University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative
Exchange
Masters Theses
Graduate School
12-1967
Land Reform in China (1911-1953)
Chen-hung Keong
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Recommended Citation
Keong, Chen-hung, "Land Reform in China (1911-1953). " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1967.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3225
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To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Chen-hung Keong entitled "Land Reform in China
(1911-1953)." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and
recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,
with a major in Political Science.
Vernon Iredell, Major Professor
We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:
Selwyn Geller & Salo Engel
Accepted for the Council:
Carolyn R. Hodges
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
Ma y 19 , 1 9 6 7
To the G r a d ua te Counc i l :
I a m s ubmi t t i ng he rewi th a the s i s wr i t te n b y Che n-hung Ke ong
e n t i t le d "La nd Re form in Ch ina ( 1 9 1 1- 195 3 ) . " I rec omme nd tha t i t be
a c c e p te d for nine qua r te r hours of c re d i t in pa r t i a l f u l f i l lme n t o f
the requi re me nt s for the degree o f Ma s te r o f A r t s , wi th a ma j or in
P o l i t i c a l Sc i e nc e .
Ma j or Profe s s or
We have re a d thi s the s i s a nd
rec omme nd i ts a c c e p ta nce :
c­
���
Acce p te d for the Counc i l :
V i c e Pre s id e n t for
Gr adua t e S tu d i e s and Re s e arch
LAND HEFORM IN CHINA
(1911 - 1953)
A The s i s
Pre se nted to
the Gra dua te Counc i l of
The Un ive r s i t y of Te nne s see
I n Partia l Fu l f i l lme n t
o f the Re quireme n t s f o r the Deg re e
Ma s te r of A r t s
by
C he n-Hung Ke ong
Dec ember 1 9 6 7
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
A l l of my gra titude g oe s to Profe s s ors Ve rnon I re de l l , Selwyn
Ge lle r, a nd Sa lo Enge l for the ir he l p fu l s ugge s tions a n d valuab le
c ritic ism .
ii
7681_�)5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER
I.
II.
1
PEASANT PROBLEMS IN CHINA
LAND REFORM MOVE11ENT IN THE PERIOD OF THE REPUBLI C
36
( 1 9 1 1- 1 949)
III .
IV.
LAND REFORM IN COMMUNIST CHINA ( 1949- 1 9 5 3 )
69
CONCLUS ION
87
104
BI BLIOGRAPHY
iii
CAAP�R I
PEASANT PROBLEMS IN CHINA
China ' s pe a s a n t prob lem is a s o ld a s it s c ivi liz a tion .
Agri­
c u l ture is so impor t a n t t o China tha t not only the pe o p le ' s live li­
hood but a ls o the s ocia l and powe r s t ruc ture have b e e n c lose l y linke d
with the land s ys tem .
By uti lizing the ma te ria l s tha t a re availab le ,
this the sis a t te mp t s t o de s c ribe the re a litie s o f the Chine s e pe a s a n t
prob lems a n d the pe a s a n t moveme nt in the pe riod o f the Repub lic ( 1 9 1 11 949 ) ; a t the s ame time it a t temp t s t o e xamine the land re forms c a r rie d
out from 1 9 5 0 t o 1 9 5 3 in C ommunis t China .
The s ig nific a nce o f the Chine se land re forms c on s is t s in the
e limina tion o f the l a nd lord-gentry c la s s a nd re dis tribution o f land
among the pe a s a n t r y .
I t is , the re fore , ne c e s s a r y t o eva lua te the
fo l lowing ma t te r s , be fore dis c u s s ing land re form i t s e l f .
1.
Since C on fucia nism ha s domina ted the C hine s e minds for
a b ou t two thous a nd ye a rs , it wi l l be use fu l to e xamine i t s impa c t on
b o th the l a nd lord - ge n try c la s s a nd the pe a s a nt ry .
2.
I n the Chine s e his t ory , the land lord- g e n try c la s s c on­
s ta n t ly p la ye d a n importa n t a nd a c tive r o le in s oc ia l , e c onomic
and p o litic a l a f fairs .
A s tudy o f it s origin , deve l opme n t , and
s t ruc ture wi l l und oub te d ly he lp us to unde rs tand the l a nd lord - g e n t ry
c la s s o f the pe riod o f the Re pub lic , which wa s a c tua l ly the e xte nsion
of the ancie nt one .
1
2
3.
s ys tem .
The c once n tration o f l and owne rship gave r i s e to the tenanc y
Ove rpopu l a t i on c a used the pe a s a n t s ' s uffe ring .
A d i s cuss ion
of the pe a s a n t prob lems in te rms o f l a nd ma l d i s trib u t i on , te nancy
s ys tem , ove rpopu la t i on , a nd po l i t ic a l insta b i l ity , wi l l te l l us why
l a nd re form was urge n t l y ne ce s sa ry .
S oc ia l s tra t i f ica t ion c a n be ma de b y v a r i ous c r i te r ia.
Ka r l
Ma rx , for e xamp le , a s se r te d tha t s oc ie t y should b e s tra t i f i e d i n te rms
of the owne rship of the me a n s of produc t ion .
The re i s , a c c ord ing to
Ka r l Ma rx , a c la s s d i s t i ncti on betwe e n the c a p i ta l i s t who owns the
me a n s of produc t i on and the p r o le t a r i a t who d oe s n o t.
In a d d it i on
t o the pos s e s s i on of e c onomic me a n s , Ma x We be r s ugge s te d two o the r
c r i te r ia, name ly , the e x te rna l standard o f living a nd c u ltura l a nd
re c re a t i ona l p o s s ib i l i t ie s .
1
I n c on t ra s t t o tho s e ob j e c t ivists s uch a s Ma x Web e r a nd Ka r l
Ma rx , the re we re ce r t a i n s ub j e ctivi sts who be l ieved tha t s ome s ub j e c t ive f a c t o r s should b e emp loye d to d ivide the s oc i e ty .
Ac c ord i ng
to the m , pe op le who a re ana l og ous in inc ome , o c c upa t i on , e d uc a t ion , or
re l i g i ou s be lie f c a n e a s i ly ge t togethe r .
2
S oc i a l d i f fe re n t i a t i on ma y be de t e rmined b y s oc ia l s tatus
ra the r tha n c la s s .
In thi s c a s e , an individua l's r i g h t s a nd d u t ie s
a re fixe d ; s oc ia l mob i l ity i s e n t i re ly impos s ib le .
1
Howe ve r , i f
P a u l Mombe r t, "C la s s , " Encyc lopa e d i a .£! the S oc i a l S c i e nc e , I I I
(Ne w York : The Mac Mi l la n C omp a ny , 1930 ) , 5 3::..
2
I b �. d .
p . 533 .
3
s oc ia l d i f fe re n t i a t i on i s b a s e d up on c la s s ra the r tha n s ta tus, there is
no ob s ta c le s ta n d i ng in the wa y of inte rc la s s mob i l i ty .
3
A l though a l o t o f s ub je c t ive or ob jec t ive c r i te r ia have b e e n prov i d e d b y va r i ous wr i t e r s , it i s s t i l l d i f fi cu l t t o draw a c le ar- cu t
l i ne be twe e n c la s se s , s ince s oc ia l c la s s e s a re not s o r ig id a s a c a s te
s ys tem .
Pe rha ps the mos t importa n t c r i te r i on i s p s ycho l og i c a l .
Membe rs o f a c la s s sha re c ommon ide a s , a t t i tude s a nd fee l i ng s , a nd
re g a rd themse lve s a s be l ong i ng to one group .
4
C la s s d i s t inc t ion re f le c t s i n we a l th , pre s t ige a nd p owe r .
thre e thing s a re a c tua l ly inte rre l a t e d w i t h one a n o the r .
The s e
The we a l thy
pe op le c a n e a s i ly ob t a i n powe r ; the powe r fu l pe r s on s c a n e a s i ly b e c ome
r i c h ; and pre s t ige s e ems to be monopo l i z e d b y the r i c h and p owe r fu l
pe rs ons .
I n China , a the ory c onc e rning s oc ia l c la s s i f i c a t i o n wa s
deve loped b y C o n fuc ius .
Unde r the a r i s tocra t i c and feud a l s ys tem
of C o n fuc ius ' time , whi c h can be da te d back t o 1 10 0 B . C . , the f a rme rs
we re ignora n t pe r s ons who l ive d a primi t ive l i fe .
The C h i ne s e f a rme rs
j us t l ike othe r a n c i e n t pe op le s , l ived at the me rc y of na ture .
How-
eve r the y we re fortuna te b e c ause huma n i sm deve loped in the ru l i ng ,
l e a rne d , and we a l thy a r i s toc ra t i c c la s s .
I t seems t o be the o lde s t
p r i nc i p le o f ru l i ng t o t re a t f a rme rs i n a b e nevo l e n t wa y .
3
Ib .:d
.
.L
4
On the
p . 5 31 .
"C la s s C ons c i ous ne s s , " Encyc l opa e d i a .£i the
Mor r i s G i ndberg .
S oc ia l S c i e nc e s , .E.!?· c i t . , p . 5 36 .
4
b a s i s o f th i s o ld e s t p r i n c i ple , Confuc i us b u i lt his own theory accordi ng to wh ich the f unctions o f the a r i s tocrat and the fa rme r we re c lose ly
d i sting ui s he d .
The f a rme r should not p la y po l i ti c s , wh i le the a ri s to-
c rat nee d not know how to c u ltivate the land .
we re c la s s i f i e d in te rms o f the i r functions .
In othe r word s , the y
The re we re , a ccord ing to
Con fuc i a ni sm , on l y two c la s s e s , name ly , the gove r ning a n d the gove rne d
c la s se s .
I n th i s re s p e c t , the Con fuc i a n soc i a l d i f fe rentiation i s
s imi l i a r t o that o f Ka r l Ma rx , a lthough the i r b a s e s a re e nt i re l y d i ffe re nt .
Con f uc i us ' v iewpoint of the "me n above " c a n be i l l us trated b y
the fo l lowing story about h i s te a ch ing .
Whe n one o f h i s s tude nts a s ke d
h im about f a rm i ng , Confuc i us re p l ie d , "lam not a s good a s a n o ld pe a s ant . "
Whe n th i s s tude nt we nt out o f the c la s s room , Con fuc i us to ld othe r s ,
"What a nit- wit , that F a n (the name o f the stude nt who a s ked Con fuc i us
a bout fa rming ) .
I f the me n above love the rite s , no one o f the pe op le
wi l l d a re b e i rreve re nt .
If the me n above love jus tice , none of the
peop le wi l l fa i l to con form .
I f the me n a bove love ve rac ity , none of
the peop le wi l l want to use me nda c ity .
Whe n the g re at one is l i ke
th i s , the peop le o f the Four S qua re s (the wor l d ) wi l l come to him
with the i r c h i ldre n on the i r ba cks .
fa rmi ng ?"
What doe s he nee d to know about
5
The fa rme rs ' a tt itude s might be ind i c a te d b y the fo l lowi ng folk
song wh i ch preva i le d i n the C h i n e s e countrys ide a bo ut 2 5 0 0 ye a r s ago .
5
confuc i a n . Ana le cts (Tra ns late d by Ez t a Pound ) (New York :
Rev ie w , I nc . , 1 9 5 0) , p . 5 9 .
5
S un r i s e to work ,
S unset to stop ,
D ig we l ls to d r i nk .
Ti l l fie lds for crop.
The k i ng ' s might to me what good
0?
6
Th i s d i v i s ion o f f unction wa s made i n a c cord a nc e with the Confuc i a n e th i c a l s ystem inste a d of the princ i p le of d i v i s ion of labor .
The rulers reg a rd e d the pe a s a nt problems a s the c e nte r o f the i r state c ra ft on the one hand , and tre ate d the fa rme rs a s l itt le nit- wits on
the othe r .
Revo lution wa s a l lowe d only on the cond ition that the
rule r p rove d to be a tyra nt.
The Confuc i a n i d e a of revo l ution pro-
v ide d the pe a s a nt re be l l ions with a theoretical b a s i s .
I n 2 0 6 B . C . , China was un i f ied b y C h i n .
The uni f i c a tion
i nd ic a te d the c o l l a p s e of the o ld fe uda l s ys te m as we l l as the e nd
o f the s imp le , p rimitive and ignorant pe a s a nt way of l i fe .
The
conce ntra tion o f l and owne rship sta rte d i n the wa ke o f the leg a l i z ation o f l a n d purcha s e .
Poor pe a s a nts lost the i r huma nita r i a n
g ua rd , and h a d to f a c e the new soc i a l re a l itie s - the r i ch be c ame
r i che r , the poor , poore r.
The conce ntration of the l a nd owne rsh i p
g ave r i s e to the la ndlord-ge ntry c la s s wh i ch re p la c e d the a r i s toc rats
and domina te d C hi ne se po l itic s unt i l the Communi s t ta ke - ove r i n 1 94 9 .
The new gove rn i ng c la s s continued to a dopt the Con fuc i a n i d e a of
functiona l d i v i s ion i n orde r to j ustify its r u l i ng pos ition.
The orig i na l e le me nts of the land lord- ge ntry c la s s we re the
b ra nc he s of the Chou nob i l ity a nd the we a lthy o f f i c i a ls o f the
6
1958)
'
Le e We n , Poems from China (Ta i pe i : Te ng Kia ng Book Company ,
p . 13 .
6
Chin a n d Ha n Dyna sties .
With the p a s s age o f t ime, s ome o f them
dec l i ned a nd were rep laced by new e lements s uch a s rich mercha nts and
mi l ita rymen .
No matter what kind o f pers ons they were , they ,
as
the
e lements o f the l a nd l ord- gentry c la s s , sha red the f o l l owing cha racteri sti c s :
( 1) ) The b a s i c unit o f the land l ord- gentry c la s s were
fami l ies rather tha n i nd iv id ua l s .
( 2 ) The f inanc i a l s upp ort o f the
b i g fami l ies c ame from the i r la rge es tates wh ich were t i l led b y
tena nt s .
( 3 ) They were the o n l y literate pers ons a nd th us monop o l i z ed
p o l it ic a l enterp r i s e .
7
Profes s or Wo l fram Eberhard ha s v iv i d ly des c r ibed how the l a nd l ordgentry c la s s a s s oc i ated its e l f with the o f f i c ia l d om .
He wrote:
I n a typ ic a l gentry fami ly , another b ranch o f the fami l y i s in
the c a p ita l or i n a prov i nc ia l a dmini strative centre in o f f ic i a l
p o s it i on . Thes e o f f i c i a ls a t the same time a re the most h ig h l y
educated members o f the fami ly a n d a re often c a l led the " l iterati "
. . . I f d i f f i c u lties a rose in the estates either b y attacks o f
b a nd its or b y wa r o r other c ata strophes , the fami ly members i n
o ff ic i a l p o s itions c o uld use thei r i n f luence a n d power t o restore the
property i n the prov inces . I f , on the other h a nd , the fami l y members
i n o f f i c ia l pos itions lost thei r pos itions or even thei r l ives b y
d i s p leas i ng the c ourt , the fami ly b ranch c ould a lways f i nd ways to
rema i n untouc hed and c ou ld , in a generati on or two , rec ruit new
members a nd rega in power and i n f l uence i n the g overnment . 8
The c lose a s s oc ia t i on between the l a nd lord-gentry c la s s a nd the
o f f i c i a ldom undoubted ly a c ce lerated the c oncentration o f l a nd mvnership ,
whi c h , i n turn , fia stened the dec l i ne or r i s e o f d yna sties .
7
Wo l fram Eberha rd , � History o f China (Berke ley and Los Ange les :
Un ivers ity of Ca l i fornia P res s , 1 9 6 6 ) , p . 7 2 .
8
Ib id. , pp . 7 2 - 7 3 .
7
I n C h i nese h i story, we d i s c over many means which v1ere s uggested
for dea l i ng with the pea s a nt prob lems, vari ous p lans to mitigate the
fa rmers ' s uf feri ng.
A l l of these reforms, h owever, were based upon the
C on fuc i a n theory o f functi ona l d ivis i on, a nd, thus c ould not thorough ly
sett le the p r ob lems .
When they fa i led, there were s oc i a l upheava l, a nd
9
.
pea s a nt up r � s �. ng s .
The C on fuc i a n i nte l lectua l monop o l y sta rted i n the ea r ly yea rs
o f the Han Dyna sty a nd la sted unt i l the 1 9 2 0 ' s .
Dur i ng th i s per iod ,
none d a red to deny the truth of Confuc i a n i sm, a lthough there wa s a
wide g a p between the C on fuc i a n theory o f functi ona l d iv i s i on a nd the
s oc i a l rea l ities .
What the d i s s i dent inte l lectua l s c ou l d d o wa s to
reinterpret C on fuc i a n i sm and g ive it new mea n ings .
however, h a d its l imits .
Rei nterp retati on,
It had to be done with in the framework of the
orthod ox c la s s i c s .
The f i rst i nte l lectua l who attempted to c hange the exist ing land
s ystem by rei nterpret ing C onfuc ia n i sm wa s Wa ng Ma ng .
As a re lat ive o f
the Emperor, h e wa s once the most power f u l o f f i c i a l in the H a n C ourt .
I n 9 A . D. he estab l i shed h i s own d yna sty a nd p ut forwa rd a series o f
ec onomi c and s oc i a l reforms .
Most o f these re forms were ca rried out
in the name o f the c l a s s ic Confuc i a n b o oks, es pec i a l ly The Rite £f Chou .
He re i nterpreted these b ooks a nd a d ded ma ny new i dea s .
9
10
Ch i a ng Mon l i n, "Land Prob lems and Population , " C o l lected Works
o f Ch ia . n g Mon l i n (Ta i pe i : Cheng Chung Press , 1 9 54 ) , p . 105 .
10
Eberha rd, ££ · c it . , pp . 93- 95 .
8
F i r s t o f a l l he nati ona l i zed a l l the arab le l a nd and ca l led it
"the land o f the Ki ngd om . "
Kingd om" to fa rmer s .
Then he red i strib uted the " l a nd o f the
Th i s land reform actua 1 1 y a ro s e f rom a b a ck-
ground o f c oncentrat ion o f land ownership .
11
Wa ng Ma ng ' s reform wa s
defeated b y b oth the res i s tance of the land l ord- gent ry c la s s a n d the
ignorance o f the poor pea s a ntry .
The fa i l ure o f the reform led Ch i na
i nto a per i od of s oc ia l upheava l .
When the Han Dyna sty wa s restored ,
c oncentration o f l a nd ownersh ip sta rted aga i n .
The per i od o f the Northern Dyna sties ma rked a l a s t i ng power
strugg le between the r u lers o f the northern noma d s a nd the Ch i nese
l a nd lord- gentry c la s s .
The Northern Dyna sties wh ich were es ta b l i shed
by the leaders of the northern nomad s , adopted a s ystem of land a l l otment as a mea ns to derog ate the land l ord - gentry c la s s .
s ys tem , one hundred mou
12
Under th i s
o f land were a l l otted t o ea ch ma le fa rmer ,
s i sty mou to each fema le fa rmer .
A part o f the a l l oted l a nd (ab out
twenty mou) was rega rded a s pr ivate land , and thus c ou l d be i nherited
b y thei r des cenda nts .
The rest o f the land was returned to the g overn-
ment a fter the fa rmer ' s death .
Th i s s ystem with a s l ight cha nge , was
a ls o a d opted b y the S h i and Tang Dyna sties .
13
11
Tao Hs i - sheng , � Hi story £i Ch inese P o l it i c a l Thought ,
I I (Ta ipei : Shang-ming Pres s , 1 9 5 4 ) , 6 .
12
"Mo u " i s the b a s ic unit o f land . The mou o f the Northern
D yna sties wa s sma l ler tha n the mou o f the present s ystem . Ac c or d i ng
to the exi st i ng mo u s ystem , s ix mou equa l one a c re .
13
p. 8 9 .
ch i a ng Mon l i n , "Land Prob lems a nd Population , " .£12.· c it . ,
9
Th i s sys tem c o u ld work we l l on ly i f there was
of fa rmed l a nd a nd a re la t ive ly sma l l popu l a t ion .
a
l a rge sup p ly
The a im o f th i s
s ys tem was , obv i ous ly , to mi t i g a te ra ther tha n t o a b o l i sh t h e c oncentra t i o n o f l a nd ownership , s i nce pa r t of the a l lot ted l a nd wa s permi t ted to be inheri ted b y the a l lo tees' descend a n t s .
I n the eigh th cen t ury , the c oncen t r a t i on o f land owners h i p
rea ched a new peak , b u t no new a l lo tment wa s made unt i l the twent ieth
cent ury .
The pea s a n t ' s s i t ua t i on i n China deter i ora ted when c oncen t r a -
t i on o f l a nd owners h i p c omb i ned wi th the prob lem o f overpop u l a t i on i n
14
.
t he eig h teent h a n d n l. ne teen t h centurles
.
Un f o r t una te l y , these
cen t ur i es a ls o ma rked the dec l i ne of the C h i nese Emp i re .
I t wa s a
t ime when peop le s t i l l remembered pa s t prosper i t y a n d s ta b i l i t y on
the h a nd , a nd fa ced c urren t mi sery on the o ther .
Ch i nese c u l t ura l
s uper i o r i t y wa s s t i l l f irmly b e l ieved i n b y the i n te l lec t ua l s .
Wes t wi th i ts v a ng ua rd - g unb oa t s ,
The
had t o f ight i t s way i n t o the
C h i ne s e Emp i re .
S o , Ch i n a , i n the ea r l y yea rs o f the twentieth cent ury , wa s
i n a d i lemma .
She wa s forced to modern ize her s e l f on the one h a nd ,
and i n s i s ted t o uph o ld s ome tra d i t iona l p r i nc i p les on the o ther .
A
new formula was de l ibera te ly des igned t o dea l wi th the new s i t ua t i on .
Accord i ng to th i s new formula , C h i nese idea s should be reg a rded a s
e s s en t i a l p r i n c i p les a nd Wes tern idea s a s pra c t i c a l a pp l i c a t i ons .
Wes tern gunb o a t p o l i c y g ave the Ch i nese peop le the impres s i on th a t
14
I b id . , p . 107 .
10
mi l i ta r y migh t wa s the e s s ence o f indus t r i a l i z a t i on .
Thi s fa l la cious
i dea c omb i ned wi th the fee l ing of c u l t ura l s uper i o r i t y s ta r ted China
15
on a wrong p a c e towa r d mod ern�. z a t �. on .
A s e l f - s treng thening movement b a s ed on the a b ove formula was
f iercely advoca ted b y b o th the g overnment and the inte l l i gen t s i a .
The a im o f th i s movemen t wa s ma i n l y t o bui ld s tra teg i c i nd u s t r ies for
mi l i ta ry purposes .
Th i s movement fa i led bec a use i t s des igners p a i d
no a t tent i on t o s ome b a s i c cha nges wh ich were the prerequis i tes
o f i nd us t r i a l deve l opmen t .
Among these b a s ic changes , l a nd re form
wa s a nd i s the mos t imp o r t a n t one i n Ch ina.
The p rerequi s i te o f a
s uc ce s s fu l l a nd reform i n Ch i na wa s a nd i s , und oub ted ly , a ls o the
abo l i t ion o f the C o n f u c i a n theory of func t i ona l d iv i s i on .
I n o ther
word s , a s ucces s fu l land re form requires the pos i t ive pa r t i c ipa t i on o f
the pea s a n t s a s we l l a s the en l igh tened c o opera ti on o f the land l ordgent ry c la s s .
However , the land re form movement put forwa rd i n the per i od of
t he Repub l i c p rove s how d i f f i c u l t i t wa s t o make a pea c e f u l trans fer
of land owner s h i p from the powerful land l or d - gen t r y c la s s t o the
ignor a n t fa rmer s .
S ince ec onomic power was iden t i f ied w i th p o l i t i c a l
p ower , the p ower s truc t ure in the c oun trys i de was b ound to be cha nged
by land red i s t r i b u t i on .
In the trad i t i ona l Ch i nese s oc iety , the
land lord - gent r ie s were a c t ua l ly the rulers o f the c ountrys ide .
15
La nd
John K. Fa i rb a nk , The Uni ted S t a te s and China ( New York :
The Viking P res s , 1 9 6 5 ) , p . 143 .
11
reform wou ld und oub ted ly provoke their res i s ta nce , s i nce land re form
wou ld a t temp t t o deprive them o f the i r ec onomi c p ower a s we l l as thei r
p o l i t ic a l a uthor i t y .
The l and l ord ques t i on , therefore , ha s been the
center o f the C h i nese pea s a n t prob lem .
The d i f feren t a t t i t udes toward
l a nd l ords a d op ted by the na t i ona l i s t s and the c ommun i s t s ref lec t the
ma in d i f ferences be tween the ir l a nd p o l i c ies .
Confuc i us' i dea o f func t i ona l d iv i s i on s t i l l d omina ted the minds
o f the na t i ona l i s ts , a nd formed the founda t i on of the i r l a nd p o l i c y .
They c oopera ted \v i th the l a nd l ord- gen t ry c la s s a nd the new ly- emerged
c omp rad ors .
The l a rge c ommerc i a l c i t ies a l ong the c oa s t became the
ma i n p o l i t ic a l centers .
neg lee ted .
The we l f a re of the pea s a nt r y wa s a c t ua l ly
16
I n the c ount rys ide , C on f uc i us' idea about rev o lut ion p reva i led .
I t g ave a c t ive and agres s ive fa rmers a n exc us e for l a un c h i ng up r i s i ngs.
Thi s i dea a ls o help certa i n c onserva t ive fa rmers t o wipe out e th ic a l
a nd mora l ob s ta c les .
To the c ommun i s t s , i t served a s a n exc i t i ng s log a n .
Un les s we know the ro le p la yed b y C on fuc i a n ideas i n the Chinese
s oc ie t y , we c a n h a r d l y under s t a nd the pea s a n t p r ob lems as we l l a s the
d i f ferent a t ti t udes a d o p ted b y the na t i ona l i s t s a nd the c ommun is ts .
However , the C on f uc i a n idea o f revo l u t i on d oes n o t c o inc i de
wi th t he Ma rxi s t i dea o f c la s s strugg le .
i n the f o l l owing p o i n t s :
Their d i fference c ons i s ts
( 1 ) Ma rx reg a rd s the c on f l i c t between the
16
W u Hs i a ng - h s i a ng. "Mr . Chang Ch i - l ua n , C h i na ' s Out s t a nd ing
Pub l ic i s t; ' B i ograph ic a l Li tera t ure, V (Sep tember , 1 9 64) , 2 7 .
12
g overning a nd the g overned c la s ses a s a s c ien t ific cer tain t y , since
those wh o own the means o f p roduc tion,are b ound to s uppres s those wh o
do not .
A c c o rd i ng t o the C on fuc i a n idea o f revo l ut i on , the c onflic t
between the r u lers a nd the peop le is avoidab le .
( 2 ) I n the Ma rxi s t
p o i n t o f view , c la s s s tr ugg le is the res u l t of economic exp lo i ta t i on ;
whi le C on f uc i a ni s t revo l u t i on i s c a us ed b y huma n b r u t a l i t y a nd e th ic a l
immora l i ty .
A l th o ugh the Ch inese C ommuni s t , c a l led themse lves d i s c i p les
of Ma rxism-Len i n i sm , they had to a s s oc i a te wi th the o ld C on fuc i a n
i dea o f revo l u t i on i n order t o g a i n the s uppor t o f the pea s a n t r y .
Th i s c a n be i l l us tra ted b y the fa c t tha t the c ommun i s t s , when c ond uc t i ng an a n t i l a nd lord c ampa ign , a lways t ried t o d i s c l os e the wrong
d oi ng s a nd b ruta l behav i o r s of the land l ords.
Acc ord i ng t o the C h i nese c ommuni s t s , l a nd lords c on s i s t o f
those per s ons who own l a nd b ut d o n o t c u l t iva te i t . 17
i s obv i ous l y d i f ferent from the trad i t i ona l one .
Th i s def i n i t ion
The C h i nese c om-
muni s t s wan ted t o a b o l i s h not o n l y the t ra d i t i ona l l a nd l ord-gen t ry
c la s s , b ut a l s o the p a ra s i tes who l ived b y exp l o i t i ng o thers .
How-
ever , the t r a d i ti ona l l a nd l ord- gentry c la s s rema i ned a s the ma i n
t a rget o f the c ommuni s t revo l u t i on .
17c overnmen t Ad m� n � s t ra t �ve
Th Agra r �. a n Re f orm Law
.
C ounc �'1 , �
·
·
o f the People 1 s Repub l i c £!. China a n d O ther Relev a n t Doc ument s
(Peki ng : Foreign Langua ge Pres s , 1 9 5 9 ) , pp . 18- 1 9 .
13
I n order t o know h ow the pea s a n t s we re exp l o i ted a nd why land
reform wa s o f urgen t neces s i ty, we have t o examine the a c t ua l c ond i­
t i on of the C h i nese c ount rys i de in the per i od of the Rep ub l i c .
The a c t ua l c ond i t i on of the Chinese c ount r ys ide i n the pe riod
of the Repub l i c ( 1 9 1 1- 1 94 9 ) wa s charac ter i zed by the f o l l owing fac t or s :
( 1 ) The pea s a n t prob lems were neg lec ted b y the urb a n r u l i ng c la s s
wh i ch monop o l i zed p ower for dec a des.
(2) The ma ld i s trib u t i on o f l a nd
wh ich g ave r i s e t o the land l ord- gen try c la s s c on t i nued t o exi s t i n
th i s peri od .
The l a nd l ord- gen t ry c la s s, c l o s e ly l i nked wi th the urb a n
r u l i ng c la s s, a c t ua l l y d omina ted the c ountrys i de.
The r i se o f the
ten a n c y s ys tem was a ls o the res u l t of the c oncen t ra t i on o f land owner­
ship .
The ten a n t s , a s the mos t mi serab le segment o f the rura l p opu-
la t i on, l ived a t the merc y o f the l a nd l ord s .
( 3 ) S o fa r a s a g r i c u l ture
i s c oncerned, China h a s i t s phys ica l weaknes ses.
land i n Ch ina i s l imi ted .
The amoun t o f a ra b le
A l arge p a r t o f Chinese terr i tory i s oc c u­
p ied b y moun t a i ns , dese r t a nd eroded la nd.
Overp o p u la t i on, s i nce the
eigh teenth cen t ury, h a s been one of the ma i n menaces to the peop le ' s
l ive l ih ood .
When P r o fe s s or Lia ng Sh ih- Ch iu vi s i ted the coun t rys i de o f
Shang s i P r ovince i n 1 94 1, h e wa s deep ly s urprised th a t the pea s a n t s
living i n the c ount rys i de were s o ignora n t a b o ut the o u t s ide wor ld.
They s t i l l used the na t i ona l f la g wh ich had been a b o l i s hed two dec a des
ago .
I n a v i l lage o f Shang c ountry, he d i s c overed tha t peop le s t i l l
14
kep t the c u s t oms "wh ich c ou ld o n ly be foun d i n the n i neteenth- century
n ove 1 , Ju- l i n Wa i - Sh ih . "
18
I ndeed , the i n land vi l lages of Ch i na have been l i t t le cha nged by
the Wes tern impa c t , wh i c h for more th a n one hundred years h a s exer ted
c on s iderab le pres s ure on s e l f - c on f i dent Ch i nese S oc iety .
The c oa s ta l
c i t ies , a s c ompared wi th the i n land v i l lages , have been wes terni z ed .
The peop le l iv ing i n c i t ies have had more chances f or c o n ta c t wi th the
Wes t .
The C h i nese peop le educa ted b y the Wes t have tr ied t o a b s orb a
grea t variety o f d oc tr i nes i n order t o br i ng about na t i ona l s a lva t i on .
They seem t o have overes t ima ted or mi s c a lc u l a ted the v a l ue o f i n d us tria l i z a t i o n and tech n i c a l progres s , a nd t o have put rura l re form l a s t .
I t i s the urba n c la s s th a t d omina ted C h i nese p o l i t i c s for more than one
century .
As a res u l t , the rura l area wa s c omp let e ly neg lec ted .
Mr . C h a ng C h i - l u a n , the mos t outs t a nd ing j ourna l i s t o f China
once tr ied t o remind his readers of the forg o t ten rura l area .
He
s a id tha t C h i nese p o l i t i c s c o u ld be reg arded a s "urba n p o l i t i c s. "
Every doc tr i ne or p o l i cy des igned b y the i n te l lec t ua l s was for the
bene f i t o f the urb a n popu l a t ion .
C onsequent ly , the l iv i ng c ond i t i on s
o f 9 0 percen t o f the Ch i nese p o u l a t i on were ignored .
I n h i s n o t a b le
a r t i c le , "Where is the Ch i nese C iv i l i z a t i on ? " he reac hed the c onc lus i on
tha t "The Ch i nese po l i t i c i ans , i nd us tria l i s t s a nd s ch o lars d i d n o t know
18
L i a ng Sh ih- Ch i u , "A Ride in Chung - t i a o Moun t a i n , " B i ograph ic a 1
L i tera. t ure , I I (Ma y , 1 9 6 3 ) , 1 3 - 1 6 .
15
the a c t ua l c ond i t i o n o f China .
c urren t reform fa i led . "
Th i s migh t be the very rea s on why the
19
Thi s res pectab le j o urna l i s t , in 1 9 3 0 , sent the s ta f f o f his news p a per (Ta- Kon P a o ) to the c oun trys ide o f Hopei t o make a series o f
s t ud ies o f the rura l v i l lages o f tha t prov i nce.
He s a id th ese stud ies
were " f o r the p urpose o f enc oura g i ng the men i n power to do s ome thi ng
for the bene f i t o f the pea s a nt ry . "
20
The s ep a ra t i on between the moderni zed top s tr a t um a nd the res t
o f the C h i nese peop le c a used b o th externa l a nd i n terna l m i s under s ta n i ng s .
I n terna l ly , i t c a u s ed res i s ta nce o f the pea s a n t ry t o ind us t r i a l i z a t i on
a nd modern i z a t i on.
The pea s a n try beg a n t o s us pec t the revo l u t i onary
d oc t r i nes as we l l as the imp o r ted s ys tems , bec a use they s a w no p r o s pec t
for t he imp rovemen t o f the i r lot i n the exc i t i ng a nd f ierce s l og a n s put
forwa rd b y t he i n te l l igen t s i a .
Externa l ly , i t gave t he wor l d a wrong
impres s i on a b o u t the a c t ua l cond i t i ons of China .
"Our fa i l ure i n under-
s ta n d i ng , " wro te P r o fes s or F a i rb a nk ,
. s p r i ng s p a r t ly from our mis taking the modern veneer of
China for the wh o le o f Ch inese l i fe . Th i s i s pa r t ic u l a r l y ea s y
bec a use the moderni zed top s t ra t um o f C h i nese S oc iety- - the moneyed ,
o f f i c i a l s , a nd l i tera te c la s ses--a lmo s t monop o l i ze the ma c h i nery
of p ower in C h i na t oda y ( the 1 9 3 0 ' s a nd 1 940 ' s ) . " 2 1
19
wu Hs i a ng -h s i a ng , "Mr . Cha ng Chi- l ua n , Ch i na's Outs t a nd i ng
Pub l ic i s t , " B i ograph i c a l Li tera ture , V (Sep tember , 1 9 64 ) , 2 7 .
20
21
Ibi d . , p . 2 7 .
John Ki ng F a i rb a nk , The Uni ted S ta tes and C h i na (Camb r i dge :
Ha rv a rd Univers i t y Pres s , 1 94 8 ) , pp . 5 - 6 .
16
Ac c ord ing t o reliab le stat istic s , China had , before 194 9 , 1300
mi l l i on mou of a rab le land , inc luding about 100 mi l l ion mou o f pub l i c
land .
Ab out 6 0 mi l l i on househ o l d s were engaged i n f a rming .
tion a b o ut the land d i stri b ution ha s been s c a nty at best .
22
I n f o rma-
As a matter
of fact , no nati onwide s urvey wa s made in China before the 1 9 50 ' s .
There i s s ome materi a l p rovided b y vari ous loc a l s urveys .
c on f lic t with one a n other , however.
These s urveys
S ome o f them a re ta i l ored to s up-
port certa i n d ogma t i c theor ies .
The f i rst des c ription o f land d i strib ution wa s made b y a noted
C ommunist .
Ta ng Ping- shen , who wa s the head o f the Min i stry o f Ag r i -
c u lture o f the Wuh a n Nati ona l i s t G overnment in 1 9 2 7 .
(At that time
the Wuha n Nat i on a l i s t Government sti l l c ooperated with the C ommun i sts . )
Th i s report i s , a s Ta ng s a i d , ba s ed upon mater i a l s provided b y "Rus ­
s ia n s a nd other foreigner s . "
23
However , he made n o further rema rks
a b o ut e ither the a c c ur a c y of the s ources o f the mater i a l or the
method emp loyed to c o l lect it .
Acc ord i ng t o Tang ' s rep ort , " la nd c oncentration i n the c ountrys ide i s extreme ly seri o us , the ma j or ity of the pea s a nts ( a b o ut 55 percent of the rura l population) do not have , b ut des i re to h ave the i r
O>vn l a nd . "
24
The unique cha racteristic o f th i s rep ort i s that the
22
Wa ng Ah - na ng , !}_Study o. n the Chinese Thought .£f S oc ia l a nd
Ec. onomi c Ref orm (Shangha i : Chung- h ua Book C ompany , 1 9 5 0 ) , p . 8 6 .
23
Wa n Ah- kong , The C ommunist Pa rty and the Pea s a nt Prob lems
(Hong Kong : As i a n P ub l i sh i ng C ompany , 1 9 5 6 ) , p . 5 3 .
24
I b id . , p . 5 4 .
17
c rite ria u s e d to c la s s ify the pe a s a ntry we re de s igne d in an extremely
rad ic a l way.
Those who owne d th i rty to fifty mou o f l a nd ( five to
e ight a c re s ) we re c la s s i f ie d as rich pe a s a nts .
La nd lords we re those
fa rme r s who owne d more tha n one hund red mou of land .
Afte r a na lys i ng the mate r ia l by c la s s i fy i ng the pe a s a ntry
i nto s ix segme nt s , Ta ng d raws the fol lowing conc lus ions :
1.
Seve nty- five pe rcent of the fa rme rs we re short o f l a nd or
without l a nd .
Th i s se gme nt on ly owne d 2 0 pe rcent of the
a rab le l a nd i n Chi na .
2.
E leven pe rce nt o f the rura l popu lation we re midd le fa rme rs ;
the y owne d 13 pe rce nt of the a rab le l a nd.
Fourte e n pe rcent o f the rura l popu l ation we re c la s s i f ied a s
3.
land lords a nd rich farme r s .
The y pos se s se d 8 1 pe rce nt o f
the tota l a rab le la nd .
Tang ' s re port , a lthough adopte d a s the s ta t i s t i c a l b a s i s of the
e a r ly Communi s t pe a s a nt moveme nts , wa s mod i f i e d i n the Kia ng s i S ov i e t
pe r iod .
The n e w s tati stic s we re re lative ly re l iab le , s ince the y we re
b a s e d upon a se r i e s of loc a l s urveys made in the S ov i et D i stricts.
Unde r the new s tat i s t i c s the numb e r of l a nd lords as we l l as the
s i ze of the i r h o l d i ng s was re d uce d ; the pe rcentage of the poor pe a s ants
wa s a ls o cha nge d from 75 pe rce n-t to . 70 pe .r cent- ; a R.d t.l:J.e land posse.s.sed
by the poor pe a s a nts wa s i nc re a s e d from 6 pe rce nt to 15 pe r c e nt .
Tab le I.)
25
25
I b i d . , p. 5 5 .
(Se e
18
TABLE I
C OMMUN IST STATISTIC S ABOUT LAND D ISTR IB UT ION IN THE 1 92 0 ' S
Poor
Pe asan t s
P (%)
L (%)
Mid d l e
Pe a s an t s
L (% )
P (% )
Land lor d s
and
Rich Farme r s
L (/o)
P (% )
Tang ' s r e por t
75
6
11
13
14
81
Kiangs i ' s survey
70
10- 15
20
15
10
70
L
l and .
P
popu l at ion .
Th i s mod i f ic a t i on re f le c t s a ma jor c h a nge o f the Communi s t
tac t i c s i n the peasant moveme n t .
The Chine s e Communi s t p a r ty g r a d ua l ly
deve lope d a po l i c y o f org a nizing a uni te d fron t be twe e n the poor a nd
midd le pe a s a n t s .
26
A large midd le pe a s a n t wou ld undoub te d ly s tre ngthe n
the Commun i s t powe r i n the coun trys i de .
The Kia ng s i F ig ure s were ,
the re fore , o f f ic i a l ly a dop te d a s the s ta t i s t i c a l b a s i s o f the Communi s t
l a n d po l i c y .
A few s ta t i s t i c s we re made b y the Wa r lord and the Na t iona l i s t
Gove rnme n t s wh i c h favore d d i f f e re n t approa che s to s o lv i ng the pe a s a n t
prob lem.
The s e s ta t i s t i c s empha s i zed the fac t tha t a l a rge p a r t o f the
l a ndowne r s e ng a ge d in land c ul t iva t ion themse lve s .
Th i s c le a r ly re f le c t s
the ba s ic d i f fe re nc e be twe e n the po lic i e s o f the Communi s t s and the
Na t iona l i s t s .
The na tiona l gove rnme n t , e s pe c i a l ly a fte r 1 930 , ha s
t r i e d to form a " land- to- the - t i l le r " po l i c y.
The f i rs t s te p o f th i s
po l i c y wa s to mi t ig a te the m i s e rab le cond i t ion o f the tena n t s b y re d uc ing the land re nt.
A l a rge s e gme nt o f the f a rme rs , s a y the s t a t i s t i c s o f the Wa rlord Gove rnme n t , pos se s se d the i r own land a nd e ng a g e d in c u l t iv a t ion
themse lve s .
The te n a n t s , wi th on l y a few e xce p t i on s , we re the sma l le s t
por t i on o f the pe a s a n t r y (about 2 0 p e rc e n t o f the r ura l pop u la t ion) _
The s e s t a t i s t i c s a l s o show tha t the re we re more te na n t s i n the s ou thern
a nd c e n t ra l p a r t s o f China .
27
26
Hu C h i ao-mu , Th i r ty Ye a r s o f the Commun i s t Pa r ty o f Ch i n a
(Pe king : Fore i g n La ng uage Pre s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , pp . 35-36.
27
_££.
Wa n Ah- kong , The Commun i s t Pa r ty a nd the Pe a s a n t Prob lems ,
c i t . , p. 5 6.
20
The Na t i ona l i s t s urve y re a che d s imi l a r c onc lus i on s .
It
i ndi-
c a te d tha t the l a rge s t p o r t i on o f the rura l pop u l a t i on we re midd le
pe a s a n t s (ab out 67 pe rce nt o f the rura l popu l a t ion) .
In c on t rast t o
the C ommuni s t a s s e r t i on , the na t i ona l i s t s a s s e r t e d tha t i t 1vas not the
land l ord s b u t the midd le pe a s a n t s who owne d the l a rge s t p o r t ion of the
a rab le l a nd.
As the Warlord s t a t i s t i c s s h owe d , the midd le pe a s a n t s we re
ide n t i fied wi th the t i l le r s .
we re te n a nt s .
Only one th i rd o f the rura l p op u la t i on
28
N o ma t te r h ow e x t e ns ive the d ive rge nc ie s a re be twe e n the a b ove
fi nd i ng s , one t h i ng th a t has b e e n unive rs a l ly re c og n i z e d is the
m i s e rab le c ond i t i on of te nant s .
The tenancy s ys tem i s a s o ld a s p riva te land owne r s h i p i n
China .
I t i s the re s u l t o f land owne r s h ip c once n t ra t i on.
The Economic
Hi s t or y of the Ha n Dyna s ty (Sh ih Huo Chih) i nd i c a te s :
The C h i n C ourt a d o p t e d Sha ng Ya ng's s ys tem o f f re e l a nd purc h a se
a nd a b o l i she d the a nc i e n t s ys tem o f Chien- t i e n . . . . 2 9 (The re fore )
s ome fa rme r s we re forced t o c u l t iv a te the l a nd o f the r ich fami l i e s .
The y g ave f ive te n t h s o f the i r p rod uc t t o the r ich fami l ie s a s
re n t . . . . Whe n the foot pa ths o f the r i ch c ut a c r o s s every
fie ld a nd the be ne f i t s f rom the s tre ams a n d moun t a i n s we re monopo­
l i z e d b y the m , the poor had not e nough g ro und on which t o re s t the
e nd of an awl . 3 0
28
The China Handb ook Ed i tori a l Boa rd , China Handb ook , 1 9 5 0
(New Yo rk: Roc kp o r t Pre s s , Inc . , 1 9 5 0 ) , pp . 5 8 1- 5 8 3 .
29
"Ch i a ng- t ie n " i s the fe uda 1 land s ys tem i n wh i c h the land
wa s d i vide d in t o nine por t i ons. Among the s e p or t i on s , one wa s reg a rd e d
a s p ub l i c l a nd , and the o the r e ight por t i on s we re a l l o t t e d t o e ig h t
hous e h o lds. The p ub l i c l a nd wa s fa rme d b y the e ig h t h o u s e h o l d s , a nd
i t s p roduc t be l onge d to the g ove rnme n t.
30
T s uL. Ch'L , A Sh o r t H i s t o ry o f C h i ne s e C iv i 1 i za t i on ( Ne w York :
G . P. Putnam's S ons , 1 94 3 ) , p . 8 6 .
_
21
Two p o i n t s in the a b ove quotati on a re wor thy of care ful notice.
F i rs t, the te n a nc y s ys te m wa s the d i re c t re s u lt o f the p o l i c y o f free
l a nd purch a s e .
S e c ond l y , the land re n t , 50 pe rc e n t of the product ,
was c o l l e c ted a t the e xpe nse o f the te nants ' l ive l ih ood .
A s we have p o i nte d out be fore , the s ystem o f l a nd a l l o tment
ad opte d b y ma ny d yna stie s wa s o f f i c ia l l y de nounc e d i n the S ung Dyna sty .
We c a n, there fore , s ay that the mode rn te nancy s ystem c a n b e tra c e d
b a c k to the S ung pe r i od .
A h i s t o r i a n o f the S ung Dyna sty wrote :
Afte r a l ong pe r i od of s tab i l i t y and p r o s p e r ity , p owe r f u l
o f f ic i a l s a nd r i c h fami l i e s we re a c c us tome d to e xpand the i r
l a n d b y purcha s e or othe r i l lega l methods . E 31 n g ove rnme nta l
re strictions c ou l d not s top th i s deve l opme nt.
I n tha t pe r i od, the re nt wa s a s h igh a s that o f the Han D yna sty .
A fa rme r c ou ld c u l t iva te about th i rty m o u o f land , a nd ge t two teng
of g r a i n f rom e a c h mou .
Ha l f o f the p roduc e we n t t o the l a nd lord s .
32
33
The re lati onsh i p betwe e n the landowne r s a nd the t e n a nts
i nv o lve d more tha n the s imp le payme nt o f re nt , howeve r.
s ys tem was a c t ua l l y a s ys te m o f qua s i s l ave ry.
The te nancy
A wr ite r of that t ime
s a i d , " (te na nt s ) a re wh ippe d , dr ive n a nd d ominate d a s s lave s . "
34
31
T a o Hs i - she ng, A Hi story o f Chi ne s e P o l it ic a l Tho ugh t
(Ta i pe i , S h a ng - mi ng Pre s s , 1 954) , p . 6 .
32
33
Te ng ' s
t h e unit o f g ra i n .
Ta o Hs i - she ng , A H i s tory o f Chine s e P o l it i c a l Though t,
.££.· _£ i t ., p . 2 9 .
34
Ib �. d . , p. 2 9.
22
The phe nome na o f land owne rship conc e n tra t ion did a t tra c t the
a t te n t ion of the i n te l l ig e n t s i a .
we re put forwa r d .
At le a s t two s ys tema t ic solut ions
Wong An- Shih , a ra d ic a l re forme r i n C h i ne s e h i s tory ,
a s s e r te d tha t the rich fami lie s , both rura l a nd urb a n , shou ld be s uppre s se d.
He , howe ve r , favore d ne i the r the re s tora t ion of the a l lotme n t
s ys tem nor the utop i a n C h i e n- t ie n s ys te m .
He s ugge s te d tha t a we a l thy
tenancy c la s s wou ld c he c k the e xpans ion of the r i c h .
shou ld , the re fore , f i n a nc ia l ly he lp the te na n t s .
The gove rnme n t
35
Anothe r s o l u t ion wa s o f fe re d b y Chang He ng- Ch u , a Con f uc i a n
theor i s t .
He a t temp te d to a d a p t the utop i a n Chie n- t ie n s ys tem to the
soc ia l re a l i t ie s o f h i s time.
A l l the land should be d i v ided i n
ac cordance wi th t h e Chie n - t ie n p r i nc i p le s .
The e xi s t i ng a u thor i ty o f
the land lord , s i nce i t could not b e abo l i s he d , s hould be re cog n i ze d b y
the gove rnme n t .
At t h e f i rs t s tage , land lord s s hou ld be a ppoi n t e d a s
land o f f ic i a ls to manage the i r own l and .
The n , a f te r twe n t y or th i r t y
36
ye a r s those l a nd of f ic i a ls should be re p la c e d b y " some v i r t uous me n . 11
To Chang , r u le by v i r t uous me n s e eme d to be the f i na l s te p i n l a nd
re form .
Obv ious ly , Chang's propos a l i s imag ina t ive e nough .
I t wa s
dee p ly a f fe c te d b y The Ri te s o f Chou , a pr imi t ive utop i a n s oc ia l i s t
35
Wo l f ram Ebe rh a rd , � His tory of China (Be rke l e y a nd Los
Ange le s : Unive r s i t y of Ca l i forn ia Pre s s , 1 9 5 0 ) , p . 2 2 3 .
36
.£E.. c i t .
'
Tao Hs i-she ng , � H i s tory .£f Chine s e Po l i t i c a l Though t s , IV ,
93 ,
23
book .
C h a ng h imse l f seeme d never to have re a l i ze d the d i f f ic u l t y
i nvo lve d i n tra nsforming powe r from the land lords t o v i r tuous me n.
The l a nd sys tem unde r the Yua n , Ming , a nd C h i ng dynast ies
deve lope d in such a wa y tha t the aristoc ra c y b e c ame i nvo lve d in the
te nanc y system .
The gove rnme nt gave much a rab le l a nd to a r i stoc ra ts .
The size o f the l a nd gra nts was ve ry la rge .
For e xamp le , i n 1 6 0 1 a n
Empe ror o f the Mi ng D ynasty a t tempted t o g ive 4 0 , 0 00 C h i ng o f a rab le
land i n Hona n prov ince to h is th ird son .
The o f fe r was oppose d b y
some o f the high o f f ic i a ls i n the Cour t .
The y a rg ue d tha t a la rge
amount of a ra b le l a nd in tha t province ha d a lre a d y b e e n g iv e n to the
Empe ror ' s o the r sons.
The l a nd a lre a d y g ive n p l us the la test o f fe r
37
.
amoun te d to 5 0 pe rce n t o f the tota l arab le land o f tha t provLnce
.
The comb i na t ion o f l a nd owne rsh ip wi th po l i t i c a l a u thor i t y
undoub te d ly deepe ne d the mise ry o f the t e na n ts .
Whe n the Manchu
peop le oc c upi e d the who le o f China i n 1 644 , the l a nd tha t h a d been
g ive n to the Ming a r istoc ra ts we re take n ove r b y the Manchu a r istoc ra ts .
The Ma nchu peop le , in the e a r ly stages o f the C h i ng Dynasty ,
we re a l lowe d b y the Empe ror to take a ny fe r t i le priva te l a nd wi th
appropr i a te compe nsa t i on .
s t i l l e xiste d .
38
I n the n i ne te e nth c e nt ury , l a rge e s t a t e s
Ac cord ing t o the s t a t istics ma de b y t h e Ch i na Branch
of the Roya l Asi a t i c Soc ie ty (Eng land ) , in the 188 0 ' s i n the Nor the rn
37
1959)'
chou Ki ng- She ng , An Economic History of C h i na , IV (Ta ipe i ,
p. 8 8 5 .
38
I b id . , p. 1 0 6 5 .
24
pa r t o f Ki a ng s u prov i nc e , the re we re "ma ny l a rge e s ta te s .
One fami ly ,
i t i s s a id, owns 4 0 0 , 00 0 mou , i.e . 66 , 6 6 6 a c re s ; a nothe r 3 0 0 , 000 mou ,
a nd o the r s s ti l l pos s e s s from 40 , 00 0 t o 7 0 , 000 mou. "
39
As i n o the r pe riod s , the tenure s t ruc t ure changed wi th the
po l i t ic a l v i c i s s i t ude s a f te r 1 9 1 1.
e s ta te s g r a d ua l ly d i s a ppe a re d .
new one a rose .
In the Repub l i c pe r i od , the la rge
The o ld l a nd lord c la s s d e c l i ne d a nd a
The ma i n membe rs o f the new l a nd lord c la s s we re mi l i -
t a r yme n , of f icia l s a nd compa rdors.
F rom 1 9 1 1 to 1 9 2 8 , the Pe i - Ya ng mi l i ta r y c l ique was the po l i c i c a l a uthor i t y o f Nor th China .
At the s ame t ime , the Kwa ng s i mi l i ta ry
c l ique a n d the pa r t y t roops o f the Kuomin t a ng b e g a n to domina te the
South e r n provinc e s of China .
Mi l i tary c a re e rs we re looke d upon wi th
incre a s ing favor , not b e c a us e the mi l i ta ry prov i d e d h ighe r s oc i a l
pos i t ion , b u t be c a us e i t o f fe re d a new way to e a rn a l iv i ng.
Ge ne ra l
Li u Ju-ming frank l y s a i d a t the beg inning o f h i s a utob iog raph y :
'�
b iography wr i te r ma y s a y tha t Genera l L i u joi ne d the a rmy , be c a us e
h e wa s amb i t ious .
He i s e n t i re ly wrong , i f h e re a l l y th i nks s o .
I
j o i ne d the a rmy s imp l y be c a us e my fami ly wa s s o poor tha t I h a d to f i nd
a way to e a rn a l iv ing . "
40
39
Edward Thoma s Wi l l i ams , China : Ye s te rday and Today (New York :
Thoma s Y. Crowe l l Compa ny , 1 93 2 ) , p . 92 .
40
L·� u J u-m�ng , "Rem�n�s ce nce s o f a G e ne ra 1 Wh o Rose F rom t h e
Ra nks ( 1) , " Biograph i c a l L i t e ra t ure , V (Se ptembe r 1 9 64) , 3 9.
·
·
·
25
In a no the r cha p te r of the s ame a u tob iog r a phy , Gene ral Liu tel l s
u s wh y h i s fami ly wa s s o poor a n d how h e a n d h i s f ami ly e nde avored to
s ave mone y for l a nd purch a s e :
The pove r t y o f m y fami ly wa s d ue t o the s ys tem o f s uc c e s s ion
(ac cord i ng to th i s s ys tem , whe n a pe r s on d ie s , e a c h of h i s s on s
i nhe r i t s a p a r t o f h i s p rope rty) . O u r p rope r ty h a s b e e n d iv ided
b y eve ry g e ne ra t ion. Whe n my g re a t grandfa the r d i e d , my g r a nd ­
fa the r on ly re c e ived f ive mou of l a nd . . . . A l l t h e membe r s
o f m y fami l y e nde avored t o s ave mone y i n orde r t o p urc h a s e l a nd ,
and we d i d a c c umula te c e rta i n land . To purc h a s e land i n tha t wa y
could h a rd l y be reg a rd e d a s e xp loi t a t ion , b u t the Communi s t s a id
i t wa s , whe n the y we re pe r s e c uting my fami l y . 4 l
The newly- a ri se n mi l i ta ryme n and o f f ic ia l s wi th the i r f re s h
f i n a nc i a l powe r be c ame o n e of the l arge s t c us tome r s o f the d e c l i n i ng
l a nd lords a n d poor fa rme r s who could no t ma i n t a i n the i r land .
Some wa r lo rd s , wi th the i r migh t y mi l i t a ry powe r , b e c ame the
l a rge s t la nd lords in the 1 9 2 0's .
Ge ne ra l WuChiu n- s he n , a war lord
Manchur ia , pos s e s s e d a l l the a rab le l a nd o f Tong- hua coun t y .
of
Whe n h i s
d a ughte r be c ame e ngaged to the son o f a Mong o l i a n p ri nc e , h e a c c e p t e d
600 , 00 0 c h ing
g�' f t .
42
o f v i rg i n l a nd from tha t
Mongo l i a n p r i nc e a s a pe r sona l
43
The mos t f la g r a n t wa r lord- l a nd lord s c ame f rom S a uc h ua n p rov ince .
The S a uc h ua n fa rme r s we re the mos t mise rab le s egme nt o f the r ura l
41
.
Ib�d.' p. 4 1 .
42
.
Ch�ng
i s a l a rge r uni t o f l a nd .
43
I t e qua l s f i ftee n mou.
Pe -yi , "Remi n i s c e nc e s of the D ragon C i t y , " Chun-Ch i u ,
Vo l . 1 7 8 , p . 2 6 .
26
pop u l a t ion .
The war lord gove rnme n t o f tha t p rov ince b e g a n to col lect
the l a nd t a x of 1 97 4 in 1 934 .
44
The r i sing of the c ompra dors , midd leme n , was the resu l t
Western impa c t .
of
the
Whe n the iso l a tion po l i c y of the Chinese Emp i re was
destroye d b y the Weste rn g unboa ts in the 18 60 ' s , i n te rna t iona l t ra de
s t re tche d to e ve r y ma j or coasta l c i t y o f Ch i na .
Unde r these c i rc um-
s t a nc e s a n i n te rme d i a r y be twe e n the Weste rn a nd the loca l me rchants
was b a d ly nee de d .
A lot o f me rchants who c o u ld spe ak Eng l ish be c ame
"midd leme n , " a n d thus ob ta ine d we a l th a nd re puta t ion .
b e c ame the r ichest se gme n t o f the Chinese peop le .
45
G r a d ua l l y the y
The y regarded la nd
p urchase a s the sa fest wa y of inves tme nt since the e conomic and po l i tic a l s i t ua t ion i n C hina was so unstab le .
Those who h a d a cqui re d we a l th in trade a n d industry b e g a n to
join the land lord c lub .
S ta t istics show tha t "b y the 1 9 2 0 ' s in the
a re a a round the comme rc ia l me t ropo l is of Shangh a i a nd C a n ton , a lre ady
n i ne ty- f i ve and e igh ty- f ive pe rc e n t re spe c t ive ly o f the f a rme rs we re
tenan ts. "
46
The two new i ng re d ie nts o f the l a nd lord c lass sha re d a common
c h a ra c te r is t i c , i.e . , both o f them cou ld not c u l t iv a te the i r own
44
King Kuo- po , !:. S tudy on the Econom
. i .c Prob lems o f China ,
( S h a ngha i , Chung - h ua Book Company , 1 935 ) , p . 2 12 .
45
F a i rbank , Re isc h a ue r , a nd C ra ig , Eas t Asia: The Mode rn
Transfo.rma t ion (Bos ton : Hough ton Mi f f l i n Comp a ny , 1 9 65 ) , pp . 34 6- 34 7 .
46
Mehne r t , Kla us , Pe king a n d Moscow (Trans la te d f rom the Ge rma n
b y Le i la Ve nnewi t z ) (New York : The New Ame r i c a n Lib r a ry , 1 9 64 ) , p . 144 .
27
land .
Unde r the s e c i rc ums ta nce s , the te na nc y s ys tem re ached a neiv
pe a k.
The b urde n o f the t e na n t s wa s , in th i s pe riod , one o f the
he avie s t in C h i ne s e h i s tory .
F i r s t , the te nant s , a s the te nants of othe r p e r iod s , h a d to
pay a heavy l a nd re n t whi ch us ua l ly equa led ha l f or two t h i rds o f the
prod uc t .
S ta t i s t i c s g a thered in Ki a ng s i Prov ince in 1 9 2 7 show :
(1)
i n twe n t y- two count i e s the l a nd rent wa s 5 0 p e r ce n t o f the prod uc t ,
( 2 ) in s i s te e n c oun tie s , the te nants had to p a y 60 pe rc e nt o f the
p rod uc t to the landowne rs , ( 3 ) in twe lve coun t i e s , the land re n t wa s
unde r 5 0 pe rcent o f the prod uc t , (4) in other a re a s , the re n t ra te s
rang e d f rom 70 p e r ce n t to 80 perce n t .
47
The va r ious re n t ra te s we re
fixe d a c cord i ng to the qua l i t y of the land .
I n a d d i tion to the land rent , the tena n t s we re a ls o re quired
b y the gove rnme n t to pay a l a nd tax , wh ich , as comp a re d wi th the
land t a xe s of othe r coun t r ie s , wa s e x t reme ly unre a sonab le .
A Ge rma n ,
W . Wag ne r , ma de a t a x s urve y i n S un t ung Prov i nc e , and d i s cov e r e d tha t
the la nd t a x the S un t ung fa rme r s had to pay wa s f i f te e n t ime s the
Prus s i a n l a nd t a x ( i n 18 6 6 ) , 2 . 5 t ime s the Japa ne s e l a nd t a x and s e v e n
t ime s t h e Uni te d S ta te s land tax .
48
47
chen Po- ta , On the Land Re n t in
- Mode rn China , Se c ond
Ed i t ion (Pe king : Peop le';-F re s s , 1 9 6 2 ) , pp. 3 1-32 .
48
K·�ng Kuo - po , A S tudy � �
h Ch i ne s e Economic Frob 1 ems ,
££· c i t . , pp . 2 1 1-2 12 .
_
28
The l a nd t a x wa s b y no me ans the on ly t a x the farme r s had
pa y .
to
The re we re many a uxi l i a ry taxe s wh ich we re us ually severa l time s
the land t a x .
A s urve y made i n Che ki a ng Prov i nc e i n 1 933 indic a te s
tha t the re we re twe n t y a uxi l i a ry taxe s i n s eve ra l c ountie s o f tha t
prov ince .
None o f the o the r c ountie s , s a ys the s ame s urve y , had le s s
. h t.
th an e �g
49
The heavie s t s i ng le tax levied on the pe a s an t r y wa s the tax
for mi l i t a r y purpos e s .
I n 1929 and 1 93 0 , the fa rme r s of 823 c ou n t i e s
(Ch ina h a d 1 94 1 c ount ie s a t tha t t ime ) had t o pay mi l i ta ry t a xe s
wh ich a pproxima te l y e qua le d 3 0 0 pe rce nt o f the l a nd t a x .
50
The b a l a nc e made for a tenant fami ly ma y he lp t o i nd i c a te the
a c tua l c ond i t ion of the te na n t s ' l ive l ihood (see Ta b le II) .
Tab le II reve a l s the f o l l owing fac t s :
1.
The i n c ome a cquired b y farme rs wa s n o t s uf f i c i e n t t o s up-
p ly the i r fami l ie s .
The i r de pe nde n t s had t o e ng a g e d i n s upp leme nt a ry
labor i n orde r t o ma ke up the inc ome shortage .
I f a n a c c ide n t happene d
i n the i r f ami lie s the y we re b o und to fa l l i n t o the whi r lp o o l of a loan
s h a rk .
Profe s s or E dwa rd T . Wi l l iams , forme r ly Ame r i c a n Cha rge d '
A f f a i r s a t Pe k i ng , h a s de s c ribed wh a t he was i n Ch ina :
The s igh t o f a trave ler wi th h i s c lo the s t i e d up i n a b und le
and c a rr i e d ove r h i s shoulder is not a r a re one . But the s e
c ountry pe op le a s I l e a rne d to my s urpri s e , we re c a rrying
49
c ommi s s i on for the Ag ra rian Re s tora t i on , � S urvey on the
V i l lage s o f Che kia,ng Province , Se c ond E d i t ion (Sha ngha i : C omme r c i a 1
P ub l i s hi ng C ompa ny , 1 9 3 5 ) , p . 8 .
SO .
. P rob lems ,
K�ng Kuo- p o , A S t u dy on �
h Ch �ne
' s e E c onom�c
E.E_. c i t . , p. 2 12 .
29
TABLE I I
F INANC IAL BALANCE OF AN AVERAGE TENANT FAMILY
1.
Income
Income o f t h e f arm
Fami ly l abor
F ami l y suppl eme n t ary l abor
2.
Money for Pro duc t ive Mean s
Money for L iv in g
165 . 93
18 . 79
20 . 83
2 0 5 . 54
2 . 05
14 . 6 2
9 . 88
6 . 31
32 . 82
--
F amily
Emp loy e e s
4.
C h ine s e Do l l ar
--
Fac i l i t i e s
C ad a s tr a t ion
Seed
F er t i l iz er mate r ial
3.
Un it
Taxe s
14 1 . 0 7
2 . 83
143 . 90
---
Land t ax
E i gh t aux i l iary t ax e s
Mi l i t ary tax
2 .4
11.0
7 .2
20.6
Source: The f ir s t thr ee it ems ( income , the money for produc t ive
me ans and the money for l iving) were inve s t igated by Ch ien Char- Chu ,
Heny Te -Chang , and Wu Pen- nung in Ju- l in county , Kwangs i prov ince in
1 9 3 3 . See Chen Po- t a , op. c it . , p . 1 . The ma ter i a l o f the fou r th item
was c i t e d from King Kuo- po's-;ork , � S tudy on the Ch ine s e Economic Prob ­
l ems , op . c i t . , p p . 2 1 1 - 2 12 . The s e thr e e f igur e s ( 2 . 4 , 1 1 . 0 , and 7 . 2 )
were the approx ima t e aver age s of the var ious taxes i n Ch ina. A l t hough
t h i s t ab l e i s exp lor ato�y r ather than d e f init ive in char ac ter , i t d i s ­
c los e s w i th re asonab l e acc ur acy , the ac tual l iving cond i t ion s o f the
tenan t s .
30
the i r c lothe s home f rom the pa wn- shops , whe re they had bee n
depos i t e d e a r l ie r i n the ye a r to ra i s e mone y for the p urcha s e
o f s e e d for the s pr i ng p la n t i ng. The y h a d h a d a b a d s e a son the
prev ious ye a r, fol lowe d b y a ha rd winte r , a nd h a d e xh a us ted
the i r re source s . Th i s ye a r the y had be t t e r for tune and so we re
ab le to re cove r the i r win te r g a rme n t s be fore the c o ld we ather
s e t i n . Th i s c u s tom of de pos i ti ng c lothe s wi th the pawn-shops
is not , ho\ve ver , an uncommon one , e i the r in coun t ry or c i ty
51
For the common peop le the y (Pawn s hop s ) s e rve a s b a nks .
Pove r t y b rought the te n a n t s po l i t ic a l a nd soc ia l i n fe r ior i t y .
Howe ve r , the y we re not a c c us tome d to s o lv i ng the i r p rob lems b y
po l i t ic a l o r s oc i a l revo l u t ion .
the i r minds .
Con f uc ia n te a ch ing s s t i l l domi n a t e d
On l y whe n the y f a c e d s ta rv a t ion , d i d the y s tand u p a nd
fight for the i r l i ve s .
2.
The y h a d no s urp lus mone y for a g r i c u l t ura l imp roveme n t .
The techni c a l b a c kwardne s s o f Chine s e agric u l t ure i s ma i n l y d ue to
the pove r t y of the f a rme r s .
The te c hn i c a l b a c kwa rdne s s of a g r i c u l t ure , a p a r t o f the
b a c kwa rdne s s of s c ie nc e i n China , c a n be a t t r ib ut e d to the s oc ia l
s tr uc t ure and the va l ue s ys tem .
The t ra d i t iona l C h ine s e s oc ie ty
wa s d iv i ded i n to four func t iona l groups , name l y the i n te l l ig e n t s ia ,
the pe a s a n t s , the a r t i s an s , and the me rcha n t s .
h a d a ve ry h igh s oc ia l pos i tion .
The i n te l l ige n t s i a
The y we re , a s the Con fuc ia n i s t s
a s s e r te d , the ru l i ng c la s s o f the s oc ie t y .
pos i t ion s e cond o n l y to the inte l l ige n t s ia .
F a rme r s we re g ive n a
Howe ve r , the i r e c onomic
pos i t ion wa s i nc on s i s t e n t wi th the i r soc ia l pos i t ion .
51
Edwa rd Thoma s Wi l l iams , China :
_££. c i t . , p . 8 7 .
I n o the r word s ,
Ye s te . r day a nd Today ,
31
the y we re s oc i a l ly ne a r the t op but mate r i a l ly poor ne a r the b o t tom o f
the s oc ie t y .
The y we re g overne d , a nd s c a rce ly b e c ame g ove rning .
Howeve r , the s oc i a l s tra tum wa s by no me a n s r i g i d .
The c ri te r i on
for s oc ia l c la s s i fi c a t i on wa s l i te ra c y ra the r than orig in or fami ly
b a c kg r ound.
I f a poor pe a s a n t c ould pa s s the Impe r i a l E xamina t i on ,
he wa s a c t ua l ly p r omote d t o the inte l l ig e n t s i a .
I n o the r word s , t o p a s s
the e xamina t i on me a n t t o improve one ' s s oc i a l pos i t i on .
Unde r s uc h a
va l ue s ys tem and s oc i a l s t ruc t ure , pe op le , inc l ud i ng the l i te ra te
pe a s an t s , e nde avore d t o ma s te r the Confuc ia n i s t c la s s ic s wh ich we re
use f u l in p a s s ing the e xami na t i on , ins te a d of re a d i ng o the r b ooks .
I n h i s a ut ob i og ra phy , Che n Tu- S h i u , one o f the fo unde rs o f
the Ch i ne se C ommuni s t Pa rty , once v ivid ly de s c r i b e d h ow the pe op le
of h i s n a t ive d i s t r i c t e nc oura g e d the i r b oys to p a s s the e xamina t i on :
Impe r i a l E xamina t i on wa s not on ly a s ig n of g lory , b u t a ls o
a n imp l i c i t f orce wh ich d omina ted the s oc i a l l i fe o f the wh o le
pe op le . O n l y tho s e wh o pa s se d the e xamina t i on c ou l d bec ome
o f f ic i a ls ; on l y o f f i c ia l s c ou ld be c ome rich ; and o n l y the r i c h
c o u l d be c ome l a nd lord s . A l though s on s o f the poor c ou l d ha r d l y
pa s s the examina t i on , the poor te na n t s s t i l l t r i e d t o d o the i r
be s t t o e nc ourage the i r s ons t o le a rn . I f the i r s ons t o ok , b u t
fa i led t o p a s s the e xamina t i on , the y wou ld b e t re a te d be t te r b y
t h e l a nd lord s . 5 2
The Impe r i a l E xamina t i on s a ppe d n o t on ly the e ne rg y o f the
inte l l ige n t s ia b u t a ls o tha t of the l i te ra te pe a s a n t and h a nd i c r a f t s me n .
The hand worke r s we re s e p a ra ted from the h e a d worke rs , and
s c ie n t i f ic re s e a rc h wa s thus ne g le c te d .
52
In Ch i ne s e h i s t ory , we c a n
Che n Tu- Sh i u , "Ch a p t e r s o f a n Un f i n i shed Autob i og ra phy , "
B i ograph ic a l Li te r a t ure , Ta ipe i , V (Sep tembe r , 1 9 64) , 5 5 .
32
find ma ny pe a s a n t s or h a nd i c ra f t s me n who ros e from i l l i te ra c y to
l i te r ac y , b e c omi ng i n te l le c tua l s or o f f i c i a l s .
I t i s ha rd to f ind
pe a s a n t s who bec ame l i te ra te a nd rema i ne d de d i c a t e d to the s c ie nt i f i c
deve lopme n t o f the i r orig i na l c a ree rs .
The s tory o f C h i Pe- sheh , one
of the g re a te s t Ch ine s e p r i n t e r s in the 20th c e n t ury , ma y be u t i l i zed
as a n e xamp le.
Chi Pe- sheh wa s or i g i na l ly a poor c a rpe n te r .
A f te r working wi th
a famous c a rpe n te r of Huna n Prov i nce , he ma s te re d woodc a rving a nd
bec ame famous i n h i s na t ive d i s t r ic t .
wan te d .
Howeve r , tha t wa s not wha t he
He de s i re d to ma s te r print-ma ki ng and poe t ry , whi c h we re
u s ua l ly the c a re e rs o f the i nte l l igen t s i a .
A c a re f u l s tud y o f h i s
a utob iog raphy a nd o the r re leva n t ma te ri a l s s hows how e age r l y h e a nd
the peop le o f h i s t ime wan t e d to join the i n te l l ig e n t s i a .
He le f t
n o con t r i b u t ion to woodworki ng but he d i d le ave br i l l i a n t p r i n t s .
53
The i n fe rior s oc ia l pos i t ion o f the me rcha n t c a n b e t r a c e d
b a c k to the H a n Dyna s ty .
S ince comme rce wa s re ga rded b y the Con-
fuc i a n i s ts a s a nece s s a ry evi l , the Han Dyna s t y a dop te d a po l i c y
o f d i s pa r a g i ng the me rcha n t .
I n 1 3 6 B . C. , a f t e r the Con fuc i a n t r i umph
ove r the lega l i s t s , a pe riod of Con fuc i a n ideolog ic a l monopo l y beg a n .
Con f uc ia n a g ra r i a n i sm was th us t urne d from a theory i n t o a prac t ic a l
s ys tem wi th t he f o l lowing two p r i nc ip le s a s i t s b a s e :
( 1 ) pe a s a n t
a f fa i r s mus t be reg a rde d a s the c e n te r of s ta te c ra f t ; (2) me rcha n t s ,
53
Cha ng T z u- ch i , ' � utob iog raph i c a l Account o f Chi Pe - sheh
( 18 6 3 - 1 95 7 ) , " B iograph i c a l L i te r a t ure , I I I (Aug us t , 1 9 6 3 ) , 4 1 .
33
be ing reg a rd e d as a n e xp l o i t ing group , mus t be s uppre s s e d .
Th i s s ys tem
has bee n adop ted t o v a r i ous degre e s by a l l the dyna s t i e s as the b a s i s
o f the i r e c onomic p o l i c ie s .
The s e p o l i c ie s l oc a l i s e d and d e c e n t ra l i ze d the c omme rc e ,
inc l ud i ng the purch a s e o f s urp l us g ra i n .
Eve n in the 1 940 ' s mos t
o f the fa rme rs i n i n l a nd China s t i l l trade d wi th e a c h o the r through a
s ys tem o f pe r i od i c ma rke t s in wh ich the l oc a l f a rme rs me t e a ch o the r
once o r twic e e a ch mon th t o purcha s e wha t the y wa n t e d and t o s e l l
s urp l us e s .
Ag r i c u l t ure h a s ne ve r been c omme rc ia l i ze d .
The l a c k o f a
na t i on-wide ma rke t made the e xchange of agr i c u l tura l know- h ow d i f f ic ult .
A f te r the rev o l u t i o n of 1 9 1 1 and a f te r f i f t y ye a rs of mode r n i z a t i on , the v a l ue s ys tem s t i l l rema i ne d the same .
paraged , a n d the i n te l l ige n t s i a , adore d .
Me rcha n t s we re d i s -
Eve n i n 1 9 64 t he Ch ine se
C ommun i s t s h a d t o c r i t i c i ze the d i s parag ing o f me rcha n t s , for ma ny
young C h i ne s e d i d not l i ke t o work i n c omme rc i a l j ob s .
As I have s a i d be f ore , the pe a s a n t p rob lems i n C h i na wors e ne d
whe n l a nd c once n t r a t ion c omb i ne d wi th the prob lem o f ove rpop u l a t i on
i n the e ighte e n th a n d n i ne te e n th c e n t ur ie s .
F r om the T a ng Dyna s t y
( 6 2 1 - 8 8 0 ) t o the e a r ly ye a r s o f the Ch i ng Dyna s t y , C h i n a h a d neve r
s u f fe re d f rom ove r- p op u la t i on .
54
54
C h i a ng Mon l i n , "Pe a s an t Prob lems and Pop u l a t i o n , " C o l le c te d
Works o f Chia ng Mon li n , .££ · c i t . , pp . 1 0 2 - 103 .
34
I n the 18 th ce n t ury , China ' s p op u l a t ion ra p i d l y inc re a s e d
be c oming approxima te ly four t ime s wha t i t had b e e n during the Mi. ng
pe r i od .
The inc re a s e was pa r t l y d ue t o the re form o f the l a nd t a x .
55
But the ma i n fa c t or c on tr i b u t ing t o the i n c re a s e was obv ious l y the
s ta b i l i t y a nd the p r o s pe r i t y o f the s oc i a l s i t ua t ion a t tha t t ime .
Unde r the p re s s ure of the r ura l ove rpopu l a t i on , the land tha t
pe a s a n t f a rme d de c re a se d from fourte e n mou i n the 1 7 th ce n t ury t o 2 . 5
mou i n the 1 9 th c e ntury .
56
I n the 1 94 9 l a nd re form , on ly a b o u t 1 . 5
mou we re a l l o t t e d t o e a ch farme r .
57
The s e fac t s c le a r ly re f le c t the
g rave c h a ra c te r of ove rpop u la t i on in China .
S ta t i s t i c s g a the re d b y the S ta t i s t ic s B ure a u of the Na t i ona l i s t
G ove rnme n t i n 1 9 4 5 reve a le d tha t the ave rage C h i ne s e f a rm was sma l le r
than the ave rage f a rm i n th i rteen o ther lead i ng c oun t r ie s ( s e e Tab le
III) .
The Re p ub l i c pe r i od ( 1 9 1 1- 1 94 9 ) b r o ught ins tab i l i t y a nd mi s e ry
t o the rura l popu l a t i on .
Trad i t i ona l i de a s a nd ignorance s t i l l r u l e d
the c ountrys ide b u t We s te rn ide a s began t o push China t oward f unda me n t a l re form .
55
Pe a sa n t moveme n t s began t o r i s e i n wra th .
Fa i rb a nk , Re i sha ue r , a nd C ra ig , Ea s t As i a :
Trans f orma t i on , ££ · c i t . , p . 1 10 .
The Mode rn
56
ch i a ng Mon l i n , "Pe a s an t Prob lems a nd Pop u l a t i on , " C o l le c te d
Works , ££ · c i t . , p . 1 0 5 .
57
Wa n Ah- kong , Th ree Ye a r s Un,cle r � Ru le .£!. the C ommuni s t
P a r ty (Hong Kong : Ta Ta o P ub l i sh i ng C omp a ny , 1 9 5 4 ) , p . 8 9 .
35
TABLE I I I
LAND EACH PEASANT FA RMED IN 1 4 COUNTRIES , 1 945
C oun t r y
La nd E a c h Pe a s a n t Fa rme d
Canada
U. S . A.
Ch i le
De nma rk
U. K.
U. S . S . R.
Hung a r y
F ra nce
I re l a nd
Turke y
India
I ta ly
Ja p a n
Ch i na
1 uni t
19 . 27
12 . 9 1
10 . 99
4 . 85
3 . 70
3. 1 2
. 2 ' 76
2. 69
1 . 90
1 . 70
1 . 60
1 . 47
0 .41
0 . 29
=
1 c h i ng
=
15 mou .
S ource : C h i a ng Mo n l i n , "Pe a s a n t Prob lems and Pop u la t i on , 1 1
C o l le c te d Works o f Ch i a ng Mon l i n (Ta ipe i : Che ng Chung Pre s s , 1 954) ,
pp . 1 2 0- 2 1 .
CHAPTER II
LA ND
REFORM MOVEMENT IN THE PERIOD OF THE REPUBLIC
( 1 9 1 1- 1 949)
Dr . S un Ya t - se n ' s f i r s t rev o l u t i onary org a n i z a t i on wa s e s tab l i shed
i n Hon o l u l u i n 1 8 94 and name d She n- ch ung Hui ( s oc ie ty for the Re s tora t i o n o f Ch i na ) .
Mos t o f i t s memb e r s we re ove rse a s Chine s e .
1
I n the 1 9 th c e n tury , the Ma nchu Emp i re wa s de c l in ing on the one
hand , and the c u l t ura l s upe r i o r i t y o f the C h i ne se pe op le wa s cha l le ng e d
on the o the r .
The ove r s e a s Ch i ne se be c ame the mos t uns tab le segme n t o f
the C h i ne s e pe ople .
The y los t the pro te c t ion o f t h e C h i ne s e G ove rnme n t ,
a nd fe l t shame fu l whe n l iv ing i n "b a rb a r i a n " c ount r i e s .
a n d h ow t he we s te rn c o un t r ie s b e c ame s o s t rong .
The y knew why
The y wa n te d t o re form
the i r own c oun t r y b y me a n s o f we s te rn knowle dge a nd e xpe rie nc e .
Tha t i s
one o f the re a s ons why the C h i ne se a n t i -Ma nch u rev o l ut i on wa s s t i rred
up , f ina nc ia l l y s upported and imp leme n t e d ma i n ly by the ove r s e a s Ch ine se .
Mos t o f t he ove r s e a s Chine se c ame from the ove rp op u la t e d c oa s ta l
prov i nce s o f s ou th Chi na.
The y emig ra ted to fore i g n c o unt r i e s s imp ly
bec a us e the y wan t e d t o e a rn mone y t o s uppor t t he i r fami l i e s or re l a t ive s
who s t i l l l ived i n Ch ina .
Whe n the y ma de e nough mone y or b e c ame o ld ,
the y us ua l ly re turne d t o Ch ina ,
Mos t of them p urcha s e d l a nd and b e c ame
1
The orig i na l me mbe rs o f She n- chung Hui we re twe n t y- thre e ove rs e a s C h i ne se . Mo s t o f them we re midd le c la s s me rcha n t s i n the Uni te d
S ta te s . See Huang Fu- l i a ng , Ove rse a s Ch ine se a n d the Ch ine s e Re v o l u t i on
(Hong Kong : A s i a Pub l i sh ing C ompany , 1 9 5 5 ) , p . 5 8 .
36
37
midd le - c l a s s pe a s a n t s .
It is s ig n i f i c a n t tha t the y came from the pe a s a n t
c la s s a nd wa n t e d t o re t i re a s pe a s a n t s .
Be f ore t he e s ta b l i shme n t o f She n- c h ung Hui , many s e c re t s oc i e tie s
e x i s te d among the ove r s e a s Chine se a s we l l a s the pe a s a n try in China .
The se s e c re t s oc ie t ie s c a n be tra c e d t o the 1 7 th c e n t ury whe n the Manchu
c our t se i z e d the who le China ma i n l a nd , and Cheng Che n- kung , one o f the
mi l i t a ry l e a d e r s o f the Mi ng Dyna s t y , se i z e d F ormo s a a nd use d i t a s a
mi l i ta ry b a s e t o ove r throw the Ma nchu Dyna s t y .
Re a li z ing tha t the Ming
c o ur t c o u l d n o t be re s t ore d me re ly by mi l i t a r y a c t iv i t ie s , Che ng Che nkung ' s s ta f f ge ne r a l , C he n Yung - hua , s e c re t l y orga n i z e d Tie n- d i Hui in
s o uth Ch i na .
The s imp le p l a t form of th i s s e c re t s oc ie ty wa s "F a n- c h i ng
F u-ming " ( l i te ra l ly , f igh t aga i ns t Ma nchu a nd re s t ore the Mi ng Dyna s ty) .
In 1 6 8 3 , F ormo s a wa s o c c up i e d b y the Ma nchu Emp i re .
Memb e r s of Tie n - D i
Hui f le d t o and e s tab l i she d themse lve s i n S ou the a s t As i a .
In 1 8 6 2 , the
p o te n t i a l s tre ng th of the s e c re t s oc ie t ie s s ub s t a n t i a l ly i nc re a s e d >vhe n
the remn a n t o f the Ta i p i ng rebe l s f l e d abroad t o j o i n them .
2
I n Ch i n a prope r , the charac te r o f the s e c re t s oc i e t i e s wa s
change d .
Re l i g i ous d oc t r i ne s a nd s upe rs t i t i ons we re inc orpora ted i n t o
the i r p l a t f orms .
I n te l le c tua ls we re a t trac te d b y the Impe r i a l E xami na-
t i on and no l onge r c a re d about any rac i s t appe a l .
Only i l l i te ra te and
poor pe a s a n ts a nd worke rs , b e c a use of the i r m i s e rab le c ond i t i on , we re
2
. . ' p . 43 .
I b �£
.38
s t i l l i n te r es te d i n s e c re t s oc ie t ie s .
3
An t i - Manchu d oc t r i ne s t i l l
e x i s t e d b ut g ra d ua l ly l o s t i t s orig ina l f lavor a nd b e c a me a n t i fore i g n i sm .
A f te r the e s tab l i shme n t of She n- ch ung Hui , D r . S un Ya t - s e n
s uc ce s s fu l ly org a ni z e d a un i t e d front wi th ce r ta i n s e c re t s oc ie t ie s .
4
Und oub te d l y , s uc h a n a l l i a nc e be ne f i te d b o th the rev o l u t i ona rie s a nd
the s e c re t s oc i e t ie s .
The ma s se s nee de d l e a de rsh i p , wh i le the revo l u-
t i on a r i e s nee ded the ma s s e s .
Unde r the se c i r c ums t a nc e s , the rev o l u t i ona ry
s oc ie t y had t o a d op t a l a nd po l i c y i n orde r t o s a t i s fy the ma s se s ,
e s pe c ia l ly the poor pe a s a n t s .
I n 1 905 , the revo l u t i ona r y s oc ie t y wa s re org a n i z e d i n to Tung -mon
Hui , a nd a dop te d "e q ua l i z a t i on of land right s " as one o f the p la nks of
i t s p la t form .
The l a nd po l i c y de s igne d b y Dr . S un Ya t - se n wa s mode ra te
in cha ra c te r .
I t wa s i n f l ue nc e d b y the we s te rn land re forme rs o f the
1 8 90 ' s .
I n the 18 90 ' s , the l a nd re form moveme n t i n the We s t re a ched i t s
ze n i th .
S ta te s .
He nry G e o rge p u t f o rwa rd the i d e a o f s ing le t a x i n the Uni te d
5
John S te a r t Mi l l a dvoc a te d the the ory tha t a l l une a rne d
3
wang Ch i - She n , � Conc r i s e Hi s t ory .£!. Ch i ne se Re l igi ous Tho ugh t
(Shangha i : Chung - Hua C omp a ny , 1 9 3 4 ) , p . 2 1 6 .
4
Li We n - a h i , "The 1 9 1 1 Revo l u t i on and Se c re t S oc ie t ie s , " C o l le c te d
E s s ays f o r the C e l e b ra t i on .£!. t he 1 9 1 1 Rev o l u t i o n , e d i te d b y the Hupeh
A s s oc i a t i on for Ph i lo s oph i c a l a nd S oc i a l Re s e a rch (Pe k ing : Chung- h ua
Book C omp a ny , 1 9 6 1 ) , p . 1 7 7 .
5
Ma rk C a r te r Mi l l s , "Land , " C o l l ie r ' s Encyc l ope d i a , XIV (Ne w York :
The C r owe l l- C o l l ie r Pub l i s h i ng C ompany , 1 9 64 ) , 2 8 7 .
39
inc reme n t s o f l a nd shou ld g o t o the pub l ic .
a land re f o rm le a g ue in Ge rmany .
7
6
Ad o l f Dama s chke org a n i z e d
As a we s te rn - e d uc a te d pe r s on , Dr . S un
wa s undoub te d ly i n f l ue nc e d b y thi s land re form moveme n t .
In the ma n i -
fe s t o i s s ue d b y Tung- mon Hui , Dr . S un wro te :
The c urre n t va lue o f land re s u l t i ng from s oc i a l improveme n t a nd
progre s s a f te r the re v o l u t i on should g o t o the s ta te t o be e nj oye d
b y a l l c i t i ze ns i n c ommon . 8
I f we c ompa re the a b ove s ta teme n t wi th John S . Mi l l ' s the ory , we c a n
e a s i ly d is c ove r h ow de e p l y Dr . S un wa s i n f lue nc e d b y the se we s te rn land
re forme r s .
Howeve r , i n the e a r ly ye a r s of the 2 0 th c e n t ury , t ra d i t i ona l
C h i ne se though t s t i l l domina te d the i n te l le c tua l s .
Dr . S un a nd h i s
a s s oc i a te s , a l th o ugh the y ha d a dopted the we s te rn l a nd the ory , s t i l l
ma i nta i ne d the C onfuc i an i s t a t t i t ude t owa rd the pe a s a ntry .
The y had no
i n te n t i on o f org a n i z i ng pe a s a n ts a n d worke rs into the i r own p a r ty .
Rev o lu t i on wa s s t i l l re garded a s a purs ui t for the i n te l l ige n t s ia .
The
revo lut i ona r i e s d e c i d e d to try t o ove rpowe r the wa r lords a nd e s tab l i sh the i r
own mi l i ta r y force s .
The y focused the i r a t te n t ion on the la rge c i t ie s
ra the r than the c ount rys ide .
I n 192 1 , whe n G . Ma r i ng a dv i se d Dr . S un
Ya t - s e n t o org a n i z e h i s p a r t y i n t o a c oa l i t i on of c la s se s , p a r t i c u la r ly
6
D . R . Dewe y , "The Na t i ona l i z a t i on o f La nd , " Pa lgrave ' s Dic t i on a ry
o f P o l i tc a l E c onomy , II (Ne w York : Aug us t us M . Ke l le y , 1 9 6 3 ) , 5 5 1 .
7
The od o r Re us s , "Dama s chke , " New De u t s che B i ographie (Be r l i n :
Dunc ke r and Humb l o t , 1 9 5 6 ) , p . 498 .
8
Che n Che ng , Land Re form i n Ta iwa n (Ta i pe i : China Pub l i s h i ng
C ompany , 1 9 6 1 ) , p . 1 0 .
40
of worke r s and pe a sa n ts , Dr . S un t o ld Ma ring tha t " the b a s i s of ( the
Ch i ne s e ) revo l u t i ona ry moveme n t is the unbroke n he ri tage f rom G re a t Ya o ,
Sh un , Yu , Tang , Ki ng We n , King Wu , Duke o f Ch u , a nd C on fuc i us to the
p re se nt d a y . "
9
A ma n be l ieving i n Confuc i a n i sm c a n ha rd ly a c c e p t radic a l
the orie s s uc h a s na t i ona l i z a t i on o f l a nd .
I n a s pe e c h de l ive re d be fore
the Kwa ng t ung Prov i nc i a l As semb lyme n a nd news pape r re porters a t C a n ton ,
Dr . S un p o i n t e d out :
Ma ny s c h o l a r s i n v a r i ous p a r t s o f the
na t i ona l i z a t i on , which is r e a s onab le a nd
i n my view , n o t a l l land should be owne d
t h o s e pa r t s o f t h e l a nd wh ich a re ne e de d
wor ld a re i n favor o f land
may be a d op te d by us . B u t ,
b y the s ta te , b u t o n l y
f o r pub l i c p urpose . 9
Dr . S un ' s l a nd p o l ic y wa s not b a s e d upon de t a i le d i nve s t i g a t i on .
As a ma t te r o f fa c t , a n i nve s t ig a t i on wa s imp os s ib le a t tha t t ime .
Dur i ng
the Ca nton pe r i od , the Ku omi n t a ng had ne ve r e f fe c tive ly c on t ro l le d t he
Provi nce o f Kwa ng t ung , n o t t o me n t i on the o the r p rov ince s .
l ived a t t he me rc y o f the mi l i ta ry man .
The pa r t y
Eve n a f te r the e s tab l i s hme n t o f
the p a r t y force , t h e a utho r i t y o f the Kuomin t a ng wa s s t i l l b a s e d up on a
ba la nce b e twe e n the p a r t y troop and the Kwa ng s i mi l i ta ry c l ique .
Dr . S un a s s e r t e d tha t the land prob lem o f mode rn C h i na wa s a
c o r o l la ry o f the p ove r t y o f the wh o le c ountry .
China h a d n o g re a t la nd-
lords wh o d omi n a t e d the l ive l ih ood o f the c ommon pe op le .
I n the c oun t r y-
s i de the C on fuc i a n s ta nd a rd o f mora l i t y should be ma i n t a i ne d .
I n othe r
word s , the l a nd p r ob lem i n China should be re g a rde d a s e c onomic i n
cha rac te r ; the s o c i a l orde r should not b e c h a nge d .
9
I b id . , p . 1 2 .
Th i s i s p e rh a p s t he
ma in d i f fe re nc e be twe e n the l a nd p o l i c i e s o f the Na t iona l i s ts a nd
the
C ommun i s t s .
I n h i s thi rd le c t ure on the p r i nc i p le o f Pe op le ' s l ive l ihood ,
Dr . S un s a ys :
A la rge ma j or i ty o f the pe op le in Ch ina a re pe a s a n t s , a t le a s t
n i ne o u t o f every te n , ye t the food v1h ich the y r a i s e wi th s uch
we a ri s ome labor i s mos t ly take n awa y b y t he land owne rs . . . .
I f we a re t o i n c re a s e the p roduc t i on o f food , we mus t ma ke laws
reg a rd ing the r ig h t s a nd i n te re s t s of the fa rme r s ; we mus t g ive
the m e nc ourageme nt a nd p r o te c t i on a nd a l low them to ke e p more o f
the f ru i t o f the i r land . . . . Whe n the Princ ip le o f pe op le ' s
l ive l ihood i s f u l l y re a l i z e d a nd the prob lems o f the f a rme r a re
a l l s o lve d , e ac h t i l le r o f the s o i l wi l l pos se s s h i s own fie lds - ­
tha t i s t o be the fina l goa l o f our e f forts . . . . A l though China
d oe s n o t h ave g re a t l a nd lord s , ye t n i ne out o f te n f a rme rs d o not
own the i r fie l d s . Mos t o f the farming l a nd i s i n the p os s e s s i on
o f land l ords wh o do not c ul t iva te themse lve s . . . . O f the food
produc t i on in the f i e lds , s i xty pe r cent g oe s t o the l a nd lords ,
whi le o n l y f o r t y pe rce nt g oe s t o the f a rme rs . . . . I f the food
ra i s e d i n the f ie l d s a l l g oe s to the fa rme rs the y wi l l be more
0
e age r to f a rm and prod uc t i on wi l l i nc re a se . 1
F rom the a b ove c i ta ti on , we c a n see tha t wha t D r . S un d e s ig ne d i s
a mode ra te and c onse rva t ive " la nd - to- the - t i l le r " p o l ic y .
H e i n troduc e s
no rad i c a l me thod o f tre a t ing the l a nd lords o r of c h a ng i ng the s oc ia l
orde r o f t he pe a s a n t s oc ie ty .
S uch a p o l ic y wa s e s p o us e d b y the Na t i on-
a li s t s , b ut it h a s neve r bee n c a rrie d out on the Ch i ne s e ma i n la nd .
A se n i or Na t i ona l i s t o f f ic i a l who wa s a n a c t ive p o l i t i c ia n during
the C a nt o n pe r i od , once viv i d l y t o ld how pe a s a n t a f fa i r s we re neg le c te d
b y the Kuomi n t a ng o f f i c i a l s a nd how the C ommun i s t s a d o p t e d a n oppos i te
a t t i t ude :
10
S un Ya t - s e n , S a n Mi n Chu l (Ta ipe i : Ch ina C u l t ura l Se rv i c e ,
1 9 5 3 ) ' pp . 1 8 7 - 8 8 .
42
Be fore the c e ntra l pa r t y org a n i z a t i on move d nor thwa rd , eve ry
d i s tr i c t (c ounty or c i t y) e s ta b l i shed i ts own Bure a u for Pe a s a nt
a nd Worke r A f f a i r s . A p a r ty re s o l u t i on wa s a l s o a d o p t e d t o se t up
tra i ni ng i ns t i tu t e s f or agric u l tura l a dmini s t ra t i on . I wa s
a p p o i n t e d as the de a n of tha t ins t i tute . . . . I n s t r uc tors i nc luded
noted C ommun i s t le ade rs such a s Hui T a i - e i ng , Lu Yi - ye n , Fe ng Chu- p o ,
a nd ma ny h igh Na t i ona l i s t o f f i c i a l s . The Na t i ona l i s t o f f i c i a ls we re
very i nd i f fe re nt and une n thus i a s t i c about the i r te a c h i ng s . . . .
The C ommuni s t ins truc tors adopted a n oppos i t e a t t i tude . The y worke d
ve ry ha rd j u s t l i ke p r ie s t s p re a ch i ng the g o s pe l . La te r , the C om­
munis t s we re d r ive n out of the Kuomi n t a ng , a g r i c u l t ura l a nd labor
a f f a i r s we re a g a i n ove r looke d , a nd th e i ns t i t u te wa s f i na l l y
c lased , 1 1
Whe n the Kuomin t a ng e s t ab l i s he d i t se l f i n Kwa ng tung p rov i nce ,
mos t o f i t s leade rs we re i n te l le c t ua l s wi th t ra d i t i ona l b a ckground s .
The y s c a r c e ly knew the pe a s a n t ry .
The firs t na t i o na l a s s emb ly o f the Kuo-
mi n t a ng >va s he l d in 1 92 4 in Ca nton .
Twe n t y- four revo lut i ona ry le ade rs
we re e le c te d a s membe rs of the Ce ntra l Commi t te e , a nd f ive we re e le c te d
a s memb e rs o f the C on t r o l C ommi t te e .
An ana lys i s o f the i r b a c kg r o unds
a nd the i r a t t i t ude s toward pe a s a n t prob lems might he lp us t o i l l us t r a te
the a s se rt i on tha t pe a sa n t p rob lems we re ignore d b y the t ra d i t i ona l
mand a r i n inte l le c t ua l s .
The f i ve memb e r s o f the Cont ro l Commi t t e e we re i n the righ t - wi ng
o f the Kuomi n t a ng .
A l l o f them we re trad i t i ona l manda r i n i n te l le c tua ls .
A l l o f them c ame from r i c h urb a n or rura l fami l ie s .
Among the memb e r s
of the Ce ntra 1 C ommi t te e , Wong Ch ing - we i a nd L i a o C hung- ka i came from
rich fami l ie s .
Th o ugh the y we re the le f t - wing le a de rs , they put forwa rd
no pos i tive i de a s for the s e t t le me nt of pe a s a n t p rob lems .
The ma j or i t y
o f the Ce n t ra l C ommi t t e e , a s mand a r i n inte l le c t ua ls , n a t ura l ly oppo s e d
11
L i Po- s e n , "Working for the Pa rty , " Ce n t ra l Da i ly News (Ta i pe i ) ,
Ma rch 2 3 , 1 9 6 6 .
43
a ny r a d i c a l re f o rms .
Tang Ping - she n , Li Ta - chou , a nd Yu Shu-- teh we re
Commun i s t s who we re e le c ted as membe rs of the Ce n tra l C ommi t te e .
La te r
deve l opme n t s i n d ic a te d tha t the y we re a l s o n o t i n favor o f ra d ic a l land
re form a s the C ommun i s t s >ve re seve ra l ye a r s l a te r .
In the Ma y F o urth
Moveme n t , Li Ta - ch o u , i n f lue nc e d b y utop i a n s oc i a l i sm , a dvoc a te d a
n e w v_i l lage s ys tem .
12
S t r ic t ly spea king , h e d i d n o t p ropose land re form .
Howeve r , h i s s ugge s t i on s g ave Ma o t s e - tung a h in t re g a rd i ng the importance o f the c oun t rys ide .
A few mi l i t a ry me n we re a ls o e le c te d a s membe rs o f the Ce ntra l
C ommi t te e .
Tang Ye n- ka i , wh o c ame from a notab le mand a r i n fami l y , wa s
the mi l i t a r y c ommande r o f the Hunan t roop s .
of Yung n a n Provi nce .
le a d e r s o f E a s t C h i na .
Yang She-ming wa s a war l ord
Li Le i - chun and Po We n- we i we re the m i l i ta ry
J us t l i ke othe r mi l i ta r y me n o f tha t t i me , the ir
i n t e re s t s c o i n c i de d wi th the i n te re s t s o f the land l o rd s .
As a ma t te r of
fa c t , mos t o f the mi l i ta ry me n we re themse lve s land lords or rich
pe a s a n t s .
I n 1 9 2 4 , the Kuom i n ta ng de c i de d t o c o ope ra te wi th the C ommuni s t s .
Th i s d e c i s i on wa s impor t a n t b o th t o the Kuom i n ta ng a nd the C ommuni s t s .
I t wa s imp o r t a n t t o the Kuom i n t a ng be c a us e i t marke d the f i rs t t ime tha t
the Kuomin t a ng h a d ob t a in e d fore ig n a i d .
I t wa s imp o r t a n t t o the c om-
mun i s t s be c a us e i t g ave the c ommun i s t s a chanc e t o move i n t o the ma i n
s tre am o f the Ch i ne se rev o l u t i onary moveme n t .
12
Li Lung - mu , "On Li Ta - chou ' s Go- to- the v i l lage A s s e r t i on P ut
F o rwa rd i n the Ha y F ourth Moveme n t , " C o l le c te d E s s ays for t he F our t ie th
A nnive rs a ry o f the May F o ur th Moveme nt , e d i te d b y the S h a ngh a i A s s oc i a t ion
o f Ph i lo s oph i c a l a nd S oc i a l Re s e a rch , (Sha ngh a i : Pe op le ' s Pre s s , 1 9 60) ,
pp . 100- l O L
44
Be f o re the c o ope ra t i on be twe e n the Kuomin t a ng a nd the C ommunis t s ,
the h igh p a r t y l e a d e r s o f the Kuomi ntang g ra d ua l l y de ve loped an ide a o f
e s ta b l i s h i ng a p a r ty t roop .
The y though t th a t the Kuomi n t a ng c o u l d d o
nothing , i f i t c on t i nue d t o l ive a t the me rcy o f the wa r l ord s .
I n 1924 ,
Chi ang Ke i - she k , a f te r inve s tiga ting the Rus s ia n mi l i ta ry e duca ti onal
s ys tem , wa s orde re d t o se t up a mi l i ta ry a c a demy at Wa ngpoa , Kwa ng t ung .
F our months l a te r , the f i rs t Rus s i a n mi l i t a r y a i d re ache d Wa ngpoa !
13
A t the s ame time , the C ommunis t s appare n t ly a d o p t e d a d i f fe re n t
me thod o f deve loping the i r powe r .
The y dec i de d t o s ta r t a ma s s moveme n t
t o incre a s e t he i r s t re ng th wi thin the ra nks o f worke rs a nd pe a s a n t s .
A
n o te d c ommun i s t , Pe ng Pa i , s ucce s s fu l ly orga nize d a pe a s a n t moveme nt i n
h i s na t ive t own , Ha i l ufe ng , Kwa ng t ung , wh ich wa s t h e fore r unne r of the
C ommuni s t pe a s a nt moveme n t .
As the s on of a r i c h Ha i l ufe ng f a rme r , Pe ng
Pa i kne w t he l oc a l pe a s a n try ve ry we l l .
Ha i l u fe ng , . l i ke mos t of the
Ch i ne se r ura l a re a s , wa s b a c kward , c onse rva t ive and poor .
be ext reme l y d i f f i c u l t t o improve c ond i t i ons the re .
It se emed to
In 1 92 1 , Pe ng Pa i
wa s appoin te d d i re c t o r of the Board of Educ a t i on o f Ha i l u fe ng .
h im a c h a nc e to s ta r t h i s t a s k .
Th is gave
F i rs t , he org a n i z e d s t ude n t s to ce l e -
b ra te Lab or Day (Ma y the f i r s t ) , b u t n o lab ore rs or pea s a n t s j oi ne d them .
He p ub l i s h e d a pe r i od ic a l , Re d He a r t , a s the voice o f the ma s s e s , b ut
13
She rr Yung - l ung , The E a r ly Deve l opme n t £i the Ch i ne se C ommuni s t
P a r ty (Ta i pe i : F re e China Pub l i s h ing C ompany , 1 95 9 ) , p . 40 .
45
the ma s s e s d i d n o t b a c k h im .
Worke rs a nd pe a s a n t s d i d not eve n know
14
.
wha t he wa s d o �ng .
The fa i lure in Ha i l u fe ng c i ty forc e d h im t o g o t o the c o un t rys ide
to re c r ui t s uppor t .
In the vi l la g e s he was t re a te d l i ke a tax c o l le c t or ;
nob ody ta lked wi th h im ,
h im .
Howe ve r , h i s o ld- f a s h i one d g ramopho ne he lpe d
Eve ry t i me he re ache d a vi l lage , he p la ye d a rec ord f i rs t .
Whe n
the pe a s a n ts we re a t t ra c te d and g o t t oge the r t o wa tch h i s ' 'mag i c b ox , "
he proce e de d to put on a s l igh t o f hand pe r f orma nce .
I n th i s wa y , he
re c r u i te d s ix c a d re s in the f i r s t months a nd org a n i z e d t he f i rs t pe a s a n t s '
a s s oc i a t i o n .
Howeve r , mos t o f the pe a s a n t s d i d n o t unde r s t a nd the
s i g n i f i c a nc e o f the a s s oc i a t ion a nd re fused t o j oi n i L
On l y whe n the
a s s oc i a t i on showe d i t s ab i l i ty to p ro te c t i t s memb e r s d i d i ts memb e rsh i p
b e g i n to i n c re a s e .
The Pe a s a n t s ' A s s oc i a t i on o f Ha i l ufeng c ons is ted of n ine de p a r t me n t s :
s a n i t a ry , e d uc a t i on , a rb i t ra t i on , propagand a , a g r i c u l ture ,
ma nageme n t , pub l i c re la t i ons , f ina nce , and b o okkee p i ng .
The mos t a c t ive
de p a r tme n t wa s the De p a r tme n t of Arb i tra t i o n wh ich h a nd le d ma ny c a s e s
c onc e rn i ng ma r r i a ge , de b t , a nd prope rty .
15
The Pe a s a n t s ' A s s oc i a t i on
sho>ve d i ts p owe r i n 1 9 2 7 whe n a s ovie t g ove rnme n t wa s org a n i z e d i n Ca nton .
More than t e n th o u s a nd Ha i lufe ng pe a s a nt s l os t the i r l ive s for th e c a use
16
.
.
o f t h. e a s s oc � a t l on .
14
Pe ng Pa i ' s re p o r t c i te d b y Wan Ah- kong ' s , The C ommun i s t Pa rty
a nd the Pe a s a n t Prob lems (Hong Kong : As i a n Pub l i s h i ng C omp a ny , 1 9 5 6 ) , p . 62 .
15
Ib i d . , p . 6 3 .
16
.
I b �d . ' p . 64 .
I n 1 9 2 5 , a n o the r p e a s a n t moveme n t was ini t i a te d b y Ma o T s e - t ung
h imse l f in h i s na t ive c o un t y , Shao Sen , Hunan .
Th i s moveme n t wa s not
a s s uc c e s s fu l as Pe ng Pai ' s b e c a use Huna n Provi nce wa s ruled b y a
c on s e rva tive wa r lord .
One o f the contrib ut i ons o f th i s s h o r t - l ive d
expe r ime n t wa s the me rg i ng o f the pe a s a n t moveme n t with N a t i ona l i sm .
tha t t ime , Japane s e inv a s i on s e eme d to be imi ne n t .
At
Ma o , f i r s t o f a l l ,
trie d t o mix w i th t he loca l f a rme rs in orde r t o unde r s t a nd the i r p rob lems .
The n , he org a n i z e d Shui - ch i Hui (Soc ie t y for t he Ab o li s hme n t o f the
Na t i ona l Humi l i a t i on) to mix a n ti - Ja p a ne se appe a l wi th the pe a s a n t move me n t .
Pa r t y .
I n a dd i t i o n , he re c ru i t e d a numb e r o f c a d re s f or the C ommun i s t
17
Undoub te d ly , the se two moveme n t s we re e xpe r ime n t a l i n cha ra c te r .
Both Ma o a n d Pe ng h a d n o t h a d a ny e xpe rience be fore .
I n 1 9 2 5 , Ma o , unde r p re s s ure from the war l ord s , f le d t o C a nt on
whe re he was a p p o i n t e d the D i re c t or of a tra i n i ng i n s t ut ute f o r pea s a nt
moveme n t s .
Unde r the a us p i c e s of Ma o , twe n ty- f ive c o urse s we re o f fe re d .
Mos t o f the ins t ruc t o rs we re Commun i s t s .
Ma o o f fe re d c ourse s c once rn ing
C h i ne s e pe a s a nt prob lems .
Pe ng Pai dea l t w i th the pe a s a n t moveme n t in
Tung - k i a ng a nd Ha i l u f e ng .
Cho u E n- l a i le c t ure d on the mi l i ta ry s igni f i -
c ance o f the pe a s a n t moveme n t .
One o f Ma o ' s note d e s s a ys , "An Ana lys i s of the Va ri ous C la s s e s o f
C h i ne se S oc i e ty , " wa s wri t t e n a nd pre s e n te d i n the form o f a le c t ure i n
17
Ma o Yuan - yu , "Sha o- sen Pe a s a n t s Educa t�d b y Cha i rma n Ma o Himse l f , "
C o l le c t e d H i s t o r i c a l Ma te ria ls about the Rev o l u t i onary S t rugg l e Le d �
the Communi s t P a r ty in t he Mid d le - S o u th Are a (Hanka o : Chung - na n �e op le ' s
Pre s s , 1 9 5 1 ) , pp . 6 6- 6 7 .
47
1925 .
I n this e s s a y Mao d ivided t he Ch inese pe op le i n t o f ive c la s s e s :
La nd l ord a nd c amp rad or , midd le c la s s , pe t i te b ourge o i s ie , s emipro le t a r i a t , a nd pro le ta r i a t .
A f te r ana lyz i ng the cha rac te r i s t i c s of
the se f ive c la s se s , he re a c he d the f o l l owi ng c onc l us i on :
Campradors , l a n d l o rd s , a nd a p a r t of the re a c t i onary i n te l­
le c tua l s a re our e nemie s . The i nd u s t r i a l p ro le ta r i a t i s our
le a d i ng revo l u t i onary f orce . The semi - pro le t�ria t a nd pe t i te
b o urge o i s ie a re our c lose f r i e nd s . S o fa r a s the f l uc t ua t i ng
midd le c la s s i s c once rne d , i t s r ight wing migh t be o ur e nemy ;
i t s le f t w i ng migh t b e our friend . We mus t p ay a t te nt i on t o the m
and be s ure the y wi l l n o t d i s t urb our front . 1 8
Pe a s a n t s , a c c ord i ng t o Ma o , be long to e i ther pe t i te b o urge o i s ie or semipro le t a r i a t .
worke rs .
The re fore , the y a re the c l ose f r i e nd s o f the rev o l u t i onary
19
I n July , 1 92 6 , the Kuomintang la unche d a ma j o r mi l i ta ry e xpe d i t i on .
The i r v i c tory i n Hunan a nd o the r provinc e s o f the S o uthe a s t C h i na g ave
Me a
a n oppor tun i ty t o s t ir up a pe a s a nt upr i s i ng in h i s na t ive prov i nc e ,
Huna n .
Pe a s an t s ' a s s oc i a t i ons we re org a n i z e d i n th i r ty- f ive c oun t i e s a nd
h a d a t o ta l memb e r s h i p o f 5 , 180 , 000 pe a s a nts i n 1 9 2 7 .
s t rugg le s a g a ins t l a nd l ords we re s t imula ted .
C ommun i s t s we re r u t h le s s .
20
A series of
The me thods u s e d b y the
Many land lords we re t o r t ure d or e xe c ute d .
The
pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i ons b e g a n to re p lace t he g e n t ry c la s s o f the
18
Ma o Tse - t ung , "An Ana lys is o f A l l the C la s se s i n Ch i ne se
S oc ie ty , " Se lec te d Works o f Ma o Tse - t ung , I (Pe king : Pe op le ' s Pre s s ,
195 1) ' 9 .
19
20
Ib i d . , pp . 5 - 6 .
Li Ra i , "The Hunan Pe a s a n t Moveme n t i n the Pe r i o d o f the F i rs t
Rev o l ut i onary Wa r , " C o l le c te d H i s t or i a l Ma te r i a l s , a b o ut the C ommun i s t­
Le d S t rugg l e in the Midd le - S o uth Area (Ha n Kuo : Ch ung- na n P re s s , 195 1 ) ,
p . 83 .
48
c ountrys i de a s the p o l i t ic a l a uthori t y .
re d uce re n t and i n te re s t .
Land lords we re forced t o
Gamb ling and op i um smoking we re prohib i te d ,
and p a te rna l i sm wa s c ha l le nge d .
The fo l l owi ng a re Ma o ' s own word s :
The powe r o f the pe a s a nt s ' a s s oc i a t i ons we re pa ramoun t .
La nd lords we re n o t a l l owe d t o deba te . The p re s t i g e o f the land­
l o rd s wa s e n t i re ly swe p t awa y ; we j us t p unche d the m d own t o the
f loor a nd kicked them "tvi th our fee t . The s l og a n wa s : "Th ose wh o
have a l o t o f land a re land lord s ; those who a re ge ntry a re
de p rave d . " I n s ome p la ce s , pe op le who had o n l y fi f t y mou o f l a nd
we re reg a rde d a s la nd lord s , a nd pe op le wh o wore robe s we re t re a te d
a s d e p rave d g e n t ry . 2 1
I n May , 1 9 2 9 , a na t i ona l pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i on wa s org a n i z e d i n
Wuha n .
Ma o T s e - t ung wa s e le c ted a s i ts cha i rma n .
Th i s orga n i z a t i on
wa s d i s s o lve d whe n the N a t i ona l i s t Gove rnme n t d e c i d e d t o s e pa ra te from
the C ommun i s t s .
F r om J a nuary the f o urth t o February the f i f th o f 1 9 2 7 , Ma o s pe n t
th i r t y- two d a ys i nve s t ig a t ing the pe a s a n t moveme n t i n the s o uth p a r t o f
Huna n .
A f te rwa rds h e "tvro te a re port wh ich h a s be e n deeme d a s one o f the
c la s s ic d oc ume n t s of the e a r ly C ommun i s t moveme n t i n C h i n a .
In th i s
report Ma o l i s te d four te e n p rograms wh i ch we re c a rr i e d out b y the Hunan
moveme nt :
1.
The pe a s an t s we re org a n i z e d wi thin the f ramework o f the
pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i ons .
2.
The p o l i t i c a l a u thor i ty o f the g e n t ry- l a nd l ord c la s s wa s
cha l le ng e d .
3.
The e c onomi c a uthori ty of the ge n t ry- l a nd lord c la s s wa s
cha l le nge d .
21
Ma o Tse - t ung , "Re p ort of an I nve s t i g a t ion i n t o the Pe a s a n t Move me n t i n Huna n , " Se le c te d Works of Ma o Tse - tung , I (Pe k i ng : Pe op le ' s
Pre s s , 1 95 2 ) , 2 5 .
49
4.
The fuda l r u l i ng s ys tem o f the de prave d g e n t r y wa s
ove r thrown .
5.
The land l ord s we re d i s a rme d , a nd a pe a s a nt a rme d force wa s
e s ta b l i s he d .
6.
The a uth o r i t y o f the c o un ty mag i s t ra te a nd o the r l owe r
o f f ic i a l s was ove r thrown . The pe a s a n t s ' a s s o c i a t ions took
ove r t he i r j ud ic i a l p ower .
7.
Pa te rna l i s m , the oc ra c y , a nd ma le a u th or i ty we re c ha l le nge d .
8.
Propag a nd a aga ins t impe ria l ism , aggre s s i on a nd une q ua l
t re a t i e s was wi de l y s p re a de d .
9.
Ba d c us t oms a nd hab i ts we re p rohib i te d .
10 .
Ba nd i t s we re swe p t awa y .
11.
High t a xe s we re ab o l i s he d .
12
C u l t ura l improveme n t s we re i n i t i a te d .
.
13 .
Seve ra l kind s o f c oope ra t ive s we re se t up .
14 .
C ons t ruc t i on wa s s ta r t e d .
22
F r om the above f o ur te e n p o i n t s , we c a n see tha t s oc i a l re f orm
ra the r tha n l a nd re form wa s e mpha s i ze d .
The C ommun i s t s t r ie d t o ove r-
throw the r u l i ng g e nt r y b y a rming the poor pe a s a n t s . The y i nte nde d to
cha l lenge the C on f uc i a ni s t s tandard o f mora l i ty and v a l ue s ys tem b y
The y a t temp te d to wipe out b a d c us t oms b y
q ue s t i on i ng p a te rn a l i s m .
i ni t i a t i ng c u l t ura l moveme n t .
The y e ndeavore d t o s t imu l a te the p o l i t i c a l
c on s c i ou s ne s s o f the pe a s a ntry b y appe a l i ng t o na t i ona l i sm .
No ma t te r h ow s a c re d a nd d e d ic a te d the a ims we re , the Huna n
pe a s a n t moveme n t wa s und i s c i p l ine d and i r r a t i ona l .
22
I b ;,L d . , p p . 34 5 5
•
-
0
I t wa s c r i t i c i ze d
50
a nd opp ose d b y the C e n t ra l Commi t tee o f the C ommun i s t Pa r t y .
A
re s o lut ion was a d op te d on Janua ry 25 , 1 9 2 7 , b y the Ce n t ra l C ommi t tee
c ondemn ing the imma t ure a c t i ons o f the poor pe a s a n t s for c a us i ng the
depa r t ure o f the pe t i te b o urge o i s ie from the C ommun i s t Pa rty .
23
S uch a ra d ic a l moveme n t na tura l ly le d the province i n t o
o f te rro r .
a
s ta te
Mi l i t a r y me n t o ok the i n i t i a tive i n s uppre s s i ng the pe a s a nt s .
F in a l ly , a b l oody c on f l i c t occ urre d in Chang- sha .
A t tha t time , t he
Th i rd I n te rna t i ona l ' s orde r a rr ived a t Wuha n , a s ki ng the c ommuni s t s t o
re org a n ize the C e n tra l C ommi ttee o f the Kuomin t a ng a nd i t s mi l i t a ry
forc e s a nd t o c a rry o u t a ra d i c a l l a nd re form .
24
The orde r for c e d the
Na t i ona l i s t s to a l t e r the i r pro- Rus s i a n p o l i c y and s e pa r a te t hemse lve s
from the C ommun i s t s .
The f i r s t C ommun i s t re a c t ion to the Na ti ona l i s t de c i s i on wa s a n
eme rge nc y c o n fe re nce he ld o n
A ug u s t 7 , 1 92 7 , a t wh ich the Ce ntra l C om-
m i t tee was c ondemne d a nd Che n Tu- s h ui , the s e c re t a ry-ge ne ra l of the pa r t y ,
wa s d i smi s s e d .
A s e ri e s o f reb e l l i ons in S outhe a s t China we re s t i r re d
up b y the new C ommun i s t le a de r s h i p .
Unde r the le ade r s h i p o f Pe ng Pa i ,
the C ommun i s t s i n Ha i lufe ng and Tung - k i a ng e s tab l i sh e d the f i r s t S ovie t
G ove rnme n t .
A few mon t h s l a te r , the Kwa ng T ung S ov ie t G overnme nt wa s
e s ta b l i she d i n C a n to n .
a d op te d .
A p o l i c y of na t i ona l i z i ng a l l the l a nd wa s
Eve r y v i l lage and d i s tri c t was orde red t o s e t up a s ovie t .
25
23
W a n Ah- kong , The C ommuni s t Pa r ty and the Pe a s a n t Prob lems (Hong
Kong : As i a n Pre s s , 1 95 6) , p . 6 7 .
2 4o . E dmund C lub b , Twe n tie th C e n tury C h i na (New York a nd London :
C o l umb i a Unive r s i ty Pre s s , 1 9 64 ) , p . 1 3 9 .
2 5 C h i a ng Ka i - She k , S ovie t Rus s ia i n Ch ina (New York : F a r ra r , S t raus
a nd C udahy , 1 9 5 7 ) , p . 60 .
51
Howeve r , the na t i ona l i s t a rmy s o on c rushed the S ov i e t s .
than ten thous a nd Ha i l u fe ng pe a s a n t mi l i t ia me n we re s la i n .
More
Ma o T s e -
t ung and o the r c ommun i s t le a de r s f le d t o the Ch i ng k a ng Mounta i ns .
Thus ,
the f i r s t s tage o f the C ommun i s t - led pea s a n t moveme n t c ame t o a n end .
I n 1 92 9 , the C ommuni s t s e s tab l i she d the C e ntra l S ovie t Gove rnme n t
i n Kia ng s i Prov i nc e .
The pr i nc i p le s o f pe a s a n t rebe l l i on e s tab l i s he d
b y the Augus t Seve nth C on fe rence we re adopted a s a b a s i s for the p o l i c y
o f tha t pe r i od .
se lf .
A p rog ram o f vi l lage s urve y wa s c o nd uc te d b y Ma o h im-
"The o n l y way to unde rs tand the rea 1 c o nd i t i o n o f the v a r ious
c la s se s , " Ma o p o i n t e d out , " i s to ma ke a s oc ia l s urve y .
ve y is imp os s ib le a nd unne ce s s ary .
A unive r s a l s ur-
Wh a t we shou ld do is de l ibe r a te l y
c h o o s e seve ra l c i ti e s a nd vi l lage s a s e xamp le s a nd i nve s t i g a te them from
th e Ma rx� s t p o � n t o f v �e w . I I
•
•
•
26
I n t h i s wa y , he i nve s t ig a te d Changsha , Hs i a ng- t a ng , Hs i a ngh s i a ng , He ng - s e n , a nd Hs ia ng- l i ng i n 1 9 2 7 ; N i ng - kong a nd Yung - shen in
1 92 8 ; a nd the s outh part o f Kia ng s i Prov i nc e d ur i ng the S ovie t pe r i o d .
F r om t he s e s u rve ys , Ma o ob ta ined much f i r s thand knowle dge a b ou t the
v i l la ge s .
F o r e xamp le , h i s s urve y in She n- kuo p rovi de d re l i a b le ma te r i a l
rega rdi ng the re n t unde r the tenancy s ys tem .
He d i s c ove re d tha t i n the
f i rs t , s e c ond , a nd f o ur t h d i s tr i c t s of Shen- kuo , te na n t s had t o p a y 5 0
pe r c e n t o f t h e a nnua l p roduc t to the land lord s .
I n the t h i rd d i s t r ic t
a la rge pa r t o f tena n t s had t o p a y 60 pe r c en t , wh i le only a sma l l p a r t
26
Ma o T s e - t ung , " Rura 1 S urve ys , " Se le e te d Works o f Ma o T s e - t ung ,
I I (Pe k i ng : Pe op le ' s Pre s s , 1 9 52 ) , 1 .
52
of t h e te na n t s pa i d 5 0 pe r c a n t o f the annua l prod uc t t o the land l o rd s .
The f i r s t thre e d i s t r i c t s fre que n t ly s uf fe re d from f lood and d r o ugh t .
27
The s e s urve ys we re reg a rde d b y Che n Po- ta a s a p i c t ure o f the te na nc y
s ys tem o f the who le o f China ,
28
F rom 1 92 8 t o 1 9 3 1 , a t le a s t s i x land laws we re promulg a te d .
Th i s
fa c t i nd ic a te d tha t the C ommun i s t s we re t rying t o work o u t a \vay t o s o lve
the l a nd p r ob lems ,
The f i r s t law wa s qui te p r imit ive .
vi l lage as t he b a s ic uni t f or land re d i s t r i b u t i on .
I t c h o s e the
Pe a s a n t s we re orde re d
t o wri te the q ua l i t y a nd qua n t i t y of the i r land on b amb oo p la nks \vh i ch
we re s uppose d t o be p o s t e d on the i r l a nd , a nd , a t the s ame time , the y we re
re q u i re d to re p o r t to the pe a s a nt s ' a s semb ly .
me n t s ,
The v i l lage S ovi e t g ove rn-
in a c c ordance wi th the d a t a prov ide d by the a s s emb ly , d e c i d e d h ow
much land e a ch pe r s on s h o u ld be g ive n a nd wrote the name s o f the pe a s a nt s
on d i f fe re n t bamb o o p la nks .
The n eve ryone we n t t o the fie l d s whe re the
V i l lage G ove rnme n t a rra nge d the d i v i s i on by s imp ly e xcha ng i ng the b amb oo
p la nks .
29
The s e c ond a nd t h i rd l a nd laws a re me n t i one d in Ma o ' s own \vo rk ,
"Rura 1 S urve ys , 1 1 i n wh ich Ma o s a id ,
. . . the ( s e c ond) l a nd law made i n Decemb e r , 1 9 2 8 , was the
emb od ime n t o f the e xpe r i e n c e s of the p revi ous ye a r . Be fore th a t
ye a r , we h a d no e xp e r ie nce s a t a l l . . . . The s e two l a n d laws a re
27
pp . S- 6 .
Ma o T s e - t ung , Rura l S u rveys (Pe king : New China Pre s s , 1 94 9 ) ,
28
.
Che n Po- ta , A n E s s ay on the La n t Re n t �n
the Mod e r n C h i na ,
(Se c ond e d i t i on ; Pe king : Pe op le ' s Pre s s , 1 9 5 3 ) , p . 3 2 .
29
Wa ng S s u- c he ng , Ma o Tse - tung a nd the Re d Te rror (Ta i pe i : The
Ce ntra l C ommi t tee o f the Kuominta ng , 1 95 9 ) , pp . 1 5 0- 5 1 .
53
me n t i one d ( i n Ma o ' s b ook) s imp ly be c a us e we c a n , f rom the se two
laws , s e e the deve l opme n t of our i d e a about land s tr ugg le . 3 0
As c ompa re d wi th the f i r s t land l aw , the s e c ond one 1va s much more
de ta i le d a nd a dva nc e d .
I t adopted the Hs i a ng ( d i s t ri c t ) a s the s ing le
uni t for land re d i s t r i b u t i on .
t o pe a s a n ts .
prohib i te d ,
A l l land wa s na t i ona l i ze d and a l lo t te d
A f te r the re d i s t r i b u t i on , land p urcha s e wa s abs o l ute ly
The land t a x wa s f i xe d at 15 pe r ce n t o f the a nnua l produc t ,
Unde r s pe c ia l c o nd i t i on s , s uch a s f lood or d r o ugh t , the t a x c o uld be
re duc e d t o 10 or 5 pe r c e n t .
Men of the Re d Army a nd the Re d G ua rd s
a l s o had a s much right t o ob t a i n land a s the c ommon pe op le .
The S ovie t
G ove rnme n t h i re d wo rke rs t o t i l l for them , s i nce the y c ould n o t c u l t iva te
themse lve s .
31
Thi s land law c on t a i ne d thre e p r i nc ipa l de fe c t s wh ich Ma o p o i n te d
out :
( 1 ) i t c on f i s c a te d a l l the land , not j u s t the l a nd o f l a nd l o rd s ;
( 2 ) the land be long e d t o the g overnme n t ra the r than the t i l le r s thems e lve s ; a nd ( 3 ) land p urc h a s e wa s proh ib i te d ,
c orre c te d la te r .
The se de fec t s we re a l l
32
The third land law wa s ma de i n She n- kuo whe re Ma o had made a n
i nte nse s urve y .
Ac c or d i ng t o th i s law , on l y the land p o s s e s se d b y the
land l ord s wa s s up p o s e d t o be c on f i s c a te d .
mode led on the f i rs t one .
30
33
Ma o Tse - t ung , Rura l S urveys (Pe king : New China Pre s s , 1 94 9 ) , p . 9 .
31
A r t i c le 9 o f the 1 9 2 8 La nd Law .
�· c i t . , p . 93 .
32
The re s t of th i s law wa s
Ibid .
33
See Ma o Tse - t ung , Rura l Survey ,
rb ;'- d . , pp . 9 4 - 9 5 .
54
The o the r thre e l a nd laws we re o f f i c ia l ly p romu lga te d b y the
c e nt ra l a uthor i t y of the Communi s t Pa r t y .
The four th one was ma de b y
the Mi l i t a r y C ommi t te e o f the C ommuni s t Pa r ty i n 1 9 3 0 .
Acc o rd i ng to the
f o urth law , b o th the land o f the la nd lords and ge nt ry a nd the l a nd o f the
rich fa rme rs wo u l d be c o nf i s c a te d ,
The depe nde n t s of l a nd lcrds , ge n t ry ,
a nd rich fa rme r s would be a l lo t t e d land i f t he y c o uld n o t ma ke a l i v i ng
b y o the r me a n s ,
34
The f i f th l aw wa s e na c t e d b y the Na t i ona l S ovie t A s s emb l y i n 1 9 3 1 .
Th i s law e xc l ude d rich f a rme r s from among the pe r s on s whose l a n d wou ld be
re q u i s i t i one d .
The S ovie t Gove rnme n t only c onf i s c a te d the re n te d pa r t
o f the r i c h f a rme rs ' la nd ,
Thi s law a ls o h a d a ve ry f le xib le prov i s i on
c once rning the me thod o f land re d i s trib u t i on ,
The S ovie t G ove rnme n t wa s
a u th or i z e d t o d e c ide whe the r i t should re d i s trib u te a l l the land or j us t
the c o nf i s c a te d land .
35
The s ixth wa s e na c te d b y the F i r s t Na t i ona l S ov i e t Re p re s e n ta tive
C onfe re nc e i n 1 9 3 1 .
a l l o f t he i r land .
and p urc h a s e land .
A c c ording t o th i s law , the r i c h fa rme r s a g a i n los t
For the f i r s t t ime pe op le we re a l lowe d t o re n t out
36
N o t only the land o f the land lords a nd the g�n try ,
b u t a ls o the l a nd o f the war l ords and the Na t i ona l i s t o f f i c i a l s would
be c on fi s c a te d .
Thi s prov i s i on wa s i n s e rted s imp ly be c a us e the p o l i ti c a l
34
Wa n Ah- kong , The C ommuni s t Pa r ty a nd the Pe a s a n t Prob lems , �·
cit. , p . 71.
35
I b ,i d . , p . 7 0 .
36
Ibid .
55
s i t ua t i on re qui re d i t .
I n Sep tember of tha t ye a r , t he Ja pane s e
aggre s s or s h a d o c c up i e d Ma nchur i a ; \vh i le the Na t i ona l i s t s we re c onduc t ing a wide s c a le mi l i t a r y a t tack ag a i n s t the C ommuni s t s .
I n De cembe� 1 9 30 ,
a me e t i ng wa s he ld i n Chi - a nn .
Ma ny mi s take s
ma de in the land re form moveme n t we re re p o rte d b y Che n Yi a nd o th e r s .
The c ons p i c uo us mi s ta ke s we re the f o l lowing :
l,
The i de a s o f the h ighe r leve l s o f the pa r ty d i d n o t r e a c h the
lowe r leve ls .
C a d re s of d i f fe re n t organs c o uld n o t ha rmoni o us ly c oope ra te
wi th e a c h o the r .
2.
37
I n s ome d i s tri c t s , the re we re powe r s t rugg le s .
P a r t y memb e r s o f land lord or rich fa rme r o r i g i n b oyc o t t e d
the re f orms .
F or e xamp le , i n Sha n - yu , the re we re e ighty p a r t y membe rs ,
th i r t y o f the m we re land lord s a nd rich fa rme r s .
The re form p l a n wa s
de la ye d for two mon ths be fore i t wa s put i n t o pra c t i c e .
3.
I n ma ny p lac e s , land re d i s t r i b u t i on c o u ld n o t be s uc ce s s f u l l y
imp leme n te d .
4.
S ome s oc ia l re forms were inc i de nta l ly c a rr i e d out i n the land
re form moveme n t a nd we re oppos ed b y the c on s e rva t ive f a rme r s .
e xamp le , wome n re fus e d t o j oi n the moveme nt .
F or
Rich f a rme r s opp o s e d fre e -
dom o f ma rriage .
5.
e a c h o the r :
Fa rme rs we re a fr a i d o f the c ommuni s t s .
The y '\o7h i s pe re d to
"Don ' t c r i t i c ize , othe rwi s e you ' 11 l o se your h e a d . "
38
The land re form c a r r i e d out i n thi s pe r i od wa s s o und i s c ip lined
and orde r le s s tha t we c ou l d h a r d l y s a y it wa s s ucce s s fu l .
37
Rura l
B ut Ma o s a id
.
Ma o Tse - t ung re c orded t h e re por t s a nd c o 1 1 e c te d i t �. n h �. s b oo k
Surveys , .££. · c i t . , pp . 7 9 - 8 2 .
38 I b i d , , p . 8 1 .
56
i t wa s .
I n 1 934 , Ma o re ported the s ucce s s t o the S e c ond S ov ie t
Re p re s e n ta t ive C o n fe re nce .
The l iv ing s t a ndard o f the pe a sa nt i s g re a t ly improve d . For
Examp le , i n 1 9 3 2 , i n F uch i a n a nd Kiangs i , produc t i on wa s i nc re a s e d
b y 1 5 perce n t , a s c ompa re d wi th tha t o f the p re re v o lut i onary pe r i od .
I n 1 9 3 3 , produc t i o n i nc re a s e d b y 2 5 pe rce nt . The l iv i ng s ta nd a rd
wa s twi ce h ighe r than tha t o f the Kuomin t a ng pe r i o d . 3 9
Wa s the re form a s s uc ce s s fu l a s Ma o re porte d ?
Be f o re j ud g i ng
th i s , we mus t re c a l l t he g e ne ra l cond i t i ons o f th i s pe r i od .
F r om 1930
to 1 9 3 3 , the re we re five ma j or ba t t le s be twe e n the C ommun i s t s a nd the
Na t i ona l i s t s .
f i g h t i ng .
Mo re tha n a mi l l i on pe r s ons we re mob i l i z e d to j oi n the
The b a t t le f ie ld wa s e x tended to eve ry S ovie t d i s t r i c t .
Thous a n d s we re ki l le d a nd thousand s b e c ame home le s s .
Unde r the s e c i r-
c ums tance s , norma l a g r ic u l t ura l c u l t iva t i on wa s impos s ib le .
Howeve r ,
seve ra l fundame n t a l techn i c a l p r i nc i p le s o f l a nd re form we re e s tab l i she d :
( 1 ) the poor pe a s a n ts a nd a g r a r i a n la b ore r s mus t be t he va ng ua r d s i n the
re f o rm moveme n t ; ( 2 ) the v a nguards mus t org a n i z e a uni t e d f r o n t wi th the
mi d d le pe a sa nt s , in orde r to s t re ng the n the fa rme r ' s p o s i t i on ; ( 3 ) the
rich fa rme r s mus t be ne u t ra l i ze d or l imi te d to ma ke s ure th a t the y d o
n o t s i de wi th the land l o rd s ; a nd (4) the land lords a nd ge ntry , a s the
e nemie s o f the pe op le , s hou l d be a b o l i she d .
40
I ronic a l ly , whe n Ma o re p o rted the h a rve s t t o the S ovie t C on fe re nc e ,
ma ny c ommun i s t c a d re s s t i l l d i d not know h ow to d raw the c la s s l i ne .
39
It
Ho Hua , � Hi s tory o f Chine s e New Democra t i c Re v o l u t i o n (Pe king :
Ne w Ch i na Pre s s , 1 9 5 0 ) , p . 1 18 .
40
I b id . , p . 12 1 .
57
s e eme d t o be e x t reme ly d i f f i c u l t t o d i s t i ng ui s h the land lords from the
r i c h f a rme r s .
I n Apri l , 1 92 7 , the Na ti ona l C o n fe re nce o f the C ommuni s t Pa r t y
de c id e d tha t pea s a n t s wh o p o s s e s s e d more than 5 0 0 mo u o f l a nd s h o u ld be
re g a rd e d a s land l o rd s .
41
Th is s ta ndard was a c ce p te d b y the c e n t r a l
a uthori ty o f the p a r t y but opp o s e d by the loca l Commun i s t le a de r s , s uc h
as
Me
o Tse - t ung a nd Chu Ch i u- pa .
"To adopt s uc h a de f in i t i on for the
te rm ' land lord ' " , Ma o a ng r i ly c ha rge d ,
" i s i nc ong r u o us .
I t wo u l d not
he lp t he deve lopme n t o f c la s s s trugg le in the c o untrys i de , s i nc e it i s
42
�. nc ons �. s te nt w�. t h t h e ac t ua 1 c on d �. t �. o n . r r
Ma o wa s f u l l y awa re o f the
fa c t tha t only a few pea s a nt s pos se s se d more than 500 mou of l a nd .
v F rom 1 92 8 t o 1 9 3 3 , thre e s ys tems we re a d o p t e d for drawing c la s s
l i ne s :
( 1 ) Those who re n t e d out a la rge p a r t and c u l tiva te d a sma l l
p a r t o f the i r land wo uld be c la s se d a s land lord s .
Th o s e who re nted out
a sma l l pa r t a nd c u l t iva te d a la rge r part of the i r land wo uld be rega rde d
a s r i c h f a rme rs .
S ovie t D i s tr i c t .
Thi s s y s tem was a d opte d in the Hupe h-Anh u i - Hunan
( 2 ) F a rme rs wou ld be c l a s s i f i e d a s land lords i f they
we re i nvo lve d i n three e xp lo i t ive ac t iv i tie s ; tha t i s , h i r ing a g r a r i a n
la b o re rs , re n t i ng o u t the i r land , a nd lend i ng mone y .
Th ose wh o pra c t i c e d
any two o f t h e e xp l o i t ive a c t iv i t ie s wou l d be c l a s s i f i e d a s r ic h fa rme rs .
Th i s s ys tem wa s a d op te d b y the ShanKuo S ovie t Gove rnme nt .
p . 14 7 .
( 3 ) Pe rs ons
41
Wa ng S s u- che ng , Ma o Tse - t ung and the Re d Te rror , ££ · c i t . ,
42
I b id . , p . 14 9 .
58
who owne d land , but d i d not e ngage in c u l t iva t i on or o n l y e ng a g e d in
s upp leme n t a ry l a b or a nd wh o ma de a l iving b y me a n s o f e xp l o i t a t i on ,
we re tre a te d a s land l ord s .
Pe r s ons who owned land a nd c u l t iva te d i t
themse lve s a nd wh o ma de the i r l iv i ng s pa r t i a l l y b y e xp lo i t a tion , we re
c la s s i fie d as r ich fa rme r s .
43
The third s ys tem \va s o f f i c ia l ly adopte d a s a me a n s o f d rawing
c la s s l i ne s in Oc tobe r , 1 9 3 3 .
p rog ram p r omu lg a te d in 1 9 5 0 .
I t wa s a l s o emp l oye d in the land re form
44
In the 1 9 30 ' s , Ch i na e n te re d a ra the r choa t i c e p och .
Japane s e wa r se eme d to be i ne v i t a b le .
pared a nd i s o la te d .
A S ino-
At tha t time , C h i na wa s unp re -
The only wa y the Chine s e pe op le c ould s ave them-
se lve s wa s t o un i te a n d forge t the ir p o l i t ic a l d i f fe re nc e s .
O n Novembe r
2 5 , 1 9 3 5 , the Po l i t c a l Bure a u of the C hine s e C ommuni s t P a r t y adopted a
re s o l u t ion "c onc e r n i ng the pre s e n t s i t ua t i on a nd the c urre n t mi s s i on o f
the par ty" i n wh ich the C h i ne s e C ommuni s t Party p ropo s e d t o e s tab l i sh a n
a n t i - Ja pa ne s e na t i ona l front and o f f i c ia l ly d e n o unce d the o r i g i na l p o l i c y
o f 1 a n d c on f �. s c a t �. on .
45
A t t he s ame t ime , i t promu lga te d anothe r land law .
Ac c o rd i ng t o
thi s new law , the C h i ne s e C ommuni s t Pa r t y on l y c on f i s c a te d th e l a n d o f
43
wa n Ah - kong , The C ommuni s t P a r ty a nd the Pe a s a n t Prob lems , ££ ·
cit . , p . 72 .
44
The G ove rnme n t Admi n i s tra t i on C o unc i l , The Agra r i a n Re f o rm Law
of t he Pe ople ' s Repub l i c o f China (F ourth e d i t i on ; Pe king : F ore i g n
La ng ua ge P re s s , 1 95 9 ) , pp . 18- 2 1 .
45
.
Le e T �e
' n-m�ng
, Th e Ch �' ne s e C ommun�. s t Pa r ty �
d �
h P e a s a n t ry
(Hong - Kong : Yu- l i a ng Pre s s , 1 9 5 8 ) , p . 58 .
___
59
the l a nd lord s o r t he rich fa rme rs wh ich wa s n o t c u l tiva te d b y the land o'vne r s thems e lve s , e s pe c i a l ly whe n the land l o rd s or r ic h fa rme rs d i d
n o t l ive i n the c oun t r ys ide .
Th i s new l aw i nd i c a te d tha t the C ommun i s t
Pa r t y wa s re a d y t o a c c e p t re c o nc i l i a t i on wi th i t s p o l i t ic a l e nemie s b y
temp ora r i ly s a c r i f i c i ng i ts own land p o l i c y a nd a c ce p t i ng the mode ra te
one de s ig ne d b y D r . S un Ya t - se n .
46
I n J u l y , 1 9 3 7 , the S i no- Ja pane s e wa r f i na l l y b roke out .
A f te r a
s e r i e s o f neg o t i a t ions and under pre s s ure from a l l the pe o p le , t he
s e c ond C ommun i s t - Na t i o na l i s t uni te d front wa s orga n i ze d .
A s a ma t t e r of
fac t , it wa s a C ommun i s t s ur re nde r to the Na t i ona l i s t s , at le a s t
os te n s ib l y .
I n Se p tembe r , 1 9 3 7 , the C e n t ra l C ommi t tee o f the C ommuni s t
P a r t y i s s ue d a four - p o i n t de c lara ti on wh ich s ta te d tha t :
(1)
A s Dr .
S un ' s Three P r i nc i p le s o f the pe op le answe r the nee d s o f Ch i na , the
(2)
Ch i ne se C ommun i s t Pa rty wi l l figh t for the i r c omp le te re a l i z a t i on .
The C h i ne s e C ommun i s t P a r t y wi l l a b o l i s h i ts p o l i c y o f a rme d up r i s i ng s
a nd i t s s ov i e t i z a t i on moveme n t s aga i ns t the Kuomintang , a nd i t wi l l s t op
i t s prog ram of d i s p o s se s s i ng the landlords th rough v i o le nc e .
(3)
The
Ch i ne s e C ommuni s t Pa rty w i l l abandon i ts e x i s t i ng S ov i e t G ove rnme n t and
he re a f te r p rac t ic e democ r a c y so a s to un i fy the a dmi ni s tra t ive p owe r of
the c oun t r y .
(4 )
The Ch ine se C ommuni s t P a r t y wi l l s top c a l l i ng i t s
a rme d forc e s the Re d Army , a b o l i sh the i r e xi s t i ng mi l i t a ry de s igna t i ons ,
46
Ib ;.L d . , pp . 5 8 - 5 9 .
60
integ ra te them i n t o the Na t i ona l Revo lut i onary F o rce s , s ub je c t them t o
the j ur i s d ic t ion o f the N a t i ona l Mi l i t a r y C ounc i l o f t h e N a t i ona l
G ove rnme nt a nd awa i t orde r s to ma rch t o the fron t t o f ig h t the
Japane se .
47
The i r de c lara t ion wa s imme d ia te l y a c c e p te d b y the
Na t i ona l i s ts .
Ge ne ra l Ch i ang Ka i - shek s ta te d :
The Ch i ne s e Commun i s t P a r t y ' s de c la ra t i on i s a proof tha t
na t i ona l c o ns c i ous ne s s h a s t r i umphe d ove r a l l o the r c on s ide ra .:...
t i on s . . . . S i nc e the C h i ne s e Commun i s t s h ave g ive n up the i r
pre conce ive d i de a s a n d re c og n i z e d the importa nce o f na t i o na l
i nd e pe nde nce and na t i ona l i nte re s t s , we h ope the y wi l l s incere l y
fu l f i l l the i r p le dge s . 48
The g o od wi l l a nd the na t iona l c ons c i ous ne s s deve l ope d be twe e n
the C ommun i s t s a nd t he Na t i ona l i s ts tha t ye a r wa s s oon ove r s h a d owe d b y
the f i e rc e p owe r s t rugg le i n the g ue r i l la a re a s o f Nor th C h i n a .
Wi th the
deve l opme n t of the wa r , the C ommun i s t s oc c up i e d seve ra l "b o rde r d i s t r i c t s " i n Nor th C h i na .
The la rge s t four we re Shang - Kang- Nie n , C h i ng-
C h a r - Ch i , C h i - Lu- Ju , and Ching- Shang .
The f i rs t d i s t ri c t wa s the la rge s t
a nd the re the c e n t ra l org a n o f the Ch i ne s e C ommuni ty P a r t y wa s l oc a te d .
The s e c ond and the fourth we re loca te d in Inne r Mong o l i a , whi le the
th ird wa s a t the mouth of the Ye l l ow Rive r .
I n the c ommun i s t- c on t r o l le d
d i s t r ic t s a mode ra te re nt- red uc t i o n program wa s c a rr i e d out .
Acc ord i ng
t o the rep o r t o f the cha i rma n of the f ir s t d i s tr ic t g ove rnme nt , the
47
c h i a ng Ka i - s he k , S ovie t Rus s i a in Ch i na (Ne w York : F or ra r ,
S traus , and C ud ah y , 1 9 5 7 ) , p . 8 1 .
48
I b i d . , pp . 8 1 - 8 2 .
61
p o l i c y o f land c on f i s c a t i on was a b o l i she d in Ma rch , 1 9 3 7 .
l a te r , t he l a nd lords re g a i ne d the i r c i t i z e n sh i p .
Two mon ths
49
The s ame rep o r t d i s c l o s e d th re e princ i p l e s which we re a dopted
to imp rove the re l a t i on s h i p be twe e n the l a nd l ord c l a s s a n d the pa r t y .
F i rs t , the land o f the land l ord s which h a d n o t ye t b e e n c on f i s c a te d
wou ld n o t be c on f i s c a te d a t the p re se n t time .
to the land l ord s .
The l a n d s ti l l be long e d
Se c ond ly , i f the land lord s who s e l a nd a nd h ouse s had
been c on fi s c a te d be fore re t urne d to the b orde r d is t r i c t , the g ove r nme n t
wou l d g ive t hem s h a re s o f la nd and hous e s a nd wou l d re s tore the i r c i t izenship .
Th i rd ly , the land l ords wo uld be a l lowe d t o re nt o u t the i r land
unde r the c ond i ti o n th a t the re nt mus t n o t b e t o o h �gh .
.
so
S i nc e t he C ommun i s t Pa rty , during th i s pe r i od , re c og n i z e d the
Na t i ona l i s t G ove rnme n t a s the na t i ona l g ove rnme nt of Ch i na , a l l of i t s
land le g i s la t i on wa s b a s e d up on the La nd Law p romulga te d b y the Na t i ona l i s t Gove rnme n t on June 3 0 , 1 9 3 0 .
An a na l ys i s of this N a t i ona l i s t Land
Law migh t , the re fore , be use fu l as a b a s i s for unde r s tand i ng the l and
re f orm of thi s pe r i od .
The La nd Law of 1 9 30 , wi th a t o ta l o f 247 a r t i c le s , was de l ibe ra te ly ma de i n a c c ordanc e wi th Dr . S un Ya t- s e n ' s doc t r i ne .
I t c a n be
charac te r i s t i ze d as f o l l ows :
49
Lin Po- c hu ' s re p o r t t o the f i r s t p le na ry s e s s i on o f the C ounc i l
o f the Sha ng- Ka ng - N i e n Borde r D i s t r i c t i n 1942 . S e e Aca demia S i ni c a , the
Th i rd De pa r tme n t o f H i s t ory , C o l le c te d D oc umen t s o f the S h a ng- Kong- Nie n
Borde r D i s t r ic t (Pe k i ng : Aca demia S i ni c a , 1 9 5 8 ) , p . 18 .
50
rbi d . , p . 2 0 .
62
l.
I t e s ta b l i s he d priva te owne r s h i p a s the b a s i c s ys tem o f
l a nd re la t i ons i n China .
A r t ie le 1 0 re c og n i z e d tha t "any p a r t o f the
l a nd whe re o f the owne rsh ip i s lawf u l ly a cq u i re d b y a n ind ivid ua l
51
.
Ch i ne s e sha l l b e p r�va
te l a nd . "
2.
I n v ie w o f the m i s e r y o f the te nancy s ys tem in Ch ina , the
law gave the te na n t s a righ t to a s k the g ove rnme n t to p urch a s e the
le a se d land f o r t hem a t i t s s t a t ut o ry va l ue , i f the tena n t s h a d c ul t iv a t e d t he l e a s e d land c on t i nuous ly for e ight f u l l ye a r s a nd i f the owne rs
of t he s a id la nd d id not i n tend t o c u l t iva te it themse lve s .
3.
52
(Ar t i c le 33 . )
Th i s law re c o g n i z e d a s y s tem o f pe rpe t ua l le a se i n wh ich the
le a s e e c a n c u l t iva te the lea se d l a nd pe rmane n t ly unle s s the le a s or take s
b a c k the l a nd for h i s own c u l t iva t i on (Ar t i c le s 1 0 9 a nd 1 14 ) .
4.
53
Ac c ord i ng t o Art i c le 1 10 o f th i s law , f a rm re n t s h o u l d not
e xce e d 8 pe rce nt of the va l ue of the l a nd .
If a ny c ontrac t ua l or c us t oma ry
re n t e xc e e de d 8 perce n t , i t wo uld be r e d uc e d t o 8 p e r c e n t ; i f i t wa s le s s
tha n 8 pe rce n t , i t w o u l d rema i n unchange d .
5.
54
I n a c c o rd a nc e wi th D r . S un Ya t- se n 1 s d o c t r i ne , t h i s law s e t
up a l a nd va l ue s ys tem .
The va l ue of land would be d e c l a r e d b y i t s
owne r (Art ie le 148 ) , whi le the va l ue o f cons t r ue t i ona 1 imp roveme nt s wou ld
51
Chen Che ng , Land Re form �. n Ta iwan (Ta i pe i : China Pub l i sh ing
C ompa ny , 1 9 6 1 ) , pp . 134- 35 .
52
53
54
. . ' p . 140 .
I b �d
Ib i d . , pp . 1 5 4- 5 5 .
Ibid . , p . 154 .
63
be a s s e s s e d b y the c ompe te n t loc a l l a nd o f fice
(Ar t i c le 1 6 1 ) .
S i nc e the
une a rne d i n c reme n t wo uld go to the pub l ic , the l a nd owne r wa s re q u i re d
t o p a y a l a nd va l ue i nc reme nt t a x i n a dd i t i on t o the l a n d va l ue ta x .
The
b a s ic ra te o f the l a nd v a l ue t a x wo uld be 1 . 5 pe rc e nt (A r t ic le 1 6 9 ) ,
wh i le the l a nd va l ue i nc reme n t t a x wo uld be levied on the b a s i s o f the
ne t inc reme n t of the va lue of the land (A r t ic le 1 7 6 ) .
6.
The law g a ve the g ove rnme n t a righ t t o p urch a s e pr iva te land
on a c omp u l s ory b a s i s i n orde r t o mee t the re q u i re me n t s of p ub l i c unde rt a k i ng s , s uch a s ins ta l la t i on s for na t i ona l de fe nse or p ub l i c u t i l i t y
e n t e rpri s e s
(A r t i c le 2 0 8 ) .
D ue c ompe n s a t i on wo u l d be p a i d t o the l a nd
owne r wh o s e l a nd was purcha s e d b y the gove rnme nt (Ar t i c le 2 3 6 ) .
I n the C ommun i s t - c o n t r o l led a re a s , a s e r i e s o f land reg u l a t i ons
we re e na c te d in re s ponse to the a b ove l a nd law .
A r t ic le 1 of the Sh a ng -
kang - n ie n B orde r D i s t r i c t Land Re g u l a t i o ns de c la re d the re g u la t ions we re
made i n a c c o rd a nc e wi th the b a s i c p r i nc i p le s o f the 1 9 3 0 Land Law a nd
Ar t i c le 3 o f the re g u l a -
the ac t ua l c o ndi t i on s o f the b o rde r d i s t r i c t .
t i ons p rov i de d f o r p r iva te owne rship , a n d A r t i c le 7 a t te mp te d t o p la c e
s ome g e ne ra l l imi t a t i ons o n the le a s e s ys tem .
55
Pe rh a p s t he mo s t de t a i le d law wa s the Te n a n c y Ac t p a s s e d b y the D i s t r i c t C ounc i l i n Novemb e r , 1 944 , wh ich de fine d f o ur a l te rna t ive kinds
o f te nanc y re l a t i on s h i p ; name l y , f i xe d le a s e s , un f i xe d le a s e s , mutua l
c u l t iva t i on , a nd te rms o f e mp l o yme n t .
55
56
s h a ng - Ka ng - N ie n C o ng re s s , "La nd Re g u l a t i ons o f Sha ng - Kang-Nie n , "
C o l le c te d D o c ume n t s o f the Shang- Ka ng- Nie n Borde r D i s t r i c t (Pe k i ng :
A c a demi a S i n i c a , 1 9 5 8 ) , p . 5 9 .
56
Ib i d . , p . 2 4 1 .
64
1.
Unde r the fixe d l e a s e s ys tem land re n t wa s t o be f ixe d i n
prop o r t i on t o t he s i z e o f th e le a s e d land .
Acc ord ing t o A r t i c le 7 o f
the Te na nc y Ac t , t h e new r e n t should b e le s s tha n 2 5 pe rc e nt o f the
orig ina l re n t .
2.
Unde r the un f i xe d re nt s ys tem , the le a s or o n l y p r ov i d e d
a ra b le l a nd t o the le a s e e , a nd t he l e a s e e had t o have h i s own c u l tiva t i ng ins t r ume n t s .
The gra i n produc e d o n t h e le a s e d l a nd wa s t o be
d i v i de d p ro p or t i ona l ly be twe e n the le a s or a n d t he l e a s e e .
The re n t ,
a c c or d i ng t o the Ac t , wa s t o be re d uc e d b y 2 5 t o 40 pe rce n t .
3.
Unde r the s ys tem of mutua l c u l t iva t ion , the le a s o r p r ov i de d
b o th the l a nd a nd the c u l t iva t i ng ins t r ume n t s t o the le a s e e .
The Ac t
f i xe d the maximum r e n t a t 40 pe rcent o f the a nnua l prod uc t .
4.
Unde r the te rms o f emp loyme n t the l a nd owne r s up p l i e d f a rm
worke r s wi th e ve r ything inc l ud i ng hous e s , ins t rume n t s , l a nd , a nd food .
Ar t i c le 10 a r ra ng e d a 10 t o 2 0 pe rce n t re n t - re d uc t i o n f or t ha t k i nd o f
system.
The s ha re o f the l a nd owne r , a c c ording t o t h e Ac t , s h o uld n o t
e xc e e d 45 pe rc e n t o f t h e prod uc t .
Ano the r re p o r t made b y Lin P o - c h u i n 1 94 6 i nd i c a te d th a t the r e n t re duc t i on po l i c y wa s un ive r s a l l y c a rr i e d o u t .
A s a re s u l t , a g r a r i a n
p r oduc t i o n wa s inc re a s e d a nd the l iv i ng s t a ndard o f t h e pe a s a n t s wa s
57
.
�mp rove d .
Be c a use o f the l a c k o f re l i a b le ma te r i a ls , we d o n o t know e xa c t l y
the a c t ua l c ond i t i on o f the pe a s a n t moveme n t in the C ommun i s t - c on t ro l le d
57
Ibid . , p . 2 8 0 .
65
a re a s .
Howe ve r , we c a n make a rudime n t a ry a na lys i s b y emp l oy i ng
doc ume n t s a nd re p o r t s from va r i ous s ource s :
1.
The wa r p rov i de d the pe a s a n t moveme n t w i th a n uns t a b le
s i t ua t i o n in wh ich th ous a nd s b e c ame h ome le s s a nd thou s a n d s we re ki l le d
b y g u n f i re o r fami ne .
Unde r s uch c ond i t i ons re n t - re d uc t i on c ou ld
h a rd ly be c a r r i e d out b y peace f u l me ans .
Few land l or d s we re e xe c u t e d
a f te r be i ng c o nv i c ted o f e xp l o i ta t i o n , b u t ma ny we re ki l le d a s t r a i t o r s .
The a u thori t y o f t he C ommun i s t d i s t ric t in the midd le o f Hope i had
pe r s e c u t e d 1 , 9 3 7 h o us e h o ld s a s tra i t or s .
58
Ac c ord i ng t o ma n y ava i l a b le
s ourc e s the a n t i - land l o rd c amp a i g n wa s n o t s t oppe d unt i l the e n d o f the
1 9 5 0 l a nd re f orm in the b o rde r d i s t r i c t s e xc e p t the Sha ng - Ka ng - Nie n
B order D i s t r i c t whe re the c e ntra l org a n o f t he Commun i s t Pa r t y wa s loc a te d a nd wh i ch s e e med t o be de l i be ra te ly de c ora te d a s a p o l i t i c a l s i ghts e e i ng a re a .
2.
The pe a s a n t move me n t a t tha t t ime s e eme d t o b e s ub o r d ina te t o
mi l i t a r y mob i l i z a t i on .
One o f t h e o f f i c i a l news p a pe r s s a id ,
E xpe r i e nc e o f the la s t f ive mon ths i l l us t r a te s t h a t a re a s whe re
l a n d re f o rm is s uc c e s s fu l l y p e r forme d a re a re a s whe re the ma s s e s
a re wi l l i ng t o e ng a g e i n the wa r . 5 9
3.
The re nt- re duc t i on p o l i c y i t s e l f wa s re g a rde d a s a temp o r a r y
p o l i t i c a l ma ne uve r .
I n s t r uc t i ons i s s ue d on Ma y 2 8 , 1 94 6 , b y the P o l i t ic a l
Bure a u o f C e n t r a l China s a i d ,
58
wa n Ah- kong , The C ommun i s t Pa r ty a nd the Pe a s a n t Prob lems , 2£ ·
cit . , p . 8 1 .
59
I b i d . , p . 85 .
66
. . . t h e o n l y wa y to e a rn the s uppor t o f the pe a s a n t s i s t o
s a t i s y t hem .
The l a nd re form prog ram , a l th o ugh i t re semb le s
re n t - re d uc t ion , i s s ub s t a n t i a l l y d i f fe re n t f r om t ra d i t i ona l re n t ­
re duc t i on .
I t i s , a n a dvanced t ype o f re n t - re d u c t i o n .
The l a nd
re f o rm moveme n t should n o t b e c ome s t uc k a t the s t a ge o f t ra d i t i ona l
re n t - re d uc t i on .
I t mus t be pushed f o rward un t i l fe uda l e xp l o i ta ­
On ly i n this way c a n '"e f undame n t a l l y cha nge
t i on i s a b o l i s he d .
l a nd re la t i o ns . 60
J wh i le th e Commun i s t s we re ma k i ng the i r land e xpe rime n t s in the
c o un t ryside , a N a t i ona l i s t land re f orm prog ram wa s a l s o b e i ng deve l ope d .
I n 1 9 3 2 , s ome N a t i ona l i s t l a nd e xpe r t s c a l le d a me e t ing on l a nd prob lems
in Nanking C i t y .
a rr ived a t .
d o c t r ine s .
A f te r a th re e - month d i s c u s s i on , c e r t a i n p r i n c i p le s we re
Mo s t o f th o s e p r i nc i p le s 've re b a s e d on Dr . Sun Ya t- se n ' s
In a d d i t i on , the y org a n i z e d a n a s s oc ia t i on f o r the s t ud y o f
l a nd prob lems .
The ne xt ye a r , the f i r s t a s s e mb l y o f the a s s oc i a t i on wa s
he ld in Nanking C i t y ; on ly 2 6 pe r s ons we re p re s e n t .
membe r s h ip , h oweve r , e x t e nded to 5 0 0 in 1 9 3 7 .
advoc a te d a numb e r o f p r o p o s a l s .
61
The a s s oc i a t i on ' s
During the s e ye a r s , i t
Un f o r t una te ly , i t s work s t opped a t
the s t age o f i n te l le c t ua l d i s c u s s i o n .
I t s propos a ls have s c arce l y b e e n
n o t i ce d .
I n c o n t ra s t t o the C ommuni s t land p o l i c y , the Na t i ona l i s t program ,
ma i n l y de s ig ne d b y Dr . S un Ya t- s e n , was much more mode ra te in c h a ra c te r .
I t wa s c e n te re d a r ound a re n t - re d uc t i on s ys tem .
wa s c a rr i e d o u t in Che k i a ng Prov ince .
60
61
The f i r s t re n t - re duc t i on
In the wake o f the Che k i a ng
I b id . , p . 7 9 .
Pan Lia ng - fe ng , "Land Re f o rm , " C o l le c te d H i s t o r i c a 1 E s s ays f o r
the F i f t ie th Annive r s a ry o f the E s ta b l i s hme nt o f the Repub l ic o f China
(Ta i pe i : The Wa r C o l le g e , 1 9 62 ) , pp . 1 1 3- 24 .
67
re f o rm , o the r p rov i nce s , s uc h a s Kwa ng t ung , Ki a ng s u , Huna n , and Hupe h ,
a l s o t r i e d t o r e d uc e land re n t .
t h e land l o rd s .
62
Howeve r , th i s moveme n t wa s de fea te d b y
I n 1 940 the Hupeh P r ovinc i a l Gove rnme n t put a 2 0
pe rce nt re n t - re d uc t i on i n t o p ra c t i c e .
Th i s re f o rm c a me to a n e nd whe n
the g ove rnor le f t h i s po s t .
More r a d i c a l e xpe r ime n t s we re ma de i n Lung - Ye n o f F uch i e n a nd
Peh - Pa y o f S s uchuan , whe re the g overnme n t on a c omp u l s ory b a s i s purc ha s e d a l l the le a s e d l a nd a nd s o ld it t o the e x- l e a s e e s .
s p e a k i ng , the p rogram wa s s uc c e s s f u l .
Ge ne ra l ly
B u t the Na t i ona l i s t G ove rnme n t
h a d no c ha nc e t o e x tend t h e p rog ram t o o the r a re a s .
A 3 1 pe rc e n t rent-
reduc t i on wa s a l s o c a rr i e d out in S outhe a s t China in 1 94 9 .
Howe ve r , the
re s u l t s a re n o t ava i l ab le s ince the Commun i s t s t oo k ove r the wh o le
Ch i ne s e ma i n l a nd tha t ye a r .
I n 1 94 9 , the Na t i ona l i s t s ree s t ab l i s he d thems e lve s i n Ta iwa n .
The p a r t y s t r uc t ure wa s thorough l y re forme d .
The y f i rm l y be l ieved tha t
the Na t iona l i s t f a i lure o n the Chinese ma i n l a nd wa s n o t the fa i lure o f
Dr . S un Ya t - s e n ' s d oc t r i ne s thems e lve s .
The Kuomi n t a ng f a i le d s imp l y
b e c a us e D r . S un ' s d o c t r i ne s h a d neve r b e e n c a r r ie d out on the ma i n l a nd .
A land re f orm p la n wa s , the re f o re , de l i b e r a te l y de s igne d a nd c a rr ie d o u t
unde r t h e a u s p ic e s o f G ove rnor Che n Che ng a n d h i s a s s oc i a te s .
a l l , the y p u t a 3 7 . 5 p e rc e n t re nt- re d uc t i on i n t o p ra c t i c e .
Firs t o f
The n , i n the
ne x t s t a ge s , the y s o ld the p ub l i c l a nd to the fa rme rs a n d on a c omp u l s o ry
b a s i s purc h a s e d the le a se d la nd of land lords wi th a p p r o p r i a te c ompe ns a t i on .
62
Ibid . , p .
124 .
68
An a rr a ngeme n t wa s a l s o ma de for t urn ing l a nd l or d s i n to i ndus t r i a l
63
.
� nve s t o r s .
F rom 1 9 1 1 t o 1 94 9 , China wi tne s s e d ma ny p o l i t i c a l v i s s i c i t ude s .
Ma ny doc t r i ne s we re i n t roduced i n t o China , from D r . S un ' s mode r a te
democ ra t i c re f o rm t o Kong Yu- we i ' s c ons t i t ut i ona l mona rch y , f r om Li
T a - ch i o ' s Ma rx i s m to Ma o Ts e - t ung ' s c o untry re be l l i on , f r om Ts i e n S ung po ' s mi l i t a r i sm t o Ho Shih ' s l ibe ra l i s m .
s up p o r t e r s i n Ch ina ,
cha rac te r .
A l l o f them h a d the i r own
To China , thi s pe r i od was i nde e d e xp e r ime n t a l i n
To the Ch i ne s e pe a s a n t r y , i t wa s a pe r i od o f f ig h t ing
be twe e n t r a d i t i ona l and imp o r t e d do c t r i ne s , be twe e n s c i e nce a nd s upe rs t i t u t i o n , b e twe e n p r o s pe r i t y and pove r t y .
63
Chen Che ng , ££ · c i t . , pp . 1 9- 9 3 .
CHAPTE R I I I
LAND REF O P�l IN C OMMUNIST CHINA ( 1 949- 1 9 5 3 )
A f te r t a ki ng ove r the Ch i ne se ma i n l a nd , the Ch i ne s e C ommun i s t s
d i s c ove red tha t th r e e pr i nc ip a l prob lems had t o b e s o lve d .
F i r s t , the y
had t o re b u i ld the p o l i t i c a l , s oc i a l a nd e c onomic a pp a ra t us e s o f the
wh o le c o un t r y .
Re b ui ld i ng the s e a p pa ra t use s wa s n o t o n l y a n a dmin i s ­
t r a t ive prob lem , b u t a ls o a p rob lem o f na t i ona l s o l i da r i ty .
In s uch a
h ugh te rr i t ory , i t wou ld not be e a s y t o g i ve mi l l i ons o f p e o p le a s i ng le
o u t l o ok , nor wo uld i t b e e a s y t o wi pe out the p o te n t i a l i n f l ue nce o f
the Kuom i n t a ng f r om Ch i ne s e mind s .
Se c ond ly , a f te r the S ino- Ja pane s e
and the c iv i l wa r s , t h e e c onomy a lmos t c o l l a p s e d .
A g r i c u l t u ra l and
i nd us t r i a l p r oduc t i ons de te r i o ra t e d t o a c r i t i c a l p o i n t .
h a d t o g e t a g ri c u l t ure a nd i nd us try b a c k t o norma l .
The C ommun i s t s
Th i r d , the y had t o
pave the way f o r f u t ure i nd us t r i a l i z a t i on .
I n 1 94 9 , t he C ommun i s t s de c i de d t o c omp le te a nd re f orm wi thin a
pe r i od o f th re e ye a r s .
A s e rie s o f l aws , re g u l a t i ons , and de c i s i ons
we re th us p romu l g a te d i n the s umme r o f 1 95 0 .
An a na lys i s o f the s e doc u­
me n t s wi l l he lp us to unde r s t a nd how the C ommuni s t s t r i e d to s o lve the
thre e p r i nc i p a l p rob lems invo lve d in agra r i a n re form .
Ar t i c le 1 o f the Ag r a r i a n Re form Law p r omu lg a te d i n 1 9 5 0 dec lared
tha t two ge ne r a l p r i nc i p le s sh o u ld be used t o d i re c t a g r a r i a n re f orm :
( 1 ) the l a nd owne r s h i p s ys tem o f fe uda l e xp l o i ta t i on b y the l a nd l ord
c la s s s h o u ld b e a b o l i s he d ; a nd ( 2 ) the s ys tem of pe a s a n t l a nd owne r s h i p
69
70
s h o u l d b e i n t rod uc e d i n o rde r to se t free rura l produc t ive force s , to
deve l op ag r i c u l t ura l produc t i on and , thus , t o pave the wa y for C h i n a ' s
i ndus t r i a l i z a t i o n .
1
The purpos e o f th i s s t age of land re form se e me d t o be d i f fe re nt
from tha t o f p re v i ous s t a ge s .
E c o nomi c c ons i de ra t i ons p la ye d a ve r y
imp o r t a n t r o le i n the 1 9 5 0 re form .
Th i s c a n b e i l lus tra te d b y a re p o r t
ma de b y N a n Ha n- che ng , a h i gh o f f i c i a l o f C ommun i s t China , i n 1 9 5 1 .
I n the la s t de c a de , we de fe a te d the J a p a ne s e impe r i a l i sms a nd
U . S . s uppor te d C h i a ng Ka i - shek s imp l y be c a us e we h a d the s up p o r t
o f the pe a s a n t s in the c o un t rys ide . Our mi l i t a r y f orc e s c ons i s te d
ma i n l y o f a rmed f a rme r s . . . . Now our na t i o n ha s ma de the t r a ns i ­
t i on from a s ta te o f wa r to a s t a te o f pe a c e .
Na t i ona l c o ns t r uc t i on
r e q ui re s us , f i r s t o f a l l , to re s t ore a nd deve lop our a g r i c u l t ure
be c a us e a re s t o re d a nd deve loped a g r i c u l t ure wi l l s upp l y us wi th
raw ma t e r i a l s a nd food , wh ich a re de s pe r a te l y ne e de d i n our i ndus t­
r ia l deve l opme n t . . , . Ind us t r i a l i z a t i on is our b a s ic a im . A n
e c onomic f o und a t i on b u i l t through i nd us tr i a l i z a t i on i s nee d e d f o r
our t r a n s f orma t i on from a New Democ ra t ic S oc ie t y i n t o a S oc i a l i s t
s oc i e t y .
On ly i n d us t r i a l i z a t i o n c a n he lp us t o b u i l d a S oc i a l i s t
ag r i c u l t ure wh ich i s b a s e d upon a s ys tem o f c o l le c t iv i z e d fa rms . 2
The a b ove re p o r t c le a r ly shows us the f o rmula t o be emp l o ye d for
na t i ona l c ons t r uc t i on (in the 1 9 5 0 ' s ) .
1 9 5 0 l a nd re form :
Mos t no tab le is t he a im of the
t o p ave the way for a s oc i a l i s t a g r i c u l t ure b a s e d
upon a s ys tem o f c o l le c t iv i z e d fa rms .
A s wi th o the r l a nd re f o rms c a r r i e d out i n pre v i ous de c a de s , the
land re f orm p r og ram of 1 9 5 0 wa s b a s e d up on a rura l c l a s s s t r ugg le .
In
1
The G ove rnme n t Admi n i s tra t i on C ounc i l , The Agra r i a n Re f o rm Law
of the Pe ople ' s Repub l i c o f Ch ina a nd O the r Re leva nt D o c ume n ts (Pe king :
F o re i g n La nguage P re s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 1 .
2
N a n Han- che ng , "The S i g ni f i c a nc e o f the F i na nc i a l Work i n the
C oun t r ys i de and the Wa y of our Ende avors , " C o l le c te d La-.;vs a nd De c re e s
C onc e rn i ng the F i n a nc i a l and Ec onomic A f fa i rs , III (Pe k i ng : The Gove rn­
me n t Admi n i s tra t i on C o unc i l , 1 9 5 2 ) , 9 3 .
71
Augus t , 1 9 5 0 , t he G overnme n t Adm i ni s tra t i o n C o unc i l a nnoun c e d ce r t a i n
s t a nd a r d s wh ich we re s up p o s e d t o b e emp loye d a s c r i te r i a
c la s s l i ne s i n the c oun trys ide .
for
d r awing
The new s t a nd a rd s c o nta i ne d s ta nd a r d s
e s t a b l i s he d i n the Ki a ng s i pe r i od with s upp leme n t a ry s t a nd a r d s a d o p te d
b y the Gove rnme n t Admi n i s t ra t i on C o unc i l i n 1 9 5 0 .
A land lord , a c c ording t o the se de c i s i ons , s h o u l d be
a pe rs on
"wh o owns l a nd , b ut d o e s n o t e ng a ge in l a b or or o n l y e ng a g e s in s upp le me n t a ry l a b o r , and \vho de pe n d s o n e xp l oi ta t ion for h i s me a n s o f l ive l i h o od . "
3
Th i s de f i n i t i on wa s g ive n in the Ki a ng s i pe r i od .
I n 1 9 5 0 , the
C ommun i s t G ove rnme n t t h o ug h t it wa s nece s s a r y to add those wh o re n t l a nd
f r om l a nd l o r d s a nd s ub le t the l a nd t o othe rs t o the l a nd l ord c a t e g or y .
The re v o l u t i ona ry a rmy men , de pe nde n t s o f ma r t yrs , pe d l a r s a nd othe rs ,
a l th ough re n t i ng o u t p o r t i ons o f the i r l a nd , we re e xemp t from be i ng
c l a s s i f ie d a s l a nd lor d s .
4
S i nc e "e xp l o i t a t i o n " \va s one o f the ma i n c r i te r i a for c l a s s i fying
the l a nd lords , i t was ne c e s s a r y t o g i ve the te rm "e xp l o i ta t i on " a
p re c i se de f i ni t i on .
"E xp l oi ta t ion b y the l a nd l ord , " s a i d the s ame
de c i s i o n ,
i s chie f l y i n the f orm o f la nd re n t , p l us mone y lending ,
h i r i ng o f l a b o r , or the s imu l ta ne o us c a rryi ng on o f i nd u s t r i a l or
B u t t he ma j o r form o f e xp l o i t a t i o n o f
c omme rc i a l e n t e rp r i se s .
the pe a s a n t s b y the l a nd lords i s the e xa c t ing o f land re n t f rom
the pe a s a n t s . 5
3
The Gove rnme n t Admi n i s tra t i on C o unc i l , The Agr a r i a n Re form Law
a nd O t he r Re lev a n t D o c ume nt s , pp . 1 8 - 1 9 .
4
5
rbid . , pp .
rbid . , p .
1 9- 2 0 .
18 .
72
Ano the r c r i t e r i o n a d op te d t o c la s s i fy t he land lord c once rne d
whe the r he e ng a ge d in l a b or or n o t a nd i f he d i d , h ow l ong eve ry ye a r .
Acc ord i ng t o the De c i s ion C o nce rning S ome P r ob lems A r i s ing from Agr a r i a n
Re f o rm ,
"a fami ly is c on s i de re d a s be i ng e ng a g e d i n l a b o r , i f one memb e r
o f the fami ly i s e ng a g e d in e s s e nt ia 1 labor for one - t h i r d o f a ye a r . "
6
The b a s i c p r i nc i p le for d e f e re n t i a t i ng the l a nd l ord f r om the
r ich pe a s a n t wa s tha t the forme r did not e ngage in la bor , wh i le the
la t t e r d i d .
7
The rich p e a s a n t wa s e xemp t f rom l a nd c on f i s c a t ion in the
land re form of 1 9 5 0 , b e c a use the Commun i s t s th o ug h t th e rich pe a s a n t
s h ou ld b e pre s e rve d a s a me ans o f i nc re a s i ng a g r i c u l t ura l p r o duc t i on .
In J une , 1 9 5 0 , Le i u Sha o - c h i made a re p o r t t o the s e c ond s e s s i on o f the
Na t i ona l C omm i t tee of the Ch i ne s e Pe op le ' s P o l i t i c a l C ons u l ta tive C onfe rence e l uc ida t i ng t he p o l i c y of pre s e rv i ng the r i ch pe a s a n t .
In i t ,
he s a i d ,
Why now d o we a dv oc a te t he p re s e rva t i on o f the r i ch pe a s a n t
e c on omy i n t h e c oming a g r a r i a n re form ? I t i s ma i n ly be c a u s e the
p re s e n t p o l i t i c a l a nd mi l i t a ry s i t ua t i on i s b a s ic a l l y d i f fe re n t .
I n the pa s t to s t r ive for v i c t o ry in the wa r wa s in the g re a te s t
i n te re s t o f the C h i ne s e pe op le a nd eve ryth ing h a d t o b e s ub ord i na t e d
t o th i s ne e d . , , . We a l l owe d the pe a s a n t s t o re q ui s i t i on the
s urp lus l a nd a nd prope r t y of the rich pe a s a n t s , . . s o as to
s a t i s f y t o a g re a te r e xt e n t the dema nd s o f the impove r i s he d pe a s a n t s .
The p re s e nt s i t ua t ion i s a l re a d y e s s e n t i a l l y d i f fe re n t f rom tha t
o f the p a s t .
The pre s e n t b a s i c t a s k f or the pe op le throughout
the c o un try is t o unde r t a ke e c onomic c ons t r uc t ion on a na t i on-wide
s c a le . 8
6
7
8
Ibid . , p . 24 .
I b i d . , pp . 2 0 - 2 1 .
Li u Sha o- c h i , " Re p o r t on the Q ue s t i on o f g r a r i a n Re form , 1 1 The
Agr a r i a n Re form Law a n d O t he r Re leve n t Docume n t s , .2E · c i t . , pp . 7 1- 7 3 .
73
The pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i o ns we re s e t up t o re p l a c e the l a nd lordgentry c la s s as the r u l ing appa ra tus in the c o un trys i de ,
a s s oc i a t i on wa s a five - leve l orga n .
A pe a s a n t s '
The o rg a n i z a t i on o f the a s s oc i a t i on
wa s b a s e d on the H s i a ng a s s oc i a t ion ,
The o th e r four leve l s we re chu ,
c ounty , spe c ia l admini s t r a t ive region , and prov i nc e .
9
Poor a nd midd le c la s s pe a s a n t s we re e nc o ura g e d t o j o i n the
a s s oc i a t i on ,
The rev o l u t i o na ry i n te l le c tua l s who had be e n rega rde d b y
Le nin a s the te a ch e r s o f pe a s a n t c l a s s c ons c i o us ne s s , c ou l d a l s o b e c ome
memb e r s .
The i r memb e r s h i p '"a s s ub j e c t t o t he c o nse n t o f the c ommi t te e o f
th e 1 oca 1 pe a s a n t s
1
•
•
a s s oc � a t � on .
n o t c l o s e th e i r d o or s .
10
To rich f a rme r s , the a s s oc i a t i on s d i d
Ri ch f a rme rs c ou ld b e c ome memb e r s o n l y a f te r the
l a nd re f o rm , a nd , j u s t l i ke the revo l u t i on a r y f unc t i onar i e s , the i r
me mb e r s h i p wa s s ub j e c t t o the "approva l o f a Hs i a ng pe a s a n t ma s s me e t i ng
o r a Hs i a ng pe a s a n t c o ng re s s . "
11
The na t i onwi de la nd re f o rm s ta r t e d i n J u l y 1 9 5 0 .
l a nd re f orm c a n be r ough ly d iv ide d i n t o thre e s ta ge s .
te ams f o r l a nd re f orm we re org a n i ze d .
The proce s s o f
F i r s t , t h e wor k i ng
The s e te ams we re ma de up o f
i n te l le c tua l s wh o we re s e n t t o deve lop the c la s s s t rug g le i n the c o un tr ys i de .
The i r work i nc l ude d loca l s urve y , deve l opme n t o f C ommun i s t ce l l s ,
de b a te with land l o rd s a nd org a ni z a t i on o f a nt i - l a nd l o rd ma s s me e t ing s .
The y we re n o t ne c e s s a r i l y C ommun i s t s .
S ome o f them we re t e a c he r s and
s t ude n t s .
9
The Gove rnme n t Admini s t ra t i on C o unc i l , The Agr a r i a n Re f o rm Law ,
p. 53.
10
.
Ib�d . ' p . 5 2 .
74
Whe n the te ams a r r ived a t the v i l l a ge s , they ch o se one d i s tr i c t
f o r e xpe r ime n t .
The e xpe r i e nce s ob t a i ne d in the e xp e r i me n t we re a d op te d
a s the g ui d i ng p r inc i p le s f o r l a nd re f o rm i n tha t a re a .
At
t he same
t ime , the y t r i e d t o s t i r up h a t re d be twe e n c la s s e s b y d i s c l o s ing the
m i s b e h a v i o r o f the l a nd l o r d - g e n try c la s s .
Whe n the a tmo s phe re o f
ha t re d was c re a te d , th e y la unche d a n a n t i - l a nd l ord moveme n t i n wh ich the
p o o r pe a s a nt s we re e nc o urage d to a s k f o r re n t - reduc t i on a nd a p u rge o f
the l a nd l ord c la s s .
I n the a nt i - l a nd l ord moveme n t , a c t ive poor a nd m i dd le - c l a s s
pea s a n t s we re s e l e c ted t o org a n i z e the pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i ons th r ough
wh i ch the l oc a l p o l i t i c a l a p p a r a t us wa s b a s i c a l l y a l te re d .
The l a s t work
of the f i r s t s t age was land s urve y which would p r ov i de the ne c e s s a r y
i n f o rma t i on s f o r the next s t age - - l a nd re d i s t r i b u t i on .
The p r i nc i pa l work o f the se c ond s t age wa s the d i f fe re n t i a t i on o f
c l a s s s t a t us .
Be c a u s e o f the d i f fi c u l t y o f t h i s work , the c ommun i s t s
a d o p t e d a q u i te c omp le x p ro c e d ure .
F i r s t , the y s e t up c ommi s s i ons o f
l a nd re f o rm wh i c h c ons i s te d o f b o th the working te ams a n d the pe a s a n t s '
a s s oc i a t i on s .
pe a s a n t ry .
The f unc t i on o f t he c ommi s s i ons wa s t o c la s s i fy the
The re s u l t o f the c l a s s i f ic a t i on wa s s ub j e c t to the c onse n t
o f the pe a s a n t a s s emb l y .
I f the a s semb l y a g re e d wi th the re s u l t o f the
c la s s i f i c a t i on , i t made th e f i r s t de c la r a t i on o f s oc i a l s ta tus .
The
g ove rnme n t , a f te r the f i r s t dec l a r a t i on , le g a l i ze d t he c l a s s i f ic a t i on by
ma k i ng a s e c ond de c l a ra t i o n .
The l a nd lord s , a l th o ugh the y had no right
t o d o a nything d ur i ng the p roce d ure , we re a l l owe d to appe a l to the c o ur t s
i f the y t h o ught the c la s s i fi c a t i on wa s un f a i r .
IS
I n orde r t o mi tiga te re s i s t a nc e i n the c o un trys i de , the dec i s i on
ma ke r s o f t he Commun i s t P a r t y orde red the i r fo l lowe rs t o a t t a c k o n l y
3 t o 4 pe rce n t o f the r ura l popula t i o n .
A n inve s t i g a t i o n i n S h a ng s i
P rov ince s hows tha t a t le a s t 1 0 pe rc e nt o f the pe a s a n t r y wa s a t t a c ke d .
12
Thi s wa s re g a rde d a s a ma j or e r r o r b y the C ommun i s t Pa r t y .
The e nd o f the c la s s i f i c a t i on ma rked the b e g i nn i ng o f l a nd
re d i s t r i b ut i o n .
thi s p e r i od .
land .
The pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i o n s p la ye d a ve r y a c t i ve r o le i n
A l l the p op u l a t i o n wa s mob i l i z e d t o me a s ure , a n d ma rk the
The i n t e l le c t ua l s fr an c i t i e s s e rved a s a dv i s or s to the poor
pe a s a n t s whe n the y we re s t r ugg l i ng \vi th l a nd l ord s .
The memb e r s o f t he
pe a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i on s \ve re a rme d in orde r to c oe rc e the l a nd l o rd s .
A
l and re f orm age n t , a pro fes s or o f Pe king Unive r s i ty , s a i d :
Our d i re c t o r wa nte d us t o s t a nd g uard a r o und the pe a s a n t ma s s
me e t i ng .
O ur work wa s t o he lp the p o or pe a s a n t s t o de b a te wi th
t o ugh land l o rd s . .
Our d e p a r tme n t had thre e r i f l e s wh i c h we re
u s e d to c oe rc e the l a nd lords to j o i n the ma s s me e t i ng a nd to g uard
the me e t i ng . . . . Whe n the d a y c ame t o c on f i s c a te th � land l o rd s '
a g r i c u l t ura l i n s t rume nt s , the a rme d c ommun i s t age nt s we n t t o the
land lord s ' h o u se s , t a k i ng awa y a l l of the i r ag r i c u l t ura l i n s t r u­
me n t s
. ;· S i nce · re s i s t a nce o f the l a nd l o r d s was imp os s i b le , the
r i f le s on l y s e rve d a s a s ymb o l ra the r than an i n s t r ume n t o f
v i o le nc e .
The fac t tha t the C ommun i s t Pa r t y a rme d the fa rme rs
was a b a s i c e l eme n t o f the Ch i ne s e Rev o l u t i on . 1 3
.
.
Dur i ng thi s s tage the land lords los t a l l the i r l a n d , d r a ught
a n ima l s , f a rm imp leme n t s , and s urp lus g ra i n , a n d e x t ra h ou s e s i n the
12
Wa n Ah- kong , Th ree Ye a r s unde r the Ru le o f the C ommuni s t P a r ty
(Hong Kong : Ta - Ta o P re s s , 1 9 5 4 ) , p . 8 2 .
13
I b �. d . , p . 8 5 ,
76
14
.
c o un t rys � d e .
Howeve r , the i r i ndus t r i a l and c omme rc ia l e n te rpr i s e s
15
.
we re e xemp t f r om con f � s c a t � on .
.
I n Ch ina a la rge p rop o rt i on o f th e r ura l l a nd be l onge d to
a nce s tra l s h r ine s , temp le s , mona s te r ie s , c h urche s , a nd s ch o o l s , b e c a u se
the c on t r i b u t o r s re g a rde d land o f fe r i ng s as the be s t way of s uppo r t i ng
those o rg a n i z a ti on s .
Th i s kind o f l a nd , the Agra r i a n Re f orm Law de c la re d ,
wou ld be re q ui s i t i o ne d wi th a ppro p r i a te c ompe ns a t i on , i f the l oc a l
.
g ove rnme n t t h o ug h t i t wa s ne c e s s a ry to r e p 1 a c e 1 o s t �nc ome .
16
Unde r t he po l i c y a ime d a t pre s e rving the r i ch pe a s a n t e c onomy ,
l a nd be long i ng t o r i c h f a rme rs wa s p rote c te d f rom c on f i s c a t i on on the
c ond i t i o n tha t the p o r t i on o f l a nd rented out b y them d i d n o t e xc e e d i n
s i ze th e l a nd t i l le d by themse lve s a nd b y the i r h i re d l a b o r .
17
The land re f orm wa s s up p o s e d t o be f i n i s h e d wi th i n three ye a r s .
In the f i r s t ye a r , i t c o nc e n tra te d on the imp o r t a nt a g r i c u l t ura l a re a s ,
ma i n ly i n the c oa s t a l p r ov i nce s a nd the s ou the rn p a r t of C h i na .
1 2 8 mi l l i o n r ura l C h i ne s e we re invo lve d i n th i s re form .
18
Ab o ut
In the s e c ond
ye a r , the northern a nd we s te rn p a r t s of China we re d e a l t wi th .
By J u l y ,
1 9 5 2 , on l y a few p o r t ions o f S i nki a ng , Ka ng s u , a n d C h i ng h a i P r ov i nc e s
had n o t ye t imp leme n te d the re form .
14
p.
Acc ording t o a re p or t made b y a
The Governme n t Admin i s tra t i on C ounc i l , The Agr a r i a n Re f o rm Law ,
1.
15
.
I b �d . , p . 2 .
17
Ib i d . , p . 3 .
18
.
C h � n-po D a i ly News (Tie n t s i n) , June 2 9 , 1 9 5 1 .
16
Ib id . , pp .
1-2 .
77
h igh C ommun i s t o f f i c i a l , b y the midd le o f the ye a r 1 9 5 2 , the l a nd
re f o rm wa s g e ne ra l ly f i n i she d .
inhab i t a n t s wa s l e f t .
19
On ly an a re a \.J i th 3 0 mi l l i on r ura l
The t o ta l rura l p o p u l a t i on i nv o lve d in la nd
re form had i nc re a s e d to 2 90 mi l l i ons .
20
Be fore the s p r i ng c u l tiva t i on
o f 1 9 5 3 , l a nd re f o rm had b e e n imp leme n te d thr oughout the wh o le c ou � t ry ,
e xc e p t i n s ome a r e a s whe re minori ty pe op le s l ive d s uc h a s S i nk i a ng a nd
Tibe t .
A b o ut 7 0 0 mi l l i on mou o f rura l l a nd we re re d i s t r i b u te d ; 3 0 0
mi l l i on pe a s a nt s ob t a i ne d the i r share s o f land .
21
The l a nd re f o rm wa s
f i n i s h e d a lmo s t one ye a r e a r l i e r tha n o r ig ina l l y p la nne d .
I t was
obv i o us l y t he Ko re a n Wa r tha t c a u s e d the r us h .
B e c a us e o f the d i f fe re n t ra te s o f l a nd c o nc e n t r a t i o n in va r i o us
a re a s , the fa rms pe a s a n t s ob t a ine d v a r i e d in s i ze .
F or e xamp le , a
pe a s a n t liv ing i n the n o r the rn b a s i n o f the We i Rive r c ou ld ob t a i n f o ur
mou o f l a nd , wh i le a p e r s on l iv i ng i n the s o uth e rn b a s i n o f the s a me
r ive r was a l l o te d o n l y 1 . 5 - - 2 mo u o f l a nd .
22
F a rme r s l iving in the
s ub urb s of l a rge c i t i e s s uch as Na nki ng on ly ob t a i ne d 0 . 7 mou for e a ch
pe r s on .
23
19
Je n- Mi n J ih - P a o (Pe op le ' s D a i l y News ) , J u l y 4 , 1 9 5 2 .
20
Li a o Lu- ye n , "Gre a t V i c t o ry o f the La nd Re f o rm i n Th ree Ye a r s , "
(Pe k i ng : Pe op le ' s Pre s s ,
C h i ne s e E c o nomic A c h i e veme n t s i n Three Ye a r s
1 953) ' p . 1 1 1
.
21
22
23
The Pe ople ' s Da i ly News ,
Ma rc h 14 , 1 9 5 1 .
.
Chin P o Da i ly Ne ws , J une 2 9 , 1 9 5 1 .
Wan Ah - k ong , Th re e Ye a r s Unde r the Ru le o f the C ommun i s t Pa rty ,
£.12. · c i t . ' p . 8 8 .
78
Whe n the l a nd re d i s t r i b u t i on >va s c omp le te d , the >vh o le c ountrys ide
was push e d i n t o the t h i rd s tage , a s t age of e d uc a t i on and s o l i d a ri ty .
E d uca t i o n a n d s o l i d a r i t y we re nec e s s a ry b e c a us e :
1.
The C ommun i s t c a d re s i l le g a l l y g o t more and be t t e r land ,
2.
The pe a s a n t ry , a f te r the re form , t urne d f r om mi l i t a nc y t o
mode r a t i on ,
3,
La nd re d i s t r i b u t i on d i vided the r ura l land i n t o nume r o us
sma l l uni t s ,
4.
S uch a d i v i s i on de e p l y h a rme d a g r i c u l t ura l p r o d uc t i on ,
The pe a s a n t r y ign ore d a g r i c u l t ura l c o l le c t iv i z a t i on .
The l a nd re f o rm o f th i s pe r i od wa s de roga ted b y h uman we a kne s s e s
l i ke s e l f i s hne s s a n d ignorance ,
S i nce a l o t o f C ommun i s t c a d re s i l le g a l ly
ob t a i ne d mo re a n d be t t e r l and , s ome Commun i s t ra d i c a ls a dv oc a te d a new
move me n t to p urge t he ne wly- a r i s e n " la nd l ords .
11
Po Yi - p o , a C ommun i s t
o f f i c i a l in ch a rg e o f e c o nomic a f f a i r s once t o l d h i s f o l l owe r s h ow t o
hand le the s e k i nds o f c a s e s .
24
F i r s t , h e r e c og n i z e d the f a c t tha t the re
we re s ome l oc a l c a d r e s wh o oc c up i e d be t te r a nd more a g r i c u l t u ra l la nd .
S uc h an us urpa t i on , he i nd i c a te d , de e p l y i n f lue nc e d t he l ive l ihood o f the
p o or pe a s a n t s .
H oweve r , Po Yi- p o we n t on t o s a y tha t th o s e c a d re s s e rve d
a s a l i nk b e twe e n the p a r t y a nd the ma s s .
n o t g overn the ma s s ,
Wi th o u t th em th e p a r t y c ou ld
The i r misbehavior wa s i ne v i t a b le s i nce t ra d i t i ona l
th o ugh t a nd the fami ly b urde ns s t i l l d omina t e d the i r m i nd s .
The pa r t y ,
the re fore , had t o f a c t t h i s fa c t a nd s o lve the prob lem b y s ome a pp r op r i a te
24
rb · . , pp . 8 9 8 9 .
�
-
79
me thod .
The a p p r op r i a te me thod , Po c o ne l ude d , was n o t a p urge of the
new l y- a r i s e n l a nd l o rd s .
I t wa s ide o l ogic a l e d uc a t i on by wh i c h the
dev i a t ion c o u ld be c o rrec ted .
The fa rme r s , a s P r o fe s s or Hugh S e ton-Wa t s on p o i n te d o u t , a re more
i nd i v i d ua l i s t i c a nd more c ons c i o us of tra d i t i ons tha n the w o rke r . 2 5
A f t e r a c ce p t i ng the i r sha re s o f rura l l a nd , the Ch ine s e pe a s a n t s ra p i d ly
t urne d f r om mi l i t a nc y mode ra t i on .
The y ignored fut ure a g r i c u l tura l
c o l le c t iv i z a t i on on the one hand , a nd fe l l in love wi th me a n i ng le s s
t i t le de e d s o n the o the r .
i n the i r v i l la ge s .
C ommun i s t b l ue p r i n t .
The y wa nted t o re s t a nd t o l ive p e a ce f u l l y
S uch a n a t t i t ude wa s obv i ous ly inc ons i s te n t with the
S oc i a l i s t c ons t r uc t io n , a c c o rd ing t o the C ommun i s t ,
dema nde d a n ac t ive pe a s a n t r y to s up p ly wh a t the c o un t r y ne e d e d f o r indus t r i a l i z a t i on .
A s e a r l y a s S e ptembe r , 1 95 1 , the C ommun i s t s d i s c ove r e d tha t i t
wa s e x t reme l y ne c e s s a r y t o f i gh t a g a i ns t the we a kne s s e s o f th e p e a s a n t r y .
F o r the p urpose o f e d uc a t i on , eve ry a r e a b e g a n t o s e le c t i n d iv i d ua ls wh o
c ou ld b e t r a n s f o rme d i n t o s ymb o l s o f wrong d o ing .
F o r e xamp le , Hona n
Province c h o s e La y Yu a nd la unc hed a moveme n t a g a i n s t La y Yu ' s though t .
La y Yu wa s a p o o r pe a s a n t a nd had b e e n a te na n t f o r twe n t y ye a r s
be f o re 1 94 9 .
Dur i ng the l a nd re f o rm , h e wa s e le c te d a s the cha i rma n o f
the v i l l age pe a s a nt s ' a s s oc i a t i on a nd j o i ne d the C ommun i s t P a r t y i n
2 5 H ugh S e t o n-Wa t s o n , Ne �. ther War nor Pe a c e
F re d e r i c k A . P r a e ge r , 1 9 6 2 ) , p . 1 0 3 .
(Ne w Yo rk a n d London :
80
J une , 1 9 5 1 .
He wa s a l l o t te d f i ve mou o f l a nd a nd a h o use ,
A f te r the
a l l o tme n t , he g r a d ua l l y a l tered h i s a t ti t ude towa rd the C ommun i s t c a us e
26
a nd d e s �. re d t o re s �g
. n f r om h �. s pos t .
Ki a ng s i P r ov i nce cho s e Wa ng Shui- s he ng , wh o wa s a poor pe a s a n t a nd
Land re f o rm b r o ugh t h im
had fough t for the C ommun i s t c a use be fore 1 94 9 .
twe n t y mou o f la nd a nd a b u f f a l o .
He wa s a p p o i n t e d a c ommun i s t c a dre ,
d i re c t o r of h i s v i l lage , mode l labore r , and s e c re t a r y o f a un i t o f the
Commun i s t Youth Le a g ue .
In 1 9 5 0 , he ma rrie d a widow .
on , he g r a dua l l y c h a ng e d h i s a t t i t ude t oward C ommun i sm .
F r om th a t t ime
Whe n he wa s
ki c ke d o u t o f the Pa r t y a nd the Youth Le ague , he p r o ud l y de c l a re d ,
"I c a n e a rn 45 c h i n ( un i t o f we igh t ) o f rice e ve ry d a y b y push ing a wag on .
Working for thre e da y � , I c a n e a rn more mone y than t he d i re c t o r o f the
27
v i l lage c a n e a rn in a who le month . 1 1
The s ymb o l s e l e c ted i n Hunan Prov i nc e
a t t i t ude o f the pe a s a n t r y .
re p re s e n t s a n o the r
Li S s u- s i wa s orig i na l l y a rura l l a b o re r ,
He wa s re c r u i te d a s a C ommun i s t c a dre in the l a nd re form o f 1 9 5 0 a nd
worke d ha rd d u r i ng the re form .
Whe n land re d i s t r i b u tion wa s imp leme nte d ,
he th o ug h t the re v o l u t i on wa s ove r a nd de s ire d t o r un a wa y f r om p o l i t i c a l
wor k .
A c onve n t i o n he l d i n tha t province showe d tha t 1 2 0 o u t o f 1 2 6
C ommun�. s t c a d re s f avore d t h e �. d e a s o f L �
.
s s u- s �
.
.
26
28
. n- m �. ng , Th e Ch �. ne s e C ommun �. s t P a r ty �
Le e T �e
d �
h Pe a s a n t ry
(Hong Kong : Yu- Li a ng Pre s s , 1 9 5 8 ) , p . 9 7 .
27
28
I b i d . , p . 98 ,
New Huna n Da i ly News , Oc tobe r 2 3 , 1 9 5 1 .
81
Th ose who f a i led t o be loya l C ommun i s t s s h o u ld be c r i t i c i ze d ,
th ose who c o ns t a n t l y worke d ha rd for t h e Communi s t c a us e s h o u l d b e
a dmi re d .
Th i s s e e ms t o be the unive rs a l formula f o r ma s s e d uca t i on i n
C ommun i s t C h i na .
I n 1 9 5 1 , ma ny mode l l a b o re r s we re s e le c te d b o th f o r
the i r h a rd work a nd t he i r s k i l l i n h a nd l ing t h e prob lems a r i s i ng from
the s ys tem o f the sma l l l a nd un i t wh i ch n o t on l y h a rme d the produc t i o n
b u t a l s o ,,7a s te d ma npowe r .
Wang Chen- t a ng , d i re c t o r o f a sma l l v i l lage ,
was s e le c te d a s mode l la b o re r by a p rov ince o f Ma nchur i a .
F rom 1 94 8 t o
1 9 5 0 , t h e p r od uc t i on o f the v i l lage d i re c te d b y Wa ng i nc re a s e d f r om 4 7 0
t o 5 1 0 te ng ( un i t o f g ra i n ) .
The mos t admi rab le p a r t o f Wa ng ' s work wa s
h i s o r& a n i z a t i on o f the h o us e h o lds i n t o te amwor k g r o up s a c c ord i ng t o the
p r L. nC L. p 1 e
0
' L. S L. O n
f d LV
0
f 1 a b or ,
29
Ha n A nn , a n o the r d i re c t o r o f a v i l la g e , was s e le c te d b y Hope i
Province f o r h i s b r i l l i a nt s k i l l i n o rg a n i z i ng work te ams .
The deve l op-
me nt of the c u l tiva t i ng te am wa s s l ow b e c a us e of the l a c k of i n c e n t ive .
Unde r t he o r ig ina l s ys tem , no d i s t i nc t i on wa s ma de be twe e n s t rong and
we a k , be twe e n o ld a nd yo ung , or be twe e n ma le a nd fema le .
Han i n s t i t u te d
a s c ore s ys tem unde r wh i ch those wh o worke d ha rde r a nd be t te r g o t h ighe r
s c o re s , wh i le the l a z y a nd we a k g o t l owe r s c ore s .
30
The pe a s a n t c u l t iva t i ng t e am ma rke d a ne w s ys te m o f a g r i c u l tura l
c o l le c t iv i z a t i on , t o o rev o l u t i onary t o b e unde r s t o od b y the C h i n e s e
29
Hs i n Hua News S e r ie s , I n te rview wi th Mode l Lab ore r s
Pe op le ' s P re s s , 1 9 5 1 ) , p p . 6 3- 64 .
30
Ib i d . , p . 5 8 .
(Ha nka o :
82
fa rme rs .
A s I have s a i d be fore , one o f the b a s i c purp o s e s. o f la nd
re form wa s to p ave the wa y f o r agr i c u l tura l c o l le c t iv i z a t i on wh i c h wa s
a p re re q ui s i te o f l a rge - s c a le indus t r i a l i z a t i on .
A l l o f t h i s s e eme d
to b e b e yond the unde rs t a nd i ng o f th e pea s a n t r y .
Thus , e d uc a t i on wa s o f
p r ima ry imp o r t a nc e .
Land re f o rm of th i s p e r i od ( 1 9 5 0- 1 9 5 3 ) wa s b y no me a ns a i s o la te d
phe nome na .
I t wa s one o f t h e re forms c a rr i e d o ut i n t h e e a r l y ye a r s o f
C ommun i s t Ch ina .
Th ose re fo rms we re i n te rc onne c te d .
The i r ma i n pur­
pose wa s t o s o l i d i fy the C ommun i s t reg ime .
A f te r the 1 94 9 rev o l u t i on , the f i r s t law p r omu lg a te d b y the
C ommuni s t G ove rnme n t wa s the Ne w Ma rriage Law wh ich was ma de for the
p urpose o f re le a s i ng C h i ne s e wome n from tra d i t i o na l e th i c a l a nd s oc i a l
band a ge s .
Pa re n t s c o u l d no l onge r a rrange th e i r c h i ld re n ' s ma r r i a g e s .
The s ys tem o f c o nc ub i ne s a nd pros t i t u t i on wa s a b o l i s he d .
D iv orce was no
long e r d e pe nde n t up on a c omp lex lega l p r oce d ure .
On Ma y l , 1 9 5 0 , whe n the New Ma r r i a g e Law c ame i n t o e f fe c t , the
C ommun i s t s la unche d a ma r r i a ge re form moveme nt a nd e nc oura g e d a l l of the
C h i ne s e p e o p le t o t re a t th i s moveme nt as "a p a r t of the rev o l u t i onary
mi s s i on . "
Th i s moveme n t wa s und oub te d ly a s e ve re c ha l le nge t o the b a s i c
e le me n t s o f t ra d i t i ona l C h i n e s e S oc i e t y .
I n the p a s t , the fami l y had
b e e n re g a rde d as the mos t imp o r t a n t s oc i a l un i t .
A c c ord ing to the
C on f uc ia ni s t s , a pe r fe c t na t i on mus t be b a s e d up on pe r fe c t fami l i e s .
S t a te sme n \ve re e nc our a g e d t o orde r the i r fami l i e s f i r s t b e f o re orde r i ng
the c oun t r y .
Pe op le we re urged to re s pe c t p a te rna l i sm .
As a re s u l t , the
fami ly b e c ame the b a s i c s o c i a l un i t wh ich , in the e ye s o f t ra d i t i ona l
83
Ch ine s e Pe o p l e , wa s a n imp o r t a nt a s the na t i on .
I n the f ami ly , wome n
we re the s la ve s o f the i r husb ands a nd the i r pa re n t s - in- law .
Th is
fami ly s ys tem wa s und o ub ted ly incons i s te nt wi th C ommun i sm .
The mixt ure o f ma r r i a g e re f o rm with la nd re fo rm i n the c o un t r ys i de ma rke d a rad i c a l c h a nge o f s oc i a l e th i c s in the mos t s t ubhnrn
p or t i on o f the na t i on .
B y s t udying th i s moveme n t , one can see h ow d i f-
f i c u l t i t i s to a l te r s t anda rds of mora l i t y in the c ount rys i de .
A
re p o r t made b y Ch o u En- l a i d i s c l o s e d the c r ue l fac t tha t ma ny wome n c ornrni t te d s ui c ide .
The moveme n t me t s t rong re s i s tance a nd c o u ld not be
f u l f i l le d c omp le t e l y .
31
Howeve r , mos t o f the Ch i ne se wome n l i ke d the ma rriage re form .
new ma r r i a g e sys tem s e eme d to incre a s e the i r p re s t ige .
The
S t a t i s t i c s f o rrnu-
la t e d by the j ud i c ia l organs o f C ommun i s t China s h ow tha t 7 0 pe r c e n t o f
the d ivorce c a s e s we re ini t i a te d b y fema le s .
f r om 93 , 0 0 0 i n 1 9 5 0 t o 2 04 , 0 0 0 in 1 9 5 1 .
the c o ur t s h a nd le d 1 98 , 0 0 0 d ivorce c a s e s .
The d ivorce c a s e s incre a s e d
In the f i r s t s i x mo nths o f 1 9 5 2 ,
32
Ano the r move me n t inv o lv i ng the wh o le c o unt r y wa s t he s uppre s s i on
of a n t i - rev o l u t i o na r i e s .
I t i s obv i o us th a t the a im o f t h i s moveme nt wa s
t o e ra d i c a te N a t i o na l i s t s i n f l ue nce .
On F e b r uary 2 1 , 1 9 5 1 , the C ommun i s t
G ove rnme n t p romu l g a te d a n a n t i - a n t i - re v o l u t i o na ry law .
opp o s e d t o C ommun i s t p o l i c y we re s ub j e c te d t o t h i s law .
31
A l l pe rs ons
It is d i f f ic u l t
C h o u E n- la i ' s re p o r t made i n the G ove rnme n t Admin i s t r a t ion C o unc i l on S e p t embe r 2 6 , 1 9 5 1 .
See Wang S s u- che ng , Ma o T s e - t a ng a nd the Re d
Te rror , � · c i t . , p . 43 6 .
32
I b i d . , p p . 4 3 6- 3 7 .
84
to s a y h ow ma ny a n t i - re v o l u t i ona rie s we re ki l le d .
Ac c or d ing t o
a
re p o r t made b y a C ommun i s t c a d re wh o f le d f r om C ommun i s t Ch i na t o Ta iwa n ,
more tha n 10 mi l l i on p e r s ons we re s la i n in three d a ys (Ha y 1 5 , 1 6 , and
17 , 195 1) .
33
On Ha y 2 2 , 1 9 5 1 , 5 0 5 p e r s ons we re t r i e d in Pe k i ng .
h und r e d a n d twe n t y- one o f them we re s e n te nc e d t o de a th .
34
Two
I n July o f
t h e s a me ye a r , one o f t he large s t ma s s e xe c u t i ons i n Pe king wa s r e p o r t e d
b y t h e P e op le ' s Da i l y .
Two h undre d a nd seve nty- seven we re k i l le d .
35
A
re p o r t made b y the New C h i na News Age nc y d i s c l o s e d tha t the C ommun i s t s
o f Sha ng l a i a rre s te d 2 2 0 , 0 00 a n t i - re v o l ut a r ie s i n the f i r s t f ou r months
of 1 9 5 1 .
I n the f i r s t we e k o f Ma y , 1 9 5 1 , a n o th e r 2 4 , 00 0 we re a rre s te d i n
t h e s ame c �. t y .
36
The F re e Trade Un ion C ommi t te e o f the Ame ri c a n F e de r a -
t i on o f Lab o r e s t ima t e d in Oc t obe r , 1 9 5 2 , t h a t t h e C ommun is t re g ime had
b e e n re s p ons ib le f o r the de a th s o f more than 1 4 , 00 0 , 00 0 pe op le ove r the
p re v i ous f i ve ye a rs .
rura 1 a re a s .
33
Among those e xe c u te d , 5 , 00 0 , 0 0 0 we re ki l le d i n
37
Wa ng S z e - c h e ng , Ma o Tze - t ung a nd the Re d Te r r or , � · c i t . ,
p . 4 12 .
34
wa n Ah- kong , Thre e Ye a r s Unde r the Ru le o f the C ommun i s t P a r ty ,
..QE ' c i t . ' p ' 406 .
35
Richa rd Wa l ke r , China Unde r C ommun i sm (New Have n : Ya le Unive r s i t y
P re s s , 1 9 5 5 ) , p . 2 1 7 .
36
wa n Ah- kong , Three Ye a r s Unde r the Ru le o f the C ommun i s t P a r ty ,
_Q£ . c i t . , p . 4 0 7 .
37
Rich a rd Wa lke r , � · c i t . , p . 2 1 9 .
85
I t i s obv i o us tha t the ma s s e xe c u t i o n s we re r ushed b y the Kore a n
War .
Pe ng Che n , f o rme r Pe king ma yor , ma de the f o l l ow i ng s ta teme n t i n
orde r t o j u s t i f y the ma s s e xe c ut i ons .
A t tha t t i me , the c o un te rrev o l u t i o na ry remna n t le d b y U . S .
s up p o r t e d Ch i a ng Ka i - shek t o ok a dvan tage o f tha t c r i t i c a l t ime
The y th o ugh t tha t a third Wor ld
a nd b e g a n t o a t t a c k the pe ople .
War h a d a l re a d y b e g un and tha t it wa s t ime t o re s t o re the i r rule .
The y de s t r o ye d ra i l r o a d s , fac t o rie s a nd b r idge s , a n d ki l le d
C ommun i s t c a d re s .
In the new ly- l i be ra te d a re a s , the l a n d l o rd s
b e g a n t o thre a te n th� p o o r pe a s a n t s , t o v i o l a t e t he l a nd re fo rm
p rog ram , a nd t o p re p a re for Chiang ' s re turn .
Eve n in the o l d
l ibe ra te d a re a s whe re l a nd re form wa s a l re a d y c omp le te d , s ome
l a nd lords a t t acked the pe a s a n t s .
C ommun i s t c a d re s a nd the i r
f ami lie s we re ki l le d i n ma ny p l ace s . . , . F o r e xamp le , i n Kwa ng s i
Province , more than th ree thous a nd C ommuni s t c a d re s we re s la i n . 3 8
The Kore a n Wa r n o t o n l y le a d t o a n i nc re a s e in te rror th r o ughout
the wh o le c o un t ry , b u t a l s o provide d p o l i t i c a l impe tus for the v a r i o us
re fo rms .
Once a g a i n the C ommuni s t s me rg e d the i r re form moveme n t wi th
Na t i ona l i s m .
A na t i o nwide p r op a g a nd a ma c h i ne wa s e s t a b l i she d , wi th
three mi l l i on p e r s ons e mp l oye d to r un i t .
Mi l l ions of pe op le we re
e nc o ur a g e d or f o r c e d to s ig n a pa t r i o t i c c ompa c t , to c on t r i b ute to the
wa r , a nd to work h a r d on the i r p o s t s .
Chou En- l a i , in a re p o r t to the
Po l i t i c a l Cons u l ta t ive C onfe re nc e , i nd i c a te d :
The s e a c h ieveme n t s we re s e c ur e d in the p r oc e s s o f the Re s i s t
Ame r i c a - A i d Kor e a C ampa ign .
Th i s g re a t c amp a ig n s e rved a s a
p o l i t i c a l impe t u s for the re form a nd re s t o ra t i on o f t h i s n a t i on . 3 9
I t i s be yond d o ub t tha t l and re f orm c a rr i e d o u t i n thi s pe r i od
( 1 9 5 0- 1 9 5 3 ) was s uc c e s s fu l on i t s own t e rms .
38
Wan Ah- k ong , Thre e Ye a rs Und e r the Ru le o f the C ommun i s t P a r ty ,
££ · c i t . , pp . 40 1 - 02 .
39
The p o l i t i c a l a n d s oc i a l
Ibid . , pp . 62- 63 .
86
p owe rs o f the l a n d l ord- ge ntry c l a s s '\.ve re a b o l i sh e d ; the C ommun i s t Pa r t y
a nd i ts p e a s a n t s ' a s s oc i a t i ons b e g a n t o c on t r o l t h e who le c ountryside ;
the Kuom i n t a ng e leme n t s we re e ra d i c a te d ; a nd t r a d i t i on wa s a t t a c ke d .
Howeve r , the C ommun i s t s we re fu l ly awa re tha t h a t re d c ou l d s t i r up a
moveme n t b u t c ou ld not b r ing i t to a s ucce s s fu l c onc l u s i on ,
The y had t o
re c onc i le d i s s ide n t e le me n t s o f vari ous c la s s e s s o a s t o p rod uce
na t i ona l s o l i da r i t y .
Vi o le nc e wa s , thus , re duce d i n 1 95 3 .
The l a s t s te p o f l a nd re form wa s t o i s s ue t i t le de e d s wh ich
s ymb o l i z e d the rig h t of a l l the landowne r s t o manage , b uy , s e l l o r re n t
o u t l a nd fre e ly .
40
Th i s s te p s e ems t o have h a d n o re a l s ig n i f i c a nc e ,
s i nce a g r i c u l t ura l c o l le c t iv i z a t ion was t o b e c a rr i e d o u t in the f o l l owing ye a r s ,
c hee r .
The e nd o f l a nd re f orm b r o ught the f a rme r s worry ra the r tha n
Wi th fe a r the Ch i ne s e f a rme rs
g re e t e d a ne w e p oc h i n wh i c h the y
wou ld l o s e wh a t the y had g a ine d ,
40
p . 12 .
The G ove rnme n t Admi n i s tra t i on C ounc i l , The Agr a r i a n Re f orm Law ,
CHAPTE R IV
C ONCLUSION
La nd re forms i n China we re c omp le x a t be s t .
The y i nvo lve d not
o n l y l a nd d i s t r i b u t i on b u t a l s o re forms o f the s oc i o- p o l i t i c a l s ys tem
whi c h had end ure d i n Ch i na for thou s a n d s of ye a r s un t i l 1 9 4 9 , whe n the
C ommun i s t s put forward a s e r i e s o f re forms .
b roug h t a b o ut ma ny p r o f ound e f fe c t s .
The s e re f o rms und o ub te d l y
F i rs t , i n the e a r l y ye a r s o f the
1 9 5 0 ' s , we s a w the c o l la p s e o f the l a nd l o rd - g e n t ry c l a s s , a nd the
e s ta b l i shme n t of the pe a s a n t s ' a s s o c i a t i ons .
I t wa s not the f i rs t t i me
tha t t he Ch i ne s e pe a s a n t s t r i e d to s e i z e p owe r , b u t i t wa s the f i r s t
t ime th a t the fa rme r s le g a l ly a dmi ni s te re d the i r own a f fa i rs .
S e c ond , a s I h a ve p o i n t e d out i n the p re v i ous cha p te r s , land
re form p rog rams we re i n c on f l i c t wi th the t r a d i t i ona l v a l ue s a nd be l i e f s
o f rura l C h i n a .
F o r e xamp le , t he s t r i c t a nd dra s t ic mea s ur e s t a ke n i n
t h e c la s s s tr ugg le a g a i ns t t h e land l ords we re rega rde d b y ma ny f a rme r s
a s i n c ons i s te n t wi th t he C on f uc i a n e th i c a l norm o f mode ra t i on a nd the
g o lden me a n .
Howeve r , the c o l l a p s e of the land l o rd - g e n try c la s s d i d
unde rmine the p re s t ie g e o f the Confuc i a n d oc t r i ne .
Th i rd , the a b o l i t i on o f the me d i a t o r y re nt- re c e ive r s p rod uce d the
mo s t p r o f o und e f f e c t .
l and lord s .
The p e a s a n t s no l onge r l ive d a t the me rc y of the
The y c ou l d c on t r o l the i r own de s t iny .
A l though , a f te r a lmos t two de c a de s , the e f fe c t s o f l a nd re form
we re re c og n i z e d a s s a t i s fac t ory , the re a re c e r t a in q ue s t i on s wh i c h
87
88
s t i l l rema i n a s the t o p i c s o f deba te .
Among those q ue s t i on s , the mos t
imp o r t a n t a re the f o l l owing .
F i rs t , the ne c e s s i t y of l a nd re f orm i s a que s t i on tha t h a s b e e n
do ub te d b y t he Na t iona l i s t s .
The N a t i o na l i s t s b a s e d the i r a rg ume n t on
the i r rura l s urve y s wh ich ind i c a te d tha t the c onc e n t ra t ion o f l a nd
owne rsh i p wa s n o t s o s e r i ous i n Ch ina .
S e c ond , the Commun i s t s a s se r t e d tha t China wa s d omi na t e d b y a
f e ud a l i s t ic l a nd l ord- g e n t ry c la s s .
s ys tem s h o uld b e c omp le te ly chang e d .
The re f o re , the s oc i o- p o l i t i c a l
Th i s a s s e r t i o n wa s re j e c ted b y
the na t i ona l i s t s .
Th i rd , the na t i on a l i s t s s ta te d that the c ommun i s t re f orm moveme nt
wa s not made for the we l f a re o f the pe a s a n t r y , but for t he b e ne f i t o f the
C ommun i s t pa r t y .
Th i s a s s e r t i o n wa s na t ura l l y de nie d by the C ommun i s t s .
F ourth , the re a re d i f fe re n t op i n i on
on the re a s on s wh y the
pe a s a n t ry s up p o r t e d the C ommun i s t s r a the r tha n the Na t i ona l i s t s .
This
que s t i on is p a r t i c u la r l y wor th y of s t ud y , whe n ma n y a re a s of the wor ld
a re th re a te ne d by na t i o na l l i b e ra t i on wa rs .
I n t he b a s i s o f the ob s e rva t i ons i n the p re v i ous cha p te r s , the
a uth o r i nt e n d s to eva l ua te the a b ove que s t i ons , a nd t r ie s to f i nd o u t
c e r t a i n c h a r a c te r i s t i c s o f t h e Ch i ne se l a nd re f orm , wh ich migh t be he lp­
ful t o the a s s e s sme n t of the l a n f re forms , as we 11 as the C ommun i s t
moveme n t s , in . o th e r unde rdeve l ope d c o un t r i e s .
L i u Sh a o - c h i , i n e xp l a i ni ng wh y land re f orm was ne c e s s a ry i n
China , s a id :
89
The e s s e n t i a l c on te n t of a g r a r i a n re form i s the c on f i s c a t i on o f
the l a nd o f the l a nd lord c la s s f or d i s trib ut i on t o the l a nd - le s s
o r l a nd- p o or pe a s a n t s .
Th us the l a nd lords a s a c la s s i n s oc i e t y a re
a b o l i s he d a nd the land owne rship s ys tem o f fe uda l e xp l o i t a t i on i s
t r a ns f o rme d i n t o a s ys tem o f pe a s a n t l a nd o'¥ne r s hi p .
Th i s i s i nde e d
the g re a t e s t the mos t thorough re form i n t h o us a nd s o f ye a r s o f
C h i ne s e h i s t o ry .
Why s h o uld s uch a re f orm be ma de ? In a n u t she l l , i t i s be c a us e
the orig ina l land owne r s h i p sys tem i n Ch ina i s e xt reme l y i r ra t i ona l .
I n g e ne ra l , the l a nd s i t ua t i on i n o l d China i s r o ug h l y a s f o l l ows :
La nd lords a nd r i ch p e a s a n t s , wh o c ons t i tute le s s tha n 10 pe r c e n t o f
the r ura l p o p u la t i on , pos s e s s app roxima t e ly f rom 7 0 - 8 0 pe r c e n t o f
the l a nd a n d b r uta l l y e xp l o i t the pe a s a n t s b y me a n s o f the i r l a nd .
P o o r pe a s a n t s , f a rm lab oure r s , midd le p e a s a n t s a n d o the rs , h oweve r ,
wh o ma ke up 9 0 pe rc e nt o f the rura l p op u la t i o n , p o s s e s s i n a l l on l y
2 0 t o 30 pe rc e n t o f t he l a nd , l
Ac c or d i ng t o Ri cha rd L . Wa lke r , the typic a l Communi s t a na lys i s quo te d a b ove
c on t a ins t h re e b a s i c d i s t or t i ons .
F i r s t , Mr . Wa l ke r c o nte nds tha t "The re
ha s b e e n no fe uda l i s m , b y Communi s t or o the r de f i n i t i on , in China s i nce
the forma t i on of the f i r s t Emp i re s ome two c e n t u r i e s be f or e the b i r th of
Chri s t . "
2
Th i s a s s e r t i on ma y be a d i s t o r t i on i t s e l f .
Be f ore we d i s c us s
the f e uda l cha ra c te r i s t i c s o f Chine s e s oc i e ty , i t i s ne c e s s a r y t o know
wh a t fe uda l i sm i s .
Fe ud a l i sm , a c c o r d i ng t o S . Andre s ki ,
. . . d e n o t e s a s o c i o- p o l i t i c a l s ys tem b a s e d u p on a r ura l e c onomy ,
c h a ra c te r i z e d b y d i s pe r s a l o f powe r i n a v a r i e t y o f s emi - i nde p e nde n t
d oma i ns ; the doma ins be ing s t yle d i n f i e f s he ld o n c ond i t i o n o f
pe r f o rma nce o f s e rv i ce . 3
1
Liu Sha o- ch i , " Re p o r t on the Que s t i o n o f Agra r i a n Re form , " The
Agr a r i a n Re f o rm Law 2f the Pe ople ' s Repub l i c o f China a nd .O the r Re leva n t
Doc ume n t s
(Pe king : F o re ign La ng uage Pre s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , p . 6 3 .
2
Ri cha rd L . Wa lke r , C h i n a Unde r C ommun i sm
Un ive rs i t y Pre s s , 1 9 5 5 ) , p . 12 9 .
3
(Ne w Have n : Ya le
s . Andre s ki , "Fe ud a l i sm , " A D i c t i on a ry of S oc i a l S c i e nc e s (Ne\v
York : F re e P re s s , 1 9 64 ) , p . 2 6 8 .
90
On the b a s i s of th i s de f i ni t i on we mig h t s a y tha t fe uda l i sm p os s e s s ed
th ree c h a ra c te r i s t i c s :
( 1 ) p o l i t i c a l l y , i t wa s de c e ntra l i ze d ;
(2)
e c on omi c a l ly , i t wa s a n ins t i t u t i on b a s e d on l a n d and mutua l s e rvice ,
a nd ( 3 ) s oc i a l ly , i t wa s charac te r i z e d b y a f i xe d s oc ia l s t a t u s .
I t i s t r ue tha t in 2 2 1 B . c . , whe n China wa s uni f i e d b y
f r e e purcha s e o f l a n d b e c ame lega l , fe uda l i sm wa s ab o l i s he d .
Mr .
Ch i n
and
Howeve r ,
Wa lke r ne g le c t s t o p o i n t out the fac t tha t a new a r i s t oc r a t i c c la s s
a ro s e wh en a new d yna s t y wa s e s t ab l i sh e d .
Ari s t oc ra t s h ave h a d the i r
own f i e f s wi th i n wh ich the y have bee n p r iv i le g e d j us t l i ke the l o rds o f
the me d ie v a l E urope .
Th i s s ys t em wa s ca l le d Chuang - yua n .
C h o u Ki ng -
she n , in h i s work The Ec onomic Hi s t o ry o f China , ma de the f o l l owing
s ta teme n t :
De r ived f r om a fe uda l e c o nomy , the Chuang - yua n s ys tem c ou ld be
t r a c e d b a c k t o the Tang Dyna s t y . . . . Unde r th a t s ys tem , p r i nc e s ,
p r i nc e s s e s , re l a t ive s o f the empe rors , h i gh o f f i c i a l s , e un uc he s ,
and mona s te r ie s we re a l l o t te d large e s ta te s o f l a nd .
Wi th i n the i r
e s ta te s , the owne r s a p p o i n te d o f f i c i a l s , e xp l o i t e d the t i l le r s , a nd
eve n e xp a nde d the i r e s ta te s b y anne x i ng the l a nd be l ong i ng t o the
c ommon f o lk . . , . The a r i s t oc ra t i c owne r s of the e s t a te s c o l le c te d
l a nd re n t wi th i n the i r e s t a te s . The y h a d n o ob l i g a t i on t o p a y the
g ove rnme n t .
In o th e r wo rds , the y we re inde pe nd e n t f r om the t a xa t i on
4
s ys tem o f the na t i on .
·
Th i s kind o f e s ta te , a c c ord i ng to the s ame wr i t e r , oc c up i e d a l a rge
p o r t i on of the rura l l a nd .
S t a t i s t i c s s h ow tha t i n the 15 th c e n t ury
the re we re 4 6 , 00 0 c h i ng of rura l land be l ong i ng t o C h uang - yua n ( la rg e
e s t a te s ) i n t h e s ub urb s o f the c a p i ta l .
4
5
I n the 1 7 th c e nt ur y , ha l f o f
c h o u Ki ng - sh e n , The Ec onomi c Hi s t ory o f Ch i na (Ta i pe i : She ng - se n
B o o k C ompa n y , 1 9 5 9 ) , pp . 884- 8 7 .
5
.Ib i d . , p . 8 8 6 .
91
the rur a l l and i n Honan Pr o v ince b e l onged t o l ar ge e s t a t e s .
6
With the
f a l l of the Ming Dyn a s ty , th o s e e s t a t e s we re t aken by the newly ar i s e n
Manchu ar i s t oc r a t s .
7
From t h e above c i t a t i on s , w e c an s e e t h a t the
Chuang-yuan s y s tem was f e u d a l in char ac t er .
s y s t em o f f r e e l and purcha s e .
I t ex i s t e d a l ong w i t h
Pe o p l e \vh o c u l t ivated the
l a nd
a
o f the
gr e a t e s t a t e s we r e s ub j e c t t o f e ud a l ex p l o i t a t ion .
B e c au s e o f the ex i s tence o f the f e u d a l Chuang-yuan s y s tem, we c an
h ard ly agr e e with Mr . Wa lker ' s as s e r t ion th a t there h a s b e e n no f e ud a l i sm
s i nc e the e s t ab l i s hme nt o f the f ir s t Ch ine s e Emp i r e .
Now the q ue s t ion
that r ema i n s t o b e s e t t l ed i s wh e ther or not f e ud a l i s m c on t inued to
ex i s t in C h in a a f t er the r e v o l u t ion of 1 9 1 1 .
Dur i n g the Repub l ic Per i od ( 1 9 1 1 - 1 94 9 ) , Ch ina was po l i t i c a l ly
d e c e n tr a l i z ed , and e c onom i c a l ly loc a l ized .
A l th o u gh the Chuang- yuan
s y s tem wa s l e ga l ly d enounc e d , s ome feud a l c h ar ac t e r i s t ic s s t i l l r ema ined
in Ch ine s e Soc i e t y , e s pe c i a l ly in the c ountry s ide .
c a l led b y Ma o T z e - tung " s emi- f eu d a l . "
Ch ine s e s oc i e t y ,
8
in the Repub l i c Pe r iod , was s a id b y the Ch in e s e
wr i t e r s to pr e s erve f ive feud a l char a c t e r i s t ic s :
marked a k ind o f s oc i a l pr i v i l e ge .
a me a s u r e o f s oc i a l power .
8
Ib id . , p . 8 8 5 .
( 1 ) Land own e r s h i p
Th e s i z e o f one ' s h o ld ings s e rved a s
( 2 ) In add i t ion to l and r e n t , l ab o r s e r v ice s
and t r ib u t e s we r e paid t o th e l and lord s .
6
The s y s t em was
l
( 3 ) Land l o r d s and o f f ic i a l s
Ib id . , p . 1 0 6 5 .
Mao Tz e - t un g , "On New Democrac y , " S e l e c ted Wor k s o f Mao Tz e - tung ,
II ( Pe k in g : Fore i gn Lan guage Pr e s s , 1 9 6 5 ) , 3 4 1 .
92
were immune from ob l i ga t ions o f c it izensh ip or other k in d s o f tr ib u t e t o
the n a t i o n .
(4) Land l e s s or poor pe a s an t s a l one were ob l iged
mi l i t ary and labor s e r v ic e s for the nat ion .
to
perform
( 5 ) Rasc al s , a s the t e e th
and paws o f the l and l or d s , made the ir l iv ings by s u ppre s s ing the poor
p e a s an t s .
V i l lage s , therefore , were in a s t ate of i n s t ab i l i ty .
9
The s e
char ac t e r i s t i c s wer e the r emains of t h e ab o l i shed imper ia l in s t it u t ion s
and wer e emp loyed by the Commun i s t s t o j u s t i fy the c l as s s truggle in the
c ountry s ide .
But such a j u s t if ic a t ion sho u l d not be r e gar d e d as a pr o-
j ec t io n of the Marx i s t " fe ud a l s t age of soc i e t y " onto the Ch ine s e s c ene ,
as
Mr .
Wa l ker c h ar ged .
10
I t has it s fac tual b as i s .
The s e c ond b a s ic d i s t or t ion in Liu ' s s tat eme n t c onc e r ned , ac c ording t o Mr . Wa lker , the c l a s s d ivis ions in rural Ch ina .
He c i ted a f ew
wr i ter s t o demo n s tr a t e that the c l a s s c on f l ic t theory was inapp l icab le
t o China .
One wr i ter , S . T . Tung , even arb i t r ar i ly d e c l ared :
h a s no l and lord c l as s . "
"China
11
The me aning o f the term " land lord" i s i t s e l f ob s c ur e .
has b e e n g iven a doz en de f in i t ions .
The term
As I have po in ted ou t in pr e v ious
chapter s , e ven the C ommu ni s t s thems e lve s c ou ld not a gree upon u n i f ied
d e f i n i t ion in the e ar ly year s of the Commu n i s t l and r e f orm moveme n t .
The term a l s o po s s e s s e s d i f ferent me anings in d i f f e r e n t c o u n tr ie s .
9
For
Wang Ah- nan g , A S tudy on the Though t s o f So c io - e c on omic Re form
( Sh angh a i : Chung-hua Pre s s , 1 9 5 0 ):-p . 8 8 .
10
11
Richard Walker , op . c it . , p . 1 30 .
Ib id .
93
example , in Bo l iv ia , e ight l and l or d s owned , in 1 9 3 9 , an ar ea
equal
to
12
.
o ne - t e n th of the t o ta l nat ional terr � t ory .
"Land l ord , " acc ord ing to the Ch ine s e Commun i s t s , shou ld have a
d if fe r e n t meaning in c ountr i e s with a h igh popu l at ion d e n s i ty .
Land l or d s
shou ld no t b e id e n t i f ied on t h e bas i s o f t h e amount o f l and , but r a ther
by the c r i t e r ia of exp l o it a t ion and l abor engageme n t .
S o , we c a n s af e ly
s ay that the rural popu lat i on was c l as s i f ied i n t o var iou s c a t e gor ie s on
the b as i s of C ommun i s t s ' own terms .
The th ird d i s t or t ion , Wa lker po inted ou t , c o nc erned the d a t a
ab o u t l and d i s t r ib u t ion provided b y L i u in h i s s ta temen t .
In order t o
prove the inac c ur acy o f L iu ' s dat a , Walker prov id e s u s with two o ther
s e t s of s t at i s t ic s .
One of them was formu l ated by the Nat iona l i s t Land
Commis s ion b e f o r e the s e c ond Wor ld War .
The other was produc ed by an
ind ividu a l s cho l ar , J . L . Buc k , who has t augh t in King l ing Un iver s ity ,
.
Nank �ng
.
13
So f ar as l and d i s t r ib u t ion is c oncerned , we c an f ind a h a l f d o z e n d if fe r e n t s e t s o f s t a t i s t ic s , each o f them b as e d upon a l o c a l survey .
A c ompar a t ive s t udy o f t ho s e s t a t i s t i c s may h e lp u s t o gain a
c oncre t e impr e s s ion o f the prob lem o f land d i s tr ibut i on in Ch ina .
F ir s t , we d i s c over that var ious Nat ion a l i s t s urveys ar e d i f ferent
from e ach o ther .
The ear l ie s t Nat iona l i s t s urve y wa s made in 1 9 34 by
12
w . S . S t oke s , "Nat ional Revolut ion and t h e MNR i n B o l iv ia , "
Int e r - Amer ican E c o nomic A f f a ir s , XII ( Spr ing , 1 9 5 9 ) , 34 .
13
Walker , o p . c it . , p . 1 3 1 .
94
the Nat iona l is t C omm i s s ion for Agr icu l tural Re s t orat ion in f ou r
pr ovinc e s .
c en t r at ion .
The s urvey-- maker rec ogn iz ed t h e e x i s t e n c e of h i gh l and conHowever , the r at e s o f concentrat ion wer e quite d i f ferent in
var ious p l ace s .
In s ome c o un t ie s o f Ch ek iang Pr ovinc e , they d i s c overed
that 7 per c en t of the r u r a l popu l at ion pos s e s s ed 72 per c e n t o f the l and ,
wh i l e 5 6 pe r c e n t o f the rural popu l at ion only po s s e s s ed 6 percent o f the
l and .
14
The s e per c e n t age s are s im i l ar to tho s e of the Commun i s t s urvey
in the Kiangs i per iod .
Ac cord ing t o the Ch ina Handb ook pub l ished in 1 9 5 0 in New York ,
6 7 perc e n t o f the rur a l popu l a t ion was c l a s s i f i ed as mid d l e or r ich
farme r s who owned l and and cu l t ivated it thems e lve s .
Th i s f igur e wa s
ado p t e d from the o f f i c i a l r e port o f the Nat ion a l i s t Governme n t .
The
Nat i ona l i s t s ta t i s t i c s provided by Wa l ker ' s book shows that
near l y 8 0 percent of the l and was shown t o b e i n the
hands of own e r s of l e s s than 1 00 mou . Almo s t 99 per c e n t o f the
f ami l i e s wer e s uch sma l l owner s , wh i l e 1 . 34 perc ent o f the
f ami l i e s owned 100 mou or mor e , and o n l y 18 . 32 perc ent of the
l and b e l on ge d t o such owne r s . l 5
Buck ' s r e p o r t ma i n t a ined t h a t 54 per c e n t o f t h e r ur a l popu l a t io n were
s e l f - t i l l er s who owned 7 1 per c e n t o f l and .
16
One migh t b e j u s t i f iab ly c on f u s e d by the s e d ivergent s e t s of
f igur e s , e ac h o f them c la iming to be r e l iab l e .
14
Perhaps the s af e s t way
The C orr� i s s i on for Agr icu l tural Re s to r a t i on , � Survey o f the
Chekian g V i l l a g e s ( Sh an gh a i : C omme r c i a l Pre s s , 1 9 35 ) , p . 7 .
15
16
Walker , op . c it . , p . 1 3 1 .
Ib id .
95
t o s e le c t o n e s e t from t h e m i s t o c ompare them wi th t h e f i gu r e s c ont a ined in the survey made a f t e r the 1 94 9 r e v o lu t io n .
On S e ptember 6 ,
1 94 9 , the Peo p l e ' s D a i ly (Jen-min J ih - pao ) d i s c l o sed that a survey made
i n twe n ty - one v i l l a g e s of Hupeh Pr ovin c e showed th at 8 per c e n t o f the
rur a l popu l a t ion wer e l and l ord s , wh i l e 92 percent wer e midd l e and poor
p e a s an t s and agr ar ian l ab ore r s .
The f ormer po s s e s s ed 3 0 per c en t o f the
l and , wh i l e the l a t te r po s s e s s e d 6 0 perc ent .
On S e p tember 9 , 1 94 9 ,
ano ther C ommun i s t news pape r , the Changkiang Dai ly News , d e c l ared that in
Kuoyang Hs iang of Kiangs i Pr ov inc e , midd le and poor pe a s a n t s owne d 7 3 . 6
p er c e n t of l and .
The r e su l t s of the s e two s ur vey s are s im i l ar t o the
Nat io na l i s t r ather than the Commun i s t f i gure s .
The r e for e , we may agr ee
with Mr . Walker ' s a s s e r t ion that " the Commun i s t f i gur e s wer e doc tored t o
s u ppor t the app l ic at ion of Marx i s t d ogma t o Ch ina . "
17
Perhaps t h e b e s t
at t i tude t oward th i s q ue s t ion i s pro po s ed b y a corr e s pondent o f the
E c o nomi s t :
evident . "
"What ever e v idence i s acc ep t e d , the mi s d i s tr ibut ion i s
18
In the eyes of Marx and Enga l s , the pe a s antry wa s the c o n s e rvat ive
a nd reac t lonary
e 1 eme n t o f t h e popu 1 a t l. o n .
.
19
A l th ou gh the pe as an t s
p l ayed a n impor t an t r o l e i n the Ru s s ian Revo lu t ion , s ome Ru s s ian r evo lut ionar ie s s t i l l d oub ted the po s s ib i l i ty o f or gan iz ing "uni ted wi l l "
b e twee n the pr o le t ar ia t and the peasan try .
17
18
20
.
Ibld . , p . 1 3 2 .
"Land R e f orm in Ch ina , " The Ec onomi s t , v . 1 6 0 , p . 1 5 14 .
19
D . Ryaz a n o f f ( ed . ) , The Commu n i s t Man i f e s to o f Kar l Marx and
Fr iedr ich Enge l s (New York : Rus s e l l and Rus s e l l , Inc .-,- 1 9 6 3 ) , �3�
20
v . I . Lenin , "Two Tac t i c s o f Soc ia l Demo c r ac y , " S e l e c ted Works
of V . I . Len in , III (New York : Interna t ional Pub l i sher s , 1 94 3 ) , p ,--gs:-
96
Lenin , i n h i s ar t ic le "Two Tac t i c s o f Soc i a l Democ r acy , " a s s e r ted
that such a u n i t ed w i l l i s po s s ib le , s imp ly b e c au s e
. . . wi l l may b e u n i t ed in one r e s p e c t and not un i t e d i n
another . The a b s e nce of u n i ty on the que s t ion o f s oc i a l i sm and
the s tr u g g l e for soc ia l i sm d o e s not pr event u n i t y of wi l l on
que s t ions o f d emoc r acy and the s truggle for a r epub l ic . 2 1
In an swer ing the que s t ions put f orward b y a Mo s c ow c omrad e , Lenin
d i s c u s s ed the th e ore t ic a l a t t i tude that shou ld b e ad opted t oward the
p e a s an t movement .
F ir s t of a l l , h e a s s er t ed that the Commu n i s t Par ty
shou ld " suppor t the p e a s an t movemen t inso f ar a s i t i s r evo l u t ionary and
democ r a t i c ,
The y (the Commun i s t s ) are mak ing r e ady to f igh t i t i n s o far
22
.
a s it b e c ome s r e ac t ionary and an t �. - pro l e t ar �an . "
I t i s c e r t a i n that
there w i l l a lway s b e s ome r e a c t ionar ies in the p e a s a n t moveme n t .
Len in
encouraged h is c omr ad e s to d e c lare war on the s e r e ac t ionar ie s in advanc e .
S in c e c la s s ant agon ism b e twe en the rural pr o le t ar ia t and the pea s an t
b ou r geo i s ie i s inevi t ab le , Len in urged the C ommun i s t s t o f i gh t " o n a new
f ie ld and with o th e r a l l ie s . "
23
In o ther word s , the pr o le t ar ia t mu s t
organ i z e a u n i t e d f r o n t with the pe a s an try on the one h and , and f igh t
again s t the pe a s an t s ' r e ac t ionary charac ter i s t ic s on the o ther .
Lenin ' s a s s e r t i on abou t the "un i t e d w i l l " b e twe e n the pro l e tar iat
and the p e a s antry was , a c c ord ing t o Ar thur A . C ohe n , trans ferred to
21
22
Ib id . , p . 9 9 .
v . I . Le n �n , "A t t �tu
. d e T owar d Pe a s an t Moveme n t , " S e 1 e c t e d W or k s
o f V . � · Lenin , I I I , o p . c it . , p . 144 .
23
·
Ib id , , p . 1 4 5 .
97
Ch ina through the chann e l o f Comintern .
24
However , the Ru s s ian
ide o l o g i c a l inf luence was d e n ied b y the Ch ine s e C ommu n i s t theore t ic ians ,
wh o in s i s t ed on s tr e s s ing the independence o f Mao ' s though t in the e ar ly
y e a r s o f the Ch ine s e l and r e f orm movement .
It i s b eyond doub t that the
C omin t er n ' s d ir e c t ive s s omet ime s dominated the po l ic y-making o f the
Ch ine s e C ommun i s t Par ty .
But in the e ar ly year s of the l and r e f orm move-
men t , it i s the trad i t io n a l Ch ine s e idea of p e a s an t upr i s ing rather than
Len i n ' s or S t a l in ' s ideas that dominated Ch ine s e C ommun i s t mind s .
c an b e i l lu s tr ated by t h e e ar ly works o f Mao T z e - t un g .
Th i s
In the Human
Repor t , wh ich I d i s c us s e d in Ch apter I I , Mao " g ive s the poor p e a s an t s
.
the exc l u s ive c r ed i t f or the revo l u t 1on
."
25
In Ch in e s e h i s t ory , over a thou sand pe a s an t r e vo l t s c an b e
c ounted .
26
A d o z e n o f them c o u ld b e d e s c r ibed as nat i on-wide one s wh ich
ove r th r ew o r we akened the r u l ing dyna s t ie s .
27
Perhaps t h e p e a s an t
r e vo l t s that r ema ined mo s t vivid i n the memory o f the Ch ine s e people of
the 1 9 2 0 ' s wer e the Taiping and Nien r eb e l l ions wh ich t aught the Ch ine s e
C ommun i s t s muc h i n t erms of r ev o l u t ionary t ac t ic s .
For examp l e , the s e
rebe l l ions gave Mao and h i s as soc iat e s h i n t s abou t r u r a l b a s e are a s and
guerr i l l a war f ar e .
24
Ar thur A . Cohen , The Commun ism of Mao Tz e - t un g , f ir s t Pho e n ix
e d i t ion (Ch ic ago and Londo;:-The Un iver s ity o f Ch ic ago Pr e s s , 1 96 6 ) , p .
51 .
25
S tuar t R . Schram, The Po l i t ic a l Th ough t o f Mao T z e - tung (New
--York and Lqnd on : Fr eder ick �Pr aeger , 1 9 6 3 ) , p . 168 .
26
C h i e n Po- t s an , C o l le c ted D i s cu s s ions on H i s t o r i c a l Prob l ems
(Pe k in g : Peo p l e ' s Pr e s s , 1 9 6 2 ) , p . 1 10 .
27
Jame s Har r i s o n , "Commun i s t Interpr e t a t ion o f the Ch ine s e Pe a s an t
War , " The C h ina Quar t e r ly , XXIV (Oc t ob e r - De c ember , 1 9 6 5 ) , 9 6 .
98
In the Kiangs i per iod , the Ch ine s e Commun i s t s gradua l ly acc e p ted
Ru s s ian ide o l og i c a l inf lu e nc e and theore t ic a l ly r e c ogn ized s o le leaders h i p o f t h e worker s in the revo lu t i on .
However , the gap b e twe e n theory
and prac t ic e d id d i s turb the Ch ine s e Commun i s t h i s to r ian s , who
w i shed t o s tr e s s the revo lut ionary qua l it ie s o f the
Ch ine s e p e a s an try , but wer e c on s tr a ined b y Marx i s t theory from
givin g the pre -modern p e a s an try the char ac ter i s t ic s o f the mod e r n
pro l e t ar i at . 2 8
The Ch ine s e C o�nun i s t s have never given u p the ir or iginal idea
c on c e r n ing the impo r tance o f the par t p l ayed b y peas an try in the r e v o l ut ion , a l though the nat ional s tructure i s theor e t ic a l ly b a s e d upon a
worker - pe as a n t a l l ianc e , an a l l iance s o le ly commanded by worker s .
Such
an imp l i c i t c o n t r ad ic t ion b e twe e n Marx ism- Le n in i sm and C h ine s e C ommunism
s eems t o be inev i t ab le .
pre t a t io n on th i s mat t er .
Perhaps Pr ofe s sor Schr am gave us the b e s t interHe b e l ieved tha t the t r ad it ions and h i s tor i c a l
s i tuat ions in t h e mind o f Mao produced h i s ideas .
In other word s , the
trad it ion- b ound s ide of Mao ' s per s ona l i ty produced c e r t a in ideas wh ich
e x �. s t e d s �" d e b y s �" d e w �. t h L e n �. n �. sm .
29
A l tho u gh the Ch i ne s e Commun i s t s emphas i z e d the impor t an c e o f the
peas antry in the r e v o lu t io n , the ir pe a s ant po l ic ie s we re s ubord inated to
the d eve l opmen t o f the ir own par ty .
As many Commun i s t l e ader s ind icated
in the l a s t d e c ad e s , they l aunched the peasant moveme n t in the
28
N in g Ko , "Th e Que s t ion o f S pont ane ity and C o n s c i o u s ne s s in the
Ch ine s e Pea s ant War s , " e x t r ac t s from Ch ina Ma i n l and Magaz ine (Hon g Kon g :
U. S . Con s u l a te - Gener al ) , No . 3 1 1 , p . �
29
S chr am , op . c it . , pp . 3 and 1 6 9 .
99
c ountry s ide o n ly f or the pu r po s e o f gaining the suppor t o f t h e peasants
for the C ommuni s t c au s e .
Land re form , in the ey e s of the Commun i s t s ,
was t r an s i tory in charac ter .
t emporary s y s tem .
Pr ivat e land owne r s h ip was r e gard ed as a
In the long run , the l and shou ld b e long t o the nat ion
r ather than the p e a s an t s thems e lve s .
Th i s marks the b a s ic d i f f erence
b e tween the Commun i s t and non-Commu n i s t l and r e f orms .
Dur ing the f ir s t Nat iona l i s t - C ommun i s t u n it e d f r on t , the C ommun i s t
Par ty w a s in i t s f ir s t s t age o f deve l opmen t .
It wanted t o or gan i z e the
poor p e a s ant s and t h o s e who were exc l uded f r om s o c ie ty into a mas s move­
men t .
It s ac t ions wer e r ad ic a l and ruthl e s s .
a mas s b as i s .
I t s pur p o s e was t o bu i l d
The mi l i t ancy of l and r e f orm in th i s s tage c an b e i l l u s ­
t r a t e d by t h e e ar ly wor ks o f Mao .
In the Kiangs i per iod , the pur po s e o f land r e f orm was t o erad ic ate
the t r ad i t ional gentry c l a s s and b u i ld C ommun i s t a pp a r a t u s e s in the
S ov i e t D i s tr ic t s .
In order t o r e s i s t the mi l i t ary inva s ion o f the Kuomin­
t an g , they had t o mob i l iz e and arm the pe a s an t s .
By looking a t the var ­
iou s l and r e f orm l aws promu l gated i n th i s per iod , w e c an d i s c over that
the Commu n i s t theory of land r e f orm was gradua l ly a l tered to s uppor t
mi l i t ary mob i l i z a t ion .
In 1 9 3 7 , in order t o b u i ld an an t i- Japane s e u n i t e d front , the
C h ine s e C ommun i s t s e ven gave u p al l of the ir id e a l s abo u t l and r e form
and ac c e p t e d the Ku omi n t an g ' s rent- reduc t ion po l icy .
Th i s b a s ic change
fu l ly i l lu s tr at e d wha t Pro f e s s or S e t on-Wat s on onc e p o inted ou t , tha t the
100
Ch ine s e p e a s an t movement was a movement by the p e a s an t , n o t f or the
pea s an t .
30
A f t e r 1 9 4 9 , the Ch ine s e Commun i s t Par ty wa s s e c ur e .
The
Commu n i s t s , at t h a t t ime , made it very c lear that l and wou ld not b e l on g
to the peas an t s .
Land Re f orm o n l y marked t h e f ir s t s t e p in a pr oc e s s o f
ins t i tut iona l change .
T h e f inal a im was t o nat iona l iz e a l l t h e r u r a l
l and and make the p e a s an t s r u r a l labor e r s r ather t h a n l and owner s .
The
peas an t s ' we l f ar e wou ld b e s ac r i f iced f or indu s t r ia l izat ion , j u s t a s i t
was s ac r i f ic ed for th e Par t y ' s deve l opmen t and survival b e f or e .
Perhaps
we c an use Len i n ' s mvn wor d s t o e luc id a t e th i s re a l i s t ic a t t i tude t oward
the p e a s an t pr ob lems :
"Conc r e t e po l i t ic a l t a s k s mus t b e pr e s e n t e d in
c on c r e t e c ir c ums t anc e s .
are subj e c t t o c h ange . "
A l l th ings are re lat ive , a l l t h ings f l ow and
31
A l th ou gh the we l fare of the peas antry h a s b e e n c o n s t an t l y s ac r if ic e d t o var ious goa l s , the Ch ine s e Commun i s t s h ave suc c e s s f u l ly b u i l t
s uppor t f o r t hems e l v e s i n the c ountry s ide .
The inter e s t in g que s t ion i s
why d id t h e farme r s s uppor t the C ommun i s t Par ty at t h e expen s e o f the ir
own we l fare ?
The ir s uppor t c an be a t t r ibuted to thre e fac t or s .
the C ommun i s t Par t y s e rved as the only v o i c e o f the p e a s antry .
F ir s t ,
The
mis erab l e farme r s had no c h o ic e , s inc e the Kuomint an g n e g l e c t e d them ;
the Kuomintan t was pr oved t o b e the s ound ing b oard of the b ig c i t ie s and
nonrural popu l at ion .
30
Hugh S e t on - Wat s on , From Len i n t o Khrushchev (New York and London : Fre d e r ick A . Pr ae ger , 1 9 64 ) ,�345 , 3 3 7 - 3 39 .
31
v . I . Le n in , "Two Tac t ic s of the Soc i a l Demo c r ac y , " S e l e c ted
Work s , III , op . c it . , p . 1 0 0 .
101
S e c ond , the Ch ine s e C ommuni s t s have frequen t l y t r ied t o mer ge
the s l ogan of l and r e f orm with nat ional i s m .
They s u c c e s s fu l ly t o ok
advant age o f the ant iwar l ord moveme n t , the S ino- Japane s e War , and the
Kore an War t o rush the ir r e f orms .
It is , iron ic a l ly , the Nat i on a l i s t s
who f ir s t s t ir r e d u p a nat ion-wide f e e l ing o f n a t i on a l ism b y s pend ing
thr ee dec ad e s t e ac h ing the Ch ine s e people wha t nat i on a l i s m i s , and
remind ing them o f the hundred year nat ional humi l ia t ion ; bu t it i s the
C ommu n i s t s who r e a l ly enj oye d the f r u i t o f the thr e e - d e c ade indoc tr inat ion .
Th ird , the s k i l l fu l n e s s o f the c l a s s i f i c a t ion of the r ur a l
popu l a t ion h a s h e l pe d gain t h e peasan t s ' suppor t .
o f the rural popu l a t ion was at tac ked .
i n t o an an t i land lord u n i t e d fron t .
On ly a sma l l por t ion
Mos t of the f arme r s were organ ized
The mid d l e farmer s , a s reb e l s w ith out
a c au s e , were s trong supp or t er s of the l and r e f orm moveme n t , wh ich was
suppo s e d to be init iated and c arr ied on ma in ly by the poor p e a s an t s under
the d ir e c t ion of the int e l l ige nt s ia .
From 1 9 2 7 t o 1 9 5 3 , the mid d l e
peas an t s were never t h e t ar ge t o f C ommun i s t at t ac k .
they wer e re gar d e d a s a l l ie s of the pr o l e tar iat .
O n t h e c on tr ary ,
They wer e g iven an
equal oppor t un i ty t o j o i n the p e a s an t s ' a s s oc iat ions .
wer e prot e c ted f r om c on f i s c a t ion .
The ir proper t ie s
In c a s e o f nec e s s i ty , the Commun i s t s
even treated r ic h f armer s a s a s soc iat e s o f the rural pr o l e t ar ia t , as
they d id in the e ar ly year s o f the 1 9 5 0 ' s , s o as to i s o l ate the l and­
l or d s .
Such t ac t i c s gave mo s t o f the p e a s an t s a f e e l in g o f s a f e ty and
ind irec t ly h e lped the C ommun i s t s gain peasant suppor t .
102
As a moveme n t involved var ious c l a s s e s o f the soc ie ty , the
Ch ine s e l and r e f orm pos s e s s e d the f o l l owing char ac ter i s t i c s :
Firs t ,
al though the pe a s an t s ' s uppor t was very importan t in the land r e f orm
moveme n t , l and r e f orm was launched , d irec t e d , and c ar r ied out by the
inte l l igent s ia .
Peng Pai ' s exper ience in Ha i l u fe n g shows the inab i l ity
of the peas an t s t o t ake the i n i t iat ive in l and r e f orm .
The int e l l ige n t ­
s ia h a d t o go to t h e v i l l age s t o enc our age t h e m , t o h e l p them , and s ome ­
t ime s t o d o the wor ks f or them .
In the early y e ar s o f the 1 9 5 0 ' s , thou­
s ands of land r e f orm teams c on s i s t ing of the int e l l igen t s ia were s e n t to
the c ountry s ide to imp l eme nt l and r e f orm .
Th i s f ac t onc e again i l lu s ­
t r at e s t h e impor t anc e o f the inte l l ige n t s i a i n land r e form .
S o , the
peasan t ' s s uppor t migh t b e ide n t i f ied as pas s ive nonre s i s t an c e r ather
than p o s i t ive par t ic ipat ion .
S e c ond , the Ch ine s e l and r e f orm shows that , whe n the l and l ord
c las s c o inc ided w i t h the r u l ing c l as s , l and re form c o u ld hard ly be
c arr ied out .
It s e ems t o b e impo s s ib le for the l and l or d s t o g ive up
what they own , i f they s t i l l h o l d the po l i t ic a l power .
Th i s c an be
i l l u s tr ated b y the f a i l ur e o f the r e n t - r educ t ion po l icy put f orward by
the nat ional i s t s in the per iod of the Repub l ic .
In the e ar ly year s of
the 1 9 5 0 ' s , the C ommun i s t s h ad t o promu l gate the Ant i - re vo lut ionary Law
in order to provide the legal we apon by wh ich the land l or d s wer e forced
t o g ive up the ir l and .
ano the r e v i d e nc e .
Th e l and r e f orm c arr ied out i n Ta iwan gave
Ta iwan was r u l ed by Japan f or a lmo s t a h a l f c e nt ury .
In 1 945 , whe n China r e gained Taiwan , there had b e e n n o a s s oc iat ion
b e tween the Taiwane s e l and l ords and the r u l ing c la s s f rom the main land .
103
So the r e f orm pro gram wh ich f a i l e d in the ma in land was s u cc e s s f u l ly
c arr ied out in Taiwan .
Th ird , the armed pe a s an t s p l ayed a n impor t an t r o l e in l and r e f orm .
They prov ided the n e c e s s ary protec t ion and s e c ur i ty thr ough wh ich the
pe a s an t s , w i th the suppo r t o f the inte l l e c t ua l s , wer e ab l e t o comp l e t e
t h e r e f orm pr ogram w i thout fear in g the or gan ized re s i s t anc e o f the l and­
lord s .
Th is c an be pr oved by the f ac t that the armamen t of the f arme r s
was o n e of t h e impor tant works o f t h e work i n g t e ams wh i ch were s en t to
the c o u n try s ide to imp leme n t l and re form .
The l and r e f orm pr ogram was comp l e t e d in 1 9 5 3 .
From 1 9 5 3 to the
pr e s e n t t ime , C ommun i s t Ch ina has made a gre at pr o gr e s s in i t s n a t ional
c on s t r uc t ion .
Undoub t e d l y , the s uc c e s s fu l l and r e form has b e e n the
b a s i s of a l l its ach ievemen t s , f or , in a country l ike Ch ina wh ich is
s t il l mai n ly agrar ian , agr icu l t ure mu s t b e the bas i s f or a l l e c onomic
d eve l opmen t .
A l though the Ch ine s e pe o p l e c an h ar d l y forget the terr ib le
and b l oody day s of l and re f orm , they h ave alr e ady s e en the growing tree s
they p l an t e d twe lve ye ar s ag o .
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