THE AGONY AND RESISTANCE MOVEMENT OF PEASANTS IN KIANGSU AND CHEKIANG

25 November 1926

[Text] Kiangsu and Chekiang are two provinces in China where industry and commerce are highly developed. Consequently, people pay more attention to the workers and merchants there, while the peasants seem to occupy a lower position. Moreover, it has been generally assumed that because these two provinces are peaceful and rich in resources, their peasants are better off. In fact, this kind of interpretation is rather superficial and it betrays a complete lack of understanding regarding the actual conditions of rural villages in Kiangsu and Chekiang. If we should try to investigate the actual conditions, we will realize that they are completely contrary to our conjecture. The concrete facts in each county as mentioned below constitute only a small portion of the data that we have obtained recently. Nevertheless, this is enough to prove that the peasants in Kiangsu and Chekiang are not as peaceful, prosperous and free from agonies as the general public has imagined:

Ch'ung-ming: an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, its entire territory constitutes the country of Ch'ung-ming. The island was created by Yangtze River's alluvial deposits of mud and sand. On the fringes of the island new sand bars are formed each year, which in turn serve as sandy fields farmed by tenant peasants. Take Shang-sha for instance. The landlords there are extremely ruthless in exploiting tenant peasants. They usually demand 50 yuan as security money for each 1,000 steps [pu 2977] of land. Because this kind of land consists entirely of newly formed sandy fields, the peasants have to convert it into ripe farmland for their landlords. By then, the landlords would have ownership over the land, while the peasants have the right to cultivate it. However, they must secure the labor, fertilizer, farm implements, and seeds that are needed for planting each year. After the autumn harvest, each 1,000 steps of farmland will have to deliver 500 catties or even more of grain for rent. When the landlord comes to visit his tenant, he must be invited to a good meal and wine. Otherwise, the rent might be increased. The steelyard used by landlords to weigh grain delivered by tenants as rent generally takes 20 ounces for catty. If the peasant displays any kind of resistance, he is immediately sent to the county government for punishment. If the peasant owes 5 yuan in rent this

year, he has to pay back 10 or 20 yuan next year. As a result, many peasants become bankrupt each year. The peasants here staged a riot in the 11th year of the republic. There were no kehs or Bolsheviks to incite them but they marched together to attack the police station, put off the ear of a landlord by the name of T'ao, and went to demonstrate at the magistrate's office, demanding reduction of rents. Later, because of the lack of solidarity, their leader was arrested and the riot failed. This year, Kiangsu has been hit by drought, and the harvest has declined. At Shang-sha, the harvest per 1,000 steps of land was only some 300 or 400 catties, yet the landlords insisted that their tenants deliver 500 catties of grain for rent as before. The landlords even used the "Resolution of the Tenant Maintenance Committee" to deceive the peasants (the committee was organized by landlords 1922 to persecute the peasants). Consequently, the hatred of peasants toward their landlords has intensified, and riots will soon erupt.

Chiang-yin: From Wu-hsi one can take the steamer to a place called Ku-shan-chen which is located between the three counties of Chiang-yin, Ch'ang-shu and Wu-hsi. Big landlords abound in these three counties, and they are ruthless in oppressing tenant peasants. Last autumn, Chou-hsi-p'ing, a native of Ku-shan who is a returned student from Japan (Chou was a classmate of the Provincial Normal School at Wu-hsi), returned to his own village. He did not like what he saw, and so he persuaded the tenant peasants to set up an organization called "Peasants Cooperative Society for Self-Salvation." Chou traveled to different villages to talk about the agonies of tenant peasants, and sometimes he became so emotional that tears fell from his eyes. He recruited many followers from among Ku-shan's peasants. In the bordering counties of Chiang-yin, Ch'ang-shu and Wu-hsi, peasants were incited by him to rise against the evil gentry and big landlords. They unanimously demanded that the rents be reduced. Nevertheless, before the peasants had coalesced themselves completely, the evil gentry and big landlords had joined forces. In Chiang-yin, Ch'uan-an-fu and Wusei, they took action simultaneously, making their accusation by letters and by telegrams to [General] Sun Ch'uan-fang. How could Sun Ch'uan-fang not listen to the charges of these evil gentry and landlords? Thus, in November last year, the Tenants Cooperative Society for Self-salvation was dissolved and Chou Shu-p'ing was arrested. Chou was executed in January this year, and so the rent reduction movement has been suppressed. When Chou Shu-p'ing's coffin was brought back to Ku-shan for burial, the peasants went to his spiritual shrine and drove to kneel down to pay their respects. They said: "Since Mr. Chou died for us, we must avenge him!" Due to a severe drought this year, the rice harvest is poor. The peasants are again calling for rent reduction. This proves that they are not scared by death. They realize that it is only through solidarity and struggle that they will make the greedy landlords ease their exploitation. In the eastern villages of Chiang-yin, there is a place called Shach'iao where peasant resistance against landlords has occurred. The most sinister example here is that the peasants are required to deliver to landlords the rent in advance. This is what the people of Kiangsu call delivering at the time of Yin while planting at the time of Mou. This is

also one of the most awful things in the peasant economy. The peasants there are now demanding that they pay the rent only after the crop has been hauled in, and are still struggling.

Tan-yang: Described here will be two incidents which occurred in Lu-ch'eng-chen, Tan-yang (Lu-ch'eng-chen is located in the eastern countryside of Tanyang near the Shanghai-Nanking Railway). One incident involved peasant resistance against the pawnshop which tried to cheat them, and this happened this summer. The pawnshop at Lu-ch'eng-chen was looted one day by the remnant soldiers under Ma Pu-jen that had become bandits at Mao-shan, west of Tan-yang. They did not loot too much from the pawnshop. But in reporting the case, the proprietor of the pawnshop lied, alleging that all the pawned items, including clothes and valuables, had been looted. In the meantime, he moved these things secretly to some hiding place. When the peasants of nearby villages who had pawned their belongings there heard about this trick, they went out to interrogate him to recover some of the original articles, but they could not get what had been concealed by the pawnshop. The peasants who had pawned their things joined together to set up a "Pawners' Union" in order to ask the pawnshop for settlement. As a result, the pawnshop repaid some of the losses, that is, each pawner getting the amount equivalent to the pawn price, reaching 900 dollars of compensation in full settlement. This episode proves that if the peasants are united, they will have victory. But if they show no solidarity, then they would have been cheated by the pawnshop, losing all their pawned articles. The other incident is resistance against the evil gentry and rich peasants who forced the tenant and poor peasants to pay money for pumping water. This has happened in this year's summer, and sadly but it has not yet been settled. In the villages of most counties in Kiangsu, a kind of machine-pumping has been generally adopted. This is called a "water-pump machine" which replaces the old hand and foot waterwheels to pump water. The peasants of several villages near Lu-ch'eng-chen have realized that it would be desirable to use machines to pump water. However, the evil gentry and rich peasants there took advantage of this situation to organize a "Machine Pumping Company" in order to make some quick profit. They raised 1,400 yuan as capital and bought a set of machinery which was installed in the river, and issued notice to the sense of the company that the peasants who wish to pump water pay an annual fee per mou of land. Those who do not pay would not get water. But the peasants have also made their own calculations. They found out that the money paid for each mou of land each year in these villages would be enough to buy a machine. If they should raise money to buy one, they would have to pay one time only, but they could use it every year. And if they use the company's machine, then they must pay so much each year. Consequently, they expressed their vehement opposition to the company of evil gentry and rich peasants. In the meantime, several primary school teachers volunteered to help the peasants in setting up an organization called "Peasants Promotion Association." Under the association's sponsorship, a "Machine-Pumping Cooperative" was formed, collecting money from its members peasants according to their acreage, raising 1,400 yuan to buy a

pumping machine. The offshoot is there are now two pumping machines in the river, one owned by the company and the other by the cooperative. But nobody would care to use the former which is now completely idle. Enraged, the bad gentry made many false charges and pleaded with Sun Ch'uan-fang. As a result, soldiers were sent into the countryside in search of Bolsheviks, arresting four persons, and placing the others on their wanted list. It was further announced that those who refused to use the company's machine would be dealt with severely. When the soldiers arrived, all able-bodied men in the village hid in the tall rice stalks, leaving only the old, the women and children to confront them. In order to avoid arrest, the accused peasants had to offer bribes to the soldiers amounting to 1,000 yuan or more. This does not include what the latter had looted during the searches. The case has not yet been closed. It is gratifying that Sun Ch'uan-fang is now in some predicament, so the bad gentry of Lu-ch'eng-chen might have to let it go.

Wu-hsi: At Hua-hang-chen, about 15 li from the city of Wu-hsi, a minor incident occurred recently. Jung Te-sheng, a prominent tycoon and big landlord here, attempted to build a road through the village. Houses and farmland was condemned at low prices. This would directly hurt the peasant economy, so the peasants formed a peasants' club to oppose Jung Te-sheng. Jung capitalized, offering 500 yuan for each mou of land, and 10 cents each for the newly planted mulberry trees, and promised to stop tearing down the houses in the village.

Ch'ing-p'u: In Ch'ing-p'u county along the Shanghai-Hangchow Railway, an incident occurred last month when peasants there opposed the sale of wasteland at inflated prices. When peasants bought wasteland before, they used to pay 3 yuan per mou. However, some bad gentry colluded with magistrate Lin Cheng-i to form a company which obtained wasteland at 3 yuan per mou, selling it to peasants at 12 yuan. The peasants joined together to set up a reclamation union to oppose it, but they have been intimidated by the gentry as well as the bureaucrats. The dispute is still unsettled.

Hai-ning: At Yang-chia-chuang in the eastern countryside, peasants demanded rent reduction because of this year's drought. A violent struggle against the landlords ensued. The landlords not only refused to reduce rents, but tried to apply pressures on the peasants. One of the peasants became so exacerbated that he attempted to kill a notorious landlord. The latter reported it to the magistrate, and 30 peasants were arrested and imprisoned.

I'ai-hsien: The peasants of Sen-gen-chuang, I'ai-hsien, started a movement to demand rent reduction, as there was a drought in summer. Several leaders were arrested by the government under the pressure of landlords.

Hsu-chou: Among the peasants of Kiangsu, those in Hsu-hai north of the Yangtze suffer the worst agonies. The Red Spear Society and the Lien-chuang Society proliferate, and rural struggles are more numerous than

elsewhere. The terrain of the eastern and northern parts of T'ung-shan county being low, rice crop were submerged under water last year. It is fortunate that the second wheat crop has been planted, and so peasants may hope to ride over the famine. The lingering rains this fall have resulted in flooding the rice fields, and the wheat crop has deteriorated. It is still uncertain as to when the second wheat crop can be planted. Consequently, there is general dismay. In the meantime, apart from natural disasters, the peasants have been plagued by the oppressions and exploitations of greedy warlords and bureaucrats. Many peasants have degenerated and drifted to become bandits. This is why Hsuchow and its vicinities have become known as a bandit-infested area.

Tz'u-ch'i: Tz'u-ch'i is in Chekiang, west of Ningpo. Recently, a big riot occurred in the Shaohai region where the peasants were sturdy and armed. Feuds have been recurrent. Moreover, coupled with the unreasonable oppressions of the bureaucrats and police, and the intensified exploitations of evil gentry and landlords, the peasants have become more and more enraged and hateful. It transpired that weather conditions have been bad this year. Both cotton and rice harvests were poor but the landlords refused to reduce any rent. This has led to the eruption of a peasant riot stemming from famine. On the morning of 13 September, some 2,000 people gathered at the police office to report famine and then clashed with the police, setting the premises on fire, and seizing policemen's rifles. The crowd then turned to the homes of the gentry and landlords to "eat up the big families." They continued their rampage by destroying the antiques and furniture, windows and cabinets, and whatever they found in the latter's homes. They did this every day and refused to desist. Then, the village gentry escaped to the city to make accusations. Soldiers and policemen were sent into the countryside to arrest the delinquent peasants, but the ringleaders had mostly fled. "Crime" and "violation of law" have become a commonplace slogan, and the peasants lost their courage. The riot was suppressed. The failure of this riot has been caused by the lack of organization and guidance among the masses. Thus, it became a primitive riot which ended in a debacle.

OHSING-TAO CHOU-PAO, No 176, 25 November 1926