Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a
(character).
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of characters especially designated your role. You will have to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance his or her claims to land and/or authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmer will have 0-1 mu of land, middle peasants have 2 mu, rich farmer have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
The basic goal of all peasants is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some poor or middle farmers (peasants)2 may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich peasants and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The landlord, in particular, wants to keep enough land so he and his family can maintain a comfortable life and not have to work in the fields. Moreover, the landlord is the traditional village leader and he (or she) wants to maintain their power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one.
The goal of the cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even the landlords.
As a (your role), think about your character’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). The first issue for the cadres is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich villagers and poor farmers. The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor farmers together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. The landlords cannot participate, but they need plan their own strategy amongst themselves and interested poor and middle farmers. Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Land Reform
Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (or one of the other roles) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
Questions for Cadres:
What motivated you (cadre) to join the party’s land reform campaign? What challenges did you face in trying to connect with the poor and middle villagers and mobilize them? What strategies did your character take to over come these challenges? Why were the landlords so vehement in their opposition the land reform? Were all landlords villains?
Questions for Landlord and Rich Villagers:
What strategies did your character (landlord) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the landlord’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change? Why were the cadres and elected village leaders so vehement in their support of land reform?
Questions for Middle and Poor Villagers:
What strategies did your character (poor villager) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the middle or poor villager’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change?
Why were the landlords so vehement in their opposition of land reform? Were the landlords the real villains? If so why? If not, why did the communists treat them as such?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.
Notes
1Source: This is a variation and shorter version
of the original Land Reform Game designed by Susan Mann and Chris Hess, History
Department,
2 Many authors use the term “peasant” to describe
the rural population in
Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a sent
down cadre.
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of the sent down cadres (this is your role). You will have to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance his or her claims to land and/or authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmer will have 0-1 mu of land, middle farmers have 2 mu, rich farmers have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
You need to keep in mind villagers’ interests. The basic goal of all farmers is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some poor or middle farmers (peasants) may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich peasants and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The landlords may be resistant to you (cadres) because they want to keep enough land so their families can maintain a comfortable life and not have to work in the fields. Moreover, the landlord is the traditional village leader and he (or she) wants to maintain their power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one.
Your goal as a sent down cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even the landlords.
As a cadre, think about the author’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). The first issue for you (the cadre) is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich peasants and poor villagers. The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor farmers together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. The landlords cannot participate, but they need plan their own strategy amongst themselves and interested poor and middle farmers. This means that there may be poor and middle farmers who do not believe or trust the sent down cadres (you). Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Land Reform
(Cadre) Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (cadre) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
What motivated you (as a cadre) to join the party’s land reform campaign? What challenges did you face in trying to connect with the poor and middle villagers and mobilize them? What strategies did your character (cadre) take to over come these challenges? Why were the landlords so vehement in their opposition the land reform? Were all landlords villains?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village and the Unger article. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.
Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a
landlord.
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of the landlords (this is your role). You will have to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance his or her claims to land and/or authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmers will have 0-1 mu of land, middle farmers have 2 mu, rich farmers have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
The basic goal of all farmers is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some poor or middle farmers (peasants) may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich peasants and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The landlord, your character in particular, wants to keep enough land so you and your family can maintain a comfortable life and not have to work in the fields. Moreover, as the landlord, you are the traditional village leader and you want to maintain your power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one.
The goal of the cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even you (the landlord).
As a landlord, think about the landlord Cai, Wu and Bai’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). (1) The first issue for the cadres is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich farmers and poor farmers. (2) The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor peasants together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. You (the landlord) cannot participate, but you need to plan your own strategy amongst other landlords as well as poor and middle farmers who may not believe or trust the sent down cadres. (3) Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. (4) The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Lans Reform
(Landlord) Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (landlord) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
What strategies did your character (landlord) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the landlord’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change? Why were the cadres and elected village leaders so vehement in their support of land reform?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village and the Unger article. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.
Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a Rich
Farmer.
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of the rich farmer (peasant). You will have to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance your claims to land and authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmer will have 0-1 mu of land, middle farmers have 2 mu, rich farmers have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
The basic goal of all poor and middle farmers is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some poor or middle farmers may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich farmers (your character) and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The rich farmers want to keep enough land so their families can maintain a comfortable life. Moreover, the landlords aligned with rich farmers are the traditional village leaders and they (you) wants to maintain their power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one.
The goal of the cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even the landlords.
As a rich peasant, should think about the Mr. Xia’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). (1) The first issue for the cadres is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich peasants and poor farmers. (2) The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor farmers together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. The landlords cannot participate, but they need to plan their own strategy amongst themselves and interested poor and middle peasant. (3) Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. (4) The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Land Reform
(Rich Farmer) Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (rich farmer) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
What strategies did your character (rich farmer) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the rich peasant’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change? Why were the cadres and elected village leaders so vehement in their support of land reform?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village and the Unger article. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.
Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a
Middle Farmer.
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of the middle farmer (peasant). You need to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance his or her claims to land and authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmer will have 0-1 mu of land, middle farmer have 2 mu, rich farmer have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
The basic goal of all middle farmers is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some middle peasants (your character) may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich peasants and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The landlords, in particular, want to keep enough land so their families can maintain a comfortable life and not have to work in the fields. Moreover, the landlord is the traditional village leader and he (or she) wants to maintain their power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one. So you may or may not fully support the sent down cadres.
The goal of the cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even the landlords.
As a middle farmer, should think about the Mr. Gao or Old Tian’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). (1) The first issue for the cadres is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich, middle and poor farmers. (2) The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor villagers together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. The landlords cannot participate, but they need to plan their own strategy amongst themselves and interested poor and middle farmers who may not believe or trust the sent down cadres. (3) Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. (4) The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Land Reform
(Middle Farmer) Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (middle farmer) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
What strategies did your character (middle farmer) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the middle farmer’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change?
Why were the landlords so vehement in their opposition of land reform? Were the landlords the real villains? If so why? If not, why did the communists treat them as such?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village and the Unger article. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.
Next week we will be doing a role-playing exercise called
the “Land reform Game.” The game is
designed to help understand the motivations of different actors in
You will be a Poor
Farmer.
As you read Dragon’s Village, pay close attention to the interests and motivations of the poor farmer (peasant). You will need to examine the cultural conceptions, ideologies and strategies your character would deploy to advance your claims to land and authority.
At the beginning of the game, villagers will be assigned title to the amount of land corresponding to their status. The poor farmer will have 0-1 mu of land, middle farmers have 2 mu, rich farmers have 3-6 mu and landlords own more than 6 mu. To produce enough food to for substance, the farm household must farm at least 2 mu of land. However, a family cannot farm more the 4 mu on their own without hiring labor or renting out one or 2 mu. Rents are negotiable, but the customary expectation is that 50% of the crop will go to the landowner for rent. Thus if you are a landless villagers you need to rent in at least 4 mu of land because you need 2 mu for substance and 2 mu to pay the rent.
The basic goal of all poor villagers is to gain access to enough land to survive, and if possible to have a little surplus to save for future needs or to buy more property. Some poor (your character) farmers may be elected as village leaders and be expected to help the cadres with the final phase of land reform. The goal of the rich peasants and landlords is to keep as much of their land as possible. The landlords want to keep enough land so their family can maintain a comfortable life and not have to work in the fields. Moreover, the landlord is the traditional village leader and he (or she) wants to maintain their power. Remember, no one is certain that the CCP victory will be a lasting one. So you may or may not fully support the sent down cadres.
The goal of the cadre is to implement the land reform policies, which means to confiscate the surplus land of the landlords and the peasants and then distribute the land equally among the all the villagers. Remember, all villagers are to be left with at least 2 mu to ensure substance even the landlords.
As a poor farmer, should think about the Tian, Little Tian (activist), Little Gao (activist), Tu, Broke Shoe’s point view and experience in Dragon’s Village.
On Wednesday, September 9th, the game starts with the distribution of land according to your class status. Then the sent down cadres enter the village (classroom—cadres do not witness the initial land division). (1) The first issue for the cadres is to call a meeting of the villagers and identify the landlords, rich peasants and poor farmers. (2) The cadres need to gather the interested and active middle and poor farmers together to nominate five individuals for an election of the three-member village committee. The landlords cannot participate, but they need to plan their own strategy amongst themselves and interested poor and middle farmers who may not believe or trust the sent down cadres. (3) Once the nominees are selected, the election takes place and the village committee is selected. (4) The cadres and new village leaders, then need to register all the village land, that is, collect all the village land deeds. After the cadres and village leaders have collected the deeds the land is distributed equally among the villagers.
*Searching landlord’s home (desk and notebook) are permissible, but no searching individuals’ backpacks or their person. The landlord or rich peasant can hide their deeds any way they can, but they cannot hide the deeds in their pockets or backpack.
The role-play should take the whole class period with time to discuss the game and the paper on the following Friday.
Make sure you finish reading Dragon’s Village and Jonathan Unger, “The Rural ‘Class’ System in the Mao Era.”
Land Reform
(Poor Farmer) Paper Assignment:
Take the view of your role (poor farmer) in the Land Reform Game. Analyze both the material and the ideological motivations that influenced your character, explaining why you chose a particular strategy to protect your character’s interest. Material incentives include both survival and needs and profit motives.
What strategies did your character (poor farmer) take during the Land Reform? Was Land Reform a threat to his or her interests or an opportunity? How did your (the middle peasant’s) worldview affect your perception of the Communists’ revolutionary agenda? Why did so many villagers support such radical change?
Why were the landlords so vehement in their opposition of land reform? Were the landlords the real villains? If so why? If not, why did the communists treat them as such?
You can use examples from lecture, Dragon’s Village, Unger article, Wang text (p.20-21) and especially your experiences and observations from the Land Reform Game.
This is a 2-3 page (double space) analytical essay. Make sure you state your overall argument in a thesis and support it with evidence from Dragon’s Village and the Unger article. Evidence can be paraphrased or quoted, but make sure you provide the proper citation for each piece of evidence you present. You do not have to cite observations from the Land Reform Game because this is not a written source. Paper is due Wednesday, September 18th and late papers will be penalized 2 pts per day.