Abstract
The ancient Chinese
peasants are not in a state of disunity, or “potatos in a pocket,” but a kind
of social group with strong cooperative consciousness and collective spirit, as
well as obvious groupment character. The greatest feature of public activities
and affairs in villages is the universality of villagers’ participation. They
inhabited in the same village for generations, thus formed close connection and
spontaneous labor cooperation. In a village community linked by geographical
and blood relationship, and based on farming culture, there formed neighborhood
of mutual assistance and protection, which was not only the need of peasants’
daily lives, but also the support for their existence and spirit. The groupment
character of ancient Chinese peasants generated from specific historical
condition and social structure. On the one hand, it forms mutual relationship
among the peasants, and can even protect their group interest; and on the other
hand, it makes peasants the basic force for the duration and reform of ancient
Chinese society. The dictum that “while the water can carry a boat; it can also
overturn it” said by Emperor Taizong of Tang, is just a high summary of such
social law.
Cite this article
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Ma Xin.
A Discussion of the Groupment Character of Ancient
Chinese Peasants[J]. Journal of Literature,History & Philosophy, 2019, 0(6): 55-66
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