STLECTED V/ORI(S
of
MAO TSE.TT]I\G
Volume One
6fff.
LONDON
LAWRENCE
& S/ISHART LTD
L954
-prMAO TSE-TUNG
hard-pressed
in the villages, and hold a position in the peasant
movement as important as the poor peasants.
In addition tothese, there is a faitly large number of lumpen'
proletarians, that is, peasants who have lost their land and
irandicraftsmen who have lost all opportunity of employment'
They lead the most precarious kind of tife. They have formed
secret societies in various places-for instance, the Triune
Society in Fukien and Kwangtung; the Society of Brothers in
Hunan, Hupeh, Kweichow and Szechrvan; the Society of Big
Swords in Anhwei, Honan and Shantung; the Society of
Rational Life in Chihli and the three north-eastern provinces;16
and the Blue Band in Shanghai and elsewherelT-all these
have been their mutual-aid organisations in political and
economic struggle. To assign these people to their proper role
is one of Chini;s difficult problems. Able to fight very bravely
but apt to be destructive, they can become a revolutionary
force when properly guided.
From the abbve it ian be seen that all those in league with
imperialism-the warlords, the bureaucrats, the complado-11,
the nig landlords and the reactionary section of the intelligentsia dependent on them-are oql-gnqld-q[: The industrial
sections
f,roletariaf is the leading force in?ur revolution. All
are,9gr--c!osest
bourgeoisie
of tn. semi-proletariat and the petty
class, its right wing may
.{d-.-ttds. As to the vacillating-1pj$dle"f..o*"
our enemy and its leff wing may become our friend,
but we must be constantly on our guard towards the latter and
not allow it to create confusion in our front.
March ry26.
REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO
THE PEASANT MOVEMENT II{ HU}{AN
This article was written in reply to criticisms made both inside and outside
theParty agairut the peasants' revolutionary struggles in r9z6-7, Comrade
Mao Tse-tung went to Hunan and spent thirty-two days making investigations and then wrote this report. The Right opportunists in the Partn
headed bg$ft-lq Ju+si,u, were unwilling to accept Comrade Mao's views
and persisted in their erroneous opinions. Their chief mistake was that,
scared by the reactionary current ofthe Kuomintang, they dared not support
the great revolutionary struggles of the peasants that had broken out or
were breaking out. To appease the Kuomintang, they preferred to desert
the peasantry, the chiefally in the revolution, and thus landed the working
class and the Communist Party in helpless isolation. The Kuomintang took
advantage of this weakness of the Communist Party and was emboldened
in the summer of rgzT to betray the revolution, launch its campaign to
"purge the party", and make war against the people.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PEASANT PROBLEM
During my recent visit to Hunanl I conducted an investigation
on the spot into the conditions in the five counties of Siangtan,
Siangsiang, Hengshan, Liling and Changsha. In the thirty-
two days from Januaty + to February 5, in villages and in
county towns, I called together for fact-finding conferences
experienced peasants and comrades working for the peasant
movement, listened attentively to their reports and collected a
lot of material. Many of the hows and whys of the peasant
movement were quite the reverse of what I had heard from the
Lentry in Hankow and Changsha. And many strange things
there were that I had never ,I".r, o, heard of'before.* I think
these conditions exist in many other places.
kinds of arguments against the peasant movement must
,o-eAII
speedily set right. The erroneous measures taken by the
revolutionary authorities
concerning the peasant movement
be rp"idity changed. Onty thirs can any good be done
Xlustror the fuiure
of the revolution. For the rise Jf the presentmovement
is
l_t{lf,
tn China's central, a colossal event. fn a very short time,
southern and northe.r, prorrirr..r, ,.lr"rui
t'l,--MAO TSE.TUNG
I hundred million peasants will rise like a tornado or tempest'
that no power'
, a force so extraordinarily swift and violent
all
ho*"rr", great, will be abie to suPpress it' They will break
along the
trammels"thai now bind them Lttd t'tsh forward
warlords'
road to liberation. They will send all imperialists'
graves'
their
to
officials, locatr bullies and bad gentry
will
comrades
"tt."pt
All revolutionary pu.ti", and all revolulionary
rejected
or
stand before themio be tested, and. to be accepted
.
as they decide.
. 1, , at
_. tL
therr
To march at their head and lead them? Or to follow
to face
rear, gesticulating at them ancl criticising them? Or
them
: as oPPonents?
E;.;y iitin.r. is free to choose among the three alternatives'
but circumstances demand that a quick choice be made'
GET ORGANISED!
the
The peasant rnovement in Hunan, so far as it concerns
province'
the
of
counties in the central and southern sections
roughly
where the movement is already developed, can be
divided into two Periods'
The first period was the period of organisation' extending
perrod' there
from January to September of last year' In this
underground
of
stage
;;; ,it; stugl from iuorru,y
-rtug" to lune-a
whcn the
Scptember
f'o* luly,to
activitics, u".,a tn"
of open
stage
revolutionary army exielled Chao Heng-liz_*a
p"uf1i:
of
activities. In this p"iiod, the membership
,th"masses rt
the
and
association totalled only 3oo,ooo-4oorooo,
a million; as
;kili;;;tiy lead r,,rmtei.d-but little more than
very little
areas'
rural
there was hardly ant struggle in the
members
its
Since
criticism of the associatioi"was heard'
in theJ{orthern
served as guides, scouts and carriers, the officers
for the peasant
two
or
'E*p.aiti# Army even had a good word
association.
ih" second period was the perioct of revolutionary action'
to*
lurt.O.tober to thi' 3utt"uty'- The membership
and the masses
"",."ai"g
of the peasant assocration jumped to.two million
to ten
increased
leadership
direct
o,ru, #ho* it could
"*.,Ji'"
one name
*iiiio" p"ople. As the peasants mostly
entered only
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 23
for each famity when joining the association, a me'mborship
.,f r*o million therefore mcans a mass following of about ten
million. Of all the peasants in Hunan, almost_half are organ'
ised. In counties like Siangtan, Siangsiang, Liuyang, ChangHengshan,
Pingkiang,
Siangyin,
Ningsiang,
sha, Liling,
Hengyang, Leiyang, Chen and Anhwa, nearly all the peasants
have rallied organisationally in the association and followed its
leadership. The peasants, with their extensive organisation, ,..
went right into action and yrithin four months brought about a.
g:leat and unprecedented revolution in the countryside
,
DOWN WITH THE LOCAL BULLIES AhID BAD GENTRY!
ALL POWER TO THE PEASANT ASSOCIATION!
The peasants attack as their main targets the lCe"al.bulli.es and
bad gqntry and the lawless landlords, hitting in passing against
-ffiiarchal
ideologies and institutions, corrupt officials in the
cities and evil customs in the rural areas. In force and momentum, the attack is like a tempest or hurricane; those who submit
to it survive and those who resist it perish. As a result, the
privileges which the feudal landlords have enjoyed for thousands of years are being shattered to pieces. The dignity and
prestige of the landlords are dashed to the ground. With the fall
of the authority of the landlords, the peasant association becomes
the sole organ of authority, and what people call "All power to
. the peasant association" has come to pass. Even such a trifle as a
quarrel between man and wife has to be settled at the peasant
association. Nothing can be settled in the absence of people
Irom the association. The association is actually dictating in
all matters in the countryside, and it is literally true that "whatever it says, goes". The public can only praise the association
and must not condemn it. The local bullies and bad gentry
and the lawless landlords have been totally deprived of the
right to have their say, and no one dares'muiter the word
"No". To be safe from'the power and pressure of the peasant
association, the first-rank local bullies and bad gentry fled to
onanghai; the second-rank ones to llankow; the third-rank
ones to Changsha;
and the fourth-rank ones to the county
towns; the fiith-rank ones and even lesser fry can only
,
t'p*INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT rN HUNAN 25
MAO TSE'TUNG
2+
surrender to the peasant
remain in the countryside and
association.
admit me to the peasant
"I'11 d.onate ten dollars, please worrld sav'
gentry
ur**iuaio";;, one of the smaller
the peasants would
*^i'i
"Pshaw! wrro
il,iittili*yt"
reply.
iil"t
1:l ::::?*i:*#tiJ;
issociation, now seek
d;;;;,
"3f9:."d-t:^t::.1"':ii::J r often came across
fi fi iJil'#"i'i'ii'i'ingvariousplu'::'-l-:.T:i.:'T:.::lT:
;,;*. :i : r:; i*: ::Tl jl*;.'l:
3:f;'iliil,: -* :ilffi prwv'rlr
Lrrtr
rrorrr
r,:.hll?i"'J1ffi XH'ffi'h;;;?tl;1;*^i=?:H:',i.
mmitteeman
::*'fl
the
the
t'^- local ut'thoriiies under
and small lan$rords'
mrddle."""
Manv middle
:']::::;;;;;,",t
formerrv
-'Ihe
rurrrp'uu v;
Doolr compiledby
fit" census book
o-enial
-^.^ and
^-,r .a special
tsister
regulal^11-^---..u
a
"."t"*
of
consisted
Manchu rdgime
"
"n^ in the
L'u '"",-"it-ffi i'l
r'
f#,".T'f
regrsrct
'
undesirables' The peasants
latter burglars, band ^"J ointi
..^;;:;,.,tori oeoole
:i
ff.""lii
special
th' ;'i;;ion: "Enter them in the
?#i;ffi
F''" r::"l1::'+#*il,:l:
ll'T#$tH ;3ffi:.1t
r**1 *',':lii
';
;:'ilfittff::.lT
**r1:T';."ple,
special register'
afraid of being entered in the
not
to the association and do
-iJ'i*it-tion
trv various means
i"t"e' their names are entered
'"
felt at ease until, t'tll;
"tgttlv
sternlv turned down' and
in its register. But tf"v u""u' a "'le
barred from
so spend thcir davs
like homeless people' In
the doors of the
"#;;;;;;;?*
at four months ago as the
short. what *u, gtniffi^l"tti"a
'
b;;;'";ething most ofhonourabre
the gentry
power
the
before
Those who prostratti *t*t"f"es
the power of the peasants'
now prostrate themlelves btfo'"
has changed since last october'
#l;il;;;;;J#"ense;
ffi1""ff;;;'i^ ;;;
til#fiffi;;h;;;*;fu
AND "VERY GOOD INDEED!"
..AN AWFUL
countrvside disturbed the
The revolt of the peasants in the
When news about the countryside
sweet dreams of the g"""V'
an
there immediatelv burst into
reached the cities, tti"^gtit"V
from
people
ah;Gs'ha' r met
uproar. when I fi"t""il;;i i;
f"4 delalof tttett gossip' From
."o
various circles
the middle *trutu
tang, there was
P*;J;;t
Kuomin-
the
t'pil'i;tlt;";;tght-winsers ofsummarise
dii not
not;ffi;;;;Th"
the
whole thing in one phrase: "An iwful mess!" Bven quite
revolutionary people, carried away by the opinion of the
*awfiil mess" school which prevailed like a storm over the whole
city, became downhearted at the very thought of the conditions
in the countryside, and could not deny the word "mess". Even
very progressive people could only remark, "fndeed a mess, but
inevitable in the course of the revolution". In a word, nobody
could categorically deny the word "mess".
But the fact is, as stated above, that the broad peasant mass-eT-;
have risen to fulfil their historic mission, that the democratic i
Ibfppp. i" the rural areas have risen to overth?ow the rural
ffiq;i p"*er. The patriarchal-feudal class of local bullies, bad
gentry and lawless landlords has formed the basis of autocratic
government for thousands of years, the cornerstone of imperialism, warlordism and corrupt officialdom. To overthrow this
feudal power is the real objective of the national revolution. i
What Dr. Sun Yat-sen wanted to do in the forty years he devoted i
to the national revolution but failed to accomplish, the peasants
have accomplished in a few rnonths. This is a marvellous feat
which has never been achieved in the last forty or even thousands of years. It is very good indeed. It is not ,,a mess,' at all.
It is anything but "an awful mess".
"An awful ilss5s"-1hat is obviously a theory which, in line
with the interests of the landlords, aims at combating the rise of
the peasants, a theory ofthe landlord class for preseliing the old
order of feudalism and obstructing the establishment Jf a new
order of democracy, and a countir-revolutionary theory. No
revolutionary comrade should blindly repeat it. If yo., hurr.
nrmly established your revolutionary viewpoint and have furthermore gone the round of the villages for a look, you will feel
o;rerjoyed as never before. Ther"e, great throngs
of tens of
of
slaves,
i.e.
the
peasants,
are
overtlirowing
their
llou:1"9r
cannibal enemies. Their actions
are absolutely correctj their
are very good indeed! "Very good indeed!,, is the ih.o.y
1i,::* p.utunts
and of all other reviolutionaries. Every ,.,ro- '
lll.Jh.
rutronary comrade
shourd know that the national revolution
profound
change in the countryside. The Revolution
::q:ires_a
did
not
bring
ibout this change, hence its failure.
il^.t9l,tt
rrow
the change is taking place, which is-an important factor
lfF
MAO TSE.TUNG
z6
necessary
revolutionary
for compieting the revolution'. Everv be taking the
wili
must supp#'irtit trt""se' or he
comrade
counter-revolutionarY stand'
FAR"
THE qUESTION oF "GOING TOO
tuy' "although
There is another section of people Yh9 has sone rather
the
too
to be formed' -it
peasant association ;-*
opiointt oi the middle-offar in its present utt'ol?l' ihi;;ilt
stani in realitv? True' the
the-roaders' But ht;;; ;;;;;t
unreasonablv" in the countrypeasants do in some ways "act
in authority' does not
side. The peasant association, supreme makes a clean sweep
and
aliow the randrords ,o rru". their say
to --trampling lhe
tantamount
of all their prestige' This is
The peasants
down'
them
landlords underfoot ofttt i"o"tting
imPose nnes
;";;;;;;ui'egi't"'"; theYcontributions;
aid demand
on the local bullies tta"il"J?tntry
of people t*ul1^illo
Ci'o*d'
they smash thei' 'eiui*ft"iit'
who oppose-the
gentry
bad.
and
i'iitrr"*lt'"ili'; to.ut u"tti"s
oeasantassociation,slarrglrtering^theirpigsandconsumrng
lolifor a.minute or two on the
'ie"
m-ademoisell"t
11.:l'
ivorv beds of the )#;g";;iu*tt. ""a slightest provocatron
the
At
ge''try'
tid
fr"ffltt
rf*
.i
ir*iff.t
with tJl paplr-hats' and
they make arrests, ;;;tf;;;;lested
bad gentry' now you
pr.irJ"lrt.m through the.villages:. "Y3ulhev like and turning
know who we arc!-" Doing whatever
a kind of
-tftitItu1" even created
everything upside do*", tiiel
call
people
is what some
terror in the ""*'iipiit'
''::;;;; beyond,the
a
right
to
proper limit
"going too far", t
wrong", or "really too outrageous ' Lr^ on
^- +r-o
surface' rs
the crrrfaee
, The opinion of tlris group' reasonable
i errotteons at bottom'
have all been the inevitable
First, the things described above
u"uies and bad gentrv and
results of the d"id;';i:;;J r"tti
For ages thcse people' with power
Iawless landlords th'emselves'
peasants ind trampled them
in their hands, ty'u""i*ta over the
p;'ii"i- haye noy lisen in senous
:Tl "
underfoot; that is
revolts and the most
sreat revolt. The *oJt fot*iaable
*h"* the local bullies and
iroubles ituuriur'ry J"t;;^;G;;t
lffi;il 4;; ;;;
ff:f;.il.H;;;;t
ffiru;
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN
27
bad gentry and the lawless landlords were the most ruthless in
their evil deeds. The peasants' eyes are perfectly discerning.
As to who is bad and who is not, who is the most ruthless and
who is less so, and who is to be severely punished and who is to
be dealt with lightly, the peasants keep perfectly clear accounts
and very seldom has there been any discrepancy between the
nunishment and the crime.
Secondly, a revolution is not the same as inviting people to
I
l
dinner, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing
fancy needlework; it cannot be anything so refined, so calm and
gentle, or so mild, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. a A revolution is an uprising, an act of violence whereby
one class overthrows another. A rural revolution is a revolution
by which the peasantry overthrows the authority of the feudal
landlord class. If the peasants do not use the maximum of their
strength, they can never overthrow the authority of the landlords which has been deeply rooted for thousands ofyears. In
the rural areas, there must be a great, fervent revolutionary
upsurge, which alone can arouse hundreds and thousands of
the people to form a great force. All the actions mentioned
above, labelled as "going too far", are caused by the power of
the peasants, generated by a great, fervent, revolutionary
upsurge in the countryside. Such actions were quite necessary
in the second period of the peasant movement (the period of
revo-Iutionary action). In this period, it was necessary to
establish the absolute authority of the peasants. It was necessary to stop malicious criticisms against the peasant association.
It was necessary to overthrow all the authority of the gentry, to
knock them dtwn and even trample them und.erfoot. 'All i
actions labelled as "going too far" naa a revolutionary significance in the second period. To put it bluntly, it was neceiru.y
to. bring about
a briefreign ofterror in every rur al area; otherlylse one could never suppress
the activities ofthe counter-revolutionaries in the countryside or
overthrow the authority of the
To
right
a
wrong
it
is
necessary to exceed the proper
fllli.y.and
the wrong cannot be righted without the proper
il*:tt,
I I i
-
I
1
Itmitsbeingexceeded.s
opinion of this school that the peasants are "going too
,^_i,n"
rs on the surface different from the opinion of the other
'qr
'
F
MAO TSE-TUNG
zB
peasant movement is "an
school mentioned earrier that the
to the same viewpoint'
adheies
awful mess", but i" ;;;;;". it
which supports the
iu"atotds
and is likewise . th;;;^;i itt"
Since this theory hinders
interests of the p'i"ilj"J-tiutttt'
consequently disrupts the
and
the rise of the peasaoi'io"trntttt
revolution, we must oppose it resolutely'
..MOVEMENT OF THE RIFFRAFF''
THE SO.CALLED
"The peasant moveThe right wing of the Kuomintang says'
a movement of the lazy
ment is t ro,r"-""t "i tft" riffrafr'
^
t'us gui"td-much currency in Changp."rr";t';.'irrit
"pi"i*
heard the gentry say' "It is
sha. I went to ,nt to'-t"oysidl and
people now
io ,., .rp ,n" f"Jt""t association' but the
"U-tigi, it are incompetent; bctter put others on the job"' This
running
wing come to, the 111e
ooinion and the d;;;; oi th. right
mav be carried
moverient
;tiil;il;-uarii,-tnut the peasant
risen' no one dares
on (as the peasant t"""t*;'tt has alreadv peopre reading thc
resal{,the
particularlv those in charge
hate
movement u, ,"to"'p"tent and
rtutllingthem l':itrTug"'
of the associations ;ffi;'it;; i"""ri'
<lespised or kicked into
fo'meity
In short, all those *ftt *"tt
and who
#r\ffi; ilffi;';i;;;il'h
no'sociai standing'
the gutter by the gt"i'y, who had
have now, to everyone's
say,
were denied trr" ,is;i- ii ;;;r;
not only raised their
surprise, raised th'-T";;;.They'have
into.their hands' Tn-tI^^?*
heads, but have uf* i"t"" po*"i
( peas ant asso cl aussociations
p"-ulu-"I
p
,ro* rrrnrrin g the townshi
have been turned into a fortions at the lowest lt""ii,'*fti"fl
raise their rough' blackened
midable for." i,t trt# fiuiiat"^T'tttv
Thev bind the bad gentry
hands and lay tt'"* ot' ttte gentry'
and lead them in a
with ropes, put tall ;;*tti;".".th:J
called "parading through
oarade through tr'e "iliigts' (Thisis
"parading
i"'sr""g*" ind-siangsiang'' and
coarse' harsh
through the fields'il"-iili"g'1 -E "ry"duv"the
the ears of the gentry" They
sound of their a"*"'"iutio" "i*if*
in all matters' They rank above
are giving orders;;;l"ns
,rt.f ;;Y*9 to Tl"k below everybody elseeverybody
"rr",
down"'
that is what people mean by "upside
ih;.til;htji
INVESTTGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT rN IIUNAN 29
VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION
When there are two opposite approaches to a thing or a kind
of people, there will be two opposite opinions. "An awful mess,'
,,vanguard
of the
and "very good indeed", "riffraff" and
revolution", are both suitable examples.
We have seen the peasants' accomplishment of a revolu-
ionary task for many years left unaccomplished, and their
important contributions to the national revolution. But have
all the peasants, taken pnrt in accomplishing such a great
revolutionary task and in making important contributions? No.
The peasantry consist of three sections-the rich peasants, the
middle peasants and the poor peasants. The circumstances of
the three sections differ, and so do their reactions to the revolution. In the first period, what reached the ears of the rich
peasants was that the Northern Expedition Army had met with
a crushing defeat in Kiangsi, that Chiang Kai-shek had been
ryoulded,in the leg6 and had flown back to Kwangtung,? and
that Wu P'ei-fu8 had recaptured Yochow. So they thought that
the peasant association certainly could not last iong uird thut
the_Three People's Principlese could never ,.r."".1, because
such things were never heard of before. The officials of a
township peasant association (generally of the so-called ,,rifl
raff" type), bringing the membership register and entering
the house of a.rich peasant, would say to him, ,,please join
th!
-answer?
peasant association." How would the rich
peasant
"Peasant association? For years I have lived here and tilled
the fields; I have not seen anything
like the peasant association
along all the same. you had bettei give it up!,,_this
S.t
lll,
Irom a moderate rich peasant. ,,What
p.uiurrt association?
-ir"ua'
Association
for having'o".;r
lfropp"a off*-don,t
get
into trouble!,'-this from a violeni iich peasant. o
-^jf.,1isetvforenough, the peasant urroliution has now been
il::j:r.n.d Theseveral months, and has even dared to oppose
gentry in the neighbourhood have been uri"rt.d
l']l.9,:",ty.
and paraded through the villages because
;f".::^,3rto:iation
'-"-v.#+19gi9-'1_y-1l.9!*9:'"th"T.9p]_qtl
people
i#
jr+g3l$s.hi-tt,rnthe
T"::H;,TTffI,",1 JtrTl"f, I
T:#:il;:'"iT,ffi#
1.r'
,fl-
-'1
'
-RR_
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 3I
MAo TSE-TUNG
celebrating
Ningsiang'3t the meeting anti-British
and Yang Chih-tse of
the
Revolution'
the anniversary ot tf-'"'ijLb"it{irt" victory of the Northern
rallv and the grand li"tto"'"iit"
30
'#.
ii r{
f :ili:ilf
is, "Afraid,not". They think that all these things depend
entirely on the will of Heaven; "To run a peasant associaiion?
Who knows'if Heaven wills it or not?" In the first period,
people from the peasant association, registcrs in hand, would
inter the house of a middle peasant and say to him, "Please
ioin the peasant association!" "No hurry!" replied the middle
-p.urutrt.
It was not until the second period, when the peasant
association enjoyed great power, that the middle peasants
joined up. In the association they behave better than the rich
peasants, but are as yet not very active, and still want to wait
; *.'***imffi ::Lf'::-?,ll'lllll
#iff :'i#Tl!il?i5T:::i':";.*l*;';::i
rich pcasants began to feel
of the
When all this h"p;J;
celebration of the victory
been
oerplexed' In the i*;;;;
had
that Kiu-kiang10
Ieg
iqoith.r' E*peditionl' ?h; ;;;;;;
the
in
u"t" wounded
^'thZ-
taken. that Chiang
ii"lttJ;;J-ooi
p'tif"Til;;;fi""lly
and that W"
jli:if ii#
defeated' Furthermore'
llil:
i,":;;'i# ;*
yi.;;',1*1,
ff
"""u
oeasant assoclatlonl "t:y,
,---'-^,
oreen paper
DaD€r"
and sreen
red --i
on
:fr"rlii" #il; ;; the "decrees
iffi ,1.,'':T l'"';; ni'*:"nl }::,'lT:ffi::':J.""l;
regarded as emPel
nrrt nn .'rand airs' People from
- ^i^+l^- p"::^1.g"ttli'V.:ii'.;;e;yo.,
'p.uzzled'
So th. peasant association
in tt.
r"
i"io"
*
T;';a
?'iT'"ffiffi
;1"
"
the
n:*X'l'.Hil1,' :"# *u' o"iy in .l'"
these circumstances
*itt U. ten dollars!'i"tt
ti;
rich peasant* tu'alv l"i*a
ft
n ;"1 * | v,'.' " :
;:,^,.1ltl,T*
that thc
o:111;r$:T:h"J'ff"fi:
t;hl:-#l'; i. pt. t'"'t
",
';:l;'ii::il#";-";;'';o;'.::.'ff
i:#'"
llit;"i;Tfl
to tht pt:ttl^ti]1u'
1
uft
It is certainly
necessary for the peasant association to
good
deal
more
to the middle peasants in order to
explain a
get them to join.
The main force in the countryside ivhich has always put up
the bitterest fight is qhS*p,g-q p.asants. Throughout both the
period of underground organisation and that ofopen organisation, the poor peasants have fought militantly all along. They
accept most willingly the leadership of the Cornmunist Party.
They are the deadliest enemies of the local bullies and bad
gentry and attack their stronghoids without the slightest hesitation. They say to the rich peasants: "We joined the peasant
association long ago, why do you still hesitate?,' The rich
peasants answer in a mocking tone, "You people have neither a
tile over your head nor a pinpoint of land beneath your feet,
what should have kept you from joining!" Indeed, the poor
peasants are not afraid of losing anything. Many of them realiy
have "neither a tile over their head .ro, u pinpoint of land
beneath their feet"-what should have kept th.rn fro- joining
the association?
According to a survey of Changsha county, ple poor peasants
tco.mP$se .7g per cent of the rural pop,tiationj the'middle
peasants, bo per cent;
and the rich peasants and landlords,
J8t.,t ceni. The poor peasantr outro ctmprise 70 per cent can
bc subdivided into
two groups, the ,rtte.ly impoverishedla and
impoverished. the completely dirposs.ssed, i.e. those
,t^lt-,":t
^who,
wiihout any
Lno nuu. neither land nor ,no.r.y, and
llutt of livelihood, are forced to'i.urr. home and become
or hired labourers, or tramp about as
il::^"-l"tt.soldiers,
""ggars-all belong to the ,,utterly impoverished', arrd comp.ise
and see.
o
iiottu'a' who' even "p peasints join the
Wt'"" the rich
not joined tnt ""Li"^t'il*"
of some old man of
tnt, *t""'"ii'-Ltt:' th"
of
.,rrite a number of
"'*t
tnto u" always afraid
sixty or seventy ";';;;;'f^*ily'--f9:
t t Afier joining the associailtitt'"
"the drafting or tit"uit'r'" i; enthusiasticallv' They rematn
tion they ""u"' oiolt-i;;^
Their attitude is vacillating'
association
tfi:f
pe3santq?..
"Ti:iffxli+utu
w',nt"r'*ll*l;{'t#*l^*:*m',i:"'f"?'"'$;
lfTheY
have rtce
a thing
;;;"tgtrt' Thev too' judging
knocking ut tr'"i"i'ool,.;
uid tt'i'''t'
r."ii'ii'J-i,"o*i
."J"l.iri.i^f"r"i.,
,,
bv whether
tn its own feet?"
pt"'^"lassociation
tn"
'o"a
"Can
hard:
""ii'
Their conclusion
,,can the Three people,s principles rrr..'..J1"
L-_
r;
,'.
)Gt*--
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN
33
in Hengshan and Siangsiang. This is a serious mistake, which
greatly encourages- the arrogance of the reactionaries. T-o;udge
whether or not it is a mistake, one need only see ho*, uJ roJ'
as the chairmen and committeemen of the peasant associations
are arrested, the local lawless landlords aie elated and reactionary sentiments grow. We must oppose such counterrevolutionary calumnies as "riffraffmovement" and "movernent
of the Iazy peasants" and must be especially careful not to
commit the mistake of helping the local bullies and bad gentry
to attack the poor peasants.
As a matter of fac! although some of the poor peasant
leaders certainly had shortcomings in the past, most of th"*
have reformed themselves by now. They aie themselves ener-
MAO TSE.TUNG
who
have
dispossessed' f'e' those
lo o., ."rr,. The partly
more than they
l"tti,i. l"air;'tr-;iitirt *t"tn ofbut.consume
toil and worry attt tne-v;31
receive and live i" ;;;iJJ
(except the
round, e.g- lhe hanJicraftsmen' tenant-oeasants
belong
rich tenant-peasants) and,semi-tenant .'neasants-all
,,less impov.#h.d,,1b and .omprir" 50 per.:ent:
to the
altogither comprising 70 per
enormous mass of poot-p"utu"ts'
th-t buckbone of the peasant
cent of the rural ptp"f^lio", a'e
J" ot't'th'owing the - ferldll forc-e^s'
association, tr-,.
"u"tgitJJ
accomplished the Ereat
and the foremost f'?to"t who have
for many years'
t"*f"*".ry undertaking left unacc.omplished
;tintuf"
as the gentry call
Without the poor ffiff1;rtt
pottible to bring about in the
them) it would "tt:fi;;;"bittt
to overthro* ]l:
countrvside tf,e p'eTe"i *Lit of t*olution' the democratrc
complete
or-to.
il;i'i;iil;r"uia'uua gentrv'
-*o*'revolutionary,
the poor peasants
af"t.
Being
revolution.
Almost ali
association'
pe.asant
have won the leadership in the
members in the peasant
the posts of .hui,*"" iJ "o**itteelvere-held by-poor'peasants' 11
associations at the i"*"tt level
townshrp
-1h]................:
getically proltb:lilg gambling and exierminatins banditrv.
where the !-easant association is powerful, gambling"and banditry have vanished. rn some placis it is lite;lty true"that people
do not pocket articles dropped on the road and that doors are
not bolted at night. According to a survey of Hengshan, 85 per
cent of the poor peasant leaders have now turnid out io^be
quite reformed, capable and energetic. Only r5 per cent of
them retain some bad habits. Thiy can only bJ ,"gurd.J u*
"the few undesirabies", and *. *,rri not echo the loJar bullies
in condemning indiscriminately .rr.ryUody u,
Xi*b*.S*try
"riflraff". To tackle this problem of "the few'undesirabres,',
we. can only, on the basis of the association,s
slogan of strength_
ening discipline, carry on propaganda among
ihe *ass"s lrrd
educate the undesirables tLemsi,r.r,
,o that"the discipline of
may be strengthened; but we must not wantonly
l*:t:::l:,ion
send soldiers to make arrests,
lest we should undermine thl
of,the.poor peasantry and encourage rhe arrogance
$.:J^tg:
ur the local bullies and
bad gentry. This is -a point we"must
Particularly attend to.
(of the o{Ecials in the
both the first and tttt"Jpttiods
impoverished comprise
associations in Hangshan the utterly
to-mp'ise
40 per cent' and
50 per cent,.the 1#ffi"i1'hedco*p'i'L to pti cent).'' This
the impoverrshecl intellectuals
it ubsoluttlv necessary' Without
leadership .f ,ft" pt- pttt"t*
revoluiion' To reject them
the poor peasants there can be no
them is to attack the
is to reject .h. ";;;;;i;;'- Tt attack revolution has never
of the
revolution. Their g""tt'f aittction
otil};
local builies and bad
il:;e hurt the dignitv- of the small
local bullies and
gentry. They frave ft"tt""'ft"'tig ?"9
traripled them underfoot' Many
bad gentry to the il;J;"d
action, described
of their deeds in .f#ffiffi-"Ir"r;"ii""ary of the revolution'
the verY "eeds
as "going too for", i"t'" i" il"t
So
m-e
o
i
th
"
. o"
"tv
s',
sov er nm ent
FOURTEEN GRBAT DEEDS
::llltr,l ii3Hl'L"fi "':;tl:
;; ;e which t th e
ffil[;'"Tff;:,."] ff,ffi:'rui
""#;";;
officials
-Mu"y to u"t* the lower
the h"Jb'J; sent soldier'
the peasant association for having done many
liiof,:::t"iseI. huy:
already pointed out that ih. peusantj
uiJ"lltl_gt:,
a
request of
of the peasant tttJ"iit"-'
men of the township associatio"'
.',;"""""il::lxl'#'n**#ffi
chairmen and committee'
in the jails
u'"*i*ftito"ta
3
L-.
::';:xfl
rffil''ffi
",T;
)rp,INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 35
MAo TSE-TUNG
34
the local bullies and bad gentry as well as the corrupt officials
thing"
peasants have donc manv
tra"i-'6b." isolatqd, why ihe general public has 6een astonished
'.-Io- r.e that the present world is so completely different from
the past, and why a great revolution has come to pass in the
countryside. This is the fint great deed which the peasants
have accomplished under the leadership of the peasant
i:g,i:;it:tl"'.1iltTt:l
we must closelv
i:**;; *i,i"i'*'
h;;';;";. After
what :*1"1v-.t:.i'1.'J",;
out
n"a
="T'lI
;;;'iu,i r"*
:;:t;;";;-io?."l1:l
! "Tfl
*::',*,': r ;:l Jinffi J
[i;i "*ngr*l:
fourteen great
rouo*ing
association.
peasant associations:tn':"tf#J'th"
deeds.
INTO THE PEASANT
I. ORGANISING TIIE PEASANTS
2. DEALING POLITICAL BLOWS AGAINST THE
ASSOCIATION
After the peasants are organised, the first thing they do is to
the political prestige and power of the landlord class,
'-$gach
especially of the local bullies and bad gentry, i.e. to overthrow
the power of the landlords so far as their social position in thc
countryside is concerned, and to foster the growth of the
power of the peasants. This is a most serious and vital struggle.
It is the central struggle in the second period, the period of
revolutionary action. Without victory in this struggle, no
'
flq-Lo"ry will be possible in any economic struggle, such as the
'struggle
for reducing rent and interest or for securing land and
other means of production. In many places in Hunan, like
Siangsiang, Hengshan and Siangtan, this of course no longer
presents any problem, since the power of the landlords has
been completely overthrown and the peasants have become
the sole authority. But in counties like Liling there are still
some places (like the western and southern districts of Liling)
where, as the actual political struggle has not been intense, the
landlords ut" snrt.ptitiously opposing the peasants, though
they seem to be less powerfui than the latter. In such places it
cannot yet be said that the peasants have won thcir political
vrctgry, and they must wage more vigorous political struggles
un-til the power of the landlords is completely overthrown.
.,fh. peasants deal political blows io the landlords in the
peasants' In
performed'bv the
deed
great
first
aii
the
This is
and Hengshan' nearly
siangtafi'*t!;;t:{;
like
counties
ir,.'f "^u,,.,T^:l-.il**F",ffi :,1;; jlffi ',.,U.tT',T3JL
any lemote corner'H+i;il
g*"i"ng' the frrijority-of
"rJ
""J'l;J'1""Jil?f i'"in;*::*':nTil,:"'i':;
|il.'Hffff
,:.':.::l-"j;t|'j::
sanised-th**tn.'.iiJ"i;;,'r^"1,t""ffi
onlv u *11?1'ry,ffi1';1;';ilr' grua"'
t'n.^*l" and Linglifg'
remains un or ga-n lsed*-frif
maj ority
by Yuan
""*" counties i"-*t*'""'-Ht"tu"' dominated
In many
tomfletelv unorganised
has not
Tzu-ming,1? the ;;';;;;-;t*ui"
thc peasant association
of
p'opugu"au
tn"
because
grade' ln general' the
foy'*
iT-trl"
are
ttt"*-tr'i"
reached
Ctt*gsha as the centre'
*ith
il;;
central
in
counties
come-second;
i"'o"tt'"'*'H*tu"
the most uat'u"""ai'iiti"'
to get organised'
"p"^""t
while weste'" Ht'"l"i';il;9gt;"ing
i
p;"'i""i
tl.'"'
t"
g
if Hfi I
Accordin
organisatlons'
."t".n .i la"st November'
:
*li:::ll;
I
\l
\i
\l
H.;-il-;i,TT::"ilf '";";f y"lt,':il:f :':"#lii::
the
a membershto
"t'*1:1' lll; J.liill"';;l N";;*ber-when *
::?xil:"*,3ffi :iH":'*;:"tt*',#'*:"*Hf
ffi
ih"r" were ogy soo'ooo-4oo'ooo "'**;Jii. Tnl;i
jo""u'v
lollowing wavs.
Auditiig
^ guilty of'Accounts. Most of the local bullies and bad gentry
are
olf embezzling the public funds under their minagernent and
their accou.ris urJ not in order. Now the p.uruit,
nave used
the auditing of accounts as a lever to overlhrow a
;;i"-;idor
3:x"#.n::l'1il:1ll'J'xil"*1,:i'n"i"fr
j:::, ly:#Xl
;;;:1 *"
flzvo Icau'u*
mustJ i1*?
memb e*n'n'lli'
only one
the membership
* ^'-.ullv
enters Hi'T":
i\ri
ffi &!:ili-.**i?l itl',*n'
f*y:,l*H:'r
exPansr(
accelerating
azinglY
;;;';
;*
LANDLORDS
lt
Ereat rn2ny
"':
&'
local buliies and bad gentry.
In
many places
*
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 37
MAo TSE-TUNG
36
purpose of settling
set up for the specific
at the mere
auditing committees are
lentf, who shudder
with thi rocal bulries;;d;;j
Auditing campalgns
sisht of the ofiicers #;;;;;**i'"ees'
out extensivelv in all countres
life these havt bee'i "-'ita has'risen' and their significance
the
where the peasant ;t;;;;
the funcls as in exposing
them
lies not so much i":;;;'ti"g
knocking
and
q:ifv position'
9.'a
crimes of the lo"ut u''liliJ'' ""J
as'social
as well
past mrsdown from tt.'ti' poiiii"J
l*po'"a througlr- auditing' to underFining. r'*rt'"r"*Jii
p"u'u"t" p'"'""t activities
deeds of oppressrng^it"
of the ban on gambttng
such charges
mine the peasant ^'J;i#;li"rlii""
or refusal to """n"it";;i;-t*'"king'kits-on
so much or that
n""t^irtit-local"bullv
the peasant' '"'o"""*"t'o
lln,5,'."*;r;:lt*;i"i",t*X'*:"i.*ll,'l|:.il?Til
rTH!"r;;;;;'u"t'lo"-ru"";:il:i"i'ilutailand;T-""*:f
""b7rlri;-tit;ons' Raising funds among tn
Io
rds fo
tr'!
r"'
r the reli ef ;i Itl"' ;; ;;'
:l:
credit agencieq "'
""ul
are also
-"r. a form.of pum
H;;;i;i
Ti:::11.?i:;:tt';:;
t9;;'il;,',iffi
*ita"
who,
contributions
quite a number of landlords
contributrons
than fines. There
"rr"nlJ made voluntary
in order to avoid t1'"""0r"'
;;
p"1lu"'
p"T?,l undermines '1" one' a
i
offence is a minor
i"a'rti*
by *o'l"o'";;d
house
nn::T;*,r'"rT"::li
and swarm into his
wnte a
larse numb* "f p;piiitty'tog"tn'tr
he usuallv has to
L"'tt'
u
to Lake a mild #ffi';l rtutin g
that henceforth he
.,
i""plititlt word or deed'
cease- and-d.rir, ;i";;;'
u-"o"iuiio"'by
will stop d"fu*io{'t'ttlitu'u"t
association
been staged many times in various places. The local bullies
and bad gentry are crowned with tall paper-hats which bear
legends like "Local bully so and so" or "So and so, one of the
bad gentry". They are led on a rope and escorted by big
crowds both in front of and behind them. Sometimes gongs
arc beaten and flags waved to attract attention. This form of
punishment, more than any other, makes the local bullies and
bad gent.y shudder with fear. He who has once been crowned
.with the tall paper-hat loses facb for ever and can never hold up
'liis head again. Thus many of the wealthy would rather pay
*t'fitt. than wear the tall paper-hat. But put it on they must, if
the peasants insist. One township peasant association was very
ingenious; it arrested an obnoxious member of the gentry and
announced that he was to be crowned with the tall paper-hat
that very day. He turned blue with fear. But then the association decided to put the whole thing off. For they argued that
if he were crowned that day, he would become quickly resigned
to his fate and would not be troubled any more with his guilt;
it would be better to let him go home and crown him some other
day. This man, not knowing when he would be made to put
on the hat, stayed at home in daily suspense, fidgeting about
and starting at every sound.
Imprisonment in the county jail. This is a heavier punishment
than wearing the tall paper-hat. The local bullies and bad
gentry are arrested and sent to the countyjail to be locked up,
and the county magistrate is asked to sentence them. The people
sent to prison now are different from those in the past: formerly
was the gentry who sent the peasants to jail, and now it is
1:
the other way round.
Banishment ffr. peasants do not want to banish those among
,
the local bullies urra
;-Il*{#q*t}it*$:':33,1';;;"ip#
*'Ti;;'*Jiut'o,'siuogtan'
il;;i;; u"d
grain
,;;t-;uttt
'o""'ming
have occurred' RecentlY
.a
srx
such a punitive visit 'to
puid
crowd or firttt"-ii;;;;;; if"y
auyt anj^f3ust'the
families of the u"i'g"t"v;
"uy"a*rJ*
sirltt-demonstrations'
After
pig''
tt'u"--'io
tered more
;;+;*:
":y::::h:ff:l:;i::;;
Parades throug
lua
gentry who are notorious for theii
and wrong-doing, birt to'arrest or kill them. Afraid of
Srimes
olerng arrested
or killed, they run away. In the counties where
tne peasant
movement is wett developed almost all the prominent local
bullies and bad gentry have fled, and consequently
1i1.1s^Sooa as banished.
a"-o"g them, those of the,first ranl
fled_to Shanghai; the seco?rd, to Hankow; the
{hird, to
Xlve
and
'ihor"
the
fourth,
to
the
county
towns.
who fled
*"'$8sha;
'u ohanghai ur. if,. ruf"rt. Some of those
who fled to Hankow,
things havc
rarr paper-ha,s. Such
b--
llF
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 39
MAO TSE'TUNG
.O
eventually captut:d ?i1
three from Hwajung, w:re,
rear
iito fltd to Chanssha go rn
broueht back' E"";i;;"
in the
o'''y moment bv students
ut
upp"he"dtJbiing
of
frtm the "o""ti"'' I myself saw
orovincial capital *nl fttif
in chanssha' Those who fled
iwo of them u,tt"td *i;Ji;;t
and'
;U oniy in ihe fourth rank'
#
towns
county
the
to
can be easily
;'';; "f";
as the pe asants h"""
'""tt"t "ri"formation'
iru. ,n.
o"",;;:;tr'' s"""" Hffittf::n:Tn:
i"""a itseif in straitened circumstances'
wealthv
;;^.l"; jo*,'.
r.
i"il1y1ng banished the
to ra-ise. moneyi fil aSai gi::t
oeople and so madc it'difficult
and bad gentrv are
laid the blarne t"
th?;:'*"f
local bullies
il ffi;'il; "iir";;;;
home'
to long"t tolerated at
--rnvarr
described as "execution of bandits". T'ang Chun-yen and
Lo Shu-lin, heads of the defence corps of the town of Yintien in
mv native county, Siangtan, killed more than fifty and buried
four alive in fourteen years since rgr3. Of the more than fifty
they murdered, the first two were perfectly innocent beggars.
T'ang said, "Let me kill two beggars to start the business!"
and alas! two poor wretches lost their lives. Such being the
atrocities of the local bullies and bad gentry as well as the
White terror created by them in the rural areas, how can one
say that the peasants should not now rise and shoot a handful
ofthem and create a little terror in suppressing the counterrevolutionaries?
meted out to the
'--,^-:ablv
iiooil"s. This punishment
^tit"'f"""f was
bad gentry on the
f"ffies
of
notorio"'
most
'andthe people generally'
demand of thc pt^^"tt"i"ittn"'-*ittt
chia-kan of
J ui"gtiu"g' ihott
For exampl", vuni'3iirt-t"'3
of Hwajung were
-t'
and
Yoyang, and Fu i;;;;";;Js"""Po-'hu
tt'" insistence of the peasants' of
shot by the governiie"t
Yen Yung-ch'iu
the people *"""'uii;:'iil ;;;;*' :*' thev and the general
siangtan on therr;'J; ;;ffririiv 'rt"'
to agrle.to Pkt-tq^ll*
oublic hud comp.ii;;; magistratewas kiiled by the
peasants
'out prisor,. ri" di."o oisirr[tiu"g
of
T'ien-chueh
Chou
and
oi Liling
themselves. e't"gtilitt-iu"
;c'uted pending the decision
The
and rs'ao v"" orv|'J;;;i1;"
b"tlit' uttd bud gentry"'gentry
of the "special "";it-i; iocul
bullies and bad
execution of o"".oi""il"tt*io"s-loca1
hasits,.o"'""*Ji'i'i';i"s"h"*,:i-'*lf
;":llt;;liil?'
remalnlng
effective in eradicating the
and bad gentry
bullies
lo"cal
or at least ft* ;1;"tf;"ototio"t
effective wy "r
"
county'."{;;;;ly
.to
at
are to be found io tu"'y
execute in every county
is
Inost
suppressing th".;;i;;aries
u"J *'o"g-doing are
e
least those o' tn""'i"*t'o'" "'im"*
i:l"-"?'t' tn'
andiad
serious. when
tiirt? p"u*nts without
heisht of their p;;t;;";'th"*"lut' rt"uJortrtt defence corps of
M;i-"h';""'
the
batiins
tot'oii'-*us in charge of
^r,.vtrialHJ
the toivn of Sinkang' Changsha
fr:^l^"ut
poor 9"""i"ti"nJiita tt
corps for te" yea*iihe
euphemistically
he
u"a"it'i'numbcred almost a thousand,
;; ilffi;il;
-
*'it"
3. DEALING
ECONOMIC BLOWS AGAINST THE LANDLORDS
Bans on sending grain out of the area, on forcing up the price of
grain, and on hoarding and speculatioz. This is a great event in the
economic struggle of the Hunan peasants in recent months.
From last October up to the present, the poor peasants have
prevented the outflow of the grain of the landlords and rich
peasants and have placed
a ban on forcing up the price of
grain and on hoarding and speculation. As a result, the poor
peasants have achieved their objectives completely: the ban on
the outflow of grain is watertight, grain prices have fallen and
hoarding and speculation have disappeared.
Ban on increasing rents and deposits;L8 propaganda for reducing
rents and deposits. InJuly and August last year when the peasant
association was still weak, the landlords, in accordance with
their old idea that exploitation cannot be too heavy, one after
another notified theii tenant-peasants of an increase in rent
and deposit. By October, however, with the tremendous
growth in the power of the association, the peasants rose
unanimously in protest
and the landlorcls *.r. * scared they
IloPp"a the matter. Since November last year, the peasants,
grown stronger than the landlords, have gone a step
llYitg
rarther to
agitate for"reductions in rents and deposlts. What a
say, thatThe peasant association was not strong
li?' !tt.V
r,vhen ihe rent
itllsl
-u, b"irrg paid last autumn, otherwisi
't would have been reduced
tfren. fne peasants are cu.rying
hr.-
u,rINVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN
4I
The
bad
gentry
in such a body were virtually kings
discretion.
in the countryside. The peasants paid comparatively littie heJh
to the president, the military governor20 or the county magistrate, for their real "chiefs" were these kings in the countrysiie;
when these men hummed through theii noses, the peasants
knew that they must watch their step. As a conseq,r"rri" of the
present revolt in the countryside, the power and prestige of the
landlord class has been largely overthiown, and such o"rgans of
rural administration dominated by the local bullier urid bud
ge*try have naturally collapsed. The chiefs of the tu's and.
t'uan's all steer clear of the people now and dare not face them.
They refer all local matters qlthe peasant association, and put
pegp--le offwith the remark, ',It's none of my businessl,.
whenever their conversation touches on the chiefs of the
tu's and t',an's the peasants say indignantly, .,That bunch!
They are down and out now!',
The phrase "down and out" certainry d.escribes the fate of the
,
old organs of rural administration in places over which the
MAO TSE.TUNG
40
and the
out a big campaign to have rent reduced this autumn'
will be
reductions
furrai"ta-t are'try;ng to ascertain how the
Hengshan
in
way
carried out. Reduction in deposit is under
and other counties.
there
Ban on cancelling leases. In July and August last ^year
werestillmanycasesofleases*beingca:rcelledandfarmsre.Iet
Uy ,t landlords. After October nobody dared cancel the
dur., "uny more. Now cancelling leases and re-letting farms are
out of the question; the only problem that remains to some
the landextent unsetiled is whether u i.u'" can be cancelled if
ev.e1
pla991
certain
In
lord wants to cultivate the land himself'
this
while
places'
this is not allowed by the peasants' In other
tenant-peasants
the
of
is permissible, there arises the problem
U.io-ing unemployed. No uniform settlement has yet been
found for this Problem.
in
Reduction of interut. Interest has generally been reduced.
other
in
effected
Anhwa, and similar reductions are being
counties. But wherever the peasant association is powerful'
from the countryside'
moneylending has virtually disapp-eared
i'stopped lending"-for fear of
as the landlords have compl.tely
of
"socialisation of property". Wttut-it called reduction
is
only
Not
loans'
$e
interest is at present corrfined to old
interest on old loans reduced, but the creditor is even forbidden
to press for the repayment.of the principai' The Poor peasant
*olfa say, "Don'^t blu*. it on rne' It'i too old an affair and
I'll pay it next Year!"
4.
THE I'EUDAL RULE OF THE LQCAL
AND BAD GENTRY-THE rU AND rul"r{
OVERTHROWTNG
tempest of revolution has swept
5.
ovERTHRowrNG THE LANDLoRDS, ARMED FoRcES AND
BUILDING UP THE PEASANTS, ARMED FoRcES
The armed forces of the randrord class in Hunan
- tfre
were smaller
in
central part of the provinc. ;h;; in its western and
With an urr.rage of 6oo rifles in .u"t ;o";t;
:f3.* parts.
altogether 45,ooo rifles in seventy-five counties, arid
:ffl: 3* in fact, be even more.
-3y,
fn the southern and central*
:.1.
Parts where the peasant movement is most developecl,
-Lirryurrg,
e.g.
BULLIES
counties of^Ningsiang, pingkiang,
Cir";;ril;
ii,*:
tttg, Srangtan, Siangsiang,.Anhwa,
Hengshan urrl H.ngy"urrg,
ll
p easants ]r urr. lir"r, *iti, tr.ir. n
dou, *o-Jitu,i,
ir:"i::
_1,1"
*rc randlords
cannot hold their
The old tu and' t'uan (i.e. the districts and township) grgans
is next
of political power, especially those at the lz level which
handt,gl!h,:
the
in
entirely
almost
io tfr..o.tnry l.rr.i, ur.d to be
-Ihe tu had under its jurrsdrcuon
local bullies and bad gentry.
indea lop"r.tion of from"ten io fifty o1 {xty thousand, an
tdto:19:?l
corps,
d9fe.nc"e
p.itai", armed force, namelv, lig
po*"t in fiscal collection which included the acreage ltvy"arrest' iml"J i"a"p.ndent judiciat power whicfr included
at its own
peasants
the
of
trial ind punishment
:::t'::T
own and their urrrr.d
capitutated to tr," f.urunr association and
?'q:|v
$:"*i.iiff 'fl ::,ilo",':l;:i'd1".t.,:lillxT;,.t.
f"r.l"ig:lj.
r;ildt:ff ,'i j#'ff
;".,1:l:iJ",,fr ,fr f #, jff
ptirc"*.it,,
b-
jTi';i
taking a neutral srand but arelnc[ned to capitu-
":"":*":l
NFF_
INVESTTGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENf'IN HUNAN
MAO TSE-TUNG
42
but the
peasants are
now dealing
"^l*tiy"i:"
'fi,'*"Y:::;l;J"'ry;
l':"'triJii-;6;'il;r::i"il:,ff
frll i:'ff ;: :3.H1l' * l;;:i9' q'-* itt utt t "':::HTff
: :X
"*:n"?:l
Lu-rruuov
rrousc- ;::il"#';"*t;;;i1i'i";""1FLT:*:*::,:1""*"I
tne
;;:ilffi
ofrural self-government
it1*t"""t-organs
organsofruralself-go
..1 _^^^^6,--"^'r"r.;"i over these
P:rl' ?' lI: :?5'iii::' rorces
:lT# f; JHiil;i;;;;; "T'n' i"r'i'r'
peasants' armed *:::
:ififfiH::""i'?;;;;'i"
have to consult the peasant association on everything. In a
county where the power of the peasants is at its height, the
word of the peasant association "works instant miracles". If
the peasant association demands the arrest of a local bully or
one of the bad gentry in the morning, the magistrate dares not
delay it till noon; if it demands the arrest by noon, he dares
not postpone it till the afternoon.
When the power of the peasants was just beginning to grow
in the countryside, the magistrate and the local bullies and bad
gentry collaborated to deal with the peasants. When the
peasants' power rose and became equal to that of the landlords,
the magistrate tried to ingratiate himself with both the landlords and the peasants, accepting some of the peasant association's suggestions while rejecting others. The above remark that
the word of the peasant association "works instant miracles,,
holds true only after the power of the landlords is completely
overthrown by that of the peasants. At present the governmental situation in counties like Siangsiang, Siangtan, Liling
and Hengshan is as follows:
, (I) Euerltthing is decided b2 the joint council of the magistrate and
the reaolutionar) mass organisations. The council is convened by the
magistrate and held at his office. It is called in some counties
organisations and government
lhe 'Joint council of the public
bodies", and in others the ,,couniil of county uduirr,'. The
people who attend it are, besides the magistrate himsel{ the
representatives of the county peasant association, the county
trade union council, the county chamber of commerce, thl
couxty women's association, the county school teachers, and
sta$ members' associatiorr, th. county student
association and
the county headquarters of the Kuomintang.zz
What influences the magistrate
at such a council meeting is the opinion
olrthe,mass organisations,
and
invariably loes whai he is
told. Therefori, the adoption he
in Hunan of the democratic
;*om-mittee system for thl county government organisation
not present much of a problim. The presJnt county
:::ld
tsovernrr1.t,s are already quite democratic
both in form and in
luostance.
And this situaiion has been brought about only in
^
_
u'hl:il*u,bJ:l,j;l;"er
are'being
armed forces
Deasant association'
' built up, namelv, tii;;'*i]tto:' ryli*
,:|in'
f-t1ae
double-edgea
pointed'
a
Such spearr_-u *tupon with
in the county of
tdiil;;
mounted on u to"fn'rt"rt--""*uL
'l:opoo
like saingtan' Hengshan'
means uv
;;;;i'siangsiang alone'
each 7o'ooo-Bo'ooo or 5o'ooot'uu"
Chang't'u
Liling and
j-"'"tt counties where the
6o,0oo, o, ,o,ooolj;:"F ;.';;'
corps is growing rapidly'
iht
peasant movement i' ufoot'
'p"u'
form the house-to-house
These peasants u'*J *ittt 'p"utt
the
or
iJ"" spears is larger thanforce
emergency militiu-"iilit';;;;
and is an armed
old armed fbrces *""tio"ta above the local bullies and bad
or *iti"ft
freshly formed, a, ;ht";G;;
in
1r''" tt"or"tionary authorities
i;:;'
*ff
sentry tremble
a
on
up
such armed forces are built
ffi;;i';ki;";;;;;;'
peas'ants
than twenty million
reallv large scale ;;;;tht;ore
every- P,easant, Yl,::T:
in tire seventy-five".3rrnti.r-that
and that no rest.ctron
spear'
a
prime, possesses
;;";;.; i" hispo"t"ii''i
o""' u' tho"git that were something
is placed o,'
spear corPs t:
of
dreadful. R"yo"t"*tto"i' "-rtliJ ""tbud gentryare i::I*u
afraid of
indeedt o,.ry
tt"'ioi"ui;;1iil a'd
irt.*, ..""r,'iio"u'its shouid not be'
6. ovBnrns"owlNc THE
THE COUNTY
EXCELLENCY
PoLITToAL POWER OF I{IS
BAILIFFS
MAGISTRATE AND HIS
become clean until the
That the county government cannot time aqo in Haifeng'
risen was prov,ed. some
Deasants have
"xt*
particularly
ttiffi;",,--.
*t rt"vl sufficient proof of tiis'
bad
by-the local bullies and
in Hunan. In u too""ty'i""t"t"a
without
*,lo.l.'t is' almost
gentry, the magistr#,;;';;t*
official' In a county where
out
exception turns
4.3
the peasants have risen there is clean government, no matter
who is in charge. In the counties I visited the magistrates
';il';;;;;pt
>.-
IFFINVESTIGATION INTo PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 45
MAo TSE-TUNG
44
the peasants had
is'
-after the pow.er oltl"
the last two or three months' that
overthrown
risen all over the
that their
"";;;;id"-and
b"d;;it'- iht mtgittrates' seeing
local bullies
""d
thiy could not retain their
old stand-bys had f"fit"'t'"a that
-t
p*t, *itr'o,,:
.'-T:1"H;;: : :1''
3;:
*",')f
.T:'li*"'n
n#
j:,0::!';^.TI:
Fti'i':;:?il",:";;n";;""i;;;;;'-"'.'^':
the countv
which
one
;; H;;u" remains judicial
.in
:"iiJi"i';;
with a
affairs
of
magistrate i, .o"t"'^'l"tfy i" tft^rge
To become rich'
judicial assistant |"lpi;'hi; a"ti"g trials'
re"lied entirelv on collecting
the magistrate and iit 'l"attfftgs
i"*., ^l"a levies, o"-"p'o""i"- ,:L*?"^LJ:".HiHi
ln ctvlr
ffjl:
troops, and on extorting money
last being the most
bv ionfound;"g 'igh; ?"d *'orrg' the
oi ti'Ji' income' In the rast rew
local bullies and bad sentry'
;:il;,;trh th" d;;;f"li of thedisappeared'
Moreover the
all pettifoggi"g fu*yt; have
settied in the pcasant
b'ig and small'
":,:-'l
;;J;;;; p;blims,
Thus the judicial assistant in the
associations ut ',u"ot"'levels'
to do' The iudicial
county gou.r,,*t"i?*piv" ntt T:li";
was no peasant
there
"When
me'
assistant in Siangsians tifd
received on the average
association, th. co""iy government.
criminai suits; since it
sixty petitions a i;;'f""; ti"it u"a received only an average
:JJ;';il-;;i;l:";";;;
has
appeared, the county'government
of the magistrate and his
purses
the
of four or five a day'i' itt"'
underlings cannot but remain empty'
the magistrate's bailffi
(g) The or*ra gutr'd', it" potl"*h
countryside to practise
all watch their *ep aii
"i; dare'not go to the
were
;; p"st f,eople in the countryside
rackets and' extortions'
the
of
afraid
tity- otoolt are
afraid of the .i,y p";;i;;^"J* trt'"
jackals
fierce
the
people in the co""tiyside' In particular'
the,armed
policemen'
kept by th.
countryside'
of-going to the
suards and the b^iiitr::;;; "rt"ia
lo"gJt dare practise their
they-no
ind when they do go there'
all tremb"le at the sight of the
rackets and extortt"nr--Ti.y
*!
.o""i'li"J;;'il;;i-ir'"
peasants' sPears'
THE CLAN AUTHORITY OF THE ELDERS AND
7. OVERTHROWING
ANCESTRAL TEMPLES, THE THEOCRATIC AUTHORITY OF THE CITY
coDs AND LocAL
""ttt?iY.r;T**"-"""INE
A man in China is usually
three systems of authority: (r)
AUrHoRrrY oF
subjected to the domination of
the system of the state (political
authority), ranging from the national, provincial and county
sovernment to the township government; (:) the system of thc
ilan (clan authority), ranging from the central and branch
ancestral temples to the head of the household; and (3) the
system of gods and spirits (theocratic authority), including the
system of the nether world ranging from the King of Hell to
the city gods and local deities, and that of supernatural beings
ranging from the Emperor of Heaven to all kinds of gods and
spirits. As to women, apart from being dominated by the three
systems mentioned above, they are further dominated by men
(the authority of the husband).
four kinds of authority'Thege
golitical authority, clan authority, theocratic authority and the
luthority of the husband-represent the whole ideology and
institution of feudalism and patriarchy, and are the four great
'i&ai tfrut have bound the Ciinese p"opl. and particularl! the
peasants. We have already seen how the peasants are overthrowing the political authority of the landlords in the countryside. fhe political authority of the landlords is the backbone
gllll dthgr systems qf authority. Where it has already been
overthrown, clan authority, theocratic authority and the
authority of the husband are all beginning to totter. Where the
peasant association is powerful, the clan elders and administrators of temple funds tro lotrg.r dare oppress members of
the clan
or embezzle the funds. The bad clan -elders
and administrators
have been overthrown as local bullies and
bad gentry. No
dare
any
longer,
as
it
used
to
do, i"ni.t cruel i
int.$Iulj9*ple
3T94 and capital punishments like "beating", "drowning",
and
"burying aiive". The old rule that forbids women and
Poor people to attend banquets in the
ancestral temple has also
O.oU.tr. On one occision the women of paiiwo, Heng"* marched
rair,
into their ancestral tempie, sat down on tiie
rcats
and ate and. drank, while the grand'patriarchs could only
,
V46
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 47
decisions in family affairs. fn recent years rural economy has
become even more bankrupt and the basic condition for men's
domination over women has already been undermined. And
now, with the rise of the peasant movement, "women in many
places have set out immediately to organise the rural women's
MAo TSE-ttuNG
not admitted to
look on. At another place the poor-peasants' and drank their
ate
ilt;il;.ts in the "l'fi"t, swa'medln.and
bad gentry and gentle;il,;hi";n" r.igltt",';J totutto bullies'
their heels'
men in long gowns all took
to totter everywhere as the
begins
Theocratic authoriiy
places the peasant
peasant movement-develoit' - ln many
ol tt''" gods as their
associations huue takt" ot'Jt tf" temples
th; appropriati"" tf ::TP^l:
offrces. Everywhere tftty uauotute
and to defray assocratron
oronerties to maintain peasant schools
superstirion".
.^iii"g'"inr,,,public revenue from become
quite
has
idols
Forbidcling ,,rp".*,iio" aid smashing
peasants
the
In its northern districts
;;;G;;lrr'l-ili"g'
of the god of pestiforbade the festival irocessions in honour
Taoist tempie on Fupo
lence. There *.r" iruny idols in the
to make
urrt ttt"y *tre all piled up in a corner
ilii;"k;;
thl Kuomintang' lttd.lo
room for the distric;i-t"oaq'-tutttts of
death occurs in a family'
a
When
io"'
obj.ec
peasant raised
^r,y
gods' nerformance of Taoist
such practices as 'utiintt to the
lamps are becoming
or Buddhist rites, and offering of sat"i
of the peasant
rare. It was Sun Hsiao-shan] the Chairman
Taoist priests
loca1
so the
association, *f,o p,opottJ all'this'
in the
Nunnery'
In tho Lungleng
bear him quite a il;;;:
chopped
teachers
North Third airt";.?, iftE ft^*"ts and sJhool
than thirty idols in
up the wooden id"i; ;-;;k meat' More
were burnt by the
the Tungfu Temple i" tft" St"th district
small idols'
only-11vo
students together with the peasants;
rescued
werePao""t
generally known u'--l;ffi' Exceilency
places
In
sin!"
a
by an old peasant *1t1"ia, "Don't.commit
the
only
predominant'
where the power of the peasants is
while
gods'
in
believe
older peasant, uni'd; ;"ryt; stiil
longer do so' Since
ihe young and miJdtelaged peasants no
wf,o are in control
it is the young u,tJ *iafift-uged peusants
theocratic
overthrow
to
ofthe peasant association, the riovement
everywhere'
on
authority uta .tuai"ui" superstitio" ls.So1nS
it has always been com'
As to the authority of the husband'
because the poor
pea.sants'
*eok aml"g the-poor
p;;;t
to take more
reasons
peasant women, t-"pEff"a for financiul
classes' have
wealthier
thc
part in manual *;;;'ih"";omen of
to make
power
more
$;;t and
obtained *.," 'iii-;;
association; the opportunity has come for them to lift up their
heads, and the authodty of the husband is tottering more and
more every day. In a word, all feudal and patriarchal ideolo-
tottering as the power of the peasants
present
the
period,
however, the peasants' efforts are
rises. In
on
the
destruction
of the landlords' political
concentrated
authority. Where the political authority of the landlords is
abeady completely destroyed, the peasants are beginning their
attacks in the other three spheres, namely, the clan, the gods and
the relationship between men and women. At present, however,
gies and institutions are
#ffi;,"
r
suchattackshaveonlyjust..begun',andtherecanbeno
complete overthrow of the three until after the complete
victory of the peasants' economic struggle. Hence at present
our task is to guide the peasants to wage political struggles
'
with their utmost strength, so that the authority of the landlords may be thoroughly uprooted. An economic struggle
should also be started immediately in order that the lind
problem and other economic problems of the poor peasants
can be completely solved.
The abolition of the clan system) of superstitions and of
inequality between men and women will follow as a natural
consequence of victory in political and economic struggles. If
we crudely and arbitrarily devote excessive efforts to the
abolition oi such things, we shall give the local bullies and bad
9.1!.y a pretext for undermining the peasant movement by
such slogans of counter-revolutionary propaganda as
L}:ing
rne peasant association does not show piety towards ances.
'Ttr. peasant association abuses the gods and destroys
}lt'i
relrgion" and
"The peasant association advocates thc comof women". ilear proof has been forthcoming recently
11nity
Siangsiang in Hunan and Yangsin in Hupeh, i^,,here the
lt_o_,!ah
were able to take aclvantage of peasant opposition
;111toras
'" ttr€ snl?shing of idols. The idols were set up by the peasants,
qrrq rn
time they will pull them down wittr itreir o*r, hurrdsi
b-
l
Ua-
MAO TSE.TUNG
48
dgwl tfe
rarty rn
full without
r""ft **t.rs should Be: "Draw the bow to the
idols should
The
alert"'zr
the
on
be
Ietting go the arrow' a"d
temples for
the
and
themselves'
t"-t"iti".a by the peasants
widowed
virgins u"i iftt arches for chaste and filial
to fuf
there is no need for anybody else prematurely
Uommunrst
the
of
line
idols for them. The agitational
*urtyr.a
These words of mine made the peasants roar with laughter.
B. rxrBNoruc por,rrrcAr, AcrrATroN
by the peasants
J""gi""tt-in-'iaw should likewise be demolished
them'
it is wrong for anyone else to do these things for
ttt"rir.tu.r;
*il
for
peasants
the
among
agitated
*o,
,h" countrysidJ i,
abolishing superititions. What I said was:
hopes for
"One who believes in the Bight Characterszs the benefor
oood luck: one who believes in ge-omancy hopes
tlre fo.*t
year
This
giound.zu
burial
ffi;ft]"",,.. i-rin.
within
collapsed
all
officials
to"tipt
bullies, bad gentry-u"d
they
ago
months
few
a
till
that
possible
a few months. ts'it
influence of
*e.. uff in good f""ft?a all under the beneficial
they have
their buriai gronni,, while in the last.few months
grounds ail
all of a sud.den U"""'i" bad iuck and their burial
on them?
ceased to exert any beneficial influence
jeer
at your peasant
gentry
bad
and
"The local buliies
become a world
association, urra *yt 'How straigc! It has
'look, yo" tui't t"ttt go to the latrines
of committ..*"n;
in the towns and
without meeting J"t of tfttt"l' Qpite true'
association' the
-ittt unions,'ihe peasant
i" irr" "ifr.g.r, ift. ttuae
Co*-unist Party all have their
Kuomintang uJ
,iembers-it is indeed a world of committeemen'
the burial
"o**itt."
But is this due io the Eight Characters and
Characters of
grounds? What t1tt""gt fiti"gt The Eight
all the poor wretchts In the countrysid.e, hav-e
-:19d"":ly
for the better! And their burial grounds have
"ftu"g"a^
t"JJ3"rv started to exert a beneficial influence!
worship' But if
"The gods? Th;;;ty quite deserve our
Kuan27
we had rro
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN IIUNAN 49
"Now you want to have your rent reduced. I would like
to ask: How will you go about it? Believe in the gods, or
believe in the peasant association?"
p"ur*i"i"oi'^tii" but only the-Emperordown the
knocked
and the Goda.r, oittlt'"y, could we have
goddesses are
and
gods
The
gettiry?
bad
and
Iocal bullies
have
years'
i"a..a pitiful; *"ttftip"pta for huttdreds of or a they'
one
single
not knocked ao*" fot^you a single local bully
of the bad gentrY!
Iften
thousand schools oflaw and political science had been
opened, could they have achieved in such a short time so much
political education among men and women, young and old,
all the way into the remote corners of the country, as the
peasant associations have now done? I think not. ,,Down with
imperialism!" "Down with the warlords!" ,,Down with the
corrupt ofificials!" and "Down with the local bullies and bad
gentry!"-these political slogans are flying about everywhere,
entering into the heads of adults, younesters, old men, children
and women in countless villages, and coming out from their
mouths. If a group of children is at play and if you see one of
them get angry at another, opening his eyes wide, stamping his
foct and s,haking his fist, you will instantly hear the sniittlry,
"Down with irnperialism!"
In Siangtan, when two children pasturing cattle stage a
^
fight, one will act as T'ang Sheng-chih and the other asleh
K'ai-hsin;z8 after a while one will be defeated and the other
pursue him, the pursuer being T,ang Sheng-chih and the
pursued, Yeh K'ai-hsin. Of course, almost every child in the
towns can sing the song, o'Down with the Imperialist powers",
ot't now many children in the villages can sing it.
_;ome of the peasants in the countryside can even read the
_restament of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. They pick up from it terms like
"freedom", "equality,', ,,the Three 'p.opl.,s principles', and
treaties" and apply them rather crudely in their
,ll"q,yl
life.
When a peasant meets a gentry-like person on a
:1tly
f1ln.,wn9_for prcsrige's sake will not make way, he will say
you local bully, you bad landlord, clon't you
llgiilv: "!gy,
\now.the
Three People's Principles?" The peasants fro- ihe
Changshi used to bi harried by the police when
ll?IUt of
the city [o sell vegetables. Bur now the peasants have
lll.ti"S
6ot a weapsn-1hg Threi people's principles. ^
Wh.rr.,r", u
4
IRF--
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAI{ 5I
disappeared together with gambling games in places where the
peasant association is powerful.
,Qpi11m;s,moking: Very strictly prohibited. When the peasant
asiociation ordered the surrender ofopium pipes no one dared
raise the least objection. In Liling one of the bad gentry did
not surrender his pipes and was arrested and paraded through
the villages.
This movement for "disarming the opium-smokers of their
(guns"' compares favourably in its impressiveness with the
disarming of the troops of Wu P'ei-fu and Sun Ch'uan-fangas
by the Northern Expedition Army. Quite a few venerable
fathers in the families of the officers of the revolutionary army,
so addicted to opium-smoking that they depended on the
"gnr" for their very life, were all disarmed by the "emperors" so
(as the peasants are called derisively by the bad gentry). The
"emperors" have not only prohibited the growing and smoking
of opium, but also its traffic. Large quantities of opium which
were being transported from Kweichow to Kiangsi via the
counties of Paoking, SiangsianS, Yu and Liling were intercepted on the way and burnt. This affected the government
finance. Finally the provincial peasant association, out of
consideration for military expenditure in the Northern Bxpedition, ordered the peasant associations at the lower levels t'to
postpone temporarily the ban on opium traffic". This, however, upset and displeased the peasants.
Besides these three, there are many other things the
peasants have prohibited or restricted, among which are the
following:
, Theflower drum. A minor theatrical entertainment forbidden
rn many places.
Sedan-chairs. In many counties, and especially in Siangsiang,
there have been cases of smashing sedan-chairr. Th" p"hunti,
heartily detesting the people sittlng in the chairs, ur. ul*uys
anxrous to smash them, but the peasant
association has forbidden them to do so. The
officiajs of the peasant association
say to the peasants:
"If you smash the chairs, you only save the
u.chmoney> and
the carriers will lose their jots; isn,i that just
MAO TSE-TUNG
5o
the
noliceman strikes oI swears at a peasant selling vegetables,
him by invoking the Three People's
#;'r"*-;ili-rli"r."
-once
a
"P;l;;ii.t.
in Siangtan-there *?*. u dispute between
,"Jirr"'"rr"irman
of the township association declared, "Oppose
association'
district peasant associatioi and a township peasant
;h"
;;;d;i
treaties imposed bv ihe districtpeas"lt
"T",T1t::1^;
rural
The extension of political agitation throughout the and
areas is entirely un
uihit""*enf of the Communist Party
;;;;t;;;"*rf"iutio"'
Simple slogans' cartoons and speeches
results' exercising
have achieved unusually great and quick
of thcm seems
one
every
that
peasants
such an influence on the
uomraoes
time'
some
for
school
lo hurr. attended a political
has been
agitation
political
that
report
.nnun.a in rural work
mass
great
three
of
course
the
in
carried' out
annithe
""T."ii".fy
;;lli*; nimely, the anti-British demonstrations'
the grand
and
Revolution
October
;;;;;y c.l.braiiorrs of the
On
Bxpedition'.
Northern
the
of
l,ittoty
celebrations of the
existed' political
such occasions, wherever peasant assocrations
countryside
whole
the
and
out
carried
agitation was extensively
on we
now
From
tremendous'
was
*?, uronr"d; the effeci
to enrich the content
should utilise every opportunity gradually
slogans'
simple
those
of
the meaning
u"J
"tutify
9. THE PEASANTs'
PROHIBTTIONS
peasant association
When, under Communist leadership' the
the peasants
countryside,
the
in
has estafilished its authority
dislike'
things-they
on
restrictions
or
il.sf;i" pi";" pronifitions
games'
gambling
things:
three
are
iii" *ori stricily prohibited
opium-smoking' .
.
;;;;;;i;;;i-g"#b'ri"g"Inand
-.-.assocratron
^^^^i^+i^- rs
where the peasant
ptacis
Gambling games:
are completely
*Fourteenth
p"*.tr"r,'.lil#j9tg.' Jo,'li"ot* and card gu*tt
district of
the
in
banned. rn" p.urlri";;;;i""
sets'
iiu"gtiu"g buint two basketfuls of mahjongfind
of these
will
T *"?o to tt" countryside,.you the ban isnone
immediately
games being playiiftt *1t" violates
leniency'
iunished *ithont the least
once "gam!Ie1"
Professional gambling: People who were
gambling; it has
professional
are now themselveJffittttiig
our own people?" The peasants, liavirrg thought"the
ll1,it8
matter
over and.
hr-
r..n ih" point,
have worked out
i
new
t-actic-
tFr
IVIAO TSE-TUNG
52
bearers
to increase considerably the charges of the sedan-chair
rich
as
PeoPle'
-- a penalty for the ,ugo,-,tfii'g'
The- use of rice for making
Wiru^oiing and
everywhere and conseprotribited,
is
wine and redning s,tlut
have made endless
sugar-refiners
u"i
q.r.rrtty the wine-"muk""t,
Futienpu'- Hengin
banned
not
is
il*ptuintr. Wine-making
the vintners'
low;
very
fixed
is
wiine
of
,t uri, U.rt the price
*i19'
making
stop
to
had
have
of any profit,
.
J"pti".a
firr- The number of pigs a family can keep is limited' for
pigs consume grain.
Chickens and ducks.
In
Siangsiang the raising of chickens and
d";il it pt.hibited, but the i"o**
object to this prohibition'
allowed to keep only three
In
In many places the
Futienpu'
at
five
fowls at Yangstang and
Hengshan county, each family
is.
of du"cks ii completely banned,.for ducks' which not
even
orly Lrrr.,*e grain bui also ruin the rice plants' are of
less use than chickens.
In ShaoFeasts. Sumptuous feasts are qe1e1ally forbidden'
three- kinds of
,frurr, Siu"gtan, it has been deJidea that only
are to be served
;;il.i foof,, ,rum.Iy, chicken, fish and pork' shoots'
seaweeds
it i, rottiaden to serve bamboo
;;;;;only
that
resolved
was
it
Hengshan
In
and lentil noodles.
five
31 ilot
Only
single one more'
.igfr,-airfr.t can be served,
.a
only
and
Liling'
;l:h;t are allowed i^ tr,t dast Third diitrict in
North Second
the
in
ciishes
vegetable
three
;il;; meat and
in the West Third
district, while new-year fe"asts are forbidden
the "sponge.-cake
;il;i;;. in Siungsiang, there is a ban onWhen
a family in
sumptuous'
,tJ.*.ut,
6y
d;;;;1- which is
wedding'
ifr. S".ota district of Siangsiang gu"" it at a son's
prohibithe
;il; il;";s, considering th; ho; t6 have violated
In the
feast'
,*ur*.d into the frouse and smashed up the
;;itid
iio.r,
give up
have decided to
-*hetr
io*n of fciumo, Siangsiang, the people
sacrificing to their
uit a.t"u.ies and ,r'* oiiy fr,rit
ancestors.
^ -.:^
ii"ugi'rr*tr. They are a treasure to the qt"til: ^*",ti,:
pt..,i.iuv ' religioul tenet that '',1?:-t ln",:t:t1::'r":ttl:#
dra
next"', draughtiir'"iii. irri;;;;. cattle themselves in the
peasants
the
p^ower:
kilted. Before rising to
the siaughter ot' cattle except rnc
stopping
of
had no means
o*.--"t,
never be
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MOVEMENT IN HUNAN 53
religious taboo. , Since the rise of the peasant association they
have extended theirjurisdiction even over the cattle and havl
prohibited their slaughter in the cities. Of the six butchers'
ihops in the county town of Siangtan, five are now closed, and
the remaining one sells only the meat of sick or disabled cattle.
Cattle-slaughter is prohibited throughout the county of Hengshan. A peasant whose cow stumbled and broke a leg had Io
consult the peasant association before he dared to kill ii. When
the Chamber of Commerce of Chu-chow rashly slaughtered a
cow, the peasants went to the town to protest and the Chamber,
besides paying a fine, had to let off firecrackers by way oi
apologY.
Vagabondage. A resolution has been passed in Liling prohibiting such things as chanting New Year greetings to tfr" accompaniment of castanets, praising the locai deiiies and singing
lotus rhymes.8z In various other counties they have eilhei
been prohibited or have disappeared, simply because nobody
cares to practise them any more. There are a number of
"beggar-bullies" or "vagabonds,' who used to be extremely
aggressive, but now they have no al.ternative but to bow to the
peasant association. Dare-devil vagabonds who had made a
haunt.of-the temple of the Rain God at Shaoshan, Siangtan,
left quie-tly after the rise of the peasant association. The pefsani
association in Huti township in the same county caught
three
such vagabonds and made them carry clay for
itre brlck Utns.
A resolution has been passed prohibiiing ih" foolirh custom of
paying New year calls.
. Besides the above-mentioned, many other minor prohibitions
in various plu..s, such as the prohibition
lly:,P.."lltroduced
m Liling of festival processions
in hol,.orr of the god oipestilence,
pastry and fruit for ritual presents, Jf U,rrrrirrg pup.,
ll^?,"F"g
during the Festival of Spirits,Bs and of puriirrg'.rp
l'^o^llinq
for good_ luck in the New year. in Kushi of Siurrgriurrg,
lfjl:*ut: prohibitions
on smoking water-pipes. In the Seconld
l',t"tl:
ursklct,,letting
off firecrackers and-firing shotguns are forbidden;
qrose
who let offfirecrackers are fined ll.zo-and those who firi
i'utsuns, $2.4o. In the seventh and rwentieth districts
Buddhist services for the dead are prohibited. And
;T:,f..
-'tne l,ighteenth district, gifts
of money offered at funerals are
-F
MAo
5+
to. enumerate and
forbidden. Things like these are too many
g""cralli called the peasants'. prohibitions'
;;;.
---tfrlr."prohibiiions
respects:
are of great.significance in two
TSE-TUNG
social customs' such
First, they represent J tt""ri "g"i"i Uua
and opium-smoking'
as gambling games' p'oitttio"ut"gambling
the iorrupt. r6gime' of the
These custorns urot" t"gtih;t *ltn
is overthrown'
landlord class; once it'? tunatotds' authoritv Secondly' they
in its wake'
these things are also t*tpt ;;;y
against exploitation by
are a form of p.u*u"i*; 'inpti"ttion
ofsumptuous feasts and
the citv merchants, 'a' tftt pi"nibition
p'"'"nts' As the priccs or indusl;?
'it"ir
of farm produce
trial goods ur" ""t'"t-"t"iy ftiglt .and those by the ruthless
extremely low, the plasants aie impoverished
to cultivate
or tn""itt"ttu""; thus thev havepeasants'
;;;j;;il
ban
the
to
frugality as a means;i*.JrP;;;Ltiio"' .e'
because
imposed
was
on sending grain outside tire area' this
to feed themselves'
grain
enoug\
f'u"l"g
the poor peasants, "ot
ottd .orrttquently to prevent
il"i?Uiy grain on th" ma-rket
things are due to the
the price f.o* going;' Ali thtse
between
:ffiJJd;;;;;il
iNi
t\[
and the contradictions
impoverishment ot t-hE peasants
are certainly not practising the
peasants
the
town and country;
Culturesa by rejecting industrial
so-called doctrine
"iOii""*i
country' T.o protect thernsoods or trade betwet" to*r' and
should organise-co-operatrves
3.iil ;;t;;;i.urtf, tnt peasantsconsumers'
Furthermore' the
for collectiu" pt"thu'ing as
so that
association
peasant
government ,rto"ra gi;;.it* i: the
the
that'
After
co-operatives'
it can establish credit (loan)
g"a it unnecessary to place an
;";;,; woutd "ut*uiyof g'ui" as a means of keeping down
embargo on the
";A;;
of economic self-protection'
its price, ,ro. wo"ld t;;;, ;; uo*tun'
;;;tv of certain industrial goods
resbrt to the prot'iuiiioii ;
to the countrYside'
'h;
IO. ELIMINATING BANDITRY
lrir
down to the Manchu
From Yu, T'ang, Wen and Wtlu
the Repuhlic' no ruler in anY
emDerors and the ptttiat"tt of
prowess in eliminating ban'
il',f,u,'t;"f;il"b li"'-;hown suchttday' In places where the
ditry as the peasan,
"'*ti"ion
INVESTTGATION rNTO pEASANT MOVEMENT IN IIUNAN 55
peasant association is powerful, not a trace
will be found of
bandits of any kind. It is indeed remarkable that in certain
places even the petty pilferers ofvegetables have vanished. In
others, pilferers can still be found. But there was not a trace
of banditry in the counties I visited, not even in places formerly
bandit-ridden. The reasons are:
First, the members of the peasant association are scattered
all over the hills and dales; spears or cudgels in hand, hundreds
will go into action when one gives the alarm, and the bandits
can find no hiding-place.
Secondly, since the rise of the peasant movement the price
of grain has dropped-it was six dollars a picul last spring,
but only two dollars last winter-and the problem of food
becomes less serious to the people than before.
Thirdly, members of the secret societies have joined the
peasant association, in which they can openly and legally
play the hero and vent their urievances, and there is no further
need for the existence of such secret t'mountain,,, .,hall",
"shrine" and "river" organisations.s6 Killing the pigs and
sheep of the local bullies and bad gentry and imposingon them
!.ur.y levies and fines, they have found an adequate outlet
for their resentment against their erstwhile oppressors.
Fourthly, the armies are recruiting large n,rmbetr of soldiers
and many of the "unruly fellows" have joined up.
Thus the evil of banditry has come to an end with the rise
of the peasant movement. In this respect, even the gentry and
lhe rich approve of the peasant association. Their comment is:
"The- peasant association? Well, upon my word, I must say
that it has sorne good points tooj, '
In prohibiting gambling games, professional gambling and
optum-smoking, and in eliminating banditry, the peasant
association has won the approval of the
g"rr.rui public.'
II. ABOLISHING EXORBITANT
LEVIES
A* th" whole country is not yet unified and the power of
,_
trnperialism
and the wirlords is not yet overthrown, it is still
trnpossible
to remove the hear,y brrrien of government taxes
and levies
on the peasants or, to put it rnore explicitly, the
aFMAo rsE-TUNG
TNVESTIGA'r'rON rNTO pEASANT MOVEMEN:r rN HUNAN
57
army'
burden of military expenditures of the revolutionary
downthe
and
movement
peasant
th.
Ho*.rr.r, with the ris. of
levies
irff .f thl local bullies and 6ad gentry' the exorbitantgentry
bad
and
bullies
local
the
when
i*pot.a on the peasants
have
doininated the rural administration, e"g. the acreage levy,
counted
be
should
This
reduced'
been abolished or at least
utto u*o"g the achievements of the peasant association'
which they call-pg-ap3'1t $"h__o"gls. Many such schools have been
opened and'tThbii lie being established; on the average there
56
iii
iI
I2. CULTURAL MOVEMENT
ir
lil;
been the exclusive, possession
had no access to it' But the
peasants
landlords, and the
In China culture has always
ofthe
of the iandlords'is created by the peasants, for its
and bloocr'
"rrtt*"
source is nothing else than the peasants' sweat
or educano
culture
have
peopli
the
of
In China go per cent
il
1l
ij
liltl
Iijl
are peasants'
tion,
- and of these the majority
of tn" landlords in the rural
po*tt
of
tte
Wirtt the downfall
And so the
areas. the peasants' cultural movement has begun.l;;;;;;
itho hith.tto bitterlv hated the schools' are now
"foreisn-stvle
;;ffi;;; ;;;";tG evening- g]4s'ses' The
peasants'
il're
with
,,,'pop'ilur
;;;;*/ *.rE ul,tui,
1" TX
schools
student days I used io stand up for the "foreign-style
the.peasants
*ft.", upon returning to my native-place, I foundthe
"foreignwith
idintified
*y"lf
*u,
I"
obj."iirrg to them.
always felt
and
teachers",
and-"foreign*tyle
;d;;,"?""ts"
my six
that the peasants *"r" ,o**thow wrong' It was during
a
aiready
months in the countryside in 1925, *httt I was
I
th.ul
Communist urrd ftuJ idoptecl th"e I4arxist viewpoint'
right'
were
utta that the peasants' views
realised I was mistat
"r, used' in the rural primary schools all
materials
The teaching
to.tne
dealt with clty matters and were in no way adapted
teachers
,r""a, the rural areas. Besides, the primary school hnd'rng
"f
far lrom
behaved badly towards the peasants,. who'
the p,easants
them helpful, grew to clislike them' As a result'
*lnt.a otA-ttlt" rather than modern 3gtl6el5*((Qhinese
classes"-and
rather than."foreign
"uti-tt"*,
the old-style school to the teachers
of
masters
ine
ffi pr.f.*ea
in the primarY schools.
evening classes'
Now the peasants are energetically organising
classes", as they
ilrii
township. The peasants are very inthusiastic about establishing such schools, and regard only such
schools as their own. The funds for evening classes come from
o'public revenue from
superstitious practices',, the funds of
the
ancestral temples and other kinds of public funds or public
property that have been lying idle. The county eduiation
boards wanted to use these public funds for establishing
primary,schools, that is, "foreign-style schools', not adapted to
the needs of the peasants, while the peasants wanted to use
them for peasant schools; as a result of the dispute, both sides
got part of the funds, though in certain places the peasants
got the whole. As a resul.t of the growth of the peasant movement, the cultural level of the peasants has risen rapidly. Before
long there will be tens of thousands of schools sprouting up in
the rural areas throughout the whole province, and that wil be
something quite different from the futile clamour of the intelligentsia and so-called "educators" for ,,popular education',,
which for all their hullabaloo has remained an idle phrase.
is one school to every
13. THE
CO-OPERATTVE MOVEMENT
Co-operatives, especially consumers', marketing and credit
co-operatives, are certainly what the peasants
,r.ed. Exploited
when
buying
goodq
getting
th. *o.ri of the
*f$:-lt:tchants
oargain when selling their farm produce, and subject to
gJrtgltion by usurers-when borro*irrg ,rrorr.y or gra-in, the
peasants are demanding an immediate solution
for these three
ptoblems. During thJ fighting last winter in the yangtze
valley, when the trade route was cut
off and the price of*salt
was forced up in Hunan, many of the
peasants organised
co-operatives to purchase
salt. And now that the laidlords
nave "stopped lending",
the peasants in various places have
u,,:tpted to organise .t.dit agencies for obtaining loans.
iTo^
;1._T"J:r problem is rhe absence oldetailed and propir rules
'rorganisation. As the co-operatives organised by ihe peasants
in various places often fail t]o corrfor- to tlhe prin;i1e,1setves
rrPles of
co-operation, iire comrades working among the peasants
arF58
INVESTIGATION INTO PEASANT MovEMENT IN HUNAN
59
considering
the
general
associations.
spirit in which they have
been carried out and the revolutionary significance they possess,
I would ask the reader to think them over and say *'hi"h of
them is bad? I think that only the local builies and bad Eentrv
will say that they are bad. Curiously enough, it is reiortel
from Nanchangse that in the opinion of Mr. biriang Kai-shek,
Mr. Chang Ching-chiangao and others, the activi-ties of the
p:?y"qj: Hunan ar:e rather to be disapproved. The opinion
of Mr. Chiang and Mr. Chang is shared6yLiu yo-chihir and
,,This is
other leaders of the
-right wing in Hunan, who say,
simply going Red". But where would the national revolution be
without this little bit of Red? If one shouts every day about
"arousing the masses of the people,', but is scared. to death
when the people do rise, what is the difference between that
and Lord Sheh's love ofdragons?42
MAo rSE-TUNG
inquiring eagerly about "rules of organisation"'
are always
'ptop"t
If
gttidutt"., the co-operative movement wiLl
there is
along with the expansion of the peasant
.verywheie,
develop
association.
14. BUILDING
ROADS AND EMBANKMENTS
This is also an achievement of the peasant associations. Before
the peasant association, the country roads were exceedingly
bad.^ Roads cannot be repaired without money, and as the
wealthy were unwilling to contribute -money, the roads could
only be left to deteriorate. Minor repairs, if any, wer^e regarded
of charity: a little money was collected from those
families "willing to gain merit in the other world" and a few
narrow, thinly paved roads were built. Since the peasant
associaiion uror. it has issued directives specifying such grades
of width-three, five, seven or ten ch'ih\1-as may suil fe
as works
March rgz7.
requirements of the road, and has ordered the landlords living
I
ltI
\l j-
along the roads to repair a section each' Once an order is
girrei, who dares diso6ey? In a short-time many good roads
turr.'uppuured. This is no work of charity !ut- the result of
, yet a little compulsion of this kind is, after all,
"ornp,ririor,
justified.
quite
Th; same is true of the embankments. The heartless landlords always tried to get everything out of the tenant-peasants,
to repair the embankments; they
but grudged a few
"opp.tt
and the tenant-peasants starve,
up
dry
ponds
the
let
would
of land rent' Now that
the
collection
but
nothing
about
caring
be bluntly given to
can
orders
exists,
associaiion
p*easant
the
co*p.l the landlords to repair the embankments' When the
landlords refuse to do this, the people from the peasant association will say gently to them, "Very welMf you- don't
see to the repairs,-you can contribute grain. A toz38 a day,for
each worket:' Rt ihe landlords think that a bad bargain, they
hasten to carry out the repairs themselves. Consequently many
embankments in bad .ondition have been turned into solid
';
constructions.
A11 the fourteen deeds enumerated above have been accorn'
plished by the peasants under the leadership of the peasant
.L-_
'-'
1
r,
I