Hsiangtan,Hsianghsiang,Anhua,Hengshan and Hengyang.In some counties such as Paoching,a small number of the landlords'armed forces are taking a neutral stand,though with a tendency to capitulate.Another small section are opposing the peasant associations,but the peasants are attacking them and may wipe them out before long,as,for example,in such counties as Yichang, Linwu and Chiaho.The armed forces thus taken over from the reactionary landlords are all being reorganized into a "standing household militia"[19]and placed under the new organs of rural self- government,which are organs of the political power of the peasantry.Taking over these old armed forces is one way in which the peasants are building up their own armed forces.A new way is through the setting up of spear corps under the peasant associations.The spears have pointed, double-edged blades mounted on long shafts,and there are now 100,000 of these weapons in the county of Hsianghsiang alone.Other counties like Hsiangtan,Hengshan,Liling and Changsha have 70,000-80,000,or 50,000-60.000.or 30,000-40,000 each.Every county where there is a peasant movement has a rapidly growing spear corps.These peasants thus armed form an "irregular household militia".This multitude equipped with spears,which is larger than the old armed forces mentioned above,is a new-born armed power the mere sight of which makes the local tyrants and evil gentry tremble.The revolutionary authorities in Hunan should see to it that it is built up on a really extensive scale among the more than twenty million peasants in the seventy-five counties of the province,that every peasant,whether young or in his prime,possesses a spear,and that no restrictions are imposed as though a spear were something dreadful.Anyone who is scared at the sight of the spear corps is indeed a weakling!Only the local tyrants and evil gentry are frightened of them,but no revolutionaries should take fright. 6.OVERTHROWING THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE COUNTY MAGISTRATE AND HIS BAILIFFS That county government cannot be clean until the peasants rise up was proved some time ago in Haifeng,Kwangtung Province.Now we have added proof,particularly in Hunan.In a county where power is in the hands of the local tyrants and evil gentry,the magistrate,whoever he may be, is almost invariably a corrupt official.In a county where the peasants have risen there is dean government,whoever the magistrate.In the counties I visited,the magistrates had to consult the peasant associations on everything in advance.In counties where the peasant power was very strong, the word of the peasant association worked miracles.If it demanded the arrest of a local tyrant in the morning,the magistrate dared not delay till noon;if it demanded arrest by noon,he dared not delay till the afternoon.When the power of the peasants was just beginning to make itself felt in the countryside,the magistrate worked in league with the local tyrants and evil gentry against the peasants.When the peasants'power grew till it matched that of the landlords,the magistrate took the position of trying to accommodate both the landlords and the peasants,accepting some of the peasant association's suggestions while rejecting others.The remark that the word of the peasant association "works miracles"applies only when the power of the landlords has been completely beaten down by that of the peasants.At present the political situation in such counties as Hsianghsiang,Hsiangtan,Liling and Hengshan is as follows: (1)All decisions are made by a joint council consisting of the magistrate and the representatives of the revolutionary mass organizations.The council is convened by the magistrate and meets in his office.In some counties it is called the "joint council of public bodies and the local government
Hsiangtan, Hsianghsiang, Anhua, Hengshan and Hengyang. In some counties such as Paoching, a small number of the landlords' armed forces are taking a neutral stand, though with a tendency to capitulate. Another small section are opposing the peasant associations, but the peasants are attacking them and may wipe them out before long, as, for example, in such counties as Yichang, Linwu and Chiaho. The armed forces thus taken over from the reactionary landlords are all being reorganized into a "standing household militia" [19] and placed under the new organs of rural selfgovernment, which are organs of the political power of the peasantry. Taking over these old armed forces is one way in which the peasants are building up their own armed forces. A new way is through the setting up of spear corps under the peasant associations. The spears have pointed, double-edged blades mounted on long shafts, and there are now 100,000 of these weapons in the county of Hsianghsiang alone. Other counties like Hsiangtan, Hengshan, Liling and Changsha have 70,000-80,000, or 50,000-60.000. or 30,000-40,000 each. Every county where there is a peasant movement has a rapidly growing spear corps. These peasants thus armed form an "irregular household militia". This multitude equipped with spears, which is larger than the old armed forces mentioned above, is a new-born armed power the mere sight of which makes the local tyrants and evil gentry tremble. The revolutionary authorities in Hunan should see to it that it is built up on a really extensive scale among the more than twenty million peasants in the seventy-five counties of the province, that every peasant, whether young or in his prime, possesses a spear, and that no restrictions are imposed as though a spear were something dreadful. Anyone who is scared at the sight of the spear corps is indeed a weakling! Only the local tyrants and evil gentry are frightened of them, but no revolutionaries should take fright. 6. OVERTHROWING THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE COUNTY MAGISTRATE AND HIS BAILIFFS That county government cannot be clean until the peasants rise up was proved some time ago in Haifeng, Kwangtung Province. Now we have added proof, particularly in Hunan. In a county where power is in the hands of the local tyrants and evil gentry, the magistrate, whoever he may be, is almost invariably a corrupt official. In a county where the peasants have risen there is dean government, whoever the magistrate. In the counties I visited, the magistrates had to consult the peasant associations on everything in advance. In counties where the peasant power was very strong, the word of the peasant association worked miracles. If it demanded the arrest of a local tyrant in the morning, the magistrate dared not delay till noon; if it demanded arrest by noon, he dared not delay till the afternoon. When the power of the peasants was just beginning to make itself felt in the countryside, the magistrate worked in league with the local tyrants and evil gentry against the peasants. When the peasants' power grew till it matched that of the landlords, the magistrate took the position of trying to accommodate both the landlords and the peasants, accepting some of the peasant association's suggestions while rejecting others. The remark that the word of the peasant association "works miracles" applies only when the power of the landlords has been completely beaten down by that of the peasants. At present the political situation in such counties as Hsianghsiang, Hsiangtan, Liling and Hengshan is as follows: (1) All decisions are made by a joint council consisting of the magistrate and the representatives of the revolutionary mass organizations.The council is convened by the magistrate and meets in his office. In some counties it is called the "joint council of public bodies and the local government
and in others the "council of county affairs".Besides the magistrate himself,the people attending are the representatives of the county peasant association,trade union council,merchant association, women's association,school staff association,student association and Kuomintang headquarters. [20]At such council meetings the magistrate is influenced by the views of the public organizations and invariably does their bidding.The adoption of a democratic committee system of county government should not,therefore,present much of a problem in Hunan.The present county governments are already quite democratic both in form and substance.This situation has been brought about only in the last two or three months,that is,since the peasants have risen all over the countryside and overthrown the power of the local tyrants and evil gentry.It has now come about that the magistrates,seeing their old props collapse and needing other props to retain their posts, have begun to curry favour with the public organizations. (2)The judicial assistant teas scarcely any cases to handle.The judicial system in Hunan remains one in which the county magistrate is concurrently in charge of judicial affairs,with an assistant to help him in handling cases.To get rich,the magistrate and his underlings used to rely entirely on collecting taxes and levies,procuring men and provisions for the armed forces,and extorting money in civil and criminal lawsuits by confounding right and wrong,the last being the most regular and reliable source of income.In the last few months,with the downfall of the local tyrants and evil gentry,all the legal pettifoggers have disappeared.What is more,the peasants'problems, big and small,are now all settled in the peasant associations at the various levels.Thus the county judicial assistant simply has nothing to do.The one in Hsianghsiang told me,"When there were no peasant associations,an average of sixty civil or criminal suits were brought to the county government each day;now it receives an average of only four or five a day."So it is that the purses of the magistrates and their underlings perforce remain empty (3)The armed guards,the police and the bailiffs all keep out of the way and dare not go near the villages to practice their extortions.In the past the villagers were afraid of the townspeople,but now the townspeople are afraid of the villagers.In particular the vicious curs kept by the county government-the police,the armed guards and the bailiffs-are afraid of going to the villages,or if they do so,they no longer dare to practice their extortions.They tremble at the sight of the peasants'spears. 7.OVERTHROWING THE CLAN AUTHORITY OF THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLES AND CLAN ELDERS,THE RELIGIOUSAUTHORITY OF TOWN AND VILLAGE GODS,AND THE MASCULINE AUTHORITY OF HUSBANDS A man in China is usually subjected to the domination of three systems of authority:(1)the state system (political authority),ranging from the national,provincial and county government down to that of the township;(2)the den system (clan authority).ranging from the central ancestral temple and its branch temples down to the head of the household;and(3)the supernatural system (religious authority),ranging from the King of Hell down to the town and village gods belonging to the nether world,and from the Emperor of Heaven down to all the various gods and spirits belonging to the celestial world.As for women,in addition to being dominated by these three systems of authority,they are also dominated by the men(the authority of the husband).These four authorities-political,clan,religious and masculine-are the embodiment of the whole feudal-
and in others the "council of county affairs". Besides the magistrate himself, the people attending are the representatives of the county peasant association, trade union council, merchant association, women's association, school staff association, student association and Kuomintang headquarters. [20] At such council meetings the magistrate is influenced by the views of the public organizations and invariably does their bidding. The adoption of a democratic committee system of county government should not, therefore, present much of a problem in Hunan. The present county governments are already quite democratic both in form and substance. This situation has been brought about only in the last two or three months, that is, since the peasants have risen all over the countryside and overthrown the power of the local tyrants and evil gentry. It has now come about that the magistrates, seeing their old props collapse and needing other props to retain their posts, have begun to curry favour with the public organizations. (2) The judicial assistant teas scarcely any cases to handle.The judicial system in Hunan remains one in which the county magistrate is concurrently in charge of judicial affairs, with an assistant to help him in handling cases. To get rich, the magistrate and his underlings used to rely entirely on collecting taxes and levies, procuring men and provisions for the armed forces, and extorting money in civil and criminal lawsuits by confounding right and wrong, the last being the most regular and reliable source of income. In the last few months, with the downfall of the local tyrants and evil gentry, all the legal pettifoggers have disappeared. What is more, the peasants' problems, big and small, are now all settled in the peasant associations at the various levels. Thus the county judicial assistant simply has nothing to do. The one in Hsianghsiang told me, "When there were no peasant associations, an average of sixty civil or criminal suits were brought to the county government each day; now it receives an average of only four or five a day." So it is that the purses of the magistrates and their underlings perforce remain empty. (3) The armed guards, the police and the bailiffs all keep out of the way and dare not go near the villages to practice their extortions.In the past the villagers were afraid of the townspeople, but now the townspeople are afraid of the villagers. In particular the vicious curs kept by the county government-the police, the armed guards and the bailiffs-are afraid of going to the villages, or if they do so, they no longer dare to practice their extortions. They tremble at the sight of the peasants' spears. 7. OVERTHROWING THE CLAN AUTHORITY OF THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLES AND CLAN ELDERS, THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY OF TOWN AND VILLAGE GODS, AND THE MASCULINE AUTHORITY OF HUSBANDS A man in China is usually subjected to the domination of three systems of authority: (1) the state system (political authority), ranging from the national, provincial and county government down to that of the township; (2) the den system (clan authority), ranging from the central ancestral temple and its branch temples down to the head of the household; and (3) the supernatural system (religious authority), ranging from the King of Hell down to the town and village gods belonging to the nether world, and from the Emperor of Heaven down to all the various gods and spirits belonging to the celestial world. As for women, in addition to being dominated by these three systems of authority, they are also dominated by the men (the authority of the husband). These four authorities-political, clan, religious and masculine-are the embodiment of the whole feudal-
patriarchal system and ideology,and are the four thick ropes binding the Chinese people, particularly the peasants.How the peasants have overthrown the political authority of the landlords in the countryside has been described above.The political authority of the landlords is the backbone of all the other systems of authority.With that overturned,the clan authority,the religious authority and the authority of the husband all begin to totter.Where the peasant association is powerful,the den elders and administrators of temple funds no longer dare oppress those lower in the clan hierarchy or embezzle clan funds.The worst clan elders and administrators,being local tyrants, have been thrown out.No one any longer dares to practice the cruel corporal and capital punishments that used to be inflicted in the ancestral temples,such as flogging,drowning and burying alive.The old rule barring women and poor people from the banquets in the ancestral temples has also been broken.The women of Paikno in Hengshan County gathered in force and swarmed into their ancestral temple,firmly planted their backsides in the seats and joined in the eating and drinking,while the venerable den bigwigs had willy-nilly to let them do as they pleased. At another place,where poor peasants had been excluded from temple banquets,a group of them flocked in and ate and drank their fill,while the local tyrants and evil gentry and other long-gowned gentlemen all took to their heels in fright.Everywhere religious authority totters as the peasant movement develops.In many places the peasant associations have taken over the temples of the gods as their offices.Everywhere they advocate the appropriation of temple property in order to start peasant schools and to defray the expenses of the associations,calling it "public revenue from superstition".In Liling County,prohibiting superstitious practices and smashing idols have become quite the vogue.In its northern districts the peasants have prohibited the incense-burning processions to propitiate the god of pestilence.There were many idols in the Taoist temple at Fupoling in Lukou,but when extra room was needed for the district headquarters of the Kuomintang,they were all piled up in a corner,big and small together,and no peasant raised any objection.Since then,sacrifices to the gods,the performance of religious rites and the offering of sacred lamps have rarely been practised when a death occurs in a family.Because the initiative in this matter was taken by the chairman of the peasant association,Sun Hsiao-shan,he is hated by the local Taoist priests.In the Lungfeng Nunnery in the North Third District,the peasants and primary school teachers chopped up the wooden idols and actually used the wood to cook meat.More than thirty idols in the Tungfu Monastery in the Southern District were burned by the students and peasants together,and only two small images of Lord Pao [21]were snatched up by an old peasant who said,"Don't commit a sin !In places where the power of the peasants is predominant,only the older peasants and the women still believe in the gods,the younger peasants no longer doing so. Since the latter control the associations,the overthrow of religious authority and the eradication of superstition are going on everywhere.As to the authority of the husband,this has always been weaker among the poor peasants because,out of economic necessity,their womenfolk have to do more manual labour than the women of the richer classes and therefore have more say and greater power of decision in family matters.With the increasing bankruptcy of the rural economy in recent years,the basis for men's domination over women has already been weakened.With the rise of the peasant movement,the women in many places have now begun to organize rural women's associations;the opportunity has come for them to lift up their heads,and the authority of the husband is getting shakier every day.In a word,the whole feudal-patriarchal system and ideology is tottering with the growth of the peasants'power.At the present time,however,the peasants are concentrating on destroying the landlords'political authority.Wherever it has been wholly
patriarchal system and ideology, and are the four thick ropes binding the Chinese people, particularly the peasants. How the peasants have overthrown the political authority of the landlords in the countryside has been described above. The political authority of the landlords is the backbone of all the other systems of authority. With that overturned, the clan authority, the religious authority and the authority of the husband all begin to totter. Where the peasant association is powerful, the den elders and administrators of temple funds no longer dare oppress those lower in the clan hierarchy or embezzle clan funds. The worst clan elders and administrators, being local tyrants, have been thrown out. No one any longer dares to practice the cruel corporal and capital punishments that used to be inflicted in the ancestral temples, such as flogging, drowning and burying alive. The old rule barring women and poor people from the banquets in the ancestral temples has also been broken. The women of Paikno in Hengshan County gathered in force and swarmed into their ancestral temple, firmly planted their backsides in the seats and joined in the eating and drinking, while the venerable den bigwigs had willy-nilly to let them do as they pleased. At another place, where poor peasants had been excluded from temple banquets, a group of them flocked in and ate and drank their fill, while the local tyrants and evil gentry and other long-gowned gentlemen all took to their heels in fright. Everywhere religious authority totters as the peasant movement develops. In many places the peasant associations have taken over the temples of the gods as their offices. Everywhere they advocate the appropriation of temple property in order to start peasant schools and to defray the expenses of the associations, calling it "public revenue from superstition". In Liling County, prohibiting superstitious practices and smashing idols have become quite the vogue. In its northern districts the peasants have prohibited the incense-burning processions to propitiate the god of pestilence. There were many idols in the Taoist temple at Fupoling in Lukou, but when extra room was needed for the district headquarters of the Kuomintang, they were all piled up in a corner, big and small together, and no peasant raised any objection. Since then, sacrifices to the gods, the performance of religious rites and the offering of sacred lamps have rarely been practised when a death occurs in a family. Because the initiative in this matter was taken by the chairman of the peasant association, Sun Hsiao-shan, he is hated by the local Taoist priests. In the Lungfeng Nunnery in the North Third District, the peasants and primary school teachers chopped up the wooden idols and actually used the wood to cook meat. More than thirty idols in the Tungfu Monastery in the Southern District were burned by the students and peasants together, and only two small images of Lord Pao [21] were snatched up by an old peasant who said, "Don't commit a sin !" In places where the power of the peasants is predominant, only the older peasants and the women still believe in the gods, the younger peasants no longer doing so. Since the latter control the associations, the overthrow of religious authority and the eradication of superstition are going on everywhere. As to the authority of the husband, this has always been weaker among the poor peasants because, out of economic necessity, their womenfolk have to do more manual labour than the women of the richer classes and therefore have more say and greater power of decision in family matters. With the increasing bankruptcy of the rural economy in recent years, the basis for men's domination over women has already been weakened. With the rise of the peasant movement, the women in many places have now begun to organize rural women's associations; the opportunity has come for them to lift up their heads, and the authority of the husband is getting shakier every day. In a word, the whole feudal-patriarchal system and ideology is tottering with the growth of the peasants' power. At the present time, however, the peasants are concentrating on destroying the landlords' political authority. Wherever it has been wholly
destroyed,they are beginning to press their attack in the three other spheres of the clan,the gods and male domination.But such attacks have only just begun,and there can be no thorough overthrow of all three until the peasants have won complete victory in the economic struggle. Therefore,our present task is to lead the peasants to put their greatest efforts into the political struggle,so that the landlords'authority is entirely overthrown.The economic struggle should follow immediately,so that the land problem and the other economic problems of the poor peasants may be fundamentally solved.As for the den system,superstition,and inequality between men and women,their abolition will follow as a natural consequence of victory in the political and economic struggles.If too much of an effort is made,arbitrarily and prematurely,to abolish these things,the local tyrants and evil gentry will seize the pretext to put about such counter-revolutionary propaganda as"the peasant association has no piety towards ancestors","the peasant association is blasphemous and is destroying religion"and"the peasant association stands for the communization of wives",all for the purpose of undermining the peasant movement.A case in point is the recent events at Hsianghsiang in Hunan and Yanghsin in Hupeh,where the landlords exploited the opposition of some peasants to smashing idols.It is the peasants who made the idols,and when the time comes they will cast the idols aside with their own hands;there is no need for anyone else to do it for them prematurely.The Communist Party's propaganda policy in such matters should be, "Draw the bow without shooting,just indicate the motions."[22]It is for the peasants themselves to cast aside the idols,pull down the temples to the martyred virgins and the arches to the chaste and faithful widows;it is wrong for anybody else to do it for them. While I was in the countryside,I did some propaganda against superstition among the peasants.I said: "If you believe in the Eight Characters,[23]you hope for good luck;if you believe in geomancy, [24]you hope to benefit from the location of your ancestral graves.This year within the space of a few months the local tyrants,evil gentry and corrupt officials have all toppled from their pedestals. Is it possible that until a few months ago they all had good luck and enjoyed the benefit of well- sited ancestral graves,while suddenly in the last few months their luck has turned and their ancestral graves have ceased to exert a beneficial influence?The local tyrants and evil gentry jeer at your peasant association and say,'How odd!Today,the world is a world of committeemen.Look, you can't even go to pass water without bumping into a committeeman!'Quite true,the towns and the villages,the trade unions and the peasant associations,the Kuomintang and the Communist Party,all without exception have their executive committee members-it is indeed a world of committeemen.But is this due to the Eight Characters and the location of the ancestral graves? How strange!The Eight Characters of all the poor wretches in the countryside have suddenly turned auspicious!And their ancestral graves have suddenly started exerting beneficial influences! The gods?Worship them by all means.But if you had only Lord Kuan [25]and the Goddess of Mercy and no peasant association,could you have overthrown the local tyrants and evil gentry? The gods and goddesses are indeed miserable objects.You have worshipped them for centuries,and they have not overthrown a single one of the local tyrants or evil gentry for you!Now you want to have your rent reduced.Let me ask,how will you go about it?Will you believe in the gods or in the peasant association?" My words made the peasants roar with laughter
destroyed, they are beginning to press their attack in the three other spheres of the clan, the gods and male domination. But such attacks have only just begun, and there can be no thorough overthrow of all three until the peasants have won complete victory in the economic struggle. Therefore, our present task is to lead the peasants to put their greatest efforts into the political struggle, so that the landlords' authority is entirely overthrown. The economic struggle should follow immediately, so that the land problem and the other economic problems of the poor peasants may be fundamentally solved. As for the den system, superstition, and inequality between men and women, their abolition will follow as a natural consequence of victory in the political and economic struggles. If too much of an effort is made, arbitrarily and prematurely, to abolish these things, the local tyrants and evil gentry will seize the pretext to put about such counter-revolutionary propaganda as "the peasant association has no piety towards ancestors", "the peasant association is blasphemous and is destroying religion" and "the peasant association stands for the communization of wives", all for the purpose of undermining the peasant movement. A case in point is the recent events at Hsianghsiang in Hunan and Yanghsin in Hupeh, where the landlords exploited the opposition of some peasants to smashing idols. It is the peasants who made the idols, and when the time comes they will cast the idols aside with their own hands; there is no need for anyone else to do it for them prematurely. The Communist Party's propaganda policy in such matters should be, "Draw the bow without shooting, just indicate the motions." [22] It is for the peasants themselves to cast aside the idols, pull down the temples to the martyred virgins and the arches to the chaste and faithful widows; it is wrong for anybody else to do it for them. While I was in the countryside, I did some propaganda against superstition among the peasants. I said: "If you believe in the Eight Characters, [23] you hope for good luck; if you believe in geomancy, [24] you hope to benefit from the location of your ancestral graves. This year within the space of a few months the local tyrants, evil gentry and corrupt officials have all toppled from their pedestals. Is it possible that until a few months ago they all had good luck and enjoyed the benefit of wellsited ancestral graves, while suddenly in the last few months their luck has turned and their ancestral graves have ceased to exert a beneficial influence? The local tyrants and evil gentry jeer at your peasant association and say, 'How odd! Today, the world is a world of committeemen. Look, you can't even go to pass water without bumping into a committeeman!' Quite true, the towns and the villages, the trade unions and the peasant associations, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, all without exception have their executive committee members-it is indeed a world of committeemen. But is this due to the Eight Characters and the location of the ancestral graves? How strange! The Eight Characters of all the poor wretches in the countryside have suddenly turned auspicious! And their ancestral graves have suddenly started exerting beneficial influences! The gods? Worship them by all means. But if you had only Lord Kuan [25] and the Goddess of Mercy and no peasant association, could you have overthrown the local tyrants and evil gentry? The gods and goddesses are indeed miserable objects. You have worshipped them for centuries, and they have not overthrown a single one of the local tyrants or evil gentry for you! Now you want to have your rent reduced. Let me ask, how will you go about it? Will you believe in the gods or in the peasant association?" My words made the peasants roar with laughter
8.SPREADING POLITICAL PROPAGANDA Even if ten thousand schools of law and political science had been opened,could they have brought as much political education to the people,men and women,young and old,all the way into the remotest corners of the countryside,as the peasant associations have done in so short a time?I don't think they could."Down with imperialism!""Down with the warlords!""Down with the corrupt officials!""Down with the local tyrants and evil gentry!"-these political slogans have grown wings, they have found their way to the young,the middle-aged and the old,to the women and children in countless villages,they have penetrated into their minds and are on their lips.For instance,watch a group of children at play.If one gets angry with another,if he glares,stamps his foot and shakes his fist,you will then immediately hear from the other the shrill cry of"Down with imperialism!" In the Hsiangtan area,when the children who pasture the cattle get into a fight,one will act as Tang Sheng-chih,and the other as Yeh Kai-hsin;[26]when one is defeated and runs away,with the other chasing him,it is the pursuer who is Tang Sheng-chih and the pursued Yeh Kai-hsin.As to the song "Down with the Imperialist Powers!"of course almost every child in the towns can sing it,and now many village children can sing it too Some of the peasants can also recite Dr.Sun Yat-sen's Testament.They pick out the terms "freedom","equality","the Three People's Principles"and "unequal treaties"and apply them,if rather crudely,in their daily life.When somebody who looks like one of the gentry encounters a peasant and stands on his dignity,refusing to make way along a pathway,the peasant will say angrily,"Hey,you local tyrant,don't you know the Three People's Principles?"Formerly when the peasants from the vegetable farms on the outskirts of Changsha entered the city to sell their produce, they used to be pushed around by the police.Now they have found a weapon,which is none other than the Three People's Principles.When a policeman strikes or swears at a peasant selling vegetables,the peasant immediately answers back by invoking the Three People's Principles and that shuts the policeman up.Once in Hsiangtan when a district peasant association and a township peasant association could not see eye to eye,the chairman of the township association declared, "Down with the district peasant association's unequal treaties!" The spread of political propaganda throughout the rural areas is entirely an achievement of the Communist Party and the peasant associations.Simple slogans,cartoons and speeches have produced such a widespread and speedy effect among the peasants that every one of them seems to have been through a political school.According to the reports of comrades engaged in rural work, political propaganda was very extensive at the time of the three great mass rallies,the anti-British demonstration,the celebration of the October Revolution and the victory celebration for the Northern Expedition.On these occasions,political propaganda was conducted extensively wherever there were peasant associations,arousing the whole countryside with tremendous effect. From now on care should be taken to use every opportunity gradually to enrich the content and clarify the meaning of those simple slogans. 9.PEASANT BANS AND PROHIBITIONS When the peasant associations,under Communist Party leadership,establish their authority in the
8. SPREADING POLITICAL PROPAGANDA Even if ten thousand schools of law and political science had been opened, could they have brought as much political education to the people, men and women, young and old, all the way into the remotest corners of the countryside, as the peasant associations have done in so short a time? I don't think they could. "Down with imperialism!" "Down with the warlords!" "Down with the corrupt officials!" "Down with the local tyrants and evil gentry!"-these political slogans have grown wings, they have found their way to the young, the middle-aged and the old, to the women and children in countless villages, they have penetrated into their minds and are on their lips. For instance, watch a group of children at play. If one gets angry with another, if he glares, stamps his foot and shakes his fist, you will then immediately hear from the other the shrill cry of "Down with imperialism!" In the Hsiangtan area, when the children who pasture the cattle get into a fight, one will act as Tang Sheng-chih, and the other as Yeh Kai-hsin; [26] when one is defeated and runs away, with the other chasing him, it is the pursuer who is Tang Sheng-chih and the pursued Yeh Kai-hsin. As to the song "Down with the Imperialist Powers!" of course almost every child in the towns can sing it, and now many village children can sing it too. Some of the peasants can also recite Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Testament. They pick out the terms "freedom", "equality", "the Three People's Principles" and "unequal treaties" and apply them, if rather crudely, in their daily life. When somebody who looks like one of the gentry encounters a peasant and stands on his dignity, refusing to make way along a pathway, the peasant will say angrily, "Hey, you local tyrant, don't you know the Three People's Principles?" Formerly when the peasants from the vegetable farms on the outskirts of Changsha entered the city to sell their produce, they used to be pushed around by the police. Now they have found a weapon, which is none other than the Three People's Principles. When a policeman strikes or swears at a peasant selling vegetables, the peasant immediately answers back by invoking the Three People's Principles and that shuts the policeman up. Once in Hsiangtan when a district peasant association and a township peasant association could not see eye to eye, the chairman of the township association declared, "Down with the district peasant association's unequal treaties!" The spread of political propaganda throughout the rural areas is entirely an achievement of the Communist Party and the peasant associations. Simple slogans, cartoons and speeches have produced such a widespread and speedy effect among the peasants that every one of them seems to have been through a political school. According to the reports of comrades engaged in rural work, political propaganda was very extensive at the time of the three great mass rallies, the anti-British demonstration, the celebration of the October Revolution and the victory celebration for the Northern Expedition. On these occasions, political propaganda was conducted extensively wherever there were peasant associations, arousing the whole countryside with tremendous effect. From now on care should be taken to use every opportunity gradually to enrich the content and clarify the meaning of those simple slogans. 9. PEASANT BANS AND PROHIBITIONS When the peasant associations, under Communist Party leadership, establish their authority in the