Expert Opinions -- Authoritative Interpretation of the Construction of Socialist New Countryside

Author: Sun Jun, Wang Foquan (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The issues of rural China and its farmers were indeed raised as a question of social transformation and development in the context of modernization. In ancient times, society was an agrarian one, with agriculture as the primary industry and the population mainly consisting of farmers. This homogeneous society, characterized by agricultural civilization, evolved 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 the rural areas and farmers, closely tied to traditional agricultural civilization, became social and political issues. Particularly for China, as its modernization process was initiated under the impact of Western industrial civilization, the issues of rural areas and farmers stood out as traditional factors in this context. Since the beginning of this century, under the impact of numerous 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 are dedicated to solving them. As a result, research on rural China and its farmers in this century has taken on a clear "problem-oriented" nature. Looking back at the past and forward to the present, what should we do and how should we think? Mr. Du Run's view that "practice is a university" is the best proof.