A Study On The District Government That Manages Water Affairs In Wuhan(1949-1957)

After the founding of People’s Republic of China(PRC)in 1949,the Communist Party of China(CCP)quickly stabilized the urban and rural social order through a series of political and social movements.The construction of a new grassroots government proceeded in an orderly manner,and the regime regained effective control over terrestrial society.However,the related reforms of the water society did not follow the pace of the land,and were even largely ignored by the new regime.For instance,some landlords,rich peasants,counter-revolutionaries,and other saboteurs who could not survive on land,took the opportunity to disrupt the order on the water.For a long time,the aquatic society has different interpersonal communication modes,group organization forms,and power relationships from the land society.Due to the vastness of water area,the scattered flow of ships,and the complex composition of water residents,the terrestrial society has long been unable to incorporate it into an official administrative system effectively.Faced with such a complicated situation on the water,how the state’s grassroots government to control the waters and society is a pressing problem that needs to be solved by the CCP.When the self-contained water society under the significant impact of land-based society,how do people on the water view the expansion of state power?What kind of countermeasures should people take?To tackle these issues,this thesis,taking Wuhan as an example,attempts to make a historical analysis based on the relative archives of the Shui District Government of Wuhan.In the early 1950s,there was a climax of building water-based governments in Central China,South China,and East China;moreover,water district governments were established one after another in many places.In accordance with the needs of the country’s economic construction and the demands of the working people on the water,Wuhan established the People’s Government of the Water District in August 1953 and a district-level political authority to fulfill and strengthen water functions by drawing lessons from the successful democratic reforms on the water.The Water District Government not only serves as a land government,but also has unique functions on the water.In order to better give play to the role of the water regime,boat people committees and water offices were successively established throughout the district.In daily government operations,the water district government requires relevant business exchanges with land agencies,and maintains close contact with many water units,thus forming a unique network of water relations.To avoid the blind movement of civil ships,the floating district government has standardized the deployment of civil ships from three aspects:scheduled voyage formation,ship trading,and boat people mobilization.These regulations make an attempt to achive the purpose of grasping the movement of ships and lay the foundation for the socialist transformation of civil ships.The main task of the regime is to complete the socialist transformation of private civil ships.On the basis of pilot reforms,the maritime district government has made an overall layout for the socialist transformation of civil ships in the entire district.Although a number of cooperatives were quickly established throughout the district and the income of boat people increased,many problems also subsequently emerged in the practice of the cooperative policy.Relying on and mobilizing the boatmen and boat people in the whole district,the floating district government ensured the successful completion of the socialist transformation of civil ships,organized the scattered individual economy,transformed it into collective ownership,and completed the historical tasks of this period.The floating district government was canceled after fulfilled its historical missions.As an important form of national power organization,the Shui District Government is established to achieve effective control of the waters and society.Formed by long-term blood,region,interests,occupations or other relationships,the historical habits of the floating residents of Wuhan City may be followed or completely transformed in the process of moving down.After completing the socialist transformation,the identity of the residents on the water gradually stabilized,and they were eventually incorporated into the daily management of the new regime.Under the guidance of the government of the water area,the upstream people who were once free from the governance of the land have either risen ashore or adapted to the new form of organization and management on the water.As a result,the CCP has realized the effective integration of the water society.