Substance Definition

       When you are in a movie theater, maybe you want to buy a cup of popcorn in this happy time, but my father never had the opportunity to this kind of treat. He was always strict with money and never wasted food because my father grew up in an unusual decade which was well known as the Great Leap Forward. Sixty years ago, after the Communist Party won the civil war, the Chinese government wanted to raise the standard of living and the level of steel production quickly. The government wanted China’s economy to catch up England and America in fifteen years. As a result, most of the men were organized to help produce steel, and most of the women worked on farms for the people’s communes. At the same time, people could not have private property or food, but the government’s food supply was limited. Therefore many people were feeling ravenously hungry. On the other hand, people had no freedom in choosing jobs. As a result, this campaign had a profound influence on my grandparents’ family.

        One of the effects was my grandmother’s first child passed away in the Great Leap Forward campaign because my grandmother and the baby had poor diet at that time. My grandmother had to work very hard at the farm even though she was pregnant. In addition, she needed to eat nutritional food, but the food assigned to each family was not sufficient. Although my grandparents wanted to plant some crops for themselves, the policy didn’t allow people to have their own crops or land. Thus, my grandmother didn’t have enough breast milk to feed her baby when the baby was born. After two months, the baby passed away from malnutrition. My grandparents dropped in deep sadness and felt helpless.

Another effect was my grandfather could not do his favorite activity during the Great Leap Forward campaign. My grandfather began to learn how to play Chinese traditional music when he was five. He had great talent in it, so when he grew up, he used to play gongs and drums in people’s weddings or funerals as a job. During this special period, the government needed all the men to join the steel production campaign. There were no exceptions. In addition, every family needed to donate their metal to the people’s communes for steel production. At that time, my grandfather had to give up his musical instrument which was his life, so he could not continue to play the music which can share the happiness or sadness with people in the activity. On the other hand, he had to do the job he did not like, and it made him depressed for a long time.

Finally, this history let my grandparents changed their mind about food and money. They always considered wasting food shameful and didn’t spend money on fancy clothing. In my memory, they always ate the food from last leftovers and saved money. In our generation, it is difficult to understand their actions and most people don’t know what it means to be hungry. For example, I asked for a new bike when I was fifteen, but my grandmother insisted on letting me to use the old style one from my older cousin. My grandmother didn’t even waste a penny in her life, but she liked to donate money to the organization which could help people who suffered from disasters. She told her subsequent generation to respect food and money and help people. As a result, my father likes to donate money when he heard some people affected by great fire and flood.

Today, when I read the history of the Great Leap Forward, I know how it influenced my grandparents’ life. I feel lucky that right now we live in a peaceful decade, we have enough food, we can go to school, and we have the opportunities to choose jobs that they could not do in that period. Although I didn’t ask what they thought about the government during the Great Leap Forward campaign, they never blamed the government, never gave up the hope and forever trusted the Communist Party. I think they were the very loyal people in this country.

A Shadow of Childhood

 A Shadow of Childhood 

Before the 1980s, most couples in China had more than three children. However, after the 1980s, couples could only have one or two children. China was a farming country, so many families wanted to have more kids to work the land. As a result, the population was growing rapidly. Due to overpopulation, China implemented the One-Child Policy that prohibited couples from giving birth to more than two children from the early 1980s. The government encouraged couples to have only one child, but people who lived in rural areas could have up to two children if their first child was a girl. People would lose their jobs or face high fines if they violated this policy.  My parents were traditional Chinese people, and they longed for a son, so they kept trying for a boy until they had their third child, my brother. As a result, the One-Child Policy of the early 1980s had a huge impact on my family. 

One of the most important effects was that my family had to flee to another city in order to avoid having a forced abortion and went through two very difficult years. The One-Child Policy was very strict and enforced by the local government. The local child policy department would force a woman to have an abortion after finding out who had violated the policy and became pregnant. Therefore, my family went to another city and lived in a relative’s extra mud house. My parents really wanted a son after they gave birth to two daughters. On the other hand, they were very worried that the child policy department would catch them. At that time, the department was only responsible to people who had registered as local residents. Our relative was generous, but he was not rich. The house we lived in was small and simple. My family had no income, and my father could not go out to work because we couldn’t let someone find out that we escaped to another city. Therefore, he could only do some jobs at home to support our family. 

Another effect was that the One-Child Policy caused my family to enter a bad financial situation. My family returned to our hometown after my younger brother was one year old. At the same time, my parents had to pay a huge fine for having their third child. My parents tried their best to gather money to pay the fine, but it was hard. They ended up borrowing money from some friends and relatives. They felt stressed about borrowing a lot of money. Besides, my two siblings and I hadn’t had new clothes for many years, and we only wore old clothes that someone gave us.  

The last effect is that my parents had to find another job and work harder. My father worked in a factory office after graduating from high school. However, after receiving a letter from the department of One-Child Policy, the factory owner found out that my parents had violated the policy, and my father lost his job. My family didn’t have any income after my father lost his job. Therefore, my parents decided to go back to work the land in the village. In addition, they bought some sows for breeding. My parents worked very hard day after day. In the hot summer, when some people would take naps at home, they worked hard in the fields. Additionally, the sows gave birth to piglets twice a year, and my parents would sell them after they were four months old. Therefore, they could use the money to give back to friends or relatives and support our family. 

Although my family has gone through many difficult times over the years due to the One-Child Policy, they have never complained it. However, it had a huge impact on my childhood. Due to this policy, many families had to face high fines for their additional kids, and many women had to be forced to have abortions. Thus, the One- Child Policy has had good and bad aspects. It may be beneficial to the development of society. In contrast, it has taken away people’s freedom to have their children, and it may has caused permanent harm to people.