Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants by Chen Guidi, Wu Chuntao Page A
Authors: Chen Guidi, Wu Chuntao
Tags: Asia, History, Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Ethnic Studies, china, Poverty, Human Geography, Asian, Politics & Government, Specific Topics, Economic Conditions, Communism & Socialism, Specific Demographics, Business & Money, International & World Politics, Ideologies & Doctrines, Political Economy, Special Groups
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short of the
“antitax uprisin g”
Where the Emperor Bade Farewell to his Concubine
Gaixia, the scene of a famous battle more than two thousand years ago, in 202 B.C., lies within today’s Lingbi County, Anhui Province. This is where the Han king Liu Bei and the Shu king Xiang Yu fought to the death for supremacy over control of what would later be known as the Middle Kingdom.* Xiang Yu’s army of a hundred thousand men was surrounded in the town of Gaixia. King Liu, in coordination with his aide Han Xin, amassed an army four hundred thousand strong and encir-cled Xiang Yu’s army so tightly that not a drop of water could seep in, let alone reinforcements. Under siege and starving, Xiang Yu’s hundred thousand troops lost the will to fight when echoes of their native Shu songs wafted over the town walls, deluding them into thinking that these were the sounds of their fellow Shu men who had been taken into captivity. In fact, it was a trick played by the Han king. This was the setting for the tragedy of Xiang Yu’s concubine Yu, who snatched her lord’s sword and killed herself so as not to encumber her lord in his last desperate battle to break the siege and save his men. Her
*The Middle Kingdom (Zhongguo) is an ancient name for China that is still used in modern China.
will the boat sink the water ?
act of supreme loyalty is remembered down the ages in history, art, and legend, the best-known example being the classic Beijing opera The King Bids Farewell to His Concubine.
Since that momentous historical event, whose outcome was
the founding of the Han Dynasty, the years have rolled by, and this patch of poor barren land has lain dormant and forgotten, as if time had stopped. But at noon on a sunny day, October 5, 1997, the silence was broken by the rumbling wheels of modern transportation. A convoy of police cars, sedans, trucks, and even fire engines started out from Lingbi County, enhanced by the forbidding presence of a selection of local Party and government officials—in an outrageous display of sartorial preferences. Police sirens cleared the way as the convoy rumbled onward, raising clouds of dust, while an array of weapons gleamed in the sunlight. Such a show of power, pomp, and circumstance was totally unprecedented in the history of Lingbi County.
People living nearby hastily made way for this armed caval-cade, while frightened eyes peering from behind cottage windows counted the number of vehicles—thirty-two altogether, carrying over two hundred personnel.
From Fengmiao Township the armed convoy made a turn for the southeast and, about ten kilometers later, arrived at Gao Village. The armed police immediately hopped down and sealed all the exits from the village. The Fengmiao Township Party boss, Hou Chaojie, sent for the Gao Village Party boss, Chen Yiwen, and the village chief, Gao Xuewen. With the two Party bosses leading the way, a group of fully armed public security officers descended on the western section of the village like a wolf on the fold. The battle ended as swiftly as it began, and a resounding victory was declared less than fifteen minutes later.
It was the noon break, and the inhabitants of Gao Village were totally unprepared for any kind of conflict. The women were bustling over the cooking while the men had just returned
the “antitax uprisin g”
from the fields. Many of them had tossed off their jackets and shoes. They were stunned when armed security men material-ized in front of them, and no one thought of reaching for an object to use in self-defense.
The fully armed detachment of officers and their men, suddenly faced with a motley crowd of totally defenseless, barefoot peasants, were themselves taken by surprise—they were unprepared for this somewhat anticlimactic victory. Nevertheless, the spoils of victory were impressive: except for the handful of peo-ple who were still planting seedlings in the rice paddies, or were at the market, or were migrant workers
“antitax uprisin g”
Where the Emperor Bade Farewell to his Concubine
Gaixia, the scene of a famous battle more than two thousand years ago, in 202 B.C., lies within today’s Lingbi County, Anhui Province. This is where the Han king Liu Bei and the Shu king Xiang Yu fought to the death for supremacy over control of what would later be known as the Middle Kingdom.* Xiang Yu’s army of a hundred thousand men was surrounded in the town of Gaixia. King Liu, in coordination with his aide Han Xin, amassed an army four hundred thousand strong and encir-cled Xiang Yu’s army so tightly that not a drop of water could seep in, let alone reinforcements. Under siege and starving, Xiang Yu’s hundred thousand troops lost the will to fight when echoes of their native Shu songs wafted over the town walls, deluding them into thinking that these were the sounds of their fellow Shu men who had been taken into captivity. In fact, it was a trick played by the Han king. This was the setting for the tragedy of Xiang Yu’s concubine Yu, who snatched her lord’s sword and killed herself so as not to encumber her lord in his last desperate battle to break the siege and save his men. Her
*The Middle Kingdom (Zhongguo) is an ancient name for China that is still used in modern China.
will the boat sink the water ?
act of supreme loyalty is remembered down the ages in history, art, and legend, the best-known example being the classic Beijing opera The King Bids Farewell to His Concubine.
Since that momentous historical event, whose outcome was
the founding of the Han Dynasty, the years have rolled by, and this patch of poor barren land has lain dormant and forgotten, as if time had stopped. But at noon on a sunny day, October 5, 1997, the silence was broken by the rumbling wheels of modern transportation. A convoy of police cars, sedans, trucks, and even fire engines started out from Lingbi County, enhanced by the forbidding presence of a selection of local Party and government officials—in an outrageous display of sartorial preferences. Police sirens cleared the way as the convoy rumbled onward, raising clouds of dust, while an array of weapons gleamed in the sunlight. Such a show of power, pomp, and circumstance was totally unprecedented in the history of Lingbi County.
People living nearby hastily made way for this armed caval-cade, while frightened eyes peering from behind cottage windows counted the number of vehicles—thirty-two altogether, carrying over two hundred personnel.
From Fengmiao Township the armed convoy made a turn for the southeast and, about ten kilometers later, arrived at Gao Village. The armed police immediately hopped down and sealed all the exits from the village. The Fengmiao Township Party boss, Hou Chaojie, sent for the Gao Village Party boss, Chen Yiwen, and the village chief, Gao Xuewen. With the two Party bosses leading the way, a group of fully armed public security officers descended on the western section of the village like a wolf on the fold. The battle ended as swiftly as it began, and a resounding victory was declared less than fifteen minutes later.
It was the noon break, and the inhabitants of Gao Village were totally unprepared for any kind of conflict. The women were bustling over the cooking while the men had just returned
the “antitax uprisin g”
from the fields. Many of them had tossed off their jackets and shoes. They were stunned when armed security men material-ized in front of them, and no one thought of reaching for an object to use in self-defense.
The fully armed detachment of officers and their men, suddenly faced with a motley crowd of totally defenseless, barefoot peasants, were themselves taken by surprise—they were unprepared for this somewhat anticlimactic victory. Nevertheless, the spoils of victory were impressive: except for the handful of peo-ple who were still planting seedlings in the rice paddies, or were at the market, or were migrant workers
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