"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "History, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Peterson, Glen"@en . "2010-07-17T17:23:37Z"@en . "1986"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "This thesis examines the socialist transformation of rural China between 1949-1956 within a particular local context: that of the Overseas Chinease areas of rural Guangdong. It proceeds from a theoretical discussion of the various perspectives and works which have informed western understanding of this period in recent Chinese history, with special emphasis on the need to penetrate beyond China-wide generalizations and cultivate an informed sense of local differentiation. With a view to such, the thesis focusses upon the Overseas Chinese areas of rural Guangdong, which represent at once one of the most significant social realities of South China, as well as one of the Chinese Communist Party's most intractable historical inheritances.\r\nThe social and economic legacies of mass emigration are first described, and the reader is then introduced to the Party's emerging contradictory view of the Overseas Chinese after 1949. The heart of the thesis examines the conflict and tensions of promoting socialist transformation in the Overseas Chinese areas coincident with the promulgation, beginning in 1954, of a series of privileges for domestic Overseas Chinese (returned Overseas Chinese and family dependents) aimed at attracting investment and remittances to the PRC.\r\nIt is argued that socialist transformation in the Overseas Chinese areas of Guangdong was characterized by a deep-seated ideological uncertainty and confusion surrounding the proper role and status of domestic Overseas Chinese in socialist society. The \"united front\" aims of domestic Overseas Chinese policy clashed directly with the class-based aims and strategy of socialist transformation, producing not only ideological uncertainties, but considerable\r\nbureaucratic confusion on the ground as well. As a group, it is argued, the domestic Overseas Chinese were particularly poorly equipped and ill-disposed to participate in the newly emerging socialist rural order."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/26590?expand=metadata"@en . "T H E OVERSEAS CHINESE AREAS OF RURAL GUANGDONG AND SOCIALIST TRANSFORMATION, 1949-1956 by G L E N P E T E R S O N B . A . , University of Manitoba, 1979 A T H E S I S S U B M I T T E D I N P A R T I A L F U L F I L M E N T O F T H E R E Q U I R E M E N T S F O R T H E D E G R E E O F M A S T E R O F A R T S in T H E F A C U L T Y O F G R A D U A T E S T U D I E S History We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A September 1986 \u00C2\u00AE Glen Peterson, 1986 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s t u d y . I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be g r a n t e d by the head o f my department o r by h i s o r her r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l n o t be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f H i s t o r y The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Co lumbia 1956 Main Mall V a n c o u v e r , Canada V6T 1Y3 ^ ^ October 10, 1986 Date A b s t r a c t T h i s t h e s i s examines the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l China between 1949-1956 w i t h i n a p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l c o n t e x t : t h a t of the Overseas Chinease areas of r u r a l Guangdong. I t proceeds from a t h e o r e t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n of the v a r i o u s p e r s p e c t i v e s and works which have informed western u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h i s p e r i o d i n r e c e n t C h i n e s e h i s t o r y , w i t h s p e c i a l emphasis on the need to p e n e t r a t e beyond China-wide g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s and c u l t i v a t e an informed sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . With a view to such, the t h e s i s f o c u s s e s upon the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong, which r e p r e s e n t a t once one of the most s i g n i f i c a n t s o c i a l r e a l i t i e s of South China, as w e l l as one of the Chinese Communist P a r t y ' s most i n t r a c t a b l e h i s t o r i c a l i n h e r i t a n c e s . The s o c i a l and economic l e g a c i e s of mass e m i g r a t i o n a r e f i r s t d e s c r i b e d , and the reader i s then i n t r o d u c e d t o the P a r t y ' s emerging c o n t r a d i c t o r y view of the Overseas Chinese a f t e r 1949. The h e a r t of the t h e s i s examines the c o n f l i c t and t e n s i o n s of promoting s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n the Overseas Chinese areas c o i n c i d e n t with the p r o m u l g a t i o n , b e g i n n i n g i n 1954, of a s e r i e s of p r i v i l e g e s f o r domestic Overseas Chinese i i (returned Overseas Chinese and family dependents) aimed at attracting investment and remittances to the PRC. It is argued that s o c i a l i s t transformation in the Overseas Chinese areas of Guangdong was characterized by a deep-seated ideological uncertainty and confusion surrounding the proper role and status of domestic Overseas Chinese in s o c i a l i s t society. The \"united front\" aims of domestic Overseas Chinese policy clashed directly with the class-based aims and strategy of so c i a l i s t transformation, producing not only ideological uncertainties, but considerable bureaucratic confusion on the ground as well. As a group, i t is argued, the domestic Overseas Chinese were particularly poorly equipped and ill-disposed to participate in the newly emerging s o c i a l i s t rural order. i i i TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i i Abbreviations v Acknowledgements .vi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: The Economic and P o l i t i c a l Background to S o c i a l i s t Transformation 25 Goals and Rationale 26 A g r i c u l t u r e and the F i r s t Five Year Plan: The \"Peasants Burden\" .35 \"Spontaneous C a p i t a l i s m \" and the Resurgence of Rural I n e q u a l i t y a f t e r Land Reform 45 CHAPTER I I : Chinese S o c i a l i s m and the Con t r a d i c t o r y Image of the Huaqi ao 54 The H i s t o r i c a l Legacies of Emigration 54 The CCP's C o n t r a d i c t o r y View of the Huaqi ao 71 The Emergence of a P o l i c y of S p e c i a l P r i v i l e g e s f o r Domestic Overseas Chinese 82 CHAPTER I I I : C o n t r a d i c t o r y Aims and C o n f l i c t i n g I n t e r e s t s : The Overseas Chinese Areas of Rural Guangdong and S o c i a l i s t Transformation, Part I . .97 The Domestic Overseas Chinese Population of Guangdong 97 Land Reform and the Class Status of Domestic Overseas Chinese 100 The Impact of U n i f i e d Purchase and Marketing . . . i l l CHAPTER IV: C o n t r a d i c t o r y Aims and C o n f l i c t i n g I n t e r e s t s : The Overseas Chinese Areas in Rural Guangdong and S o c i a l i s t Transformation, Part II I 2 7 C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n 127 The Inherent Weaknesses of Domestic Overseas Chinese P o l i c y 144 CONCLUSION 164 BIBLIOGRAPHY 172 i v A b b r e v i a t i o n s ACROCA A l l - C h i n a R e t u r n e d O v e r s e a s C h i n e s e A s s o c i a t i o n APC A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c e r s 1 C o o p e r a t i v e CB C u r r e n t Background CCP C h i n e s e Communist P a r t y CNS C h i n a News S e r v i c e DGB Dagongbao ECMM E x t r a c t s from C h i n a M a i n l a n d Magaz ines FJRB F u j i a n r i b a o GMRB Guangming r i b a o GZRB Guangzhou r i b a o HK Hong Kong MAT M u t u a l A i d Team NFRB Nanfang r i b a o OCAC O v e r s e a s C h i n e s e A f f a i r s Commiss ion RMRB Renmin r i b a o SCMP S u r v e y o f C h i n a M a i n l a n d P r e s s WHB Wenhuibao v Acknowledgements I would l i k e to thank the many i n d i v i d u a l s and i n s t i t u t i o n s who have made t h i s research p o s s i b l e . F i r s t , my Thesis Supervisor, Professor Alexander Woodside, for h i s many c r u c i a l i n s i g h t s and numerous suggestions for improving the t h e s i s . I would also l i k e to thank the other members of my Thesis Committee, Professor Edgar Wickberg, Professor Graham Johnson and Chairman Professor James Huzel, for t h e i r time and e f f o r t , and e s p e c i a l l y for t h e i r h e l p f u l comments and suggestions. I would l i k e to acknowledge a s p e c i a l debt to Professor Wickberg and Professor Woodside. Over my years at UBC t h e i r f r i e n d s h i p , t h e i r vast knowledge of Chinese h i s t o r y and c u l t u r e , and t h e i r deep commitment to scholarship have been a source of steady i n s p i r a t i o n . My development as a graduate student owes much to them both. This thesis would not have been possible without f i n a n c i a l assistance provided by the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, the S o c i a l Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. In Hong Kong John D o l f i n , Director of the U n i v e r s i t i e s Services Centre generously allowed me to make f u l l use of the Centre's v i excellent f a c i l i t i e s and resources. F i n a l l y , my greatest thanks go to C h r i s t i n e , to whom t h i s thesis i s dedicated. v i i 1 INTRODUCTION The aim of t h i s s tudy i s to a s s i s t i n e s t a b l i s h i n g a sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t to the Overseas Ch inese a r e a s of r u r a l Guangdong d u r i n g the p e r i o d of the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l C h i n a , 1953-1956. The p e r i o d of the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s of major s i g n i f i c a n c e i n the h i s t o r y of the P e o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c . W i t h i n the space of a few y e a r s the v a s t l y p o p u l a t e d Chinese c o u n t r y s i d e was u t t e r l y t r a n s f o r m e d , from a l a n d of peasant p r i v a t e p r o d u c e r s i n t o a s o c i a l i s t s o c i e t y , where in a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n was o r g a n i z e d on a c o l l e c t i v e b a s i s and most forms of p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y a b o l i s h e d . Y e t , t h i s i s a p e r i o d and a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n which has been l i t t l e s t u d i e d by western s c h o l a r s of C h i n a ' s recent p a s t : u n t i l now t h e r e has been o n l y one E n g l i s h language monograph devoted e n t i r e l y to the s u b j e c t , V i v i e n n e Shue ' s 1980 Peasant China in Transition.* L i k e w i s e , the Overseas Ch inese areas of r u r a l Guangdong c o n s t i t u t e one of the most important and d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e s of t h a t p r o v i n c e ' s \"compl i ca ted\" r u r a l soc ioeconomic l a n d s c a p e 2 , but a f e a t u r e which has been 1 V i v i e n n e Shue, Peasant China in Transition: The Dynami cs of Development Toward Socialism, 1949-1956, ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1980). 2 0 n the d i s t i n c t i v e and c o m p l i c a t e d f e a t u r e s of the 2 l i t t l e s t u d i e d f o r the p e r i o d s i n c e 1949. E s t i m a t e d i n the e a r l y 1950's a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 11 m i l l i o n r e t u r n e d Overseas C h i n e s e (guiguo huaqi ao) and Overseas Chinese f a m i l y dependents (huaqi ao juan), c o n c e n t r a t e d overwhe lming ly i n the two s o u t h e a s t e r n c o a s t a l p r o v i n c e s of Guangdong and F u j i a n , the \"domestic\" (guonei) Overseas C h i n e s e c o n s t i t u t e not o n l y one of the most s i g n i f i c a n t s o c i a l r e a l i t i e s of South C h i n a , but a l s o one of the C C P ' s most complex and i n t r a c t a b l e s o c i a l i n h e r i t a n c e s . T h e r e f o r e , the domest ic Overseas Ch inese f a c t o r must , of n e c e s s i t y , f i g u r e p r o m i n e n t l y i n any c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t to comprehend and a s s e s s the n a t u r e and r e s u l t s of the C C P ' s post 1949 exper iments i n \" d i r e c t e d change\" as these e f f e c t e d South C h i n a and i n p a r t i c u l a r r u r a l Guangdong where the vas t m a j o r i t y (8 m i l l i o n ) of the domest ic Overseas Chinese are found . Thus f a r , t h e r e have been no p r e v i o u s a t tempts to a n a l y z e how s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n was e x p e r i e n c e d i n the domest i c Overseas Ch inese areas of r u r a l Guangdong. The r u r a l domest i c Overseas Ch inese are d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e from the g e n e r a l peasant p o p u l a t i o n 2 ( c o n t ' d ) r u r a l soc ioeconomic landscape of Guangdong as these p e r t a i n e d to communist development e f f o r t s a f t e r 1949, see D a v i d F . K . I p , \"The Des ign of R u r a l Development: E x p e r i e n c e s from South C h i n a , 1949-1976\" ( u n p u b l i s h e d P h . D . D i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , 1979). 3 upon the b a s i s of t h e i r g e n e r a l l y s u p e r i o r w e a l t h , s t r o n g and c o n s e q u e n t i a l \"overseas c o n n e c t i o n s \" (haiwai guanxi), t h e i r dependence on overseas r e m i t t a n c e s as a p r i m a r y source of l i v e l i h o o d , a w idespread u n w i l l i n g n e s s or i n a b i l i t y to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , and the age and sex c o m p o s i t i o n of the dependent p o p u l a t i o n ( i n the 1950's m a i n l y women, e l d e r l y and young c h i l d r e n ) . I t i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g and worthwhi le to examine the domest ic Overseas Ch inese areas i n the c o n t e x t of the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , because t h i s p e r i o d c o i n c i d e s w i t h the e r e c t i o n and demise (by 1957) of a p o l i c y of p r i v i l e g e d s t a t u s and trea tment for domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e , aimed at s e c u r i n g the f i n a n c i a l and moral support of the domest ic and e x t e r n a l huaqi ao and t h e i r d e p e n d e n t s . 3 The v a r i o u s p r i v i l e g e s a c c o r d e d to domest ic Overseas Ch inese were des igned to p r o v i d e them w i t h a degree of p r o t e c t i o n , i f not immunity , from the r a d i c a l s o c i a l and economic l e v e l l i n g which s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n e n t a i l e d . The p o l i c y of p r i v i l e g e d treatment c l a s h e d however, w i t h the g o a l s and r a t i o n a l e of s o c i a l i s t 3 T h e r a t i o n a l e f o r the p o l i c y of s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s toward Overseas Ch inese i s d i s c u s s e d i n Stephen F i t z g e r a l d , China and the Overseas Chinese. A Study of Peking's Changing Policy, 1949- 197 0, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1972). 4 t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . T h i s l e d to widespread i n f r i n g e m e n t s upon these p r i v i l e g e s , c o n s i d e r a b l e i d e o l o g i c a l and b u r e a u c r a t i c c o n f u s i o n over how to d e a l w i t h the domest ic Overseas Chinese d u r i n g s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , a n d , by 1957, a s i g n i f i c a n t b a c k l a s h of peasant resentment towards the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . The t h e s i s advanced here i s t h a t d u r i n g s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n the domest ic Overseas Ch inese i n r u r a l Guangdong were the v i c t i m s of d e e p - s e a t e d i d e o l o g i c a l u n c e r t a i n t y and c o n f u s i o n s u r r o u n d i n g t h e i r proper s t a t u s and r o l e i n s o c i a l i s t s o c i e t y . The \" u n i t e d f r o n t \" aims of the domest ic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y f o r m u l a t e d d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d c l a s h e d d i r e c t l y w i t h the c l a s s - b a s e d aims and s t r a t e g y of r u r a l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , p r o d u c i n g not o n l y i d e o l o g i c a l u n c e r t a i n t i e s , but c o n s i d e r a b l e b u r e a u c r a t i c c o n f u s i o n on the ground as w e l l . Because of t h e i r \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" (tedian) -- dependence on r e m i t t a n c e s , l a c k of f a m i l y l a b o u r power, u n w i l l i n g n e s s or i n a b i l i t y to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , e t c . - - the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e as a group proved to be p a r t i c u l a r l y p o o r l y equipped and i l l d i s p o s e d to adapt and p a r t i c i p a t e i n the new r u r a l s o c i a l i s t o r d e r . 5 The p i c t u r e tha t emerges of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n the Overseas C h i n e s e a r e a s of r u r a l Guangdong c o n t r a s t s remarkably w i t h the n a t i o n a l p i c t u r e of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n p r e s e n t e d i n most western a c c o u n t s . Most western d e s c r i p t i o n s of the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l C h i n a s t r e s s the s w i f t n e s s and r e l a t i v e ease of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n C h i n a and i t s e s s e n t i a l l y n o n v i o l e n t c h a r a c t e r . \" Comparisons are u s u a l l y drawn w i t h the e a r l i e r , much l e s s s u c c e s s f u l S o v i e t e x p e r i e n c e at c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n (marked by widespread peasant r e s i s t a n c e and e x t e n s i v e b loodshed and l o s s of l i f e ) . In the Overseas Ch inese areas of r u r a l Guangdong, the movement r e t a i n e d i t s e s s e n t i a l n o n v i o l e n c e , but i n no way c o u l d i t be c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a smooth and r e l a t i v e l y easy t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . In these a r e a s , the movement was wracked by problems and d i f f i c u l t i e s p e r t a i n i n g to the \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" of the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . Many of the f a c t o r s commonly c i t e d to e x p l a i n the n a t i o n a l success of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , such as c a r e f u l l y managed c l a s s s t r u g g l e , abundant CCP o r g a n i z a t i o n a l \"On the v a r i o u s e lements which make up the n a t i o n a l succes s of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n C h i n a , see Shue, p . 321-333 and W i l l i a m P a r i s h and M a r t i n K . Whyte, Village and Family in Contemporary China, ( C h i c a g o : U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o , 1978), p . 33. 6 e x p e r i e n c e and f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h r u r a l c o n d i t i o n s and p r o b l e m s , and c a r e f u l l y d e s i g n e d m a t e r i a l i n c e n t i v e s , were e i t h e r a b s e n t , or e l s e a t odds w i t h the r e a l i t i e s and i n t e r e s t s of the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . Thus i t w i l l be argued here tha t such i n s t r u m e n t s as c l a s s s t r u g g l e , and r e l i a n c e on the w i l l and i n t e r e s t of the poor peasant m a j o r i t y were f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t i n g not to the success but r a t h e r to the confused d i f f i c u l t i e s of a c h i e v i n g s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n the r u r a l Overseas C h i n e s e a r e a s of Guangdong. In a t t e m p t i n g to show how a complex of i d e o l o g i c a l , economic and s o c i a l v a r i a b l e s c o n s p i r e d to p l a c e the aims and s t r a t e g y of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n on a c o l l i s i o n c o u r s e w i t h those of domest ic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y , t h i s t h e s i s i s i n t e n d e d to c o n v i n c e the the reader of the d i f f i c u l t i e s p e r t a i n i n g to s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n the Overseas C h i n e s e areas i n r u r a l Guangdong. I t i s the p o s i t i o n of t h i s paper t h a t western approaches to u n d e r s t a n d i n g \" d i r e c t e d change\" i n the PRC have i n the pas t s u f f e r e d from an impover i shed sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . I n s u f f i c i e n t a t t e n t i o n has been p a i d to the importance of l o c a l f a c t o r s . T h i s has on the whole h i n d e r e d the a b i l i t y of western s c h o l a r s h i p to a c h i e v e a f u l l sense of the enormous d i v e r s i t y of c o n d i t i o n s i n C h i n a , and c o n s e q u e n t l y from 7 forming a sound knowledge of the d i v e r s e and v a r i e g a t e d l o c a l r e s u l t s of n a t i o n a l movements such as s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . A l e r t to the c o n d i t i o n s and consequences of our own d i v e r s i t y , we would q u e s t i o n a u t o m a t i c a l l y any i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a g i v e n Canadian f e d e r a l p o l i c y which sugges ted i t s impact was u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n Newfoundland as opposed to southern O n t a r i o , or Quebec and Saskatchewan. C h i n a too i s vas t and d i v e r s e , c o n t a i n i n g w i t h i n i t innumerable s o c i a l , economic , c u l t u r a l and o t h e r d i v i s i o n s - - which ought to make n a t i o n w i d e g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s a problemmat ic and r i s k - l a d e n e n t e r p r i s e . Y e t , so f a r western u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l C h i n a r e s t s p r i m a r i l y upon the f o u n d a t i o n of na t ionwide g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s , w i t h l i t t l e sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . There are s e v e r a l impor tant reasons f o r t h i s , each of which deserves some d i s c u s s i o n . V i v i e n n e Shue's Peasant China in Transition i l l u s t r a t e s the g e n e r a l i z a t i o n v e r s u s l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n dichotomy as an academic problem r e l a t e d to the m e t h o d o l o g i c a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l aims of s o c i a l s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h . Shue's s tudy of the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n focusses upon the two c e n t r a l Ch inese p r o v i n c e s of Hunan and H u b e i . The aim of the s tudy however i s not to e s t a b l i s h a sense of l o c a l 8 d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o the c o u r s e of the movement i n these two a r e a s . Her m o t i v a t i o n f o r f o c u s s i n g on Hunan and Hubei i s r a t h e r p r e c i s e l y the o p p o s i t e . As she s t a t e s , her d e c i s i o n r e f l e c t e d i n s t e a d \"the need t o c o n f i n e the r e l e v a n t d a t a base t o a manageable, s i z e . \" 5 Moreover, her c h o i c e was g u i d e d by a' c o n c e r n f o r the \" t y p i c a l i t y \" t h e s e p r o v i n c e s r e p r e s e n t e d , not f o r any u n i q u e n e s s they might p o s s e s s . Shue's argument i s t h a t \"Even i f g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s about the whole of C h i n a a r e most o f t e n of l i t t l e v a l u e , i t s h o u l d not be n e c e s s a r y t o t a k e r e f u g e i n a case study a p p r o a c h . . . I f t h e r e i s no such t h i n g as a \" t y p i c a l \" C h i n e s e p r o v i n c e , then we can a t l e a s t choose t o l o o k a t t h o s e p r o v i n c e s . . . w h i c h seem t o p o s s e s s no p e c u l i a r i t i e s or s p e c i a l problems a u t o m a t i c a l l y t e n d i n g t o distort (emphasis added) t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s and t o p r e j u d i c e our f i n d i n g s \" . 6 One c o u l d i t seems, w i t h good r e a s o n , q u e s t i o n the wisdom and t h e u t i l i t y of p e r s i s t i n g i n the q u e s t f o r r e a d i l y g e n e r a l i z a b l e (on a n a t i o n a l s c a l e ) f i n d i n g s , i f , as she h e r s e l f a d m i t s , such g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s a r e \"most o f t e n of l i t t l e v a l u e . \" And i f i n d e e d -- as she h e r s e l f a g a i n s u g g e s t s -- t h e r e may be \"no such t h i n g \" as a \" t y p i c a l \" C h inese p r o v i n c e , then would i t not make 5Shue, p. 9 . 6 i b i d . 9 more sense to view the s i t u a t i o n s i n the v a r i o u s l o c a l i t i e s as p a r t of an e s s e n t i a l d i v e r s i t y of e x p e r i e n c e , r a t h e r than as somehow \" d i s t o r t i o n s \" ? There a r e those who would take the o p p o s i t e s t a n c e , t h a t b e f o r e we can beg in to know what i s \" t y p i c a l \" on a n a t i o n a l s c a l e , we must f i r s t make e v e r y e f f o r t to make o u r s e l v e s aware of the v a r i o u s and important l o c a l d i f f e r e n c e s , and then p r o c e e d to c o n s t r u c t g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s upon tha t b a s i s . O t h e r w i s e , a l l - C h i n a g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s are bound to r e s t on a ho l low f o u n d a t i o n . In f o c u s s i n g upon the Overseas Ch inese areas of r u r a l Guangdong, the c o n c e r n of t h i s s tudy i s r a t h e r more c l o s e to tha t of R i c h a r d Madsen i n h i s recent a c c l a i m e d work on the d i c h o t o m i e s and i n t e r p l a y between peasant v i l l a g e m o r a l i t y and o f f i c i a l communist m o r a l i t y . As Madsen says of h i s peasant v i l l a g e i n Guangdong: \"I am not as concerned w i t h what makes the r e s i d e n t s of Chen V i l l a g e themse lves \" t y p i c a l \" of a l l o t h e r people i n C h i n a as w i t h what makes them p a r t i c u l a r and i n d i v i d u a l l y u n i q u e . \" 7 V i v i e n n e Shue's s tudy of the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l C h i n a f a l l s w i t h i n the range of 7 R i c h a r d Madsen, Power and Morality in a Chinese Village, ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1984), p . 28. 10 a broader h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c t r e n d i n the western s tudy of the C h i n e s e Communist movement, s i n c e the time the CCP e s t a b l i s h e d i t s f i r s t r u r a l base i n the rugged and remote J ingganshan a r e a on the b o r d e r s of J i a n g x i i n the l a t e 1920's . Western s c h o l a r s have long been impressed - - and r i g h t f u l l y so - - w i t h the remarkable and u n p a r a l l e d success the C h i n e s e Communists have h i s t o r i c a l l y shown i n a t t r a c t i n g peasants to t h e i r cause (and, as some have a r g u e d , i n a d a p t i n g the P a r t y to peasant c a u s e s ) . T h i s i n t u r n has i n s p i r e d a l o n g l i n e of s c h o l a r l y e f f o r t s to d i s c o v e r and e x p l a i n ( i n some cases to e x p l a i n away) the reasons f o r the Ch inese Communists' s u c c e s s . From Robert G u i l l a i n ' s 1957 t h e o r y of the \"blue ants\" to Chalmers J o h n s o n ' s 1962 t h e s i s of \"peasant n a t i o n a l i s m , \" Mark S e i d e n ' s 1971 \"Yenan Way\" i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y C h i n a , to the work of Roy H o f h e i n z and a host of o t h e r monographs, there has been a l o n g s t a n d i n g p r e o c c u p a t i o n among western s c h o l a r s h i p to d i s c o v e r the t r u e i n g r e d i e n t s of the Chinese Communists ' formula for s u c c e s s . T h i s a p p r o a c h , and the assumpt ions upon which i t i s p r e d i c a t e d , have c a r r i e d over and i n f l u e n c e d a n a l y s e s of the r u r a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n which o c c u r r e d a f t e r 1949 . 8 T h u s , a t the c o r e of V i v i e n n e Shue ' s 8 I n the p r o c e s s , s c h o l a r s have sometimes o v e r l o o k e d some important d i f f e r e n c e s i n the pos t -1949 s i t u a t i o n . 11 a n a l y s i s of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n are the \"Seven Elements of the C C P ' s Success i n R u r a l T r a n s f o r m a t i o n \" which form the main themes t h a t run throughout her s t u d y . 9 Perhaps the most c r u c i a l of the e lements she i d e n t i f i e s are the development and management of c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n the v i l l a g e , and the m a t e r i a l i n c e n t i v e s f o r poor peasants which were b u i l t i n t o the v a r i o u s economic reforms i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . Shue i d e n t i f i e s these as the most important c o n t r i b u t o r s to the succes s of the movement n a t i o n w i d e . A c c o r d i n g to h e r , \"The main s t r a t e g y of the r e v o l u t i o n a r y government was to promote and manage V i l l a g e p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t a l o n g c l a s s l i n e s d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s at d i f f e r e n t t imes - - c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the degree of change t h a t c o u l d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y be e f f e c t e d i n the economic environment of the p e a s a n t r y . \" A n d , \"the h e a v i e s t element by f a r i n the m i x t u r e of a p p e a l s to peasants to move toward s o c i a l i s m was the element of m a t e r i a l s e l f - i n t e r e s t woven by the P a r t y i n t o most of i t s p o l i c i e s f o r the p e r i o d \" . 8 ( c o n t ' d ) As Graham Johnson has r e c e n t l y p o i n t e d o u t , \" R u r a l development p o l i c y was c r e a t e d d u r i n g the Yenan p e r i o d . I t was o b l i g e d to compete a f t e r L i b e r a t i o n w i t h a broad n a t i o n a l development p o l i c y tha t owed as much to S o v i e t u n d e r s t a n d i n g s as to those which deve loped i n d i g e n o u s l y . \" U n p u b l i s h e d paper p r e s e n t e d to the 1986 annua l c o n f e r e n c e of the A s s o c i a t i o n for A s i a n S t u d i e s , C h i c a g o , March 1986, p . 2. 9 S h u e , p . 321-333. 1 2 Shue's peasants are \"r a t i o n a l actors\" a c t i v e l y pursuing their own s e l f - i n t e r e s t s and responding more readily to material appeals than to normative appeals based on s o c i a l i s t p r i n c i p l e s . \"Peasants tended to favour or oppose joining cooperatives depending on their perceptions of the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n in the v i l l a g e and on their perceptions of their own economic alte r n a t i v e s , as independents operating within the evolving r e a l i t i e s of labour supply, market and c r e d i t structures, tax incentive systems, and so on.\" 1 0 Thus, to take an example, as the government squeezed private usurers and at the same time made available easy c r e d i t to peasants, peasants tended naturally to favour c r e d i t cooperatives for loans. Shue's steady and determined emphasis on the important role of such mundane i n s t i t u t i o n s as supply and marketing coops, c r e d i t coops, tax reform etc. , i s , on the whole, welcome and appreciated, insofar as i t provides a worthy contrast to views which dismiss peasants as mere passive and compliant recipients of state commands. But the p o l i c i e s and i n s t i t u t i o n s Shue emphasizes were d e f i n i t e l y not elements counting towards a smooth success of the s o c i a l i l s t transformation of the Overseas Chinese areas. Many of these p o l i c i e s 1 0 i b i d . , p. 3. 1 3 a c t u a l l y had an adverse a f f e c t on the domest ic Overseas Ch inese p o p u l a t i o n because of the p e c u l i a r i t i e s of t h e i r soc ioeconomic e x i s t e n c e - - l a c k of l a b o u r , dependence on r e m i t t a n c e s , e t c . - - i r r e g a r d l e s s of t h e i r c l a s s s t a t u s and i n t e r e s t s . D e v e l o p i n g and managing c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n the Overseas Chinese v i l l a g e s was e x c r u c i a t i n g l y d i f f i c u l t , i n p a r t because the c l a s s s t a t u s of domest i c Overseas C h i n e s e was c o m p l i c a t e d and d i f f i c u l t to determine on the b a s i s of the u s u a l c r i t e r i a . A f t e r l a n d re form i t was a d m i t t e d t h a t most of the Overseas Chinese l a n d l o r d s were w r o n g f u l l y c l a s s i f i e d , because of the c o n f u s i o n caused by t h e i r \" s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s \" (tedian). Perhaps most c r i t i c a l l y , c l a s s s t r u g g l e c l a s h e d d i r e c t l y w i t h the \" u n i t e d f r o n t \" aims and s t r a t e g i e s of domest ic Overseas Ch inese p o l i c y . Study of the domest ic Overseas Chinese a r e a s t h e r e f o r e p r o v i d e s an i n t e r e s t i n g and s i g n i f i c a n t l o c a l e x c e p t i o n to the e x p l a n a t i o n Shue o f f e r s for the g e n e r a l success of r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n based on her examinat ion of a more \" t y p i c a l \" case example. The e f f o r t to a c h i e v e an informed sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n has a l s o been h i n d e r e d by the i n f l u e n c e , u n t i l r e c e n t l y , of a \" t o t a l i t a r i a n \" p e r s p e c t i v e on the r e l a t i o n s h i p of s t a t e and s o c i e t y i n the PRC, and i n communist s t a t e s in g e n e r a l . E n t i r e 1 4 books have been w r i t t e n on the s u b j e c t of what c o n s t i t u t e s \" t o t a l i t a r i a n i s m \" , and I do not wish to enter i n t o t h i s debate h e r e . R a t h e r , i t i s s u f f i c i e n t for my purposes to use the term somewhat l o o s e l y , as one w r i t e r r e c e n t l y has , as r e f e r r i n g to the \" e x c l u s i v e c o n c e n t r a t i o n (and outreach) of power w i t h i n a p o l i t i c a l system, and to i t s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o n s e q u e n c e s \" . 1 1 The p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h p o l i t i c a l power and i t s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e x p r e s s i o n has been c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of many western works on the PRC, p a r t i c u l a r l y those which date from the 1960's when the t o t a l i t a r i a n p e r s p e c t i v e was a t the h e i g h t of i t s acceptance and p o p u l a r i t y . The t o t a l i t a r i a n p e r s p e c t i v e makes two unwarranted a s s u m p t i o n s : one c o n c e r n i n g the r e l a t i v e p a s s i v i t y of p e a s a n t s ; the o ther c o n c e r n i n g the omnipotence of s t a t e power. Both assumpt ions are f a l s e , but have g a i n e d credence i n the pas t from a tendency to equate o f f i c i a l s tatements of p o l i c y aims w i t h the a c t u a l r e s u l t s a c h i e v e d by those p o l i c i e s i n the l o c a l i t i e s themse lves . R e c e n t l y both these assumpt ions have been c h a l l e n g e d i f not c o m p l e t e l y r e f u t e d by e m p i r i c a l 1 1 D a v i d S. G . Goodman, \"The Methodology of Contemporary Chinese S t u d i e s : P o l i t i c a l S t u d i e s and the P R C , \" i n Power and Policy in the PRC, e d . Yu-ming Shaw ( B o u l d e r : Westview P r e s s , 1985), p . 344. 15 ev idence o r i g i n a t i n g a t both ends of the p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l spec trum. On the one hand, p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s have d i s c o v e r e d a degree of \" p l u r a l i s m \" i n the Ch inese e l i t e which p r e v i o u s l y was presumed not to have e x i s t e d . The outbreak of the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n was, i n some r e s p e c t s , the f i r s t complete exposure western o b s e r v e r s r e c e i v e d to the deep r i f t s w i t h i n the C h i n e s e p o l i t i c a l e l i t e , and i t e f f e c t i v e l y demol i shed the myth of m o n o l i t h i c P a r t y and s t a t e power. Thanks to the e f f o r t s of s o c i o l o g i s t s and a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s ( i n c l u d i n g recen t f i e l d w o r k i n Ch ina ) the l e g i t i m a c y of the assumpt ion c o n c e r n i n g the p a s s i v i t y of peasants has a l s o been r e f u t e d . S o c i o l o g i s t s who have s c r u t i n i z e d r u r a l l o c a l i t i e s a t c l o s e q u a r t e r s have p r e s e n t e d us w i t h a p i c t u r e of peasant s as a c t i v e a g e n t s , engaged i n the making of t h e i r own h i s t o r y - - not mere r e c i p i e n t s of s t a t e o r d e r s . The o u t s t a n d i n g p i o n e e r i n g work by s o c i o l o g i s t s W i l l i a m P a r i s h and M a r t i n Whyte was a monumental p a t h - b r e a k i n g e f f o r t i n f o r g i n g the b e g i n n i n g s of a new and f a r more t e x t u r e d u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the r e l a t i o n s h i p of s t a t e and s o c i e t y i n the P R C . 1 2 Two r e c e n t a d d i t i o n s have a l s o added immensely to t h i s knowledge: the work of A n i t a Chan, R i c h a r d Madsen and 1 2 W i l l i a m L . P a r i s h and M a r t i n K i n g Whyte, Village and Family in Contemporary China, ( C h i c a g o : U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o P r e s s , 1978). 16 Jonathan Unger: Chen Village: The Recent History of a Peasant Commul ni t y in Mao's China, and Madsen's a forement ioned Power and Morality in a Chinese Village.113 Whi l e the t o t a l i t a r i a n view emphasizes the a b i l i t y of the omnipotent p o l i t i c a l system to \"penetrate\" and \" c o n t r o l \" l o c a l s o c i e t y , Madsen makes the i n t e r e s t i n g and p r o v o c a t i v e c l a i m t h a t s o c i a l o r d e r i n the PRC c o u n t r y s i d e has r e s t e d not so much on t o t a l i t a r i a n conquest as i t has on an accommodation, uneasy at t i m e s , between the i d e o l o g y of the communist s t a t e and the i n t e r e s t s of Madsen's l o c a l \"communist g e n t r y , \" whose mora l b a s i s of a u t h o r i t y r e f l e c t s the deep i n f l u e n c e of o l d - s o c i e t y C o n f u c i a n v i l l a g e m o r a l i t y . 1 a P r o m i s i n g as these new o r i e n t a t i o n s and i n s i g h t s may be f o r a n a l y z i n g c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n s and f u t u r e deve lopments , our p r e s e n t u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the e a r l y y e a r s of the P e o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c remains c o l o u r e d , however, by e a r l i e r works w h i c h , u n f o r t u n a t e l y , bear a l l too c l e a r l y the i m p r i n t of a t o t a l i t a r i a n p e r s p e c t i v e . 1 3 A n i t a Chan, R i c h a r d Madsen and Jonathan Unger , Chen Village: The Recent Hi sit or y of a Peasant Community in Mao's China, ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1984). 1 \"Madsen , p . 248. 1 7 F r a n z Schurmann's c l a s s i c Ideology and Organization in Communist China i s a book which i n many ways has set the terms and parameters f o r western d i s c u s s i o n s of the r e l a t i o n s h i p of s t a t e and s o c i e t y i n the PRC. In r e t r o s p e c t , M i c h e l Oksenberg made no e x a g g e r a t i o n when he c l a i m e d , s h o r t l y a f t e r the book ' s r e l e a s e , t h a t \"Schurmann has p o i n t e d the way; he has i d e n t i f i e d the key problems and l i n e s of i n q u i r y which w i l l h e a v i l y i n f l u e n c e a l l f u t u r e r e s e a r c h i n the C h i n a f i e l d . \" ' 5 I t would indeed be d i f f i c u l t to o v e r e s t i m a t e the enormous impact t h i s monumental work has had on s c h o l a r l y t h i n k i n g about the PRC over the pas t twenty y e a r s . The s i n g l e most important m o t i f which runs throughout Schurmann's book i s the a b i l i t y of the communist s t a t e to a s s e r t i t s dominance over s o c i e t y through the p r o m u l g a t i o n of i d e o l o g y and the c r e a t i o n of o g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s of c o n t r o l . Schurmann's t h e s i s i s t h a t y e a r s of i n t e r n a l c h a o s , war and r e v o l u t i o n d e s t r o y e d the t r a d i t i o n a l C h i n e s e s o c i a l sys tem, c r e a t i n g a \" s o c i a l vacuum\" which the C h i n e s e Communists have f i l l e d wi th the twin f o r c e s of i d e o l o g y and o r g a n i z a t i o n . \" S o c i a l systems take t ime to b u l d 1 5 F r a n z Schurmann, Ideology and Organization in Communist China, 2nd. e d . e n l . ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C l a i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1968). Oksenberg ' s comment i s p r i n t e d on the back c o v e r of the paperback e d i t i o n . 18 up, once d e s t r o y e d , a l ong p e r i o d of t ime must e l a p s e b e f o r e one can say tha t a new s o c i a l system has a r i s e n . D u r i n g the i n t e r v a l , o r g a n i z a t i o n p u l l s and h o l d s s o c i e t y t o g e t h e r . O r g a n i z a t i o n must now do f o r s o c i e t y what e a r l i e r had been done by the s o c i a l system\". T h u s , communist C h i n a resembles \"a v a s t b u i l d i n g made of d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of b r i c k and s t o n e . . . W h a t h o l d s i t t o g e t h e r i s i d e o l o g y and o r g a n i z a t i o n . \" 1 6 In the new r u r a l Ch ina which Schurmann d e s c r i b e s , h e l d t o g e t h e r by i d e o l o g y and o r g a n i z a t i o n (the c h a p t e r e n t i t l e d \" V i l l a g e s \" d e a l s , i n the a u t h o r ' s own words, w i t h \"the i m p o s i t i o n of o r g a n i z a t i o n on s o c i e t y \" ) one i s h a r d p r e s s e d to d i s c o v e r any v e s t i g e s or l i n g e r i n g i n f l u e n c e s - - p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , c u l t u r a l or economic - - of the pre-1949 h i s t o r i c a l p a s t . I t i s indeed as i f the r e v o l u t i o n a c t u a l l y d i d c r e a t e a t o t a l s o c i a l vacuum, as Schurmann c l a i m s i t d i d . But Schurmann h i m s e l f acknowledges the e s s e n t i a l u n r e a l i t y of t h i s when he o b s e r v e s , i n the P r o l o g u e , t h a t \" i n p r e p a r i n g the m a n u s c r i p t I was r e p e a t e d l y impressed by how l i t t l e C h i n e s e i t appears to be . Where i s C h i n a i n a l l these p r o c e s s e s ? \" 1 7 One of the aims of t h i s s tudy i s t o \" l o c a t e C h i n a \" - - or more p r e c i s e l y , one important a s p e c t of C h i n a 1 6 i b i d . , p . 1, 1i i . 1 7 p . I i i . 19 i n the pos t -1949 p e r i o d , by examining how the CCP has a t tempted to d e a l w i t h one of i t s most d i f f i c u l t h i s t o r i c a l i n h e r i t a n c e s . Schurmann does not even mention the Overseas Chinese problem i n the PRC d e s p i t e the f a c t that t h i s was a major i d e o l o g i c a l and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l problem f o r the CCP, as the f o l l o w i n g essay w i l l show. The i d e o l o g i c a l and b u r e a u c r a t i c c o n f u s i o n i n the domest ic Overseas Ch inese areas c h a l l e n g e s the t o t a l i t a r i a n p r o p o s i t i o n c o n c e r n i n g the omnipotent power of i d e o l o g y and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s of c o n t r o l i n the PRC. In an important review of Ideology and Organizat ion which appeared more than twenty y e a r s ago , P r o f e s s o r F a i r b a n k d e s c r i b e d the problem p r e s e n t e d by t h i s book i n the f o l l o w i n g way. Ideology and Organizat i on, s a i d F a i r b a n k , \" r e p r e s e n t s the r e v o l u t i o n a r y l e a d e r s ' e f f o r t s i n the c e n t r a l appara tus r a t h e r than the r e s u l t s they may e v e n t u a l l y a c h i e v e i n the d a i l y l i f e of the people i n t h e i r l o c a l i t i e s . \" 1 8 M o r e o v e r , F a i r b a n k goes on to say , i n the s tudy of C h i n a t h e r e i s an important h i s t o r i c a l d imens ion to the o b s e r v a b l e tendency to equate c e n t r a l aims w i t h l o c a l r e s u l t s . I t may be tha t contemporary western s c h o l a r s have c o n t i n u e d to be m i s l e d by the o l d d y n a s t i c myth, 1 8 J o h n K . F a i r b a n k , \"The S t a t e t h a t Mao B u i l t , \" World Politics 19 ( J u l y 1967): 668. 20 propounded over c e n t u r i e s by C h i n a ' s d y n a s t i c o v e r l o r d s - - and embraced anew by the Chinese Communists i n t h e i r t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y n a t i o n b u i l d i n g e f f o r t s , of the e s s e n t i a l oneness and u n i t y of the C h i n e s e r e a l m . I t i s a myth descended from the h o l i s t i c view of C h i n a which was an i n t e g r a l f e a t u r e of the o l d c o u r t - c e n t e r e d approach to h i s t o r y . O f f i c i a l d y n a s t i c h i s t o r i a n s \" s t r e s s e d the i m p e r i a l aim more than the v a r i o u s and p a r t i c u l a r r e s u l t s . . . l i k e the i m p e r i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i t s e l f , t h e i r works g e n e r a l l y remained s u p e r f i c i a l to the d i v e r s i t y of l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s . \" 1 9 And s t u d y i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n as i t has been a t tempted by the Chinese Communists t u r n s o u t , we are t o l d , to be not too d i f f e r e n t from s t u d y i n g the i m p e r i a l e d i c t s of o l d : \"the g o a l s are announced, but the l o c a l responses o f t e n remain o b s c u r e . \" 2 0 Thus the t o t a l i t a r i a n p e r s p e c t i v e p o p u l a r in the 1960's g a i n e d i t s s t r e n g t h i n p a r t w i t h the h e l p of the h i s t o r i c a l myth of the e s s e n t i a l u n i t y and oneness of the C h i n e s e r e a l m ; a myth e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y promoted by d y n a s t i c r u l e r s and t h e i r c o u r t s c r i b e s who were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r o f f i c i a l h i s t o r y , and embraced anew by CCP n a t i o n b u i l d e r s and those r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c o n s t r u c t i n g the o f f i c i a l h i s t o r y of n a t i o n a l movements 1 9 i b i d . , p . 6 6 5 . 2 0 i b i d . , p . 669. 21 such as c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . I t i s somewhat i r o n i c , to say the l e a s t , tha t o f f i c i a l CCP sources embodying t h i s myth s h o u l d be counted as ev idence i n support of a v e r y unsympathe t i c i f not downright h o s t i l e view of the C C P ' s e f f o r t s to change s o c i e t y . E z r a V o g e l ' s Canton Under Communi sm approaches the s u b j e c t of s t a t e and s o c i e t y from the p o i n t of view of l o c a l responses to c e n t r a l i n i a t i v e s , and f o r t h i s reason h i s work does not s u f f e r from the same problem of e q u a t i n g c e n t r a l aims w i t h a c t u a l l o c a l r e s u l t s which bese t s Ideology and Organization. V o g e l i s c o n c e r n e d , e s p e c i a l l y , w i t h the problem of \" l o c a l i s m \" (difang zhuyi , a f a m i l i a r problem commonly r e f e r r e d to i n o f f i c a l Chinese Communist p a r l a n c e ) . For the p e r i o d of the e a r l y 1950's he o f f e r s the f u l l e s t account a v a i l a b l e of the sources of \"southern r e s i s t a n c e \" to the i m p o s i t i o n of c e n t r a l c o n t r o l . In h i s d i s c u s s i o n of l a n d re form V o g e l documents the u n w i l l i n g n e s s of l o c a l c a d r e s and peasants to engage i n c l a s s s t r u g g l e because of the o v e r r i d i n g s t r e n g t h of k i n l o y a l i t i e s , and he d e s c r i b e s the mass ive i n f u s i o n of \" n o r t h e r n e r s \" n e c e s s a r y to complete the task of l a n d r e f o r m . 2 1 2 1 E z r a V o g e l , Canton Under Communi sm: Programs and Politics in a Provincial Capital, 1949-1968, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1969). See p . 91-180 . 22 In another r e s p e c t , however, V o g e l ' s work, which was p u b l i s h e d around the same t ime as Schurmann's , resembles Ideology and Organi zat ion. Both a u t h o r s share an o v e r r i d i n g concern w i t h the u l t i m a t e s t r e n g t h of the p o l i t i c a l system and i t s a b i l i t y to a s s e r t i t s hegemony over s o c i e t y ; both a u t h o r s are u l t i m a t e l y concerned w i t h what has made p o s s i b l e the p o l i t i c a l t r i u m p h of the t o t a l i t a r i a n s t a t e . Thus V o g e l e n t i t l e s h i s c l o s i n g c h a p t e r \"The P o l i t i c a l Conquest of S o c i e t y , \" and i n i t s t r e s s e s the h i s t o r i c a l l y unprecedented s t r e n g t h of the CCP p o l i t i c a l system to \" c o n t r o l and t r a n s f o r m s o c i e t y . \" Not s u r p r i s i n g l y V o g e l does not embark on any s u s t a i n e d d i s c u s s i o n of the Overseas Chinese a r e a s , where the p o l i t i c a l system - - at l e a s t d u r i n g the p e r i o d of the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 c o u l d be b e t t e r d e s c r i b e d as b e i n g \"out of c o n t r o l \" . V o g e l ' s e x c e l l e n t d i s c u s s i o n of l a n d re form emphasizes \"southern r e s i s t a n c e \" to the o u t r e a c h of c e n t r a l i z e d p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 but h i s d i s c u s s i o n c o n t a i n s no r e f e r e n c e s to the i d e o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n w i t h i n the p o l i t i c a l system i t s e l f over how to d e a l w i t h the Overseas Ch inese p o p u l a t i o n i n Guangdong. The f o l l o w i n g essay then i s an attempt to e s t a b l i s h a sense i n which the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong s tood a p a r t d u r i n g the p e r i o d of the 23 r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . Chapter One i s a b r i e f background c h a p t e r . I t s e t s out the aims, r a t i o n a l e and s t r a t e g y f o r a c h i e v i n g the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the c o u n t r y s i d e , and examines the debate over i t s pace which c u l m i n a t e d w i t h the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n the summer of 1955. The second c h a p t e r e x p l a i n s the h i s t o r i c a l l e g a c i e s of o v e r s e a s m i g r a t i o n i n terms of the huaqi ao r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h C h i n a and the e v o l u t i o n of the s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s of the Overseas C h i n e s e home a r e a s . I t then goes on t o c o n s i d e r the CCP's response t o the domestic Overseas C h i n e s e problem: the c o n t r a d i c t o r y image of the huaqiao and the emergence i n 1954 of a p o l i c y of s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s f o r the dom e s t i c Overseas C h i n e s e . Chapter Three then a n a l y z e s the e f f e c t s of l a n d r e f o r m and the i m p o s i t i o n of compulsory g r a i n d e l i v e r i e s on the domestic Overseas C h i n e s e , showing how the domestic Overseas C h i n e s e were a d v e r s e l y and sometimes u n f a i r l y a f f e c t e d by t h e s e two i n t e r m e d i a r y s t e p s on the road t o e v e n t u a l f u l l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . Chapter Four a n a l y z e s the p a r t i c i p a t i o n of domestic Overseas C h i n e s e i n c o l l e c t i v e s and the s p e c i a l problems they e n c o u n t e r e d a t t h i s s t a g e . The c h a p t e r ends w i t h an a n a l y s i s of the i n h e r e n t weakness of domestic Overseas C h i n e s e p o l i c y d u r i n g the p e r i o d of r u r a l s o c i a l i s t 24 t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . In the c o n c l u s i o n , an attempt i s made to sum up the f i n d i n g s of t h i s study and r e l a t e t h e i r s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r our h i s t o r i c a l understanding of the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l China. 25 CHAPTER 1: The Economic and P o l i t i c a l Background to S o c i a l i s t T r a n s f o r m a t i o n The s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of r u r a l C h i n a began o f f i c i a l l y w i t h the p r o c l a m a t i o n on October 1, 1953 of the ' g e n e r a l l i n e f o r the t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m , ' which c o i n c i d e d w i t h the commencement of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n f o r n a t i o n a l development ( d e t a i l s of the P l a n were not made p u b l i c u n t i l two y e a r s l a t e r , i n mid-1955) . A c c o r d i n g to the ' g e n e r a l l i n e ' , the t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m i n the c o u n t r y s i d e was to be a three s tage p r o c e s s . F i r s t , peasants were to g a i n e x p e r i e n c e i n c o o p e r a t i v e farming by j o i n i n g huzhuzu (Mutal A i d Teams, MAT) , to be genera ted i n i t i a l l y on a s e a s o n a l , then permanent b a s i s . MATs averaged 6-20 f a m i l i e s e a c h . The next h i g h e r s tage i n v o l v e d MATs combining to form ' s e m i - s o c i a l i s t ' nongye hezuoshe ( A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c e r s ' C o o p e r a t i v e , A P C ) , where in a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n was performed on a c o o p e r a t i v e b a s i s , but p r i v a t e ownership of l a n d and o t h e r i n p u t s was r e t a i n e d . Remunerat ion w i t h i n APCs was on a d u a l b a s i s , p a r t l y a c c o r d i n g to l a b o u r c o n t r i b u t e d , c a l c u l a t e d i n work p o i n t s (gongfen), and p a r t l y on the b a s i s of l a n d and c a p i t a l c o n t r i b u t e d , c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of membership s h a r e s . The s i z e of APCs v a r i e d as 26 the campaign p r o g r e s s e d , but by December 1955 averaged about 40 househo lds e a c h . The f i n a l s tage c a l l e d f o r s e v e r a l APCs to merge to form shangji nongye hezuoshe (Advanced APC) or f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s . In 1956 Advanced APCs averaged 246 households and were u s u a l l y co terminous w i t h the n a t u r a l v i l l a g e (cun). By 1957 they were reduced somewhat, to an average of 164 h o u s e h o l d s . The former APCs became p r o d u c t i o n b r i g a d e s w i t h i n the Advanced A P C s . C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was b a s i c a l l y complete by December 1956, when 90% of peasant househo lds na t ionwide (89% of peasant households i n Guangdong) were f o r m a l l y e n r o l l e d i n Advanced APCs . Goals and Rationale S e r i o u s d i sagreement arose d u r i n g the course of the campaign c o n c e r n i n g the pace and sequence of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n v i s a v i s the development of the p r o d u c t i v e f o r c e s of i n d u s t r y . But so f a r as a v a i l a b l e sources r e v e a l , between 1953-56 the CCP was u n i t e d i n the v i s i o n t h a t c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n r e p r e s e n t e d the d e s i r e d d e s t i n y of the peasant economy under s o c i a l i s m . In embracing the g o a l of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , the CCP par took of a near u n i v e r s a l commitment shared u n t i l 2 7 r e c e n t l y by the i n t e r n a t i o n a l communist movement as a whole under S o v i e t l e a d e r s h i p . 2 2 C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , as the only means of overcoming the l i m i t a t i o n s of the \"small producer\" economy and m e n t a l i t y ( d e s c r i b e d o r i g i n a l l y by Marx, and l a t e r r e f e r r e d to by Le n i n as g i v i n g b i r t h to c a p i t a l i s m and the b o u r g e o i s i e \" d a i l y , h o u r l y \" ) has long been one of the great s h i b b o l e t h s of twe n t i e t h - c e n t u r y r e v o l u t i o n a r y Marxism. I t has a l s o been the source of great economic and p o l i t i c a l d i f f i c u l t y i n those s t a t e s which have attempted to implement c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . Jack Gray r e c e n t l y has d e s c r i b e d c o l l e c t i v i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e as being the \" A c h i l l e s h e e l \" of most modern s o c i a l i s t r e v o l u t i o n s . 2 3 C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was an i n t e g r a l p a r t of the t o t a l S t a l i n i s t package adopted by the Chinese Communists d u r i n g the e a r l y 1950's. The Chinese c o u l d not openly c r i t i c i z e S t a l i n ; but they were not unware of the hor r o r S o v i e t c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n e n t a i l e d . As Maurice Meisner a p t l y puts i t , \" i t was more out of i d e o l o g i c a l 2 2 T h e Yugoslavs were among the f i r s t , i n the e a r l y 1950's, to abandon t h i s commitment to c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , and t h e i r a c t i o n i n t h i s regard can be c i t e d as one of the f a c t o r s i n the breakup of the S o v i e t - l e d world communist movement. 2 3 J a c k and M a i s i e Gray, \"China's New A g r i c u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n , \" i n The Chinese Economic Reforms, ed. Stephen Feuchtwang and Athar Hussain (New York: S t . Mar t i n ' s P r e s s , 1983), p. 151. 28 t i m i d i t y than h i s t o r i c a l i gnorance t h a t Ch inese communists made o n l y the v e i l e d r e f e r e n c e s to those h o r r o r s ; they c o u l d h a r d l y denounce S t a l i n ' s methods of a g r i c u l t u r a l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n at the same t ime they were p u r s u i n g h i s p a t h to i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n , q u i t e a p a r t from the g e n e r a l i d e o l o g i c a l and p o l i t i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h a t made i t i m p o s s i b l e to be open ly c r i t i c a l of S t a l i n . \" 2 \" From the S o v i e t e x p e r i e n c e of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n the CCP drew two l e s s o n s , one c o n c e r n i n g the problems of r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , and the o ther c o n c e r n i n g the consequences of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n too long p o s t p o n e d . The danger i n r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was t h a t i t c o u l d , as i n the S o v i e t e x p e r i e n c e , p r e c i p i t a t e a d r a s t i c l o s s i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , as angered and d i s o r i e n t e d peasants r e s i s t e d w i t h the o n l y weapons a v a i l a b l e to them: s l a u g h t e r of l i v e s t o c k and draught a n i m a l s , w i t h h o l d i n g of p r o d u c t i o n , and o t h e r forms of p a s s i v e r e s i s t a n c e . On the o ther hand, d e l a y i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n d e f i n i t e l y meant ^ r i s k i n g the emergence of a powerfu l and f i r m l y e n t r e n c h e d kul a \u00C2\u00A3 - t y p e c l a s s of r i c h peasants whose i n t e r e s t s were s t r i c t l y opposed to c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . The C h i n e s e , 2 \" M a u r i c e M e i s n e r , Mao's China: A History of the People's Republic, (New Y o r k : The F r e e P r e s s , 1977), p . 147. 29 a g a i n , were not unaware t h a t S t a l i n had d e c i d e d l i q u i d a t i o n of the kulaks was the o n l y means of overcoming t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n . I t was i n o r d e r to a v o i d these two k i n d s of a t t e n d a n t r i s k s t h a t the C h i n e s e Communists emphasized the need f o r a s t ep by s t e p , g r a d u a l t r a n s i t i o n to f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s , w i t h peasants l e a r n i n g and a p p r e c i a t i n g the b e n e f i t s of c o o p e r a t i v e farming a t each i n t e r m e d i a t e s t e p a l o n g the way. M o r e o v e r , the CCP r e p e a t e d l y s t r e s s e d tha t advancement had to proceed a c c o r d i n g to the p r i n c i p l e s of ' v o l u n t a r i n e s s ' and 'mutual b e n e f i t ' . In p r a c t i c e , however, the a c t u a l c o u r s e of the movement d i d not c l o s e l y adhere to the p r i n c i p l e of a s t ep by s t ep advance . I n s t e a d , the p r o g r e s s of the movement f o l l o w e d the rhythm of p o l i c y s h i f t s at the c e n t e r , so t h a t i n the f i n a l a n a l y s i s implementa t ion resembled more c l o s e l y a s e r i e s of mass campaigns than i t d i d a p r o c e s s of s t e p by s t e p r a t i o n a l advance . In the end , the m a j o r i t y of Ch inese peasants made the t r a n s i t i o n d i r e c t l y from p r i v a t e p r o d u c e r s to members of f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s , w i thout the b e n e f i t of i n t e r m e d i a r y s t a g e s . 2 5 U n l i k e the S o v i e t 2 5 K e n n e t h R. W a l k e r , \" C o l l e c t i v i s a t i o n i n R e t r o s p e c t : The S o c i a l i s t ' H i g h T i d e ' of Autumn 1955-Spr ing 1956,\" China Quart erl y 26 A p r i l - June 1966). P a r i s h and Whyte note tha t i n many of the l o c a l i t i e s they s t u d i e d , the 30 c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n however the C h i n e s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n was a c c o m p l i s h e d l a r g e l y wi thout b l o o d s h e d , and wi thout a c a t a s t r o p h i c d e c l i n e in a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . 2 6 The g o a l of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was not pursued for i d e o l o g i c a l reasons a l o n e , or mere ly because c o l l e c t i v i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e was p a r t and p a r c e l of the t o t a l S t a l i n i s t package imported i n t o Ch ina d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d . The Chinese Communists p e r c e i v e d tha t c o l l e c t i v e a g r i c u l t u r e would y i e l d numerous economic , s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l b e n e f i t s . 2 7 P o l i t i c a l l y , c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n r e p r e s e n t e d a f u r t h e r s t ep i n c o n s o l i d a t i n g the l i n e s of c o n t r o l r u n n i n g from the h i g h e s t s t a t e eche lons to the b a s i c p r o d u c t i o n u n i t s i n r u r a l s o c i e t y . And , i n t h e o r y at l e a s t , c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was to produce t a n g i b l e b e n e f i t s f or 2 5 ( c o n t ' d ) t r a n s i t i o n from APC to Advanced APC o c c u r r e d so r a p i d l y t h a t no share payments were ever made. Village and Family, p . 32. 2 6 A number of s c h o l a r l y a r t i c l e s (by C h i n a s p e c i a l i s t s ) have under taken d e t a i l e d compar isons of the S o v i e t and Chinese c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n campaigns of 1928-30 and 1953-56, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Pe ter J . N o l a n , \" C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n C h i n a : Some Comparisons w i t h the USSR.\" Journal of Feasant Studies 3 (January 1976): 192-220; Thomas P . B e r n s t e i n , \"Mass M o b i l i z a t i o n i n the S o v i e t and C h i n e s e C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n Campaigns of 1929-30 and 1955-56. A C o m p a r i s o n , \" China Quarterly 31 ( J u l y - September 1967): 1 - 47. See a l s o M e i s n e r , p . 155-157. 2 7 F o r the economic r a t i o n a l e f o r c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , see A l e x a n d e r E c k s t e i n , China's Economic Revolution, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1977), p . 51-52. On the a n t i c i p a t e d p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l b e n e f i t s of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , see M e i s n e r , p . 240-157. 31 the p e a s a n t r y which would f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n the C C P ' s p o l i t i c a l support base i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . F i n a l l y , by c o n s t i t u t i n g a f u r t h e r s t ep i n the p r o g r e s s i v e \" p r o t e t a r i a n i z a t i o n \" of the p e a s a n t r y , c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was h a i l e d as s t r e n g t h e n i n g the \"worker-peasant a l l i a n c e \" (gongnong lianmeng) i n s o c i a l i s t C h i n a . The p e r c e i v e d s o c i a l b e n e f i t s of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n were those a s s o c i a t e d w i t h g r e a t e r and b e t t e r w e l f a r e p r o v i d e d by c o l l e c t i v e u n i t s , and the march towards f u l l s o c i a l e q u a l i t y o c c a s i o n e d by the a b o l i t i o n of most forms of p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y . Perhaps most i m p o r t a n t l y from a s o c i o p o l i t i c a l s t a n d p o i n t , c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n came to be seen as a s o l u t i o n to the problems of r e s u r g e n t c l a s s e x p l o i t a t i o n and p o l a r i z a t i o n i n the a f t e r m a t h of l a n d re form (see b e l o w ) . From an economic p o i n t of v i ew , c o l l e c t i v e s appeared to be s u p e r i o r economic u n i t s compared to the f a m i l y f a r m . The u n i t was l a r g e r and employed more l a b o u r , p e r m i t t i n g s p e c i a l i z a t i o n and an i n c r e a s e d d i v i s i o n of l a b o u r , thereby i n t h e o r y promot ing g r e a t e r e f f i c i e n c y . L a r g e r u n i t s of p r o d u c t i o n would a l s o generate economies of s c a l e , and a more e f f e c t i v e use of s c a r c e a g r i c u l t u r a l implements was p o s s i b l e . The c o l l e c t i v e was capab le of m o b i l i z i n g l a b o u r on a l a r g e 32 s c a l e f o r p u b l i c works . The f o r m a t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e s was a l s o c r e d i t e d w i t h b r i n g i n g i n t o p r o d u c t i o n a s i g n f i c a n t amount of l a n d which p r e v i o u s l y had gone to waste as boundary space s e p a r a t i n g the innumerable s c a t t e r e d p l o t s of i n d i v i d u a l peasant f a m i l i e s . F i n a l l y , i t was a l s o argued t h a t l a r g e u n i t s of p r o d u c t i o n would f a c i l i t a t e the i n t r o d u c t i o n of mechanized f a r m i n g . 2 8 A c o l l e c t i v i z e d r u r a l economy a l s o y i e l d e d c e r t a i n economic advantages to the s t a t e , i n the form of g r e a t e r c o n t r o l over s u r p l u s and a g r i c u l t u r a l d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g . A c c o r d i n g to A l e x a n d e r E c k s t e i n , \"one of the purposes of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was to f a c i l i t a t e the i m p o s i t i o n of a h i g h r a t e of i n v o l u n t a r y s a v i n g on a g r i c u l t u r e , e i t h e r through i n c r e a s i n g taxes a n d / o r t h r o u g h m a n i p u l a t i n g p r i c e r e l a t i o n s between a g r i c u l t u r a l and n o n - a g r i c u l t u r a l goods i n such a way t h a t the farming s e c t o r was f o r c e d to s e l l \"cheap\" and buy \" d e a r \" . 2 9 The s t a t i s t i c a l d a t a c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n a l s o p r o v i d e d the c e n t r a l government 2 8 H o w e v e r i t i s a l s o t r u e t h a t as t ime p r o g r e s s e d and i t became c l e a r tha t a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n was l a g g i n g b e h i n d the requ irements of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , C h i n e s e p l a n n e r s - and the more so Mao - began i n c r e a s i n g l y to view i n s t i t u t i o n a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e as a s u b s t i t u t e method of r a i s i n g p r o d u c t i o n , i n p l a c e of i n c r e a s i n g the l e v e l of i n d u s t r i a l i n p u t s . See E c k s t e i n , p . 51. 2 9 E c k s t e i n , p . 51 . 33 w i t h a much sounder and more d e t a i l e d knowledge of the r u r a l economy, f a c i l i t a t i n g the i n c o r p o r a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e i n t o the n a t i o n a l P l a n . With an a c c u r a t e knowledge of the c o n d i t i o n s of the r u r a l economy the s t a t e c o u l d , w i t h g r e a t e r c o n f i d e n c e , exer t an i n c r e a s i n g degree of c o n t r o l over l e v e l s of a g r i c u l t u r a l output and the c r o p mix ( through the m a n i p u l a t i o n of s t a t e purchases and t a x e s , and through the use of d i r e c t commands, f or example to ' take g r a i n as the key l i n k ' ) ; whereas to under take such t i n k e r i n g w i t h the r u r a l economy wi thout a sound knowledge of i t s workings would be to i n v i t e the r i s k of engender ing chaos and d i s r u p t i o n . F u r t h e r m o r e , c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , by c r e a t i n g l a r g e r and thus fewer a c c o u n t a b l e u n i t s , s i m p l i f i e d the c o l l e c t i o n of taxes and s t a t e purchase q u o t a s . P r e v i o u s l y , the s t a t e had to make c o l l e c t i o n s from i n d i v i d u a l peasant h o u s e h o l d s , but under the c o l l e c t i v e economy tax quotas and p r o d u c t i o n t a r g e t s were a s s i g n e d to c o l l e c t i v e s , not i n d i v i d u a l s , and the c o l l e c t i v e s themselves then assumed r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for meet ing the tax and commodity g r a i n o b l i g a t i o n s of t h e i r member h o u s e h o l d s . The Chinese Communists t h e n , foresaw s u b s t a n t i a l economic , p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l b e n e f i t s i n c o l l e c t i v i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e . Y e t , a t the o u t s e t , 34 c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was seen by the P a r t y to be a r a t h e r d i s t a n t goa l - - Mao h i m s e l f had e s t i m a t e d i n 1949 tha t i t would take at l e a s t the e q u i v a l e n t of t h r e e F i v e Year P l a n s to a c h i e v e the neces sary l e v e l of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n b e f o r e s o c i a l i s t a g r i c u l t u r e c o u l d be e s t a b l i s h e d . T h i s p o s i t i o n drew s t r e n g t h because i t r e f l e c t e d the orthodox M a r x i s t c o n c e p t i o n of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between s o c i a l change and economic deve lopment , the view t h a t s o c i a l i s t r e l a t i o n s of p r o d u c t i o n presupposed a s o c i e t y of i n d u s t r i a l p l e n t y . On a more p r a c t i c a l l e v e l i t was b e l i e v e d , i n i t i a l l y , t h a t c o l l e c t i v i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e i n o r d e r to be f e a s i b l e r e q u i r e d a c e r t a i n l e v e l of m e c h a n i z a t i o n , which depended i n t u r n on the p r i o r development of i n d u s t r i a l capac i t y . At the o u t s e t these orthodox views enjoyed paramountcy w i t h i n the P a r t y , and as a r e s u l t a c a u t i o u s and g r a d u a l approach to r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n p r e v a i l e d - u n t i l J u l y , 1955 when Mao, a p p a r e n t l y b r e a k i n g ranks w i t h the m a j o r i t y of the P a r t y l e a d e r s h i p , came out as the s t r o n g e s t advocate f o r a r a p i d and immediate c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n of the c o u n t r y s i d e . What accounts f o r t h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n Mao's t h i n k i n g ? In o r d e r to u n d e r s t a n d the change i n Mao's t h i n k i n g on t h i s i s s u e , and to g r a s p the enormous 35 h i s t o r i c s i g n i f i c a n c e t h a t change has had for soc ioeconomic development s t r a t e g y i n C h i n a , i t i s neces sary to examine the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n for n a t i o n a l development and e s p e c i a l l y the p l a c e of a g r i c u l t u r e w i t h i n i t . Much of the debate which emerged over the pace of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n Ch ina c e n t e r e d on the P l a n ' s e x p e c t a t i o n s of the r u r a l s e c t o r and the burdens the P l a n imposed. An u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a g r i c u l t u r e ' s d e s i g n a t e d r o l e i n the P l a n i s , t h e r e f o r e , b a s i c to u n d e r s t a n d i n g how the d r i v e f o r c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n e v o l v e d i n C h i n a . Agriculture and the F i r s t Five Year Plan: The \"Peasants Burden\" Under the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , C h i n a came c l o s e s t to e x e m p l i f y i n g the S t a l i n i s t development s t r a t e g y . A c c o r d i n g to A lexander E c k s t e i n t h i s s t r a t e g y can be broken down i n t o seven major o b j e c t i v e s . 3 0 F i r s t , t h e r e i s an unbreachab le commitment to h i g h r a t e s of economic growth . Second, such economic growth i s to be c o n c e n t r a t e d i n the i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . T h i r d , w i t h i n the i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r the emphasis i s on the development of heavy i n d u s t r y . F o u r t h , the above t h r e e 3 0 E c k s t e i n , p . 50-51 . 36 o b j e c t i v e s demand tha t t h e r e be a h i g h r a t e of s a v i n g s and inves tment . F i f t h , the development of i n d u s t r i a l c a p a c i t y i s to be at the expense of a g r i c u l t u r a l deve lopment . S i x t h , t h e r e i s to be i n s t i t u t i o n a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n a g r i c u l t u r e and o ther s e c t o r s of the economy. F i n a l l y , t h e r e i s a p r e f e r e n c e for c a p i t a l i n t e n s i v e i n d u s t r i a l t e c h n o l o g y . E c k s t e i n m a i n t a i n s t h a t \"at l e a s t to some degree , C h i n a ' s economic development encompassed a l l these e lements w i t h i n the framework of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n . \" 3 1 The C h i n e s e F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n of 1953-57 was c l o s e l y mode l l ed on the e a r l i e r S o v i e t F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n of 1928-32 i n n e a r l y every r e s p e c t , except t h a t the Chinese P l a n t a r g e t e d f o r (and a c h i e v e d ) even h i g h e r r a t e s of growth i n the c r i t i c a l heavy i n d u s t r i e s of s t e e l , c o a l , o i l , c h e m i c a l s , e l e c t r i c power and heavy m a c h i n e r y . In f a c t , Ch inese growth f i g u r e s f o r the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n surpassed even t h e i r own o r i g i n a l e s t i m a t e s . 3 2 M a u r i c e Mei sner sums up the s u c c e s s , and the c o s t , of t h i s not i n c o n s i d e r a b l e 3 1 i b i d . , p . 51. 3 2 T h e P l a n o r i g i n a l l y p r o j e c t e d an average per annum economic growth r a t e of 14.7%. The a c h i e v e d f i g u r e however was c l o s e r to 18% (16% a c c o r d i n g to some more c o n s e r v a t i v e western e s t i m a t e s ) . By c o n t r a s t , o f f i c i a l S o v i e t s t a t i s t i c s c l a i m an annua l growth r a t e of 18% between 1928-32, but most western a n a l y a s t s p l a c e the f i g u r e more i n the range of about 12%. M e i s n e r , p . 123, 138. O f f i c i a l Chinese s t a t i s t i c s are g i v e n i n Ten Great Years, ( P e k i n g : F o r e i g n Languages P r e s s , 1960), p . 87 . 37 achievement i n t h i s way: \"the F i r s t F i v e Year Plan p r o v i d e d China with a s i g n i f i c a n t and s t a b l e modern i n d u s t r i a l base, even though i t was s t i l l a t i n y one compared with the advanced i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s . But t h i s success was not ach i e v e d without s o c i a l and economic c o s t s , and the major c o s t s were borne by China's 500,000,000 peasants ~ f o r the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of the c i t i e s was based l a r g e l y on the e x p l o i t a t i o n of the c o u n t r y s i d e . \" 3 3 Alexander E c k s t e i n i s in agreement (as are most observers) with t h i s assessment of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , and he too p o i n t s to China's peasants as the major v i c t i m s of S t a l i n i s t i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n . \"In terms of i t s e f f e c t s \" , says E c k s t e i n , \"the S t a l i n i s t s t r a t e g y represented a p a t t e r n of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n at the expense of a g r i c u l t u r e . \" 3 4 Chinese commentators themselves have acknowledged, i f somewhat g i n g e r l y , the burden f o i s t e d upon the backs of Chinese peasants by t h i s p a t t e r n of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n . R e c e n tly Xue Muqiao, a noted Chinese economist, looked back upon the p e r i o d of the F i r s t F i v e Year Plan and had t h i s to say about the r e l a t i o n s h i p of Chinese peasants to sta t e - s p o n s o r e d r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n . \"Speedy i n d u s t r i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n r e q u i r e s a l a r g e sum of 3 3 M e i s n e r , p. 124. 3 4 E c k s t e i n , p. 53. 38 a c c u m u l a t i o n f u n d . Be fore heavy i n d u s t r y deve lops on a l a r g e s c a l e , the main source of s t a t e a c c u m u l a t i o n can o n l y be a g r i c u l t u r e and l i g h t i n d u s t r y which depends on a g r i c u l t u r e f o r raw m a t e r i a l . But the s t a t e must not take too much from the peasants and squeeze them too h a r d . T h i s i s a problem we have not s o l v e d w e l l . \" 3 5 ' The F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n was d e s i g n e d to r a p i d l y i n c r e a s e the a c c u m u l a t i o n fund by e x p l o i t i n g the a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r i n s e v e r a l ways: t h r o u g h a g r i c u l t u r a l t a x e s , p r i c i n g s t r u c t u r e s which u n d e r v a l u e d farm p r o d u c t s and o v e r p r i e d i n d u s t r i a l and consumer goods s o l d i n the c o u n t r y s i d e , thus f o r c i n g peasants to \" s e l l cheap\" and \"buy d e a r \" , and t h r o u g h s t a t e m o n o p o l i z a t i o n of the t r a d e i n g r a i n and o t h e r e s s e n t i a l a g r i c u l t u r a l commodi t i e s . As Edgar Wickberg has p o i n t e d o u t , l e a n i n g h e a v i l y on the a g r i c u l t u r a l s u r p l u s to f i n a n c e i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n i s a s t r a t e g y not unique to communism or c o n f i n e d to the PRC; i t has been used i n many c o u n t r i e s , i n c l u d i n g , f o r example , T a i w a n . 3 6 The main d i f f e r e n c e i n C h i n a l i e s i n how 3 5 X u e Muqiao , China's Socialist Economy, ( B e i j i n g : F o r e i g n Languages P r e s s , 1981), p . 276. 3 6 I n an a r t i c l e comparing l a n d re form on the m a i n l a n d and on Ta iwan , Wickberg shows how i n both cases one of the main purposes was the same: to f r e e up and m o b i l i z e the p e a s a n t ' s s u r p l u s to s erve i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n g o a l s . To m o b i l i z e the r u r a l s u r p l u s the Guomindang government i n the e a r l y 1950's even i n t r o d u c e d a compulsory d e l i v e r y system s i m i l a r to tha t on the m a i n l a n d . See Edgar W i c k b e r g , \"Land Reform i n M a i n l a n d C h i n a and 39 these p r e s s u r e s imposed upon C h i n a ' s i m p o v e r i s h e d peasants were i n t e r p r e t e d by the P a r t y , and w i t h what r e s u l t s . In p a r t i c u l a r , two important c o r o l l a r i e s of the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n s t r a t e g y adopted by the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n s t a n d out f o r the debate they g e n e r a t e d w i t h i n P a r t y c i r c l e s . In the f i r s t p l a c e , the i n d u s t r i a l p r i o r i t i e s of the P l a n were to be a c c o m p l i s h e d at the expense of a s teady increment i n peasant l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s . There was a d i r e c t t r a d e o f f between peasant consumption and the r e q u i r e m e n t s of a c c u m u l a t i o n , which d i d not f a i l to arouse a c o n t r o v e r s y i n the form of a debate , b e g i n n i n g i n l a t e 1953, over the \"ques t ion of the p e a s a n t s ' burden\" (nongmin fudan wenti) d u r i n g the t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m . From t h i s debate , which was c l o s e l y f o l l o w e d by the P a r t y ' s main t h e o r e t i c a l j o u r n a l f o r c a d r e s , i t appears t h e r e was one group w i t h i n the P a r t y , p r o b a b l y r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l , p a r t i c u l a r l y at the P l a n ' s o u t s e t , which was c a t e g o r i c a l l y opposed to a c c o r d i n g s t a t e p r i o r i t y to the development of the heavy i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . A l o n g s i d e t h i s group was another group w h i c h , wh i l e not opposed in p r i n c i p l e to the p r i o r i t y of heavy i n d u s t r y , i n s i s t e d t h a t the burden imposed on peasants by the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n 3 6 ( c o n t ' d ) Taiwan\" Peasant Studies 4 ( F a l l 1978): 259-260. 40 was too heavy and had to be reduced a t any c o s t . Opposed to both these groups were the proponents of the P l a n ' s s t r a t e g y , who c o u n t e r e d w i t h an economic argument. W h i l e acknowledging tha t the \"peasant q u e s t i o n \" was indeed the most d i f f i c u l t a s p e c t of a d a p t i n g Marxism to a g r a r i a n s o c i e t i e s ; n e v e r t h e l e s s , they a s s e r t e d , i t would be f a l s e and d e l i b e r a t e l y m i s l e a d i n g to view the problem i n moral terms a l o n e , and to a r g u e , as opponents of the P l a n were d o i n g , tha t the o n l y s o l u t i o n was for the s t a t e to r e l a x i t s demands and to e x e r c i s e a more \"benevolent r u l e \" (renzheng) over the c o u n t r y ' s p e a s a n t s . Those who demanded tha t the s t a t e e x e r t more benevolence i n i t s r u l e were i n f a c t not o n l y i s s s u i n g a moral condemnation of the s t a t e ' s treatment of p e a s a n t s ; they a l s o were p u t t i n g forward an economic p o l i c y p o s i t i o n s i n c e i n the l e x i c o n of t r a d i t i o n a l C h i n e s e p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h y from which t h i s term was borrowed the benevo lent (ren) r u l e r was one who p r e s i d e d over a s t a t e tha t was n o n - i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t , and who b e l i e v e d s t r o n g l y t h a t the people would p r o s p e r the most when the s t a t e weighed l i g h t e s t upon them. The proponents of the P l a n b e l i e v e d however tha t the s a l v a t i o n of peasants ,and the p r o s p e r i t y of the c o u n t r y s i d e depended not on the s t a t e u n i l a t e r a l l y r e l a x i n g i t s demands, but 41 on peasants i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r income. And the o n l y way to do t h i s , they m a i n t a i n e d , was f o r peasant s to i n c r e a s e a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . 3 7 Making i n c r e a s e d a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n - - and not the \"peasants ' burden\" - - the c e n t r a l i s s u e bore d i r e c t l y on the second important c o r o l l a r y of the P l a n ' s s t r a t e g y , which was t h a t the a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r was to grow by f i n a n c i n g i t s own deve lopment . That i s , the bu lk of s t a t e investment funds were a l l o c a t e d to i n d u s t r i a l deve lopment; there was to be no d i v e r s i o n of these funds to a i d i n a g r i c u l t u r a l deve lopment . Under the terms of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , l e s s than 10% of s t a t e inves tment funds were a l l o c a t e d to the a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t o r . 3 8 At the same t i m e , the P l a n c a l l e d f o r a 23% i n c r e a s e i n a g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t , i n c l u d i n g a 17.6% i n c r e a s e i n food g r a i n p r o d u c t i o n to feed the growing i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t . 3 9 The i n s i s t e n c e t h a t a g r i c u l t u r e f i n a n c e i t s own development and t h a t of i n d u s t r y as w e l l , w i thout any s u b s t a n t i a l h e l p from s t a t e c o f f e r s , gave r i s e to a f u r t h e r debate w i t h i n the P a r t y over the sequence of r u r a l 3 7 P u L i , \"P ipan d u i nongmin fudan wenti de y i z h o n g cuowu g u a n d i a n , \" Xuexi 12 (December 1953): 4 -8 . See a l s o Wenj ing H u i , \"Women weishenmo shouxian fazhan zhong gongye ,\" Xuexi 11 (November 1953): 12-16. 3 8 M e i s n e r , p . 141. 3 9 i b i d . , p . 142, 161. 42 c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n and m e c h a n i z a t i o n . 4 0 From the h i s t o r y of the S o v i e t U n i o n , the CCP drew the l e s s o n tha t mechanized c o l l e c t i v e f a r m i n g was the o p t i m a l method of r a i s i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . I t was g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d tha t to be both v i a b l e and a t t r a c t i v e to p e a s a n t s , m e c h a n i z a t i o n had to precede the f o r m a t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e s . Indeed , the assumed r o l e of t r a c t o r s i n promot ing and c o n s o l i d a t i n g s o c i a l i s t a g r i c u l t u r e had reached near m y t h - l i k e p r o p o r t i o n s . An e a r l i e r S o v i e t commentator, f or example, had d e s c r i b e d the t r a c t o r as \"not o n l y a good means of mechanized c u l t i v a t i o n of l a n d , but a l s o the best c o o p e r a t o r . I t c r e a t e s the b a s i s for c o o p e r a t i o n i n the sphere of p r o d u c t i o n . I t i s the f i r s t and bes t b u i l d e r of s o c i a l i s m . 1 By 1932, two y e a r s a f t e r c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n began i n the USSR, about h a l f of a l l c o l l e c t i v e l a n d was plowed by t r a c t o r s . 4 2 By c o n t r a s t C h i n e s e l e a d e r s i n the e a r l y 1950's e s t i m a t e d i t would take t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s to a c c o m p l i s h a g r i c u l t u r a l m e c h a n i z a t i o n . A c c o r d i n g l y , the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n c a l l e d for the slow growth of c o o p e r a t i v e f a r m i n g , over a p e r i o d of u n s p e c i f i e d d u r a t i o n . 4 0 T h e most thorough account of the debate over m e c h a n i z a t i o n and c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i s to be found i n S t a v i s , p . 58-71 . 4 1 C i t e d i n S t a v i s , p . 44. 4 2 i b i d . , p . 44. 43 But f a c e d w i t h the d i s h e a r t e n i n g p r o s p e c t of slow a g r i c u l t u r a l m e c h a n i z a t i o n , and mounting p r e s s u r e to i n c r e a s e a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , some C h i n e s e l e a d e r s , Mao among them, began to advance the p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , i n o r d e r to be f e a s i b l e and d e s i r e a b l e , d i d not have to awai t m e c h a n i z a t i o n . C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n c o u l d a c t u a l l y speed up m e c h a n i z a t i o n , because c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i t s e l f would p r o v i d e the boost i n p r o d u c t i o n neces sary for i n d u s t r i a l development to p r o c e e d , which i n t u r n would e s t a b l i s h the c o n d i t i o n s f o r the e a r l y a p p l i c a t i o n of machines to the a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o c e s s . T h i s r e v i s e d view of the sequence of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n and m e c h a n i z a t i o n had a c r u c i a l l y important i m p l i c a t i o n : a g r i c u l t u r a l growth (and by e x t e n s i o n i n d u s t r i a l development) was now pegged f i r m l y as a f u n c t i o n m a i n l y of s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n , r a t h e r than m a t e r i a l i n p u t s . By 1955 the two g r e a t e s t problems c o n f r o n t i n g the C h i n e s e s t a t e i n i t s e f f o r t to f u l f i l l the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n were the s l u g g i s h growth i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n and the c a p a c i t y of the s t a t e to p r o c u r e and s u p p l y s u f f i c i e n t s t o c k s of g r a i n . 4 3 By the f a l l of 1954 i t was becoming c l e a r tha t a g r i c u l t u r a l growth 4 3 K e n n e t h W a l k e r , \" C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n R e t r o s p e c t : The S o c i a l i s t ' H i g h T i d e ' of Autumn 1955 - S p r i n g 1956,\" China Quarterly 26 ( A p r i l - J u n e 1966): 22. 44 r a t e s were not keeping pace w i t h the p lanned r a t e of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n under the P l a n . By e a r l y 1955 i t was s t a r t i n g to appear as though the r a t e of i n d u s t r i a l growth c o u l d not even be m a i n t a i n e d , much l e s s i n c r e a s e d , a t the c u r r e n t l e v e l of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . \" 4 And a l r e a d y the s t a t e had encountered f i e r c e peasant r e s i s t a n c e to g r a i n c o l l e c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g the l o o t i n g of government g r a n a r i e s d u r i n g the g r a i n supp ly c r i s i s of s p r i n g , 1955 - a warning of p o l i t i c a l f a l l o u t b e s i d e s the t h r e a t to i n d u s t r i a l growth t a r g e t s . In s h o r t , what was needed was a r e v o l u t i o n i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n . I t was under these c o n d i t i o n s , of s t a g n a t i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n and a mounting t h r e a t to the i n d u s t r i a l growth t a r g e t s set by the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , c o u p l e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g economic h a r d s h i p s among p e a s a n t s , tha t the CCP s p l i t between F e b r u a r y and J u l y 1955 over the pace of a g r i c u l t u r a l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . In a f o r c e f u l a r t i c l e Lo Z icheng argued tha t the main e f f o r t ought to be c o n c e n t r a t e d on \" c o n s o l i d a t i n g \" (gonggu) e x i s t i n g c o l l e c t i v e s r a t h e r than e s t a b l i s h i n g new ones . These c r i t i c s of a f a s t approach ( l e d , a p p a r e n t l y , by L i u S h a o q i ) , who argued tha t \"deve lop ing was e a s y , but c o n s o l i d a t i n g i s d i f f i c u l t \" (fazhan \" \" i b i d . 45 rongyi gonggu nan), p o i n t e d out t h a t a g r e a t d e a l of wastage and slowdown i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n was r e s u l t i n g j u s t from poor management and o r g a n i z a t i o n of the e x i s t i n g APCs; an i n e v i t a b l e s i t u a t i o n , they s a i d , g i v e n the acute shor tage of t r a i n e d and e x p e r i e n c e d p e r s o n n e l , and the e x p e r i m e n t a l na ture of the e n t i r e e f f o r t . 4 5 As the P a r t y debated the i s s u e , t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e s u g g e s t i n g c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s s o l u t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e s a c r o s s the c o u n t r y between F e b r u a r y and J u l y 1955: accounts range anywhere from 20,000 to 200,000 MATs and APCs d i s s o l v e d on the o r d e r s of Deng Z i h u i , the p a r t y ' s top r u r a l s t r a t e g i s t . * 6 \"Spontaneous Capitalism\" and the Resurgence of Rural Inequality after Land Reform On the s o c i o p o l i t i c a l s i d e however, c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was coming to be seen , i n c r e a s i n g l y , as r e p r e s e n t i n g s a l v a t i o n from a number of s o c i a l i l l s e i t h e r p o t e n t i a l or v i s i b l e s i n c e l a n d r e f o r m . Most of these were r e l a t e d d i r e c t l y to the s o - c a l l e d \"four freedoms\" p r e s e r v e d by l a n d r e f o r m : freedom to buy, s e l l and ren t l a n d ; freedom to h i r e l a b o u r ; freedom to 4 5 L o Z i c h e n g , \"Guanyu nonye hezuoshe gonggu de gongzuo,\" Xuexi 6 (June 1955): 5 -8 . 4 6 S t a v i s , p . 58. 46 l e n d money; and freedom to t r a d e on the p r i v a t e m a r k e t . * 7 Under these c o n d i t i o n s i t was \" i n e v i t a b l e t h a t the r u r a l economy, i f l e f t to govern i t s e l f , would generate t r a d i t i o n a l forms of e x p l o i t a t i o n and reproduce o l d p a t t e r n s of i n e q u a l i t y . \" \" 8 Uppermost was a c o n c e r n t h a t t h i s would l e a d to a r e p o l a r i z a t i o n of soc ioeconomic c l a s s e s in the c o u n t r y s i d e , a development t h a t c o u l d t h r e a t e n to undermine the p o l i t i c a l suppor t of the Communists' n a t u r a l c o n s t i t u e n c y in the r u r a l a r e a s , the masses of poor peasant s who c o n s t i t u t e d the m a j o r i t y p o p u l a t i o n i n most v i l l a g e s . Numerous f i e l d s u r v e y s conducted s i n c e l a n d re form seemed to c o n f i r m f e a r s w i t h i n the P a r t y tha t the c o u n t r y s i d e was headed for a r e p o l a r i z a t i o n of s o c i a l c l a s s e s u n l e s s c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n t e r v e n e d . C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , as the g r e a t s o c i a l and economic l e v e l l e r thus came to be r e g a r d e d by some w i t h i n the P a r t y - - and e s p e c i a l l y by Mao - - as a k i n d of panacea f o r the k i n d s of problems j u s t e n u n c i a t e d , the best way to a s s u r e permanent s o c i a l and economic e q u a l i t y among peasants and r e t a i n the p o l i t i c a l support of the g r e a t m a j o r i t y of them. \" 7 B e n e d i c t S t a v i s , The Politics of Agricultural Mechanization in China, ( I t h a c a , N . Y: C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s ) , 55-57; M e i s n e r , p . 143-144. \" 8 M e i s n e r , p . 141. 47 In h i s famous speech of J u l y 31, 1955, d i r e c t e d over the heads of the P a r t y l e a d e r s h i p to a c o n f e r e n c e of p r o v i n c i a l P a r t y s e c r e t a r i e s , Mao i n t e r v e n e d d r a s t i c a l l y i n the debate over c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , r e s o l v i n g i t i n favour of r a p i d and a l l - o u t f u l l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . Resembl ing a s i n g l e mass ive e l e c t r i c a l j o l t , Mao's speech i n i t i a l l y produced a s t a t e of p a r a l y s e d shock w i t h i n the P a r t y . The shock i s e v i d e n c e d by the f a c t t h a t f o l l o w i n g the speech the P a r t y ' s main t h e o r e t i c a l j o u r n a l f o r cadre consumpt ion , Xuexi , which up u n t i l now had f a v o u r e d the c o n s o l i d a t i o n a p p r o a c h , remained t o t a l l y s i l e n t on the e n t i r e s u b j e c t of a g r i c u l t u r a l c o o p e r a t i o n f o r a p e r i o d of s e v e r a l months. I t responded f i n a l l y not u n t i l O c t o b e r , 1955 - - o n l y a f t e r Mao's d e c i s i o n had been r a t i f i e d by a s p e c i a l l y convened Plenum of the C e n t r a l Committee . There then f o l l o w e d a f l u r r y of a r t i c l e s e x t o l l i n g the ' c o r r e c t n e s s ' of Mao's speech and c a l l i n g f o r i t s r a p i d and w h o l e - h e a r t e d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n . \" 9 In h i s speech Mao e x p r e s s e d the c o n v i c t i o n t h a t deepening and q u i c k e n i n g the s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n would produce the economic r e s u l t s needed to break out of the \" 9 M a o ' s speech i s r e p r i n t e d i n Xuexi 11 (October 1955), a l o n g s i d e the October 11th C e n t r a l Committee \" R e s o l u t i o n C o n c e r n i n g the Q u e s t i o n of A g r i c u l t u r a l C o o p e r a t i o n . \" An E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n of Mao's speech appears i n CB 364, and the o f f i c i a l E n g l i s h e d i t i o n i s r e p r i n t e d i n Bowie and F a i r b a n k , p . 94-105. 48 conundrum c r e a t e d by the requ irements of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n . He a l s o dwelt e x t e n s i v e l y on the q u e s t i o n of a p o l a r i z a t i o n of c l a s s e s i n the c o u n t r y s i d e and the ' spontaneous t e n d e n c i e s ' towards r u r a l c a p i t a l i s m w h i c h , i n h i s v iew, o n l y r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n c o u l d overcome. ' The q u e s t i o n of whether economic p r e s s u r e s or s o c i o p o l i t i c a l p o l i t i c a l concerns were the more important f a c t o r s i n promot ing Mao's d e c i s o n i s an i n t r i g u i n g one. On the one hand , a c c o r d i n g to M a u r i c e M e i s n e r , \"as the b u i l d i n g of a modern i n d u s t r i a l o r d e r tended to become the o v e r r i d i n g g o a l , r a t h e r than the means to a c h i e v e s o c i a l i s t ends , economic p r o d u c t i v i t y and the a b i l i t y of the s t a t e to e x t r a c t an i n c r e a s i n g s u r p l u s from the r u r a l economy tended to become the c r i t e r i a f o r d e t e r m i n i n g the u t i l i t y and v a l u e of a g r i c u l t u r a l c o o p e r a t i o n . \" 5 0 Y e t , on the o t h e r hand, Mao appeared a t l e a s t e q u a l l y as c o n v i n c e d t h a t the masses of C h i n e s e peasant s were y e a r n i n g f o r s o c i a l i s m , t h a t they were b e i n g h e l d back by s low-moving and o v e r l y c a u t i o u s P a r t y members who ' t o t t e r e d a l o n g l i k e women w i t h bound f e e t , ' and t h a t there was a r e a l and ominous danger of a p o l a r i z a t i o n of r u r a l c l a s s e s i f c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n d i d not i n t e r v e n e to h a l t growing 5 0 M e i s n e r , p . 150. 49 i n e q u a l i t y . Many peasants had emerged from l a n d r e f o r m imbued w i t h the s p i r i t of the (then) o f f i c i a l l y sponsored s l o g a n of \" s e t t i n g up a househo ld and making a f o r t u n e \" (fajiazhifu), and Mao was de termined to e r a d i c a t e the r i c h peasant m e n t a l i t y which seemed to him to a f f l i c t many p e a s a n t s , r i c h and n o n - r i c h a l i k e . To support h i s c a s e , Mao c o u l d c i t e a number of r u r a l surveys which r e v e a l e d s i g n i f i c a n t l e v e l s of soc ioeconomic i n e q u a l i t y . A c c o r d i n g to one such survey conducted i n 1954, the average poor peasant h o u s e h o l d had an a n n u a l income of 490 yuan, comapred to 775 yuan for midd le peasant househo lds and as much as 1300 yuan for r*ich peasant h o u s e h o l d s . 5 1 Whi l e some r e c e n t western s t u d i e s have argued tha t i n the y e a r s f o l l o w i n g l a n d re form t h e r e was no e m p i r i c a l ev idence of a t r e n d toward greater c l a s s p o l a r i z a t i o n and t h a t , on the c o n t r a r y , the o n l y e m p i r i c a l l y o b s e r v e a b l e t r e n d was toward g r e a t e r \"middle p e a s a n t i z a t i o n , \" 5 2 n e v e r t h e l e s s i t remains a f a c t t h a t the p o s s i b i l i t y of such was a f ear on the minds of some - - and e s p e c i a l l y Mao, who 5 1 N o l a n , p . 203. Other examples are c i t e d in S t a v i s , p . 54 .56 . 5 2 S e e , f o r example, Mark S e i d e n , \"Coopera t ion and C o n f l i c t : C o o p e r a t i v e and C o l l e c t i v e Format ion i n C h i n a ' s C o u n t r y s i d e , \" and Edward F r i e d m a n , \"Maoism, t i t o i s m , S t a l i n i s m : some O r i g i n s and Consequences of the M a o i s t Theory of the S o c i a l i s t T r a n s i t i o n , \" both i n Mark Se iden and V i c t o r L i p p i t t , eds . The Transition to Socialism in China, (New Y o r k : M. E . Sharpe I n c . , 1982). 50 was d e f i n i t e l y as much concerned by q u e s t i o n s of v a l u e s and m e n t a l i t y as he was by e m p i r i c a l l y o b s e r v e a b l e t r e n d s . In the f i n a l a n a l y s i s , what i s most important to r e c o g n i z e i n Mao's speech i s the ex tent to which economic g o a l s and s o c i o p o l i t i c a l concerns ming led and were i n t e r w o v e n . I t i s p r e c i s e l y t h i s a spec t of Mao's speech - - the c a l l to e r e c t a s t r a t e g y f o r f u s i n g s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n and economic growth - - which was most h i s t o r i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t and c o n s e q u e n t i a l f or the f u t u r e c o u r s e of C h i n e s e development . M a u r i c e Me i sner i d e n t i f i e s Mao's J u l y 1955 speech as no l e s s than h e r a l d i n g the appearance of \"Maoism\" as a d i s t i n c t i v e s t r a t e g y f o r soc ioeconomic development f o r the f i r s t t ime on the post 1949 h i s t o r i c a l s c e n e . 5 3 The s t r a t e g y which Mao invoked to a c h i e v e r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was a r e i t e r a t i o n of the s t r a t e g y which had f o r m a l l y g u i d e d the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l l a l o n g - - o n l y now i t was a p p l i e d w i t h much more r i g o u r and en thus iasm and i n v e s t e d w i t h i n f i n i t e l y more p o l i t i c a l consequence . Mao's J u l y speech d i d not mark the i n a u g u r a t i o n of c l a s s s t r u g g l e as a weapon f o r a c c o m p l i s h i n g s o c i a l and economic change i n s o c i a l i s t C h i n a , but i t d i d c o n s t i t u t e the, enshrinement of t h i s 5 3 M e i s n e r , p . 148. 51 c o n c e p t , to a s t a t u r e p o s s i b l y h i g h e r than i t had ever p r e v i o u s l y r e c e i v e d i n CCP h i s t o r y . The c l a s s - b a s e d s t r a t e g y for a c h i e v i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n c a l l e d f o r P a r t y and l o c a l c a d r e s to make common cause w i t h and u n i t e the poor peasant s and lower middle peasants who made up the m a j o r i t y of the r u r a l p o p u l a c e . A c c o r d i n g to Mao and o t h e r r u r a l s t r a t e g i s t s , i t was i n the m a t e r i a l s e l f - i n t e r e s t s of t h i s m a j o r i t y to \"take the s o c i a l i s t p a t h \" . T h e r e f o r e , i n p r e s s i n g f o r c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n the P a r t y c o u l d , i n t h e o r y , count on the automat ic support of a t l e a s t 60-70% of the r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n . R i c h peasants were to be p r o g r e s s i v e l y i s o l a t e d d u r i n g the c o u r s e of the c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n campaign; j u s t as l a n d l o r d s were the main c l a s s t a r g e t of l a n d re form r i c h peasants were the p r i n c i p a l c l a s s t a r g e t s d u r i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . They were to be p r o g r e s s i v e l y \" frozen out\" as the movement for forming c o l l e c t i v e s d e v e l o p e d . R i c h peasants (a long w i t h former l a n d l o r d s ) were not to be a l l o w e d to j o i n APCs w i t h i n the f i r s t two y e a r s of t h e i r o p e r a t i o n , i n o r d e r to ensure t h a t APCs would become c o n s o l i d a t e d i n the hands of the poor and lower m i d d l e peasant m a j o r i t y . 5 * 5 4 S e e Model Regulations for an Agricultural Producers' Cooper ati ve, ( P e k i n g : F o r e i g n Languages P r e s s , 1956). On the C C P ' s c l a s s - b a s e d s t r a t e g y for a c h i e v i n g s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , and the management of c l a s s 52 By any measure , Chinese peasants responded e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y to Mao's c a l l , i n a manner which seemed to c o n f i r m Mao's p o p u l i s t f a i t h t h a t most peasants had an a c t i v e d e s i r e to take the s o c i a l i s t r o a d . No mat ter t h a t many c o l l e c t i v e s were e s t a b l i s h e d h a s t i l y , n e a r l y o v e r n i g h t , and t h a t some e x i s t e d i n name o n l y : the amazing speed and e s s e n t i a l l y v o l u n t a r y and l a r g e l y n o n - v i o l e n t c h a r a c t e r of the movement was s u f f i c i e n t to s i l e n c e even Mao's most c y n i c a l c r i t i c s , f or the t ime b e i n g . In the weeks and months which f o l l o w e d Mao's speech \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the s o - c a l l e d \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n - - the movement to e s t a b l i s h f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s p r o c e e d e d w i t h a s w i f t n e s s t h a t a s t o n i s h e d even Mao (not to mention h i s s taunches t c r i t i c s ) , r a p i d l y o u t s t r i p p i n g the upwardly r e v i s e d t a r g e t s Mao h i m s e l f had set i n the J u l y speech . No one foresaw then tha t w i t h i n l i t t l e more than a year , , by December, 1956, Mao would be a b l e to p r o c l a i m the \" t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m \" i n the Chinese c o u n t r y s i d e \" b a s i c a l l y comple te\" . The s w i f t n e s s of the campaign o v e r a l l i s not e v i d e n c e of an e f f o r t l e s s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n the r u r a l l o c a l i t i e s t h e m s e l v e s . As the f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r s show, 5 \" ( c o n t ' d ) s t r u g g l e i n the v i l l a g e s , see Shue, p . 7-8 , 18, 29-30, 274, 288, 324-326, 337-341. 53 the c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e i n the Overseas Ch inese areas of r u r a l Guangdong f o l l o w e d a t r o u b l e d and p r o b l e m a t i c c o u r s e , marked by i d e o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n and u n c e r t a i n t y , and an uneasy and u l t i m a t e l y u n s u c c e s s f u l a l l i a n c e between the c l a s s - b o u n d s t r a t e g y of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n and the \" u n i t e d f r o n t \" aims of dome'stic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y . 54 CHAPTER I I : Ch inese S o c i a l i s m and the C o n t r a d i c t o r y Image of the Huaqi ao The H i s t o r i c a l L e g a c i e s of E m i g r a t i o n The Overseas Chinese a r e a s of r u r a l Guangdong r e p r e s e n t one of the most d i s t i n c t i v e and unique f e a t u r e s of t h a t p r o v i n c e ' s \" com p l i ca ted \" soc ioeconomic l a n d s c a p e . The r u r a l Overseas Ch inese areas h i s t o r i c a l l y were (and s t i l l a r e ) d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e upon the b a s i s of t h e i r s t r o n g p e r s o n a l and economic l i n k s w i t h the o u t s i d e wor ld (haiwai guanxi , ' overseas c o n n e c t i o n s ' ) , marked d i f f e r e n c e s i n wea l th and s o c i a l s t a t u s , s o u r c e s of income and l i v e l i h o o d , and , i n some c a s e s , even , d i f f e r e n c e s of language and c u l t u r e . E z r a V o g e l d e s c r i b e s the weight of the Overseas Chinese presence i n r u r a l Guangdong i n the f o l l o w i n g t erms . \"The v i l l a g e s s c a t t e r e d throughout the Kwangtung c o u n t r y s i d e , w i t h g r e a t e r w e a l t h , w i t h more e l a b o r a t e homes and modern p u b l i c b u i l d i n g s , are the communit ies w i t h p a r t i c u l a r l y c l o s e t i e s to Overseas C h i n e s e . A l t h o u g h few of these Overseas Ch inese adopted f o r e i g n r e l i g i o n or abandoned Chinese ways of thought , t h e i r presence has c o n t r i b u t e d to knowledge of f o r e i g n t e c h n o l o g y , to the s p i r i t of s c i e n t i f i c i n q u i r y , to 55 modern s p e c i a l i z e d o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and to o u t l e t s f o r f o r e i g n t r a d e . 5 5 The l a r g e and s i g n i f i c a n t Overseas Chinese presence which c o n f r o n t e d the C h i n e s e Communists i n South C h i n a d u r i n g the e a r l y 1950's ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 11 m i l l i o n r e t u r n e d Overseas Ch inese and Overseas Chinese f a m i l y dependents , a c c o r d i n g to PRC e s t i m a t e s ) r e p r e s e n t e d the h i s t o r i c l e g a c y of s e v e r a l c e n t u r i e s of C h i n e s e peasant e m i g r a t i o n from the overcrowded s o u t h e a s t e r n c o a s t a l p r o v i n c e s of C h i n a , ma in ly to Southeas t A s i a a n d , to a l e s s e r e x t e n t , the A m e r i c a s , C a r i b b e a n and P a c i f i c I s l a n d s and s c a t t e r e d o ther p a r t s of the g l o b e . H i s t o r i c a l l y , the bu lk of o v e r s e a s e m i g r a t i o n o r i g i n a t e d from t h r e e main a r e a s i n South C h i n a : the western p o r t i o n of Guangdong's P e a r l R i v e r D e l t a and the a d j a c e n t siyi ( f our c o u n t i e s ) a r e a , c o l l e c t i v e name f o r the four c o u n t i e s of K a i p i n g , E n p i n g , X i n h u i and T a i s h a n which l i e to the west of the d e l t a r e g i o n ; e a s t e r n Guangdong i n c l u d i n g M e i x i a n and Chaoshan c o u n t i e s , and Southern F u j i a n ; a n d , f i n a l l y , the n o r t h e a s t e r n t i p of Hainan I s l a n d . 5 6 5 5 V o g e l , p . 21. 5 6 0 n the d i s t r i b u t i o n of Overseas C h i n e s e communit ies in Guangdong, see L i a n g R e n c a i , Guangdong ji ngji diIi , ( B e i j i n g : Kexue Chubanshe, 1956). 56 E a s t e r n Guangdong and southern F u j i a n were the s o u r c e s of the e a r l i e s t Chinese e m i g r a n t s . S i n c e the f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y at l e a s t , Ch inese peasants had r e g u l a r l y d e p a r t e d t h i s area v i a the p o r t c i t i e s of Swatow, Amoy and Foochow f o l l o w i n g w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d junk t r a d e route s to Southeast A s i a . 5 7 Mass m i g r a t i o n d i d not b e g i n u n t i l w e l l l a t e r , i n the mid 19th c e n t u r y . I t deve loped i n response to twin p r e s s u r e s : a burgeoning demand f o r cheap l a b o u r to b u i l d the r a i l r o a d s and to work i n the mines and p l a n t a t i o n s of Southeast A s i a and the A m e r i c a s , and a mount ing i n t e r n a l r u r a l c r i s i s which by 1850 had reached d e s p e r a t e p r o p o r t i o n s due to the c o n f l u e n c e of s e v e r a l f a c t o r s . As the a u t h o r s of one recen t s tudy have w r i t t e n , \"Chinese m i g r a t i o n i s v e r y much a p r o d u c t of the major f o r c e s t h a t have shaped modern Chinese h i s t o r y - - p o p u l a t i o n p r e s s u r e , p o l i t i c a l weakness and d i s r u p t i o n , f o r e i g n i n t e r v e n t i o n , and a s e r i e s of n a t u r a l c a t a s t r o p h e s . \" 5 8 Peasants of the o v e r p o p u l a t e d P e a r l R i v e r d e l t a and the a d j a c e n t siyi a rea were one of the main sources f o r the human cargo which made up the infamous \" c o o l i e \" t r a d e i n i n d e n t u r e d l a b o u r (from 5 7 0 n the e a r l i e s t C h i n e s e m i g r a t i o n to Southeas t A s i a , see V i c t o r P u r c e l l , The Chinese in Southeast Asia, (London: O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1951), p . 11-38. 5 8 H a r r y Con et a l . , From China to Canada: A History of the Chinese Communities in Canada, e d . Edgar W i c k b e r g , ( T o r o n t o : M c C l e l l a n d and Stewart L t d . , 1982), p . 6. 57 the Chinese kul i , ' b i t t e r s t r e n g t h ' of the l a t e 19th and e a r l y 20th c e n t u r i e s . As the c o o l i e t r a d e s u b s i d e d , mass m i g r a t i o n c o n t i n u e d i n the form of s o - c a l l e d \"chain m i g r a t i o n \" , whereby f a m i l i e s and r e l a t i v e s j o i n e d p r e v i o u s m i g r a n t s . 5 9 Mass e m i g r a t i o n e v e n t u a l l y e v e n t u a l l y ground to a h a l t w i th the i m p o s i t i o n of r e s t r i c t i o n s and bans on Chinese i m m i g r a t i o n to N o r t h Amer ica ( f o r example the Ch inese E x c l u s i o n Act of 1923 i n C a n a d a ) , and to Southeast A s i a when the Second Wor ld War and the Japanese o c c u p a t i o n i n t e r v e n e d . Over t h i s p e r i o d of n e a r l y a c e n t u r y of mass e m i g r a t i o n , the home areas (jiaxiang) of the emigrants g r a d u a l l y e v o l v e d d i s t i n c t i v e demographic and soc ioeconomic f e a t u r e s which c l e a r l y set them a p a r t , i n many r e s p e c t s , from the r e s t of the Chinese peasant w o r l d of which they remained n o n e t h e l e s s a p a r t . 6 0 D e m o g r a p h i c a l l y , the home a r e a s of emigrants g r a d u a l l y e v o l v e d to c o n t a i n a preponderance of women, e l d e r l y , and young c h i l d r e n . 6 1 U n t i l w e l l i n t o the 20th c e n t u r y , i t was common p r a c t i c e for o n l y a b l e - b o d i e d males to m i g r a t e , i n p a r t because some 5 9 i b i d . , p . 5. 6 0 S e e Chen T a , Emigrant Communities in South China: A Study of Overseas Migration and its Influence on Standards of Living and Social Change, (New Y o r k : S e c r e t a r i a t , I n s t i t u t e of P a c i f i c R e l a t i o n s , 1940). 6 1 F i t z g e r a l d , p . 4. 58 c o u n t r i e s r e f u s e d e n t r y to C h i n e s e females so as to d i s c o u r a g e the f o r m a t i o n of permanent Chinese communi t i e s . But of e q u a l impor tance , i t was, ou tward ly at l e a s t , g e n e r a l l y regarded tha t m i g r a t i o n would be of temporary d u r a t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a s o j o u r n abroad i n the hope of amassing a p e r s o n a l f o r t u n e b e f o r e u l t i m a t e l y r e t u r n i n g to one ' s jiaxiang. Hence the o r i g i n of the C h i n e s e term used h i s t o r i c a l l y to d e s c r i b e these e m i g r a n t s : the huaqiao or \"Chinese s o u j o u r n e r s \" . 6 2 Many huaqiao, of c o u r s e , never r e t u r n e d , and many too l e f t t h e i r jiaxiang w i t h the i n t e n t i o n of not r e t u r n i n g . Those who went a b r o a d , however, tended to p r e s e r v e t a n g i b l e l i n k s w i t h t h e i r jiaxiang. One of the most important of these was the l i n k of r e g u l a r r e m i t t a n c e s f o r the support of f a m i l y dependents . The r e m i t t a n c e l i n k h i s t o r i c a l l y has been of enormous i m p o r t a n c e , whether looked at from the p e r s p e c t i v e of i n d i v i d u a l s , l o c a l economies or even the n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y . 6 3 In 1957 i t was e s t i m a t e d tha t r e m i t t a n c e s formed the p r i m a r y or s o l e source of income and l i v e l i h o o d f o r as many as o n e - t h i r d of the 6 2 T h e e v o l v i n g usage of t h i s term i s descussed i n Wang Gunguw, \" E x t e r n a l C h i n a as a New P o l i c y A r e a , \" Pacific Affairs 1 ( S p r i n g 1985). See a l s o F i t z g e r a l d , p . x. 6 3 0 n the importance of r e m i t t a n c e s to Guangdong i n the pre-1949 p e r i o d , see Yao C h e n g y i n , Guangdong sheng de huaqiao huikuan, (Shangwu y i n s h u g u a n , 1943). 59 c o u n t r y ' s then more than 10 m i l l i o n Overseas Ch inese f a m i l y d e p e n d e n t s . 6 * In these cases f a m i l y dependents o f t e n were e i t h e r u n w i l l i n g or unable (because of age or p h y s i c a l c a p a c i t y ) to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n t h e m s e l v e s . F u r t h e r m o r e i t was not uncommon f o r e n t i r e v i l l a g e economies to be near t o t a l l y dependent on the u n i n t e r r u p t e d flow of r e m i t t a n c e s . As w e l l , r e m i t t a n c e s had h i s t o r i c a l l y performed a v a l u a b l e f u n c t i o n in h e l p i n g o f f s e t the n a t i o n a l b a l a n c e of payments d e f i c i t . No l e s s f o r the communist government a f t e r 1949, r e m i t t a n c e s c o n t i n u e d to be viewed as an important source of f o r e i g n exchange e a r n i n g s . A c c o r d i n g to F i t z g e r a l d , the CCP appears to have expec ted r e m i t t a n c e s to form the main source of f o r e i g n exchange in the e a r l y 1950's - - i n v a l u e t erms , w e l l i n excess of the $ U . S . 300 m i l l i o n worth of c r e d i t s e x t r a c t e d from the S o v i e t Union under the terms of the S i n o - S o v i e t F r i e n d s h i p T r e a t y of 1 9 5 0 . 6 5 For a l l these r e a s o n s , r e m i t t a n c e s were to f i g u r e very p r o m i n e n t l y i n communist p o l i c i e s towards the Overseas Ch inese a f t e r 1 949. E c o n o m i c a l l y and s o c i a l l y , the h i s t o r i c a l e v o l u t i o n of the Overseas C h i n e s e home areas i s both 6 *(?/ aowubao 27 F e b r u a r y , 1957, p . 10. 6 5 S e e F i t z g e r a l d , p . 121-122. A l s o E c k s t e i n , p . 154-9 on the exact amount of S o v i e t a i d . 60 f a s c i n a t i n g and complex . D u r i n g the Qing p e r i o d and e a r l i e r , the s o c i a l s t a t u s of the huaqi ao had been even lower than merchants . F o l l o w i n g the 1911 r e v o l u t i o n t h i s s i t u a t i o n began to change , and the s o c i a l s t a t u s of the huaqi ao, i n c l u d i n g t h e i r dependents , rose s t e a d i l y t h e r e a f t e r - - u n t i l the communist p e r i o d when the c l a s s background of the huaqi ao became a c o n t e n t i o u s p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l i s s u e f o r the CCP. In the e a r l y p a r t of the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , r e t u r n e d Overseas C h i n e s e f r e q u e n t l y c o n s t i t u t e d a c l a s s of nouveaux riches i n the v i l l a g e s they r e t u r n e d t o , as was the case among members of the Guan l i n e a g e i n the Tuofu a r e a of K a i p i n g county near the P e a r l R i v e r d e l t a . 6 6 Former r e s i d e n t s of the Tuofu a r e a r e p o r t e d tha t a f t e r the f i r s t decade of t h i s c e n t u r y i n c r e a s i n g l y marked d i f f e r e n c e s began to appear between the a r e a ' s r i c h and poor i n h a b i t a n t s , i n terms of h o u s i n g , d r e s s and e a t i n g h a b i t s . The weal thy of the area were composed p r e d o m i n a n t l y of the f a m i l i e s of s u c c e s s f u l emigrants and l o c a l merchants . A f t e r 1920 s u c c e s s f u l Guan emigrant s to N o r t h America began e s t a b l i s h i n g s o - c a l l e d new v i l l a g e s (xi n cun) to house 6 6 Y u e n - f o n g Woon, Social Or gani zat i on in South China: The Case of the Kuan Lineage in K'ai-p'ing County, (Ann A r b o r : Center for Chnese S t u d i e s , U n i v e r s i t y of M i c h i g a n , 1984). 61 t h e i r r e l a t i v e s and dependents i n the Tuofu a r e a . 6 7 The b u i l d i n g s i n these new v i l l a g e s were f o r e i g n i n s t y l e (yang I ou) and u s u a l l y equipped wi th w e s t e r n - s t y l e a m e n i t i e s ; some were o u t f i t t e d w i t h manned watchtowers . The i n h a b i t a n t s of the new v i l l a g e s , a c c o r d i n g to e l d e r l y in formants r e s i d e n t a t the t i m e , became renowned f o r t h e i r sumptuous l i f e s t y l e , t h e i r c o n s p i c u o u s consumpt ion and l a v i s h indu lgence on r i t u a l c e l e b r a t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y weddings and f u n e r a l s . Many s p o r t e d western c l o t h i n g and f o l l o w e d western f a s h i o n s . E v e n t u a l l y , the new v i l l a g e s became neighbourhoods f o r p r o s p e r o u s merchants and modern s c h o l a r s as w e l l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i n o ther words, the l o c a l e l i t e ; w h i l e the o l d e r o r i g i n a l v i l l a g e ne ighbourhoods became i n h a b i t e d s o l e l y by tenant f a r m e r s , l a b o u r e r s and the f a m i l i e s of u n s u c c e s s f u l e m i g r a n t s . 6 8 Overseas C h i n e s e , i n the past and today as w e l l , r e v e a l an immense p r i d e over what they r e f e r to as t h e i r \"enduring f e e l i n g s of l o c a l a f f i n i t y \" (xiangtu qingyi). In p a r t i c u l a r , they have taken g r e a t p r i d e i n the c o n c r e t e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of t h i s e n d u r i n g a f f i n i t y . H i s t o r i c a l l y over the pas t c e n t u r y or more the Overseas 6 7 B y c o n t r a s t , i n e a s t e r n Guangdong and southern F u j i a n r e t u r n e d emigrants tended to e s t a b l i s h new ne ighbourhoods and inves tments i n the t r e a t y p o r t s of the a r e a such as Amoy and Swatow, r a t h e r than i n t h e i r home v i l l a g e s . 6 8 W o o n , p . 55-56. 62 Chinese have been prominent and important c o n t r i b u t o r s to the s o c i a l w e l f a r e and economic advancement of t h e i r home a r e a s , both thr ough f a m i l y r e m i t t a n c e s , and a l s o through inves tments and p h i l a n t h r o p i c p r o j e c t s and c o n t r i b u t i o n s . Overseas C h i n e s e c o n t r i b u t e d g r e a t l y , f or example, to the development of modern e d u c a t i o n i n Guangdong, b u i l d i n g s c h o o l s , t r a i n i n g t e a c h e r s and fund ing s c h o l a r s h i p s , e t c . , ( i n the 1920's f o r example , the T a i s h a n modern h i g h s c h o o l , b u i l t a lmost e n t i r e l y w i t h funds from T a i s h a n emigres to Canada, was s a i d to be the most modern h i g h s c h o o l i n a l l of C h i n a a t the t i m e ) 6 9 They a l s o i n v e s t e d h e a v i l y i n the b u i l d i n g of roads and r a i l r o a d s ( r a i l r o a d c o n s t r u c t i o n had a p a r t i c u l a r a t t r a c t i o n f o r Overseas Chinese i n v e s t o r s i n the l a t e 19th and 20th c e n t u r i e s , perhaps because of i t s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n ) as w e l l as mar i t ime t r a n s p o r t . They i n v e s t e d i n e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n p r o j e c t s i n t h e i r r u r a l home v i l l a g e s , and c o n t r i b u t e d to the m o d e r n i z a t i o n of market towns, where they o f t e n i n v e s t e d t h e i r overseas e a r n i n g s . By 1930 i n the market town of Qigan i n K a i p i n g , f or example, n i n e out of every 10 shops was owned by an Overseas Ch inese or f a m i l y dependent . The town i t s e l f had a c q u i r e d the nickname of \" L i t t l e Guangzhou\" because of the ex tent 6 9 S e e Con et a l . , p . 113. 63 and v a r i e t y of i t s modern a m e n i t i e s . 7 0 The human sent iments which u n d e r l i e the huaqi ao t r a d i t i o n of e n d u r i n g a f f i n i t y w i t h the jiaxiang are composed of a c o m p l i c a t e d m i x t u r e of f i l i a l p i e t y , s o c i a l p r e s t i g e , c u l t u r a l l y i n h e r i t e d c h a r i t a b l e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the a c q u i s i t i o n of weal'th, a s i n c e r e d e s i r e on the p a r t of emigres to see the b e n e f i t s of m o d e r n i z a t i o n bestowed upon t h e i r r e l a t i v e s and a n c e s t r a l homes, and f i n a l l y the s imple mot ive of f i n a n c i a l p r o f i t d e r i v e d from inves tment . Another important i n g r e d i e n t which deserves mention has been the d i s c r i m i n a t o r y p o l i c i e s p r a c t i c e d by governments i n many of the c o u n t r i e s of r e s i d e n c e of the Overseas C h i n e s e , and the p r e c a r i o u s p o l i t i c a l and economic c i r c u m s t a n c e s the Overseas C h i n e s e have h i s t o r i c a l l y f a c e d a b r o a d . To a s i g n i f i c a n t ex tent i t has been the f o r c e of these c i r c u m s t a n c e s which have made the Overseas Ch inese f e e l i t both n e c e s s a r y and wise to m a i n t a i n t h e i r v a r i o u s l i n k s w i t h C h i n a . A f t e r 1949 the Chinese Communists endeavoured to make themselves h e i r s to t h i s r i c h jiaxiang t r a d i t i o n . Of c o u r s e , i t a l s o was a v i t a l f a c t o r i n the l o c a l economies of the Overseas Chinese areas and t h e r e f o r e 7 0 W o o n , p . 31 . For a d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n of the v a r i o u s s o c i a l and economic endeavours of the Overseas Ch inese i n the Guan l i n e a g e of T u o f u , see p . 52-73 . 64 was something the CCP c o u l d not a f f o r d to s i m p l y i gnore e i t h e r . As w i l l be seen, the CCP went to s u b s t a n t i a l e f f o r t s to m a i n t a i n the t r a d i t i o n and to p r e s e r v e the v a r i o u s l i n k s which were b u i l t upon i t . Y e t , the Communists were a t the same time undoubted ly e q u a l l y concerned w i t h some of the l e s s savoury - - as f a r as they were concerned - - f e a t u r e s of the Overseas C h i n e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e i r homeland. Not a l l the l i n k s which d e v e l o p e d between emigrant s and t h e i r home a r e a s were i n f a c t as p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r e f f e c t s as many of those d e s c r i b e d above . One n e g a t i v e development - - which was to have s e v e r e l y d e t r i m e n t a l r e p e r c u s s i o n s for the Overseas Ch inese d u r i n g l a n d re form i n the e a r l y 1950's - - was the i n f l u x , s i n c e Wor ld War One, of l a r g e amounts of Overseas Chinese r e a l e s t a t e investment i n G u a n g d o n g . 7 1 Many of the p r o p e r t i e s p u r c h a s e d by Overseas Ch inese r e a l e s t a t e i n v e s t o r s were i n the f e r t i l e a l l u v i a l sands a r e a s of the d e l t a r e g i o n s , where l a n d c o n c e n t r a t i o n , p o p u l a t i o n p r e s s u r e , and r u r a l indebtedness were a l l p a r t i c u l a r l y s e v e r e . 7 2 The e f f e c t of t h i s i n f l u x of Overseas Chinese 7 1 The d i s c u s s i o n which f o l l o w s on t h i s s u b j e c t i s based m a i n l y on Robert Y . E n g , \" I n s t i t u t i o n a l and Secondary L a n d l o r d i s m i n the P e a r l R i v e r D e l t a , 1900-19491,\" Modern China 12 (January 1936): p . 20-25. 7 2 F o r p o p u l a t i o n s t a t i s t i c s and tenancy c o n d i t i o n s i n the d e l t a r e g i o n and South C h i n a i n g e n e r a l , see D a v i d F . K . I p , \"The Des ign of R u r a l Development: E x p e r i e n c e s from south C h i n a , 1949-1976.\" P h . D . d i s s e r t a t i o n , 65 r e a l e s t a t e investment was to cause a p r o l i f e r a t i o n of s o - c a l l e d secondary l a n d l o r d i s m (erlu dizhu). What happened, t y p i c a l l y , was t h a t , e s p e c i a l l y by the 1920's , groups of l o c a l merchants and wealthy compradores w i t h ' i d l e c a p i t a l ' banded t o g e t h e r to form s o - c a l l e d ' l a n d development companies ' which then r e n t e d the p r o p e r t i e s of 20-30 absentee l a n d l o r d s , u s u a l l y Overseas C h i n e s e , on a l o n g - t e r m b a s i s ( c o n t r a c t s n o r m a l l y were made out for 10 year p e r i o d s ) . The l a n d s were then s u b l e t to t e n a n t s on a s h o r t term b a s i s a c c o r d i n g to s h a r e c r o p p i n g arrangements , u s u a l l y as h i g h as 50-70% of the annua l h a r v e s t . These l a n d development companies q u i c k l y a c q u i r e d n o t o r i e t y for t h e i r e x p l o i t a t i v e p r a c t i c e s and w i n d f a l l p r o f i t s at the expense of impover i shed tenant f a r m e r s . Many e v e n t u a l l y expanded t h e i r h o l d i n g s to huge p r o p o r t i o n s . On the eve of l a n d re form i n Guangdong, Fang F a n g , then the p r o v i n c e ' s top o f f i c i a l (and s u b s e q u e n t l y the most important p e r s o n in charge of domest ic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y i n the PRC) accused one such company, the Ming Long T a n g , of s e i z i n g upon the advantage of the Japanese o c c u p a t i o n to \"grab up\" v a s t t r a c t s of l a n d in the P e a r l R i v e r d e l t a . 7 3 7 2 ( c o n t ' d ) U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , 1979. 7 3NFRB 6 November 1950 in CB 51. 66 A f i n a l aspec t of the huaqiao l e g a c y i n h e r i t e d by the CCP which deserves mention i s the h i s t o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p tha t has e x i s t e d between the huaqiao abroad and s u c c e s s i v e Chinese n a t i o n a l governments s i n c e the growth of Overseas Ch inese n a t i o n a l i s m in the l a t e 19th c e n t u r y and the f i r s t Q i n g a t tempts to tap Overseas Chinese w e a l t h . S i n c e t h a t t ime a l l n a t i o n a l governments i n C h i n a have a t t empted to woo the f i n a n c i a l and moral support of the huaqiao w i t h appea l s to t h e i r two grea t t r a d i t i o n s of p a t r i o t i s m and at tachment to t h e i r jiaxiang. R e l a t i o n s between the huaqiao and c e n t r a l Chinese governments were not always on t h i s f o o t i n g . For most of the l a t e i m p e r i a l p e r i o d , C h i n a ' s d y n a s t i c r u l e r s d e s p i s e d and d i s t r u s t e d the huaqiao, as r e a l or p o t e n t i a l f i f t h c o l u m n i s t s (not u n l i k e the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n view of the Overseas C h i n e s e , which a l s o r e g a r d e d them as s u b v e r s i v e f i f t h column elements i n s o c i e t y ) . In one of the f i r s t o f f i c i a l a c t s towards the Overseas C h i n e s e , the f i r s t Q i n g Emperor banned a l l e m i g r a t i o n from C h i n a , making i t a c r i m e p u n i s h a b l e by d e a t h . The ban was m o t i v a t e d by c o n c e r n f o r Overseas C h i n e s e support for Ming l o y a l i s t s and t h e i r at tempts to s tage a Ming r e s t o r a t i o n ; as w e l l as t h e i r a i d to a n t i - M a n c h u p i r a t e s l i k e Koxinga who had made p i r a c y an 67 endemic problem a long C h i n a ' s s o u t h e a s t e r n c o a s t . In 1717 the Gangxi Emperor summoned a l l h i s Overseas s u b j e c t s to r e t u r n home p r o m p t l y , and as a measure of h i s benevo lence was w i l l i n g to extend f u l l \"pardon\" to a l l those who had gone abroad s i n c e h i s r e i g n began, 57 y e a r s p r i o r . H i s s u c c e s s o r the Yongle Emperor t r i e d u n s u c c e s s f u l l y to implement a system of l i c e n s i n g f o r c o a s t a l r e s i d e n t s to go abroad for s h o r t p e r i o d s to t r a d e . F r u s t r a t e d , i n 1728 he forbade a l l those who went abroad u n l i c e n s e d ever to r e t u r n , upon p a i n of d e a t h . I t was the western powers, anx ious to secure s t eady s u p p l i e s of cheap l a b o u r , who e v e n t u a l l y f o r c e d the Q i n g r u l e r s to take a more t o l e r a n t view of e m i g r a t i o n . The Pek ing C o n v e n t i o n of 1860 c o n t a i n e d a c l a u s e by which the Qing r e c o g n i z e d the \" l e g a l r i g h t \" of i t s s u b j e c t s to e m i g r a t e , but the Qing law f o r b i d d i n g e m i g r a t i o n was not o f f i c i a l l y r e p e a l e d u n t i l 1893. When the Qing f i n a l l y d i d r e p e a l the ban on e m i g r a t i o n , i t was because i t had f u l l y awakened to the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of t a p p i n g Overseas Ch inese wea l th for C h i n a ' s m o d e r n i z a t i o n , and because i t was w i t n e s s i n g the growing involvement of the Overseas Chinese i n C h i n e s e domest ic p o l i t i c s and the b i r t h and upsurge of 68 Overseas Ch inese n a t i o n a l i s m . In the c l o s i n g decades of the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y m o n a r c h i s t s , c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s t s , and r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s a l l made a t tempts to c a r r y the s t r u g g l e s of domest ic Ch inese p o l i t i c s i n t o Overseas Chinese communi t i e s , where they each sought moral and f i n a n c i a l support for t h e i r c o n t e n d i n g c a u s e s . As e a r l y as 1867, some f a r - s i g h t e d Qing o f f i c i a l s had been begun u r g i n g t h a t Overseas Chinese w i t h s p e c i a l s k i l l s be c o n t a c t e d and e n t i c e d to r e t u r n to C h i n a . Somewhat l a t e r , c o n s u l a t e s c h o o l s were e s t a b l i s h e d i n Cuba and San F r a n c i s c o e x p r e s s l y for t h i s p u r p o s e . But i t was not 1893, i n i t s f i n a l d e a t h - t h r o e s , t h a t the Qing f i n a l l y adopted an a l l - o u t e f f o r t to a t t r a c t f i n a n c i a l investment and support from Overseas C h i n e s e , e s p e c i a l l y the ' m a n d a r i n - c a p i t a l i s t s ' of the nanyang ( ' S o u t h e r n O c e a n ' ; Southeast A s i a ) . 7 4 H i s t o r i a n s have l a r g e l y i g n o r e d these Qing o v e r t u r e s to the Overseas C h i n e s e , i n p a r t because i t has been assumed, wi thout much d i r e c t e v i d e n c e , tha t the m a j o r i t y of Overseas Chinese were a n t i - M a n c h u and s i d e d 7 \" T h e s e Q i n g e f f o r t s form the s u b j e c t of a recent book by M i c h a e l G o d l e y , The Mandarin-Capitalists from Nanyang: Overseas Chinese Enterprise in the Modernization of China, 1893-1911, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1981). See a l s o Edgar W i c k b e r g , The Chinese in Philippine Life, 1950-1898, (New Haven: Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1965). 69 w i t h the re formers and r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s . In f a c t , most Overseas Chinese were a p o l i t i c a l , and of the m i n o r i t y t h a t were p o l i t i c a l l y a c t i v e , many of the most p o w e r f u l and i n f l u e n t i a l were slow to suppor t Sun Yat Sen's concept of r e v o l u t i o n . Godley p r o v i d e s i n t e r e s t i n g e v i d e n c e that when the c a l l f i n a l l y came from the b e l e a g u e r e d d y n a s t y , many Overseas Ch inese c a p i t a l i s t s responded w i t h d e c i d e d enthus iasm and some m a t e r i a l s u p p o r t . In these l a s t d i t c h e f f o r t s were born some of the same measures which s u c c e s s i v e Ch inese governments s i n c e have c o p i e d to woo Overseas Chinese s u p p o r t , i n c l u d i n g the communist government s i n c e 1949. Qing o f f i c i a l s , f or example, undertook v a r i o u s e f f o r t s to f a c i l i t a t e freedom of movement f o r r e t u r n i n g bus inessmen, i n c l u d i n g the c r e a t i o n of s p e c i a l p a s s p o r t s . And they e s t a b l i s h e d a r e c e p t i o n o f f i c e i n Guangzhou to g r e e t , in form and accommodate r e t u r n i n g Overseas Ch inese businessmen \u00E2\u0080\u0094 an i n s t i t u t i o n e x a c t l y r e p l i c a t e d by the PRC h a l f a c e n t u r y l a t e r . The quest to woo Overseas Chinese wea l th for C h i n a ' s m o d e r n i z a t i o n g r e a t l y expanded f o l l o w i n g the 1911 R e v o l u t i o n . The GMD began as an e s s e n t i a l l y Overseas Chinese P a r t y , w i t h i t s s t r o n g e s t r o o t s of suppor t i n Guangdong. The 1911 r e v o l u t i o n was p a r t l y 70 f i n a n c e d by Overseas Ch inese c o n t r i b u t i o n s . I t was no s u r p r i s e t h e n , tha t w i t h i n a few months of assuming power the new r e p u b l i c a n government d i s p a t c h e d i t s f i r s t ' f a c t f i n d i n g ' m i s s i o n to the nanyang to e x p l o r e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of g r e a t e r commerc ia l and p o l i t i c a l c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h huaqi ao c o m m u n i t i e s . In 1921 the GMD e s t a b l i s h e d on Overseas C h i n e s e A f f a i r s O f f i c e i n Guangzhou, which i n 1926 became the Overseas Chinese A f f a i r s Commission (OCAC). The CCP i n 1949 c r e a t e d i t s own OCAC, e x a c t l y m o d e l l e d a f t e r the GMD i n s t i t u t i o n . A l s o i n 1926 the GMD l a i d down the three b a s i c o b j e c t i v e s of i t s Overseas C h i n e s e p o l i c y : to guarantee e q u a l treatment f o r Overseas C h i n e s e i n the c o u n t r i e s of t h e i r r e s i d e n c e , to encourage t h e i r r e t u r n to Ch ina for e d u c a t i o n , and to encourage t h e i r inves tments for the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of the m o t h e r l a n d . Beyond t h i s the GMD government urged the Overseas Chinese to i d e n t i f y w i t h C h i n a and C h i n e s e p o l i t i c s , and to d i s t a n c e themselves from the c u l t u r e and p o l i t i c s of t h e i r c o u n t r i e s of r e s i d e n c e . The GMD a l s o c o n t i n u e d to observe the p r i n c i p l e of jus sanguinis i n t h e i r n a t i o n a l i t y p o l i c y for Overseas Ch inese - - a p r i n c i p l e tha t was f i r s t expres sed i n the Qing N a t i o n a l i i t y Act of 1909 and s y m b o l i z e d the complete turnabout i n Qing a t t i t u d e s towards the Overseas C h i n e s e . I t c r e a t e d 71 problems of d u a l n a t i o n a l i t y which c o n t i n u e d to p lague the Chinese Communists more than 40 y e a r s l a t e r . Under i t s t erms , a C h i n e s e s u b j e c t (and l a t e r a c i t i z e n under the r e p u b l i c ) was regarded as anyone born of a C h i n e s e f a t h e r , r e g a r d l e s s of c o u n t r y of b i r t h . I n t e r n a l l y , the GMD c o n t i n u e d to woo Overseas Chinese investment and r e m i t t a n c e s , an e f f o r t to which the C h i n e s e Communists would a l s o commit themselves i n the e a r l y 1950's . The CCP's Contradictory View of the Huaqiao The huaqiao l e g a c y i n h e r i t e d by the Ch inese Communists was thus both c o n s i d e r a b l e and c o m p l i c a t e d . In a d d i t i o n to c o n f r o n t i n g the problems posed by the unique demographic and economic f e a t u r e s of the Overseas Ch inese a r e a s , and the n e c e s s i t y of making d e c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g the n a t u r e and c o n t i n u a n c e of t h e i r v a r i o u s l i n k s a b r o a d , the Ch inese Communists had a l s o to take account of the unique r o l e Chinese n a t i o n a l i s m had a s s i g n e d to the huaqi ao s i n c e the l a t e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . But i n the e f f o r t s they undertook to c o n v i n c e the huaqi ao they were the r i g h t f u l h e i r s of the g l o r i o u s Overseas Chinese t r a d i t o n s of p a t r i o t i s m and support f o r t h e i r jiaxiang, the Chinese Communists 72 found themselves e m b r o i l e d in p e r s i s t e n t and v e x i n g i d e o l o g i c a l , mora l and economic di lemmas, f o r which t h e r e was u n f o r t u n a t e l y no s imple way o u t . The g o a l s of Ch inese s o c i a l i s m d i d not r e s t e a s i l y w i t h the huaqiao l e g a c y . In f a c t , the huaqiao l e g a c y c o n s t i t u t e d one of the C C P ' s most d i f f i c u l t and t a x i n g h i s t o r i c a l i n h e r i t a n c e s . I d e o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n over who and what the huaqiao r e p r e s e n t to s o c i a l i s t C h i n a has been an ongoing problem for w e l l over 30 y e a r s , s i n c e the found ing of. the P e o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c . E t h n i c l o y a l i s t s who c o u l d be made to j o i n a \" p a t r i o t i c u n i t e d f r o n t \" (aiguo tongyi zhanxian); members w i t h i n the broad ranks of the \" l a b o u r i n g people\" (laodong renmin); or c a p i t a l i s t f i f t h column agents and enemy w i t h i n ; i n n a t e l y non-and a n t i - c o m m u n i s t (Overseas Ch inese areas were among the major GMD support areas i n Guangdong) - -a l l of these c o n t r a d i c t o r y views of the huaqi ao have found e x p r e s s i o n w i t h i n the P a r t y over the pas t 30 y e a r s . For the CCP s i m p l y d e f i n i n g who and what the huaqi ao a re has been an e x c r u c i a t i n g d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m . One ge t s a sense of the agon ie s of how to d e a l w i t h the huaqi ao, i d e o l o g i c a l l y , from L i a o C h e n g z h i ' s 1978 r e t r o s p e c t i v e look back on the treatment of the huaqi ao over the c o u r s e of t h r e e decades of PRC h i s t o r y . L i a o 73 was the son of He X i a n g n i n g (Madame L i a o Zhong K a i ) head of the R e v o l u t i o n a r y GMD and Chairman of the OCAC from 1949 u n t i l her r e t i r e m e n t and death i n 1959. Even t h e n , as a V i c e - c h a i r m a n of the OCAC, L i a o was the key f i g u r e i n t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n , h i s mother s e r v i n g more as a symbol ic l i n k w i t h Sun Yat Sen w i t h whom both she and her 'husband had e a r l i e r s e r v e d . 7 5 L i a o succeeded h i s mother and remained i n t h a t r o l e u n t i l h i s own d e a t h a few y e a r s ago . The o c c a s i o n for L i a o ' s r e t r o s p e c t i v e look a t the h i s t o r y of Overseas Ch inese p o l i c y i n the PRC p u b l i s h e d as a Renmin Ribao e d i t o r i a l - - was a c e l e b r a t i o n of the d e f e a t of the Gang of Four and an end to the v i c i o u s p e r s e c u t i o n i n f l i c t e d upon Overseas Chinese by the Gang and i t s s u p p o r t e r s . 7 6 I t was a l s o to mark the s t a r t of a new e r a for the domest i c Overseas C h i n e s e , when t h e i r \"overseas c o n n e c t i o n s \" (haiwai guanxi ) not o n l y would be a p p r e c i a t e d but a c t i v e l y sought a f t e r by pos t -Gang of Four C h i n a under Deng X i a o p i n g . The Gang's view of the huaqiao -- and the g e n e r a l C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n view of the huaqiao -was t h a t they were t a i n t e d by t h e i r haiwai guanxi, which were c a p i t a l i s t i n na ture and , t h e r e f o r e , 7 5 F i t z g e r a l d . , p . 16. 7 6 L i a o Chengzhi , - \"Pipan \"s irenbang\" suowei \"haiwai guanxi\" wenti de fandong l u n , \" i n bixu zhongshi qi ao wu zhengci , ( B e i j i n g : renmin chubanshe , 1978). 74 i n n a t e l y e v i l . 7 7 More than t h i s , domest ic Overseas Ch inese were r o u n d l y p e r s e c u t e d d u r i n g the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n as a t r a i t o r o u s f i f t h column for c a p i t a l i s m i n s o c i a l i s t C h i n a a t the same t i m e , i r o n i c a l l y , as the f lames of the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n were f u e l l i n g Southeast A s i a n f e a r s that the Overseas Ch inese were f u n c t i o n i n g as a f i f t h column f o r the spread of C h i n e s e Communism o v e r s e a s . The C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n view of the huaqi ao r e p r e s e n t e d the u l t r a - l e f t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of an i d e o l o g i c a l a m b i g u i t y which has always been p r e s e n t i n the PRC and whose r e s o l u t i o n has p e r s i s t e n t l y e l u d e d the CCP, d e s p i t e the e f f o r t s of persons l i k e L i a o Chengzhi to put the best p o s s i b l e face on the q u e s t i o n a b l e i d e o l o g i c a l s t a t u s of the huaqi ao and t h e i r dependents . L i a o Chengzhi c o u n t e r e d the Gang ' s view of the e s s e n t i a l r o t t e n n e s s of o v e r s e a s c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h the view tha t l i v i n g i n c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y d i d not render the huaqi ao a u t o m a t i c a l l y t a i n t e d - - a f t e r a l l , he s a i d , d i d not the huaqi ao a l s o l i v e under the gun of c o l o n i a l i s m and s u f f e r from the e f f e c t s of i m p e r i a l i s m ? And , he went on , d i d not the Overseas C h i n e s e have a g l o r i o u s h e r i t a g e of 7 7 0 n the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n a t t a c k on the Overseas Ch inese and p r e v i o u s Overseas Chinese p o l i c y , see F i t z g e r a l d , p . 162-184. 75 p a t r i o t i s m , as e v i d e n c e d by t h e i r support f o r the 1911 r e v o l u t i o n , t h e i r a i d to the E i g h t Route Army and the New F o u r t h Army, and even t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n of l i f e , i t s e l f d u r i n g the \"war to a i d Korea and r e s i s t A m e r i c a \" ? 7 8 In L i a o ' s v iew, the task of Overseas Ch inese p o l i c y was to form a ' p a t r i o t i c u n i t e d f r o n t ' (aiguo tongyi zhanxian) composed of a l l Overseas C h i n e s e , i g n o r i n g such c l a s s d i f f e r e n c e s as might e x i s t among them. To c o r r e c t l y unders tand the c l a s s s t a t u s of the Overseas C h i n e s e , s a i d L i a o , i t was n e c e s s a r y to adopt an h i s t o r i c a l approach to the p r o b l e m . In the f i r s t p l a c e , the m a j o r i t y of huaqiao were o r i g i n a l l y poor peasants from South C h i n a , who had l e f t t o escape p o v e r t y , e x p l o i t a t i o n and the t y r a n n i c a l r u l e of the Manchus. F u r t h e r m o r e , r i g h t up u n t i l now, he s a i d , the \"vast m a j o r i t y \" of the huaqi ao remained w i t h i n the ranks of the \" l a b o u r i n g people\" (Iaodong renmin) - - a c a t e g o r y he d e f i n e d i n r a t h e r broad terms to i n c l u d e w o r k e r s , p e a s a n t s , i n t e l l e c t u a l s , p e t t y t r a d e r s and m e r c h a n t s . 7 9 The term i s c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t from the communist c o n c e p t i o n of \"c las s\" (jieji) which L i a o n e v e r t h e l e s s employed a l o n g s i d e i t , when he went on to i n s i s t t h a t o n l y a s m a l l number of huaqiao a c t u a l l y had 7 8 L i a o , p . 14. 7 9 i b i d . , p . 18. 76 r i s e n i n t o the c a p i t a l i s t c l a s s (ziben j i e j i ) . Most of these Overseas Ch inese c a p i t a l i s t s were, a c c o r d i n g to L i a o , o n l y s m a l l and medium-s ized c a p i t a l i s t s . A l l these g r o u p s , L i a o m a i n t a i n e d , s h o u l d be made the o b j e c t of a p a t r i o t i c u n i t e d f r o n t , not o n l y because of the h i s t o r i c a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s of t h e i r m i g r a t i o n and l i f e o v e r s e a s , but a l s o because of the h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d of t h e i r p a t r i o t i c c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the m o t h e r l a n d . The prob lem encountered by t h i s view was tha t i t c o l l i d e d w i t h the growing importance i n C h i n a d u r i n g the 1950's - - p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h the a c c e l e r a t i o n of the movement f o r s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n - - of the concept s of c l a s s (jieji), c l a s s s t a t u s (jieji chengfen) and c l a s s s t r u g g l e (jieji douzheng) as weapons f o r a c h i e v i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y s o c i a l and economic c h a n g e . 8 0 The c l a s s s t a t u s of the huaqiao and t h e i r dependents , (who were a l s o i n c l u d e d i n the p a t r i o t i c 8 0 T h e r u r a l chengfen were was f o l l o w s : poor p e a s a n t s , l o w e r - m i d d l e p e a s a n t s , upper middle peasants and the \"four bad t y p e s : r i c h p e a s a n t s , l a n d l o r d s , c o u n t e r r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s and \"bad e l e m e n t s . \" On the growing importance of c l a s s i n Chinese v i l l a g e s a f t e r 1949, see A n i t a C h a n , R i c h a r d Madsen, and Jonathan Unger , Chen Village: The Recent History of a Peasant Community in Mao's China, ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1984) and R i c h a r d Madsen, Power and Morality in a Chinese Village ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1984) . On the e v o l u t i o n of the C C P ' s chang ing c o n c e p t i o n of c l a s s and the p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s , see R i c h a r d K r a u s , Class Conflict in Chinese Socialism, (New Y o r k : Co lumbia U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , ; 1 9 8 1 ) . 77 f r o n t ) , was murky, c o m p l i c a t e d , and e x c e e d i n g l y d i f f i c u l t to de termine on the b a s i s of the u s u a l c r i t e r i a . That t h i s was so was due e n t i r e l y to t h e i r ' o v e r s e a s c o n n e c t i o n s ' and the p e c u l i a r f e a t u r e s of t h e i r soc ioeconomic e x i s t e n c e : t h e i r dependence on r e m i t t a n c e s , t h e i r u n w i l l i n g n e s s to engage in a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , t h e i r f o r c e d requirement to rent out t h e i r l a n d h o l d i n g s because the main source of f a m i l y l a b o u r power was o v e r s e a s , e t c . As the d i s c u s s i o n on l a n d re form in the next c h a p t e r shows, c l a s s s t a t u s was to become one of the most c o n f u s i n g and v e x i n g problems f o r the CCP i n d e a l i n g w i t h the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . The p o l i c y of u n i t i n g a l l huaqiao and t h e i r dependents i n a p a t r i o t i c f r o n t c o l l i d e d w i t h the p r e s c r i b e d c l a s s - b a s e d s t r a t e g y for a c c o m p l i s h i n g the s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e . . A c c o r d i n g to t h i s s t r a t e g y , c a d r e s were supposed to r e l y on the poor and m i d d l e peasants and p r o g r e s s i v e l y i s o l a t e r i c h p e a s a n t s . Cadres working w i t h i n the mass o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h the d u a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of implement ing Overseas C h i n e s e p o l i c y and a l s o m o b i l i z i n g domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e to p a r t i c i p a t e i n s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , c o m p l a i n e d f r e q u e n t l y , however, of b e i n g f r u s t r a t e d and u n c e r t a i n of whether to e x p l o i t c l a s s d i f f e r e n c e s among 78 domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e , or whether to s t r i v e to paper these d i f f e r e n c e s over i n the i n t e r e s t s of p r e s e r v i n g a u n i t e d f r o n t . 8 1 A m b i g u i t y , t o o , surrounded the d e f i n i t i o n of the v e r y n a t u r e of the \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" (tedian) of Overseas Chinese f a m i l y dependents . D u r i n g l a n d refo'rm t h e r e were widespread r e p o r t s t h a t c a d r e s were d e t e r m i n i n g the c l a s s s t a t u s of dependents on the b a s i s of the amount of r e m i t t a n c e s they r e c e i v e d ; d u r i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n there were f requent r e p o r t s of c a d r e s \" m o b i l i z i n g \" (dongyuan) p r i v a t e r e m i t t a n c e s f o r the use of the A P C . Many c a d r e s and members of the g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n regarded r e m i t t a n c e s as undeserved income, because they were not the f r u i t s of one ' s own l a b o u r , and because they enab led many dependents to l e a d l i v e s of c o m p a r a t i v e l u x u r y , s c o r n i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n and the communist v i r t u e s of h a r d work. L i a o C h e n g z h i ' s i n j u n c t i o n t h a t r e c e i v i n g r e m i t t a n c e s from o v e r s e a s was r e a l l y no d i f f e r e n t than o r d i n a r y peasants r e c e i v i n g funds from f a m i l y members employed i n the c i t y , 8 2 c o u l d not have been very c o n v i n c i n g to many p e a s a n t s and o f f i c i a l s r e s e n t f u l of what seemed to them undue p r i v i l e g e s a c c o r d e d to a group of persons of d u b i o u s i d e o l o g i c a l p u r i t y . s*Qiaowubao 17 December, 1956, p . 13. 8 2 L i a o , p . 19. 79 In f a c t , the p o p u l a r image of the huaqiao d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d was c o m p l e t e l y a t odds w i t h the communist v i r t u e s the CCP was a t t e m p t i n g to promote among i t s c i t i z e n r y . A t y p i c a l e d i t o r i a l which appeared i n the Renmin Ribao i n November, 1954, on the eve of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , p r o v i d e s a good sense of the k i n d of communist moral v i r t u e s a c t i v e l y p r o p a g a t e d in the mid 1950's , and of the way t h i s new communist m o r a l i t y c l a s h e d w i t h the p o p u l a r image of domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . 8 3 The e d i t o r i a l , e n t i t l e d \" R e s o l u t e l y S t r i v e to C u l t i v a t e Communist V i r t u e s i n the Younger G e n e r a t i o n , \" i d e n t i f i e d three key communist v i r t u e s . The f i r s t of these was \"love of l a b o u r \" . The e d i t o r i a l s t a t e d t h a t \"love of l a b o u r i s a s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of communist v i r t u e . We s h o u l d t r a i n our younger g e n e r a t i o n to a c q u i r e the noble q u a l i t y of l o v i n g and r e s p e c t i n g l a b o u r , and educate them to a c t i v e l y engage i n l a b o u r . . . t o overcome t h e i r l o v e of l e i s u r e and resentment of l a b o u r , e s p e c i a l l y p h y s i c a l l a b o u r . . . \" The e d i t o r i a l then went on to urge t h a t \"We s h o u l d promote among our youth the c r e a t i v e s p i r i t and overcome the i d e a l of dependence and c o n s e r v a t i s m . F i n a l l y , the e d i t o r i a l h e l d t h a t \" F r u g a l i t y i s a f i n e t r a d i t i o n of the Ch inese p e o p l e , and a v i r t u e 8 3RMRB 14 November 1954. 80 r e c o g n i z e d by a l l . The younger g e n e r a t i o n s h o u l d be ta u g h t t o c o n t i n u e t h i s t r a d i t i o n and oppose l u x u r y . We endorse l e i s u r e . . . but i t must be the f r u i t of one's own l a b o u r \" . The c o n t r a s t of t h e s e v i r t u e s w i t h the p o p u l a r image of domestic Overseas C h i n e s e c o u l d not be more s t r i k i n g . In the f i r s t p l a c e , w i t h r e g a r d t o the communist v i r t u e of \" l o v i n g l a b o u r , \" the domesti c Overseas C h i n e s e -- e s p e c i a l l y the g r e a t m a j o r i t y who r e l i e d on r e m i t t a n c e s f o r t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d -- were renowned f o r t h e i r t o t a l d i s d a i n of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n and manual l a b o u r i n g e n e r a l . So wi d e s p r e a d and s e r i o u s was t h i s problem t h a t i n 1953 the Guangdong a u t h o r i t i e s convened the F i r s t Guangdong P r o v i n c i a l O verseas C h i n e s e Dependents R u r a l P r o d u c t i o n C o n f e r e n c e , w i t h the aim of overcoming t h i s d i s d a i n f o r p r o d u c t i o n and f o s t e r i n g among them the concept t h a t \" l a b o u r i s g l o r i o u s \" . The Co n f e r e n c e adopted the view t h a t m o b i l i z i n g d o m e s t i c Overseas C h i n e s e t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n was the \" p r i n c i p a l t a s k \" i n Overseas C h i n e s e a f f a i r s . 8 4 In 1955 He X i a n g n i n g , i n her c a p a c i t y as Chairman of the C e n t r a l OCAC, c o m p l a i n e d t h a t the r e t u r n e d Overseas C h i n e s e \"had no d e s i r e t o s e t t l e down i n the r u r a l 8 4CWS 29 October 1953 i n SCMP 681. 81 v i l l a g e s \" , and she r o u n d l y c a s t i g a t e d dependents for \" b e l i t t l i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n \" and f a i l i n g to r e a l i z e t h a t to engage i n l a b o u r was a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of p a t r i o t i s m as w e l l as n e c e s s a r y f o r the p r o g r e s s of the n a t i o n s ' s i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n . 8 5 The communist v i r t u e s of \"hardwork and p l a i n l i v i n g \" (jianku pusu) c l e a r l y were seen to be m i s s i n g i n the a t t i t u d e s of the many domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e . L i k e w i s e , the concept of \"overcoming dependence\" and s t r i v i n g f o r s e l f - r e l i a n c e d i d not f i t e a s i l y w i t h the dependence of most domest ic Overseas Chinese upon r e m i t t a n c e s from a b r o a d . R e m i t t a n c e s , as n o t e d , e n a b l e d many domest ic Overseas Chinese to l i v e s of c o m p a r a t i v e l u x u r y , 8 6 noted f o r consp icuous consumption and l a v i s h i n d u l g e n c e i n \" f e u d a l \" r i t u a l c e l e b r a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g a n c e s t o r w o r s h i p , geomancy (fengshui) and e l a b o r a t e weddings and f u n e r a l s . 8 7 Thus the domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e a l s o were not known for t h e i r adherence to the communist v i r t u e of \" f r u g a l i t y \" *5CNS 7 F e b u r a r y 1955 i n SCMP 985. 8 6 I n Chen V i l l a g e , the I n d o n e s i a n - b o r n \"Overseas Deng\" f a l l s i n t o t h i s c a t e g o r y . A c c o r d i n g to R i c h a r d Masden, \"his f o r e i g n c o n n e c t i o n s and h i s e v i d e n t weal th made him appear s i n i s t e r to many of the v i l l a g e r s . \" See Madsen, p . 125. 8 7 T h e F e b r u a r y 1955 S t a t e C o u n c i l decree on p r o t e c t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s even went so f a r as to guarantee t h e i r l e g i t i m a t e use use f o r such p u r p o s e s . See RMRB 3 March 1955. The l o c a l p r e s s s u b s e q u e n t l y p r i n t e d many s t o r i e s c e l e b r a t i n g the i n d u l g e n c e of domest ic Overseas C h i n e s e i n these v a r i o u s r i t u a l s . 82 e i t h e r ; i f a n y t h i n g the p o p u l a r image of the domestic Overseas C h i n e s e i n t h i s p e r i o d tended t o be the o p p o s i t e extreme. These c o n t r a d i t i o n s , between the p o p u l a r image of domestic Overseas C h i n e s e and o f f i c a l communist m o r a l i t y , i n e f f e c t s e r v e d o n l y t o h e i g h t e n the i d e o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n which surrounded the r o l e of the huaqi ao and t h e i r dependents i n s o c i a l i s t C h i n a . The Emergence of a Policy of Special P r i v i l e g e s for Domestic Overseas Chinese CCP p o l i c y from 1954-1957 added c o n s i d e r a b l y t o the i d e o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n and u n c e r t a i n t y s u r r o u n d i n g the huaqi ao. By l a t e 1954 the CCP had d e c i d e d t o embark on a c o u r s e whose aim was t o p r o t e c t and p r e s e r v e the \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" of the domestic Overseas C h i n e s e , i n o r d e r t o s e c u r e the f i n a n c i a l and moral s u p p o r t of the huaqi ao and t h e i r dependents, w i t h i n and o u t s i d e of C h i n a . At the c o r e of t h i s a pproach was the e r e c t i o n of a s e r i e s of p r i v i l e g e s r e l a t i n g t o changes i n c l a s s s t a t u s , p r o t e c t i o n of r e m i t t a n c e s and s p e c i a l r e g u l a t i o n s g o v e r n i n g Overseas C h i n e s e i n v e s t m e n t i n C h i n a . The CCP was a t bottom u l t i m a t e l y m o t i v a t e d by economic c o n c e r n s : e i t h e r t o sec u r e economic growth t h r o u g h i n c r e a s e d i n v e s t m e n t s , 83 or to preserve the economic s t a b i l i t y of l o c a l areas whose economies were u t t e r l y dependent on the smooth flow of remittances. As well, remittances had an important foreign exchange value to the national economy. The r e s u l t , in the mid 1950's, was the creation of a p r i v i l e g e d class in rural Chinese soci'ety, at a time when the nation as a whole was deeply engrossed in the e f f o r t to transform i t s e l f into a s o c i a l i s t society. The goals of s o c i a l revolution c o l l i d e d , and ultimately triumphed over, the goals of economic growth and s t a b i l i t y which were at the core of the special p r i v i l e g e s accorded to the domestic Overseas Chinese s t a r t i n g in 1954. The f i r s t sign that Overseas Chinese policy was moving towards the creation of a pr i v i l e g e d status for domestic Overseas Chinese came in December 1954 with the decision to change the class status of Overseas Chinese landlords ahead of schedule, to that of peasant status. This was a bold decision at the time because the ARL had e a r l i e r s t i p u l a t e d that landlords should not be allowed to have t h e i r class status altered for a minimum of f i v e years, while they 'reformed themselves through l a b o u r ' . 8 8 8 8 A g r a r i a n REform Law, p. 65. The decision to change the class status of Overseas Chinese landlords was announced in CNS 7 Feburary 1955, in SCMP 985. 84 The d e c i s i o n took the p o s i t i o n that most Overseas Chinese l a n d l o r d s had been wrongly c l a s s i f i e d during land reform (land reform i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong i s discussed i n the f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r ) . O f f i c i a l announcement of the change was accompanied by a great deal of p u b l i c i t y and f a n f a r e . In a d d i t i o n to d i s p a t c h i n g work teams to the v i l l a g e s to oversee the change, le a d i n g Party and government o f f i c i a l s l i k e Fang Fang and Tao Zhu (at the time A c t i n g Head at the Guangdong p r o v i n c i a l government; l a t e r the most important leader i n the province u n t i l the C u l t u r a l Revolution) undertook to t r a v e l p e r s o n a l l y to v i l l a g e s i n the Overseas Chinese areas of west, c e n t r a l and eastern Guangdong, where p u b l i c meetings were convened f o r the purpose of having these l e a d i n g o f f i c i a l s announce the d e c i s i o n before the e n t i r e v i l l a g e . The involvement of the province's highest o f f i c i a l s i n t h i s manner i s s i g n i f i c a n t . I t i n d i c a t e d not only the extreme importance the CCP attached to the measure, but a l s o the Party's perception that only through such grass roots involvement on the part of high o f f i c i a l s would the l o c a l populace be convinced of the s t a t e ' s s i n c e r i t y and the l e v e l of i t s commitment. Since the problem was a l l e g e d to have been due i n the f i r s t place i n part to mistakes committed by b a s i c 85 l e v e l cadres, the CCP may have f e a r e d the d e c i s i o n would have l a c k e d the necessary c r e d i b i l i t y i f i t was propogated s o l e l y by l o c a l c a d r e s . 8 9 Enactment of the d e c i s i o n was accompanied by r e p o r t s i n the l o c a l p r e s s of f e a s t i n g and c e l e b r a t i o n on the p a r t of newly v i n d i c a t e d domestic Overseas Chinese. In the v i l l a g e s , red p o s t e r s were put up d a i l y to p r o c l a i m those whose s t a t u s had been changed, and the press a l s o f o l l o w e d the progress of the campaign with r e g u l a r announcements of the i n c r e a s i n g numbers who had t h e i r s t a t u s changed. In the course of the campaign many s t o r i e s a l s o appeared p o r t r a y i n g an end to the o s t r a c i z a t i o n of Overseas Chinese w r o n g f u l l y l a b e l l e d as l a n d l o r d s . One such s t o r y , f o r example, t o l d of a young Overseas Chinese with l a n d l o r d s t a t u s who had r e c e n t l y been in t r o d u c e d to a g i r l from a r e s p e c t a b l e peasant f a m i l y , with the o b j e c t of matrimony. The g i r l ' s f a m i l y balked at the idea when they l e a r n t of h i s s t a t u s , but when i t was r e p e a l e d they changed t h e i r minds and, overjoyed, announced t h e i r immediate a p p r o v a l f o r the marriage to p r o c e e d . 9 0 \"Communicating and p o p u l a r i z i n g domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y at the grass roots l e v e l was i n f a c t a p e r s i s t e n t and b e d e v i l l i n g problem f o r the CCP. He Xiangning complained of i t v i g o r o u s l y to the F i r s t S e s s i o n of the NPC. NCNA 26 September 1954 i n SCMP 898. 9 0HK DGB 8 February 1955 i n SCMP 984. 86 The declared goal was to have the d e c i s i o n f u l l y implemented by the summer harvest of 1955. By May i t was announced that 92% of Overseas Chinese l a n d l o r d s i n Guangdong had t h e i r c l a s s s t a t u s changed. 9 1 Later i t was announced that as of 1956 those Overseas Chinese r i c h peasants who had \"abandoned e x p l o i t a t i o n \" had t h e i r c l a s s s t a t u s changed as w e l l . 9 2 According to Stephen F i t z g e r a l d , the d e c i s i o n to change the c l a s s s t a t u s of Overseas Chinese l a n d l o r d s ahead of schedule was designed to dramatize the s t a t e ' s commitment to p r o t e c t i n g remittances, and thereby to counter the downward s p i r a l which had been i n evidence since at l e a s t 1952. 9 3 In e a r l y march 1955, i n the midst of r e v i s i n g c l a s s s t a t u s , a prominent e d i t o r i a l i n the Renmin Ribao r e a f f i r m e d the p r i n c i p l e that income from investment and remittances would i n no way a f f e c t the c l a s s s t a t u s of domestic Overseas C h i n e s e . 9 4 This e d i t o r i a l prepared the way f o r the pu b l i c announcement of a February 1955 State C o u n c i l decree on the PRC's \"long-term p o l i c y \" to pr o t e c t 9 1 I n 1978 L i a o Chengzhi maintained that according to the 1953 i n v e s t i g a t i o n of land reform, only 3.5% of dependents i n Guangdong were c l a s s i f i e d as l a n d l o r d s . L i a o , p. 18. 9 2 G u i q i a o qiaojuan xuexi z i l i a o , comp. Guangdong sheng huaqi ao shiwu weiyuanhui xuanj i aoke, (n. p. ,1956), p. 27. 9 3 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 54, 60. He, Zhonggong Qiaowu, p. 4. 9*RMRB 3 March 1955. 87 remittances, issued j u s t three months a f t e r the d e c i s i o n to change the c l a s s s t a t u s of Overseas Chinese l a n d l o r d s . In 1954 He Xiangning had t o l d the NPC that the Guangdong OCAC had \"long ago\" l a i d down a comprehensive p o l i c y on the p r o t e c t i o n of remittances, but l o c a l cadres had never been adequately informed of the p o l i c y . 9 5 Therefore the renewed commitment -- t h i s time with a l l the a u t h o r i t y of a State C o u n c i l decree was accompanied, l i k e the d e c i s i o n to repeal l a n d l o r d s t a t u s , with a concerted e f f o r t to p o p u l a r i z e the p o l i c y at the basic l e v e l . The State C o u n c i l a l s o issued a follow-up d i r e c t i v e on implementing the remittance decree, aimed squarely at basic l e v e l c a d r e s . 9 6 The Guangdong OCAC prepared 60,000 copies of a c o l l e c t i o n of documents on the p o l i c y f or d i s t r i b u t i o n i n the Overseas Chinese areas. The Guangdong p r o v i n c i a l government, meanwhile, ordered 50,000 copies of the decree to be posted i n p u b l i c p l a c e s . 9 7 The crux of the p o l i c y on remittances was to guarantee t h e i r r e c e i p t and free d i s p o s a l . While the State C o u n c i l applauded t h e i r use f o r \"productive\" purposes, i t a l s o a f f i r m e d the l e g i t i m a t e use of 95NCNA 26 September 1954 i n SCMP 898. 96NCNA 2 March 1955 i n SCMP 998. 97CNS 13 A p r i l 1955 i n SCMP 1027. 88 remittances to f i n a n c e weddings, f u n e r a l s , a n c e s t r a l worship and other forms of r i t u a l c e l e b r a t i o n . 9 8 To demonstrate i t s commitment, the s t a t e d e a l t - with i n f r i n g e m e n t s on remittances h a r s h l y , and with a great d e a l of p u b l i c i t y . 9 9 Remittances played an important r o l e i n the l o c a l economies of the Overseas Chinese a r e a s . The more t h i s was so, the g r e a t e r the tendency on the p a r t of some cadres to view the remittance i s s u e \" p r a g m a t i c a l l y . \" In Taishan county, f o r example, where over 35% of the l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of r e t u r n e d Overseas Chinese and dependents, between January 1950 and the end of May, 1955 the t o t a l amount of r e m i t t a n c e s r e c e i v e d was equal to 72% of the t o t a l v alue of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n over the same p e r i o d . In one township i n Taishan the t o t a l of remittances f o r 1954 amounted to 92% of the value of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n i n that year. And i n some v i l l a g e s the income r e c e i v e d from remittances was a c t u a l l y more than double the income from a g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t . 1 0 0 In 1957 i t was r e p o r t e d t h a t , a c c o r d i n g to c u r r e n t s t a t i s t i c s about 1/3 of the then more than 10 m i l l i o n Overseas Chinese dependents i n China depended \" p r i m a r i l y ' on remittances f o r t h e i r 9 aRMRB 3 March 1955. \"Examples i n CNS 9 September 1955 i n SCMP 1132. 10\u00C2\u00B0GMRB 6 J u l y 1955 i n SCMP 1 093. 89 l i v e l i h o o d . About 90% of a l l remittances were spent on family support, with ony about 2% delegated f or investment p u r p o s e s . 1 0 1 As w i l l be seen, however, with the advent of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , s u b s t a n t i a l pressure was exerted on Overseas Chinese households to earn t h e i r income through the accumulation of \"work p o i n t s \" , and to delegate t h e i r remittance earnings to the A P C s investment fund. Remittances a l s o were coveted by the CCP for t h e i r h i s t o r i c a l l y important f o r e i g n exchange value. Between 1929 and 1941 Overseas Chinese remittances to China averaged U.S. $80~$100 m i l l i o n annually. In the post-war p e r i o d , they averaged anywhere between U.S. $66-130 m i l l i o n annually. A f t e r 1949, by comparison, remittances averaged U.S. $50-60 m i l l i o n per year between the years 1952-58. 1 0 2 A quick comparison with the value of Soviet a i d provided for under the terms of the 1950 Sino-Soviet F r i e n d s h i p Treaty shows the r e l a t i v e importance of remittances to the PRC economy. The 1950 agreement with the USSR provided f or U. S. $300 m i l l i o n i n c r e d i t s spread over f i v e years --roughly equal to the t o t a l value of remittances spread over the same p e r i o d . As F i t z g e r a l d remarks, \"provided that these remittances reached China through o f f i c i a l 10*Qiaowubao 27 February 1957, p. 10. i o 2 S e e F i t z g e r a l d , p. 121, 123. E c k s t e i n , p. 197. 90 channels (there was a perpetual pproblem of smuggling, by s o - c a l l e d shuike, \"water guests\" - ed.) they had the e f f e c t of a d i r e c t grant of f o r e i g n exchange which, u n l i k e the a i d from the Soviet Union, d i d not have to be r e p a i d . \" 1 0 3 At l e a s t i n the e a r l y years of i t s r u l e , the CCP appears to have expected remittances to form the country's p r i n c i p a l source of f o r e i g n exchange. 1 0 4 The t h i r d form of s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s extended to domestic Overseas Chinese was i n the area of investments. Investments were s o l i c i t e d from the Chinese abroad, but perhaps the great maj o r i t y of investment funds were m o b i l i z e d from domestic Overseas C h i n e s e . 1 0 5 In 1954 He Xiangning t o l d the NPC Overseas Chinese i n v e s t o r s ought to be encouraged to open up wasteland i n Guangdong f o r the development of t r o p i c a l produce p l a n t a t i o n s ( e s p e c i a l l y rubber, and f r u i t crops, such as pineapples) and l i v e s t o c k farms, to invest i n larg e s c a l e housing developments and to finance e d u c a t i o n a l and c u l t u r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . 1 0 6 The CCP appears to have envisioned Overseas Chinese investments i n the a g r i c u l t u r a l development of Guangdong to play a s u b s t a n t i a l and valuable r o l e i n 1 0 3 i b i d . , p. 122. A good d i s c u s s i o n of the importance of remittances i n PRC Overseas Chinese p o l i c y i s i n F i t z g e r a l d , p. 122-126. 1 0 4 i b i d . , p. 122. 1 0 5 i b i d . , p. 122. }06NCNA 26 September 1954 i n SCMP 898. 91 the r u r a l economy, both at the p r o v i n c i a l l e v e l and i n terms of Guangdong's c o n t r i b u t i o n to the n a t i o n a l economy. USSR c r e d i t s were repaid mostly i n the form of food exports, c o n s i s t i n g mainly of t r o p i c a l f r u i t s o r i g i n a t i n g from Guangdong and H a i n a n . 1 0 7 At the p r o v i n c i a l l e v e l , opening up wasteland was seen as the best a v a i l a b l e method of reducing population pressure and i n c r e a s i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l output, simultaneously. Opening up wasteland was h i g h l y touted as a s o l u t i o n to the problem of i n c r e a s i n g production of cash crops for in d u s t r y and export without reducing the acreage devoted to foodgrains. This was important because the achievement of foodgrain s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y was a main p r i o r i t y f or Guangdong i n the e a r l y 1950's. In 1954 He Xiangning t o l d a v i s i t i n g Overseas Chinese d e l e g a t i o n that \"there i s a future f o r the Overseas Chinese who open up h i l l s , f o r e s t s and wastelands i n the Overseas Chinese areas...Apart from stepping up t h e i r own income, they can keep the people s u p p l i e d with d a i l y n e c e s s i t i e s and the country with i n d u s t r i a l raw m a t e r i a l s and commodities for e x p o r t . 1 0 8 1 0 7 I n 1954 i t was reported that orange y i e l d s i n the Overseas Chinese county of Chaoshan were up 12 times over 1950, and exports to the Soviet Union and \"other c o u n t r i e s \" (predominantly Eastern bloc c o u n t r i e s ) had doubled every year since 1950. NCNA 20 December 1954 i n SCMP 952. i\u00C2\u00B0*CNS 5 October 1954 i n SCMP 903. 92 Before 1950 there was no planned large s c a l e p l a n t a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e i n Guangdong; most operations were small s c a l e and f r e q u e n t l y l i m i t e d to the h a r v e s t i n g of n a t u r a l c r o p s . 1 0 9 But i n January 1955 the M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e announced plans for surveying 100 m i l l i o n mu of wasteland i n 14 provinces for reclamation, with Guangdong ranking 3rd i n importance (behind H e i l o n g j i a n g and X i n j i a n g ) w i t h some 12 m i l l i o n mu targeted f o r p o t e n t i a l development. 1 1 0 In August 1955 the NPC passed a set of \"Regulations Governing A p p l i c a t i o n by Overseas Chinese f o r the U t i l i z a t i o n of State-owned H i l l s and Wasteland.\" The r e g u l a t i o n s e s t a b l i s h e d the l e g a l r i g h t to c o l l e c t p r o f i t s from such lands under various schemes of p r i v a t e and j o i n t p u b l i c - p r i v a t e ownership, f o r c o n t r a c t periods of between 20-50 y e a r s . 1 1 1 The CCP's plan (which d i d not meet with great r e s u l t s ) was i n e f f e c t to use the resources of the domestic and e x t e r n a l Overseas Chinese to finance the 1 0 9 L i a n g , p. 20. \"\u00C2\u00B0NCNA 5 January 1955 i n SCMP 963. In 1955 Guangdong had some 40 m i l l i o n mu of c u l t i v a t e d land, and a f u r t h e r 170 m i l l i o n mu c l a s s e d as mountainous areas and wasteland. HK DGB 13 September 1955 i n SCMP 1132. 1 1 1 A O M 6 August 1955 i n SCMP 1104. Immediately f o l l o w i n g passage of these r e g u l a t i o n s a \" S u b - t r o p i c a l Resources Development Committee\" was formed i n Guangdong (under Zhao Ziyang) to map out the development of t r o p i c a l cash crops. HK WHB 23 August 1955 i n SCMP 1116. 93 development of an ag r i b u s i n e s s i n Guangdong, which would make the province i n t o a major producer-exporter of t r o p i c a l a g r i c u l t u r a l products. This included making use not only of huaqiao f i n a n c i a l resources, but al s o the knowledge and e x p e r t i s e of returned Overseas Chinese experienced i n the c u l t i v a t i o n of rubber, pineapples and other t r o p i c a l economic crops. State farms for returned Overseas Chinese were set up i n mountainous and wasteland areas i n order to e x p l o i t t h e i r knowledge of t r o p i c a l a g r i c u l t u r e . 1 1 2 E f f o r t s were even undertaken to induce Overseas Chinese abroad wi t h such s k i l l s to retur n to China and c o n t r i b u t e t h e i r knowledge to the c o n s t r u c t i o n of Overseas Chinese s t a t e farms s p e c i a l l y devoted to p l a n t a t i o n agr i c u l t u r e . 1 1 3 Remittances were l i n k e d to investments, p r i n c i p a l l y through the Overseas Chinese Investment Company, a j o i n t S t a t e - p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e formed i n February, 1955 to make c e n t r a l i z e d and planned use of the \" i d l e funds and f l o a t i n g c a p i t a l \" of the Overseas 1 1 2HK DGB 14 May 1954 i n SCMP 811; HK DGB 9 March 1955 i n SCMP 1003. 113Zhonghua quanguo guiguo huaqiao lianhehui chengli dahui tekan, 2 v o l s . ( B e i j i n g : Zhonghua quanguo guiguo huaqiao l i a n h e h u i , 1957), 1: 19-20. In one such case one Wu Shuifeng returned to Guangdong from Borneo i n 1954 to invest 19 m i l l i o n yuan i n the p r i v a t e purchase of a f r u i t orchard with the a i d of st a t e a u t h o r i t i e s HK DGB 30 November 1954 i n SCMP 939. 94 Chinese. Operating i n the spheres of i n d u s t r i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n , f o r e i g n and \"general\" s e r v i c e s , p o t e n t i a l i n v e s t o r s were e n t i t l e d e i t h e r to s p e c i f y the p r o j e c t and amount of funds committed ( f o r example, c o n s t r u c t i o n of a bridge, school or f a c t o r y ) , or e l s e to leave investment d e c i s i o n s e n t i r e l y up to the company i t s e l f . The CCP touted the Company as a convenient and p r o f i t a b l e way of supporting dependents. This could be done i n e i t h e r of two ways: Chinese abroad could purchase shares i n the Company and arrange fo r dividends to be p a i d d i r e c t l y to dependents (an annual d i v i d e n d of 8-9% was guaranteed by the State even a f t e r s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , though there i s evidence t h i s was not always respected); or, dependents could themselves d i r e c t l y purchase shares i n the c o r p o r a t i o n . According to one estimate, i n 1956 there were 6,000 dependent households i n Guangdong with shares i n the company. 1 1 4 Economically, the CCP, through i t s v a r i o u s s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s for returned and dependent Overseas Chinese strove to m o b i l i z e the f i n a n c i a l resources of the 1 1 **CNS 23 June 1961, c i t e d i n Wu, p. 56. Wu estimates that as of 1955 i n Guangdong there was the equivalent of U.S. $5,800 invested i n the Company, and U.S. $8,000 the f o l l o w i n g year. See p. 57. These amounts are meagre compared to the t o t a l value of remittances, s t a t e d above. 95 domestic and e x t e r n a l Overseas Chinese f o r developmental purposes w i t h i n China. The CCP a l s o sought to a t t a i n c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l goals with respect to the Chinese abroad, with regard to using them to promote f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s between the PRC and the c o u n t r i e s of t h e i r residence, and undermining GMD support among the Chinese communities abroad. But as F i t z g e r a l d s t a t e s , \"the Party was u l t i m a t e l y more i n t e r e s t e d i n e x p l o i t i n g Overseas Chinese f o r domestic economic purposes than f o r e x t e r n a l p o l i t i c a l o n e s . \" 1 1 5 These developmental g o a l s , however, u l t i m a t e l y c o l l i d e d with the goals of s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n during the s o c i a l i s t t ransformation of a g r i c u l t u r e . By 1957 the r e s u l t was a s i t u a t i o n i n which many of the s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s formulated since 1954 were being d i s c a r d e d i n favour of a new p o l i c y of equal treatment and i n t e g r a t i o n i n t o the general r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n . In the f i n a l a n a l y s i s , the p o l i c y of s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s turned out to be erected on too f l i m s y and unstable an i d e o l o g i c a l and p o l i t i c a l b a s i s . By 1956, these p r i v i l e g e s were being swamped by the p o l i t i c a l t i d e of an emergent r a d i c a l Maoism, whose development s t r a t e g y was based on e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t and opposed p r i n c i p l e s . And the domestic Overseas Chinese themselves discovered 1 1 5 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 121. 96 that the very \"special features\" which distinguished them from the general peasant population, and which the CCP tried, on the whole rather unsuccessfully, to uphold, also determined that as a group they would be particularly ill-disposed and poorly equipped ideologically, and practically -- to partcipate in the newly emerging socialist rural order. 97 CHAPTER III: Contradictory Aims and C o n f l i c t i n g Interests: The Overseas Chinese Areas of Rural Guangdong and S o c i a l i s t Transformation, Part I The Domestic Overseas Chinese Population of Guangdong By the CCP's own estimate, i n the e a r l y years f o l l o w i n g the establishment of the People's Republic there were nearly 11 m i l l i o n 'domestic' Overseas Chinese, concentrated overwhelmingly i n the two southeastern provinces of Guangdong and F u j i a n ( s i z e a b l e populations a l s o e x i s t e d i n Yunnan, Guangxi, Zhejiang and Shangdong). 1 1 6 Subsequent PRC f i g u r e s f o r the number of domestic Overseas Chinese have remained r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e at t h i s l e v e l , though i t should be stat e d that the a c t u a l number i s i n a st a t e of general d e c l i n e , as emigration has slowed to a t r i c k l e , l i n k s w ith r e l a t i v e s abroad weaken over time and are not renewed, and as returned Overseas Chinese and dependents are re-absorbed i n t o the general p o p u l a t i o n . The term domestic Overseas Chinese (guonei huaqio) i s r a r e l y used i n o f f i c i a l Chinese sources; i n s t e a d 1 1 6 T h e 1953 PRC census put the number of Chinese abroad at roughly the same: 11,743,320 i n c l u d i n g r e s i d e n t s of Hong Kong and Macao (who t e c h n i c a l l y are compatriots (tongbao) not Overseas Chinese. Subsequent PRC sources have u s u a l l y put the number of Chinese abroad at around 13 m i l l i o n . F i t z g e r a l d , p. 3-4. 98 f u l l reference i s normally made to the two component c a t e g o r i e s of returned Overseas Chinese (guiguo huaqiao, u s u a l l y abbreviated as gui qiao) and Overseas Chinese f a m i l y dependents (huaqi ao juan, or simply qiaojuan). PRC f i g u r e s f or returned Overseas Chinese include only those returned a f t e r 1949. The category of dependent, on the other hand, has had a f a i r l y loose d e f i n i t i o n ; i n 1956 a l o c a l newspaper i n F u j i a n defined a dependent as anyone who had an immediate r e l a t i v e who had l i v e d and worked abroad for at l e a s t one y e a r . 1 1 7 On the ba s i s of t h i s d e f i n i t i o n a person could r e t a i n dependent s t a t u s even a f t e r one's r e l a t i v e s had returned to China. Likewise, a person could conceivable q u a l i f y simultaneously as dependent and returned Overseas Chinese. The main exception to t h i s was f o r r e l a t i v e s of Chinese r e s i d i n g i n Hong Kong and Macau, who were e l i g i b l e to c l a i m dependent s t a t u s only i f they r e c e i v e d regular remittances -- which, of course, a great many of them d i d . PRC s t a t i s t i c s do not i n d i c a t e any allowance f o r an overlapping of the cat e g o r i e s of dependent and returned Overseas Chinese. General f i g u r e s i n d i c a t e that over 10 m i l l i o n of the t o t a l domestic Overseas Chinese p o p u l a t i o n were dependents; between 400,000 and 1 1 7 i b i d . , p. 212 99 500,000 were returned Overseas Chinese ( l a r g e numbers of huaqiao returned from Malaya i n the 1950's during \"The Emergency\", and s i z e a b l e numbers of refugees a l s o returned from Indonesia i n the l a t e 1950's); there were a l s o between 60,000 and 70,000 Overseas Chinese students studying i n China. Dependents c o n s i s t e d almost e n t i r e l y of women, e l d e r l y and young p e o p l e . 1 1 8 About 1/5 of the t o t a l p opulation of Guangdong could be c l a s s i f i e d as domestic Overseas Chinese (1/6 i n F u j i a n ) . 1 1 9 The t o t a l number of domestic Overseas Chinese i n Guangdong was about 8 m i l l i o n , or about 68% of the t o t a l Overseas Chinese population i n China. There are three main home areas of the Overseas Chinese i n Guangdong: the Chaozhou and Shantou p l a i n s along the Han r i v e r i n northeastern Guangdong, s i x counties i n c e n t r a l Guangdong, and Hainan I s l a n d . W i t h i n these home areas, there i s considerable v a r i a t i o n as to the spread and d e n s i t y of the Overseas Chinese p o p u l a t i o n . On the whole they comprised 17% of the t o t a l population i n the three home areas, but i n Meixan and Taishan counties Overseas Chinese c o n s t i t u t e d 1/3 of the t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n . 1 2 0 In the v i l l a g e s s t u d i e d by P a r i s h and 1 1 8 i b i d . , p. 4. 1 1 9 i b i d . , p. 15. 1 2 0 C a r l A. R i s k i n , \"Local Industry i n Chinese Economic Development, 1950-1957: The Case of Kwangtung Province\" (unpublished Ph. D. D i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Berkeley, 1969). 100 Whyte, the average p o r t i o n of v i l l a g e r e s i d e n t s r e c e i v i n g remittances was under 10%, but the range v a r i e d from 0 to 80% (the l a t t e r i n T a i s h a n ) . 1 2 1 For the most p a r t , Overseas Chinese p o l i c i e s u s u a l l y were intended to apply e q u a l l y to both c a t e g o r i e s of returned Overseas Chinese and dependents. Therefore, i n t h i s text the term domestic Overseas Chinese i s the one ge n e r a l l y used; the two component c a t e g o r i e s are mentioned s p e c i f i c a l l y only when there i s a need to d i f f e r e n t i a t e . Land Reform and the Class Status of Domestic Overseas Chinese Before 1949 the CCP had l i t t l e experience and had shown almost no i n t e r e s t i n Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s (huaqiao shiwu); i n a l l Mao's w r i t i n g s there had been only a s i n g l e reference to the Overseas Chinese, and p r a c t i c a l e f f o r t s before 1949 seem to have been l i m i t e d to sporadic attempts to s o l i c i t war funds and promote anti-Japanese p a t r i o t i s m among the huaqiao. As F i t z g e r a l d s t a t e s , \"Before 1949, the Chinese Communist Party had almost no experience, and appears to have given l i t t l e thought to an Overseas Chinese p o l i c y . \" 1 2 2 1 2 1 P a r i s h and Whyte, p. 27 and Appendix 2. 1 2 2 i b i d . , p. 15. 101 Thus, when the Chinese Communists came to power i n 1949 they had no experience i n d e a l i n g d i r e c t l y with the s o c i a l and economic consequences of the presence i n r u r a l Guangdong of large numbers of returned Overseas Chinese and Overseas Chinese f a m i l y dependents. The CCP i s oft e n s a i d to have gained important land reform experience during the J i a n g x i S oviet Republic, but t h e i r lack of experience with the s p e c i a l concerns of Overseas Chinese shows the l i m i t e d value of t h i s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n for South China. I f the o v e r a l l n a t i o n a l success of land reform r e s t e d i n part upon the Party's pre-1949 experience, there was nevertheless nothing i n that experience that would prepare the CCP for the c o m p l e x i t i e s they faced i n the r u r a l Overseas Chinese areas. That was true not only of the i s o l a t e d and mountainous regions which were the s i t e of the J i a n g x i experiment, but as w e l l of the CCP's war time experience i n North China, where c o n d i t i o n s were again r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t . Indeed, a case could be made f o r the CCP's lack of up to date knowledge -- l e t alone experience -- of r u r a l c o n d i t i o n s i n general i n Guangdong on the eve of land reform. Evidence of t h i s i s the f a c t that i n the CCP's f i r s t major address inaugurating land reform i n Guangdong, Fang Fang, then the most powerful o f f i c i a l 1 02 in the province and the Chairman of the Guangdong Land Reform Committee, was forced to r e l y f o r h i s f i g u r e s on tenancy c o n d i t i o n s and land ownership and concent r a t i o n upon the then twenty year o l d study undertaken by the noted a g r a r i a n economist (and r e c e n t l y discovered longtime Party member) Chen Hansheng (Chen Han-seng). 1 2 3 Land reform followed a tortuous course i n Guangdong; the province was the l a s t i n the country to complete the process, i n the s p r i n g of 1953, and then only a f t e r the d i s m i s s a l of up to 80% of l o c a l cadres and a massive i n f u s i o n of \"northerners\" to complete the task. I t a l s o e n t a i l e d the removal of many top o f f i c i a l s , i n c l u d i n g the most powerful Party f i g u r e i n the p r o v i n c e . 1 2 \" In the course of t h i s debacle a decl a r e d p o l i c y of o f f i c i a l l e n i e n c y towards the 1 2 3 F a n g Fang's speech on land reform appeared i n NFRB 6 November, 1950 and i s r e p r i n t e d i n E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n i n CB 51. Chen Hansheng's c l a s s i c study on c o n d i t i o n s i n r u r a l South China during the 1930's i s published i n E n g l i s h as Chen Han-sheng, Landlord and Peasant in China: A Study of the Agricultural Crisis in South China, (New York: I n t e r n a t i o n a l P u b l i s h e r s , 1936). (The h i t h e r t o unknown f a c t that Chen was a longstanding CCP member was revealed only r e c e n t l y , to h i s o l d acquaintance Harold Isaacs during the l a t t e r ' s 1980 ret u r n v i s i t to China a f t e r a 50 year h i a t u s . ) 1 2\"The most complete account of the land reform debacle i n Guangdong i s contained i n Vogel, p. 91-124. The course of the campaign can a l s o be conveniently charted using the CB s e r i e s , which provides annotated documents grouped under separate subject headings. See a l s o Robert C a r i n , China's Land Reform Series (Kowloon: n. p. , 1960). 103 huaqiao was l a r g e l y swamped by the t i d e of r a d i c a l i s m which overtook the movement i n Guangdong. The f i r s t moves undertaken by the new government i n Overseas Chinese work i n r u r a l Guangdong were d i c t a t e d by immediate p r a c t i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , rather than a coherent and well-informed s t r a t e g i c p o l i c y . Thus the f i r s t move, i n i t i a t e d i n e a r l y 1950, was to undertake a r e g i s t r a t i o n of a l l dependents and r e c e n t l y returned huaqiao. The purpose was to a s c e r t a i n who was r e c e i v i n g remittances and t h e r e f o r e e l i g i b l e f or r e l i e f from the s t r i c t f o r e i g n exchange r e s t r i c t i o n s implemented i n 1949 to re s t o r e order and b r i n g the country's c h a o t i c currency s i t u a t i o n under c o n t r o l . 1 2 5 The r e g i s t r a t i o n of Overseas Chinese dependents and returned Overseas Chinese was b a s i c a l l y complete by the f a l l of 1950 i n the areas of gre a t e s t Overseas Chinese c o n c e n t r a t i o n ; i n the remaining areas these remittance i n v e s t i g a t i o n s merged t h e r e a f t e r w i t h the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of c l a s s s t a t u s during land reform. In e a r l y October 1950 land reform i n Guangdong was o f f i c i a l l y inaugurated by the above-mentioned speech given by Fang F a n g . 1 2 6 In that speech, Fang s t r e s s e d the need for a \" g r a d u a l i s t \" approach to land reform i n Guangdong, which took account of the numerous \" s p e c i a l 1 2 5 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 54. 126CB 51. 104 c o n d i t i o n s \" which p r e v a i l e d i n the province. Of these \" s p e c i a l c o n d i t i o n s \" , Fang spoke at consi d e r a b l e length on the question of the Overseas Chinese areas and the d i f f i c u l t problem of how to handle Overseas Chinese property. The d e t a i l s of the speech were not made p u b l i c u n t i l a month a f t e r i t was d e l i v e r e d , on the same date as the Government A d m i n i s t r a t i o n C o u n c i l (GAC, the precursor to the State Council) issued a f u l l set of r e g u l a t i o n s governing the d i s p o s a l of Overseas Chinese land and property during land r e f o r m . 1 2 7 These measures were intended to amplify the s i n g l e p r o v i s i o n for Overseas Chinese contained i n A r t i c l e 24 of the Agrarian Reform Law, which c a l l e d only f o r \"due c o n s i d e r a t i o n f or the i n t e r e s t s of Overseas Chinese\" during land r e f o r m . 1 2 8 As mentioned, according to Vogel about 1/5 of a l l land i n Guangdong belonged to Overseas C h i n e s e . 1 2 9 The GAC measures defined Overseas Chinese land and property as that belonging to any Chinese n a t i o n a l (determined, presumably, according to the p r i n c i p l e of jus sanguinis, since the CCP never f o r m a l l y abrogated t h i s 1 2 7 T h e f u l l t e x t of these measures i s r e p r i n t e d i n Chun-hsi Wu, Dollars, Dependents and Dogma: Overseas Chinese Remittances to Communist China, (Stanford: Stanford U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1967), p. 172-174. 1 2 8 r / i e Agrarian Reform Law of China, (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1950), p. 12. 1 2 9 V o g e l , p. 12. 105 p r i n c i p l e ) who had l i v e d and worked abroad for a minimum of one year, as w e l l as such land and property as belonged to t h e i r d i r e c t descendants. The measures a l s o s t i p u l a t e d that huaqiao returned for more than three years (and t h e i r dependents) were not e l i g i b l e for p r o t e c t i o n or s p e c i a l concessions during land reform. Of those who were e l i g i b l e , exemption from c o n f i s c a t i o n was to depend on the family member's c l a s s s t a t u s p r i o r to the sojourn abroad. In the case of l a n d l o r d f a m i l i e s , only t h e i r houses were to be spared from c o n f i s c a t i o n . I f a f a m i l y d i d not have l a n d l o r d s t a t u s before going abroad but subsequently acquired i t , only land would be c o n f i s c a t e d ; a l l other property was to be preserved i n t a c t . Fang Fang's c r i t e r i a , however, as given i n h i s October 1950 speech, were somewhat d i f f e r e n t . There i s no o f f i c i a l statement i n the a v a i l a b l e sources as to which superseded the other. I t can be s a i d , however, that Fang Fang's are the c r i t e r i a the CCP has c o n s i s t e n t l y employed i n a l l i t s subsequent statements on the c l a s s s t a t u s of Overseas Chinese: namely, that the c l a s s s t a t u s of Overseas Chinese i s to be determined on the b a s i s of t h e i r occupation abroad. Since i t was i n s i s t e d that the great maj o r i t y (up to 90%) of Overseas Chinese f e l l w i t h i n the ranks of the 106 \"labouring people\" (/aodong renmin), according to Fang Fang there would be very l i t t l e land c o n f i s c a t i o n from Overseas Chinese (and, presumably, t h e i r dependents). As for the m i n o r i t y of huaqiao who were not included i n the category of labo u r i n g people, only t h e i r land should be c o n f i s c a t e d . On paper, then, there were s i g n i f i c a n t concessions allowed to Overseas Chinese during land reform. This i s evident by comparing the s p e c i a l allowances made to the Overseas Chinese with the p r o v i s i o n s contained i n the Agrarian Reform Law (ARL), which decreed the c o n f i s c a t i o n of a l l l a n d l o r d land and property, i n c l u d i n g \"surplus houses\". But i n a c t u a l f a c t , Overseas Chinese appear to have been l i t t l e spared and were probably even e x c e s s i v e l y persecuted during the land reform i n Guangdong. According to F i t z g e r a l d , \" i t i s c l e a r from l a t e r reports that i n p r a c t i c e Overseas Chinese land and property owners were not exempt, and were a l s o subject to various 'excesses' In the ag r a r i a n reform movement, t h e r e f o r e , the p r i n c i p l e was es t a b l i s h e d that i n p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l movements domestic Overseas Chinese were not to be exempt...\" 1 3 0 That p r i n c i p l e was e s t a b l i s h e d , i t appears (based on 1 3 0 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 55. 1 07 l a t e r c r i t i c i s m s by the c e n t e r ) , by the a c t i o n s of basic l e v e l cadres. As evidence of the widespread t e r r o r which gripped the Overseas Chinese population during land reform the Hong Kong press during t h i s p e r i o d was r e p l e t e w i t h h o r r i f i c t a l e s recounting the persecution and maltreatment of Overseas Chinese and t h e i r dependents at the hands of the communists. 1 3 1 Even a l l o w i n g f o r the propensity of the Hong Kong press to exaggerate i n such matters, i t i s c l e a r i n retr o s p e c t that land reform was d i s a s t r o u s i n i t s e f f e c t s upon the Overseas Chinese. I t l e f t i n i t s wake a b i t t e r legacy which f o r years to come continued to f r u s t r a t e CCP e f f o r t s to mend i t s r e l a t i o n s with the huaqi ao. As l a t e as 1956 complaints were s t i l l being a i r e d by Overseas Chinese and dependents who had t h e i r houses c o n f i s c a t e d during land reform (under c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , f a m i l i e s were permitted to continue to own and l i v e i n t h e i r own houses), a grievance which the CCP responded to i n J u l y 1957 by e s t a b l i s h i n g i n Guangdong a s p e c i a l \"Commission f or Handling Outstanding Problems of Overseas Chinese Houses\". O f f i c e s of t h i s Commission were to be set up i n a l l Overseas Chinese townships (xiang) and counties (xian) and invested with the express a u t h o r i t y to reso l v e 13'Some of these r e p o r t s are d e t a i l e d i n Wu, p. 203 and F i t z g e r a l d , p. 55. 108 property d i s p u t e s a r i s i n g from Overseas Chinese houses c o n f i s c a t e d during land reform. In many cases these had been taken over by ordina r y peasants or used as government and Party o f f i c e s . The most b i t t e r legacy of land reform was the legacy of mi s t r u s t i t cr e a t e d among the domestic Overseas Chinese populations concerning the CCP's true i n t e n t i o n s towards them, and the Party's a b i l i t y to s t i c k by those i n t e n t i o n s . The root of the problem which a f f l i c t e d the domestic Overseas Chinese during land reform l ay p a r t l y i n the d i f f i c u l t y of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g l a n d l o r d s from r i c h peasants i n general i n r u r a l Guangdong, and secondly i n the nature of t h e i r land rent income. Later i t was deemed that the land rent income of many Overseas Chinese d i d not c o n s t i t u t e \"feudal e x p l o i t a t i o n \" (fengjian boxue). The aim of land reform was to e l i m i n a t e a l l forms of feudal e x p l o i t a t i o n 1 3 2 from the cou n t r y s i d e , which 1 3 2 I n Guangdong t h i s l e d many la n d l o r d s to f l e e the countryside f o r the c i t i e s where they hoped to acquire the s t a t u s of n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l i s t s . Under the terms of Mao's New Democracy, c a p i t a l i s t s were not to be expr o p r i a t e d . In the h i g h l y commercialized c o a s t a l areas of Guangdong, moreover, many absentee l a n d l o r d s were simultaneously engaged i n commercial and i n d u s t r i a l a c t i v i t i e s , thus f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t i n g the task of determining c l a s s s t a t u s . The CCP i n the e a r l y years a f t e r 1949 was p a r t i c u l a r l y anxious not to a l i e n a t e those engaged i n commerce and i n d u s t r y , so as to f a c i l i t a t e economic recovery and prevent any f u r t h e r d i s r u p t i o n . See Vogel, p. 103. 109 included tenancy, share cropping and the h i r i n g of farm labour. But under the very complex forms of tenancy and land tenure that evolved i n Guangdong over c e n t u r i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the d e l t a areas -- i n c l u d i n g m u l t i p l e ownership, m u l t i p l e l a y e r s of tenancy, e t c . 1 3 3 -- i d e n t i f y i n g p r e c i s e l y what c o n s t i t u t e d a l a n d l o r d , and d i s t i n g u i s h i n g l a n d l o r d s from mere r i c h peasants was not a simple task. In many cases, i n d i v i d u a l s were both tenants and l a n d l o r d s . In terms of l e v e l of income and amount of property, moreover, there o f t e n was no d i f f e r e n c e between l a n d l o r d s and r i c h peasants. Therefore, the main c r i t e r i a f or determining l a n d l o r d s and d i s t i n g u i s h i n g them from r i c h peasants was supposed to be the amount of labour performed: i f a household c o n t r i b u t e d at l e a s t four months of i t s own labour towards i t s l i v e l i h o o d each year, then i t was (at most) a r i c h peasant household. 1 3\" In ap p l y i n g t h i s p r i n c i p l e , however, there was a c l e a r p o t e n t i a l which appears to have been widely r e a l i z e d -- of d i s c r i m i n a t i n g a g a i n s t Overseas Chinese dependents. 1 3 3 T h e complicated land tenure arrangements i n Guangdong, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the d e l t a areas, are discussed i n Eng, \" I n s t i t u t i o n a l and Secondary Landlordism\" and Ip, \"The Design of Rural Development\". 1 3\"On the State C o u n c i l r u l e s for determining c l a s s s t a t u s during land reform, see \"Zhongyang renmin zhengwuyuan guanyu huafen nongcun j i e j i chengfen de jueding\" i n Renmin Shouce, V o l . 1, 1951: 48-56. 110 Subsequently i n 1956, Lo L i s h i , Chairman of the Guangdong OCAC, s a i d i t was mainly the f a u l t of land reform cadres f o r f a i l i n g to d i s t i n g u i s h l a n d l o r d s who p r o f i t t e d from feudal e x p l o i t a t i o n from those l i k e the Overseas Chinese dependents who, because the main source of t h e i r f a m i l y labour power was overseas, had no choice but to rent out t h e i r h o l d i n g s . 1 3 5 As mentioned above, dependents c o n s i s t e d almost e n t i r e l y of women, the e l d e r l y and young c h i l d r e n . Many of these people were p h y s i c a l l y incapable of engaging i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production themselves, or e l s e were u n w i l l i n g to because of t h e i r dependence on overseas remittances. And since remittances, not r e n t a l income, were the main source of earnings for many dependents, t h e i r c l a s s s t a t u s should have been determined according to the st a t u s of the remittance p r o v i d e r which, i n the vast m a j o r i t y of cases i t was he l d , was that of a member of the \"labouring p e o p l e \" . 1 3 6 Even f or those domestic Overseas Chinese not c l a s s i f i e d as l a n d l o r d s , p r o v i s i o n s were made to the e f f e c t that those who received regular remittances and di d not themselves engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production 135Qiaowubao 17 November 1956, p. 18. 136Qiaowubao 17 December 1956, p. 10. The ARL, i t was pointed out, d i s t i n g u i s h e d between b i g and small l a n d l o r d s , but not between those f o r whom rent was the main source of income and those f o r whom i t was not. 111 were to be a l l o t e d l e s s land or none at a l l during the r e d i s t r i b u t i o n phase of land reform. According to F i t z g e r a l d , the aim of t h i s measure was to ensure that non-labouring domestic Overseas Chinese d i d not emerge from land reform with undue income and property advantages compared to the average peasant. But i n the l i g h t of subsequent CCP statements on the r i g h t to receive remittance income, t h i s measure was received by domestic Overseas Chinese as one more way i n which they were u n f a i r l y persecuted during land reform. The Impact of Unified Purchase and Marketing I t i s impossible to understand the s o c i a l i s t t r a n sformation of Chinese a g r i c u l t u r e meaningfully without understanding the c r u c i a l r o l e played by the implementation of s o - c a l l e d U n i f i e d Purchase and Marketing (tonggou tongxiao) quotas. The i n t r o d u c t i o n , i n November 1953, of t h i s system f o r the compulsory d e l i v e r y of a l l surplus g r a i n to the s t a t e at f i x e d , low p r i c e s , occupies a c r i t i c a l place i n the h i s t o r y of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , the c r u c i a l intermediary step between land reform and c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n whereby the st a t e e f f e c t i v e l y monopolized a l l trade i n foodgrains ( l a t e r the system 1 1 2 was extended to other a g r i c u l t u r a l products, i n c l u d i n g cotton and e d i b l e o i l s ) . As such, U n i f i e d Purchase was c r i t i c a l l y r e l a t e d to the p o l i t i c a l c o n s o l i d a t i o n of communist r u l e i n the c o u n t r y s i d e , the a s s e r t i o n of s t a t e c o n t r o l over the r u r a l economy and, through the commandeering of the r u r a l s u r p l u s , was i n t i m a t e l y r e l a t e d to the s t a t e ' s i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n goals under the F i r s t F i v e Year Plan . Yet, r e l a t i v e l y speaking, most western s t u d i e s do not d i s c u s s much t h i s enormously s i g n i f i c a n t p r e l i m i n a r y step, p r e f e r r i n g to dwell i n s t e a d upon the three stage formation of MATs, APCs and Advanced APCs. This l o p s i d e d emphasis i s a l l the more s u r p r i s i n g because, nu m e r i c a l l y and g e o g r a p h i c a l l y speaking i n c l u d i n g Guangdong \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the a c t u a l process of s o c i a l i s t t ransformation d i d not much conform to the i d e a l p a t t e r n of advance through stages. Rather, most peasants experienced a transformation d i r e c t l y from p r i v a t e producers to members of f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s . The f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n by c o n t r a s t looks c l o s e l y at the r o l e of U n i f i e d Purchase, and examines i n d e t a i l the e f f e c t s of i t s implementation upon the domestic Overseas areas i n r u r a l Guangdong. Under the terms of U n i f i e d Purchase, peasants were requ i r e d to d e l i v e r a l l surplus g r a i n to the s t a t e , at 1 1 3 f i x e d low p r i c e s . On the supply s i d e , the s t a t e maintained that with U n i f i e d Purchase i t would be i n a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n to guarantee adequate g r a i n s u p p l i e s to g r a i n d e f i c i e n t households, and across the nation during incidences of l o c a l shortage. The o f f i c i a l l y s t a t e d purposes were to guarantee the supply of g r a i n needed f o r both consumption and n a t i o n a l c o n s t r u c t i o n , at low, s t a b l e p r i c e s . 1 3 7 Vivienne Shue describes U n i f i e d Purchase and Supply as \"the primary v e h i c l e f o r l i m i t i n g r u r a l consumption, making the peasant s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g and c a p t u r i n g a surplus from a g r i c u l t u r e f o r investment i n i n d u s t r y . \" 1 3 8 The progress of the s t a t e ' s planned i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n d r i v e as set out i n the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , depended a b s o l u t e l y on an ensured and growing supply of foodgrains to feed the r a p i d l y expanding urban i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t . For example, i n Anshan, the country's major i r o n and s t e e l producing c e n t r e , using 1950 as the base index (100), the t o t a l 1 3 7RMRB 1 March 1954. 1 3 8 S h u e , p. 184. Planned purchase played the more c r i t i c a l r o l e i n s t a t e economic planning. While planned purchase was a p r e r e q u i s i t e to ensuring supply, the scope and purpose of planned purchase extended w e l l beyond ensuring s u p p l i e s . In a d d i t i o n to g r a i n , planned purchase agreements soon covered c o t t o n , t e a , j u t e , peanuts, raw s i l k and cocoons, and other products. The quotas served as instruments f o r the s t a t e to d i c t a t e production l e v e l s and the a g r i c u l t u r a l crop mix i n accordance with the needs and o b j e c t i v e s of s t a t e p l a n s . 1 1 4 volume of food sales rose to 138.72 i n 1951, 204.51 i n 1952 and 315 i n 1 9 5 3 . 1 3 9 A d d i t o n a l f i g u r e s r e v e a l that the urban i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n workforce rose on a n a t i o n a l scale from around 6 m i l l i o n workers i n 1952 to approximately 10 m i l l i o n by 1957. 1\"\u00C2\u00B0 In a d d i t i o n to supplying more g r a i n to an expanding urban workforce, U n i f i e d Purchase a l s o helped finance the development of i n d u s t r y i n another way, through i n d i r e c t support. As Ni c h o l a s Lardy maintains, as the F i r s t Five Year Plan f o r i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n got, under way i n 1953 \"The p r i c e s of g r a i n and other a g r i c u l t u r a l products were c r i t i c a l because c e r e a l s were the major wage goods, and upward pressure on g r a i n p r i c e s would give r i s e to the need f o r f u r t h e r increase i n wages... i n c r e a s i n g the s t a t e wage b i l l and thus reducing the resources a v a i l a b l e f o r investment.\" 1\" 1 U n i f i e d Purchase solved t h i s problem by enabling the st a t e to capture c o n t r o l over the r u r a l s u r p l u s . As Edgar Wickberg e x p l a i n s , \"through government c o n t r o l of a g r i c u l t u r a l s u r p l u s , the terms of trade between countryside and c i t y could be arranged i n the l a t t e r ' s favour. By p r o v i d i n g cheap g r a i n to the c i t y , urban 1 3 9 T i a n j i n DGB 2 March 1954 i n SCMP 770. 1 4 0 M e i s n e r , p. 124. 1 \" 1 N i c h o l a s R. Lardy, \"State I n t e r v e n t i o n and Peasant O p p o r t u n i t i e s , \" i n Chinese Rural Development: The Great Transformation, ed. W i l l i a m L. P a r i s h (Armonk, N. Y. : M. E. Sharpe Inc. , 1985), p. 36. 1 15 i n d u s t r i a l wages co u l d be maintained at low l e v e l s , thereby s u b s i d i z i n g the growth of those i n d u s t r i e s . \" 1 4 2 U n i f i e d Purchase a l l but el i m i n a t e d the free market i n g r a i n . A f t e r meeting t h e i r g r a i n tax o b l i g a t i o n s and U n i f i e d Purchase quotas, peasants were permitted to s e l l any remaining surplus to the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, or to government regulated markets set up on the s i t e of the o l d v i l l a g e free markets. There i s evidence t h a t , f o r the f i r s t s i x or seven months at l e a s t a f t e r the i n t r o d u c t i o n of U n i f i e d Purchase, d e l i b e r a t e l y very few of these markets were a c t u a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d , i n order to channel even more g r a i n i n t o s t a t e c o f f e r s . 1 4 3 As a r e s u l t , i n January 1954 the st a t e purchased three times as much g r a i n as in January 1953 . 1 4 4 According to the research of Dwight Perki n s and Shahid Yusuf, i n the f i r s t year of U n i f i e d Purchase t o t a l s t a t e g r a i n purchases rose from 30.5 m i l l i o n tons to 41.5 m i l l i o n tons, or by a f u l l 3 6 % . 1 4 5 Vivienne Shue, who has w r i t t e n the most i n depth study yet of the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , f a i l s to address squarely the e x p l o i t a t i v e e f f e c t s of the 1 4 2 E d g a r Wickberg, \"Land Reform i n Mainland China and Taiwan,\" Peasant Studies 4 ( F a l l 1978): 259. See a l s o E c k s t e i n , p. 5. 1 4 3 Shue, p. 225 . y*%NCNA\ March'1954 i n SCMP 757. 1 4 5 D w i g h t Perkins and Shahid Yusuf, Rural Development in China, (Baltimore: John Hopkins U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1984), p. 20. 1 16 im p o s i t i o n of U n i f i e d Purchase quotas on peasant income and consumption. 1 4 6 Shue appears to understate the f o r c i b l e nature of the compulsory g r a i n s a l e s i n order to strengthen her own argument -- namely that the CCP s k i l l f u l l y r e s t r u c t u r e d peasant choices i n order to make the s o c i a l i s t path not j u s t the sole remaining avenue open to peasants, but a l s o the most appealing i n terms of t h e i r m a t e r i a l s e l f - i n t e r e s t s . 1 4 7 In f a c t , U n i f i e d Purchase encountered s u b s t a n t i a l peasant r e s i s t a n c e . This was e s p e c i a l l y the case when a nationwide c r i s i s i n g r a i n supply errupted i n the spr i n g of 1955. The cause of the c r i s i s was excessive s t a t e purchases of g r a i n s u p p l i e s f o l l o w i n g upon the poor harvests and s e r i e s of n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s i n the f a l l of 1954. Shue i n t e r p r e t s the c r i s i s as proof, merely, that U n i f i e d Purchase had \" i n e f f e c t , been too 1 4 6 0 n e of the most a r t i c u l a t e exponents of the negative e f f e c t s of st a t e c o n t r o l of marketing on peasant o p p o r t u n i t i e s i s Nicholas R. Lardy. See h i s chapter e n t i t l e d \"State I n t e r v e n t i o n and Peasant O p p o r t u n i t i e s \" i n P a r i s h , Chinese Rural Development, as w e l l as Lardy'S 1983 work, Agriculture in China's Modern Economic Development, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1983). Of course, the s t r a t e g y of using a g r i c u l t u r e to finance i n d u s t r i a l China i s not unique to China nor l i m i t e d to communist c o u n t r i e s . I t has been adopted by many t h i r d world governments, i n c l u d i n g , as Edgar Wickberg has pointed out, the GMD government on Taiwan. In the e a r l y 1950's, for example, the GMD government even introduced a system of compulsory d e l i v e r i e s s i m i l a r to that i n place on the mainland. See Edgar Wickberg, \"Land Reform i n Mainland China and Taiwan.\" 1 4 7 S h u e , p. 321-333. 117 s u c c e s s f u l . \" And i n a footnote to that comment goes no f u r t h e r than to l i s t the v a r i o u s explanations advanced by other s c h o l a r s to account f o r the \"extremely high l e v e l \" of s t a t e g r a i n r e q u i s i t i o n s i n 1954; explanations which range from cadre overzealousness, d e l i b e r a t e s t o c k p i l i n g to prepare for c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , to the bourgeoning demands of the i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . 1 \" 8 Vivienne Shue does acknowledge, however, that i t was the \" s i l e n t t h r eat of peasants to cut production d e l i b e r a t e l y \" that compelled Chinese planners to introduce the Three F i x e s (sanding) p o l i c y i n March 1955; a p o l i c y which Ezra Vogel has described as a \"massive propaganda e f f o r t to win the cooperation of the p e a s a n t r y . \" ' 4 9 The Three F i x e s c o n s i s t e d of the two e x i s t i n g quotas on buying and s e l l i n g of g r a i n , and a new, t h i r d f i x on expected annual y i e l d . A l l three were f i x e d for a p e r i o d of three years, i n order to motivate peasants to increase production. The g r a i n supply c r i s i s of s p r i n g 1955 was e s p e c i a l l y severe i n r u r a l Guangdong, due to h i g h l y developed commercialized a g r i c u l t u r e and the consequent dependence of peasants i n many areas on outside s u p p l i e s of g r a i n . This was p a r t i c u l a r l y true i n the Overseas Chinese areas, and the impact of the g r a i n 1 4 8 i b i d . , p. 235. 1 f t 9 V o g e l , p. 140. 1 18 supply c r i s i s on domestic Overseas Chinese was p a r t i c u l a r l y severe. They were, arguably, among the worst a f f e c t e d i n the province. In order to understand the impact of the g r a i n supply c r i s i s on domestic Overseas Chinese, i t i s necessary to understand the nature of the Guangdong r u r a l economy and the tasks assigned to r u r a l Guangdong under the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n . Guangdong's designated r o l e w i t h i n the Plan was to be an increased s u p p l i e r of g r a i n ; i t s \" c e n t r a l task\" (zhongxin renwu) under the plan t h e r e f o r e was to r a i s e g r a i n p r o d u c t i o n . 1 5 0 Not only was Guangdong r e q u i r e d to feed i t s e l f ( s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y was a t t a i n e d for the f i r s t time i n 1953, and was much heralded at the time), the Plan c a l l e d f or the province to export g r a i n to other regions as w e l l , p a r t i c u l a r l y those s l a t e d for r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l development. The i n d u s t r i a l development of Guangdong i t s e l f was not a p r i o r i t y under the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n . 1 5 1 Guangdong exported surplus g r a i n i n 1953, 1954 and 1955, as c a l l e d f o r by the F i r s t Five Year Pla n . But in August 1956 i n a speech to the Guangdong People's 1 5 0 L i a n g , Guangdong ji ngji di I i ; L i Zhongshi, \"Guangdong Province on the Road to Five Year Plan C o n s t r u c t i o n , \" Jingji daobao 43 (November 7, 1955) i n ECMM 19. 1 5 1 S e e R i s k i n , p. 132-135. 1 19 Committee, Tao Zhu, then the province's most powerful o f f i c i a l , b l u n t l y i n s i s t e d \" (jueding) \"that i n fu t u r e Guangdong's g r a i n must f u l l y supply (the needs of) t h i s province, and only then can i t be exported.\" He then went on to c r i t i c i z e those at the center who considered \"only the system but not the people's w e l f a r e \" , and stres s e d the n e c e s s i t y of i n c r e a s i n g consumption to stim u l a t e the enthusiasm of Guangdong p e a s a n t s . 1 5 2 Tao Zhu's statement i s s i g n i f i c a n t on two accounts. F i r s t l y , i t speaks of the s t r a i n imposed on Guangdong peasants by the requirements of the F i r s t F i v e Year Plan; and secondly, i t reveals that p r o v i n c i a l g r a i n \"s u r p l u s \" i s a r e l a t i v e term, define d more by the sta t e ' s e x t r a c t i v e c a p a b i l i t y than by purely economic c r i t e r i a . U n i f i e d Purchase was not introduced i n t o Guangdong u n t i l mid 1954, 6 months l a t e r than the re s t of the country, due to the tardy land reform and i t s b i t t e r r e s u l t s . But the delay made l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e i n the end because, according to Vogel, the province was required to make up the s h o r t f a l l with even higher quotas f o r the f a l l 1954 harvest. As a r e s u l t , says 1 5 2NFRB 30 August 1956. C i t e d i n Kenneth R. Walker, Food Grain Procurement and Consumption in China, (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1984), p. 92. Guangdong subsequently won out; i n 1956-57 and 1957-58 the province exported no g r a i n . 120 Vogel, by the s p r i n g of 1955 the g r a i n s i t u a t i o n i n Guangdong was even more c r i t i c a l than i n the r e s t of the c o u n t r y . 1 5 3 To worsen matters f u r t h e r , between mid 1954 and mid 1955 Guangdong was struck by the worst s e r i e s of n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s i n ten y e a r s . 1 5 \" I t i s unfortunate that Ezra Vogel does not d i s c u s s the impact of U n i f i e d Purchase and e s p e c i a l l y the 1955 gr a i n supply c r i s i s on the domestic Overseas Chinese, because, as s t a t e d , they were arguably among the worst a f f e c t e d . The domestic Overseas Chinese s u f f e r e d d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y p r e c i s e l y because t h e i r \" s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s \" rendered them p a r t i c u l a r l y disadvantaged and vul n e r a b l e . The i n t r o d u c t i o n of U n i f i e d Purchase created pressure f o r \"gra i n d e f i c i e n t \" households to increase t h e i r c e r e a l production. Many domestic Overseas Chinese households were g r a i n d e f i c i e n t due to t h e i r being e i t h e r u n w i l l i n g or unable ( f o r reasons of age and p h y s i c a l c a p a c i t y , lack of production knowledge and dependence on remittances) to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production themselves. Overseas Chinese households were t h e r e f o r e a c u t e l y a f f e c t e d by t h i s pressure for households to provide for t h e i r own g r a i n 1 5 3Vogel p. 139. 1 5 \" I n J u l y 1955 Gu Dacun s a i d over the past year Guangdong peasants had s u f f e r e d the e f f e c t s of f l o o d i n g , drought, f r o s t and in s e c t plagues. By J u l y many s t i l l had not sown sp r i n g crops. RMRB 27 J u l y 1955. C i t e d i n He, Zhonggong Qiaowu, p. 56-57 121 needs, at a time when the p r i v a t e market f o r g r a i n -which Overseas Chinese households had i n the past depended h e a v i l y upon -- had shrunk to v i r t u a l l y nothing, almost overnight. Under the Three Fixes p o l i c y , those households c l a s s i f i e d as g r a i n d e f i c i e n t were assigned quotas of gr a i n they could purchase. But they were encouraged --through the s i z e of the purchase .entitlement and by personal pressure -- to remedy t h e i r own d e f i c i e n c i e s and not to r e l y on the s t a t e . 1 5 5 The Three F i x p o l i c y i n other words d i s c r i m i n a t e d against g r a i n d e f i c i e n t households -- a category which included the vast m a j o r i t y of domestic Overseas Chinese households. For domestic Overseas Chinese households that were g r a i n d e f i c i e n t because they chose to r e l y on remittances and the free market f o r g r a i n , there was l i t t l e sympathy or encouragement from l o c a l cadres and peasants to continue not producing and to l i v e o f f of s t a t e 1 5 5Shue reported that i n Hunan i n 1955 the amount of gr a i n a g r a i n d e f i c i e n t household could l e g a l l y purchase s t i l l l e f t i t below the consumption l e v e l of gr a i n surplus households. See. p. 238. According to Thomas B e r n s t e i n , an important aspect of g r a i n supply c r i s i s i n 1955 was the comparatively low p r i o r i t y assigned to supply i n the U n i f i e d Purchase and Supply equation. Thomas P. B e r n s t e i n , \"Cadre and Peasant Behaviour Under Conditions of I n s e c u r i t y and D e p r i v a t i o n : The Grain Supply C r i s i s of the Spring of 1955,\" i n Chinese Communist Politics in Action, A. Doak Barnett, ed. ( S e a t t l e : U n i v e r s i t y of Washington Press, 1969), p. 397. 1 22 su p p l i e s now that the free market was ab o l i s h e d . In commenting on the f l i g h t of many Overseas Chinese to Hong Kong during t h i s period one of the delegates to the ACROCA i n 1956 asserted that most of those who f l e d were j u s t \"people who ate a l l day and d i d nothing\" (baoshi zhongri ersuo shishi), i . e . f r e e l o a d e r s on the s y s t e m . 1 5 6 Under the terms of the Three F i x agreement every g r a i n d e f i c i e n t household was requ i r e d to draw up concrete plans f o r i n c r e a s i n g i t s g r a i n production on a year to year b a s i s and for l i m i t i n g i t s c o n s u m p t i o n . 1 5 7 Under the Three F i x e s , not only was the s t a t e going to purchase l e s s g r a i n , i t was a l s o going to s e l l l e s s . There was a campaign to make up for cutbacks i n supply by encouraging \" t h r i f t and economy\" and the e l i m i n a t i o n of waste and extravagance i n consumption h a b i t s again, something f o r which domestic Overseas Chinese had often enough been accused. The s e v e r i t y of the c r i s i s i n the Overseas Chinese areas can be gauged by the f a c t that i n March 1955 the Hong Kong government began r e s t r i c t i n g border c r o s s i n g s , i n an e f f o r t to stem a growing t i d e of exodus, p a r t i c u l a r l y among domestic Overseas Chinese with r e l a t i v e s i n Hong Kong. In one v i l l a g e i n 156Zhongguo quanguo guiguo huaqi ao lianhehui chengli dahui tekan, 2 v o l s . (Peking: Zhongguo quangu guiguo huazia l i a n h e h u i , 1957), v o l . 1, p. 85. 1 5 7 S h u e , p. 237. HK WHB 1 September 1955 i n SCMP 1126. 1 23 Taishan, f o r example, i t was reported that 38 of the 52 Overseas Chinese f a m i l i e s f l e d to Hong K o n g . 1 5 8 In J u l y 1955 i t was reported that i n the 2nd and 5th d i s t r i c t s of Enping county as w e l l as i n the main Overseas Chinese d i s t r i c t s of Taishan, peasants were withh o l d i n g p u b l i c g r a i n and s t e a l i n g draught animals belonging to c o l l e c t i v e s . In August of the same year there were report s of acts of sabotage and murder i n Renhua county, i n c l u d i n g the burning of l o c a l Party and government o f f i c e s and a s s a s i n a t i o n of o f f i c i a l s . 1 5 9 That domestic Overseas Chinese s u f f e r e d c o n s i d e r a b l y during the g r a i n supply c r i s i s d e s p i t e the government's r e c e n t l y s t a t e d i n t e n t i o n s to extend s p e c i a l care towards t h i s group was cause for sober r e f l e c t i o n . The State C o u n c i l D i r e c t i v e on remittances issued i n February, j u s t as the g r a i n c r i s i s was about to erupt, had c a l l e d for e x t r a g r a i n a l l o t m e n t s f or domestic Overseas Chinese i n order to help them o f f s e t the cost of weddings, f u n e r a l s and other \" f e u d a l \" c e l e b r a t i o n s . Yet, by the summer of 1955 He Xiangning was a d m i t t i n g to the NPC that the OCAC r e g r e t t a b l y was \" s t i l l not capable of promptly p u t t i n g forward on the basi s of the s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the returned 1 5 BGMRB 6 J u l y 1955 i n SCMP 1089. 1 5 9 H e , Wei, Zhonggong qiaowu yu qiaoxiang, ( T a i b e i : Z i l i a n chubanshe, 1956), p. 64-66. The i n c i d e n t s c i t e d are from documented PRC newspaper r e p o r t s . 1 24 Overseas Chinese and Overseas Chinese dependents, namely t h e i r dependence on remittances, shortgage of landholdings and lack of foodgrains, the necessary t i m e l y measures for ensuring t h e i r w e l f a r e , with the r e s u l t that f o r a peri o d there was a very tense g r a i n supply s i t u a t i o n i n some Overseas Chinese d i s t r i c t s . \" 1 6 0 Measures were undertaken as the c r i s i s subsided to improve the s i t u a t i o n of domestic Overseas Chinese, and to make good on the promise to ensure that t h e i r needs were looked a f t e r . So that i n June 1955, f o r example, the r i c e r a t i o n for domestic Overseas Chinese i n the Changzhou area averaged 10% higher than that f o r ord i n a r y p e r s o n s . 1 6 1 Domestic Overseas Chinese were granted higher r a t i o n s f o r g r a i n , c l o t h , o i l , meat and s u g a r . 1 6 2 And i n 1956 Supply and Marketing Cooperatives i n Overseas Chinese d i s t r i c t s were i n s t r u c t e d to open s p e c i a l r e t a i l stores c a t e r i n g s o l e l y to domestic 1 6 0 c i t e d i n He, zhonggong qiaowu, p. 57-58. See a l s o Zhongguo quanguo guiguo huaqiao, vol. 1, p. 94. 1 6 1 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 62, 227. In another r e p o r t , by J u l y 1955 the g r a i n supply quota for Overseas Chinese dependents was on the average 3-4 c a t t i e s more than f o r other g r a i n d e f i c i e n t households GMRB 6 J u l y 1955 i n SCMP 1093. 1 6 2 I n Guangdong a s p e c i a l d i r e c t i v e was issued c a l l i n g on a l l Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s organs as w e l l as commercial and procurement organs to cooperate i n strengthening the supply of a l l basic d a i l y n e c e s s i t i e s to Overseas Chinese households. Guiguo huaqiao xuexi z i l i a o , comp. Guangdong sheng huaqiao shiwu wei yuanhui xuanjiaoke (n. p. ; 1956). 1 25 Overseas Chinese and o f f e r i n g d a i l y n e c e s s i t i e s as w e l l as consumer goods not a v a i l a b l e or a f f o r d a b l e by or d i n a r y peasants. The s t a t e i n attempting to make up for the f a i l u r e of i t s promise to \"take care\" (zhaogu) of the s p e c i a l needs of domestic Overseas Chinese, thus adopted f u r t h e r measures which ran c l e a r l y counter i n l e t t e r and i n s p i r i t -- to the simultaneous e f f o r t s to encourage \" t h r i f t and economy\" among the r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n as a whole. Thus even as these new measures were being implemented, pressures were mounting for a r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e i r v i a b i l i t y and even t h e i r d e s i r e a b i l i t y . The c r i s i s of s p r i n g 1955 and i t s response added f u e l to the debate on n a t i o n a l a g r i c u l t u r a l p o l i c y that was r a p i d l y coming to a head i n China and was about to be r e s o l v e d by Mao's J u l y 1955 speech. The attempt to r e s o l v e the debate through r a p i d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was to have important i m p l i c a t i o n s for domestic Overseas Chinese, and for the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y i n place since 1954. In s h o r t , i t p r e c i p i t a t e d -- indeed required -- a r e t h i n k i n g of the mutual o b l i g a t i o n s owed between the s t a t e and returned Overseas Chinese and Overseas Chinese dependents. 1 26 A foreshadowing of t h i s r e a p p r a i s a l can be glimpsed i n the e f f o r t by Lo L i s h i i n l a t e 1956 to d i s t i n g u i s h what he maintained was a fundamental d i f f e r e n c e between the s u f f e r i n g i n f l i c t e d upon domestic Overseas Chinese during land reform and the d i f f i c u l t i e s they exprienced i n gr a i n supply, e s p e c i a l l y during the s p r i n g 1955 c r i s i s . The former problem, he s a i d , could have been l a r g e l y avoided: i t was the r e s u l t of poorly thought out p o l i c i e s and crude e r r o r s of judgement. The more recent problem, however, was completely unavoidable: i t was an o b j e c t i v e problem, he s a i d , one that had emerged i n the course of the t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m and that n e c e s s a r i l y a f f e c t e d the e n t i r e r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n , not j u s t domestic Overseas C h i n e s e . 1 6 3 163Qiaowubao 17 November 1956, p. 18. 1 27 CHAPTER IV: Contradictory Aims and C o n f l i c t i n g Interests: The Overseas Chinese Areas in Rural Guangdong and S o c i a l i s t Transformation, Part II C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n In s p i t e of an o f f i c i a l l y p r e s c r i b e d three stage process for s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n (MATs, followed by APCs and Advanced APCs), on the eve of the \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n the l a r g e s t part of the Chinese countryside had undergone v i r t u a l l y no i n s t i t u t i o n a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . Walker c i t e s s t a t i s t i c s which show that on a n a t i o n a l l e v e l by the end of 1955 only 4% of peasant households had j o i n e d c o l l e c t i v e s , while by June 1956 the f i g u r e had r i s e n d r a m a t i c a l l y to 63 . 2 % . 1 6 4 Guangdong was even behind the n a t i o n a l average, due to the l a t e completion of land reform and the s e r i e s of n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s which struck i n 1954-55. Consequently, i t seems almost c e r t a i n that the m a j o r i t y of Guangdong peasants progressed d i r e c t l y from the st a t u s of p r i v a t e farmers to members of f u l l c o l l e c t i v e s (advanced APCs) durin g the \"high t i d e \" from August 1955 to summer 1956. There was, i n other words, a leap i n t o c o l l e c t i v e s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 which d i r e c t l y c o n t r a d i c t e d 1 6 a W a l k e r , \" C o l l e c t i v i a t i o n i n Retrospect\", p. 34-35. 1 28 the long s t a t e d p o l i c y ( r e i t e r a t e d even i n Mao's J u l y speech) of advancing s t e a d i l y by stages. Figures from Guangdong confirm t h i s leap. Of the 15,000 APCs e s t a b l i s h e d nationwide by the end of 1953, 78.6% were concentrated i n the north and northeast and only 4.2% i n the south and s o u t h w e s t . 1 6 5 Furthermore, before s p r i n g 1954 there were no cooperatives at a l l i n Guangdong. 1 6 6 In February 1954 the S t a t i s t i c a l Bureau of the Guangdong government announced there were 190 APCs i n the province. By c o n t r a s t i n the northeast plans were announced i n January 1954 to c r e a t e 7,700 new APCs \u00E2\u0080\u0094 one and one h a l f times the e x i s t i n g number. And by as l a t e as September 1955 only 7% of peasant households i n Guangdong had j o i n e d A P C s . 1 6 7 Overseas Chinese p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n APCs appears to have been no more developed, and probably was very much l e s s . For example, i n May 1955 the r e s u l t s were published of a survey which followed up on Overseas Chinese whose c l a s s s t a t u s had been changed. In 36 townships i n Wenchang county, of 240 Overseas Chinese households that had t h e i r c l a s s s t a t u s changed, 158 had j o i n e d MATs but s t i l l only 7 households or 2.7% of the 1 6 5 W a l k e r , p. 16. 1 6 6 i b i d . . , p. 16. 1 6 7 L i a n g , p. 17 HK DGB 25 August 1955 i n SCMP 1117. On the progress of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n Guangdong i n gener a l , see Vogel, p. 146-156. 1 29 t o t a l had j o i n e d APCs. 1 6 8 There were reports that g e t t i n g Overseas Chinese to p a r t i c i p a t e i n APCs was le s s d i f f i c u l t i n mountaineous and semi-mountainous regions, because Overseas Chinese i n these areas tended to be more f a m i l i a r and accoustomed to a g r i c u l t u r a l labour and ther e f o r e more w i l l i n g to o r g a n i z e . 1 6 9 In f a c t , over 90% of Overseas Chinese dependents countrywide j o i n e d APCs durin g the \"high t i d e \" between summer 1955 and summer 1956, with only about 50% of t h i s number j o i n i n g A P C s . 1 7 0 In p r i n c i p l e , domestic Overseas Chinese p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n APCs was supposed to proceed no d i f f e r e n t l y than for the r u r a l population at la r g e according to the twin p r i n c i p l e s of \" v o l u n t a r i n e s s \" and \"mutual b e n e f i t \" (to the i n d i v i d u a l and the c o l l e c t i v e ) . In p r a c t i c e , however, the opportunties fo r domestic Overseas Chinese w i t h i n c o l l e c t i v e s were severely c o n s t r i c t e d by t h e i r \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . \" And j u s t as under the c o n d i t i o n s of U n i f i e d Purchase, these c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s rendered them e s p e c i a l l y v u l n e r a b l e . 1 6 8HK DGB 14 May 1955 i n SCMP 1048. 1 6 9CWS 31 December 1954 i n SCMP 962; HK DGB 6 February 1955 i n SCMP 982. 1 7 0He Xiangning, \" J i n y i b u guanche z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce, kaizhan qiaowu gongzuo\", i n Zhonghua renmin gongheguo di yi j i e quanquo renmin di abi ao dahui disanci hui yi wenjian ( B e i j i n g : renmin chubanshe, 1956), p. 268. 1 30 There i s convincing evidence that many i f not most domestic Overseas Chinese s u f f e r e d a l o s s of income and a d e c l i n e i n l i v i n g standards as a r e s u l t of j o i n i n g A P C s . 1 7 1 O f f i c i a l p o l i c y s t a t e d that l o c a l cadres were to proceed with the formation of Advanced APCs only i f they could guarantee an increase i n income for at l e a s t 90% of the membership during the f i r s t year of o p e r a t i o n . 1 7 2 In most cases t h i s was not a d i f f i c u l t c r i t e r i o n to meet, since the poor peasant m a j o r i t y which was found i n most APCs would undoubtedly experience r i s i n g incomes when shares were a b o l i s h e d and remuneration was on the bas i s of workpoints a l o n e . 1 7 3 In t h i s way, the formation of Advanced APCs was seen as the f i n a l stage i n i s o l a t i n g r i c h peasants. But the e f f e c t of a b o l i s h i n g shares and basing remuneration s o l e l y on workpoints was a l s o to d i s c r i m i n a t e across the board against the la r g e numbers of domestic Overseas Chinese who d i d not engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production themselves, whether r i c h or poor. So severe was t h i s problem among Overseas Chinese dependents that i n 1956 Lo L i s h i , Chairman of 1 7 1Q/aowubao 17 November 1956, p. 18. 1 7 2 W a l k e r , \" C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n Retropsect,\" p. 29. 1 7 3Under APCs dividends were paid out on the b a s i s of the means of production c o n t r i b u t e d to the APC (la n d , t o o l s , etc.) and the amount of labour c o n t r i b u t e d . Under Advanced APCs, p r i v a t e ownershp was abo l s i h e d and remuneration was s o l e l y on the bas i s of workpoints earned through labour. 131 the Guangdong OCAC, admitted that the pro p o r t i o n s u f f e r i n g a d e c l i n e i n income a f t e r j o i n i n g Advanced APCs was greater among Overseas Chinese dependents than the r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n at l a r g e , and g r e a t e r , even, than among r i c h peasants. Consequently, s a i d Lo L i s h i , during the \"high t i d e \" , when the masses of Chinese peasants were e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y rushing to j o i n c o l l e c t i v e s , many domestic Overseas Chinese were que s t i o n i n g whether c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was i n t h e i r own best i n t e r e s t s . In the f i r s t h a l f of 1956 e s p e c i a l l y , t h i s was a question on the minds of most domestic Overseas C h i n e s e . 1 7 4 The age and sex d i s t r i b u t i o n of dependents was severely skewed, t h e i r numbers c o n s i s t i n g almost e n t i r e l y of women, the e l d e r l y and young c h i l d r e n . Most t h e r e f o r e were unable to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production themselves. Instead, the \"overwhelming m a j o r i t y \" r e l i e d mainly on remittances f or t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d . O f f i c i a l p o l i c y s t a t e d that i f Overseas Chinese \"volunteered\" to invest t h e i r remittances i n c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the welfare of t h e i r home areas t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s were to be welcomed. The c r e a t i o n of APCs opened up the p o s s i b i l i t y for APCs to become the i n h e r i t o r s and prime b e n e f i c i a r i e s of t h i s h i s t o r i c 1 7 4Q/aowubao 17 November 1956, p. 18. 1 32 t r a d i t i o n among Overseas Chinese. Overseas Chinese were i n v i t e d to c o n t r i b u t e to APCs i n two ways: e i t h e r d i r e c t l y , through d e p o s i t i n g funds i n the APC share fund (gufen jijin), or i n d i r e c t l y , through d e p o s i t s i n l o c a l c r e d i t cooperatives from which APCs could borrow. In J u l y 1955 i t was reported that i n Taishan county Overseas Chinese accounted for 25% of the membership i n the county's 254 c r e d i t c o o p e r a t i v e s , but t h e i r d e p o s i t s comprised 74.6% of the t o t a l f u n d s . 1 7 5 So long as APC members continued to draw di v i d e n d s on c a p i t a l investment shares, there was no inherent disadvantage to Overseas Chinese using remittances f o r t h i s purpose (there was a r e l a t i v e disadvantage, i n s o f a r as p r i v a t e investments would have y i e l d e d higher r e t u r n s ) . In the \"Trustworthy Cooperative\" (xinyong she) on Hainan I s l a n d i t was reported that l o c a l peasants and domestic Overseas. Chinese had e s t a b l i s h e d very c l o s e r e l a t i o n s , w i t h the r e s u l t that the APC fund had become the \" t r u s t e d r e p o s i t o r y \" f o r the remittances of a l l the dependents i n the township. Consequently the APC was able to r a i s e i t s production and increase the income of a l l i t s members. 1 7 6 During the course of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , however, the forced \" m o b i l i z a t i o n \" (dongyuan) of Overseas *75GMRB 6 J u l y 1955 i n SCMP 1093. 17eZhongguo quanguo guiguo huaqiao, vol. 1, p. 99-100. 1 33 Chinese remittances f o r c o l l e c t i v e purposes emerged as a se r i o u s problem and a d i r e c t v i o l a t i o n of the s t a t e ' s \"long term\" p o l i c y of p r o t e c t i n g remittances and guaranteeing the r i g h t of r e c i p i e n t s to dispose of them f r e e l y (ziyou shiyong).177 E s p e c i a l l y during the \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n there was cons i d e r a b l e pressure put on Overseas Chinese dependents by l o c a l cardres to surrender t h e i r remittances to the APC f o r investment i n productive purposes. \" M o b i l i z i n g \" remittances i n t h i s way was apparently regarded by some cadres as s i g n i f y i n g a v i c t o r y f o r s o c i a l i s m rather than a v i o l a t i o n of the State C o u n c i l d i r e c t i v e on remittances: a modified, s o c i a l i s t v e r s i o n of the age ol d t r a d i t i o n of c a r i n g for the jiaxiang. Dependence on remittances tended to f o s t e r a d i s d a i n for a g r i c u l t u r a l production and f o r manual labour i n g e n e r a l . This was i n f a c t regarded as one of the most s a l i e n t and unsavory c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of dependents. As e a r l y as 1953 the F i r s t Guangdong P r o v i n c i a l Overseas Chinese Dependents Rural Production Conference was convened (a second was held i n l a t e 1956) to i n c u l c a t e i n dependents the b e l i e f that \"labour i s g l o r i o u s . \" 1 7 8 Judging from the frequency of 1 7 7 S e e the comments by He Ziangning i n her 1956 address to the NPC. 1 7 8CWS 29 October 1953 i n SCMP 681. Just p r i o r to the Conference, the Guangdong government a l l o c a t e d a hefty 1 34 references to i t , t h i s a t t i t u d i n a l d e f i c i e n c y was a serious and p e r s i s t e n t problem from the p o i n t of view of o f f i c i a l s concerned. Even He Xiangning, i n her cap a c i t y as Chairman of the C e n t r a l OCAC, roundly c r i t i c i z e d the domestic Overseas Chinese i n 1955 for t h e i r f a i l u r e to appreciate that p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n production was not only a concrete m a n i f e s t a t i o n of p a t r i o t i s m , but was v i t a l to the progress of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n . 1 7 9 The problem of g e t t i n g domestic Overseas Chinese to p a r t i c i p a t e i n production was made much more d i f f i c u l t by the February 1955 State. C o u n c i l decree which guaranteed the r i g h t of domestic Overseas Chinese to l i v e o f f f of remittances alone. When i t came to the formation of APCs t h e r e f o r e , the problem of Overseas Chinese p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n production was s t i l l f a r from r e s o l v e d . In the Southern Tiger Advanced APC i n Meixian county, 67 out of 278 domestic Overseas Chinese member households refused to p a r t i c i p a t e i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production, c i t i n g the State C o u n c i l ' s guarantee of t h e i r r i g h t to l i v e from remittances a l o n e . 1 8 0 1 7 8 ( c o n t ' d ) f i n a n c i a l subsidy to Overseas Chinese dependents to get them s t a r t e d i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production. Taishan county, f o r example, d i s t r i b u t e d some 570 m i l l i o n yuan f o r dependents to purchase oxen, ploughs, f e r t i l i z e r , e t c . CNS 24 October 1953 i n SCMP 675; CNS 27 May 1954 i n SCMP 817. iJ9CNS 7 Feburary 1955 i n SCMP 985. 1B0Qiaowubao 17 November 1956, p. 18. In her 1956 1 35 In a n a l y z i n g the labour problems which faced domestic Overseas Chinese j o i n i n g APCs, Lo L i s h i admitted to a fundamental dilemma. On the one hand, he s a i d , the \"great m a j o r i t y \" of domestic Overseas Chinese requested that t h e i r tasks w i t h i n the c o l l e c t i v e be determined w i t h \"due c o n s i d e r a t i o n \" of t h e i r \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" , i n c l u d i n g some who demanded that they be exempt from a l l labour o b l i g a t i o n s . On the other hand, however, i f domestic Overseas Chinese were to be e n t i t l e d to a share of the c o l l e c t i v e d i v i d e n d s , i t was e s s e n t i a l that they engage i n labour and accumulate workpoints l i k e the r e s t of the c o l l e c t i v e membership. Otherwise, they would be members i n name only. The dilemma was compounded by the f a c t that nearly a l l dependent households s u f f e r e d from weak labour power and t h e r e f o r e were at a d i s t i n c t disadvantage so f a r as accumulating workpoints was c o n c e r e d . 1 8 1 Even those domestic Overseas Chinese who were capable of c o n t r i b u t i n g p r o d u c t i v e l y to APCs f r e q u e n t l y complained that proper use was not being made of the s k i l l s they had to o f f e r . E s p e c i a l l y among returned Overseas Chinese, there were many who possessed s p e c i a l 1 8 0 ( c o n t ' d ) speech to the NPC, He Xiangning supported the l e g i t i m a t e r i g h t of domestic Overseas Chinese to be exempt from labour o b l i g a t i o n s w i t h i n APCs i f they re c e i v e d r e g u l a r remittances. \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce,\" p. 269. 18xQiaowubao 17 November 1956, kp. 18. 1 36 t e c h n i c a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l s k i l l s a c quired overseas. In f a c t , during the 1950's the government was a c t i v e l y encouraging such persons to ret u r n to China and co n t r i b u t e t h e i r s k i l l s to s o c i a l i s t c o n s t r u c t i o n of the motherland. But there were frequent complaints that the \" s p e c i a l i z e d s k i l l s \" (laodong zhuanchang) of these returned Overseas Chinese were being ignored by APC cadres re s p o n s i b l e f o r work assignments, thus i n d i c a t i n g that a tension l i k e l y e x i s t e d between poorly educated cadres ( i t was p o l i c y to r e c r u i t APC \"backbone\" (gugan) cadres from among the poor peasant ranks) and be t t e r educated huaqiao. I t was not Uncommon to f i n d such huaqiao employed i n tasks f a r from commensurate with t h e i r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and s k i l l s : d e n t i s t s worked as d i s p a t c h e r s , h i g h l y s k i l l e d a r t i s t s f unctioned as sal e s c l e r k s , e t c . 1 8 2 H i s t o r i c a l l y , Guangdong peasants had supplemented t h e i r meagre landholdings by growing cash crops and 1 8 2He, \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce\", p. 271. In an i n t e r e s t i n g t w i s t to t h i s problem, a delegate to the 1956 ACROCA meeting (himself a medical doctor returned since 1949) proposed that those who st u d i e d n a t u r a l sciences abroad should have t h e i r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n s put to use, because the laws of the n a t u r a l sciences \"had no c l a s s b a s i s \" (meiyou jiejixing). But those who had studie d p o l i t i c a l theory or the s o c i a l sciences abroad should not n e c e s s a r i l y have t h e i r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n s recognized, because the systems of c a p i t a l i s t and s o c i a l i s t thought are \"fundamentally opposed to one another (genben duillde). Zhonghua quanguo guiquo huaqiao, 1:16. 1 37 engaging i n a v a r i e t y of \" s i d e l i n e s \" (fuye) such as aquaculture (which was h i g h l y developed i n Guangdong), r a i s i n g of p i g s , f r u i t , e t c . Most of these s i d e l i n e s r e q u i r e d l i t t l e c a p i t a l expenditure to develop and only m a r g i n a l l y e x t r a labour output. As a r e s u l t s i d e l i n e production was h i g h l y developed i n Guangdong, accounting f or a s u b s t a n t i a l p o r t i o n of t o t a l a g r i c u l t u r a l i n come. 1 8 3 Because of the minimal labour requirements, s i d e l i n e production and c e r t a i n cash crops were e s p e c i a l l y h i g h l y developed i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong. In Shunde county, f o r example, nearly a l l a g r i c u l t u r a l land was devoted to economic crops. On the average, Shunde imported 110 m i l l i o n c a t t i e s of r i c e each year from beyond i t s b o r d e r s . 1 8 \" An i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the s i t u a t i o n i n Xinhui township i n the Overseas Chinese county of Taishan revealed that i n years of abundant harvest l o c a l l y c u l t i v a t e d r i c e provided f o r the g r a i n needs of the pop u l a t i o n f o r 6-9 months of every year. For the other 3-6 months most persons depended on s i d e l i n e s and cash 1 8 3 I n neighbouring F u j i a n , with s i m i l a r c o n d i t i o n s to Guangdong, cash crops and s i d e l i n e s made up 52% of the t o t a l a g r i c u l t u r a l income i n the mid 1950's, i n c l u d i n g 24% from s i d e l i n e s alone. Qi aowubao 17 December 1956, p. 1 . 1 8*HK WHB 17 June 1955 i n SCMP 1073. 138 crops to meet t h e i r g r a i n consumption n e e d s . 1 8 5 The 1956 Guangdong Returned Overseas Chinese Work Conference recognized that i n Overseas Chinese areas, because land was i n short supply and labour power g e n e r a l l y weak, there was an e s t a b l i s h e d t r a d i t i o n of d i v e r s i f i e d economy and much s i d e l i n e a c t i v i t y . 1 8 6 Encouraging domestic Overseas Chinese to engage i n s i d e l i n e a c t i v i t i e s and the c u l t i v a t i o n of c e r t a i n economic crops was seen by Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s o f f i c i a l s as a p o t e n t i a l l y promising way to overcome the problem of weak labour power i n Overseas Chinese households and r e s u l t a n t d e c l i n i n g income a f t e r j o i n i n g APCs. I t a l s o would solve the problem of making Overseas Chinese i n t o productive members of the APC, would represent a more r a t i o n a l a l l o c a t i o n of labour w i t h i n the c o o p e r a t i v e , and at the same time enable at l e a s t 90% of domestic Overseas Chinese APC members to r a i s e t h e i r Overseas Chinese i n c o m e s . 1 8 7 The e f f o r t to turn domestic Overseas Chinese i n t o f u l l y p a r t i c i p a t i n g and productive APC members centered, t h e r e f o r e , on the promotion of s i d e l i n e a c t i v i t i e s . 1 8 8 Domestic Overseas Chinese households 185\u00C2\u00A3>/ aowubao 20 March 1 957, p. 7. y e 6 Q i awubao 20 February 1957, p. 2. 101Qiaowubao 17 November, 1956, p. 18. 1 8 8 I n Xingfu Advanced APC i n Chaoan county, 134 out of 146 dependent households were able to increase t h e i r incomes by r a i s i n g pigs and growing f r u i t . Qi aowubao 17 1 39 were to be allowed to form t h e i r own production u n i t s w i t h i n APCs at the l e v e l of team {dui ) or small group (xiaozu), for the purpose of engaging e x c l u s i v e l y i n s i d e l i n e production -- not u n l i k e the \" s p e c i a l i z e d households\" operating i n r u r a l China today (Guangdong has by far the l a r g e s t number of such \" s p e c i a l i z e d households\" of any p r o v i n c e ) . As w e l l , there were demands for f u l l r e c o g n i t i o n of the legitmacy of family s i d e l i n e s (ji at i ng fuye), as d i s t i n c t from s i d e l i n e s under APC management. 1 8 9 The case f o r a c t i v e domestic Overseas Chinese p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n c o l l e c t i v e s r e s t e d , t h e r e f o r e , upon the general case put forward f o r developing a \" d i v e r s i f i e d economy\" (duozhong jingji) and \" d i v e r s i f i e d management\" {duozhong jingying) -- thus entangling the fa t e of the domestic Overseas Chinese i n the pendulum debate which engulfed these two c o n t r o v e r s i a l i s s u e s . 1 9 0 Leading Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s cadres pointed out that both the CCP C e n t r a l Committee and the State C o u n c i l , i n i t s d i r e c t i v e on s e t t i n g up APCs, had str e s s e d that c o l l e c t i v e s ought to \"open up production avenues, develop s i d e l i n e p r o duction, and manage 1 8 8 ( c o n t ' d ) December 1956, p. 4. 1e9Qiaowubao 17, November 1956, p. 18. 1 9 0Q/aowubao 17 December 1956, p. 4. 1 40 d i v e r s i f i e d economies\" (Kaipi ng shengchan lu, fazhan fuye shengchan, j i ngyi ng duozhong jingji).*9'1 Reports on the progress of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n Guangdong a l s o stessed the v i r t u e s of a \" d i v e r s i f i e d economy\" for s o l v i n g the problems of p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l i t i e s . In Jiangbu township i n Guangning county, a semi-mountainous area where farming o p p o r t u n i t i e s were l i m i t e d and with a high population to land r a t i o , the development of a d i v e r s i f i e d ecomomy i n c l u d i n g many types of s i d e l i n e s was reported to be the only way APC members could increase t h e i r i n c o m e s . 1 9 2 In Tianmeicun APC i n Taishan, on the b a s i s of \" u n i t i n g the p o l i c y of d i v e r s i f y i n g production w i t h the concrete l o c a l s i t u a t i o n \" , the APC decided to make the opening up of wasteland i t s main e f f o r t . I t then organized s p e c i a l \"mountain area production teams\" (shanchu shengchan dui ) i n which those who were r e l a t i v e l y o l d or otherwise l a c k i n g i n labour power were grouped together to be re s p o n s i b l e f o r l i v e s t o c k r e a r i n g and other s i d e l i n e s . In t h i s way the APC was able to put to productive use what otherwise would have been c l a s s i f i e d as surplus l a b o u r . 1 9 3 1 9 1He, \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce\", p. 270. 1 9 2Zhonggong zhongyang bangongting, ed. Zhongguo nongcun de shehuizhuyi gaochao v o l s . ( B e i j i n g : Renmin chubanshe 1956), v o l . 3, p. 1016-1018. 1 9 3 i b i d . , p. 996-1001. 141 According to Nicholas Lardy, between 1949-1957 regions were on the whole encouraged, through the mechanisms of p r i c e s and st a t e g r a i n supply, to s p e c i a l i z e and pursue comparative advantages i n the areas of l i v e s t o c k r e a r i n g and cash crop p r o d u c t i o n . 1 9 4 I t was not u n t i l a f t e r 1965 that s p e c i a l i z a t i o n was o f f i c i a l l y and completely discouraged i n favour of a p o l i c y of l o c a l foodgrain s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y . However, the issue of foodgrains versus cash crops and s i d e l i n e s d i d emerge during c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n as w e l l , w i t h important p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as economic r a m i f i c a t i o n s (indeed the debate was as much p o l i t i c a l as ecomomic; i t would be u n r e a l i s t i c to attempt to separate the two.) This was e s p e c i a l l y the case during the \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . 1 9 5 Lardy notes that c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n c o i n c i d e d w i t h the s o c i a l i s t t r a nsformation of most remaining forms of p r i v a t e commerce to s t a t e c o n t r o l and thus produced a \"concomitant squeeze on the remaining r u r a l p r i v a t e 1 9 \" A c c o r d i n g to Lardy's c a l c u l a t i o n s , between 1953-1956, f o r example, h a l f of a l l g r a i n c o l l e c t e d ;by the s t a t e through procurement and taxes was r e s o l d i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . Nicholas R. Lardy, Agriculture in China's Modern Economic Development, (Cambridge: U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1983), p. 48. 1 9 50n the i n t r a - P a r t y debate over t h i s issue i n the aftermath of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n see the i n t r o d u c t i o n by Lardy and L i e b e r t h a l i n Nicholas R. Lardy and Kenneth L i e b e r t h a l , eds., Chen Yun's Strategy for China's Development. A Non-Maoist Alternative, (Armonk, N. Y : M. E. Sharpe, 1983), p. xi - x x x v . 1 42 a c t i v i t i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y household s i d e l i n e s \" . 1 9 6 The c o n s t r i c t i o n of s i d e l i n e s was the r e s u l t of p o l i t i c a l pressure as w e l l , i n a d d i t i o n to the d e l i b e r a t e s i l t i n g up of the l a s t remaining channels of p r i v a t e commerce. Some APCs c r i t i c z e d the r a i s i n g of pigs and ducks and the engagement i n s i d e l i n e s as a waste of foodgrain and a \"spontaneous tendency\" (zifa quanli) towards \" c a p i t a l i s t t h i n k i n g \" . Some \"APCs put a h a l t to s i d e l i n e s managed by households, c o n s i d e r i n g that labouring for fa m i l y concerns (ji awu laodong) d i d not co n s i t u t e true \"labour\" from the APCs point of view. In Guangdong as a r e s u l t , although absolute production f i g u r e s increased d u r i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , l e v e l s were beginning to f a l l behind f or c e r t a i n important products, i n c l u d i n g silkworms, peanuts, j u t e , rapeseed. The biggest drop was recorded i n p i g production. On the whole, s a i d He Xiangning, i n many Overseas Chinese d i s t r i c u t s s i d e l i n e production was down by one t h i r d to one h a l f . 1 9 7 Not only was there an i d e o l o g i c a l attack on s i d e l i n e s , as man i f e s t i n g a spontaneous tendency towards c a p i t a l i s m . In some areas the conversion to Advanced APCs r e s u l t e d i n a \"one-sided emphasis\" on foodgrain production. According to Ezra Vogel, \"the 1 9 6 L a r d y , Agriculture, p. 38. 1 9 7 H e , \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce\", p. 269. 1 43 u l t i m a t e goal of cooperatives had been to increase g r a i n production r a p i d l y . \" 1 9 8 This s u b s t a n t i a l l y hurt the incomes of many Overseas Chinese households who knew only s i d e l i n e s and were unable or u n w i l l i n g to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l f i e l d l a b o u r . 1 9 9 In Shunde county, for example, mulberry t r e e s were cut down so land could be converted to r i c e paddy, causing a great l o s s of silkworms. In Kaiping county orange t r e e s were chopped down and g a r l i c growing stopped during c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . 2 0 0 The \"one-sided emphasis\" on g r a i n production during c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n may a l s o have been p a r t l y the r e s u l t of Guangdong's r o l e i n the F i r s t F i v e Year Plan as an increased s u p p l i e r and exporter of foodgrain. While there was a great deal of l i p s e r v i c e p a i d to the concept of b u i l d i n g a \" d i v e r s i f i e d economy\" under \" d i v e r s i f i e d management\", the g r a i n requirements of the F i r s t F i v e Year P l a n , i n combination with p o l i t i c a l pressures ( e s p e c i a l l y during the \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n ) which i d e n t i f i e d household s i d e l i n e s with r u r a l c a p i t a l i s m , worked s t r o n g l y against the chances of a t r u l y d i v e r s i f i e d economy developing and s u r v i v i n g . 1 9 8 V o g e l , p. 175. 1 \"Qiaowubao 20 March 1957, p. 7; \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce\", p. 269. 2 0 0 H e , \" J i n y i b u z h i x i n g qiaowu zhengce\", p. 269. 1 44 In the f i n a l a n a l y s i s , the trend i n a g r i c u l t u r e i n Guangdong during the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t transformation was in the general d i r e c t i o n of a d e c l i n i n g emphasis on cash crops and s i d e l i n e s , and greater s t r e s s on f o o d g r a i n s . 2 0 1 I t was t h i s pressure which l e d Tao Zhu in 1956 to a s s e r t strenuously the r i g h t of Guangdong to r e s i s t state-determined export quotas on the province's foodgrains, based upon imaginary \"surpluses\" s u b j e c t i v e l y c a l c u l a t e d by the center according to the needs of \"the system\" and not the people. And while not the only ones a f f e c t e d , the domestic Overseas Chinese as a group who c l e a r l y were among the worst v i c t i m s of these combined economic and p o l i t i c a l pressures. The Inherent Weaknesses of Domestic Overseas Chinese P o l i c y R e s p o n s i b i l i t y f or overseeing the concerns of domestic Overseas Chinese and fo r the implementation of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was a three way s p l i t between Party (under the United Front Work Department), s t a t e (the C e n t r a l OCAC and i t s branches) and mass o r g a n i z a t i o n s (Returned Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n s , 2 0 1 S e e Lardy, Agriculture in China's Modern Economic DeveIopment . 1 45 which included dependents as w e l l ) . The a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e was c h a r a c t e r i z e d , i n t y p i c a l Soviet and PRC f a s h i o n , by a matching h i e r a r c h y and the cross appointment of important o f f i c i a l s at a l l l e v e l s . Of these v a r i o u s o r g a n i z a t i o n s , i t was the Returned Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n s (ROCA) and the l o c a l OCAC work committees whose primary f u n c t i o n was to m o b i l i z e domestic Overseas Chinese at the v i l l a g e l e v e l . Their task was to promote domestic Overseas Chinese p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n s o c i a l i s t c o n s t r u c t i o n , and at the same time to see that t h e i r p r i v i l e g e s were respected. I t i s i n the r e p o r t s and proceedings p u b l i s h e d by these o r g a n i z a t i o n s , t h e r e f o r e , that one f i n d s the most r e v e a l i n g and f o r c e f u l l y a r t i c u l a t e d evidence of the tensions and d i f f i c u l t i e s of implementing domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y during the r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . The p r e c i s e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the p o l i c y for s o c i a l i s t transformation and domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was never r e a l l y made c l e a r by c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s . And the r e s u l t i n g confusion and c o n f l i c t between the two was never s u c c e s s f u l l y r e s o l v e d by those r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e i r dual implementation at the base. As has been the case i n many PRC p o l i c y areas, the s t r a t e g y of the c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s was to sketch 1 46 broad p o l i c y g u i d e l i n e s , and leave pl e n t y of scope f or l o c a l cadres to work out t h e i r own s o l u t i o n s to the d e t a i l e d problems of implemention i n s p e c i f i c l o c a l i t i e s . 2 0 2 The d i f f i c u l t and c o n t r a d i c t o r y task of the l o c a l ROCAs and OCAC work committees was to balance \" p r i v i l e g e against p a r t i c i p a t i o n , freedom against c o n t r o l , (and) persuasion against f o r c e . \" 2 0 3 In e a r l y 1957 one Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s o f f i c a l expressed the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s bequeathed to l o c a l Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s organs by the Party center i n the f o l l o w i n g way: \"Some people\", he began, \" f e e l that the Party has two seemingly d i f f e r e n t (bu xiangrong de) p o l i c i e s : one for the s o c i a l i s t transformation of a g r i c u l t u r e , one for Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s . \" To e l i m i n a t e the confusion i t was necessary, he s a i d , to make i t c l e a r to a l l concerned that domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was d e f i n i t e l y \"subordinate t o \" (fucong yu) the Party's \"general l i n e \" f o r the t r a n s i t i o n to s o c i a l i s m . 2 0 4 But the \"subordination\" of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y to s o c i a l i s t transformation was never c l e a r l y a r t i c u l a t e d by c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s between 1953-56 -- i n d i c a t i n g , perhaps, that c e n t r a l 2 0 2 S h u e , p. 5, 8, 332, B e r n s t e i n , \"Mass M o b i l i z a t i o n \" . 2 0 3 F i t z g e r a l d , p.20. 2 0 4(?/ aowubao 20 February 1957, p. 10-11. 147 a u t h o r i t i e s may have been as confused over the issues as cadres on the ground. Another reason f or the f a i l u r e of lea d i n g domestic Overseas Chinese o f f i c i a l s to s p e l l out the r e l a t i o n s h i p may have been that the formulation of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was hi g h l y c e n t r a l i z e d . Key d e c i s i o n s were made by o f f i c i a l s who were as much and perhaps more concerned with the e x t e r n a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s of t h e i r d e c i s i o n s as they were by any i n t e r n a l \" s i d e - e f f e c t s \" those d e c i s i o n s might have on s o c i e t y at l a r g e (as d i s t i n c t from t h e i r e f f e c t s on the domestic Overseas Chinese p o p u l a t i o n , which obviously was of primary concern.) The p o l i c y of p r o t e c t i n g remittances, f o r example, was undertaken w i t h an ul t i m a t e aim to i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r flow -- which o r i g i n a t e d with the huaqiao abroad. Therefore the uppermost concern of policymakers was the e f f e c t s of the remittance p o l i c y on the huaqiao abroad. I n t e r n a l l y , t h e i r concern was that remittances be prot e c t e d . I f that made for c o n t r a d i c t i o n s with other domestic p o l i c i e s , i t was up to basic l e v e l cadres to re s o l v e . The problem f o r l o c a l cadres was that they were both too f a r removed from the concerns which preoccupied domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y makers at the c e n t e r , and too c l o s e to the grass roots p o l i t i c a l 1 48 heat generated by the campaign f o r s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . They were caught, i n words, i n the attempt to mediate between competing aims and c o n f l i c t i n g s t r a t e g i e s . For those o f f i c i a l s f or whom Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was of primary concern, there was a l s o an i n t r a c t a b l e bureaucratic and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e problem. The bure a u c r a t i c d i f f i c u l t y c o n f r o n t i n g the implementation of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was not a unique one; but under the p o l i t i c a l circumstances i t turned out to be f a t a l . L i k e many p o l i c i e s , Overseas Chinese concerns s p i l l e d over across departmental boundaries and compartmentalized bureaucratic r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . The d i f f u s e n e s s of Overseas Chinese concerns was even greater than i n most other p o l i c y areas (such as a g r i c u l t u r a l p o l i c y , or i n d u s t r i a l p o l i c y . ) I f anything, Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s resembled something l i k e \"women's a f f a i r s \" , i n the extreme d i f f u s e n e s s of t h e i r concerns ( i t was the presence of e x t e r n a l as w e l l as i n t e r n a l concerns that uniquely d e f i n e d Overseas Chinese w o r k . ) 2 0 5 The commonly used term \"Overseas 2 0 5 F i t z g e r a l d a l s o draws a s i m i l a r i t y between Overseas Chinese p o l i c y and p o l i c y towards n a t i o n a l m i n o r i t i e s . He p o i n t s out, c o r r e c t l y , that i t i s the e x t e r n a l component of p o l i c y that makes Overseas Chinese p o l i c y unique i n the PRC. P o l i c y towards Muslim m i n o r i t i e s i n the PRC, f o r example, i s not formulated with a view to 1 49 Chinese a f f a i r s \" (huaqiao shiwu, or qiaowu) r e f e r s to t h i s m u l t i - f a c e t e d range of concerns, which bear upon everyt h i n g from f o r e i g n p o l i c y to education, r u r a l development str a t e g y to youth concerns, i n d u s t r i a l p o l i c y and c u l t u r a l p o l i c y , e t c . e t c . What t h i s meant was that there were very few areas of Overseas Chinese work which d i d not require the co o r d i n a t i o n and a c t i v e cooperation of other departments i n the bureaucracy. The p r o t e c t i o n of remittances, for example, r e q u i r e d the s e t t i n g up of s p e c i a l banking p r o v i s i o n s and f a c i l i t i e s , as w e l l as cooperation of APC cadres to ensure remittances were respected as the p r i v a t e property of the i n d i v i d u a l s for whom they were intended, and not regarded as part of the c o l l e c t i v e a s s e t s . To r e l i e v e the problem of overlapping a d m i n i s t r a t i v e concerns, the c e n t r a l Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was organized along the l i n e s of a committee or commission (weiyuanhui ). The committee p r i n c i p l e of o r g a n i z a t i o n i n the PRC was s p e c i f i c a l l y designed to f a c i l i t a t e c o n s u l t a t i o n , cooperation and j o i n t c o o r d i n a t i o n between d i f f e r e n t departments with overlapping c o n e r n s . 2 0 6 As an example, the c e n t r a l OCAC 2 0 5 ( c o n t ' d ) i t s e f f e c t s on Muslims i n other c o u n t r i e s . See F i t z g e r a l d , p. 15. 2 0 6 0 n the committee p r i n c i p l e of o r g a n i z a t i o n i n the PRC and the manner i n which i t f u n c t i o n s , see 150 inc l u d e d i n i t s committee membership r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from the M i n i s t r i e s of Education, Finance, Commerce and oth e r s . According to F i t z g e r a l d , the most s i g n i f i c a n t t r end i n the e v o l u t i o n of the c e n t r a l OCAC since 1949 \"has been a c o n s o l i d a t i o n of i t s c o o r d i n a t i v e f u n c t i o n \" . 2 0 7 A s i m i l a r composition p r e v a i l e d i n the p r o v i n c i a l OCAC branches, and i n the OCAC Work Committees e s t a b l i s h e d at the township (xiang) l e v e l s i n c e 1955. But the committee p r i n c i p l e was not able to completely overcome the p o l i c y implementation problems presented by the d i f f u s e nature of Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s . The problem l a y i n the f a c t that Overseas Chinese concerns were of primary importance only to o f f i c i a l s i n the Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s organs themselves. For o f f i c i a l s i n other departments of the bureaucracy, the \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s \" of domestic Overseas Chinese were of only minor concern. Furthermore, given the smallness of the domestic Overseas Chinese population compared to the n a t i o n a l c o n s t i t u t e n c y , and given the narrowness of these i n t e r e s t s compared to p o l i c i e s f o r the population as a whole, o f f i c i a l s i n other departments were prone to look upon the \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s \" of the domestic 2 0 6 ( c o n t ' d ) Schurmann, p. 89, 188-194. 2 0 7 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 17. 151 Overseas Chinese as both t r i f l i n g and meddlesome. Most important, the \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s \" of the domestic Overseas Chinese i n the mid 1950's were c l e a r l y running against the p r e v a i l i n g p o l i t i c a l winds which were b u i l d i n g as the campaign f or s o c i a l i s t t ransformation gathered speed. Looking a f t e r the \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s \" of the domestic Overseas Chinese f r e q u e n t l y tended to mean s a c r i f i c i n g the s p i r i t , i f not the a c t u a l l e t t e r , of n a t i o n a l p o l i c i e s intended f o r the population at l a r g e . I n v o l v i n g as they d i d c a t e r i n g to the i n t e r e s t s of a small p r i v i l e g e d m i n o r i t y , the almost r e f l e x i v e response of many non-Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s o f f i c i a l s was to e i t h e r ignore r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r those s p e c i a l concerns, or el s e to d e f l e c t r e s p o n s i b l i t y f o r them to o t h e r s . 2 0 8 Such reluctance to deal with Overseas Chinese concerns was r e i n f o r c e d by the knowledge t h a t , during t h i s p e r i o d , i t was u s u a l l y always sa f e r to err on the side of \" l e f t i s t adventurism,\" r a t h e r than to stand accused of \" r i g h t opportunism.\" Besides the i n s t i t u t i o n a l mechanism provided by the committee p r i n c i p l e of o r g a n i z a t i o n for s o l i c i t i n g cooperation from outside departments, i n the mid-1950's 2 0 8 T h i s complaint was voiced by many l o c a l delegates to the f i r s t ACROCA i n 1956. See Zhonghua quanguo gui guo huaqiao v o l s . 1 and 2. 1 52 Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s o f f i c i a l s made repeated c a l l s f o r greater propogandization of Overseas Chinese p o l i c y at the base l e v e l as the key to s u c c e s s f u l implementation. In 1955 He Xiangning blamed inadequate propogandization at the base f o r the f a i l u r e of l o c a l cadres to pr o t e c t remittances, saying that many l o c a l o f f i c i a l s had not even heard of the center's remittance p o l i c y . 2 0 9 And i n 1956 the Guangzhou People's Congress c a l l e d f or an \"Overseas Chinese P o l i c y Progoganda Week,\" which would demand the p a r t e i p a t a i o n of a l l cadres, not j u s t those i n the Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s o r g a n s . 2 1 0 Others saw the s o l u t i o n to the problem of bureaucratic r e s p o n s i b i l i t y as r e q u i r i n g the recruitment of many times more cadres s p e c i a l l y t r a i n e d i n the a f f a i r s of the domestic Overseas Chinese. So complex and m u l t i - f a c e t e d was the range of domestic Overseas Chinese concerns, the f i r s t ACROCA was t o l d by the delegate from Meixian, that i t was simply u n r e a l i s t i c to think these could be adequately t r e a t e d when only a few cadres were s p e c i a l i z e d i n Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s . There was a need to b u i l d up more Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s organs at the l o c a l l e v e l . I t was necessary, too, to overcome the reluctance of upper 2 0 9 // nyi bu zhixing qiaowu zhengce, p. 268. 21\u00C2\u00B0GZRB 2 December 1956. c i t e d i n F i t z g e r a l d , p. 217. 1 53 l e v e l (shangji) Overseas Chinese organs to send down (xiaxiang) t h e i r own s p e c i a l i z e d cadres to i n v e s t i g a t e l o c a l problems, as w e l l as t h e i r preference to have these l o c a l problems i n v e s t i g a t e d and reports \"sent up\" by \"ordinary cadres\" (yiban ganbu).2^ Bureaucratic confusion and reluctance to deal with the'huaqiao problem were not, however, the greatest d i f f i c u l t i e s f a c i n g domestic Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s i n the mid-1950's. Rather, these bure a u c r a t i c m a n i f e s t a t i o n s were symptomatic of a deeper problem a f f l i c t i n g the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y . The most c r i t i c a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n c o n f r o n t i n g domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y , and the more c r u c i a l cause of burea u c r a t i c confusion and p a r a l y s i s , was i t s c o n f l i c t w i t h the class-based s t r a t e g y that was at the heart of the CCP's approach to c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . I t was the growing emphasis and importance of c l a s s , c l a s s consciousness and c l a s s s t r u g g l e which u l t i m a t e l y caused the demise, by 1957 at the l a t e s t , of the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y put i n place at the onset of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . 2 1 1 I n Zhongshan county, a county l e v e l ROCA was not set up u n t i l 1955. Within one year i t had a membership of 1400, but that s t i l l only represented one f o r every 714 domestic Overseas Chinese i n the county. Zhonghua quanguo gui guo huaqi ao, 2:102. 1 54 On the basi s of s t a t i s t i c s gathered during land reform, the CCP claimed i n the mid 1950's that the r u r a l c l a s s composition of the domestic Overseas Chinese population corresponded to that of the r u r a l population as a whole. In 1952, the c l a s s composition of the domestic Overseas Chinese population was s a i d to be 65% poor and h i r e d l a b o u r e r s , 25% middle peasants, 8% other labourers and 2% la n d l o r d s and r i c h p e a s a n t s . 2 1 2 That compared to the f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e s f o r the r u r a l p o p ulation as a whole: 70% poor peasants, 20% middle peasants, 6% r i c h peasants and 4% l a n d l o r d s . 2 1 3 But while the CCP repeatedly a s s e r t e d the basic sameness of the c l a s s composition of domestic Overseas Chinese and peasants i n general, and professed that \"the great m a j o r i t y \" of huaqiao and t h e i r dependents were \"labouring people\" (laodong renmin);2'1'* n e v e r t h e l e s s , on the bas i s of t h e i r \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" the domestic Overseas Chinese population c l e a r l y stood apart from the general peasant population i n important respects \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and more 212NFRB 2 October 1952. C i t e d i n F i t z g e r a l d , p. 212. In 1978 Lia o Chengzhi claimed that i n 1953 a t o t a l of 3.5% of the 6 m i l l i o n dependents i n Guangdong were c l a s s i f i e d as la n d l o r d s during land reform. L i a o , p. 18. 2 1 3 C i t e d i n Lyman P. VanSlyke, Enemies and Friends: The United Front in Chinese Communist History, (Stanford: Stanford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s ) , p. 226. 2 1 \" Q i a o , \"Haiwai guanxi hei l i u t i a o de fandong s h i z h i \" , i n Bixu zhongshi qiaowu zhengci, p. 37. 155 importantly were o f f i c i a l l y s i n g l e d out as such. The domestic Overseas Chinese during the mid-1950's were a designated \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t \" group i n r u r a l s o c i e t y , the object of a f u l l s c a l e \"united f r o n t \" e f f o r t . The expressed need at the same time to s t r e s s the normal d i s t r i b u t i o n of c l a s s e s among them r e f l e c t e d the fundamental ambivalence of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y when a p p l i e d to the strategy f o r r u r a l s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . For while the makers of Overseas Chinese p o l i c y t r e a t e d the domestic Overseas Chinese as a separate, u n i f i e d category d e f i n e d on the ba s i s of t h e i r v a r i o u s shared \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , \" the s o c i a l engineers of r u r a l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n were counting on a class-based s t r a t e g y to a t t r a c t peasants i n t o c o l l e c t i v e s . Overseas Chinese cadres working w i t h i n the Returned Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n , charged with m o b i l i z i n g domestic Overseas Chinese ( i n c l u d i n g dependents) at the v i l l a g e l e v e l , f r e q u e n t l y complained of the d i f f i c u l t i e s o b t a i n i n g i n m o b i l i z a t i o n because of the c o n t r a d i c t i o n which e x i s t e d between the As s o c i a t i o n s being \" m u l t i - c l a s s o r g a n i z a t i o n s \" (duo jieji de hunhe zuzhi) on the one hand, and the e q u a l l y r e a l class-based c o n t r a d i c t i o n s which e x i s t e d w i t h i n t h e i r membership on the other. Cadres working w i t h i n 1 56 these A s s o c i a t i o n s were unsure of whether to e x p l o i t c l a s s d i f f e r e n c e s to promote c l a s s s t r u g g l e , or whether to work to paper over these d i f f e r e n c e s i n the i n t e r e s t s of maintaining a \" u n i f i e d f r o n t . \" Frequently, they stood accused of \"concentrating on one t h i n g , while l o s i n g s i g h t of the other\" (guci shi bi) . 2 1 5 The avowed s t r a t e g y for promoting c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was to r e l y on the c l a s s i n t e r e s t s of poor and middle peasants, e s p e c i a l l y the lower-middle peasants ( i n c l u d i n g the s o - c a l l e d \"new\" lower-middle peasants; i n other words those who had experienced upward m o b i l i t y as a r e s u l t of land reform). According to Mao in h i s J u l y 1955 speech, t h i s meant that c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n c o uld count on the immediate support of at l e a s t 60-70% of the r u r a l peasant p o p u l a t i o n . 2 1 6 As Vivienne Shue puts i t , the o v e r a l l s t r a t e g y of the CCP was to \" h i g h l i g h t the o p p o s i t i o n of i n t e r e s t s \" among d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s w i t h i n the v i l l a g e s . 2 1 7 \"The 21sQiaowubao 17 December 1956, p. 13. 2*eXuexi 11 (November 1955). The Model Regulations f o r s e t t i n g up APCs s t a t e d that r i c h peasants and former l a n d l o r d s should not be permitted to j o i n APCs i n the f i r s t two years of t h e i r o p e r a t i o n . See A r t i c l e 11 i n the Model Regulations for an Agricultural Producers' Co-operative (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1956), p. 11. In p r a c t i c e , APCs often y i e l d e d to the supe r i o r s k i l l s and c a p i t a l o f f e r e d by r i c h peasants and admitted them prematurely. There were a l s o some c a l l s to disband APCs made up e n t i r e l y of r i c h peasants. 2 1 7 S h u e , p. 284. 157 d e l i b e r a t e e f f o r t to h i g h l i g h t , exacerbate, and then manage clas s - b a s e d s t r u g g l e s i n the v i l l a g e s was...(the) c h i e f method of ac h i e v i n g s o c i a l reform and p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e . \" 2 1 8 And indeed, the t h e o r e t i c a l j o u r n a l s f o r cadres were, during t h i s p e r i o d , r e p l e t e with t r a c t s exuding a buoyant s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e and su b j e c t i v e c e r t a i n t y of the s t a t e ' s a b i l i t y to r e a l i z e i t s s o c i a l i s t aims through a c a r e f u l and \" s c i e n t i f i c \" management of r u r a l c l a s s s t r u g g l e . 2 1 9 But i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong the class-based s t r a t e g y ran d i r e c t l y up against the i n t r a c t a b l e r e a l i t i e s of the \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" of the domestic Overseas Chinese. I t al s o clashed d i r e c t l y with the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y which had been designed to cate r e s p e c i a l l y to those c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that women's work was d e l i b e r a t e l y downplayed i n the v i l l a g e s during s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , i n order not to s t i r up family and other c o n f l i c t s that might d i v e r t a t t e n t i o n from the main issue of c l a s s s t r u g g l e . 2 2 0 No such s i m i l a r e f f o r t was made to subdue 2 1 8 i b i d . , p. 29. 2 1 9 A s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e example of t h i s mood which prevaded n e a r l y a l l d i s c u s s i o n s of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n s t r a t e g y , see \"Yao naixin deng dai buyuan rushe de nongmi n de juewu,\" which appeared i n Xuexi 11 (November 1 955) . 2 2 0 S h u e , p. 29. 1 58 the claims of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y and make i t o f f i c i a l l y c l e a r that c l a s s s t r u g g l e was of greatest importance. In f a c t , i n Guangdong the s o c i a l i s t t r a n sformation proceeded amidst repeated pleas to respect the p r i v i l e g e s of domestic Overseas Chinese and claims that these p r i v i l e g e s were being trampled on. In 1956, Overseas Chinese work was l i s t e d as the province's \" c e n t r a l t a s k \" . 2 2 1 The confusion and ambivalence produced by the c o l l i s i o n of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n s t r a t e g y with domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y i s w e l l - i l l u s t r a t e d by the di s c r e p a n c i e s found i n two d i f f e r e n t o f f i c i a l sources, with d i f f e r e n t readerships and d i f f e r e n t o b j e c t i v e s , each d i s c u s s i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n the same Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong. The three volume s e r i e s Zhongguo nongcun de shehui zhuyi gaochao (The High Tide of s o c i a l i s m i n China's Peasant V i l l a g e s ) i s widely recognized as one of the most important sources for the study of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n C h i n a . 2 2 2 Written i n the nature of \" f i e l d r e p o r t s \" , and sanctioned by the CCP C e n t r a l Committee, the gaochao s e r i e s o f f e r s researchers a l i t e r a l step by step account of how c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n proceeded i n p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l i t i e s : 2 2 1 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 229. 222Zhongguo noncun de shehui zhuyi gaochao, 3 v o l s . , ed. Zhonggong zhongyang bangongting ( B e i j i n g : renmin chubanshe, 1956). 159 the problems encountered, the lessons d e r i v e d , p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l features a f f e c t i n g the course of the campaign, e t c . But i n the reports from the Guangdong coun t i e s of Taishan, Zhongshan, and other s , each of which c o n t a i n s a large Overseas Chinese presence, a d i s c u s s i o n of the s p e c i a l concerns of domestic Overseas Chinese and how these concerns a f f e c t e d the implementation of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n these counties i s conspicuously absent. In f a c t , i n the reports from these c o u n t i e s the domestic Overseas Chinese presence i s not even mentioned. Instead, the class-based s t r a t e g y of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n appears to be working with p r e c i s i o n : cadres are making common cause with the poor peasants, u n i t i n g them with the lower middle peasants to i s o l a t e the r i c h peasants, e t c . On the other hand i f one examines the proceedings of the f i r s t A l l - C h i n a Returned Overseas Chinese A s s o c i a t i o n meeting held i n Peking i n 1956, one f i n d s that the repor t s of the domestic Overseas Chinese delegates from these same cou n t i e s d w e l l almost e x l u s i v e l y on the problems of domestic Overseas Chinese i n APCs, and of the tensions between domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y and c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n p o l i c y . I t i s here that many delegates complained of the confusion between the o b j e c t i v e s of c l a s s s t r u g g l e and un i t e d f r o n t aims, 1 60 widespread \" m o b i l i z a t i o n \" (dongyuan) of remittances for c o l l e c t i v e use, f o r c i n g dependents to engage i n a g r i c u l t u r a l production against t h e i r w i l l , e t c . 2 2 3 The c o n t r a d i c t i o n which appears i n these two sources m i r r o r s the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s which c h a r a c t e r i z e d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n the domestic Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong. I t demonstrates, v i v i d l y , the confusion which p r e v a i l e d i n o f f i c a l c i r c l e s over how to handle Overseas Chinese \" s p e c i a l concerns\" during c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n : whether to defend them, or simply ignore them. As the \"high t i d e \" of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n mounted i n the domestic Overseas Chinese areas of Guangdong between J u l y 1955 and summer 1956, domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y was placed under i n c r e a s i n g s t r e s s , and the domestic Overseas Chinese themselves were i n c r e a s i n g l y unable to withstand the mounting pressures f o r c o n f o r m i t y . 2 2 4 The domestic Overseas Chinese had at f i r s t t r i e d to remain as aloof as p o s s i b l e from the c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n campaign. Over 90% of Overseas Chinese dependents j o i n e d APCs only during the \"high t i d e \" between J u l y 1955 and J u l y 1956 (only 50% j o i n e d Advanced APCs during t h i s t i m e ) . 2 2 5 As the emphasis on 2 2 3 S e e Zhonghua quanguo guiguo huaqiao, 2 v o l s . 2 2 \" F i t z g e r a l d , p. 62. 2 2 5He, \"Jinyibu zhixing qiaowu zhengce\", p. 268. 161 e q u a l i t y and c l a s s s t r u g g l e mounted, there was l e s s and l e s s w i l l i n g n e s s on the part of o f f i c i a l s and ordin a r y peasants to t o l e r a t e the kinds of p r i v i l e g e s accorded the domestic Overseas Chinese. As F i t z g e r a l d has pointed out, \"the point about domestic Overseas Chinese p r i v i l e g e s . . . w a s that they were not the kind normally p e r m i s s i b l e w i t h i n China's s o c i a l i s t framework: h o l i d a y s i n Hangchow f o r model workers, c h a u f f e u r - d r i v e n cars f o r busy o f f i c i a l s , or higher s a l a r i e s f or experts. They were bourgeois, c a p i t a l i s t , and, by the Party's own d e f i n i t i o n , even ' f e u d a l ' . \" 2 2 6 Throughout 1957, reports on Overseas Chinese work spoke of a serious problem of peasant resentment of Overseas C h i n e s e . 2 2 7 Within APCs, there was growing t a l k of the dangers of f r i c t i o n i f the \" s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s \" of domestic Overseas Chinese members were placed higher than those of \"the peasants.\" Furthermore, \" l o o k i n g a f t e r \" (zhaogu) the \" s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s \" (tedian) of the domestic Overseas Chinese d i d not mean being \"over-accommodating\" (qianjiu) of those c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Because, s a i d a Qiaowubao e d i t o r i a l , the goal of loo k i n g a f t e r the domestic Overseas Chinese was to promote t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n s o c i a l i s t t ransformation and s o c i a l i s t 2 2 6 F i t z g e r a l d , p. 63. 2 2 7 i b i d . , p. 63. 162 c o n s t r u c t i o n -- not to go on \"l o o k i n g a f t e r and l o o k i n g a f t e r \" (zhaogu er zhaogu).226 There a l s o were c l e a r signs of the triumph of c l a s s over u n i f i e d f r o n t t a c t i c s : r e p o r t s spoke of the need to cater to the i n t e r e s t of the domestic Overseas Chinese poor and middle peasants \" f i r s t \" , before c o n s i d e r i n g the i n t e r e s t s of domestic Overseas Chinese r i c h p e a s a n t s . 2 2 9 The most unequivocal statement of the imminent abandonment of the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y i n e f f e c t since 1954 came from the e d i t o r i a l o f f i c e of the Qiaowubao, the o f f i c i a l monthly organ of the c e n t r a l OCAC, i n October 1957, on the occasion of summing up the f i r s t year of i t s p u b l i c a t i o n . The e d i t o r s s t a t e d , b l u n t l y , that \"our c o n s i d e r a t i o n f or the s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of returned and dependent Overseas Chinese i s a means, and not an end i n i t s e l f . S p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s can be changed and t r a n s f o r m e d . \" 2 3 0 This was indeed the essence of the domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y which emerged i n 1958, and which remained i n place u n t i l the outbreak of the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n . 2 3 1 By the time c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n 22SQi aowubao 17 December 1956, p. 10. 2 2 9 i b i d . 2 3 0 Q u o t e d i n F i t z g e r a l d , p. 64. 2 3 1 0 n the new domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y which emerged i n 1958 and remained i n place u n t i l the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n , see F i t z g e r a l d , p. 63-69. 163 was completed i n the domestic Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong the inherent weaknesses of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y were obvious. I t was e q u a l l y obvious that these weaknesses would not withstand elemental force of the Maoist v i s i o n that appeared with c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n and was w a i t i n g , r e s t l e s s l y on the Chinese p o l i t i c a l h o r i z o n , ready to burst f o r t h . 164 CONCLUSION This study began wi t h the observation that western h i s t o r i o g r a p h y of the s o c i a l i s t transformation of r u r a l China has s u f f e r e d from an impoverished sense of l o c a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . I t has t r i e d to redress that problem i n p a r t , by an examination of how s o c i a l i s t t ransformation was experienced i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong, one of the major s o c i a l r e a l i t i e s of South China and one of the CCP's most complicated and d i f f i c u l t h i s t o r i c a l i n h e r i t a n c e s . Much of the western s c h o l a r l y l i t e r a t u r e on the subject of r u r a l s o c i a l i s t transformation does not emphasize much the importance of l o c a l d i f f e r e n c e s and l o c a l d i v e r s i t y . Much of the e x i s t i n g l i t e r a t u r e on the subject has been p r i m a r i l y concerned with a n a l y z i n g the movement from a n a t i o n a l p e r s p e c t i v e . P r e v a i l i n g views tend to c h a r a t e r i z e the transformation as smoothly s u c c e s s f u l on a n a t i o n a l scale -- p a r t i c u l a r l y as compared to the much l e s s smooth and obviously f a r l e s s s u c c e s s f u l Soviet experience i n the 1930's. 2 3 2 The comparative n a t i o n a l success of the Chinese Communists i n a c h i e v i n g c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n r a p i d l y and 2 3 2 S h u e , p. 2, 5, 22, 145F, 222; Vogel, p. 133-134, -145, 149; P a r i s h and Whyte, p. 33; Meisner, p. 155-157; Nolan, \" C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n China\"; B e r n s t e i n , \"Mass M o b i l i z a t i o n i n Soviet and Chinese C o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . \" 165 without a c a t a s t r o p h i c concommitant l o s s of l i f e and production has been a t t r i b u t e d to many f a c t o r s , which range from h i s t o r i c a l to s t r a t e g i c and o g a n i z a t i o n a l . These include the a g r a r i a n nature of the r e v o l u t i o n i n China (as compared to the Bolsheviks triumph through se i z u r e of the c i t i e s ) and i t s long p e r i o d of maturation during which the CCP gained extensive f a m i l i a r i t y and experience with r u r a l problems and peasant concerns; the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l strength and a b i l i t i e s of the CCP i n the c o u n t r y s i d e , which a l s o were a legacy of the Party's e s s e n t i a l l y r u r a l r oots since the l a t e twenties; the experienced a b i l i t y of the CCP to develop and manage c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n r u r a l v i l l a g e s , together with the CCP's power as a n a t i o n a l government to manipulate the economic environment of the peasantry i n such a way as to ensure peasants' s e l f - i n t e r e s t s converged with t h e i r c l a s s i n t e r e s t s ; and the i m p o s i t i o n of a powerful new ideology and complex o r g a n i z a t i o n a l system on a weakened and exhausted n a t i o n . Almost none of these above-mentioned f a c t o r s c i t e d to e x p l a i n the success of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n n a t i o n a l l y could be s a i d to e x i s t i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong. The s i t u a t i o n i n these areas on the eve of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n was the product of t h e i r unique 1 66 h i s t o r i c a l experience. This i s an important poi n t to bear i n mind i n f o r m u l a t i n g overarching explanations of change: that i n d i v i d u a l s , groups i n s o c i e t y , regions, i n s t i t u t i o n s , e t c . may be profoundly i n f l u e n c e d by t h e i r unique past. The s i t u a t i o n i n the Overseas Chinese areas i n the 1950's, and t h e r e f o r e the character of s o c i a l i s t t ransformation i n these areas, was profoundly i n f l u e n c e d by the unique h i s t o r i c a l development of these areas. O r g a n i z a t i o n a l l y , before the establishment of the PRC the CCP presence was barely f e l t i n the Overseas Chinese areas, which were major GMD support areas i n Guangdong before 1949. As for the CCP's r u r a l h e r i t a g e , there was l i t t l e i n i t to prepare the Party f o r the p e c u l i a r s o c i a l and economic c o m p l e x i t i e s i t encountered i n the home areas of the Overseas Chinese. While the Party's knowledge of peasant problems i n general was r i c h l y developed, the CCP had v i r t u a l l y no pre-1949 experience i n d e a l i n g with the s p e c i a l problems of the domestic Overseas Chinese. As the e d i t o r s of the o f f i c i a l j o u r n a l f o r Overseas Chinese a f f a i r s f r a n k l y and r u e f u l l y admitted, \"the legacy i n the Overseas Chinese f i e l d amounted to almost nothing, so that i n f a c t Overseas Chinese work in New China had to grope i t s way from the very 5 167 b e g i n n i n g . 2 3 3 The i d e o l o g i c a l confusion and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s which c h a r a c t e r i z e d c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i n the Overseas Chinese areas of Guangdong challenges the t o t a l i t a r i a n p r o p o s i t i o n concerning the power of ideology backed by a s o p h i s t i c a t e d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l apparatus to remould r u r a l s o c i e t y . I d e o l o g i c a l l y , the domestic Overseas Chinese were a complicated burden for the CCP. The CCP view of the Overseas Chinese v a c i l l a t e d , from l o c a l c a p i t a l i s t s and feudal e x p l o i t e r s \" (during the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of c l a s s s t a t u s during land reform) to \"labouring people\" and members of a p a t r i o t i c u n i t e d f r o n t . Bureaucratic confusion and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s p a r a l l e l e d t h i s confusion of image and policymaking: l o c a l cadres were unsure of whether to e x p l o i t c l a s s d i f f e r e n c e s and promote c l a s s s t r u g g l e amongst the domestic Overseas Chinese, or smooth over c l a s s d i v i s i o n s i n the i n t e r e s t s of maintaining the un i t e d f r o n t . Vivienne Shue c h a r a c t e r i z e d s o c i a l i s t t r ansformation i n the areas of China she s t u d i e d as \"smoothly s u c c e s s f u l \" , the triumphant r e s u l t of the CCP's a b i l i t y to develop and manage the course of c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n the v i l l a g e s . The main st r a t e g y of the CCP 2 3 2 Q i aowubao 17 December 1956, p. 10. C i t e d i n F i t z g e r a l d , p. 10. 168 was to \"promote and manage v i l l a g e p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t among c l a s s lines...Most of the p o l i c i e s . . . w e r e designed and implemented as part of t h i s s t r a t e g y to sharpen the r e l e v a n t c l a s s cleavages and to blunt others i n the c o u n t r y s i d e \" 2 3 * But i n the Overseas Chinese of r u r a l Guangdong, at l e a s t , i t would be more accurate to c h a r a c t e r i z e s o c i a l i s t transformation as marked by the c l a s h of these class-based aims with the united f r o n t aims and strategy of domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y . The class-based s t r a t e g y of s o c i a l i s t t ransformation was furthermore confounded from the outset by the p e c u l i a r socioeconomic features of the Overseas Chinese. The very c l a s s s t a t u s of the domestic Overseas Chinese was i t s e l f u nclear, complicated and d i f f i c u l t to determine on the b a s i s of normal c r i t e r i a , because of t h e i r \" s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s \" --which not only cut across c l a s s l i n e s but appeared to be of greater s i g n i f i c a n c e than c l a s s i n t e r e s t s i n determining t h e i r u n w i l l i n g n e s s and a b i l i t y to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the new s o c i a l i s t order. In the areas s t u d i e d by Vivienne Shue the CCP was apparently s u c c e s s f u l i n ensuring that peasants' s e l f i n t e r e s t s converged w i t h t h e i r c l a s s i n t e r e s t s -- but i n the Overseas Chinese areas s e l f i n t e r e s t s were much more 2 3*Shue, p. 325. 169 c l o s e l y bound up with these various \" s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s \" -- lack of labour power, dependence on remittances, e t c . -- which were shared across c l a s s boundaries. In the f i n a l a n a l y s i s , with respect to the domestic Overseas Chinese p o p u l a t i o n , the goals of economic growth and s t a b i l i t y (not a new f a c t o r i n the h i s t o r y of Chinese government p o l i c y towards Overseas Chinese) c o l l i d e d with and e v e n t u a l l y succumbed to the higher goals of s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n i n the mid-1950's. The s i t u t a t i o n of the Overseas Chinese i n the mid-1950's during the course of s o c i a l i s t t ransformation was h i s t o r i c a l l y d e r i v e d , but w i t h i n that s i t u a t i o n there was a new element of p o l i t i c a l determinism at work i n the 1950's which presaged the f i n a l outcome of the c l a s h between Overseas Chinese p o l i c y and the p o l i c y f o r s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . There were too many pressures b u i l d i n g on domestic Overseas Chinese p o l i c y during the mid 1950's for i t to endure. Poor peasants and lower middle peasasnts were i n a m a j o r i t y i n the c o u n t r y s i d e , and the CCP could i l l a f f o r d to lose the p o l i t i c a l support of t h i s , t h e i r most important c o n s t i t u e n c y i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . A p o l i c y of support for a s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t group such as the Overseas Chinese was perhaps bound to founder on t h i s b a s i s . 1 70 Today the Overseas Chinese are one of the \"engines of growth\" r e v i t a l i z i n g Guangdong's r u r a l economy. Their f o r e i g n connections and t h e i r r o l e i n the development of s p e c i a l i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e are sought a f t e r and rewarded. But given the pressures on s p e c i a l i z e d a g r i c u l t u r e exerted by the F i r s t Five Year Plan and the s o c i o p o l i t i c a l pressures of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n , the Overseas Chinese were i n a much d i f f e r e n t , more p o l i t i c a l l y and economically vul n e r a b l e p o s i t i o n i n the mid-1950's. As the s o l u t i o n to the economic and s o c i a l problems of peasant China came to be seen i n c r e a s i n g l y i n terms of quickening and deepening the s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n i n the countryside \u00E2\u0080\u0094 c u l m i n a t i n g with Mao's J u l y 1955 speech which Meisner terms the announcement of Maoism as a development s t r a t e g y on the post 1949 h i s t o r i c a l scene -- s p e c i a l treatment of the domestic Overseas Chinese was i n c r e a s i n g l y doomed. In c o n c l u s i o n , s o c i a l i s t t ransformation i n the Overseas Chinese areas of r u r a l Guangdong d i f f e r e d i n important respects from the standard c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n on a n a t i o n a l b a s i s which i s presented i n most western accounts of t h i s p e r i o d . S o c i a l i s t transformation i n the Overseas Chinese areas was a product of the unique h i s t o r i c a l development of 171 these areas. The experience cannot be described as \" t y p i c a l \" on a nationwide b a s i s , but i t does represent an important aspect of the r e a l i t y of r u r a l Guangdong province during t h i s p e r i o d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and one which has not been p r e v i o u s l y described i n western accounts of s o c i a l i s t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . 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( C hronicle of Main Events i n the People's Republic of China). Volume 2, 1953-1956. "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0097144"@en . "eng"@en . "History"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "The overseas Chinese areas of rural Guangdong and socialist transformation, 1949-1956"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26590"@en .