In 《The Good Earth》by Pearl S. Buck chapter 9 Wang Long and his family rarely wake up and sleeps to forget about hunger. People are eating bark and grass, and no animals have been found. Wang Long’s father is still very happy. He said that in the worst times, he saw people eating children. Wang Long was frightened.
In the town the dogs are eaten and everywhere the horses and the fowls of every sort. Here we have eaten the beasts that ploughed our fields and the grass and the bark of trees. What now remains for food?（P78)
This quotation illustrates the extreme despair that Wang Long faced during the famine period. The mention of eating dogs, horses, and poultry reflects a society pushed to its limits, where even domesticated animals – often seen as companions or necessities of labor – have become a source of food.