The Initial Pursuing Of China Agricultural Mechanization In 1950's

Agricultural mechanization is to equip agricultural production with all kinds of machineries to achieve production modernization. Agricultural mechanization can greatly reduce manual labor intensity, considerably increase productivity, resource efficiency and product commercial rate, and facilitate rural economical and social development.After the founding of new China, the Party central committee and China central government paid great attention to restore and improve agricultural machineries, actively calculated and approached to agricultural mechanization step-by-step.Many people have written articles and books that relate to China agricultural mechanization, however, few of them have studied the history of its development in the past 60 years, especially in 1950's.Thoroughly and systematically searched and looked through government documents and all other printed materials, including newspapers, magazines, books (published and unpublished), regarding to China agricultural mechanization, visited and talked with several people who actively participated agricultural mechanization activities during 1950's, the author comprehensively reviewed, summarized and analyzed China agricultural mechanization policies, measures and practices in 1950's. The main contributions of this thesis include:1. In terms of New Machinery Promotion and Improvement. New Machinery Promotion and Improvement was a major content and also the precondition of agricultural mechanization. In 1950's, after managed increasing a great number of old farming tools to farmers and changed severe shortage condition of farming tools, the central government, leading lower level governments, aggressively undertook new machinery promotion and improvement activities by carrying out "active and steady" policy and "Promotion after trial demonstration" principle and implemented various measures, which included setting up authoritative departments in various levels of governments, establishing machinery promotion institutions, forcing the cooperation of various departments, providing usage and maintenance service to farmers, adjusting machinery prices. The thesis, taking two-wheel and two-blade plow as an example, summarized government policies and measures, analyzed actual activities, appraised the efficacy and effect of the work.2. In terms of Agricultural Machinery Production. Agricultural machinery production is the foundation of agricultural mechanization. In order to expand China agricultural machinery industry, which was extremely backward before the liberation, the central government energetically rebuilt old factories and constructed new ones, trial-produced and manufactured all kinds of agricultural machineries to meet the demand of promotion and adoption. The measures, including strengthening planning, enterprise management and product quality control, heightened the production planning, unified product specifications, reduced production cost and improved product quality. The thesis reviewed China agricultural industry construction, production planning, enterprise system formation and quality management in the period, assessed their achievements and contributions, and shortcomings of industry production and enterprise management during the time.3. In terms of Agricultural Mechanization Trial. From the beginning of the founding of the country, China started agricultural mechanization trials by constructing state-owned mechanized farms and agricultural tractor stations. The construction of state-owned mechanized farms not only expanded agricultural land areas, increased grain supply, absorbed retired soldiers, accelerated the development of border areas, but also explored the experiences of mechanized agricultural production; Agricultural tractor stations provided cultivation services to farmers, demonstrated advantages of agricultural mechanization, accumulated machinery management experiences and trained people for machinery usage and management. The thesis reviewed the developing process of state-owned mechanized farms and agricultural tractor stations in 1950's, generalized their role in agricultural mechanization and analyzed the gain and loss of management system changes for agricultural tractor stations.4. In terms of Important Agricultural Machinery Research and Trail-produce. The central government paid considerable attention to agricultural machinery research since the founding of the country. The governments built agricultural machinery research organizations and trail stations, formed agricultural machinery trail and appraisal groups, investigated peasant machinery needs, conducted various contrast trails and appraisals for new and old machineries, designed new machineries; At the same time, they were trail-producing large agricultural machineries, such as tractors, while importing a few foreign ones. The thesis, based on the research and trail-produce of tractors and rope-driven machines, reviewed China agricultural machinery research policies and measures, and discussed their development, effects and failure.5. In terms of Agricultural Machinery Innovation Movement. During the period of the Great Leap Forward, China engaged a massive agricultural machinery innovation movement. The central government called on "mobilizing all party members, practicing by all people", required "material gathering and machinery manufacture locally", and launched a vigorous agricultural machinery innovation movement. The whole country was in an enthusiastic campaign for vehicles, ball-bearing and semi-mechanization by the mass movement and indigenous methods wishing to achieve agricultural mechanization quickly. The author, based on carefully reading through government documents and all other printed materials and talking with several people who had actively led the movement, outlined its general development, reviewed the actual practices, and analyzed its policies, features and effects by taking ball-bearing and deep-plow machineries as the examples.By exercising policy theory and method, the thesis also discussed critically several specific aspects of China agricultural mechanization policy, including main making bodies, the process and methods, the implementation and supervision, assessed the effects of Mao Zedong and other main leaders on China agricultural mechanization policy and its practices.