Joe's Rural Sociology Thought

The development and research achievements of rural sociology in China in 1930s-1940s are a group of precious academic heritages in the history of sociology development in China. Under the background of solving the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers, it is not only the call of history, but also the need of real society to interpret these academic wealth. Li, Tao, Yan, Yang Kaidao, Chen Hansheng, Wu Wenzao, Fei Xiaotong and other sociologists of the older generation are well known to us, but the author thinks that Joe is also a rural sociologist who cannot but be mentioned and valued in the history of the development of sociology in China. The reasons for this conclusion are as follows: firstly, based on the rural society in China with a rigorous and realistic scientific attitude, Joe not only made great contributions to the solution of rural problems at that time and even social problems in China, but also left a lot of rich and informative first-hand materials and his own rural sociology theory for future generations; Second, the research on the precious heritage of the older generation of sociologists in the field of sociology in China obviously lags behind the domestic demand of the real social development, with too much neglect and too little interpretation. In view of this, this paper attempts to make a systematic exposition of Joe's thoughts and viewpoints on rural sociology, and also hopes to find some practical methods to solve today's "three rural issues".

Joe, whose real name is Yingdong, 1908 was born in Empress Dowager Village, Linyi County, Shanxi Province on February 28th. He entered Yuncheng Hedong Academy in his early years and was admitted to Shanxi University Preparatory College after graduation. Because of his excellent academic performance, he was sent to the Department of Agricultural Economics of Nanjing Jinling University (now Nanjing Agricultural University) for further study.

The Department of Agricultural Economics of College of Agriculture of Jinling University was founded by American professor J. L. Buck on 192 1. It is the earliest teaching and research institution of agricultural economics in China. 1924 During the summer vacation, Joe stayed on as a teacher and was the fourth person to take part in the work of the department. As a teenager, Joe lived in the northern countryside of China, and witnessed the large rural population and little arable land. Close relatives get married, get married early and have more children; Most villagers are superstitious about ghosts and gods and lack entertainment; I am deeply touched by the poverty of farmers, the backwardness of rural culture and the depression of agricultural economy. Therefore, during my study and work in Jinling University, I have been devoted to the investigation and study of rural society, rural organizations, tenancy system and rural population.

From 65438 to 0925, Joe made a systematic investigation and study on the rural tenancy system in Kunshan County, Nantong County, Jiangsu Province and Suxian County, Anhui Province, and wrote a book "Investigation Report on the Tenancy System in Kunshan County, Nantong County, Anhui Province", which was highly valued by Chinese and foreign scholars. 1931-1932. Joe went to Cornell University in the United States to specialize in agricultural economics and rural sociology, and returned to China after receiving his master's degree. Later, Joe served as a professor at Jinling University and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, and trained many talents for China's agricultural economy. March 1937, 1 China's land use survey report, Land Use in China, was funded by the Rockwell Foundation of the United States and hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Jinling University, and was listed as one of the research projects of China Branch of Pacific International Society. Joe is mainly the director and translator of the demographic and vital statistics survey in this "unprecedented masterpiece of analyzing the land use situation in China from the perspective of the relationship between man and land". After 1942, Joe focused on the practice of agricultural extension and agricultural finance, and established rural construction experimental zones and agricultural extension demonstration zones in wujiang town, Anhui Province, Wenjiang, Sichuan Province, Yanziji and Molingguan, Jiangsu Province, and also actively established agricultural extension experimental counties with rural peasant associations as grassroots organizations in some provinces in the late period of the Anti-Japanese War. He advocated developing agricultural production, improving farmers' lives and improving rural culture by means of agricultural loans, organizing farmers' associations, establishing cooperation between production and marketing, and popularizing agricultural science and technology. Joe tried to closely link all aspects of rural construction and promote each other, and achieved comprehensive results and made outstanding contributions within his power.

In addition, in demographic and vital statistics research, Joe is responsible for conducting four rural population and social surveys in chunhua town, Jiangyin County, Jiangning County, Jiangsu Province, wujiang town, Shanxi Province, and eight counties 1 1 areas in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shaanxi. The survey samples ranged from more than 100 families to more than 5000 families. These rich first-hand materials have enriched the theory of rural sociology and rural histology taught by Joe himself, and also become an important argument in his theoretical monograph.

1945 After the liberation of Shanghai in May, Joe was appointed as the deputy director of the Agricultural Finance Administration of the People's Bank of China and a member of the Fourth CPPCC. From 65438 to 0958, Joe was transferred to Shanxi Agricultural College as the vice president to assist his classmate Shou in charge of hospital affairs. In addition, he has served as vice chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference and the sixth member of the Shanxi Provincial People's Government; Member of the Central Committee of Jiu San Society; Chairman of Taiyuan Branch of Jiu San Society.

During the Cultural Revolution, Joe was persecuted many times and lived alone. 1970 died at the age of 73. The main works of Qiao's life are: China Rural Socioeconomics (1946); Population and Food in China (194 1, co-authored with Jie Jiang); Essay on agricultural extension (1941); Comparison of Farmland Lease Systems among Kunshan, Nantong and Suxian in Anhui Province and Suggestions for Improvement (1926); Rural social survey (1928); China rural population structure and its disappearance (1935); A study of rural population in China (1928); Analysis and research on population problems in Shanxi (1923); A survey of the peasant population in qingyuan county 143 (1932); Statistics of Rural Population and Life in Some Areas of China (1931-1932).

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/kloc-the introduction of western sociology at the end of 0/9 and the beginning of the 20th century was closely related to the political, economic and cultural changes and demands of China society at that time. In the 1920s and 1930s, with the spread of sociology in China, various schools of thought came into being. Sociologists have basically formed and set up many teaching and research institutions, conducted extensive social investigation and research, and gradually embarked on the road of empirical sociology closely integrated with China's social reality. Generally speaking, the 1930s and 1940s were a prosperous period for the development of sociology in China. With the return of overseas students and the empirical study of localization, western sociological theories were introduced and absorbed completely and systematically, especially the study of various branches of sociology and the special study of social problems in China at that time gradually took shape. During this period, empirical sociological research has discussed the question of where China is going from different angles and perspectives, and conducted experiments in different social transformation directions.

From the failure of the first revolutionary civil war in 1927 to the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1937, with the intensification of domestic class contradictions and ethnic contradictions, the economy was depressed on a large scale, especially the rural economy was completely bankrupt, which resulted in many social problems. Sociologists with national consciousness and patriotism, with their own knowledge, have made bold exploratory research and experiments on the declining scene of China society in different degrees. During this period, the investigation and study of sociology in China mainly focused on rural society, which fully reflected the specific turn of the research path after scholars from all walks of life grasped the social reality and rationality of China at that time. China has been an agricultural country since ancient times, and the quality of rural economy has a vital impact on the whole national economy. However, in the first half of the 20th century, the rural economy experienced a serious recession, the land was highly concentrated, the prices of agricultural products were low, farmers' purchasing power dropped sharply, land prices fell, farmland was barren, rural production shrank, farmers lived in poverty, and a large number of farmers were displaced and died. In a word, the wanton aggression of imperialism, the cruel plunder of feudal rulers and the ruthless attack of natural and man-made disasters were the important reasons for the serious decline of rural economy and society in China in the early 20th century. This is also the most profound historical root that led all walks of life to explore different paths of social transformation in the 1930s and 1940s. "In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a rural construction movement in China. More than 600 academic groups and educational institutions participated in the campaign and established more than 1000 experimental areas. " (Zheng Dahua, 2000, Preface) "In the rural construction movement, some people try to have an ideal first and plan to improve the countryside, and then find a suitable countryside as a place for experiments. For example, Zouping and Heze Rural Experimental Zones sponsored by Shandong Rural Construction Research Institute, Dingxian Civilian Education Experimental Zone sponsored by China Civilian Education Promotion Association, Qinghe Experimental Zone sponsored by yenching university, Ten County Rural Construction Experimental Villages sponsored by Sichuan Education Association and the Third District Commissioner's Office, and Xugongqiao Rural Improvement Association sponsored by China Vocational Education Association. There are also rural improvements in one area, such as the agricultural promotion of Wujiang River and the Beibei Gorge Defense Corps. " (YANG Yabin, 200 1, 238-239) We can imagine the great feat, perseverance and unremitting creation of people with lofty ideals in the rural construction movement of the Republic of China in seeking a way out for China.

In the same historical period, Joe also conducted a comprehensive and systematic empirical investigation and research on rural social conditions in China, especially in population and vital statistics. For example, according to the fact that he investigated 1926- 1928 farmers in qingyuan county, Shanxi Province, he wrote the article "A Population Survey of 43 Farmers in qingyuan county, Shanxi Province". In this paper, the relationship between parents and relatives, the comparison of family and farm scale, population age distribution, sex ratio, productivity mortality and marriage rate, marriage age, family members living away from home and their occupations in qingyuan county rural society are discussed in detail, and a large number of charts are used for mutual comparison and analysis. When discussing the sex ratio of 143 farmers, he pointed out that "there are 1 19.0 men in every 100 women. This fact is caused by three things in Shanxi, that is, physically, men produce more than women, women are despised by society, and there is a great wind of death and drowning women. " (Joe,1932,280) In addition, Joe's analysis of the causes and consequences of early marriage in rural areas of qingyuan county still has reference significance for solving social problems related to rural areas today. Early marriage in rural areas is a custom, but the composition of this custom is closely related to the social facts in rural areas. The main factor is that there are too few rural women in Shanxi, and male marriage has become a problem. In essence, a woman has become a commodity. "Although it costs a lot, it is not easy to get it, so most women will get married when they get married. The trend of early marriage among women here is actually caused by too few women. ..... So a bad custom has been formed. Women get married before they are adults, and men don't get married when they are old. This special social situation has an impact on physical health, social evils and social security. " (Joe,1932,290) In response to the academic debate about the increase and decrease of population in China and its countermeasures at that time, Joe wrote the article "A Study of Rural Population in China". This paper is based on the population survey data of 1924 and 1 1 counties and townships in Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu and Shanxi provinces. A total of 42 16 farmers were investigated in one year, and the statistical population was 22 169. With detailed first-hand information, such as kinship, population growth, age distribution, etc., it discusses the rural population and its related important issues in detail, and strongly refutes that "at that time, a group of domestic scholars thought that the population of China had not increased in recent years, but decreased. At the same time, it also advocates encouraging China's population to increase. " (Joe, 1928, 12). Joe's population research adopts a dynamic research method, which not only pays attention to population change, surplus and population density, but also pays more attention to issues related to population change, such as gender and age, marriage and family, kinship system and land use. It also provides a way to solve the problem of overpopulation in China and the social problems caused by it from two aspects: the temporary solution can adjust the population problem from the aspects of immigration, promoting industry and increasing production; The fundamental reason is the implementation of late marriage and birth control.

Joe clearly pointed out in the preface of the book "China Rural Socioeconomics" that this book was his handout when he was teaching in the Agricultural College of Jinling University. Over the years, the contents of the manuscript have been revised and supplemented repeatedly, and according to the theoretical principles and the research and analysis of the actual survey data in rural areas of China, the rural socio-economic structure of China was dissected with an objective attitude and scientific methods, and the overall situation of rural socio-economy was analyzed. All the figures in the chart have been personally checked or specially investigated by the author. Although there are few materials and figures after the Anti-Japanese War, once they can be cited, the author will collect and supplement them at any time, with accurate and reliable details, so that young students in China, especially rural laborers and readers, have a clear concept of rural sociology theory and a correct and profound understanding of the current situation, crux, improvement scheme or solution of rural social and economic problems in China. In view of the frequent wars, political turmoil, rural depression and the rising rural construction movement at that time, Joe made public the results of his painstaking investigation and research for many years, which was undoubtedly a rational concern and academic accumulation for the real social development process. "China has a vast territory and different agricultural conditions, but so far there is no reliable investigation on the actual agricultural situation in all parts of the country. The information after scientific analysis can be used as a basis. It is inevitable for the blind to touch the elephant to cure headache and foot pain. According to the arrangement of actual investigation data in various places and the results of many years' investigation and research, the author thinks that there are many reasons for the weak social economy in rural areas of China, and the imbalance of population, land and culture is the real blood. " (Joe, 1946, 1) By studying this book, we can find that Joe speaks with social facts investigated at that time everywhere, and there is not an empty word in the book. In addition, he also collected a large number of foreign materials as arguments for comparative analysis and research. Therefore, the author believes that this book is a complete and informative monograph on rural sociology in the history of China's sociology development, and it is a rare masterpiece of localized investigation and theoretical analysis in the rural construction movement.

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It can be said that China Rural Social Economics is a masterpiece of Joe's academic thought. The book emphasizes the importance of the coordinated development of rural social economy (land), population and culture, focusing on domestic investigation facts, and systematically discusses the practice of rural social and economic improvement advocated by the author, which is obviously different from the general rural sociology theory.

The book is divided into six chapters, including: General Chapter/kloc-0 (Rural Society and Rural Socioeconomics); Chapter IV on Population Basis (rural population distribution, rural population combination, rural population fluctuation and rural population migration); Chapter IV Economic (Land) Foundation (natural environment, land area, land use and farm tenancy system); Chapter VI of Cultural Basis (rural family, rural education, rural health, agricultural technology, rural entertainment, rural religion); Chapter II Farmers' Life (farmers' living standards, food nutrition); Chapter II Rural Organizations (Rural Organizations, Rural Organizations and Construction). Joe believes that the living standard of farmers in China is lower than the general level, and social pathologies in rural areas emerge one after another, which is closely related to the imbalance among population, land and culture. On the basis of this conclusion, he put forward his own social improvement plan, that is, to explore the way to enrich the country and enrich the people. It is advisable to coordinate, complement and rationally develop population, land and culture first, so as to completely solve rural social problems. Specifically, in terms of palliative measures, we should improve land use to increase agricultural production, avoid food problems, and further realize the popularization of education, attach importance to health and cultural development; As for the root cause, he believes that the country should establish a systematic and reasonable population policy, that is, to adapt to the world trend and implement late marriage and birth control according to the needs of its own national conditions, so as to improve the quality of the population and maintain an appropriate population to avoid overpopulation. "This kind of work, complicated, is of great importance. It also depends on the advocacy and implementation of the government, and the number of farmers accounts for the largest part of the national population, especially on the sound promotion of farmers' organizations and their independent completion. Therefore, promoting farmers' organizations and implementing farmers' training is also an important task in the process of social and economic improvement and evolution in rural areas of China. " (Joe, 1946, 1) The above contents are essentially the main line of this book's argument. Although these remarks were constructed by Joe in the 1930s and 1940s, they still have important reference for solving the increasingly prominent problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers and related social reality.

In the general introduction of this book, Joe thinks that rural communities are more appropriate. The so-called society is a more abstract and generalized name, which refers to the social groups of human beings, not only the collection of human beings, but also a foundation of culture, economy and organization. As for the community, it is more specific and belongs to the microscopic paradigm that can be grasped concretely. Therefore, community and society are also; And society is not all a community. In fact, society does not include the concept of region. Only represents a group of people who interact with * * * and interact with * * *. So in a country, people here can form a society with people from other places, and even people of different nationalities can form a society. In other words, a person can belong to several societies at the same time, but he can only belong to one society; Therefore, the characteristics of a community are, on the one hand, the same geographical area and, on the other hand, the same production activities. Although people living in the community are not necessarily members of the community, they are members of the community, that is, they must participate in the life of the community. "Therefore, the community is permanent, natural and local, and general sociologists do not recognize the community as the basic social unit in modern social organizations. Rural society is an aspect or part of ordinary society, and it is a rural community differentiated by the characteristics of geography and life. Therefore, rural communities and rural society are integrated. " (Joe, 1946, 10) The logical demonstration of this research paradigm is very necessary for constructing the basic theoretical system of sociology.

In addition, Joe systematically expounded the basic paradigm of his theoretical framework, namely rural socio-economics. "The main task of rural social economics is to study economic factors in rural society, but non-economic factors, such as religion, entertainment and education in rural areas. , which can directly or indirectly affect the economic behavior of rural population, is also included in the research scope. Therefore, rural social economics can be interpreted as a science to study the economic and non-economic behavior of rural population in rural society. Its scope should include population, land, culture, peasant life and rural organizations. " (Joe,1946,5) It can be seen that the establishment and development of rural society in Joe's theoretical system of rural sociology has three foundations, all of which are indispensable. The first is population. Only rural society has population. Population is an organizational member of rural society and a producer of culture and wealth. The second is land. Without land, people have no place to live. Land is the most basic survival dependence of rural society, and all human needs for food, clothing, housing and transportation depend on its continuous production and supply, so land is the most important factor of economic production. The third is culture. In rural society, there is only population and land, and without culture, society will stagnate and still be unable to make progress. Because culture can not only improve the quality of the population, but also increase the land yield, which is a tool to improve the living standards of farmers. As an important foundation of a regional society, culture can comprehensively reflect the population, land production and people's living standards of this regional society.

Mr Qiao experienced the decline of rural society in China in the first half of the 20th century. However, when analyzing the reasons for this situation, he started with the specific elements that constitute the society, and thought that the reason for the abnormal state of rural society in China was "the imbalance of organizational elements". For example, in terms of population, the rural population in China has reached the stage of surplus. Therefore, "at present, all serious social, political and economic problems in the country, such as overpopulation, are also directly related." Based on this inference, we should focus on the long-term, pay attention to quality, and adopt restrictive policies on population proliferation. (Joe, 1946, 4 1) As early as 1920s, Joe discussed the disasters caused by high fertility rate and high mortality rate from the reality of population increase in China in his many demographic and vital statistics surveys. In this monograph, he cited a large number of static and dynamic demographic data, demonstrated the problem of overpopulation and low quality in rural areas in China from the aspects of quantity and distribution, combination, growth and decline, migration and so on, and put forward measures to treat both the symptoms and root causes and control the infinite population reproduction. For example, advocating industry and commerce, reducing the power of agriculture to attract population to transfer rural surplus population, and popularizing rural education to improve the quality of population are all academic viewpoints that hit the nail on the head at that time and now seem to be quite valuable.

The discussion of land (economy) foundation in the book is also based on the factual data obtained by Joe's empirical investigation and research on the natural environment, land area, land use and tenancy system in rural areas of China for many years. In view of the situation that domestic population pressure, foreign economic invasion and war disasters have continuously caused the decline of the vast rural areas and the increasing poverty of farmers, Joe advocates national economic construction to enrich the country and the people. The most important thing is to adjust the population and land, revitalize culture and develop industry. He deeply sympathized with the farmers, especially the tenant farmers, who worked hard in the fields, had no income, low social status and poor economic conditions. He believes that the existence of rural tenancy system not only makes it difficult to distribute land rights evenly, but also hinders the full use of land. Therefore, he advocated reforming the rural tenancy system, such as limiting rents and protecting tenancy rights. In addition, Joe also pointed out that financing, promoting reclamation, protecting and creating farmers are also important tasks to improve the tenancy system. He pays attention to natural, economic and social factors. "First, adjust land use and eliminate all obstacles to economic utilization; The next step is to change the crop system in Tibet and improve agricultural technology. People seek to hide underground and commit suicide in the right place. " (Joe,1946,229)

In his book China Rural Socioeconomics, Joe also systematically discussed the construction of new countryside from the perspective of rural organizations. Although the low living standard of farmers is caused by the imbalance between people and land, cultural backwardness and other factors, the lack of rural social organizations is also a major reason. He witnessed that at that time, the farmers in China were distracted, only knowing how to plow the fields and eat, weave and dress, and not paying attention to the establishment and development of organizations, so that their personal lives could not be improved and social undertakings could not be promoted. Therefore, to carry forward rural culture, adjust population and land, transform rural society and build a new countryside, we must actively devote ourselves to the construction and development of rural organizations. Joe demonstrated the important role of rural organizations in the benign operation and coordinated development of rural society from the perspectives of the significance, function, nature, types, principles, units, difficulties, the relationship between rural construction and rural organizations, and farmers' associations. He believes that the construction of Xinxiang village must be based on the farmers' own strength to succeed. The generation of farmers' power needs the help of rural organizations, that is, farmers' associations, and then the rural construction movement is carried out with the improvement of the whole village as the goal. "In this way, agricultural research, agricultural administration and farmers' organizations can be integrated, and * * * can promote rural construction. More importantly, under this connection and coordination, the government can not only implement the rural social improvement policy with limited financial resources, but also farmers can unite their own strength to hold economic undertakings, improve land use, develop social culture, improve the quality of the population, and adjust the population, land and culture to improve the whole rural life and rural social and economic development. " (Joe,1946,451)

Of course, Joe also elaborated on the cultural foundation, farmers' life and other contents in his works, and it is impossible to explain them one by one due to space constraints. The author only makes a brief introduction from the aspects of economy, population and rural organization. If academic circles can pay attention to and reflect on the precious heritage of the older generation of sociologists in China, it should be an unforgettable wealth for both predecessors and descendants and even the surrounding social facts.

At present, the issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers have become the focus and hot spot of social problems in China, such as the new rural construction movement, villagers' autonomy, rural tax and fee reform, farmers' market negotiation ability, farmers' land rights protection behavior, farmers' burden and so on. Perhaps the research results of the older generation of sociologists can provide some more practical insights and values for us to seek solutions, because their valuable academic heritage is rooted in the yellow land.