Read Online Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants by Chen Guidi, Wu Chuntao - Free Book Online
Authors: Chen Guidi, Wu Chuntao
Tags: Asia, History, Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Ethnic Studies, china, Poverty, Human Geography, Asian, Politics & Government, Specific Topics, Economic Conditions, Communism & Socialism, Specific Demographics, Business & Money, International & World Politics, Ideologies & Doctrines, Political Economy, Special Groups
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number one, seeing that he was still breathing, sprang at him and stabbed him five times in the chest and abdomen.
Thus, in the twinkling of an eye, three members of the auditing group—Zhang Guiyu, Zhang Hongchuan, and Zhang Guimao—were lying dead or dying at the back of Zhang Guiyu’s house. The rain pattered on, now mixed with blood on the ground; the sickening smell of blood hung heavy in the air. Just then, Zhang Guiyu’s elder brother, Zhang Guiyue, heard of what had befallen his brother. He hastily snatched up a stick used for stirring cattle feed and rushed over. Yue’s eyesight was bad and he did not recognize his brother lying on the ground. Suddenly he found himself face to face with Zhang Guiquan’s son number one. “Isn’t that my little brother?!” he exclaimed.
Before he could finish the sentence, the butcher knife was already lodged in his breast.
In the melee, Zhang Guiyu’s sixteen-year-old son, Pine, tried to move his father to take him to hospital. However, son num-ber six aimed his bloody meat cleaver straight at the back of the young fellow’s head. Someone let out a gasp, and Pine turned around just in the nick of time to avoid the blow, which landed on his shoulder instead. Pine turned and ran for his life.
Thus, within a matter of minutes, four people were killed and one wounded as the rain fell on Zhang Village.
the village tyrant
Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan’s son number four, Zhang Simao, rushed over, knife in hand, anxious not to miss his share of the kill. Just then the voice of the village Party boss, Zhang Dianfeng, boomed out over the village P.A. system, calling on the audit group to start their morning’s work.
Appointed to Leading Position While Serving a Sentence
The power of organization is considerable, and can be formidable when combined with political power. The sheer number of Chinese peasants could make them overwhelming, but they are scattered, and have no organizational resources to counter oppression. The rural cadres, on the other hand, are highly organized; they are the legal representatives of state power in the countryside. If this body of representatives puts aside the will of the central government,* the highest authority, which has delegated power to them, and appropriates the organizational resources of the state for their own interests, the consequences will be disastrous.
Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan’s education was barely equivalent to primary-school level, but relying on his power as village chief and the power of his clan—he had seven sons—he was able to control Zhang Village and act as the absolute tyrant of the area.
In 1997, he knew perfectly well that the county’s figure for the levy of grain tax** was unchanged from the previous year, but he went ahead anyway and imposed an extra fifty jin (1.1
U.S. pound) per head. He had myriad ways to fleece the peas-
*“Central government” refers to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
**The grain tax—a mandatory amount of grain that the peasant has to sell to the government at a fixed priced—is said to have been established as early as
will the boat sink the water ?
ants. One of his inventions was the “five taxes and one fee:” by his order, any family that raised a pig must pay an extra 45 yuan; any family who built a new house had to pay a tax rang-ing from 150 to 500 yuan (the precise figure to be determined by Zhang’s whim of the moment); owners of old houses in the village had to pay 50 yuan; any family that planted peanuts had to pay 10 yuan per mu (about 1,660 square meters, or one sixth of a hectare); any family that acquired a tractor must pay a tax of 50 yuan. (Zhang Guiyue, who was killed while trying to save his brother, Zhang Guiyu, had scraped together his savings to acquire a tractor, but had to come up with 45 yuan tax before he ever started up the machine. Now the owner was dead while the brand new tractor stood unused under
Thus, in the twinkling of an eye, three members of the auditing group—Zhang Guiyu, Zhang Hongchuan, and Zhang Guimao—were lying dead or dying at the back of Zhang Guiyu’s house. The rain pattered on, now mixed with blood on the ground; the sickening smell of blood hung heavy in the air. Just then, Zhang Guiyu’s elder brother, Zhang Guiyue, heard of what had befallen his brother. He hastily snatched up a stick used for stirring cattle feed and rushed over. Yue’s eyesight was bad and he did not recognize his brother lying on the ground. Suddenly he found himself face to face with Zhang Guiquan’s son number one. “Isn’t that my little brother?!” he exclaimed.
Before he could finish the sentence, the butcher knife was already lodged in his breast.
In the melee, Zhang Guiyu’s sixteen-year-old son, Pine, tried to move his father to take him to hospital. However, son num-ber six aimed his bloody meat cleaver straight at the back of the young fellow’s head. Someone let out a gasp, and Pine turned around just in the nick of time to avoid the blow, which landed on his shoulder instead. Pine turned and ran for his life.
Thus, within a matter of minutes, four people were killed and one wounded as the rain fell on Zhang Village.
the village tyrant
Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan’s son number four, Zhang Simao, rushed over, knife in hand, anxious not to miss his share of the kill. Just then the voice of the village Party boss, Zhang Dianfeng, boomed out over the village P.A. system, calling on the audit group to start their morning’s work.
Appointed to Leading Position While Serving a Sentence
The power of organization is considerable, and can be formidable when combined with political power. The sheer number of Chinese peasants could make them overwhelming, but they are scattered, and have no organizational resources to counter oppression. The rural cadres, on the other hand, are highly organized; they are the legal representatives of state power in the countryside. If this body of representatives puts aside the will of the central government,* the highest authority, which has delegated power to them, and appropriates the organizational resources of the state for their own interests, the consequences will be disastrous.
Deputy Village Chief Zhang Guiquan’s education was barely equivalent to primary-school level, but relying on his power as village chief and the power of his clan—he had seven sons—he was able to control Zhang Village and act as the absolute tyrant of the area.
In 1997, he knew perfectly well that the county’s figure for the levy of grain tax** was unchanged from the previous year, but he went ahead anyway and imposed an extra fifty jin (1.1
U.S. pound) per head. He had myriad ways to fleece the peas-
*“Central government” refers to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
**The grain tax—a mandatory amount of grain that the peasant has to sell to the government at a fixed priced—is said to have been established as early as
will the boat sink the water ?
ants. One of his inventions was the “five taxes and one fee:” by his order, any family that raised a pig must pay an extra 45 yuan; any family who built a new house had to pay a tax rang-ing from 150 to 500 yuan (the precise figure to be determined by Zhang’s whim of the moment); owners of old houses in the village had to pay 50 yuan; any family that planted peanuts had to pay 10 yuan per mu (about 1,660 square meters, or one sixth of a hectare); any family that acquired a tractor must pay a tax of 50 yuan. (Zhang Guiyue, who was killed while trying to save his brother, Zhang Guiyu, had scraped together his savings to acquire a tractor, but had to come up with 45 yuan tax before he ever started up the machine. Now the owner was dead while the brand new tractor stood unused under
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