HSING-KUO COUNTY LAND LAW

April 1929

[Text] 1. All public land and land belonging to the landlord class are confiscated and made into the property of the Hsing-kuo Worker-Peasant-Soldier Delegates' Conference Government to be allocated to peasants who own little or no land, for their cultivation and use.

2. After confiscation of all public land and land belonging to the landowner class and allocation by the Worker-Peasant-Soldier Government, no land may be bought or sold.

3. The criteria for land allocation are:

a. Use the population as the criterion and equally divide the land among the male and female, old and young. b. Use the labor force as the criterion and allocate twice as much to those who can labor than those who cannot. Of the above two criteria, the first should be followed, and the second is only for areas under special conditions. The reasons for adopting the first criterion are:

a. Before the facilities for caring for the old and the young are completed, if the land allocation to them is too little, they will not be able to maintain a living.

b. It is simpler and more convenient to use the population as the criterion to divide the land.

c. Very few households are without old and young members. Meanwhile, though the old and the young do not have the ability to farm, the government may, after land allocation, assign them certain public service tasks, such as communication work.

4. The criteria for this area of land allocation are.

a. Use the township as the unit in land allocation. b. Combine several townships as the unit in land allocation (such as the Hsiao-chiang area in

Yung-hsin. c. Use the district as the unit in land allocation. Of the above three criteria, the first should be followed, and the second and third may be used under special conditions.

5. The methods of dividing hills and woods are:

a. The division of tea hills and firewood hills follows the method of land division--equal division with the township as the unit.

b. Bamboo hills belong to the soviet, but the peasants may have the use of the bamboo with its permission. For less than 50 stalks, permission of the township soviet is required; for less than 100 stalks, that of the district soviet is required; and for over 100 stalks, that of the country soviet is required.

c. All bamboo is marketed by the county soviet, and the proceeds are handled by the superior soviet.

6. The levy of land taxes is as follows:

a. Land taxes are divided into three categories according to the production situation: (1) 15 percent; (2) 10 percent; (3) 5 percent. Of the three categories above, the first one should be followed. The second and third may be applied under special conditions with the approval of the supreme soviet.

b. In case of natural disaster or other special conditions, application for land tax exemption must be submitted to the superior soviet for its approval.

c. Land taxes are collected by the county soviet and transmitted to the superior soviet.

7. Rural handicraft workers may, if they so desire, receive a half share of the allocation to the peasants.

8. The officers and soldiers of the Red Army and Red Guards, and the personnel of the government and other public organs will receive land allocations in the same amount as the peasants, and the soviet will hire people to cultivate the land for them.

Note: This version of the land law was promulgated when the Red Army arrived in Hsing-kuo in southern Kiangsi from the Ching-kang Mountains in the 4th month after the formulation of the previous land law. One important revision in the contents was to change "the confiscation of all land" to "the confiscation of public land and land belonging to the landlord class." It was a fundamental change. There was no other change. Changes were not made until 1930. Both land laws are kept to show the development of our understanding of the land struggle.

° "Rural Survey," Liberation Press, July 1949

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