1945: Peasant farmers in Kunming, China
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Those Who Die. When we arrived in Chengchow the snow-covered, rubble-ruined streets seemed full of ghosts in fluttering grey-blue rags. They darted from every alley to screech at us with their hands tucked in their gowns to keep warm. When they die they just lie down in the slush or gutters and give up. We prodded one or two of them gently to see whether they were still alive. The relief committee here is supported almost entirely with American funds, from United China Relief and tries to keep some women & children alive in a relief camp. The next day we saw the relief committee distributing grain. There were only six sacks of flaked bran.
That afternoon we heard of a cannibalism trial. A Mrs. Ma was being tried for eating her little girl. Parts of the baby's flesh were brought in as evidence. The state charged she killed the child and ate it. Her plea was that the baby had died from hunger first and then was eaten.
Those Who Eat. When we left Chengchow we had a fairly good idea of what had happened in Honan. Crops had failed since 1940. The normal surplus had disappeared. The Army in this vital war area is supported entirely by local foods collected as grain taxes. Civilian officials also each get a monthly quota of grain. The Government people hoped the fall crops of millet corn would meet the needs of the peasantry. But no rain fell and the autumn harvest was almost a total loss.
By a tremendous miscalculation no grain was sent to the famine land in autumn when it might have arrived in time. Now, aside from American relief money and energy, there seems little hope of getting enough grain over the war-smitten routes of interior China before it is too late.
Before we left Chengchow the officials gave us a banquet. We had two soups. We had spiced lotus, peppered chicken, beef and water chestnut. We had spring rolls, hot wheat buns, rice, bean-curd, chicken and fish. We had three cakes with sugar frosting.