A Tentative Study Into Yen His-Shan "Army And Farming Integration" System

In the late 1940's, to ease the manpower and food crisis in Shanxi's limited land area, the Yen Hsi-shan authority implemented the "army and farming integration" system, which was also called as "land reform", in the vast rural under his jurisdictions. In the other hand, he tried to contend the rule right against the Communist Party of China there. However, this system was proved to be an ineffective one when controlling the social sources and re-integrating the social orders in rural communities. As a result, it could not gain more support than the rival, CPC.My paper restores the practical process in rural areas, based on the theoretical constructing of "army and farming integration" system, exploring of its regulation and analyzing effects, tells the essence, then reveals some characteristics between the relationship of the local regime of Yen's and rural society at the particular period(1943-1948) in modern Shanxi. It helps us to understand scholars, farmers, workers and businessmen's living condition at that time. At last, it points out why it leads to a failure that stretching the state power till country.There are three chapters. Chapter one gives us a brief introduction about the ideological origin and its thinking substance of Yen's "army and farming integration". This "army and farming integration" system originated from Sun Yat-sen's average land ownership system, Chinese ancient "nine squares" system, land equalization system, and absorbed some experience about land system at home and abroad from past until now. Although it includes Yen's previous nationalism, anti-communist is still its dominated value orientation.Chapter two surveys the concrete measures of "army and farming integration" system, its practical processes and operation mechanism. Firstly, it explains the background:economic goes bankrupt, military pressure composes in reply to Yen's political attempt. Then it introduces the content systematically and makes an in-depth analysis. According to all these, it shows us the system is actually a wartime rural economic system, which has brought the whole rural society into war completely.Chapter three examines the integration effect on Shanxi's rural areas. It is not fully implemented in all regions, just around in west and central Shanxi. By comparing the different condition of some representative village samples under the reign of CPC and Yen's, it outlines an economic and social landscape in Yen-ruled areas. At last, the paper reveals the means to mobilize the public and its characteristics of its social power structure.