The Research On Zhang Jian's Thinking And Practice Of Modernization Of Agriculture

Zhang Jian was an outstanding character in the process of transforming of China's feudal society, that is during the time of late Qing and early Min Dynasty. He made various efforts and contributions for the cause of China's modernization. He is not only a palmary industrialist and educator, but also a pioneer to develop China's modern agricultural theory and cause. The series of his thoughts and practice now still have great value to new countryside construction and even the modernization of agriculture.Zhang Jian paid great attention to agriculture, regarding it as the foundation of a nation. His achievements in the modernization of agriculture drive were in many ways. He formed a scientific and advanced idea of going in for agriculture in a big way and a set of the theories of using science, education and industry to develop agriculture. What's more, he also made good use of industry and commerce to develop agriculture in concert. Therefore, he focused on developing both "cotton and iron" and paid equal attention to agricultural material and human resource; he devoted major effort to absorb the folk capital and raised the efficiency of capital operating. He actively introduced the advanced agricultural technologies and fine breeds from abroad so as to ease the farmer's burden by a long way; He built the water conservancy projects, exploited the shoal, opened the treaty port anddeveloped the agriculture external trade energetically...... The cause of farmingreclamation initiated by him has shown to the people all over the world an embryonic form of China's modernization of agriculture.Zhang Jian's thinking of the modernization of agriculture was expressed in the process of establishing the farming reclamation corporation.In 1901, Zhang Jian started to set up Tong Hai Farming Reclamation Corporation. The Tan Nan Farming Reclamation Area was established under his influence and demonstration. These reclamation enterprises raised the original capital all by issuing shares. They adopted the negotiated profit-share system. The shareholders did not obtain the rent according to the size of their land, but shared the profits in proportion to their shares. The farmers got the rights of land renting by handing in some fore-gift. The land could be reletted to other people and the rent was low. The enterprises put large amount of funds on the projects of water conservancy and farmland infrastructures. They adopted the advanced technology of the time to meliorate the land, distinguish the soil and cultivate new varieties. What he did is a sort of transformation different from the feudalism agricultural economy.From 1914 to 1922, on the 12, 000 sq km shoal bordering the Yellow Sea located in the north of Jiangsu Province, the farming reclamation enterprises emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. These enterprises who congeed the feudalism smallholder economy survived until the 1940's. This was a completely new production mode appeared on the length and breadth of land of China after a long period of feudalism economy. Hence the practice of agricultural modernization in China started.Compared with the traditional smallholder economy, Zhang Jian's agricultural modernization has the following characteristics: The first one is the agricultural mechanization, which not only reduced the burden of labor force but effectively increased the productivity as well; the second is the agronomic technology modernization, which is a technological innovation in the biology and chemistry field, including the improvement of crop varieties for increasing the unit acreage output; the third is the management modernization, including the industrialized production and management, the collaborated development of agriculture and water conservancy, transportation, finance etc, mixed farming and rural towns; and the fourth is the agriculture vocational and technical education aiming at improving the quality of the labors, as well as the thinking and practice of developing agriculture by science and education.The Northern Jiangsu Reclamation Enterprise was forced to disintegrated, taken over or replaced for the reason of the background of Chinese economy, politics and social history of the time, but this didn't mean that Zhang Jian's efforts in agricultural modernization had failed. On the contrary, his career was successful which embodied in the following aspects : Firstly, Zhang Jian is the first person who created the new type agricultural system which was different from the natural-economic form in the long history of feudal society; Secondly, he is the first person who succeeded in the largest scale of farmland irrigation construction, transportation and the application of science and technology during the process of agricultural modernization. Thirdly, Zhang Jian established the first commercial agricultural corporation in China, the practice of which is fruitful.There are some profound social and historical reasons for the successful practice of Zhang Jian's agricultural modernization. The first is the application of the sharing system of western capitalism incorporation in China. The second is spread of the western advanced scientific technology in China. Under such a social background, Zhang Jian applied these advanced technology to the modernized agricultural constructions and manufacture practice such as the projects of farming irrigation, the improvement of cottonseed.The thesis is divided into 4 sections: 1.The first section (The first chapter of the thesis) is the background of the times when Zhang Jian's Agricultural Modernization formed and developed. It elaborates particular background and characteristics of times Zhang Jian lived from domestic and international perspectives, elaborates on history of Agricultural Modernization Thoughts & Practice, studies what Zhang Jian learned from modernization comparison between China and Japan and from the modernization process of western countries. 2. The second section (The second chapter of the thesis) is the idea system of Zhang Jian's Agricultural Modernization, especially the features of agriculture modernization in the Great Agricultural Concept, and the notion of using science and education to develop agriculture, the promotion of science and technology on agriculture. 3. The third section (From the third to the seventh chapter of the thesis) is the modernized practice activities under Zhang Jian's Agricultural Modernization Thoughts, including the explorations of the collectivization of the regional economic development, the industrialization of agriculture management, operation mode of modern agricultural capital, land system, local self-government and talents training. 4. The fourth section (The eighth chapter) is historical status and function of Zhang Jian's Agricultural Modernization Thoughts and Practice, its enlightenment and influence on new rural construction nowadays.This thesis has absorbed and reflected the past and latest research achievements in the academic circle at home and abroad. At the same time it lays great stress on the scope of access to the research and made some novel inventions. First, in the process of researching, Zhang Jian's thinking of the agricultural modernization and its practice is put in the background of history, what is succeeded and what is created is systemized and analyzed. Second, in the thesis not only Zhang's thinking of agricultural modernization and practice itself, but also its path of transmutation and features are studied. Finally, its influence and impacts on the present is taken notice of. All in all, the thesis is systemizing and comprehensive crossly and profound in depth, it is the reflection of the characteristic of its time as well as the significance of reality.