关键词: 三年困难时期, 饥荒, 死亡率, 非正常死亡, 死亡漏报

Abstract: The opinion that 30 million is the number of unnatural deaths during the Chinese Difficult Three Year Period( 1959-1961) is worth deliberating. It can be estimated，with the average death toll from 1955 to 1957 as the normal standard and the missing report of deaths from 1953 to 1964 plus the subsequently modification combined，that there were approximately four to five million people who ex- perienced unnatural deaths during the Difficult Three Year Period. The distributions of unnatural deaths apparently differ largely in regional structure，age structure as well as gender structure. Even though the millions of unnatural deaths is a lesson to reflect upon，still，the efforts the Chinese government made against the famine as well as the achievements they reached should not be obliterated. In addition， there were a series of complicated causes that led to the large number of unnatural deaths，and it is difficult to find out the proper answer only based upon the simple cause ＆effect relationship. Therefore， the discussion of this issue should be done by carrying out specific analyses in specific problems.

Keywords:  The Difficult Three Year Period, Famine, Death Rate, Unnatural Deaths, Death Under-reporting