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An elderly Chinese farmer trudged slowly along the mountainous path of Chun Ta Ping, the warmth of his breath making white puffs in the frigid air. The beauty of the peaceful blanket of snow, however, could not stem the rumbles of hunger in his stomach. This winter of 1960 marked two years of a terrible famine; many in Hunan were starving.
The farmer noticed what he first took for a bundle of rags alongside the road. Drawing closer, he realized it was the dead body of the prisoner who had been sent by the police in Yuanling the year before. The police told the people he was a reactionary, an American spy, and an enemy of the Communist party. There was no food for the city’s jails, so the villagers were to keep him from escaping, and to show him no pity. The prisoner took shelter in a cave and was reduced to begging for food. At first, some kindhearted people gave him leftovers, but when the famine worsened, there were no leftovers. At last he starved, cold and alone.
Making certain no one saw him, the kind farmer dug a shallow hole to bury the body. As he worked, the…
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