INVESTIGATION IN T'UNG-T'ANG AND OTHER AREAS

8 November 1930

[Text] On 30 October 1930, the Red Army Front Committee decided at Lo-fang on a policy of luring the enemy deep into our territory. On 6 November the Red Army moved from Hsia-chiang, crossed Kan-chiang and marched toward Yung-feng and Nan-ch'eng. While I went from Hsia-chiang to Chi-an to make arrangements for a withdrawal. On 1 November I passed the night in Jun-t'ang, arriving at Chi-an the following day. On the way I made some summary investigations. My investigations at Li-chia-fang have enabled me to know clearly the organization and activities of village and township level soviets in the agrarian struggle in these places. Prior to these investigations, my ideas of the situation were vague. These investigations have enabled me to find out the serious character of land distribution based on each village as a unit. Land is already distributed in several dozen counties in southwestern Kiangsi. The land law promulgated by the superior level government makes the distribution based on each township as a unit, and all personnel of superior-level organs presume that distribution is made with each township as a unit. The actual situation is quite different. Distribution is generally made with each village as a unit. Only in a few instances has it been made with each township as a unit. Such distribution based on each village--advantageous to the rich peasants but disadvantageous to poor peasants--should be changed.

I. Investigations in Tung-t'ang

Tung-t'ang village of the 15th township, T'ung-shui Ch'u, Chi-shui County.

The township consists of 1,000 families of 3,000 persons.

Land is distributed with each village as a unit.

The population of this village is 290.

The village government has a chairman and a secretary, both of whom provide their own food.

Land distribution is made at 1 tou 3 sheng per capita, yielding about 2.5 tan of grain. (1 tou of land yields 2 tan of grain.)

In some other villages the distribution is 1.5 tou per capita or 2 tou, which is the maximum. Distribution never exceeds 2 tou in this township.

Hu Te-shun, 48, is secretary of the village government and concurrently a teacher at the Common People's School. Eight persons eat in his house: he himself, his five children, his wife and the wife of his eldest son. The eldest son, 25, is a tailor but also tills the land. The second son, 19, is learning to be a carpenter. He has gone to Yung-feng County to serve as an apprentice, and has no money to send home. The third son, 14, is learning to do wickerwork. He, too, being still an apprentice, has no money to send home. The fourth son, 7, goes to school. The fifth son is only 3 years old. The family had 1 shih 3 tou and 8 sheng of land in the past, yielding 27 tan of grain a year. When there was not enough grain to eat, the family lived on sweet potatoes and kept pigs for sale. The eldest son already earned some money and tilled the land besides. They owed a debt of 300 strings of copper cash. The eight-member family receives a total of 1 shih and 4 sheng of land as a result of the recent land distribution, but the land is divided and 3 tou and 4 sheng is taken out of it.

For 70 or 80 li round from Chi-an-town to Chin-t'an, T'ung-shui and Pa-t'ien, almost all female members of families weave cloth. The output is considerable. Yarn (foreign yarn) is provided the peasant families by merchants, rich peasants and landlords. The process of capitalists undermining household side-occupation has not yet ended.

II. Investigations in Ta-ch'iao

This belongs to the 9th township of Chint'an Ch'u, Chi-shui County. It is 50 li from Chi-an.

The Ch'u is divided into 13 townships.

This township is divided into 5 villages.

This village is Tach'iao Village.

Chairman of the government is Sun Hsiu-en.

The population of Liu-chia of Kao-k'eng is 570. Distribution of land is 9 lo or 4.5 shih per capita. The population of T'ang-chia of Kao-k'eng is 110, with each person also receiving 9 lo. Each of the 50 persons of Wu-chia of Kao-k'eng also receives 9 lo. The three villages of Liu, T'ang and Wu have one government in common. The distribution is 9 lo per capita in all three villages.

The Kuo clan of Ta-ch'iao village, with 1,027 persons, receives 8 lo per capita, or 2 tou of land, yielding 4 tan of grain. The Lo clan of Shen-chiang Market, with a population of 210 in two villages under one government, receives 8 lo per capita.

The two villages of Kuo and Lo receive 8 lo per capita, because the land here is better. The distribution in the three villages of Liu, T'ang and Wu is 9 lo per capita, because the land here is poorer. The average per capita consumption of grain is 10 lo (5 tan) a year.

Late crop rice can be grown on one-third of the land of each village. This cannot be done in the remaining two-thirds of the land because of lack of water. The two kinds of land, that which can grow late crop rice and that of each kind. The 8 or 9 lo refers to the combined yield of early and late crops. As the per capita consumption is 10 lo a year, he who receives 9 lo is 1 lo short and he who receives 9 lo is 1 lo short. The shortage is made good ing, carpentry, blacksmithing, tailoring, etc. Over 300 persons have gone to other places to work. Of these, 170 or 180 have gone to Kanchow, mainly as millers, tailors and small merchants. About 100 persons have gone to Chi-an, mainly to work at rice milling and cloth dyeing. All these persons receive their share of land at home. The township does not produce coarse grain. Persons are weaving cloth. The female members of every family weave cloth. Each cash in wages. A worker who is fast takes 10 days to weave one piece and will get 1,200 copper cash a month in wages. A worker who is not fast, or who has to look after small children besides, will not be able to finish one piece in 10 days. The rich peasants and small-time merchants bring foreign yarn from Chi-an and allot it to the villagers and families. Those whose work is not have to pay for the yarn spoiled. In addition to the cash payment, a worker receives also 2 meih of yarn for every piece of cloth woven. The yarn is This is extra payment in yarn that provides the peasants with clothing. The weaving cloth together constitutes the main source of income that makes up weaving or the crafts. At present there is not much work to do either in returned. Of the 100 men who went to Chi-an, 50 or 60 have come back.

This township has not yet set up a school.

A recent order from this Ch'u will have 20 volunteers for the Red Army from each township. Eighteen have responded, all voluntarily. A rally was held today at Wu-kang Ch'u Government to send them off.

III. Investigations in Li-chia-fang

Li-chia-fang is the 19th township, Ju-fang Ch'u, Chi-an. (About 40 li from Chi-an)

This township has nine villages under six village-level governments.

Of the nine villages, six are large and three small.

The six large villages are Li-chia-fang, Shang-chiao-t'ang, Ts'ang-hsia, Hsu-yuan, Chin-pi and Chou-yuan. The three small ones are Yeh-chia-fang, Hsiao-li-chia-fang and Yang-p'ing-chou. The three small villages and Li-chia-fang are under one government, while each of the remaining five large villages has its own government.

The village government of Li-chia-fang is run by four persons: one chairman, one secretary, one officer in charge of land and grain, and one in charge of communications and concurrently cooking. The chairman, secretary and communications officer who is concurrently the cook live and work in the government building and eat at public expense. The officer in charge of land and grain administration lives in his own home and eats his own meals. He is provided with meals only when he works at the government office.

The village government's expenses are: (1) Regular meals for three plus meals for an average of two persons a day. At 10 cents per person each day, it comes to 15 yuan a month. (2) Office expenses for lamps, oil, paper and pens, 3 yuan. (3) Every time Red Guards and Young Pioneers are sent out on a mission, they are paid expenses for straw sandals, haircut, cigarettes. Sometimes they are paid 500 and other times 1 string of coppers. (Actual expenses are defrayed; overpayment is returned; underpayment is made up for.) In the nine attacks on Chi-an, these sometimes went on a mission for a month before returning. These pocket expenses amounted to 3 yuan a month on the average in the past. In the past, the village government had also to pay for their food. Later, the township government paid for their food and the village government gave them pocket expenses. These three items amounted to a total of 21 yuan.

In the past nine persons worked for the village government. There were the chairman, secretary, finance officer, procurement officer, land officer, grain officer, judge, communications officer and the cook. All nine worked in the government office and were provided with board.

The revolutionary force was in control from early in the 1st month this year to the 19th of the third month, and again from the fourth day of the sixth month to the fourth day of the ninth month. In the period from the 19th of the third month to the sixth day of the sixth month when the reactionary force was in control, the village government was abolished and the responsible persons fled to Fu-t'ien. From the fifth day of the ninth month up to the present, only four persons work regularly in the government. More money was required when nine persons worked in the office.

In the period from the tenth of the first month to the 19th of the third month, and again from the fourth of the sixth month to the fifth of the ninth month, the township government comprised the chairman, a secretary, buyer, treasurer, cultural officer, land officer, grain officer, judge, communications officer, a cook, three women officers, three Young Pioneers (the leader, the deputy leader and an instructor) and concurrently secretary, and one leader of the Children's Corps--a total of 18 [sic] persons. They were all provided with board by the government. From the sixth of the ninth month up to the present

the number of officers has been reduced to seven: the chairman, a secretary, an officer in charge of land and grain, a cultural officer, the chairman of the Woman's Committee, the leader of the Red Guards who doubles for the cook, and another secretary who is the "Confiscations Commissar" and concurrently the officer who "goes to the villages to do propaganda on the expansion of the Red Army." These seven persons regularly live and have their meals in the government offices. The four members of the Woman's Committee eat their meals at the government office when they have official work to do, otherwise they stay at home. The work of these four women members consists of going to the villages to organize working women to serve as Red Guards, comforting squads and washing squads, and doing propaganda to get the men to serve in the Red Army.

In the second month this year eight men from this township went to join the Red Army. During the second attack on Chi-an on the 18th of the sixth month, two men from each village or a total of 14, went to join the Red Army. During the seventh attack on Chi-an in the seventh month, another seven men went. After the ninth attack on Chi-an on the 13th of the eighth month, another 46 men went. These have been placed in the Independent Regiments and are receiving training at the command post of the 2d Independent Regiment at Pa-t'ing. Altogether 80 persons from this township have gone to join the Red Army. They all did so after being agitated. But of the last batch of 46, 4 or 5 were unwilling to join up and wept. (They were reluctantly.

This township comprises nine villages: Li-chia-fang (of the surname of Hu, over 220 persons), Hsiao-li-chia-fang (surname of Li, 30 persons), Yeh-chia-fang (surname of Yeh, 45 persons), and Yang-p'ing-chou (surname of Tung, 24 persons); These four villages have a population of 327 (155 male and 172 female). Shang-chao-t'ang (surname of Wu, 300 persons), Ts'ang-hsia, surname of Yen, 315 persons (150 male and 165 female); Hsu-yuan, surname of Chou, 300 persons; Chin-pi, 190 persons; and Chou-yuan, 172 persons (176 male and 196 female). The nine villages have a total population of 1,404.

The four villages headed by Li-chia-fang have altogether 921.1 mou of fields. In Li-chia-fang each person receives 2.5 mou, yielding 7 tan of grain. In Yeh-chia-fang each person receives 2 mou, yielding 6 tan of grain. In Hsiao-li-chia-fang each person receives 2 mou, yielding 5.5 tan of grain. In Yang-p'ing-chou each person receives 2.5 mou, yielding 5.5 tan of grain. Of the remaining 17.9 mou of Li-chia-fang, 12 mou has been transferred to Hsiao-li-chia-fang and another 3 to Yeh-chia-fang. Only 5.9 mou remains "communal property." After distribution in Yang-p'ing-chou, 2.3 mou remains "communal property." This remainder after distribution is difficult to divide up again. So it is public land of the village government, which rents it out at a rate of 50 percent of the yield. This rent in kind helps to defray public expenses.

Shang-chao-t'ang Village has 820 mou of fields. Each person receives 2.4 mou, yielding 2.5 tan of grain. After the distribution, 29.2 mou remains "communal property."

Ts'ang-hsia Village has 690.3 mou of fields. Each person receives a share that yields 7.8 tan of grain.

Hsu-yuan has over 820 mou of fields. Method of distribution: Each person who stays in the village receives 3.3 mou. The land is good, each mou yielding 1.6 to 1.8 mou (= 1 tan), so that 3.3 mou yields 5 lo. Each worker receives 1.75 mou, or half of what a peasant gets. Each person who has left to work elsewhere receives 1.4 mou.

Chin-pi Village has 489 mou of fields. Each person receives 2.7 mou, yielding 6 lo of grain. Those who have left to work elsewhere get nothing.

Chou-yuan Village has 510.5 mou of fields. Each person receives 2.2 mou and gets 6 lo of grain from it. Those who have left the village get nothing.

After the Red Army captured Chi-an, four members of the reactionary lookout squad--the leader, his deputy, the secretary and a platoon leader--were taken prisoner in Chi-an. They were sent under escort to T'ung-shu-p'ing Ch'u Government and executed. All ordinary members of the squad joined in the revolution in this township and no one went to Chi-an. Three platoon leaders and 10 group leaders who stayed at home were not executed. They were permitted to join in the revolution.

Yen Ch'un-wen, chairman of the township government, owned 8 mou of fields, yielding 24 lo of grain at only 3 lo a mou, and supporting a family of four. At the first distribution of land in the seventh month, when both those at home and those who had left to work elsewhere received a share, Yen's family had 1.2 mou taken away from him, so that he now owned only 6.8 mou, capable of yielding 20 lo of grain or 5 lo for each member of the family. After the capture of Chi-an in the eighth month another distribution was made. This time those who had left and found work elsewhere received nothing. Only those who stayed behind and those who had left but could not find work elsewhere were given a share of 2.2 mou. Since the family already had 8 mou, it received 0.8 mou. The family owed a debt of 500 strings of coppers in the past. A daughter (7 years old) was sold in Chi-an (the buyer was from Kanchow, but operated a corner-lending shop in Chi-an called Hsiao-ho) for 100 yuan. This the family paid the creditor, but another 200 strings of coppers was still outstanding. Another daughter (newly born) was given away to the Catholic Church in Chi-an, for which the family received nothing.

IV. Investigations in Hsi-i-t'ing

This is one of the villages of the 23d township of Ju'fang Ch'u of Chi-an. It is 15 li from Chi-an.

Ju-fang Ch'u comprises over 30 townships.

There are nine village governments in this township.

Hsi-i-t'ing Village has a population of about 600.

The village government is run by five persons: the chairman, a secretary, grain officer, land officer and a woman officer. They all provide their own meals, as the village government does not provide board. But when they gather together for some business (such as a conference), the village government will provide them with meals.

Public funds of the ancestral temple and other religious pools are combined for the use of the village government.

The village government's expenses consist of payments to Red Guards and Young Pioneers who are sent out on missions (as in the attacks on Chi-an and in attending conferences) and to soldiers of the Independent Regiments for their meals (10 cents a day for each man). This is the only payment. No money is given for straw sandals, haircuts or cigarettes.

Nineteen persons work for the township government: one chairman, two secretaries (one works for the township government and the other for the Red Guards), a cultural officer, buyer, grain officer, land officer, Red Guards officer, social insurance officer, two women (one chairman of the Woman's Committee, one in charge of organization), a cook, a communications officer, one leader of Red Guards brigade, three leaders of Red Guards teams, one Red Guards instructor, and one Young Pioneer leader. This township government began working on the ninth day of the sixth month. It was unstable, because the reactionaries of Chi-an often came to this township to arouse people, and when the enemy came the government moved out. It was only after the capture of Chi-an that township work began to develop. The reactionaries took away 10 people; two of them were executed. After the capture of Chi-an, the were seized in Chi-an. Of these, six of the more brutal were executed, a number was released after paying a fine, and the remaining were sent under escort to T'ung-shu-p'ing Ch'u Government. The government is very busy now distributing land and grain, opposing debts, and setting up a school.

Land distribution is being made right now in this township. Distribution is already made in five villages, taking each village as a unit. But an order has come from the superior level, stating that distribution should be made on the basis of taking each township as a unit, so that distribution has got to be made again. The opinion of the various villages is that distribution should be made on the basis of taking each village as a unit, where the land owned by the village is extensive and each township as a unit where the land owned by the various villages is small. Of the nine villages of this township, eight want the distribution based on village as a unit, only one wants it based on township as a unit.

The five villages where distribution is already made are Ting-t'ang, Pan-chi-k'ang, T'a'shui, Hsin-t'ang and Hsia-shang. In Ting-t'ang the distribution is 2 mou per capita (yielding between 4 and 5 lo) per capita. In Pan-chi-k'ang it is 2.5 mou per capita. In T'a'shui and Hsia-shang it is also 2 mou per capita, but in Hsing-t'ang it is only 0.6 mou per capita. Hsin-t'ang has little land and wants distribution based on the township as a unit. Though the land of

Hsin-t'ang, with a population of about 200 all surnamed Huang, is small, it is all good land (with no flooding disasters), some high, some low.

Chi-an has been captured for more than a month, but distribution of land is not yet accomplished in this township. It will take another 5 or 6 days to complete.

The anti-debts struggle means creditors are required to surrender the promissory notes they hold, so they may be destroyed. Of the nine villages, only Kuan-t'ien has so far surrendered all promissory notes to the township government, but they are not yet destroyed.

The chairman of the township government has been dismissed by the Ch'u Government. Wang Yu-t'ang, the new chairman, has been here only 5 days.

Liu Ch'uan-sheng, the previous chairman, is a carpenter. His family of three owns 1.8 mou of land. He was made chairman in the sixth month.

Ju-heng and Fang-k'uo were formerly two districts, but are now combined into one under the name of Ju-heng Ch'u. The new chairman if this township government comes from Ju-heng, but this township formerly belonged to Fang-k'uo Ch'u. Wang Yu-t'ang, a carpenter, owns 4 mou of land which yields 18 lo of grain for his family of four. Besides being a carpenter, Wang also tills the land. Over 70 men from this district have joined the Red Army. Of these, over 40 are Young Pioneers, teenagers who are very brave.

The District Government is situated in T'ung-shup'ing. Its chairman, Ch'en Chun-pin, is a rice miller.

--- Notes

o "Rural Surveys," Liberation Press, July 1947