Analysis of Characteristics of the Rural Political Participation in Yan'an Period

Hongwei YUAN

Research Center for Ideological and Political Education，China University of Political Science and Law，Beijing 100088，China

1 Characteristics of the rural political participation in Yan'an period

1.1 Inspiring consciousness of ordinary party members to promote inner-party democracy through rectificationFrom the establishment of the Communist Party of China，Chinese farmers began a revolution movement which made them stand up and be come master of their fate under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.Chinese farmers occupied two-thirds of the total population in China，playing an important role in the revolution.Due to the particularity of the political situation at that time，the CPC chose＂surrounding the cities from the countryside＂strategy，so to arouse farmers' enthusiasm and make farmers participate in the revolution.China's new democratic revolution was carried out under the leadership of the Communist Party of China，somaintaining democracy within the Communist Party and improving the party member's consciousness is an important measure to maintain the advanced nature of the Communist Party.During the agricultural revolution and the anti-Japanese War，due to the lack of democracy，leftist and right is terrors appeared in the party.Although in Zunyi meeting，leftist and rightist errors were corrected，the ideological root which caused the error was not cleared，dogmatism and empiricism had an effect on many comrades' thoughts.In order to change this situation，the Party Central Committee headed by Mao Zedong，launched a rectification movement in Yan'an in 1941.The Yan'an rectification began under the senior leadership of the party cadres.In rectification，the broad masses of party members and cadres discussed and criticized Wang Ming's leftist error and corrected and checked comrades who made mistakes，and at the same time they had self-criticism for their own mistakes.On the basis of fully developing the inner-party democracy，they cleaned up cadres' thoughts，and the majority of party members and cadres were rescued from subjectivism and sectarianism thought.After rectification for senior cadres，the Communist Party of China began a rectification for all party members in 1942.The first phase of the mission was to rectify the style and check the thought.At this stage，to the problems of Yan'an's circle of literature and art，Mao Zedong chaired a symposium.The theme of the symposium is to discuss how to use the arts and literature to serve for the workers and peasants.For this point of view，Mao Zedong pointed out that the literary and art workers should not hesitate to combine with the masses of workers，peasants and soldiers，which reflected the Party's purpose of serving the people.Only to struggle for people's interests，to serve the people，to get people's approval and support，the people will be more widely involved in the revolution and we are likely to get the victory of the revolution.The second stage was to investigate the cadres.At this stage，the main method was combining the leading cadres with masses through extensively mobilizing the public to participate in the investigation of party members and cadres，which really saved a lot of cadres.But because of large-scale mass movement，the phenomenon of＂overdo＂was inevitable，and it caused some wrong cases.The Party timely found the expansion of the momentum，and quickly stopped it，which caused no more serious consequences.Rectification movement to all party members' thoughts was a thorough baptism.The Chinese Communist Party members learned to use the method of combining Marxism with the actual situation to guide the revolution.Due to the thoughts of seeking truth from facts，the establishment of democracy within the party led to the development of people's democracy.While party members understood the true meaning of serving the people，they took actual actions to serve the people，which made the relationship between the Communist Party members and peasants much closer than before.The participation of peasants played a great role in the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.Therefore，the Party's political life directly had an effect on the base construction，and even influenced the development of the entire revolution.Only by ensuring the normal democratic life within the party and making people express their opinions could we ensure that the Communist Party of China was more targeted and the final victory of revolution came at last.

1.2 Stimulating the political participation enthusiasm of Democrats by gathering non-party people's opinions

（i）It was necessary to push the＂three-thirds system＂to expand the Chinese Communist Party's ruling foundation.In the special period of Anti-Japanese War，how to make more non-party people involved in the war of resistance became the urgent matter.Hence，the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued instructions and implemented the＂three-thirds system＂regime in the border region.In the distribution，the Communist Party members，non-party progressives and centrists each accounted for a third.At the time of starting，the poor couldn't acceptor understand its important meaning.They had doubt or worry mood，＂We paid a heavy price for revolutionary regime，but now the landlords are involved in，we are afraid of being deceived again.Without them it can save much trouble.＂The poor didn't trust the landlords at first，just took a wait-and-see attitude，and doubted whether the＂three-thirds system＂could really play a role.But with the implementation of the＂three-thirds system＂，people saw that it had mobilized all the power that could be mobilized and played a huge role in the victory of the revolution.Just as Pengzhen said，＂The workers and peasants have risen to the ruling class with the left landlords and the middle bourgeoisie to manage the political power，the state has been managed.＂＂Three-thirds system＂is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China，and the implementation of the＂three thirds system＂is to mobilize all forces to resist Japanese aggression.Due to the different circumstances of each region，the implementation varied.But because of differences，the system was more suitable for the actual situation of the area.This is not only the expression of the will of the people but also the result of active involvement and participation of the people.So the＂three thirds system＂implemented is unique in the history of the war of resistance against Japan both inside and outside the party.It takes practical action to prove the anti-Japanese political power which is composed of patriotic personages in every field that enhances the base of public opinion.（ii）The Communist Party actively adopted the opinions of non party people and aroused the enthusiasm of the political participation of non-party individuals.In Yan'an period，Li Dingming was a non-party person who served as chairman of the border region gove-rnment.He thought the Communist Party just took him as a guest，and the subordinates treated him as a puppet.So his work attitude was negative，he even didn't want to do it.After investigation，Lin Boqu and Li Weihan，formulated several measures：one is that each department，office took turns to be the government's chairman，vice chairman and president of the senate；the second is that party members and leaders from relevant units first reported before every government meeting，and if the participants don'tagree，they need to suspend the meeting for a negotiation；the third is that some do not have to be passed through the government meeting，but if the vice chairman issued documents，the competent person in charge must explain to him the content and get the consent；the fourth is more talk and more exchange of views.In 1941，the extremely difficult period，the border administrative agencies didn't adapt to the war environment.Li Dingming came forth with the＂streamlining＂proposal.When Mao Zedong saw the proposal，he attached great importance to it.He even used a red pen to circle the important paragraphs and copy in his notebook.In November 18，the Senate had better troops and simpler administration.After the implementation，Li Dingming's attitude was completely changed.In the past he always said＂your party＂，but now said＂our group＂.In a conversation with a British reporter，he heartily replied，＂I have the position and right.＂

1.3 Creating a unique form of political participation according to the actual situation

（i）It was necessary to adapt to the situation and implement the necessary election campaign.Anti-Japanese base areas were faced with many difficulties in mobilizing the masses to participate in democratic elections.The political consciousness of the masses，cultural level，the relationship of different political groups and attitude，etc.，became obstacles to the implementation of democratic elections.In view of this situation，the Communist Party of China did a lot of propaganda work to absorb various groups，establish the committee and use various forms of publicity.On the one hand，they carried out written propaganda.At that time，some of the newspapers and periodicals were specifically designed for the election.The election slogan and cartoons could be seen on the blackboard，even on the wall everywhere.On the other hand，most farmers' education level was not high.For this problem，a lot of oral advocacy was created.Choirs，performing teams，drama village team often performed some vivid and popular programs.Some songs such as＂Xiang song selection＂were very popular with people there.At that time，the slogan is：＂democratic politics，the election of the first；without elections，there is no democracy；without democracy，there would be no revolution＂.In addition，they also used people's spare time to report and make propaganda get in by every opening to impress the people.Propaganda，of course，was not just the work of the preparatory phase，but the process of the whole election campaign.（ii）It was necessary to adapt to the characteristics of the people's cultural level elections.Due to low cultural level，the illiterate peasants accounted for more than 95%.Therefore，according to the practical and cultural level of the masses，the Communist Party of China created a unique voting method in Yan'an period：red，green，tickets，circle，draw bar，point method，＂bean choose method＂，＂burning hole method＂，＂throw paper law＂method and the arm，back box，etc.，among which＂the red and green method＂and＂bean choose method＂were the most common.＂Red，green，ticket method＂is to give voters some rated red and green tickets，and let the candidate sit in the front，back to the voters.Behind everyone is there a ballot box，and red ticket means agreement，green one means objection.The votes for each candidate can be the same kind of color，to vote on the spot and check out the result.If the red tickets are more than green tickets then candidate is elected.The socalled＂bean choose method＂，is to use beans（such as beans and mung bean）as the ballot vote for candidates.They put a big bowl behind the voters.The voters walked past each candidate and put a bean in the candidate's bowl that they trusted.The one who gets the most beans wins.It is through this innovative election to make the broad masses of peasants truly hold elections according to their own will，greatly improving the peasants' enthusiasm for participating.Voters created the ballad and ditty to express themselves and take part in the election of the voice.According to the report，in many guerrilla zones，only two or three miles from the enemy，they can't have meetings during the day，and their secret meetings were held in the night.As to women in many places，for the village elections，they would prefer to holding a child and running for five or six miles away to get to meeting place.＂From 1937，the border area in different scale had universal suffrage for three times，and the rate of participation successively increased.First，more than 70%of the region's average voters participated in the election；second，voting rate reached more than 80%，in some areas reached 95%；third，82.5%of voters participated in the election，creating a democratic atmosphere unprecedented in the history of the border region.（iii）It was necessary to establish the mass organizations，the organization of civil participation.In the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region，it set up a people's anti-Japanese aid，border area general labor union，border area enemy salvation federation，border area women federation，border and cultural circles of the association of national salvation，the public enemy of the free mas on and other organizations.Most of the border area farmers joined one or two organizations.The main task of organizations of the masses is to help the anti-Japanese armed forces，such as military transport and construction of the national defense，which greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the armed forces which won a victory in the war of resistance against Japan.In the vigorous development of the border are a mass organizations，people's political consciousness was greatly improved.

2 Lessons from the political participation in Yan'an period

2.1 Promoting inner-party democracy and paying attention to the correct methodIt is necessary to develop and promote democracy，and pay attention to the use of the right approach.When there are different views in the party，there is a need to avoid the contradiction and correctly handle the contradictions within the party.（i）We must have a clear understanding of the differences in the party.Each party member's understanding of the circumstances is different，and sometimes the different understanding will objectively reflect the different class interests and opinions，so we must properly deal with this kind of situation through discussion and criticism，in order to achieve the unity of the party's thought.If we blindly take the method of class struggling to deal with it，it is bound to confuse right and wrong and create miscarriage of justice.In this regard，our party has heavy historical lessons.It is necessary to draw on the Yan'an rectification movement to change the previous wrong approach，develop democracy adequately，and take the principle of＂criticism and self-criticism＂，＂learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones＂and＂curing the sickness to save the patient＂to solve the problem of ideological struggle inside the party，and reach a high unity of understanding of the party.（ii）We must carry out universal education and improve party members' consciousness.Yan'an rectification movement held universal education of leading cadres and party members and improved the political consciousness of party members，cleared the various adverse tendency within the party，and unified understanding of the party.Carrying out universal education for party members is not only necessary to act within the party，but also an important guarantee for the normalization of life within the party.（iii）We must adhere to the principle of democratic centralism.Democratic centralism is to emphasize the masses in practice through the democratic way of correct concentrated masses views，and the correct views can be reflected in the conscious action of the masses，to ensure the correctness of the leadership of the party.It is necessary to adhere to the principle of democratic centralism，and the importance is on the foundation of democracy，listening to different opinions，and even the opposition.Only in this way can we ensure the correctness of the leadership of the party guidelines and policies.Today，the Communist Party of China is in an important historical period of opportunities，and shoulders the important task of achieving an overall well-off society，so how to maintain the advanced nature of proletarian party and give full play to the enthusiasm of party members of inner party democracy，is a critical issue.So the research and study of the rectification movement in Yan'an still has important practical significance to the construction of democratic politics.

2.2 Expanding citizens' political participation and enhancing the legitimacy of the important conditionsIn Yan'an period，the Far East International Expert Thomas Bisson came to Yan'an and Chongqing to find that China had two centers：a feudal center，in Chongqing，and a democratic center，in Yanan.The Communist Party of China is standing in the height of the interests of the entire Chinese nation，and it fully believes consciousness and intelligence of the people.The universal suffrage was introduced to people for freely choosing their own＂public servant＂，to inspire the enthusiasm for the construction of the broad masses of the people's anti-Japanese political power.It took the principle of＂three thirds system＂as the political formation of public institutions and government agencies，actively absorbed the views of non party people，and got rid of one-class and one-party monopoly on power，which greatly stimulated the people's participation enthusiasm outside the party.Citizen's political participation under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party was with out an equal in any historical period.The characteristics of Yan'an period participation make the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the peasant masses closer and attract patriots from all walks of life，and a large number of outstanding talents，literary and art circles of celebrities and returned overseas Chinese and international friends breaking through the heavy blockade and braving the danger.In the Chinese Communist Party's characteristic democratic atmosphere，people were united and jointly fought against Japanese.Foreign reporter Epstein recalled in 1944 with deep feeling，＂This is the impact of my life on the road of revolution，an important visit，I see the future of China.At that time，I firmly believe that the reactionary faction can not rule China，the new China will be born under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.＂The Communist Party of China as an active promoter of the cause of China's democracy and a great practitioner，guides the Chinese democracy development in the right direction and conforms to the trend of historical progress，to get the community support and win the final victory of the war of resistance against Japan and the people's war of liberation.At present，significant progress in the construction of democratic politics has been made in China.Facing a variety of complex situations at home and abroad，we need to learn more from our party construction of democracy in Yan'an period.We adhere to and improve the People's Congress System，the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the Communist Party of China，the regional ethnic system and grass-roots democratic self-government system.At the same time，we expand people's democracy and unite power，consolidate and develop socialist democratic politics with Chinese characteristics，and unite with all patriotic people to actively participate in government and political affairs.

2.3 Focusing on different groups of propaganda and mobilization workCitizen participation in Yan'an period under the leadership of the Communist Party of China will yield some results，and it is not easy.When the Red Army reached Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area，due to a long period of warlordism，the villagers were afraid of the force generation，and Nationalist Party's troops on the way to working people made negative propaganda about reds，so the reds implementing democratic policies was particularly difficult.A member of the Communist Party of China with the enthusiasm of serving the people and the masses of peasants，did positive publicity to make people gradually understand the workers' and peasants' Red Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China，change the attitude of the people towards the Red Army，and mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers to participate in.So，after carrying out extensive propaganda and mobilization，the Communist Party of China could successfully lead farmers to participate in a wide range of important measures，and if there was no extensive propaganda and mobilization，farmers would not understand the workers' and peasants' Red Army under the leadership of the Communist Party，and there will be no more war victory.In the continuous deepening of globalization today，the environment in China is undoubtedly more complex.First，the farmers' awareness of political participation rights and obligations needs to be improved，hindering the development of Chinese citizens' political participation.Second，the network for China's political participation provides technical possibility，but part of it is not mature.In the ideological and political network，there are radical remarks and non-rational political participation，even＂hackers＂and other extremist attacks disrupt China's democratic political construction.Therefore，in the new period，according to the different political groups in China，it is necessary to focus on extensive propaganda and mobilization work，guide rational citizen's political participation，and keep stable development of the national economy，for the construction of Chinese characteristic socialist democratic politics.

2.4 Grasping the pulse of the times to lead the farmers' political participationUnder the leadership of the Communist Party of China，＂Yan'an democratic participation mode＂is successful，and the most important point is to make the farmers have extensive and in-depth political participation.In view of the situation，corresponding policies have an impact on the participation of farmers.Since entering the twenty-first Century，the network has become a symbol of the times.However，the network plays a huge role in promoting political participation，and at the same time，there are also some problems such as＂digital gap＂of network politics，irrational network political participation and illegal participation.In the face of various problems arising from the network political participation，drawing on the experience of the characteristics of the Yan'an period，plays a significant role in solving the problem of political participation in the network era.In view of the problems existing in the network politics，in addition to going on to improve laws and regulations，it is necessary to continue to improve government，strengthen construction of clean and honest administration and construction of＂electronic government＂，strengthen the link between the government and the farmers，make everyone actively concerned about national affairs and participate actively in national decision-making，and impart knowledge of relevant laws and political skills to farmers.In the Internet age，we should find out reasonable solution to lead the citizen's political participation which is conducive to the development of socialist democracy.Under the correct leadership of the Communist Party of China，Chinese people will begin a new chapter.

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