Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan

In March 1927, Mao Zedong wrote a report in response to the criticism of the peasants' revolutionary struggle inside and outside the Party at that time. It was first published in Zhanshi Weekly in March to April 1927, and also included in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong Volume 1.

After the establishment of the first KMT-Communist cooperation in early 1924, the nationwide peasant movements, especially those in Hunan and Hubei provinces, rose and flourished day by day, violently disturbing the foundations of China's autocratic political system for thousands of years. With the rapid development of the peasant movement, plus the struggles between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the cities, the contradiction between revolution and counter-revolution sharpened, and there emerged fierce struggles around the peasant question and the prosperity of the peasant movement between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie forces which were cooperating within the United Front.

The landlords and bourgeoisie elements in the KMT and the officers of the National Revolutionary Army represented by Chiang Kai-shek hated and feared from the prospering revolutionary situation in the rural areas, due to surging revolution in the rural areas the local tyrants and evil gentry had fled to the big cities and with their representatives in the KMT and they started a campaign against the communists and began to slander the peasant movement as a "riffraff, of the lazy peasants ", "terrible and dangerous thing", and madly demanded and tried to launch a counter-attack against the peasants. Faced with this situation, from January 4 to February 5, 1927, Mao Zedong went to Hunan, Xiangtan, Xiangxiang, Hengshan, Liling, and Changsha counties to conduct a field visit to investigate the peasant movement, which lasted 32 days and travelled more than 1,400 miles. During the field investigation, Mao Zedong obtained a large number of materials accurately reflecting the revolutionary situation in the rural areas.

On February 16, Mao Zedong wrote a brief report to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China which included his investigation of the peasant movement in Hunan. Later, Mao Zedong wrote a long report " Report on an Investigation of the Hunan Peasant Movement in Hunan", which refuted the argument of doubting and criticizing the peasant movement, pointed out sharply that the Party has made right-leaning mistakes in guiding the peasant struggle, eulogized the great achievements of the rural revolution enthusiastically, summarized the rich experience of the Hunan peasant movement, and put forward the theory and policy of solving the peasant question.

The main points of the report are as follows: (1) The characteristics of China's old semi-colonial and semi-feudal society were analyzed, and the historical status and great role of peasants in the Chinese revolution were clarified, the investigation pointed out that " patriarchal-feudal class of local tyrants, evil gentry and lawless landlords has formed the basis of autocratic government for thousands of years and is the cornerstone of imperialism, warlordism and corrupt officialdom. To overthrow these feudal forces is the real objective of the national revolution.” This objective can only be achieved by fully mobilizing and relying on peasants.

(2) The investigation pointed out that the Communist Party should first concentrate its efforts on overthrowing the landlord class and its authority in the process of leading the peasant struggle. “The rural revolution is a revolution in which the peasant class overthrows the power of the feudal landlord class. Without using the greatest force, the peasants cannot possibly overthrow the deep-rooted authority of the landlords which has lasted for thousands of years.” The first thing they do is to smash the political prestige and power of the landlord class, and especially of the local tyrants and evil gentry, that is, to pull down landlord authority and build up peasant authority in rural society. This is a most serious and vital struggle, after this all power transferred to the peasant associations be realized. Therefore, it is necessary “to seize the armed forces of reactionary landlords and reorganize them into a ‘standing household militia’ and place them under the new organs of rural self-government, which are organs of the political power of the peasantry.”

(3) Analyzing all levels of peasants, affirming the important position of the poor peasants as revolutionary pioneers, and putting forward the class line that the Party should rely on the poor peasants and unite the middle peasants in leading the rural struggle. Mao Zedong pointed out that “the main force in the countryside has always been the poor peasants” and “without them, there will be no revolution. To deny them is to deny the revolution. If we attack them, this will mean we are attacking the revolution. Their revolutionary direction has never been wrong”. The report runs through the spirit of investigation and research and seeking truth from facts. It also runs through the revolutionary thought of believing in the masses, relying on the masses, mobilizing the masses freely and respecting the initiative of the masses. It is an important document of the CPC to lead the peasant movement in the period of the New-Democratic Revolution.