Recently I had a chance to speak with Boi Boi Huong (mp3, audio play link below). Her family emigrated to Holland from Vietnam when she was young. While in college, she took a stronger interest in China, and in fact completing her thesis on the Great Leap Forward. The timing of her work was interesting, because this had been just couple of years following 1989. Western … [Read more...] about A Conversation with Boi Boi Huong on the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
Did Millions Die in the Great Leap Forward: A Quick Note on non-Contemporaneous Data
This is a followup on a previous post titled Did Millions Die in the Great Leap Forward: A Quick Note on the Underlying Statistics. In that post, I pointed out that the only systematic data available from the time (the census of 1953 and 1964) were such that they could neither support nor refute the hypothesis that millions upon millions died during the Great Leap Forward. … [Read more...] about Did Millions Die in the Great Leap Forward: A Quick Note on non-Contemporaneous Data
Did Millions Die in the Great Leap Forward: A Quick Note on the Underlying Statistics
[This is part I or a 2 part series on the underlying statistics of the Great Leap Forward. Part II can be found here] Recently, Ray wrote a great post - and readers added valuable comments - that provided some contexts surrounding the Great Leap Forward. When people discuss the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961), the starting point is almost always the millions killed. I … [Read more...] about Did Millions Die in the Great Leap Forward: A Quick Note on the Underlying Statistics
Another Look at the Great Leap Forward
The Founding of the New Republic Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, two events are so controversial that they almost cannot be discussed rationally or void of politics. One of them is the Great Leap Forward of 1958, and the other being the Cultural Revolution of 1966. A reference to history cannot be avoided for any event, more so an event as significant as … [Read more...] about Another Look at the Great Leap Forward
(Letter from Joel) Mainlanders and their pasts, Mainlanders and their selves
For me personally, the Mainland's grandparents and great-grandparents are China's most interesting generation. As soon as I could string a few sentences together I was trying to get our neighbours to tell us about their stories and experiences. But Xinran, the authour of China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation, being Chinese, can go light-years farther in an interview … [Read more...] about (Letter from Joel) Mainlanders and their pasts, Mainlanders and their selves