Generation to Generation

       In the 1950s, Northern China underwent a terrible famine that killed millions of people. Some survivors ate grass, bark, and drank dirty water. Before the famine, China had an industrial revolution led by Chairman Mao who had a great plan about steel output. However, the government needed more workers do the work. Therefore, the government forced many people to go to factories to work. For example, including children, old men, and farmers. Therefore, the food output decreased because many farmers went to work in the factories. In addition, the government had a hard policy for farmers about food because all food produced belonged to the government. Therefore, they couldn’t grow food for themselves by themselves. Although Mao had a great plan to increase steel output, it was impossible to carry out. It was also a main reason that China had a famine in the 1950s. During this time, China fell into Chaos, and my great-grandparents’ lives were severely disrupted. However, my great- grandmother did not give up. My great- grand mother used her hands to deeply influence my family for future generations.

       First, my great-grandmother helped her family survive the famine. Because of this hard policy about farming, many people could not grow plants by themselves. Therefore, my great-grandmother went to a remote area in the mountains where no one could find her. She worked hard on the land that was fertile. She grew rice, corn, and potatoes. In addition, she used some rice and corn to feed the chickens and pigs. Also she had five people to support. She made my grandfather and their third son who was the strongest son to work together. Therefore, she had enough labor to support food output with her family. Then she had the resources to get food. Eventually, she decided to go to Dalian, a city in Northern China to sell food to earn money. she used it to buy some clothes and daily products. Therefore, she made her family’s life better.

                            

       In addition, my grandfather lived a plentiful life, so he was able to be successful. After the famine, the Cultural Revolution also led by Mao didn’t let Chinese people go to school to study because they believed education was anti-revolutionary. Therefore, many people did not have any educational experience in the past. My grandfather was also one of them. Many people were very poor. However, my grandfather’s family was different because his family had enough food and a comfortable house to live in. Because many people needed food, they needed more and more farmers to work. My grandfather thought it was a good chance to earn money, so he decided to go to Inner Mongolia in the north. There were a very large number of animals like cow, horses, and it was cheap. Therefore, it was a good place to start a small supply business. After six years, my grandfather earned 6000 yuan which was equal to 1 million dollars in the past.

                                     

       Furthermore, because of my grandfather, my mother had a good childhood and adulthood. My grandfather used 6000 yuan to open a coal company. In the past, the Chinese government had a big requirement of coal because they needed to develop factories. Therefore, my grandfather’s company earned a lot of money. In my mother’s childhood she always wore good clothes and ate healthy food. She went to her town’s best school to study. In her adulthood, she moved to Shanghai to study. In addition, my mother was part of the lucky people who could get a good education. Although the Cultural Revolution, there were still a lot of people who couldn’t get an education because many Chinese families were still very poor. They needed to help their family to earn money or work the land. However, my mother did not need to worry about money because my grandfather had enough money to support her studies. In addition, it also gave her more time to think about what she wanted.

                   

                                    

       In conclusion, in this hardest time, my great-grandmother worked hard to make her family have a better life. Because she supported my grandfather’s upbringing, he did not die in the famine. He was able to become a successful man that supported my mother to have a better life. I believe because all my family had hardworking and strong personalities to overcome the hardships of the past, that made a better, higher quality life for future generations.