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Why is it common in mainland China?moral breakdown? Going back to the roots, “land reform“It’s hard to blame. (The following pictures are from: Internet pictures)
Some scholars believe that China’s major disasters were caused by the Qin DynastyLegalismThoughts spread,imperial examinationFossilized people’s thinking, Mongolia invaded and conquered China, under the banner ofcommunismbanner of the peasant uprising. There is some truth in what they say, but they don’t really get to the root of it. In today’s mainland China, people’s desires and material desires are rampant. Looking back to the source, “land reform” cannot be exempted from the blame.
Are the four major landowners “extremely evil”?
If you ask young people under the age of 40 in mainland China to talk about their impressions and understandings of “landlords”, many people will say this cliché: Landlords make a living by renting out land and exploiting farmers, and they are an exploiting class in feudal society. They have bad moral character, run rampant in the countryside, bully men and dominate women, and do all kinds of evil… The typical representatives are Huang Shiren, Zhou Bapi, Nan Batian and Liu Wencai.
Huang Shiren, a veteran landowner in the Yan’an era opera “The White-Haired Girl”. This opera was adapted into movies, ballets, etc. again and again, and became famous all over the world. In the play, Huang Shiren forced the poor farmhand Yang Bailao to death by extorting debts, and raped Yang Bailao’s only daughter Xi’er. After Xi’er escaped, she hid in a cave and made a living by stealing fruits from the mountain temple. Due to long years of not seeing the sun and malnutrition, she turned into a “white-haired girl”… During a performance in Yan’an, when the plot reached its climax, a company-level officer was so angry that he drew a gun and fired at the actor playing Huang Shiren. A shot… luckily it didn’t hit, which shows how touching the plot is. Over the years, continuous performances have “educated” hundreds of millions of young audiences, making Huang Shiren a well-known and hated bully landlord.
The text “Cockcrow at Midnight” brainwashes students.
In the mid-1950s, there was a text in primary school Chinese textbooks in mainland China called “The Cock Crows in the Midnight”, which was an excerpt from the long autobiographical novel by the warrior writer Gao Yubao. The landlord in the text is named Zhou Papi. In order to urge the long-term workers to get up early to work, this hateful guy sneaked into the chicken coop in the middle of the night and imitated the crowing of roosters, causing the roosters to crow one after another. When the rooster crows, the long-term workers have to get up early. Later, the long-term workers deliberately beat Zhou Papi as a “chicken thief”… In this dramatic story, the farmers’ hatred was vented amidst laughter. From then on, the concept that “landlords are the sworn enemies of farmers” has been deeply implanted in the hearts of children. The first children to read this text are now in their sixties.
Communist propaganda film Red Detachment of Women.
Nan Batian in “The Red Detachment of Detachments” is another big landowner who “will not tolerate evil”. He used his vast wealth to organize and support reactionary armed forces and became enemies of the guerrillas led by the Communist Party of Hainan Island. In the end, he was shot to death by Wu Qionghua, the company commander of the “Qiongya Detachment” and the “Red Detachment of Women Company” (who had worked as a maid in Nan Batian’s home), and met a shameful end.
Liu Wencai is a big landowner in Dayi County, Sichuan Province, and a bad guy who “does all kinds of evil”. His family had a “water prison” and imprisoned poor peasant Leng Yueying in the “water prison”… Teachers and students from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts collectively created the “Clay Sculpture Rent Collection Yard” based on Liu Wencai’s background story, which visualized the scene of landlords squeezing farmers’ blood and sweat. During the Cultural Revolution, the exhibition toured the country and became a sensation…; Liu Wencai’s “Rent Collection Yard” was also created The manor was transformed into a “Class Struggle Education Exhibition Hall”, allowing tens of thousands of people to visit…; the content of the exhibition was made out of nothing, added to the content, and endlessly elaborated, and used all means to vilify Liu Wencai.
After decades of propaganda, exaggeration and indoctrination, when people mention “landlords”, they will think of the ugly images of the four major landowners mentioned above. They have become typical representatives of “landlords”, and everyone frowns on them and hates them with gnashing of teeth.
In the late 1940s, there were millions of landowners, large and small, all over China. The “land reform” movement in 1950 killed more than 2 million landowners. So, people have to ask: Is every landowner who was killed a bad person like the four landlords above? Are they all “crimes so heinous that not killing them will not make the people angry”? As long as you open the history books and look them up, as long as you find an elderly person and ask them, you will get the opposite answer. People admit that there are bad people among landlords, but not all landlords are bad people; on the contrary, the vast majority of them, accounting for more than 95% of the total, are good people with a kind heart and a willingness to do good.
The term “landlord” has become a deeply derogatory term. When people see the word “landlord”, they associate it with exploitation and oppression and feel disgusted. In fact, before 1949, most rural areas respected people with more land and wealth as “rich man” or “master”. Tenants (farmers who rent land) and long-term workers respectfully refer to the owner of the land as “the boss”. At that time, although the word “landlord” also existed, apart from the polite words of “exerting the friendship of the landlord (local host)” at banquets, it contained respect, admiration and envy, and was definitely not derogatory.
How did the landlords get their land and wealth?
Are “landlords” hateful? More than 2 million landowners were killed during the “land reform” movement. Should everyone be killed? To understand the above issues, we must first understand the source of landowners’ land and wealth.
Landlords’ land and wealth generally come from the following three sources:
First, ancestral family business. Some families’ ancestors owned this land and wealth several generations ago. Generally speaking, wealthy families always send their children to study. This scholarly family has not produced a “grandson” for several generations, so the family business has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation to this descendant. In 1950, the situation changed suddenly, and the heir suffered a disaster because of his ancestral land and wealth. His family was evicted, his land and property were confiscated, and he was shot without even saving his life. During the “land reform” there were many phenomena of “reversal of rich and poor, confusion of right and wrong”. ——There is an old saying in China: “You cannot get rich for more than three generations.” Many wealthy families have the misfortune of having a “grandson” who is lazy and enjoys whoring and gambling. He “doesn’t feel sad if he sells his father’s land” and turns the entire wealth of the Wanguan family into a “beggar” begging on the street. Unexpectedly, things turned around, and the “beggars” got a blessing in disguise. During the “land reform”, they were classified as “poor peasants” and received land, houses and “floating wealth” (confiscating the property of the landlord).
Second, he made a fortune by working as an official or doing business in other places, then returned to his hometown to build a family and property, purchased a large amount of land, and became a landlord. From Qin Shihuang to the Qing Dynasty, the imperial power lasted for more than two thousand years, and it had always been a small-scale peasant economy that valued agriculture over commerce. People’s ideas at that time were very different from those of modern people. There were no banks at that time, and money was kept at home for fear of being stolen or robbed; it was very risky to store it in a private account, and it was unsafe; industry and commerce were not very developed at that time, and people simply looked down on businessmen and were unwilling to invest in setting up industry. The mantra of the old people is: “If you want a stable family business, farming is the foundation.” Therefore, in that era, the first thought in people’s minds after they had money was to “buy land.” Fields are real estate. They cannot be stolen or snatched away. They increase in value every year and can be passed on to children and grandchildren after death, so that the family will not starve to death.
Third, a capable person who is diligent and frugal, smart, studious, and good at business. He is known locally as “Tian Xiucai”. He lives frugally all his life. If he has some savings, he buys land. The land gradually increases, and he gradually becomes a middle farmer or a rich farmer… Those who have accumulated the most land have reached the level of medium and small “landowners”.
Just like in every team, there are both good and bad people. Needless to say, there are also those who rise to become landlords by bullying and exploiting usury, but such people are very few after all. At that time, the Confucian doctrine of “benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, and trust” was very popular, and public opinion criticized immoral behavior. Everyone looked down on people who made money through evil ways, and “poke him in the back”, feeling shameful and associated with them. Therefore, most people are conscious or dare not take the wrong path. At that time, eighty to ninety percent of the people believed in gods and Buddhas. People dare not do bad things for fear that they may accidentally offend the gods and be sent to hell. Generally speaking, under the rule of imperial power, through the promotion and enlightenment of Confucian morality, and the popularity and restriction of religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Taoism, society was calm and stable most of the time. The poor live in poverty, the rich are philanthropic, interdependent, and live in peaceful coexistence for a long time. There is no such thing as “class struggle” like “I won’t survive until you die.”
The sources of landowners’ land and wealth are roughly the three mentioned above. During the transaction and transfer process of real estate such as land, forests, and houses, contracts were signed, taxes were paid according to regulations, and certificates were issued by the competent government departments. This is both recognized and reasonable and legal.
The landlord class is a gathering of elites
Most of the landlords received strict education during their youth, and they are a group with relatively high cultural quality in rural areas. What they read is the “Four Books”, “Five Classics”, “The Way of Confucius and Mencius”, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you”, “Old people are like the old people, young people are like the young people”…, Confucianism, Deep into the bone marrow. More than 95% of landowners pity the poor and elderly, help widows and widowers, assist teachers and schools, provide disaster relief, build bridges and roads, construct water conservancy projects, mediate disputes, and advocate cultural activities (dragon lantern dances, dragon boat racing, singing operas, etc.)… All public welfare undertakings and charities in rural areas that require money and materials are initiated by them, enthusiastically sponsor and play the leading role in donating funds, materials and efforts.
After ten years of hard times, most of those who entered the upper class (officialdom) were children of landlords. Therefore, the landlord class at that time, which consisted of political elites, economic elites and cultural elites, naturally became the mainstream of society. Many scholars who failed in the examinations and had no intention of pursuing official careers were often elected as local leaders after returning to their hometowns because of their noble moral character, rich knowledge, justice and fairness, and took charge of the management of local affairs in villages, townships and districts. right. The government at that time (at the county level and above) was so weak. It had neither the concept of “social relief” nor the economic strength to intervene in local affairs. Therefore, a large number of local affairs fell on the shoulders of the local and prestigious wealthy gentry (landowners).
Establishing public welfare undertakings and charities requires a lot of funds. No one will believe you if you just shout out of thin air. At critical moments, you must take the lead in spending money. Reputable wealthy gentry took the lead in donating huge sums of money, and everyone followed suit, creating a situation where “everyone adds fuel to the fire”. Only then can a large amount of funds be raised and local projects run well. At that time, in almost all villages, there were landlords with high moral standards and strong philanthropic aspirations who took the lead in donating funds.
Back then, landlords rented out land to solve the employment problem of poor farmers. It was the same thing as capitalists setting up factories to provide employment opportunities for the urban poor. It is the same thing as today’s foreign investment entering China to solve the employment problem of the surplus labor force in urban and rural areas. The rent collected by landlords is the return on land investment, and the profit commission of industrial and commercial enterprises is the return on capital, which is the same thing.
The “landlords” class occupied more land and wealth in the countryside at that time. It was the balance of power and balance achieved by the long-term collision of multiple social forces. It was the result of social survival of the fittest and natural selection for more than two thousand years. It was a kind of social change that was in line with the society at that time. demand, reasonable and legal important political and economic structural elements.
More than two thousand years ago, Mencius said: Only those who have perseverance have perseverance. What this means is: Only people with more property can be responsible in doing things. Because he is responsible for his own property, his family, and his reputation… He will never mess around. At that time, the landlord class, with its wealth, morality, knowledge and prestige, shouldered the responsibility of missing government functions and played a mainstay role in stabilizing society in rural areas.
The bad consequences and sequelae of “land reform”
The landowner and his wife were buried alive, with their heads still on the ground.
1. “Land reform” destroyed rural productivity. There were a group of hard-working, frugal and good at management “field scholars” in the countryside. After they became rich farmers and landlords, they represented the advanced productivity of the countryside at that time. Their farm tools are relatively complete, their funds are relatively sufficient, and their production has a certain scale; they are experienced, accept new things quickly, and have the ability to select and improve crop varieties; their agricultural and sideline output always reaches the highest level in the local area; their advanced farming This method has set an example and led the way for poor farmers… If they are allowed to continue to be rich and their children study in the United States and set up farms after they return, China’s agriculture may change its appearance and keep up with the pace of the world’s progress. But unfortunately, they were suppressed during the land reform. They were killed, imprisoned, and managed, and all their means of production were divided… A very promising way out for Chinese agriculture was interrupted.
People in the world are all different, and some people just don’t think about things. Many poor and lower-middle peasants can only perform simple labor under the command of others and lack the ability to independently control overall production. Allocate land to such people. They firstly lack funds, secondly lack farm tools, thirdly lack seeds, and fourthly lack experience… The land given to them is obviously the most fertile and fertile land, but they cannot grow food. Therefore, in the first year after land reform, production regressed.
There was also a group of lazy people who ate up all the things they were given and sold the land they were given to others (later they were stopped and were not allowed to buy or sell land), and they remained paupers.
Through struggle and killing, the “land reform” suppressed landlords and rich peasants who were good at management, and there was an even greater shortage of management talents in the countryside; the already concentrated means of production were scattered among single-person households who were not good at management, and agriculture was Productivity has been severely damaged.
2. “Land reform” has completely deteriorated rural grassroots leadership. In the imperial examination era, people without “qualification” (those who had not passed the exam to be a scholar or a scholar) were not allowed to enter the local leadership level. Therefore, local leaders were of high quality, honest and dedicated to public affairs, and could truly serve the masses. The first deterioration of rural local leaders began after the imperial examination system was abolished in 1906 in the late Qing Dynasty. Since everyone has lost their title, who can be the local leader? Seeing an opportunity, people from all three religions and nine streams got in one after another with the help of land, capital, ancestral halls, force, public property, religion and personal connections. These people are a mixed bag of good and bad, forming small factions and cliques, busy fighting for power and profit, and ignoring the poor farmers. These people are not constrained by Confucian moral public welfare and are not controlled by the government. They are corrupt and bend the law and do whatever they want. Coupled with the explosive growth of population (in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the country’s population was about 100 million, and after the “Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties” it increased to 400 million, and after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the country’s population was said to be 450 million), the contradiction between many people and few fields has been highlighted. , rural society began to become turbulent.
3. After the “land reform” used “rogue proletarians” (pickpockets, thieves, gangsters, thugs, jobless refugees…) to attack and defeat the landlords and rich peasants, these “roots of the land reform” who were “bitter and resentful” joined the party one after another. Officials, arrogantly becoming “secretary”, “member”, “director”, “township chief”, “village chief”… This has completely deteriorated the rural grassroots leadership. Most of these people are illiterate, but they proudly came to the stage to give a report. The first sentence they spoke was: “I am a big old man. I only know three loads of cow dung and six dustpans…” – They are not ashamed of being uneducated, but instead Be proud of it!
These people are selfish, bragging, pretending to be active, forming cliques, being nepotistic, bullying their subordinates and concealing their superiors, and obeying orders… They have low abilities and do not understand production, but they dictate and give blind orders, often causing heavy economic losses. How can agricultural production be done well when rural leadership falls in the hands of such a group of people with no education, low quality, and short-sightedness? Coupled with the fact that Mao Zedong was confused and soon after the “land reform”, he insisted on accelerating cooperatization, people’s communes, and the Great Leap Forward… By around 1960, agricultural production collapsed completely, and more than 35 million farmers died of starvation.
4. The “Land Reform” ended in 1953. Politically, economically and militarily, the expected goals of launching the land reform movement were fully achieved. It fostered the pride and complacency of the supreme leader, strengthened his absolute authority, and laid the foundation for the subsequent hot-headed campaign. The Leap Forward and the People’s Communes laid the foundation for disaster. “Land reform” and the changing agricultural policies (first it was individual farming, then cooperative; in the 1980s, it was divided into individual farms and farmed to each household…), which produced serious sequelae: agricultural production stagnated and remained backward for a long time. To this day It is unable to break out of the small-scale peasant economy and lags far behind the world’s agricultural development level.
To this day, rural areas are still poor and backward, and farmers are still miserable.
In short, “land reform” artificially created hatred, destroyed the fine moral traditions of the Chinese nation, and left deep scars among the people. The land of China was originally a land of civilization and etiquette. The Confucian ethics of respecting the elderly, caring for the young, and being courteous to each other are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People of all ethnic groups have lived together in peace from generation to generation. In rural areas, there is no mutual admiration between superiors and subordinates, the rich and the poor live in harmony, and production and life are in order. Since the “land reform” turned seeking wealth and killing, killing and selling goods into the highly praised “just cause”, people’s hearts have been distracted, traditional moral concepts have collapsed, and have been replaced by selfishness, mutual fighting, intrigues, and morality. Lost.
Please look at China today. Human desires and material desires are rampant. Looking back to the source, “land reform” cannot be exempted from the blame.
Editor in charge: Hezi
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