Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T17:12:39.230Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Water Conservancy in Communist China*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Wen-Shun Chi
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

One of the tragic phenomena in Chinese history is the frequent occurrence of natural calamities. It has been estimated that there have been 1,035 droughts and 1,037 floods in a period of 2,142 years from 206 B.C. to 1936. The Chinese Communist Government puts the blame for the failure to alleviate them on “feudalism” and, over the past century, on the combination of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism. They have proclaimed: “Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government have paid much attention to water conservancy. During the period of national economic recovery and the period of socialist industrialisation, the main tasks of water conservancy are to alleviate the disasters of flood and drought to insure a steady in-crease of agricultural production, and to promote the development of industry and river navigation.” The Draft Outline of the National Agricultural Development for 1956–1967 proclaimed the determination of the Chinese Communist Government to eliminate ordinary floods and droughts within a period of seven to twelve years beginning from 1956. This is a truly bold and far-reaching programme. The success or failure of this attempt will have great influence on the stability of the Government and on the life of the people. The purpose of this article is to study the degree of success the Communist Government has achieved in this field and also the implications of this record as an index of its overall effectiveness and future prospects.

Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 23 , September 1965 , pp. 37 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1965

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Yün-t'e, Teng, History of Natural Disaster Relief in China (Peking: San-lien Bookstore, 1958), p. 38Google Scholar.

2 Water Conservancy in New China (Peking: The Ministry of Water Conservancy, 1956)Google Scholar, preface.

3 The Draft Outline of the National Agricultural Development for 1956–1967 (Peking: Jen-min Ch'u-pan She, 1957), p. 9Google Scholar.

4 Tso-yi, Fu, “On the Plan and Task of Water Conservancy in 1950,” Hsin Hua Yuehpao (New China Monthly), III, 01 15, 1950, p. 683Google Scholar.

5 The First Five-Year Plan for the Development of National Economy, 1953–1957 (Jen-min Ch'u-pan She, 1955), p. 161Google Scholar.

6 Ibid. p. 90.

7 Ibid. pp. 90–91.

8 Jen-min Jih-pao (People's Daily), September 25, 1957.

9 Ibid.

10 People's Daily, September 11, 1958.

11 People's Daily, October 25, 1959.

12 Chen-lin, Tan, “Struggle for the Advanced Realisation of the Agricultural Development Programme,” People's Dally, 04 7, 1960Google Scholar.

13 People's Daily, February 1, 1958.

14 Ibid. November 30, 1963.

15 Ibid. August 5, 1964.

16 State Statistical Bureau, Ten Great Years (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1960), p. 46Google Scholar.

17 “Statistics on Achievements of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in Economic and Cultural Construction,” Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) (Washington, D.C.), XVI, 01 3, 1963, p. 952Google Scholar.

18 Ten Great Years, pp. 50–51.

19 Ibid. p. 130. The original units for columns two and three were in the thousand mou. They have been changed by the author to the million mou for the sake of unity.

20 Tan, op. at., note 17, above.

21 People's Daily, November 30, 1963.

22 Hsin Hua Pan-yueh K'an (New China Semi-Monthly), III, 01 1950, p. 682Google Scholar.

23 Wen Hui Pao Hong Kong), 02 3, 1950Google Scholar.

24 Chieh-fang Jih-pao (Liberation Daily) (Shanghai), 08 7, 1950Google Scholar.

25 People's Daily, August 31, 1959.

26 Ibid. August 31, 1951.

27 Kung Shang Jih-pao (Industrial and Commercial Daily) (Hong Kong), 06 11, 1953Google Scholar. This paper claims to quote from a Communist source.

28 Ta Kung Poo (Hong Kong), 08 23, 1954Google Scholar.

29 Tse-tung, Mao, “How to Handle Correctly the Problem of Contradictions Among the People,” People's Daily, 06 19, 1957Google Scholar.

30 Yunnan Jih-pao (Yunnan Daily), June 29, 1958.

31 Anhwei Jih-pao (Anhwei Daily), July 29, 1959.

32 Ibid. July 14, 1959.

33 People's Daily, December 29, 1960.

34 Statement by Yi, Ch'en, Foreign Minister, on June 29 in Geneva, before a television interview, People's Daily, 07 3, 1961Google Scholar.

35 Ta Kung Pao (Hong Kong), 08 27, 1954Google Scholar.

36 Current Scene, I, June 29, 1961, p. 4.

37 China News Analysis, No. 413, 03 23, 1962, p. 4Google Scholar.

38 Li, C. M., “What Happened to the Great Leap Forward,” Challenge, X, 07 1963, p. 5Google Scholar.

39 Li, C. M., “Comment—On China's Descending Spiral, “The China Quarterly, No. 12, 10–12 1962, p. 34Google Scholar.

40 T'an, op. cit., note 12, above.

41 Ten Great Years, p. 128.

42 People's Daily, June 3, 1959.

43 Kung Shang Jih-pao, August 6, 1954.

44 People's Daily, December 29, 1960.

45 Ten Great Years, p. 51.

46 Wen Bui Pao, June 24, 1959.

47 Hsin Hua Pan-yueh K'an, 15, August 10, 1957, p. 80.

48 People's Daily, November 8, 1961.

49 Ibid. April 10, 1960.

50 Hsiung, I, “The Prevention and Cure of Salinisation and Alkalinisation of the Soil in the North China Plain,” People's Daily, 12 18, 1962Google Scholar.

51 Tzu-lin, Chang and Jung-han, Huang, “The Problem of Improving the Alkaline and Saline Land and the Prevention of Salinisation and Alkalinisation in North China” Hung ch'i (Red Flag), 15–16, 08 1, 1962, pp. 47–56Google Scholar.

52 Teng Yün-t'e, p. 122.

53 Alsop, Joseph, “On China's Descending Spiral,” The China Quarterly, No. 11, 07–09 1962, p. 22CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

54 People's Daily, October 1, 1963.

55 Ibid. October 2, 1963.

56 People's Daily, August 5, 1964.