Great Changes During The Alternation: A Research On Tianjin Workers In The Early Days Of New China (1949-1956)

The Communist Party of China is the political Party of the working-class. Therevolutionary activities of the Communist Party had also been carried out by thelabour movement, but after the failure of the Revolution, the domestic situationcompelled the Communist Party to move to the countryside more than20years.After the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee, the work focusof the Communist Party moved from rural to urban. Relying on workers to developproduction was the central task of a city. How to rely on workers? Liu shaoqiproposed three measures：as far as possible to guarantee the quality of workers’ lifeand do not make it too low, in-depth widely educate workers and organize workers.After the founding of New China, according to this policy, the Communist Partybegan to remould workers and rebuild society.Focusing on Tianjin workers, using archives, from the angle of social historystudy, this article explores how the Communist Party remoulded workers and madeworkers’ life change great. Meantime, Tianjin workers were how to participate in theprocess of change and impact of the change. In other words, this article from theview of interaction of workers and the Communist Party discusses workers’subjectivity participation how to impact the Communist Party’s policy. By thismeans, we can see the complexity and truth of workers’ change process. we can seethe arduous and tortuous process of the Communist Party reforming society, whichshows the Chinese Communist Party’s brilliance and grandeur.This article expounds the change process of workers from the followingaspects.First, the political life of workers. The political life was a marked feature ofNew China’s new workers. It was also an important measure or result of theCommunist Party educating and organizing workers. Old relationships had beenabandoned and new relationships and class-consciousness began to take shapethrough political study and political movement of workers. The workers were organized to cluster around the new regime and the Communist Party via joining thetrade union and the league or the party. Which was the foundation of workers’productive labour.Second, workers’ productive labour. The factory abolished the old system ofmanagement by the democratic reform. And workers began to participate in thefactory management of the factory. Which was main reflection of workers being themasters and was the base of workers’ labour ideas changing and labour emulationorganizing. The improving of working conditions and the adjustment of workingtime, the strengthening of labour protection and the consolidation of labor disciplineswere also the base of labour emulation. Labour emulation organizing was the centerin this chapter. It was also a striking feature of New China’s new workers. It was themain reflection of workers supporting the Communist Party and the CommunistParty reforming workers. By the labour emulation, workers’ traditional concept oflabour changed and glorious labour became the mainstream idea.Third, workers’ material guarantee. Improving workers’ material life was oneway of the Communist Party relying on workers to develope production. The wageand income was the major source of workers’ revenue. Two major wage reform andadjustment abolished the old irrational wage system. The principle of “each gainaccording to his work” had been initially carried out. Thus workers standard ofliving improved. Meantime, welfare policies and the implementation of the laborinsurance made workers’ income increase, too. Which provided a guarantee forworkers’ life.Fourth, workers’ recreation and sport. Workers shared the right of education toimprove theirs culture level through the literacy movement. The principle of“literature and art serving for political and production” made workers’ literature andart activities which were invested with political become the mainstream. But thetraditional concept and workers’ choices of action impacted the adjustment ofliterature and art’s content and form.“The development of sport and enhancing thepeople’s constitution” was the goal and direction of sports. At the same time, it alsohad political orientation of promoting the production development. Broadcast exercises was the prelude to the nationwide fitness program. While the process ofworkers embracing was not streamlined.Fifth, workers’ marriage and family. The marriage law and constitution’spromulgating and implementing provided a legal basis to workers’ marriage andfamily’s change. Through implementation of the marriage law, the old marriageinstitution of forcing arrangement and sexual discrimination had been abolished. Thenew marriage and family values of freedom, equality and democracy established ingeneral among workers.In short, Tianjin workers gathered in the Communist Party via organization andeducation. They devoted to production with unusual warmth. So the CommunistParty’s goal of depending on workers to develope production had been achieved.Meanwhile, workers had experienced tremendous changes and became New China’snew workers.