Weakened by wars
Historians say China's huge population but uneven distribution of resources meant food allocation by central government was essential when drought and floods cut supplies to some regions.
"Mass famine broke out when the regulating hand of government was weakened by wars or political upheaval," said Gu Xiaoming, a history professor at Fudan University.
Gu said China also suffered from a scarcity of food in recent decades as a result of backward agricultural production.
Cao Bin, a college student born in east China's Zhejiang Province, said that one legacy of the era was his grandparents' sanctification of dining and frugality with food.
"For grandma, it's like blasphemy to say you want to skip a meal simply because you're not hungry," he said. "Grandma often says she feels secure only when she is stuffed, even after so many years living in affluence."
Sociologists say discussions about hunger are still important today. As urban Chinese begin to fret about obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, there are still rural areas where impoverished farmers can only afford instant noodles on special occasions such as their children's birthdays.
Zhang Youde, a sociology professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said: "Though China's coastal regions are no longer plagued by hunger, there are still many people who are not fed decently in central and western parts of the country."
Only this week, children at a primary school in Hunan Province were found to have been getting only a small piece of bread and some milk for lunch, triggering a public outcry.
"China still has a long way to go in the battle against poverty and starvation, and should always remember the bitter lesson of its hunger history," Zhang said.
Nutritious lunch provided in Taipei's elementary school
Feedback
RSS
