Calamity and Reform in China – State, Rural Society, and Institutional Change S…

Calamity and Reform in ChinaState, Rural Society, and Institutional Change Since the Great Leap Famine\nAuthor(s): Dali L. Yang\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Stanford University Press, United States\nImprint: Stanford University Press\nISBN-13: 9780804725576, 978-0804725576\nSynopsis\nChina's Great Leap Famine of [tel] resulted in 30 million deaths, making it easily the worst famine in human history. Yet unlike the Cultural Revolution - that other massive catastrophe of Mao's rule - the Great Leap Forward has received scant scholarly attention. This is partly because victims of the ensuing famine were inarticulate farmers and partly because many key players in that inglorious era are members of the current elite who tightly guard the archives. Despite these impediments, the author has marshalled an impressive array of historical documents to provide the first comprehensive treatment of the political causes and consequences of the Great Leap Famine. The Famine is important because it .