Survival And Struggle: A Study Of The Living Conditions Of Civil Servants And Teaching Staff In Wuhan After The War(1945-1949)

During the Republican period,Public servants and teaching staff are an important group in the country and society,deeply involved in the administration and education of the nation and holding a special position in society.However,they are also a group highly dependent on the government,with their work and income closely linked to the government.Therefore,any changes in political power,policy,and social environment are inevitably going to affect them.After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan,the Wuhan region experienced a change in political power and environment,with frequent social changes.After Japan’s surrender,the Nationalist government immediately launched a demobilization plan,and various public servants and teaching staff in the rear were relocated according to government arrangements.Since the Hubei Provincial Government of the Nationalist Party had started to develop relevant demobilization plans before the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan,the relocation of public servants and teaching staff to Wuhan went relatively smoothly after the city was retaken from the enemy.However,when public servants and teaching staff returned to Wuhan,they faced both familiar and unfamiliar environments.The rising prices,expensive housing,insufficient salary and benefits,and government layoffs due to financial problems made them feel little joy in victory,but instead their living difficulties continued to intensify.After the outbreak of the civil war,the lack of supplies,devaluation of currency,and government financial difficulties led to increased conflicts between the government and public servants and teaching staff facing survival difficulties,with occasional incidents of conflict.Due to widespread survival difficulties,public servants and teaching staff in the Wuhan region gradually united and attempted to struggle with the government collectively,seeking survival,and achieved some success.However,the Nationalist government faced overall financial and military problems,and the financial support for governments at all levels in the Wuhan region was difficult to change at the time,resulting in the persistence of issues such as "seeking survival" and "struggle."Before the Nationalist Party retreated from Wuhan,the political,social,and economic chaos in the region continued to escalate.The living conditions of civil servants and teachers had deteriorated to an extreme level,and they were caught in a dilemma of "stay" or "leave." As the Communist Party’s underground infiltration accelerated,civil servants and teachers at various levels established contact with the Communist Party.As the disappointment with the Nationalist government and the intertwining of practical difficulties grew,more and more civil servants and teachers who were preparing for liberation chose to stay in Wuhan.After the liberation of Wuhan,the new regime adopted a variety of measures such as dismissal,retention,and retraining for the old civil servants and teachers,which basically refreshed the personnel composition."Old" turned into "new." In this process,the new regime made many efforts to ensure their survival,ultimately freeing them from the predicament of frequent struggles for survival during the Nationalist period.Therefore,from the perspective of civil servants and teachers in the Wuhan region,their survival difficulties were "passively" caused by the government and social environment,which also caused them to lose trust in the Nationalist government and led to their "active" choices in difficult circumstances.Therefore,most civil servants and teachers were willing to welcome the new regime.