Village China Under Socialism and Reform: A Micro-History, 1948-2008

421 Pages·2009·5.118 MB·English

by  Huaiyin Li

village china under
socialism and reform

Village China Under
Socialism and Reform
A Micro-History, 1948–2008
HUAIYIN LI
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
2009
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2009 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permis
sion of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Li, Huaiyin.
Village China under socialism and reform: a micro-history, 1948-2008 /
Huaiyin Li.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8047-5974-8 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8047-7657-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Peasantry-China-Jiangsu Sheng-History. 2. Agriculture
and state-China-Jiangsu Sheng-History. 3. Collectivization of
agriculture-China-Jiangsu Sheng-History. 4. Jiangsu Sheng (China)
Rural conditions. 5. Jiangsu Sheng (China)-Politics and government.
1. Title.
HD153?C5L37 2009
951'.13605-dc22
Typeset by Westchester Book Composition in 10/12.5 Palatino.
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Notes on Weights, Mea sures, and Currency ix
Administrative Changes in Qin Village x
Preface xi
1. Introduction 1
Part One. Deference and Defi ance in the 1950s
2. Interest, Identity, and Ideology: The Collectivization
of Agriculture 23
3. “People’s Disturbances”: Re sis tance to Agricultural
Collectivization 50
4. The Great Leap Forward and Its Aftermath 81
Part Two. Power and Control Under Socialism
5. “Rightful Weapons”: Po liti cal Participation Under
the Collective 107
6. The Cultural Revolution: A Multifaceted Experience 139
7. The Reach of the State: Rural Control During the Cultural
Revolution 160
Part Three. Individuals, the Family, and the Collective
8. Everyday Strategies for Team Farming 185
vi Contents
9. The Family Cycle and Income Disparity 208
10. Agricultural Growth and Social Change 229
Part Four. The Reform Era
11. Decollectivization 267
12. The Retreat of the State: Village Politics and
Community Life 291
13. From Government to Governance 315
14. Conclusion 335
Notes 357
References 369
List of Characters 389
Index 395
Illustrations
maps
1. Jiangsu Province in the Early 1950s 10
2. The Original Condition of Qindong People’s Commune 231
3. Qindong People’s Commune in the Late 1970s 233
figures
1. Family Life Cycle and Per Capita Annual Workpoints of House holds
in Qin Village, 1974 214
2. Family Size in Qin Village, 1970 and 1979 221
tables
1. “Unclean” Cadres in Dongtai County, 1965 119
2. Workpoint Rates in the No. 11 Production Team, 1973 and 1974 190
3. Family Life Cycle and the Collective Income of House holds in
Qin Village, 1974 215
4. Family Life Cycle and the Collective Income of House holds in
Qin Village, 1970 222
5. Family Life Cycle and the Collective Income of House holds in
Qin Village, 1979 222
6. Labor Input and Productivity in Qin Village, 1956–1981 240
7. Grain Output and Distribution in Qin Village and Qindong
Commune, 1956–1981 242
8. Income Distribution in Qin Village, 1956–1981 245
9. Labor Input in Rice Cultivation in Qin Village 279
Five pages of photographs follow page 258

Notes on Weights, Mea sures, and Currency
1 catty = 500 grams or 1.1 pound
1 dou = 14 catties
1 dan = 10 dou or 140 catties
1 li = 500 meters or 0.31 mile
1 mu = 1⁄15 hectare or 1⁄6 acre
1 yuan = US$0.41 from 1953 to 1972
US$0.41–0.67 from 1973 to 1980
US$0.67–0.36 from 1981 to 1984
US$0.35–0.17 from 1985 to 1993
US$0.12 from 1994 to 2005
US$0.12–0.15 from 2006 to 2008