Making a Coastal Revolution: Farmers, Fishers, and Socialism, 1946–1959

Abstract

This article reveals the uneven and locally differentiated process of the Chinese Revolution and socialist construction by examining the Chinese Communist Party's policies and their effects on coastal villages in Northeast China from 1946 to 1959. It focuses on two rural reforms conducted almost simultaneously in the area, namely land reform and fishery reform. The former shows conflicting party imperatives originating from different levels of leadership, as well as the impact of the postwar Soviet occupation on rural land policies. Fishery reform drew inspiration from land reform but also incorporated invented practices and values to win support from fishers. Although the party-state attempted to adjust its revolutionary programs to accommodate the local realities in coastal villages, tension emerged in response to changes centering on the division of labor between men and women and the pay disparity between farmers and fishers.