A Study On Chinese Intellectuals’ Concern For The Livelihood Of Rural People In 1920s And 1930s

In the 1920 s and 1930 s,China’s rural society was in dire straits.In the past 20 years,various disasters have occurred one after another,and the peasants have suffered unspeakably.In addition,the double exploitation of peasants by warlords and landlords pushed the peasants who were already in a state of embarrassment to a dead end.A large number of farmers went bankrupt,and rural finance also tended to dry up.In order to make a living,farmers have left the countryside one after another,setting off a huge wave of leaving villages all over the country.Under the dual blessing of natural and man-made disasters,the economy,society and culture in rural areas ushered in a comprehensive recession and collapse.Serious famine,severe taxation,depletion of finance,and stagnation of education,the existence of these problems make rural society face an unprecedented crisis of survival and development.Since ancient times,Chinese intellectuals have been deeply influenced and taught by Confucian principles.The inner saint and outer king are the core propositions of the Confucian moral structure.Beginning in the Song Dynasty,intellectuals chose to take the construction of grassroots people’s livelihood order as an important means and approach for their foreign kings,and "li to the common people" was the main purpose of their foreign kings.It is also from this time that intellectuals and grassroots people’s livelihood began an indissoluble bond that lasted for more than 2,000 years.The core spirit of "scholars taking the world as their own responsibility" has also been continuously inherited and followed in the changing times.Therefore,in the face of the unprecedented rural crisis in the 1920 s and 1930 s,intellectuals did not hesitate to choose to undertake the tasks of their time.In the early 1920 s,intellectuals who were well aware of the importance of public opinion took the most influential comprehensive journal in China at that time,Oriental Magazine,as an important public opinion platform for rural society."Oriental Magazine" was founded in 1904 and ended in December 1948.It lasted for 45 years and was the most authoritative and influential comprehensive journal in China at that time.Intellectuals took this as a platform to conduct a comprehensive and detailed investigation and research on many problems existing in rural society during this period,such as severe famine,severe taxation,depleted finance,stagnant education,and frequent wars.And put forward a series of measures and methods with reference significance,trying to revive and rebuild the village and basic order,showing the intellectuals’ concern for the people’s livelihood at the grassroots level.In terms of famine relief,they put forward the strategy of "relief for work",which not only strengthened the national infrastructure construction,but also played a role in providing relief to the victims to a certain extent.In response to the problem of food shortage caused by floods and droughts,some intellectuals believed that a large amount of food should be imported;some intellectuals believed that the degree of drought tolerance of crops must be improved to resist the intrusion of drought.In addition,in the post-disaster resettlement,intellectuals also actively appealed to raise funds for charity.With their active propaganda and appeals,the post-disaster relief work has been significantly promoted.In terms of tax reform,intellectuals advocated the abolition of lijin and various gift surcharges to reduce the burden on farmers.Intellectuals headed by Jia Shiyi proposed a bill to abolish various lijin,and actively implemented the abolition.In terms of financial relief,the rural sub-branches of intellectuals and various rural credit cooperatives have improved farmers’ economic embarrassment to a certain extent.However,due to the corruption and civil war environment of the Republican government at that time,this proposal did not achieve great results.In the transformation of agricultural production,intellectuals advocated popularizing the use of machines and fertilizers by farmers to increase crop yields;in addition,in order to cope with floods and droughts(mainly droughts),irrigation methods should be improved to increase the survival rate of crops.In terms of education reform,intellectuals took the initiative to devote themselves to rural education,trying to save the country by improving and developing rural education.In the reform of the land system,intellectuals disagree on whether the land is state-owned or privately owned.Those who advocate the state of land hold that private ownership of land is the root cause of "the poor have no place to stand,while the rich are connected to the fields";the opponents believe that private land cannot be realized on the basis of the existing national conditions,and it is better to pursue it gradually.However,their suggestions and appeals also provided important reference and reference for the government’s reform of the land system to a certain extent.But unfortunately,in the late 1930 s,due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War and the strict control of the intellectuals by the Nationalist government,the task of the intellectuals to rebuild the order of people’s livelihood at the grass-roots level was interrupted,leaving only a sigh full of regrets and unwillingness in the times,in the torrent.