Modernization Of The Perspective Of Farmer Education Theory And Practice In The Chinese Communist Party Reconsidered (1921-1966)

The Peasants' education is a topic to which different scholars have different views. Most researchers who focus on the education about peasants given by Chinese Communist Party (CPC) believe that the education is a tool for the party to gain her power before the foundation of The people's Republic of China and a tool to strengthen the power after the foundation, so it is the education to foster tools. The writer thinks the viewpoint falls into the model of epistemology. This thesis holds the view that Chinese Communist Party is & party which is trying her best to promote the modernization, takes the modernization of China as her task, makes effort to build an independent and united multi-nationality country, and wants to construct a powerful and highly efficient government. During the course of Chinese modernization, CPC comprehend the peasants' education in the inter-relationship between the growth of the modernity and the transformation of the traditional society. It is all so either to change the basis of traditional society, to cultivate the internal growing power of modernization, or to enlighten and reshape the peasants with new ideas, culture and morality and make them get rid of the bondage of traditional ideas. So the theoretical and practical essence of the peasants' education is to cultivate the major force for Chinese modernization and make peasants become the people who enjoy happiness. The thesis focuses on the peasants' education given by the Chinese Communist Party; makes use of the modernization of China as breakthrough point, takes the modernization process as the main thread, puts the peasants' education against the background of the modernization process, describes the setting and development lines, emphasizes the connotation of the peasants' education, investigates the practice of the peasants' education, summarize the positive achievements and existing problems, does some basic work for the further deeper research of peasants education, and absorb the theoretical resources to solve the peasants' problems.The thesis consists of five chapters:Chapter I: The peasants' education of the Marxist classical writers from moden perspective.This part is the pandect of the whole thesis and is also the clue of the whole thesis. The otherfour parts are all extended under the guidance of the first part. The chapter generalizes thefundamental peasants' problems by the classical Marxist writers , and regards the peasants'education as the guarantee to avoid the small production consciousness and to go to the modernization.Chapter II:The analysis on the background of the peasants' education by CPC.The theory of CPC's peasants' education has its original background and theoretical resources. In the modern times, the realistic background of peasants' education theory is the two great historical mission confronted Chinese and the exploration of socialist modernization after the foundation of New China. On the basis of it the writer insists that peasants' problem is the major barriers of China's modernization. The Limitedness of peasants themselves is not harmonious with the New Democratic Revolution led by CPC and the modernization characterized by socialism. Therefore, it becomes necessary to educate the peasants with the new cultural ideas and morality. In addition, the formation of CPC's peasants' education theory is a kind of absorption of other thoughts and cultures, including Chinese traditional culture, modern enlightenment culture and the foreign progressive ideas.Chapter III: The connotation of the theory of peasants' education of the Chinese Communist Party.This part mainly analyzes the connotation from direction of goals and main contents of peasants' education. The direction is to make the peasants have the anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism consciousness and make them the major force of the New Democratic Revolution in the stage of ruining barriers of modernization and to establish the socialist beliefs and make them the mainstay of modernization and realize the transition from a traditional small producer to a modern labor. Finally, this chapter discusses the main contents of CPC's peasants' education theory from the four aspects of the guiding thoughts, principles, key points, and tools.Chapter IV: The practice of the peasants' education of the Chinese Communist Party.The peasants' education is a variable concept, which varies in different countries and different times. In the stage of ruining the barriers, it mainly includes community discipline education, cultivation of self-consciousness, deconstruction of family consciousness, shaping of class struggle consciousness and the training of consciousness of democracy. In the stage of exploration of modernization, it mainly consists of cultural education, scientific and technological education, construction of collectivism and socialist education. The practice of CPC's peasants' education is not only the destruction of the bondage of old ideas and morality but also the construction of the new ones, and it's the unity of two aspects.Chapter V: Rethinking of CPC's peasants' educational theory and practice.This part analyzes CPC's peasants' educational theory and practice objectively and fairly, emphasizes its achievements, and analyzes the existing problems. On the basis of it, under the guidance of the methodology of peasants' education by CPC, the writer insists that the seriousness of peasants' education still exists, which was put forward by CPC in the middle of 20th century. The peasants' education is a great project of thinking.After all, through modernization, we can see the overall view of the peasants' education from the year 1921 to the year 1966. The foundation of the new China is a dividing line of the overall view. Before it, the Chinese Communist Party gained the participation and support of peasants, and dismantled the fetters on them, transformed the basis of traditional society, cultivate the internal force of modernization, and create the prerequisites for it as well. After the foundation of the new China, the Party depends on the peasants' education to transfer and develop the positive factors for modernization, help the peasants conquer consciousness of backwardness, offer the intellectual support and spiritual force, and change the peasants from worker in traditional mode of production to one in modern society. In a word, the peasants' education is raised on the premise of realization of modernization.