ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS STRATA OF CHINESE PEASANTRY AND THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD REVOLUTION

January 1926

[Text] Wherever you go in rural areas, as you carefully observe, you will see the following eight different categories of persons:

Big landlords
Small landlords
Owner peasants
Semi-owner peasants
Semi-hired peasants
Poor peasants
Hired peasants and rural handicraft workers
Vagabonds

These eight categories of persons are divided into eight classes. Their financial positions and living conditions vary, and affect their psychology and their differing views regarding revolution.

A large number of large landlords in China come from descendants of former Ching Dynasty bureaucrats and current bureaucrats and warlords, while a small number of them are rich urban merchants who purchased land. Very few big landlords built up their fortune through farming. They base their interest on severe exploitation of owner-peasants, semi-owner peasants, semi-hired peasants, poor peasants, and hired peasants. There are five methods of exploitation. First is heavy rent, varying between 50 to 80 percent. This is a very common and ruthless exploitation of the semi-owner peasants, semi-hired peasants, and poor peasants. The second is usury, with the monthly interest rate at 3 to 7 percent, and the annual interest at 36 to 84 percent. This exploitation also applies to semi-owner peasants, semi-hired peasants, and poor peasants. This is sometimes an even more ruthless exploitation than heavy rent, and often results in complete bankruptcy within a few years due to accumulation of debts and compounding of interest. The third is heavy contributions, using pressure to force the owner-peasants and semi-owner peasants to offer contributions to the

expenses of local defense regiments according to acreage owned. Such local defense regiments are landlord class armies needed for suppressing peasant uprisings to maintain the landlord class exploiting system. The fourth is exploitation of hired peasants, that is, exploiting their surplus labor. In China, however, there is not much capitalist agriculture yet. Big landlords usually do not manage land themselves. For this reason, more small landlords than big landlords employ this form of exploitation. The fifth form of exploitation is that used by warlords in collusion with corrupt bureaucrats to levy heavy land taxes and demand high interest from peasants who are unable to pay on time. It is impossible to describe the miseries of peasants suffering from these five types of exploitation. The Chinese big landlords are, therefore, the deadly enemies of Chinese peasants, the true rulers in the countryside, the solid foundation of imperialists and warlords, only stronghold of feudal patriarch society, and the ultimate reason for emergence of all counterrevolutionary forces. Estimated on the basis of collecting yield from over 500 mou, the number of big landlords (including their families) account for about one-tenth of 1 percent among peasants. Among the 320,000,000 peasants in the country (estimated at 80 percent of the population), they total about 320,000.

revolution. For instance, at the height of the peasant association movement, the leftists among small landlords can be guided to help peasant associations. By nature, they compromise easily, since they are related by blood to the right wing of small landlords, and are strangers to peasant associations. We cannot expect them to come forward bravely to the revolutionary road and to devote themselves faithfully to the revolutionary cause as other classes do, except for the small number of them who are molded differently by history and circumstances.

The owner-peasants belong to petty-bourgeoisie and subdivide into three categories. In the first category, there are owner-peasants who have surplus cash and provisions. Besides providing for themselves, there is a surplus every year in their income from labor, performed as a prelimi- ary accumulation of capital. These persons harbor a strong concept of "prosperity." While they do not vainly hope for great prosperity, they always attempt to climb up to the position of small landowner. They usually envy those gentry property owners who enjoy respectability, and devoutly worship Marshal Chao-kung. They are timid, afraid of bureaucracy, and also somewhat fear revolution. Since their financial position approximates that of the small landlords of the intermediate properties class, they subscribe to such propaganda as "Beware of Radical Party" and "Beware of Communism," as propagated by those "elderly," "honorable," and "respected" small landlords in the countryside. These words of advice for caution, to be sure, originate from the "seniors" and the "lords" among the landlords. These persons with surplus cash and provisions constitute the right wing of petty-bourgeoisie. Before they learn the truth about modern revolution, they adopt a skeptical attitude. They are, however, a minority among owner-peasants, amounting to perhaps less than 10 percent of the total. In China, the number of owner-peasants, some say, exceeds the total of hired peasants and farm laborers. Excluding the semi-owner peasants, however, they certainly account for only a minority among peasants, totalling about 100 to 120 million. The so-to-do portion among owner-peasants account for about 10 percent, or a total of 12 million.

The second category of owner-peasants are barely self-sufficient. Their annual income and expenditures are balanced without surplus or deficit. While these owner-peasants are quite different from those in the first category, they likewise long for prosperity. Marshal Chao Kung, however, has never granted them wealth. In the wake of oppression and exploitation perpetrated by imperialists, warlords, and landlords in recent years, they feel that the world is not what it used to be. They realize that by continuing the same amount of labor as they did before, they would not be able to maintain their livelihood. They must increase their time at work, that is, start earlier and stop later every day, and pay greater attention to production before they can maintain their livelihood. They curse others, denouncing foreigners as "devils," warlords as "money grabbers," and local despots as "the filthy rich." They are skeptical whether the movement against imperialists and warlords will ever succeed (their rationale:

foreigners and the military are more powerful), and thus would not dare to participate. They adopt a neutral attitude, but would never oppose revolution. This portion of owner-peasants are numerous, accounting for about one-half of all owner-peasants, or nearly 60,000,000 persons.

The third category of owner-peasants are those who show a deficit year after year. Many of these owner-peasants were formerly the so-called solid honest persons who gradually turn more reserved and deficient. At the year-end accounting, they are alarmed at every occasion and would declare: "Well, another deficit." Since they lived well before, their gradual decline and accruement of deficit, they begin to realize the future is uncertain and frightening. They are miserable in spirit, for they tend to contrast the present and the past. These persons are rather important to the revolution and can contribute to its progress. They number about 40 percent of owner-peasants, or 48,000,000 persons. A sizeable mass, they constitute the left-wing of petty-bourgeoisie.

In time of peace, the afore-described three categories of owner-peasants hold different attitudes toward modern Chinese revolution. Once at war, that is, at the high tide of revolution when the dawn of victory is visible, not only the left wing owner-peasants in the third category would immediately join the revolution, but the neutral owner-peasants of the second category would also participate in revolution. Pressured by hired peasants and the leftwing owner-peasants, even the rightist owner-peasants in the first category would also go along with revolution. Accordingly, the petty-bourgeoisie peasants can all turn to favor revolution.

The semi-owner peasants, semi-hired peasants, and farm laborers number about 150,000,000 to 170,000,000 among Chinese peasantry. Separately, semi-owner peasants account for about 60,000,000, while semi-hired peasants and farm laborers each account for 60,000,000. They constitute the huge masses in the countryside. Most of the so-called peasant problems concern them. While all three categories of peasants are among the semiproletariat, their financial conditions differ. The semi-owner peasants live a more miserable life than owner-peasants, since the former must rent farmland from others or engage in small business to make up the difference in their deficit of provisions. They must incur debt and borrow grain at high interest rates during the season between spring and summer, while the owner-peasants would not have to depend on others. The semi-owner peasants nevertheless are better off than the semi-hired peasants who own no land and must work on others' farmland to receive only half of the harvest. While the semi-owner peasants also receive only half or less of the farmland which they rent from others, they can receive the entire harvest from the land which they own. Accordingly, the semi-owner peasants are more revolutionary than the owner-peasants, but less so than the semi-hired peasants.

The semi-hired peasants and farm laborers are both hired peasants in the countryside, and suffer from landlord exploitation, although their financial

positions differ. The semi-hired peasants do not own land, but they have adequate farm tools and some liquid capital. Peasants in this group can receive one half of their annual productive labor. They make up for the deficit by providing miscellaneous grains, catching fish and shrimp, and keeping chickens and hogs to eke out their livelihood. In their assiduous struggle for livelihood, they take comfort in the thought of working hard for life. Their livelihood is more miserable than that of semi-owner peasants, but better than farm laborers. On the other hand, they are more revolutionary than the semi-owner peasants, but less so than farm laborers.

The farm laborers constitute the agricultural proletariat. There are the long-term laborers, monthly laborers, and sundry laborers. These farm laborers not only own no land and farm implements, but also not the slightest liquid capital. They live from hand to mouth every day. They exceed other workers in their long hours of work, meager wages, poor treatment, and uncertainty of employment. These persons suffer the most in the countryside. In preparing the peasant movement, we must pay particular attention to them. In the countryside, handicraft workers hold a higher position than farm laborers, since the former have their own tools and also perform a free occupation. With burden of families, and wages incompatible with cost of living, the handicraft workers share the oppression of poverty and the fear of unemployment with farm laborers, and lead a life similar to that of farm laborers.

The vagabond proletariat consist of peasants who lost their land and handicraft workers who lost the opportunity to work because of exploitation and oppression perpetrated by imperialists, warlords, and landlords, and flood, drought, and other natural disasters. Among them are soldiers, bandits, thieves, beggars, and prostitutes. The five are despised and regarded by society differently, although they are alike as human beings. In their different methods of seeking the same end of livelihood - the soldiers engage in "officiating," the bandits in "robbing," the thieves in "stealing," the beggars in "pleading," and prostitutes in "charming." They are the most unstable among mankind. In all areas, they have their own secret organizations, such as San-ho-hui [0005 3078 2585] in Hunan, Hupeh, Kueichou, and Szechwan; Ta-tao-hui [1129 0430 2585] in Anwei, Honan, and Shantung; Tsai-li-hui [0961 3810 2585] in Hopeh and the northeast provinces; and the Blue Gang in Shanghai, as mutual-aid organizations in their political and financial struggles. The settlement of these persons constitute one of the greatest and most difficult problems in China. As poverty and unemployment are two problems in China, a settlement of the unemployment problem would amount to settling at least one-half of the problems in China. The number of Chinese vagabond proletariat is alarming, totalling more than 20,000,000. These persons are capable of brave struggle. Under proper guidance, they can become a revolutionary force.

In organizing peasants, we mean to organize owner-peasants, semi-owner peasants, semi-hired peasants, farm laborers, and handicraft workers into one

organization. In principle, we employ the method of strife against landlords to demand financial and political concessions. In special circumstances, such as we encounter in Kaifeng and Kwangtung where the most reactionary and vicious local despots are trampling upon the people, we must completely strike them down. Regarding the vagabond proletariat, we should persuade them to help the peasant associations and to join the great revolutionary movement to seek settlement of the unemployment problem. We should not force them to join the enemy side to become part of the counterrevolutionary force.

*CHUNG-KUO NUNG-MIN, No. 1, Chinese National Central Executive Committee, Peasant Bureau, January 1926.

--- Notes

The small landlords are much more numerous than the big landlords, totalling more than 2 million in the country. Most of them come from their own farms, that is, they rose from owner-peasants. Some of them are urban merchants who bought land, and others are degenerate descendants of bureaucrats and current petty-bureaucrats. They employ heavy rent, usury, and exploitation of surplus labor as methods of exploitation. They suffer from oppression by warlords and big landlords, and are therefore rebellious. They also, however, fear "communism," and thus adopt a contradictory attitude toward modern revolution. In our country, high intellectuals such as teachers and students in colleges and higher schools, as well as students studying in Japan and the West, are mostly from small landlord families. They advocate the so-called nationalism. The reason is that small landlords are the medium-properties class in China with an ambition to obtain the position of big bourgeoisie and to establish a nation ruled by one class. Beset by foreign capital and oppression by warlords, they need revolution. They are, however, also skeptical about revolution since in the modern Chinese revolutionary movement, there is within the country wholehearted participation of the international proletariat and, internationally, vigorous support by the international proletariat. There is a true Tai Chi-t'ao's [2071 1323 7118] directive (by his own description) who states in PEKING CHEN-PAO: "Raise your left hand to strike down imperialists and your right hand against the communist party." This is a vivid illustration of the contradictory and frightened attitude of this class. They oppose interpretation of people's livelihood, principally class struggle, and object to associating association with Russia and acceptance of communists. These constitute the right wing of the Chinese medium-properties class. They are inclined to lean toward a counterrevolutionary position. There is, however, also a left wing in the medium-properties class which at the proper moment can be led toward