Revolution in Rural Society: A Study of the Jiangbei Base Area: 1924-1934

Author: Chen Dejun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: "Who are our enemies?" is the first question revolutionaries must confront. If there are no "enemies," or if it is merely a personal vendetta, then there is no social or historical justification for revolution, and the revolutionary organization accordingly loses its opportunity and necessity for existence. How did the leaders of the Chinese rural revolution construct the concept of "enemies"? How did their method of identifying "enemies" differ from that of traditional rebels? The author explores this topic with the Jiangbei Revolutionary Base as the subject, which is renowned for its founder, Fang Zhi-min. The author employs the method of "thick description," which focuses on micro-action mechanisms, to meticulously analyze how revolutionaries gradually utilized, guided, transformed, and reconstructed the naive "enemy consciousness" formed by peasants in their daily lives to serve revolutionary goals. Additionally, the author poses profound questions and challenges to the mainstream research approach, which is top-down, macro-level, and primarily focused on policy analysis and evaluation.