as would damage the prestige of the poor peasants and feed the arrogance of the local tyrants and evil gentry.This point requires particular attention FOURTEEN GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS Most critics of the peasant associations allege that they have done a great many bad things.I have already pointed out that the peasants'attack on the local tyrants and evil gentry is entirely revolutionary behaviour and in no way blameworthy.The peasants have done a great many things, and in order to answer people's criticism we must closely examine all their activities,one by one,to see what they have actually done.I have classified and summed up their activities of the last few months;in all,the peasants under the leadership of the peasant associations have the following fourteen great achievements to their credit. 1.ORGANIZING THE PEASANTS INTO PEASANTASSOCIATIONS This is the first great achievement of the peasants.In counties like Hsiangtan,Hsianghsiang and Hengshan,nearly all the peasants are organized and there is hardly a remote corner where they are not on the move;these are the best places.In some counties,like Yiyang and Huajung,the bulk of the peasants are organized,with only a small section remaining unorganized;these places are in the second grade.In other counties,like Chengpu and Lingling,while a small section is organized,the bulk of the peasants remain unorganized;these places are in the third grade.Western Hunan,which is under the control of Yuan Tsu-ming,[14]has not yet been reached by the associations' propaganda,and in many of its counties the peasants are completely unorganized;these form a fourth grade.Roughly speaking,the counties in central Hunan,with Changsha as the centre,are the most advanced,those in southern Hunan come second,and western Hunan is only just beginning to organize.According to the figures compiled by the provincial peasant association last November, organizations with a total membership of 1,367,727 have been set up in thirty-seven of the province's seventy-five counties.Of these members about one million were organized during October and November when the power of the associations rose high,while up to September the membership had only been 300,000-400,000.Then came the two months of December and January, and the peasant movement continued its brisk growth.By the end of January the membership must have reached at least two million.As a family generally enters only one name when joining and has an average of five members,the mass following must be about ten million.This astonishing and accelerating rate of expansion explains why the local tyrants,evil gentry and corrupt officials have been isolated,why the public has been amazed at how completely the world has changed since the peasant movement,and why a great revolution has been wrought in the countryside.This is the first great achievement of the peasants under the leadership of their associations 2.HITTING THE LANDLORDS POLITICALLY Once the peasants have their organization,the first thing they do is to smash the political prestige and power of the landlord class,and especially of the local tyrants and evil gentry,that is,to pull down landlord authority and build up peasant authority in rural society.This is a most serious and vital struggle.It is the pivotal struggle in the second period,the period of revolutionary action. Without victory in this struggle,no victory is possible in the economic struggle to reduce rent and
as would damage the prestige of the poor peasants and feed the arrogance of the local tyrants and evil gentry. This point requires particular attention. FOURTEEN GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS Most critics of the peasant associations allege that they have done a great many bad things. I have already pointed out that the peasants' attack on the local tyrants and evil gentry is entirely revolutionary behaviour and in no way blameworthy. The peasants have done a great many things, and in order to answer people's criticism we must closely examine all their activities, one by one, to see what they have actually done. I have classified and summed up their activities of the last few months; in all, the peasants under the leadership of the peasant associations have the following fourteen great achievements to their credit. 1. ORGANIZING THE PEASANTS INTO PEASANT ASSOCIATIONS This is the first great achievement of the peasants. In counties like Hsiangtan, Hsianghsiang and Hengshan, nearly all the peasants are organized and there is hardly a remote corner where they are not on the move; these are the best places. In some counties, like Yiyang and Huajung, the bulk of the peasants are organized, with only a small section remaining unorganized; these places are in the second grade. In other counties, like Chengpu and Lingling, while a small section is organized, the bulk of the peasants remain unorganized; these places are in the third grade. Western Hunan, which is under the control of Yuan Tsu-ming, [14] has not yet been reached by the associations' propaganda, and in many of its counties the peasants are completely unorganized; these form a fourth grade. Roughly speaking, the counties in central Hunan, with Changsha as the centre, are the most advanced, those in southern Hunan come second, and western Hunan is only just beginning to organize. According to the figures compiled by the provincial peasant association last November, organizations with a total membership of 1,367,727 have been set up in thirty-seven of the province's seventy-five counties. Of these members about one million were organized during October and November when the power of the associations rose high, while up to September the membership had only been 300,000-400,000. Then came the two months of December and January, and the peasant movement continued its brisk growth. By the end of January the membership must have reached at least two million. As a family generally enters only one name when joining and has an average of five members, the mass following must be about ten million. This astonishing and accelerating rate of expansion explains why the local tyrants, evil gentry and corrupt officials have been isolated, why the public has been amazed at how completely the world has changed since the peasant movement, and why a great revolution has been wrought in the countryside. This is the first great achievement of the peasants under the leadership of their associations. 2. HITTING THE LANDLORDS POLITICALLY Once the peasants have their organization, the first thing they do is to smash the political prestige and power of the landlord class, and especially of the local tyrants and evil gentry, that is, to pull down landlord authority and build up peasant authority in rural society. This is a most serious and vital struggle. It is the pivotal struggle in the second period, the period of revolutionary action. Without victory in this struggle, no victory is possible in the economic struggle to reduce rent and
interest,to secure land and other means of production,and so on.In many places in Hunan like Hsianghsiang,Hengshan and Hsiangtan Counties,this is of course no problem since the authority of the landlords has been overturned and the peasants constitute the sole authority.But in counties like Liling there are still some places(such as Liling's western and southern districts)where the authority of the landlords seems weaker than that of the peasants but,because the political struggle has not been sharp,is in fact surreptitiously competing with it.In such places it is still too early to say that the peasants have gained political victory;they must wage the political struggle more vigorously until the landlords'authority is completely smashed.All in all,the methods used by the peasants to hit the landlords politically are as follows: Checking the accounts.More often than not the local tyrants and evil gentry have helped themselves to public money passing through their hands,and their books are not in order.Now the peasants are using the checking of accounts as an occasion to bring down a great many of the local tyrants and evil gentry.In many places committees for checking accounts have been established for the express purpose of settling financial scores with them,and the first sign of such a committee makes them shudder.Campaigns of this kind have been carried out in all the counties where the peasant movement is active;they are important not so much for recovering money as for publicizing the crimes of the local tyrants and evil gentry and for knocking them down from their political and social positions Imposing fines.The peasants work out fines for such offences as irregularities revealed by the checking of accounts,past outrages against the peasants,current activities which undermine the peasant associations,violations of the ban on gambling and refusal to surrender opium pipes.This local tyrant must pay so much,that member of the evil gentry so much,the sums ranging from tens to thousands of yuan Naturally,a man who has been fined by the peasants completely loses face. Levying contributions.The unscrupulous rich landlords are made to contribute for poor relief,for the organization of co-operatives or peasant credit societies,or for other purposes.Though milder than fines,these contributions are also a form of punishment.To avoid trouble,quite a number of landlords make voluntary contributions to the peasant associations. Minor protests.When someone harms a peasant association by word or deed and the offence is a minor one,the peasants collect in a crowd and swarm into the offender's house to remonstrate with him.He is usually let off after writing a pledge to "cease and desist",n which he explicitly undertakes to stop defaming the peasant association in the future. Major demonstrations.A big crowd is rallied to demonstrate against a local tyrant or one of the evil gentry who is an enemy of the association.The demonstrators eat at the offender's house, slaughtering his pigs and consuming his grain as a matter of course.Quite a few such cases have occurred.There was a case recently at Machiaho,Hsiangtan County,where a crowd of fifteen thousand peasants went to the houses of six of the evil gentry and demonstrated;the whole affair lasted four days during which more than 130 pigs were killed and eaten.After such demonstrations, the peasants usually impose fines "Crowning"the landlords and parading them through the villages.This sort of thing is very
interest, to secure land and other means of production, and so on. In many places in Hunan like Hsianghsiang, Hengshan and Hsiangtan Counties, this is of course no problem since the authority of the landlords has been overturned and the peasants constitute the sole authority. But in counties like Liling there are still some places (such as Liling's western and southern districts) where the authority of the landlords seems weaker than that of the peasants but, because the political struggle has not been sharp, is in fact surreptitiously competing with it. In such places it is still too early to say that the peasants have gained political victory; they must wage the political struggle more vigorously until the landlords' authority is completely smashed. All in all, the methods used by the peasants to hit the landlords politically are as follows: Checking the accounts.More often than not the local tyrants and evil gentry have helped themselves to public money passing through their hands, and their books are not in order. Now the peasants are using the checking of accounts as an occasion to bring down a great many of the local tyrants and evil gentry. In many places committees for checking accounts have been established for the express purpose of settling financial scores with them, and the first sign of such a committee makes them shudder. Campaigns of this kind have been carried out in all the counties where the peasant movement is active; they are important not so much for recovering money as for publicizing the crimes of the local tyrants and evil gentry and for knocking them down from their political and social positions. Imposing fines.The peasants work out fines for such offences as irregularities revealed by the checking of accounts, past outrages against the peasants, current activities which undermine the peasant associations, violations of the ban on gambling and refusal to surrender opium pipes. This local tyrant must pay so much, that member of the evil gentry so much, the sums ranging from tens to thousands of yuan Naturally, a man who has been fined by the peasants completely loses face. Levying contributions.The unscrupulous rich landlords are made to contribute for poor relief, for the organization of co-operatives or peasant credit societies, or for other purposes. Though milder than fines, these contributions are also a form of punishment. To avoid trouble, quite a number of landlords make voluntary contributions to the peasant associations. Minor protests.When someone harms a peasant association by word or deed and the offence is a minor one, the peasants collect in a crowd and swarm into the offender's house to remonstrate with him. He is usually let off after writing a pledge to "cease and desist", n which he explicitly undertakes to stop defaming the peasant association in the future. Major demonstrations.A big crowd is rallied to demonstrate against a local tyrant or one of the evil gentry who is an enemy of the association. The demonstrators eat at the offender's house, slaughtering his pigs and consuming his grain as a matter of course. Quite a few such cases have occurred. There was a case recently at Machiaho, Hsiangtan County, where a crowd of fifteen thousand peasants went to the houses of six of the evil gentry and demonstrated; the whole affair lasted four days during which more than 130 pigs were killed and eaten. After such demonstrations, the peasants usually impose fines. "Crowning" the landlords and parading them through the villages.This sort of thing is very
common.A tall paper-hat is stuck on the head of one of the local tyrants or evil gentry,bearing the words "Local tyrant so-and-so"or "So-and-so of the evil gentry".He is led by a rope and escorted with big crowds in front and behind.Sometimes brass gongs are beaten and flags waved to attract people's attention.This form of punishment more than any other makes the local tyrants and evil gentry tremble.Anyone who has once been crowned with a tall paper-hat loses face altogether and can never again hold up his head.Hence many of the rich prefer being fined to wearing the tall hat. But wear it they must,if the peasants insist.One ingenious township peasant association arrested an obnoxious member of the gentry and announced that he was to be crowned that very day.The man turned blue with fear.Then the association decided not to crown him that day.They argued that if he were crowned right away,he would become case-hardened and no longer afraid,and that it would be better to let him go home and crown him some other day.Not knowing when he would be crowned,the man was in daily suspense,unable to sit down or sleep at ease. Locking up the landlords in the county jail.This is a heavier punishment than wearing the tall paper-hat.A local tyrant or one of the evil gentry is arrested and sent to the county jail;he is locked up and the county magistrate has to try him and punish him.Today the people who are locked up are no longer the same.Formerly it was the gentry who sent peasants to be locked up,now it is the other way round. "Banishment".The peasants have no desire to banish the most notorious criminals among the local tyrants and evil gentry,but would rather arrest or execute them.Afraid of being arrested or executed, they run away.In counties where the peasant movement is well developed,almost all the important local tyrants and evil gentry have fled,and this amounts to banishment.Among them,the top ones have fled to Shanghai,those of the second rank to Hankow,those of the third to Changsha,and of the fourth to the county towns.Of all the fugitive local tyrants and evil gentry,those who have fled to Shanghai are the safest.Some of those who fled to Hankow,like the three from Huajung,were eventually captured and brought back.Those who fled to Changsha are in still greater danger of being seized at any moment by students in the provincial capital who hail from their counties;I myself saw two captured in Changsha.Those who have taken refuge in the county towns are only of the fourth rank,and the peasantry,having many eyes and ears,can easily track them down.The financial authorities once explained the difficulties encountered by the Hunan Provincial Government in raising money by the fact that the peasants were banishing the well-to-do,which gives some idea of the extent to which the local tyrants and evil gentry are not tolerated in their home villages. Execution.This is confined to the worst local tyrants and evil gentry and is carried out by the peasants jointly with other sections of the people.For instance,Yang Chih-tse of Ninghsiang,Chou Chia-kan of Yuehyang and Fu Tao-nan and Sun Po-chu of Huajung were shot by the government authorities at the insistence of the peasants and other sections of the people.In the case of Yen Jung-chiu of Hsiangtan,the peasants and other sections of the people compelled the magistrate to agree to hand him over,and the peasants themselves executed him.Liu Chao of Ninghsiang was killed by the peasants.The execution of Peng Chih-fan of Liling and Chou Tien-chueh and Tsao Yun of Yiyang is pending,subject to the decision of the"special tribunal for trying local tyrants and evil gentry".The execution of one such big landlord reverberates through a whole county and is very effective in eradicating the remaining evils of feudalism.Every county has these major tyrants
common. A tall paper-hat is stuck on the head of one of the local tyrants or evil gentry, bearing the words "Local tyrant so-and-so" or "So-and-so of the evil gentry". He is led by a rope and escorted with big crowds in front and behind. Sometimes brass gongs are beaten and flags waved to attract people's attention. This form of punishment more than any other makes the local tyrants and evil gentry tremble. Anyone who has once been crowned with a tall paper-hat loses face altogether and can never again hold up his head. Hence many of the rich prefer being fined to wearing the tall hat. But wear it they must, if the peasants insist. One ingenious township peasant association arrested an obnoxious member of the gentry and announced that he was to be crowned that very day. The man turned blue with fear. Then the association decided not to crown him that day. They argued that if he were crowned right away, he would become case-hardened and no longer afraid, and that it would be better to let him go home and crown him some other day. Not knowing when he would be crowned, the man was in daily suspense, unable to sit down or sleep at ease. Locking up the landlords in the county jail.This is a heavier punishment than wearing the tall paper-hat. A local tyrant or one of the evil gentry is arrested and sent to the county jail; he is locked up and the county magistrate has to try him and punish him. Today the people who are locked up are no longer the same. Formerly it was the gentry who sent peasants to be locked up, now it is the other way round. "Banishment".The peasants have no desire to banish the most notorious criminals among the local tyrants and evil gentry, but would rather arrest or execute them. Afraid of being arrested or executed, they run away. In counties where the peasant movement is well developed, almost all the important local tyrants and evil gentry have fled, and this amounts to banishment. Among them, the top ones have fled to Shanghai, those of the second rank to Hankow, those of the third to Changsha, and of the fourth to the county towns. Of all the fugitive local tyrants and evil gentry, those who have fled to Shanghai are the safest. Some of those who fled to Hankow, like the three from Huajung, were eventually captured and brought back. Those who fled to Changsha are in still greater danger of being seized at any moment by students in the provincial capital who hail from their counties; I myself saw two captured in Changsha. Those who have taken refuge in the county towns are only of the fourth rank, and the peasantry, having many eyes and ears, can easily track them down. The financial authorities once explained the difficulties encountered by the Hunan Provincial Government in raising money by the fact that the peasants were banishing the well-to-do, which gives some idea of the extent to which the local tyrants and evil gentry are not tolerated in their home villages. Execution.This is confined to the worst local tyrants and evil gentry and is carried out by the peasants jointly with other sections of the people. For instance, Yang Chih-tse of Ninghsiang, Chou Chia-kan of Yuehyang and Fu Tao-nan and Sun Po-chu of Huajung were shot by the government authorities at the insistence of the peasants and other sections of the people. In the case of Yen Jung-chiu of Hsiangtan, the peasants and other sections of the people compelled the magistrate to agree to hand him over, and the peasants themselves executed him. Liu Chao of Ninghsiang was killed by the peasants. The execution of Peng Chih-fan of Liling and Chou Tien-chueh and Tsao Yun of Yiyang is pending, subject to the decision of the "special tribunal for trying local tyrants and evil gentry". The execution of one such big landlord reverberates through a whole county and is very effective in eradicating the remaining evils of feudalism. Every county has these major tyrants
some as many as several dozen and others at least a few,and the only effective way of suppressing the reactionaries is to execute at least a few in each county who are guilty of the most heinous crimes.When the local tyrants and evil gentry were at the height of their power,they literally slaughtered peasants without batting an eyelid.Ho Maichuan,for ten years head of the defence corps in the town of Hsinkang,Changsha County,was personally responsible for killing almost a thousand poverty-stricken peasants,which he euphemistically described as"executing bandits".In my native county of Hsiangtan,Tang Chun-yen and Lo Shu-lin who headed the defence corps in the town of Yintien have killed more than fifty people and buried four alive in the fourteen years since 1913.Of the more than fifty they murdered,the first two were perfectly innocent beggars. Tang Chunyen said,"Let me make a start by killing a couple of beggars!"and so these two lives were snuffed out.Such was the cruelty of the local tyrants and evil gentry in former days,such was the White terror they created in the countryside,and now that the peasants have risen and shot a few and created just a little terror in suppressing the counter-revolutionaries,is there any reason for saying they should not do so? 3.HITTING THE LANDLORDS ECONOMICALLY Prohibition on sending grain out of the area,forcing up grain prices,and hoarding and cornering.This is one of the great events of recent months in the economic struggle of the Hunan peasants.Since last October the poor peasants have prevented the outflow of the grain of the landlords and rich peasants and have banned the forcing up of grain prices and hoarding and cornering.As a result,the poor peasants have fully achieved their objective;the ban on the outflow of grain is watertight,grain prices have fallen considerably,and hoarding and cornering have disappeared. Prohibition on increasing rents and deposits;[15]agitation for reduced rents and deposits.Last July and August,when the peasant associations were still weak,the landlords,following their long- established practice of maximum exploitation,served notice one after another on their tenants that rents and deposits would be increased.But by October,when the peasant associations had grown considerably in strength and had all come out against the raising of rents and deposits,the landlords dared not breathe another word on the subject.From November onwards,as the peasants have gained ascendancy over the landlords they have taken the further step of agitating for reduced rents and deposits.What a pity,they say,that the peasant associations were not strong enough when rents were being paid last autumn,or we could have reduced them then.The peasants are doing extensive propaganda for rent reduction in the coming autumn,and the landlords are asking how the reductions are to be carried out.As for the reduction of deposits,this is already under way in Hengshan and other counties. Prohibition on cancelling tenancies.In July and August of last year there were still many instances of landlords cancelling tenancies and re-letting the land.But after October nobody dared cancel a tenancy.Today,the cancelling of tenancies and the re-letting of land are quite out of the question; all that remains as something of a problem is whether a tenancy can be cancelled if the landlord wants to cultivate the land himself.In some places even this is not allowed by the peasants.In others the cancelling of a tenancy may be permitted if the landlord wants to cultivate the land himself,but then the problem of unemployment among the tenant-peasants arises.There is as yet no uniform
some as many as several dozen and others at least a few, and the only effective way of suppressing the reactionaries is to execute at least a few in each county who are guilty of the most heinous crimes. When the local tyrants and evil gentry were at the height of their power, they literally slaughtered peasants without batting an eyelid. Ho Maichuan, for ten years head of the defence corps in the town of Hsinkang, Changsha County, was personally responsible for killing almost a thousand poverty-stricken peasants, which he euphemistically described as "executing bandits". In my native county of Hsiangtan, Tang Chun-yen and Lo Shu-lin who headed the defence corps in the town of Yintien have killed more than fifty people and buried four alive in the fourteen years since 1913. Of the more than fifty they murdered, the first two were perfectly innocent beggars. Tang Chunyen said, "Let me make a start by killing a couple of beggars!" and so these two lives were snuffed out. Such was the cruelty of the local tyrants and evil gentry in former days, such was the White terror they created in the countryside, and now that the peasants have risen and shot a few and created just a little terror in suppressing the counter-revolutionaries, is there any reason for saying they should not do so? 3. HITTING THE LANDLORDS ECONOMICALLY Prohibition on sending grain out of the area, forcing up grain prices, and hoarding and cornering.This is one of the great events of recent months in the economic struggle of the Hunan peasants. Since last October the poor peasants have prevented the outflow of the grain of the landlords and rich peasants and have banned the forcing up of grain prices and hoarding and cornering. As a result, the poor peasants have fully achieved their objective; the ban on the outflow of grain is watertight, grain prices have fallen considerably, and hoarding and cornering have disappeared. Prohibition on increasing rents and deposits; [15] agitation for reduced rents and deposits.Last July and August, when the peasant associations were still weak, the landlords, following their longestablished practice of maximum exploitation, served notice one after another on their tenants that rents and deposits would be increased. But by October, when the peasant associations had grown considerably in strength and had all come out against the raising of rents and deposits, the landlords dared not breathe another word on the subject. From November onwards, as the peasants have gained ascendancy over the landlords they have taken the further step of agitating for reduced rents and deposits. What a pity, they say, that the peasant associations were not strong enough when rents were being paid last autumn, or we could have reduced them then. The peasants are doing extensive propaganda for rent reduction in the coming autumn, and the landlords are asking how the reductions are to be carried out. As for the reduction of deposits, this is already under way in Hengshan and other counties. Prohibition on cancelling tenancies.In July and August of last year there were still many instances of landlords cancelling tenancies and re-letting the land. But after October nobody dared cancel a tenancy. Today, the cancelling of tenancies and the re-letting of land are quite out of the question; all that remains as something of a problem is whether a tenancy can be cancelled if the landlord wants to cultivate the land himself. In some places even this is not allowed by the peasants. In others the cancelling of a tenancy may be permitted if the landlord wants to cultivate the land himself, but then the problem of unemployment among the tenant-peasants arises. There is as yet no uniform
way of solving this problem. Reduction of interest.Interest has been generally reduced in Anhua,and there have been reductions in other counties,too.But wherever the peasant associations are powerful,rural money-lending has virtually disappeared,the landlords having completely "stopped lending"for fear that the money will be "communized".What is currently called reduction of interest is confined to old loans.Not only is the interest on such old loans reduced,but the creditor is actually forbidden to press for the repayment of the principal.The poor peasant replies,"Don't blame me.The year is nearly over.I'll pay you back next year." 4.OVERTHROWING THE FEUDAL RULE OF THE LOCAL TYRANTS AND EVIL GENTRY -SMASHING THE TU AND TUAN [161. The old organs of political power in the tu and tuan (i.e.,the district and the township),and especially at the tulevel,just below the county level,used to be almost exclusively in the hands of the local tyrants and evil gentry.The tuhad jurisdiction over a population of from ten to fifty or sixty thousand people,and had its own armed forces such as the township defence corps,its own fiscal powers such as the power to levy taxes per mou [17]of land,and its own judicial powers such as the power to arrest,imprison,try and punish the peasants at will.The evil gentry who ran these organs were virtual monarchs of the countryside.Comparatively speaking,the peasants were not so much concerned with the president of the Republic,the provincial military governor [18]or the county magistrate;their real "bosses"were these rural monarchs.A mere snort from these people, and the peasants knew they had to watch their step.As a consequence of the present revolt in the countryside the authority of the landlord class has generally been struck down,and the organs of rural administration dominated by the local tyrants and evil gentry have naturally collapsed in its wake.The heads of the tuand the tuanall steer clear of the people,dare not show their faces and push all local matters on to the peasant associations.They put people off with the remark,"It is none of my business!" Whenever their conversation turns to the heads of the tuand the tuan,the peasants say angrily,"That bunch!They are finished!" Yes,the term "finished"truly describes the state of the old organs of rural administration wherever the storm of revolution has raged. 5.OVERTHROWING THE ARMED FORCES OF THE LANDLORDS AND ESTABLISHING THOSE OF THE PEASANTS The armed forces of the landlord class were smaller in central Hunan than in the western and southern parts of the province.An average of 600 rifles for each county would make a total of 45,000 rifles for all the seventy-five counties;there may,in fact,be more.In the southern and central parts where the peasant movement is well developed,the landlord class cannot hold its own because of the tremendous momentum with which the peasants have risen,and its armed forces have largely capitulated to the peasant associations and taken the side of the peasants;examples of this are to be found in such counties as Ninghsiang,Pingkiang,Liuyang,Changsha,Liling
way of solving this problem. Reduction of interest.Interest has been generally reduced in Anhua, and there have been reductions in other counties, too. But wherever the peasant associations are powerful, rural money-lending has virtually disappeared, the landlords having completely "stopped lending" for fear that the money will be "communized". What is currently called reduction of interest is confined to old loans. Not only is the interest on such old loans reduced, but the creditor is actually forbidden to press for the repayment of the principal. The poor peasant replies, "Don't blame me. The year is nearly over. I'll pay you back next year." 4. OVERTHROWING THE FEUDAL RULE OF THE LOCAL TYRANTS AND EVIL GENTRY -SMASHING THE TU AND TUAN [16]. The old organs of political power in the tu and tuan (i.e.,the district and the township), and especially at the tulevel, just below the county level, used to be almost exclusively in the hands of the local tyrants and evil gentry. The tuhad jurisdiction over a population of from ten to fifty or sixty thousand people, and had its own armed forces such as the township defence corps, its own fiscal powers such as the power to levy taxes per mou [17] of land, and its own judicial powers such as the power to arrest, imprison, try and punish the peasants at will. The evil gentry who ran these organs were virtual monarchs of the countryside. Comparatively speaking, the peasants were not so much concerned with the president of the Republic, the provincial military governor [18] or the county magistrate; their real "bosses" were these rural monarchs. A mere snort from these people, and the peasants knew they had to watch their step. As a consequence of the present revolt in the countryside the authority of the landlord class has generally been struck down, and the organs of rural administration dominated by the local tyrants and evil gentry have naturally collapsed in its wake. The heads of the tuand the tuanall steer clear of the people, dare not show their faces and push all local matters on to the peasant associations. They put people off with the remark, "It is none of my business!" Whenever their conversation turns to the heads of the tuand the tuan,the peasants say angrily, "That bunch! They are finished!" Yes, the term "finished" truly describes the state of the old organs of rural administration wherever the storm of revolution has raged. 5. OVERTHROWING THE ARMED FORCES OF THE LANDLORDS AND ESTABLISHING THOSE OF THE PEASANTS The armed forces of the landlord class were smaller in central Hunan than in the western and southern parts of the province. An average of 600 rifles for each county would make a total of 45,000 rifles for all the seventy-five counties; there may, in fact, be more. In the southern and central parts where the peasant movement is well developed, the landlord class cannot hold its own because of the tremendous momentum with which the peasants have risen, and its armed forces have largely capitulated to the peasant associations and taken the side of the peasants; examples of this are to be found in such counties as Ninghsiang, Pingkiang, Liuyang, Changsha, Liling