Yunnan San Village

Author: Fei Xiaotong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Three Villages in Yunnan is a survey report conducted by Fei Xiaotong, a renowned Chinese sociologist and anthropologist, and his assistant Zhang Zhiyi in the rural areas of Yunnan Province during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It includes Luchun Agricultural Fields, Yicun Handicrafts, and Yucun Agriculture and Commerce. The villages of "Luchun," "Yicun," and "Yucun" refer to specific villages in Lufeng, Yimen, and Yuxi, respectively. The surveys were carried out during the early years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, when "fierce enemies were pressing in, and the homeland had fallen." Why would a so-called "returning scholar" plunge into rural areas to conduct social surveys, which were not well-regarded by society at the time? In the preface to Three Villages in Yunnan, Fei Xiaotong asks and answers: "After China's victory in the war, there remains a more serious problem to solve: what kind of country will we build? On the battlefields of the War of Resistance, I could not contribute much. But to address that more serious problem, I have a responsibility to use the knowledge I have learned to do more preparatory work—to scientifically understand Chinese society." From Fei Xiaotong's words, we clearly see the social responsibility and sense of mission of a Chinese intellectual. To achieve this purpose, Fei Xiaotong used the comparative method, strategically selecting several "types" of rural areas in China for investigation, analysis, and comparison, moving from a single point to multiple points, from the local to the whole, thereby gaining an understanding of the overall picture of Chinese rural society. After attempting surveys in the Daxiaoshan Mountains of Guangxi and Jiangcun by the Taihu Lake in Jiangsu, between 1938 and 1942, Fei Xiaotong, who was teaching at Yunnan University and heading the Sociology Research Institute, and his assistant Zhang Zhiyi, completed the "Three Villages in Yunnan" survey over six years. Given the conditions at the time, conducting such meticulous work was undoubtedly arduous. As Fei Xiaotong described it: "The working environment in Yicun was truly more difficult than any of our other work sites. Not only did we go several days with nothing but peanuts to eat, but we were also unfamiliar with the place and had no one to rely on. We had to forcefully immerse ourselves in this strange community." Yet under such circumstances, the sociologists showed no fear of hardship and toiled tirelessly, achieving extraordinary results with their strong will and rigorous academic approach. What kind of spirit of inquiry and what kind of attitude toward scholarship is this! It is precisely because of this that Three Villages in Yunnan reflects its timeless value and shines with its immortal brilliance. Today, over six or seven decades later, reading this Three Villages in Yunnan moves us deeply. The survey reports of the three villages, exceeding 300,000 words, vividly present the rural social life of six or seven decades ago. Agricultural activities, land use, household consumption, rural finance, and even the annual output of human manure by adult males, the economic factors of door-to-door grooms—every aspect of rural life was meticulously investigated by the sociologists with detailed data, vivid examples, and scientific analysis. The level of detail is astonishing. For example, when investigating the labor costs of dry-field winter crops, the sociologists listed anded the processes of planting, picking, threshing, digging ditches, and planting beans, specifying the number of male and female workers needed for each step, daily wages, and food allowances. When calculating marriage expenses, they detailed the costs of returning engagements, large-pan rice, setting deposits, giving gifts, and banquets, as well as the income and expenses of both the groom's and bride's families. When introducing the production of handmade paper, the sociologists even drew and labeled the full set of tools used in scooping and drying paper rooms. Attitude determines a person's success and the value of a task. Only by seeing this can we understand why Fei Xiaotong and Zhang Zhiyi became renowned scholars both in China and abroad, and why Three Villages in Yunnan holds such profound and lasting social significance. To avoid bombing by Japanese aircraft, Fei Xiaotong and Zhang Zhiyi completed this work on a Kuixing Pavilion in Chenggong. "The living conditions of intellectuals in the interior during wartime were harsh enough. But no one complained about hardship or poverty, always feeling that what they were doing was meaningful. Only those who could endure hardship and poverty truly deserve pride and self-respect." In this book, we also gain a deeper understanding of the personal charm and academic spirit of traditional Chinese intellectuals. From Sima Qian's determined writing of history to the textual research methods of "minor learning" scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, from Wen Yiduo's "not leaving his house for three months" to Fei Xiaotong's Three Villages in Yunnan, this personal charm and academic spirit has always permeated the inner world of traditional intellectuals, becoming an endless source of cultural inheritance and social progress. Today, society has entered the information age, and cultural diversity has made our era more vibrant and colorful. However, unfortunately, even in academia and education, a air has spread through the halls of knowledge. Many scholars and academics pursue only material benefits and false fame. The intellect of many of them is limited to finding others' achievements and online materials and organizing them into articles. Such lack of creativity undoubtedly holds little meaning for society. Faced with Three Villages in Yunnan, how should we view this widespread in academic spirit? We need Three Villages in Yunnan, we need the traditional spirit of scholarship.