A book report of Peasant Life

"Peasant Life in China" is a book written by Professor Fei Xiaotong 78 years ago. In fact, he wrote this book as his doctorate to finish his study in London University. What's more, this book was written in English at first, actually. Not until many years later, was this book translated into Chinese.

I'd like to have a brief introduction for the author because he is one of my favorite writers. He was born on 2th Nov. 1910 and died on 24th Apr. 2005. Although he was an eminent scholar, he was always modest and diligent. Once he made a speech to some students, he said"The reason why I can be here and deliver a speech is that I'm old. And Chinese always respect old people. When I watch the sky in the observatory today, I think that is a marvelous but unknown place. Though I'm old, I am still a student and I should learn also." In fact, that's why I respect him so much. Furthermore, he insisted that his book should be read by all the people in different subjects and they can get something they want but without technical term.

   Actually, I have read the Chinese version 4 years ago. So when I read the English version, I read it a little fast and I believe that I can get a clearer understanding of this book. This book is divided into 16 Chapters, concluding INTRODUCTION, THE FIELD, THE CHIA, PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE, KINSHIP EXTENSIONS, THE HOUSEHOLD AND VILLAGE, LIVELYHOOD, OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERANTATION, CALENDAR AND WORK, AGRICULTURE, LAND TENURE, THE SILK INDUSTRY, SHEEP RAISING AND TRADE VENTURE, MARKETING, FINANCE and AGRARIAN PROBLEMS IN CHINA. This book aims to describe the system how the villagers consume, produce, distribute and trade. What's more, the author did his utmost to make his opinion more detailedly and objectively, making this book a reference book for the people who are going to do research in China.

   Through this book, author used data, charts to analyse one or more "present situation" at that time. Additionally, he also put forward some serious problems in this village and tried to figure out it and deal with it. But for the reason that this book is a survey report, it tends to describe but not analyst. Besides, author often used reasonable imagination to describe and predict the phenomenon in this village. In this book, I can read Professor Fei's love of his country and his care about Chinese as a scholar between lines.

   If we analyse the writing style of the writer, simple but logic are the best words to describe it. When talking about minimum expenditure of the villagers, the author used"it is clear that in a study of the standard of living of a rural community it will not be enough simply to give a summary of the family budget in terms of money income and expenditure" as a topic sentence of this paragraph. He used simple words like "clear", but he, himself, knew clearly that why there was a limitation and he narrated it in the following part.  When discussing how the author made this article more reasonable, the methods he used in the survey cannot be ignored. When the author was in the village, he had some information providers. In addition, he had an interview with almost all the people in that village to get some first-hand and correct information. He summed up his information to make some tables and pictures, making his result more considerate and direct. And it seems that he had a good reputation in the local area, so his first-hand information can be believable. In Chapter Eight, OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENTATION, he used such a table:

(1) AGRICUTURE:274

(2) SPECIAL OCCUPATIONS:59

(3) FISHING:14

(4) NON-OCCUPIED:13

TOTAL:360.

   Then in the following parts of this chapter, in order to analyse how the people in special occupations play a role in this village, the author gave a more detail list:

Ⅰ. Engage in a special occupation in the town: 25

Ⅱ. Spinning worker: 6

Ⅲ. Retailer: 10

Ⅳ. Ship Manager: 4

Ⅴ.Handicraft industry and service industry: 24

carpenter: 4

Tailor: 3

Cooperation factory workers: 3

Miejiang: 2

Barber: 2

Furbisher: 2

Pump operator: 2

Bricklayer: 1

The midwife: 1

Buddhist monk: 1

Shoemaker: 1

Silversmith: 1

Weaver: 1

TOTAL:59

   Knowing that the results that were put forward by the author were based on the correct data and information, it is evident that the author had made a full preparation in this survey.

   What's more, to organise his article, the author used many methods, like comparison and persuasion. In order to analyse what causes the decrease of silk industry, the author compared our handmade silk with the silk made by foreign factor. In this way, he succeeded in finding the reason and promoted the cooperation between the school and the local silk factor. Then in the last part of this book, he said"The coming generation will, I sincerely hope, credit us with facing the problems of our age in a spirit of understanding and sympathy; our sacrifices and the hardship we are undergoing shall stand vindicated only if we look forward to the future with oneness of purpose and clarity of vision" as a conclusion. He persuaded the future generation into understanding them and called for them to work together to make our country a better place.

   Furthermore, in order to make his article more readable, he tended to explain any new word for the readers. For example, when the author tried to analyse the ownership of the farmland, he made an explanation on the native theory of land tenure. "Land is divided into two layers: namely, the surface and the subsoil. The possessor of the subsoil is the title holder of the land. His name will be registered with the government because he pays the taxes on the land. But he may possess only the subsoil without the surface, that is, he has no right to use the land directly for cultivation. Such a person is called an absentee landlord. The person possessing both the surface and the subsoil is termed the full owner. The one possessing only the surface without the subsoil is termed tenant." In fact, this explanation is very important for the readers to understand LAND.

   Considering the providers were villagers also, when using the information provided, the author usually made it more carefully. For example, in Chapter Three, for the reason that the author couldn't know the exact number of each type of cross-cousin marriage, he said"but my informant admitted that if there is an opportunity of a suitable match of the up-hill type, it will usually be made." As an anthropologist, author used many useful methods to do this research and made it really professional.

   All in all, I recommend this book to everyone especially the one who desires to make acquaintance of China. Because this book is always regarded as a book of authority. After reading this book, you can come to know what is the anthropology and how it functions. And of course, there are also spirits in this book. You won't regret reading this book.

2016-01-12

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