Agrarian Policies of Mainland China: A Documentary Study, 1949-1956 0674011503, 9780674011502

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Over-all Agrarian Programs -15autonomous regions are required to finish the main organizJ.bion of elementary agricultural cooperativization and to reach j r._ 7_ ·_, r :i ::,;, goal of appi_',JJd.n�n.t (-J_y 2.

Areas where the foundations of cooperativization are firmer and

higher-stage APCs [iee.., collective farms] are alr2ady in operation are, in

the main, required to complete the hip;her stage of agricultural cooperativization by 1957. Each of the remaining areas must set up and operate one or more large

higher-stage cooperatives (of more than 100 peasant families each) to serve as

.examples; and by 1958 it must complete the main work of organizing higher-stage agricultural cooperatives.

The conditions wh�ch must be present for elementary cooperatives to advance to the higher ·stage are: the step must be voluntarily de�ired by the

cooperative members; the cooperative must have strong enough leadership; and more than 90% of its members must be able to d€rive higher incomes after the change.

Elementary cooperatives in which conditions are ripe should advance to

the higher stage gradually and group by group.

If they do not go forward to the

higher stage, the productive .forces will be handicapped . .. . . 6.

Within twelve years, beginning in 1956, the average annual yield of

grain in the areas to the north of the Yellow River, Ch'inling Mountains, Pailung River and the Yellow River within the boundary of Tsinghai Province

should be increased from the level of 1,125 kilograms in 1955 to 3,000 kilo­ grams per hectare�

South of the Yellow River and north of the Huai River, the

yield should be increased from the 1,560 kilograms in 1955 to 3,750 kilograms per hectare. South of the Huai River, Ch'inling Mountains and Pailung River,

it should rise from the 3,000 kilograms in 1955 to 6,000 kilograms per hectare., Within twelve years beginning in 1956, the average annual yield of

ginned cotton should be increased from the 262.5 kilograms in 1955 (the average

for the whole of China) to 450,000, or 750 kilograms per hectare, according to local conditions.

Apart from ensuring the fulfillment of the state-planned production

targets for the following crops--grain, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, rapeseed,

sesame, hemp, cured tobacco, silk, tea, sugar cane, beet, fr;.11:_,· , tea. oil and

tung oil trees--active steps must be taken by all areas to develop all other

marketable industrial crops.

Efforts should also be made in the mountainous

Over-all Agrarian Programs -31I.l 7 Ch' en Po-ta ft_ { tl � , "Socialistic reform in Chinese agriculture," JMJP (Feb. 3, 1956). Predicts the socialist revolution in rural China will lead to the success­ ful elimination of capitalism (Le*) rich-peasant economy) in rural areas. Discusses factors that facilitate cooperativization. Also why organized farming will lead to agricultural development.

I.18 Sun Ching-chih, "Food resources and p,opulation growth," PC, no. 10: 4-10 (May 16, 1956) • Author refutes the Malthusian theory on population and maintains that food production in China since the establishment of the CPG in Oct. 1949 has increased at a far greater rate than population. And the �uture potentialities for expand­ ing food production, with the progress of science and about 100 million hectares of arable land, are even greater. Article chiefly blames irrational J.ifrli·:Umtion and colonialism for the "relative over-population, poverty and hunger existing in some countries." A chart showing the increase in the average yield of various major crops in China between 1949 and 1955 is as follows:

-��\=....

Increase in the Average Yield of Various Major 0 1 1 � ·� E�---?l�.... 9}�. .'.2�� __(�:!,' !�..:�.::tt.r?.1:11.�./1::??.!�.��-�) 19 53 19 54 19 49: 19 51: 19 5��: 1,311;. l ,Li.17 All Grain and 1,029 1,1;,5 Potatoes 1,892 2,109 2, 21�9 2,L:.11 2 )) 516 2,467 2,675 Hice ,�,/+2 e66 '.Sheat 71+.E e59 S36 713 ?31 1, Li.OL1. 1,610 1,690 1,reo 1,2:1+7 1,736 1,er,o Potatoes To make comparison easier, 4 kilograms of potatoes is taken as equivalent to l kilogram of grain. Drops in 1953 and 1954 were due to floods.

Ll9 ,State Statistical Bureau, ncommunique on the results of the implementation of the nation's economic plan in 1955," JMJP (June 15, 1956). "By the end of 1955, the number of APCs exceeded 1,900,000 with 75,000,000 peasant households participating in them, about 65 per cent of all peasants in the whol� country. The areas under collective farming exceeded one billion mou [ around 70 million hectares], or abou-t 64 per cent of the total area under cultivation. Of these cooperatives, more than 17,000 were of the higher stage, with more than 4,70C,OOO peasant households as members, and working more than 5,466,000 hectares. "Bumper harvests were achieved in 1955. The total grain output was 184,000,000 tons, fulfilling the plans by 102 per cent, and being 9 per cent more than in 1954. Cotton output reached 1,518,000 tons, fulfilling the plans by 117 per cent, and being 43 per cent over that of 1954 •••• "In 1955, in the major producing areas of different crops, the output per unit of cultivated area from APCs generally registered a marked increase over that from individual peasants, thP increase being: unhusked rice, 10%; wheat, 7%; soybean, 19%; cotton, 26%. This fully reveals the superiority of APCs •• . Over 866,000 hectares of land were reclaimed in 1955. "Owing to the inadequate supply of fodder and the improper handling of the question of pooling livestock in the cooperatives, the 1955 plans for animal

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Agrarian Reform (Land Redistribution)

laborer (hiring long-term farm hands).

In addition, they may also let out part

of their land for rent, lend out money, or carry on industrial or commercial

enterprises.

public bodies.

Most of the rich peasant-s-· also manage the landholdings owned by

Some own a considerable amount of fertile land, engage in labor themselves., and do not hire any laborers. But they exploit the peasants 'by way of land rent and loan interest. In such cases, they should be treated in same manner as rich peasants are. Exploitation by rich peasants is of a

constant character, and in many cases the income from such exploitation consti;t;:.1>::. utes .es t.J1eir· ff;J·t-'.,n r.;e-:1.ns cf livelihood .. Supplement:iry decisions agopt�d by the GAC:

( 1) If the area of

land rented out by a rich peasant exceeds in size the· land cultivated jointly

by himself and by hired laborers, he shall be referred to as a rich peasant of a semi-landlord type.

The land and other properties of rich peasants, or of

rich peasants of a.semi-landlord type shall be dealt with in accordance with

Article 6 of the Agrarian Reform Law.

(2) Where a landlord family has some members �ho are engaged

in major agricultural labor all the year round, or at the .same ti.me hires laborers to cultivate part of its land, the said family shall be cl'assified as a landlord family and not as a rich-peasant family, if the major part of its

land is rented out and th� rented-out land is three times or more the size of

the land cultivated jointly by the family and by hired laborers ( for instance, 150 � of land rented out, and less than 50 � cultivated by the family and

by hired laborers); or if the family possesses large landholdings, and rented­

out land is twice or more the size of the land cultivated jointly by the family and hj:red laborers (for instanc{�, 200 mou rented out, and less than 100 mou cultivated by the family or hired laborers). c.

Middle peasant.

Many middle peasants own lando

Some possess

only a portion of the land which they cultivate, while the remainder is rentedo

Some of them are landless and rent all their land ·from others. own a certain number of farm implements.

their own labor for their living.

Middle peasants

�hey depend wholly or mainly upon

In general they do not exploit otherse Many , of them ar!8 themselves exploited on a small scale by others, throu,ghi"land or:)? rent and loan interest. But generally they do not sell their labor powero Some of them (the well-to-do middle peasants) practice a sr._,J,11 degree of

Agrarian Reform (Land Redistribution)

-49another form, the income from which is equal to, or more than, the income

derived from hiring two lonc--term laborers.

But a family like this may not be

classified as a rich-peasant family if it has many r:J'.J.ths to feed and is by no means well to do.

(c) In the case of a family regularly practicing other forms of exploitation, the income from which is more than the income derived from hiring one long-term laborer, but less than the income derived from hiring two long-term laborers, the family's income from exploitation must be carefully

calculated to determine whether it exceeds 25% of the total income,»

If it does,

the family should be classified as a rich-peasant family" If not, it shall be classified as a middle-peasant or well�to-do middle-peasant familye

(d) The hiring of odd-job laborers, or laborers on a month­

ly basis, for 120 days in the course of a year is to be calculated as the equiv~•· alent of hiring one long-term laborere

(e) In calculating the de�ree of exploitation practiced by a family, care must be taken to balance against each other the income derived by the family from the exploitation of others, and the income derived by others C(W"

from the exploitation of the said family • • • • J. Some new decisions adopted by the GAG a.

Small handicraft producers.

Those who possess such means of

production as a small quantity of handicraft implements, small workshops and raw materials, who are personally engaged in independent handicraft production

and depend wholly or mainly on the sale of their manufactured goods for their means v of li elihood, shall be classified as small handicraft producers or inde-L pendent producers. The small handicraft producers in generc1.l do not hire workers., Sometimes they hire assistants and \apprentices whose services are a:1..1xiliary in nature, but they chiefly depend on their own hadicraft labor for their main means

of liv elihood. T:1ese small handicraft producers shall have a similar social status as the middle peasants. 1

c.

Handicraftsmen.

Those who do not possess any means of produc-

tion, or possess only a few handicraft implements, who sell their labor power

'to consumers, handicraft capitalists, or small- handicraft producers, who carry on handicraft production for the employers and depend wholly or mainly upon

Organized Farming

concerning the development of the mutual-aid and cooperative movements 2.t the present period shall cover the following three aspectse a.

Large-scale and guided development of the first form of mutual­

aid and cooperative rn:c\T3ment, i.e., temporary, seasonal and simple mutual aid

throughout the country, especially in the newly liberated areas and in those

areas where the.mutual-aid movement is still weak • •

0

•

b. Guided and systematic promotion of the second form, i.e. year-round mutual:..,,aid teams, richer in content than simple mutual aid, in

areas where the mutual-aid movement has taken·root.

It is also wrong to remain

satisfied for a long time with temporary, seasonal mutual aid, instead of

striving f or its further consolidation and evolut"ion so as to enable the peasants to win greater benefits through year-round mutual aid. c.

Guided development on a selected basis of the third form, i.e.,

APCs with land as shares, in areas where the masses have accumulated relatively

rich experiences in_mutual aid and where comparatively strong leading. activists have emerged. It is wrong, of course, to adopt a formalistic and adventurist

working style, that is, to be much too ambitious in proceeding with the third form simply. by_ command from above, without taking into account the peasantE, v

needs in prod1i,::;tj__ on, the fonndations of

tl.Jf;

mutucil-aid movement, the leading

activists, the peasants' enthusiasm, their readiness, or other conditions

@

•

e

5. On the two erroneous tendencies in agricultural cooperative movement [ Omitted, see 6]. 6. Experience gained in the past shows ·that in the mutual-aid and

cooperative movement in agricultural production, both compulsion and command and laissez-faire practices in the method of leadership are erroneous • ,, • o 7$

There are many ways to set up model examples.

But whatever is

done must be aimed at really raising productivity, so as to produce more grain or other crops and to increase income. Only under the call to produce more grain and to increase income can the peasants be mobilized to organize them 'selves • • • • 8. According to materials collected from various places, the follow­

ing are the important and key problems arising from within the mutual-aid teams and APCs which have an important bearing on their consolidation and development,

and demand our close attention:

•

Organized Farming

':'}Jird, to do well in financial management and accounting�

The production plans,

profit and loss, and distribution of profits of the cooperatives find their direct

expressions in financial control and accounting Fourth, to intensify political work.

is fourfold�

e

e

0

•

The political work in cooperatives

(1) to stimulate enthusiasm for production and a sense of responsi­

bility on the part of members, and to inculcate in them observance qf labor discipline; (2) to cultivate patriotism, attachment to the cooperatives and

collectivism, and remold individualism; (3) to unite the masses inside and outside the cooperatives, and to teach the members of cooperatives that they

must not insult others, must not enjoy privileges, and must not exploit others·

by abusing their economic superiority, but rather should help others and unite

the masses inside and outside the cooperatives;

(4)

to recruit party members

and Y:mth League members, build party and League organizations (sub--branches or

teams), and establish the role of party and League as the core, the leader and

the shock force in the cooperatives, for our political work is mainly carried out through party and League memberse

bers .

Fifth, to train cadres� Cadres decide everything o " � o Sixth, to carry out new technical measures and give state aid o e In addition, mutual-aid teams should be established in large l1UJE-··

3.

The party's rural class policy during the transition periode

The

so-called rural class policy of the party during the transition period is to rely on the poor peasants (including the newly-elevated middle peasants), to

unite solidly with the middle peasants, and to proceed gradually from restrict­ing to finally wiping out exploi tation activities ·bJy the rich peasants e Why is this policy proposed? the reason is very simple0 It is that in the rural villages we are now facing a struggle between the two roads of development,

between socialism and capitalism--a sharp class struggle to see.who will win., It is our task to lead the rural villages to foll.ow the path to socialism.

Tl:en

which social forces can we rely on for support, which force� can be won over, and which forces must be restricted?

We must implement this systematic class

policy, according to the concrete conditions in rural villages after land reform, and according to the interests and relationships of various strata, towards

socialism and capitalism in order to ensure the success of socialism .

o

"

"

Organized Farming

desire voluntarily to join the cooperat ives, may be admitted thereto; the rest will for the moment not be admitted, much less may they be dragged into the cooperatives against their will.

For at the moment they still have not been

awakened to a pursuit of a socialist path•

Only wh(:_m' the::: majoritjr in· ·:::,l.'1e rura1

areas have joined the cooperatives, or when the production per unit of cultivated

area in the cooperatives has reached the same, or a higher, level as that of

the prosperous middle peasants, and they realize that individual cultivation

will be to their own disadvantage and it will be better to join the cooperatives, will they come to the resolution to join.

In this way, let us first get together the people who are economically

still in difficulties or are not prosperous (they constitut e from sixty to

seventy per cent of the rural population), and, in accordance with the degree

of their awakening, divide them into groups and organize them for the formation

of cooperatives in the next few years. We shall then later take in the pros­ perous middle peasants. In this way commandism will be avoided�

During the next few years, in areas which have not yet been basically cooperativized, landlords and rich peasants must res.olutely be refused admission

to coogers.tives,_.,

In areas basically cooperat ivized, and in the cooperatives

already consolidated, former landlords and rich peasants who have long since abandoned exploitation and undertaken l�Bor service, and who are abiding by the

laws and decrees of the government, may be conditionally admitted in groups and

at : Ufferent stages, so that they may participate in collective labor and continue t o reform themselves in the midst of labor. 6.

We must believe (1) that the bro2,d masses g.re willing, under the

leadership of the party, to march gradually on the road of socialism; and (2) that the party is capable of leading the peasants on the road of socialism.

These two points are the basic aspects and the main currents of the matter.

rr

we lack this confidence, we shall not ·be &b1e essentially to build _up socialism in .a period of about three Five-Year Plans. 7. In agriculture, under the conditions in our country, we must first achieve cooperativization (in a capitalist country, it would be the capitaliza­ tion of agriculture) before we can make use of large machinery @ It will be seen that industry and agriculture, and also socialist industrialization and

socialist transformation of agriculture, cannot be separated and made independent

of each other • • • •

Organized Farming

-93and stages, so that their reform can be furthered through collective work in production.

Second, landlords or rich peasants who have already joined cooperatives

should be dealt with separately according to their behavior since joining the

cooperatives.

cooperatives.

Those engaged in sabotage must be resolutely expelled from the

Where there are serious offenses, the landlords or rich peasants

concerned should be handed over to the courts for punishment�

Only those who

are law-abiding and who engage in labor may be permitted to remain in the

cooperatives to further their reform.

Third, steps must be taken, according to the varying circumstances, to

clean up and reorganize those cooperatives in which landlords, rich peasants or counter-revolutionaries have usurped important positionse

Fourth, the sham cooperatives organized by landlords, rich peasants or

counter-revolutionaries should be dissolved.

Education should be carried out

among the poor and middle peasants in such cooperatives according to the cir-

cumstances and they should be reorganized • • 10. Plans for agricultural cooperativization for the various areas should include cooperativization plans for such branches of the economy as forestry, livestock raising, fishing, salt production and others. '?hey should ®

•

also include cooperativization plans for supply and marketing, credit, handicraft production, and transport. In addition, plans for the expansion of the cultural

and educational work of the party and of people's organizations should be included. In drawing up plans for agricultural cooperativization, the party

committees at all levels, first and foremost the hsiang party branches and

county,party committees, should at the same time work out over-all and longterm production plans according to local conditions. the development of agriculture their central aim.

These plans should make

11. In planning agricultural cooperativization, particular attention

should be paid to the plans for hsiang and villages, because such plans are the foundation of the whole plan of agricultural cooperativizationo The party committees at all levels should guide the party organizations of some selected

,key hsiang or villages in drawing up over-all plans for their progressive develop� ment, in accordance with the conditions in the particular hsiant". or village.

Organized Farming

III.6

State Council, Nung-yeh sheng-ch'an ho-tso-she shih fan chang-ch'eng ts'ao� � ,'.-1: �- fa,,___ 1 "r: � J�I:' ..::);:... .1. cz -"i: rb( Draft mode1 regul ations . an .f