1959-1961. The "Great Leap Famine" cost an estimated 20 to 40 million lives in China as the policies of Mao Zedong resulted in massive social and economic upheaval. China was also hit by large famines in 1907, 1928-1930, 1936 and 1941-1942.
Numerous drought related disasters have occurred over the Asian mainland this century. The most notable include:* Indian Drought of 1900-1/4 to 3 1/4 million die due to drought, starvation and disease
* Chinese Famine of 1907-Over 24 million perish from starvation
* Chinese Famine of 1928-1930-Over 3 million perish in northwest China
* Chinese Famine of 1936-5 million Chinese die in what is called the “New Famine”
* Chinese Drought 1941-1942-Over 3 million perish from starvation
* Indian Drought of 1965-1967-Over 1.5 million perish in India
* Soviet Union (Ukraine and Volga regions) 1921-1922-¼ to 5 million perish from drought
Walker, Robert L., The Human Cost of Communism in China (1971, report to the US Senate Committee of the Judiciary) "Casualties to Communism" (deaths):* 1st Civil War (1927-36): .25-.5M
* Fighting during Sino-Japanese War (1937-45): 50,000
* 2nd Civil War (1945-49): 1.25M
* Land Reform prior to Liberation: 0.5-1.0M
* Political liquidation campaigns: 15-30M
* Korean War: 0.5-1.234M
* Great Leap Forward: 1-2M
* Struggle with minorities: 0.5-1.0M
* Cultural Revolution: .25-.5M
* Deaths in labor camps: 15-25M
* TOTAL: 34.3M to 63.784M
* TOTAL FOR PRC: 32M to 59.5M
Between 108 BC and 1911 AD there were no fewer than 1,828 major famines in China, or one nearly every year in one or another province; however, the famines varied greatly in severity.[1][2]
These radical changes in farming organization coincided with adverse weather patterns including droughts and floods. In July 1959, the Yellow River flooded in East China. According to the Disaster Center,[6] it directly killed, either through starvation from crop failure or drowning, an estimated 2 million people, while other areas were affected in other ways as well. It is ranked as the 7th deadliest natural disaster in the 20th century.[. . . ]In 1960, at least some degree of drought and other bad weather affected 55 percent of cultivated land , while an estimated 60% of agricultural land received no rain at all.[7] The Encyclopædia Britannica yearbooks from 1958 to 1962 also reported abnormal weather, followed by droughts and floods. This included 30 inches (760 mm) of rain in Hong Kong across five days in June 1959, part of a pattern that hit all of Southern China.
As a result of these factors, year over year grain production in China dropped by 15% in 1959. By 1960, it was at 70% of its 1958 level. There was no recovery until 1962, after the Great Leap Forward ended.[8]
[. . . ]
Another problem was the international isolation of China. Between 1961 and 1965, China imported a total of 30 million tons of grain at a cost of US$2 billion. More would have been imported except that US pressure on Canada and Australia to limit sales to China and US interference with shipping prevented China from importing more.[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Chinese_Famine (the whole article is well worth reading)
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On a personal note, my Chinese husband, born in 1956, is 6'1" ~~ not exactly the profile of a famine starved child. Many of my students born in that same period were also tall and healthy. I *did* have one friend, who was very open, speak of health problems dating to that period, and many schools and factories did have reduced hours due to the fact that the teachers/workers were so weak from hunger that they couldn't work full hours. She did also say that when extra rations of eggs or milk were available they were given to the daycare centers and elementary schools.
I have my own, very personal, reasons for not being any kind of fan of the Communist Government of China, but I also think general Western fear of the country has, at the very minimum, *distorted* facts in a frenzy of hatred. . . .
In another, possibly an aside, situation, The Cultural Revolution is often blamed on Mao, as are the resulting deaths. In my son's middle school, six teachers were killed ~~ by the children. Mao is responsible in a sense: he let loose the dogs of anger, fear, and pay-back. After my first two years* in China, during the third year, friends suddenly began to tell me their own stories of that time. It became appallingly clear that there had been nearly NO innocent parties to the conflicts. ALL sides claimed first loyalty to Mao, and persecuted members of the opposite side. Often unto death -- either actual killing, or hounding the victims into suicide. Was Mao the first mover? Certainly. Was he the killer? I would have to say NO -- your neighbors, friends, and coworkers were. What Mao did, in a scramble to stay in power, was simply release the promise of payback to the general population. . . .
When I, and my new husband, were being pretty well outright persecuted by factions within the party, I found myself making my payback list for the next Cultural Revolution, which I had no doubt would come. . . soon or late.
* According to my friends (informants), the general rule of thumb, vis-a-vis a "foreigner" in your life seemed to be: for the first two years, you were simply a tourist. If/when you decided to stay longer, you became some kind of Chinese person, to be trusted or not, along the same lines as any other Chinese person they knew. But you *always* had to be careful what you told the *tourists,* because you never knew what they'd do with the information. They were simply too naive to know what be done with actual information . . . And, alas, they were right: I saw a number of instances where "newbie" foreigners had been given too much information, and caused enormous damage in the lives of their "informants."
