Expert Opinions (Authoritative Interpretation of the Construction of a New Socialist Countryside)

Author: Sun Jun, Wang Foquan (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The issues of rural China and its farmers were brought forward as a question of social transformation and development against the backdrop of modernization. In ancient times, society was an agrarian one, with agriculture as the primary industry and the population mainly consisting of farmers. A homogeneous society characterized by agricultural civilization developed according to its own logic. Therefore, in ancient times, agriculture and farmers did not constitute social or political issues. It was only with the emergence of modern elements such as industry, cities, and workers, which carried industrial civilization, that rural areas and farmers closely related to traditional agricultural civilization came to form social and political issues. Particularly for China, as its modernization process was initiated under the impact of Western industrial civilization, the issue of rural areas and farmers as traditional factors became particularly prominent. Since this century, under the impact of a large number of modern elements carried by Western industrial civilization, the issues of rural China and its farmers have become increasingly prominent, becoming a major concern for the intellectual community and the government, which is committed to solving them. As a result, research on rural China and its farmers in this century has taken on a clear "problem-oriented" characteristic. Looking back at the past and facing today, what should we do and how should we think? Mr. Du Run's view that "practice is a university" is the best proof.