right where their bodies finally gave out. Peasants do not even have the strength left to bury their own dead! Some bodies do disappear but no new graves are added, I have heard terrible rumors of people having to make use of these bodies for the nourishment of their crops and, sometimes, even themselves.Â
Birth rates drop lower and lower as the number of deaths in the countryside rises. Women are barely able to get pregnant, let alone carry the pregnancy to term or take care of their child once it is born. The orphanages are absolutely bursting with small, malnourished children with bowed knees and sallow skin. The hospitals in Guangyuan are completely run down, with patients being left alone to suffer amongst each other while doctors steal food and medicine to keep their own families alive. I have no doubt that Chairman Mao and the Party will be able to save our country, but my heart aches for the people who will die before they can be helped as well as the children and families forever traumatized by the losses they have endured already. These damages may be irrevocable and I’m not sure if the Party understands the extent to which its people are suffering, due to the false reports by the cadres. Even the land seems permanently changed, what with our forests being cleared to fuel the steel furnaces and some soil being rendered infertile by the unlucky floods sweeping China.
I implore all of you to hang on as long as you can, the new China will need strong people to lead it into prosperity. Just as the Long March proved to us, suffering can turn into immense success and simply brings out our perseverance. Put your faith in Chairman Mao, whose guidance will bring us out of this slump. Surely the Cause we revolted for, that countless people have died for, is not the problem. We have built our new society on the foundation of Mao Zedong Thought, so it must be that the problems wracking China have been caused by what we built and not our socialist basis… right?
It’s obviously the cadre’s fault, Mao and the Party gave excellent orders that were not carried out properly. I really liked this aspect, because it shows how Mao and others were able to get away with this tragedy. The question of who bears responsibility remains an important piece of the story.
I agree! I am sure the policies of Mao and the new moderate leadership will reign over the corrupt cadres that have spoiled our campaigns. The details of your time in Gaoguanzhai is very eye-opening into the plight of our people.
I entirely agree with your assessment! These horrors have reached a near unprecedented level, suffering for the Chinese people is nothing new, however, this has proved to be on a grander scale than ever before. This can only mean that the betrayal of the cadres and local leaders is bigger than we may even know, they must be dealt with accordingly! Not only is the leadership of Mao crucial in this dark hour, but the belief in his ability might be equally as important. Faith in his leadership will be crucial to implementing the reform and changes that will bring about a better China.
How will we fix this huge catastrophe?? I like how you mentioned on paper it sounds great, but on the ground realities often have led to different outcomes. I think Mao should take more of the blame, because he is our hero, and if anyone can fix it it is him. So he brought us into this, the only man to get us out, is him.