The Early Exploration of the Peasant Movement by the Chinese Communist Party in 1924

The key role of the peasant movement in the process of the New Democratic Revolution gradually became prominent, and the Chinese Communist Party’s understanding of the position of the peasant question in the Chinese revolution also deepened step by step through revolutionary practice. In the early period of the Party’s founding, the Party mainly concentrated its strength on leading the workers’ movement. From the Hong Kong seamen’s strike in January 1922 to the Beijing-Hankou Railway workers’ strike in February 1923, over a period of more than a year, more than a hundred strikes of various sizes occurred nationwide, setting off the first high tide of the Chinese workers’ movement. At the same time, the Chinese Communist Party consistently paid attention to the peasant question and carried out some early explorations of the peasant movement. At the theoretical level, the Chinese Communist Party gradually recognized that the peasantry was “a great force that cannot be lightly insulted” in the revolutionary movement. At the practical level, the Party led and carried out peasant movements within a certain scope. From the establishment of China’s first new-type peasant organization at the peasant congress in Yaqian Village, Xiaoshan, Zhejiang in September 1921, to the founding of the first secret peasant association in Haifeng, Guangdong in July 1922, and then to the establishment of the Yuebei Peasant Workers’ Association in Hengshan, Hunan in September 1923, which raised the first banner of the Hunan peasant movement, these fully proved that “the Chinese peasantry is not impossible to awaken and organize.”

农民运动在新民主主义革命进程中的关键性作用是逐渐凸显的，中国共产党对农民问题在中国革命中所处地位的认识也是在革命实践中逐步深化的。在中国共产党成立初期，党主要集中力量领导开展工人运动，从1922年1月香港海员罢工到1923年2月京汉铁路工人罢工的一年多时间里，全国范围内发生大小罢工百余次，掀起了中国工人运动的第一次高潮。与此同时，中国共产党始终关注着农民问题，并进行了一些农民运动的早期探索。在理论层面，中国共产党逐渐认识到农民在革命运动中“是一个不可轻侮的伟大势力”；在实践层面，中国共产党领导开展了一定范围的农民运动，从1921年9月浙江萧山衙前村农民大会宣告成立中国第一个新型农民组织，到1922年7月广东海丰成立第一个秘密农会，再到1923年9月湖南衡山成立岳北农工会树起湖南农民运动的第一面旗帜，充分证明“中国农民并不是不可以唤醒与组织”。

On this theoretical and practical basis, in 1924, the Chinese Communist Party launched an early exploration of the peasant movement, thereby achieving a critical leap in its understanding and comprehension of the peasant question. This was directly reflected in the changes in the Party’s National Congress’s understanding of the peasant question and its attitude toward the peasant movement. In June 1923, the Third National Congress of the Party passed the “Resolution on the Peasant Question,” drafted by Mao Zedong and others. This was the first resolution on the peasant question in the Party’s history, but it did not invest great effort in concrete organization and implementation. However, by January 1925, the Fourth National Congress of the Party directly raised the issue of the worker-peasant alliance, emphasizing that China’s revolutionary movement required “the widespread participation of workers, peasants, and the urban petty bourgeoisie,” among whom the peasantry was “an important component of the Chinese revolutionary movement” and “naturally the ally of the working class.”

在这样的理论和实践基础上，1924年，中国共产党展开了对农民运动的早期探索，进而实现了对农民问题认识和理解的关键性跃升，并直接反映在党的全国代表大会对农民问题认识和对农民运动态度的变化之中。1923年6月，党的三大通过了由毛泽东等起草的《农民问题决议案》，这是党的历史上第一个关于农民问题的决议案，但没有花大力气去具体组织实施。然而，到了1925年1月，党的四大就直接提出了工农联盟问题，强调中国的革命运动需要“工人、农民及城市中小资产阶级普遍的参加”，其中农民“是中国革命运动中的重要成分”，“天然是工人阶级之同盟者”。

So, how was this critical leap achieved? Regarding this question, the 1924 volume of the “Annals of the Chinese Communist Party” (New Democratic Revolution Period) provides a relatively comprehensive review and reflection in considerable detail. In 1924, the First National Congress of the Kuomintang, which marked the formal formation of the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, put forward the proposition of “equalizing land rights,” and soon after, Sun Yat-sen raised the slogan “land to the tiller,” providing certain basic conditions for the Chinese Communist Party to fully utilize the mechanism of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation to lead the peasant movement. Communist Party members Lin Boqu and Peng Pai served respectively as Minister and Secretary of the Kuomintang Central Peasant Department, forming a Kuomintang Central Peasant Department and a Kuomintang Central Peasant Movement Committee dominated by Communist Party members. Against this backdrop, the Chinese Communist Party conducted early theoretical explorations of the peasant question, established institutions for training peasant movement cadres represented by the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute, and led and promoted various local peasant movements in a series of early practical activities. This created theoretical possibilities and provided a practical foundation for the Party to achieve a critical leap in its understanding and comprehension of the peasant question.

那么，这步关键性跃升是如何实现的呢?对于这一问题，《中国共产党编年史》（新民主主义革命时期）1924年卷用较多篇幅进行了比较全面的梳理和反映。1924年，标志着第一次国共合作正式形成的国民党一大提出“平均地权”的主张，不久孙中山又提出“耕者有其田”的口号，为中国共产党充分运用国共合作机制领导开展农民运动提供了一定的基础条件。共产党员林伯渠、彭湃分别担任国民党中央农民部部长、秘书，形成以共产党员为主的国民党中央农民部和国民党中央农民运动委员会。在这样的背景下，中国共产党对农民问题进行早期理论探讨，创立以广州农民运动讲习所为代表的农民运动骨干培养机构，领导和推动各地农民开展一系列农民运动的早期实践活动，为党在对农民问题的认识和理解方面实现关键性跃升创造了理论可能、提供了实践基础。

I. The Chinese Communist Party’s Early Theoretical Exploration of the Peasant Question

一、中国共产党对农民问题的早期理论探讨

In 1924, the Chinese Communist Party conducted early theoretical explorations of the peasant question, making a certain degree of theoretical preparation for achieving a critical leap in its understanding and comprehension of the peasant question.

1924年，中国共产党对农民问题进行了早期理论探讨，为实现对农民问题认识和理解的关键性跃升作了一定程度的理论准备。

(1) On the Real Power of the Peasantry and Its Revolutionary Character

（一）关于农民的现实力量及其革命性

The peasantry, as a huge real force in Chinese society, played a key role in whether the revolution could succeed. Zhou Enlai clearly pointed out, “We must first recognize the forces of the national revolution before we can have the possibility of uniting them,” and “the vast peasant class” was “one of the most noteworthy revolutionary forces in China’s national movement.” Deng Zhongxia believed, “China’s economic foundation is almost entirely agricultural. Among China’s powerful masses, the peasantry can probably be considered foremost. China’s national revolution can only succeed if it gains the sympathy and support of the peasant masses.” After analyzing China’s socio-economic conditions, Zhang Tailei proposed, “The important task facing the Chinese revolutionary party is to bring the Chinese peasantry into the orbit of the revolutionary movement. Without the participation of the peasantry, who constitute the vast majority of China’s population and are the foundation of the national economy, the success of the revolution is unimaginable.”

农民作为中国社会一种巨大的现实力量，对于革命能否成功起着关键性作用。周恩来明确指出，“我们必须先认清国民革命的势力，然后才能有团结之可能”，而“庞大的农民阶级”是“中国国民运动中最值得注意的革命势力”之一。邓中夏认为，“中国的经济基础，几乎完全是农业。中国有实力的民众，或者首屈一指的要算农民。中国的国民革命，必要得到农民群众的同情与拥护方能成功”。张太雷在分析中国社会经济状况后提出，“中国革命党面临的重要任务，是把中国农民引入革命运动轨道。没有组成中国人口巨大多数的并是国家经济基础的农民参加，革命的成功是难以想象的”。

So, does the peasantry truly possess a revolutionary character? Li Dazhao, when discussing the warlord wars within China, pointed out, “The ongoing civil war makes the situation of the Chinese peasants, who suffer from floods and hunger, even more miserable,” and “The current situation makes the broad masses of Chinese working people see that foreign imperialism and its Chinese agents—the warlords—are the real enemies.” Yun Daiying, when analyzing the rural movement, pointed out, “Peasants toil hard all year round at farming and still cannot support their wives and children, so they most deserve to yearn for revolution.” Chen Tanqiu, when discussing “workers, handicraftsmen, peasants, and small merchants,” mentioned, “They are the exploited classes, their economic status is the lowest, and their class is the most rich in revolutionary character.”

那么，农民是否真的具有革命性呢?李大钊在谈及中国国内军阀战争时指出，“正在进行的内战使遭到洪水灾害和食不果腹的中国农民的境遇更加悲惨”，“时局使广大的中国劳苦大众看到，外国帝国主义及其中国代理人——军阀乃是真正的敌人”。恽代英在剖析农村运动时指出，“农民终岁勤苦耕作甚至不能供养妻子儿女，所以他们最应当渴望革命”。陈潭秋在谈及“工人、手工业者、农民、小商人”时提到，“他们是被剥削的阶级，其经济地位是最低级的，其阶级最富于革命性”。

In May 1924, the Enlarged Session of the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party clearly stated, “In the national movement against international imperialism and domestic warlords, the participation of the majority of the peasant masses is the most powerful driving force.”

1924年5月，中共中央执行委员会扩大会议明确指出“反对国际帝国主义及国内军阀的国民运动里大多数农民群众的加入是最有力的动力”。

Thus, it can be seen that the Chinese Communist Party had already developed a relatively deep understanding of the foundational role of agriculture in the economy, the absolute numerical superiority of the peasantry, the inevitable revolutionary demands of the peasantry due to their miserable situation, and the fact that the peasantry would inevitably become an important revolutionary force that could not be ignored. Although during this period the Chinese Communist Party often set the application of peasant revolutionary power within the scope of the national revolutionary movement against imperialism and warlords, this laid an important foundation for later further recognizing the significant role of the peasantry in the revolutionary movement led by the proletarian party.

由此可见，中国共产党对农业在经济上的基础地位、农民在数量上的绝对优势、农民因处境悲惨必有革命要求、农民必会成为不可忽视的重要革命力量已经有比较深刻的认识。虽然这一时期中国共产党往往将农民革命力量的运用设定在反对帝国主义和军阀的国民革命运动范围内，但这为日后进一步认识到农民对无产阶级政党领导的革命运动的重大作用打下重要基础。

(2) On the Stage, Environmental Characteristics, and Goals of the Peasant Movement

（二）关于农民运动所处阶段、环境特点及其目标要求

Regarding the question of the stage of the Chinese peasant movement, Deng Zhongxia believed, “The Chinese peasant movement can only be said to be in its budding period at present,” but “the few movements manifested in this budding period” had “already proven that the latent potential of the peasant revolution is gradually being released, making it a ‘prominent’ emerging great force among various masses.” After a detailed analysis of the peasant movement situations in Haifeng and Hengshan, Deng Zhongxia believed that the Chinese peasants’ “magnificent actions were no less impressive than the strikes of the Hong Kong seamen and the Beijing-Hankou Railway workers.” Regarding the environmental characteristics of the Chinese peasant movement, Deng Zhongxia believed, “China’s territory is too vast, so the conditions of peasants vary from place to place; therefore, the strategies and methods of the peasant movement will naturally also differ,” clearly pointing out that the differences existing across China’s vast territory would inevitably profoundly influence the methods and paths of the peasant movement.

针对中国农民运动所处阶段的问题，邓中夏认为，“中国农民运动在现时只可说是萌芽时期”，但“即此萌芽时期所表现几桩运动的事实”，“已可证明农民革命的潜在性逐渐发泄出来，是各种群众中‘崭然露头角’新兴的伟大势力”。邓中夏在详细分析了海丰和衡山两地农民运动的情况后，认为中国农民“壮烈的举动，比较香港海员和京汉路工的罢工，并无逊色”。关于中国农民运动的环境特点，邓中夏认为，“中国幅员太广，故各地的农民状况皆不一样，因此，农民运动的政略与方法当然亦不一样”，明确指出中国广大地域存在的差异性必定会深刻影响农民运动的方法和路径。

So, what were the goals and demands of the peasant movement? After analyzing the peasants’ hatred toward the warlords who provoked wars and the bureaucrats who exploited them, Zhang Tailei proposed that the goals and demands of the peasant movement were “to eliminate their rule and establish a government that can ensure peasants live in peace, cultivate their own land peacefully, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor.” In comparison, Yun Daiying’s thinking on the goals and demands of the peasant movement had more immediate characteristics. He believed that the rural movement “was the most important and necessary preparation for the Chinese revolution,” and called on the vast number of revolutionary youth to go to the countryside to make friends with peasants, unite peasants, educate peasants, and study peasants.

那么，农民运动的目标要求是什么呢?张太雷在分析了中国农民对挑起战争的军阀和剥削农民的官僚所持的憎恨态度后提出，农民运动的目标要求就是“消灭他们的统治，建立一个能够保证农民生活安宁、和平耕种自己的土地和享有自己的劳动果实的政府”。相比之下，恽代英对农民运动目标要求的思考就更具现时性特点，认为农村运动“是中国革命最重要而且必要的预备”，呼吁广大革命青年到乡村去结交农民、团结农民、教育农民、研究农民。

In this regard, the Enlarged Session of the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in May 1924 and the Party’s “Proposition on the Current Situation” in November 1924 also made certain elaborations, pointing out that “the fragmentation of domestic administration means that the scope of peasants’ interests does not exceed one county, at most one province,” and clearly stating that the “urgent demands of the peasants at present” were “to stipulate a maximum rent, cancel surtaxes and irregular levies beyond the regular land tax, seek a balance between the prices of agricultural products and other daily necessities of industrial products, and promote the organization of professional organizations (peasant associations) and armed self-defense organizations.”

对此，1924年5月中共中央执行委员会扩大会议和11月中国共产党《对于时局之主张》也作出了一定阐述，指出“国内行政的分裂叫农民的利益范围不出一县，至多不过一省”，明确“农民目前急迫的要求”是“规定最高限度的租额，取消田赋正额以外的附加捐及陋规，谋农产品和他种生活必需的工业品价格之均衡，促成职业的组织（农民协会）及武装自卫的组织”。

It can thus be seen that the Chinese Communist Party had a relatively sober understanding of the actual conditions of the peasantry and the real possibilities of the peasant movement under the political and social environment of the time, and did not set goals or requirements that would leapfrog stages of development or break through environmental constraints. Although the peasant movement may have had greater room for objectives at that time, relatively practical goal requirements were generally beneficial for local explorations of the peasant movement based on actual conditions.

由此可见，中国共产党对当时政治社会环境下农民的现实状况和农民运动的现实可能性有着比较清醒的认识，没有设定跨越发展阶段、突破环境限定的目标要求。虽然农民运动在当时或许存在更大的目标空间，但相对切实的目标要求总体上有益于各地从实际出发进行农民运动探索。

(III) On the Methods and Paths for Carrying Out the Peasant Movement

（三）关于开展农民运动的方法和路径

Under the circumstances of the time, how should the peasant movement be carried out? Deng Zhongxia proposed that in terms of organization, “the most important thing is naturally to organize peasant associations,” and that a correct assessment of revolutionary forces should be made, without “venting momentary anger or stirring up momentary courage”; in terms of education and propaganda, one should “make more efforts to establish or participate in rural schools and book clubs, carry out literacy campaigns among peasants, and thereby raise the cultural level of the peasantry,” because “peasant education is our most convenient and effective path”; in terms of action, economically one could “demand rent reduction, improved treatment, etc.,” and politically one could “demand universal suffrage, improved water conservancy, organization of local militia, freedom of assembly, etc.” Yun Daiying, on the other hand, believed that “the greatest significance of today’s rural movement” was “to build ties with the peasants’ sentiments—this is the most important condition for propaganda among peasants,” “to study the most appropriate methods for propaganda among peasants—learning their vocabulary and idioms from conversations with them, studying their psychology, their level of knowledge, etc., to determine the most suitable language and attitude for rural propaganda,” and “to study the most appropriate materials for propaganda among peasants—detailed and practical research into the peasants’ real sufferings and demands, in order to discover the most powerful slogans for the rural movement.”

在当时的情况之下，应该怎样开展农民运动呢?邓中夏提出，在组织方面“最要紧的自然是组织农会”，并且要对革命的力量有正确的评估，不要“逞一时之气，鼓一时之勇”；在教育宣传方面，应当“多设法设立或参加农村学校和书报社，作农民之识字运动，由此把农民间的文化提高”，因为“农民教育是我们一条最稳便而有效的道路”；在行动方面，经济上可“要求减租，改良待遇等”，政治上可“要求普通选举，改良水利，组织民团，集会自由等”。恽代英则认为，“今天的农村运动最大的意义”，就是“联络农民的感情——这是宣传农民最重要的条件”，“研究宣传农民最合当的方法——从与他们对谈中，学习他们的名词与成语，研究他们的心理，他们的知识程度等，以决定农村宣传最合宜的语言与态度”，“研究宣传农民最合当的材料——详细而切实的研究农民真正的痛苦与要求，以谋发现农村运动最有力的口号”。

In May 1924, the Enlarged Session of the Central Executive Committee clearly stated that our Party “should guide the peasants in struggles over local issues of immediate concern to them,” specifically including “paying attention to local government land tax issues,” “opposing local bullies and evil gentry,” “opposing exorbitant rents,” “organizing village militia,” etc., and at the same time should “propagandize the necessity of opposing imperialism and the warlord system,” and “demand that the Kuomintang carry out regular and planned peasant propaganda.”

1924年5月，中央执行委员会扩大会议明确提出我们党“应当指导农民对切身利害的地方性质问题的奋斗”，具体包括“注意地方政府征收田税的问题”“反对土豪劣绅”“反对苛租”“组织乡团”等，同时应当“宣传反对帝国主义及军阀制度的必要”，并“要求国民党做经常的有规划的农民宣传”。

It can thus be seen that the Chinese Communist Party already had a relatively clear understanding of how to fight for the peasants’ real rights and interests, how to build the foundation of the peasant movement, and how to use the mechanism of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation to promote the development of the peasant movement. Although the exposition of the subjective position of the proletarian party leading the peasant movement was not fully developed, it was relatively strong in operability and played a certain guiding role in the launch of the peasant movement.

由此可见，中国共产党对如何争取农民现实权益、如何建构农民运动基础、如何运用国共合作机制推动农民运动发展已经有比较明确的认识，虽然对无产阶级政党领导开展农民运动的主体性地位阐述得并不充分，但可操作性相对较强，对农民运动的开展起到了一定的指导作用。

Judging from the Chinese Communist Party’s theoretical discussions on the peasant movement in 1924, the Party at that time already had a relatively deep understanding of the importance and necessity of the peasant movement, and had conducted a certain degree of discussion on the stages and objectives, methods and paths, etc., of the peasant movement. Although it had not yet reached the depth of leading the peasants in an agrarian revolution, it became an inevitable stage in the gradual deepening of the Chinese Communist Party’s theoretical understanding of the peasant movement.

从1924年中国共产党对农民运动的理论探讨来看，当时中国共产党对农民运动的重要性和必要性已经有了比较深刻的认识，对农民运动的阶段和目标、方法和路径等也进行了一定程度的讨论，虽然还没有达到领导农民进行土地革命的深度，但成为中国共产党对农民运动的理论认知逐渐深化过程中一段必经之路。

II. The Chinese Communist Party’s Activities in Establishing Institutions for Training Cadres for the Peasant Movement

二、中国共产党创立农民运动骨干培养机构的活动

The reason why the Chinese peasant movement was “only in its embryonic stage” by early 1924 was that, outside the areas where the Chinese Communist Party led the peasant movement, the revolutionary consciousness of the majority of peasants in China’s vast territories had not yet fully awakened, and scattered, sporadic peasant struggles had not yet converged into a revolutionary torrent. Under such circumstances, to truly “bring the peasants into the orbit of the revolutionary movement,” it was necessary to widely disseminate the ideas of the peasant movement and systematically organize the forces of the peasant revolution. However, in a country as vast and populous as China, where “the conditions of peasants vary from place to place,” relying solely on the then small number and heavily burdened Communist Party members to promote the spread and development of the peasant movement could not meet the needs of the revolutionary cause. Therefore, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, selecting places where objective conditions and environment permitted, and establishing institutions for training cadres for the peasant movement in a relatively flexible manner, to cultivate a certain number of peasant movement cadres meeting revolutionary needs to go deep into the countryside and carry out the peasant movement, became an important and necessary task.

中国农民运动到1924年初的时候之所以“只可说是萌芽时期”，是因为在中国共产党领导开展农民运动的地区之外，中国广大地域上的大多数农民的革命意识尚未完全觉醒，零星的、散发的农民抗争并没有汇聚成革命的洪流。在这样的情形下，要真正将农民“引入革命运动轨道”，就必须广泛传播农民运动的理念、系统组织农民革命的力量。然而，在中国这样一个幅员辽阔、人口众多且“各地的农民状况皆不一样”的国家，仅仅依靠当时人数不多且任务繁重的共产党员去推动农民运动的传播与发展难以满足革命事业的需要，因此，在中国共产党主导下，选取客观环境和条件允许的地方，以相对灵活的方式创立农民运动骨干培养机构，培养一定数量符合革命需要的农民运动骨干深入农村开展农民运动，就成为一项重要且必要的工作任务。

(I) Holding the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute in the Form of Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation

（一）以国共合作形式举办广州农民运动讲习所

Using the banner of the Kuomintang to establish institutions for training cadres for the peasant movement in the heartland of the national revolutionary movement was undoubtedly an important option for promoting the spread and development of the peasant movement. The Kuomintang also hoped that “the peasants would understand the Party’s doctrines and be aroused to participate in the struggle of the national revolution.” Against this backdrop, proposed by Communist Party member Peng Pai and others, and approved by the Kuomintang Central Committee, the Peasant Movement Training Institute was held in Guangzhou through Kuomintang-Communist cooperation.

在国民革命运动的中心地带借助国民党的旗帜创立农民运动骨干培养机构，无疑是推动农民运动传播与发展的重要选项。国民党也希望“农民了解本党之主义，使之起来参加国民革命之奋斗”。在这样的背景下，由共产党员彭湃等提议，经国民党中央同意后，国共合作在广州举办了农民运动讲习所。

The Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute, whether in terms of its recruitment scope, curriculum, or disciplinary requirements, bore a distinct revolutionary character, concretely presenting the goal of promoting the spread and development of the peasant movement. In terms of recruitment, those admitted were basically trainees capable of actively and effectively engaging in revolutionary activities and carrying out the peasant movement. In the first two sessions, “those who were members of the Chinese Kuomintang, willing to engage in the peasant movement, and physically strong enough to endure hardship were considered qualified”; “in the third and fourth sessions, only peasant association members or the children of tenant farmers were recruited.” In terms of curriculum, it included not only courses on the history of the Chinese national revolution, the theory of the peasant movement, etc., covering basic knowledge of the national revolution and the theory and practice of the peasant movement, but also courses closely related to agricultural production and rural life, such as China’s agricultural conditions and methods for improvement, rural education, etc., with “particular emphasis on military training.” In terms of disciplinary requirements, “to accustom students to group life and make them active cadres with discipline and organization,” it was clearly stipulated that “all actions shall be managed according to military training methods,” and “all regulations and orders must be absolutely obeyed and complied with.”

广州农民运动讲习所无论是招生范围，还是课程设置，或是纪律要求，都有着鲜明的革命色彩，将推动农民运动传播与发展的目标具象化地呈现出来。从招生来看，招收的基本都是能积极有效从事革命活动、开展农民运动的学员，在前两届“以中国国民党员，志愿从事农民运动，而身体强健能忍苦耐劳者为合格”，“第三四届，则专招农民协会会员或佃农子弟”。从课程设置来看，既包括中国民族革命史、农民运动之理论等涉及国民革命基础知识、农民运动理论与实践的课程，又包括中国农业情形及改良方法、农村教育等与农业生产和农村生活息息相关的课程，且“尤注重于军事训练”。从纪律要求来看，“为使学生习惯团体生活成为有纪律有组织的活动干员”，明确规定“一切行动均以军事训练方法管理”，“一切规例及命令均须绝对服从遵守”。

The Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute successfully held two sessions in 1924, playing a significant role in promoting the development of the peasant movement.

广州农民运动讲习所在1924年成功举办两届，对推动农民运动发展起到显著作用。

The first session of the Peasant Movement Training Institute opened on July 3, with Peng Pai serving as director, and Tan Pingshan, Ruan Xiaoxian, Luo Qiyuan, and others serving as instructors. The allocation of teaching staff reflected the leading role of the Chinese Communist Party. The learning content mainly included basic theoretical knowledge of the national revolution, revolutionary theories such as the theory and implementation methods of the peasant movement, ten days of military training at the Whampoa Military Academy focusing on projects such as holding guns, shooting, and village warfare, as well as rural internships. After graduation, the trainees of this session “went to various villages to contact peasants,” and were described by Sun Yat-sen as “the first thing the Kuomintang did for the peasant movement.”

第一届农民运动讲习所7月3日开学，由彭湃担任主任，谭平山、阮啸仙、罗绮园等人担任教员，在师资力量的配备上体现出中国共产党的主导作用。学习内容主要包括国民革命的基本理论知识、农民运动的理论和实施方法等革命理论，到黄埔军校进行10天以持枪、射击、村落战等为主要项目的军事训练，以及农村实习等。这届学员毕业后“到各乡村去联络农民”，被孙中山称为“国民党做农民运动所办的第一件事”。

The second session of the Peasant Movement Training Institute opened on August 21, with Luo Qiyuan serving as director. The number of recruits this time was “several times more than the previous one,” and “important villages along the East, West, and North Rivers all had representatives,” in order to “prepare for the future expansion of the peasant movement.” At the time of its opening, the Guangzhou Merchant Corps was plotting a rebellion, so the Peasant Movement Training Institute organized the trainees into a peasant self-defense force for military training, which made the trainees “more effective in terms of discipline and organization.” Through these efforts, the Chinese Communist Party’s understanding of military education also deepened, emphasizing that “political training and military education should be given equal importance to cultivate all-round talents.” This session of the Peasant Movement Training Institute also placed great importance on the trainees’ theoretical study and practical training, and in late September organized activities such as urban and rural surveys and rural propaganda in Shaoguan.

第二届农民运动讲习所8月21日开学，由罗绮园担任主任。这次的招生人数“比前多数倍”，且“东、西、北三江之重要乡村都有人”，以“为将来扩充农民运动之准备”。开学时，正逢广州商团阴谋叛乱，农民运动讲习所就将学员组成农民自卫军进行军事训练，使学员“于纪律及组织方面更见功效”。经过这些工作，中国共产党对军事教育的理解也更为深刻，强调“政治训练要与军事教育并重，才能养成全材”。这届农民运动讲习所也很重视学员的理论学习和实践训练，并于9月下旬在韶关组织开展城内和农村调查、农村宣传等活动。

In December 1924, in a report to the Peasant Movement Committee of the Guangdong District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Peng Pai highly praised the work of these peasant movement cadres, clearly stating that “they worked very well. They did not disappoint our cultivation and training of them.”

1924年12月，彭湃在给中共广东区委农民运动委员会的一份报告中对这些农民运动骨干的工作给予高度评价，明确表示“他们工作得很好。没有辜负我们对他们的培养和训练”。

(II) The Chinese Communist Party’s Activities in Establishing Institutions for Training Cadres for the Peasant Movement in Hunan, Hainan, and Other Places

（二）中国共产党在湖南、海南等地创立农民运动骨干培养机构的活动

In addition to establishing the Peasant Movement Training Institute in Guangzhou, the Chinese Communist Party also established institutions for training cadres for the peasant movement in various forms in Hunan, Hainan, and other places, achieving certain results.

在广州创立农民运动讲习所之外，中国共产党在湖南、海南等地也以多种形式创立了农民运动骨干培养机构，并取得一定成效。

In Hunan, the Xiangjiang School founded by the Hunan District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party established a Rural Normal Department in August 1924, with the goal of cultivating rural movement talents to go to the countryside to carry out rural movements, organize villages, and educate peasants. The courses offered also involved both revolutionary theory and practice and basic knowledge of agriculture and rural areas.

在湖南，中共湘区委创办的湘江学校于1924年8月创设农村师范部，以培养到乡间去做农村运动、组织农村、教育农民的农村运动人才为目标，所开设课程同样既涉及革命理论与实践，又涉及农业农村基本知识。

In Hainan, the Jiaji Agricultural and Industrial Workers’ School, which officially opened in February 1924, was originally a new type of revolutionary school. After the Guangdong District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party sent personnel to work at the school in July 1925, it took the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute as its model, further transforming the school into a cadre school specifically for training revolutionary backbone elements, and organized students to go to various localities to assist in carrying out the peasant movement and the workers’ movement.

在海南，1924年2月正式开学的嘉积农工职业学校，本就是一所新型的革命学校，在1925年7月中共广东区委派员到校工作后，便以广州农民运动讲习所为楷模，进一步将学校改进成专门培养革命骨干的干部学校，并组织学生到各地协助开展农民运动和工人运动。

Judging from the activities of establishing institutions for training backbone elements of the peasant movement in 1924, the Chinese Communist Party had already mastered the method of conducting revolutionary cadre training targeted to the needs of the revolution. In this process, it continuously deepened its thinking and understanding of revolutionary practice, updated the concepts and methods of revolutionary cadre training, and at the same time paid attention to summarizing and promoting effective work experience, thereby both promoting the development of the revolutionary movement and accumulating experience for carrying out revolutionary cadre training in the future.

从1924年创立农民运动骨干培养机构的活动来看，中国共产党已经掌握了根据革命需要有针对性地开展革命干部培训的方法，并在此过程中不断加深对革命实践的思考和理解、更新革命干部培训的理念和方式，同时注意总结和推广有效的工作经验，从而既推动革命运动的发展，又为以后开展革命干部培训积累经验。

III. The Chinese Communist Party’s Early Practical Activities in Leading and Promoting Peasant Movements in Various Regions

三、中国共产党领导和推动各地农民运动的早期实践活动

In 1924, the Chinese Communist Party, integrating the specific conditions of the development of peasant movement practice in various regions, led and promoted early practical activities of the peasant movement in Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and other places, adapting to local actual conditions under different levels of revolutionary activity and political-social environments, thereby accumulating relatively rich practical experience for better carrying out the peasant movement in the future.

1924年，中国共产党结合各地区农民运动实践发展的具体情况，领导和推动广东、湖南、湖北、安徽等地的农民在不同的革命活动水平和政治社会环境下开展了与当地实际状况相适应的农民运动早期实践活动，为日后更好开展农民运动积累了比较丰富的实践经验。

(A) Promoting the Development of the Peasant Movement in Guangdong under the Framework of Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation

（一）在国共合作框架下推动广东农民运动的发展

Against the backdrop of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, the Chinese Communist Party attached great importance to leading and carrying out the peasant movement in the central zone of the National Revolutionary Movement. This was not only because revolutionary activities in these areas were relatively concentrated and the political-social environment was relatively suitable, but also because the Chinese Communist Party sincerely supported and valued Kuomintang-Communist cooperation for the sake of the development and progress of the revolutionary cause. Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party placed great emphasis on leading and promoting the development of the peasant movement in Guangdong.

在国共合作的大背景下，中国共产党高度重视在国民革命运动的中心地带领导开展农民运动，既是由于这些地区革命活动相对集中、政治社会环境相对适宜，更是因为中国共产党为了革命事业发展进步而真诚地支持国共合作、重视国共合作。因此，中国共产党非常注重领导和推动广东农民运动的发展。

So, how did the Chinese Communist Party arrange its work? The primary step was to formulate a macro-level guiding plan for the peasant movement under the framework of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation. With active promotion by the Kuomintang Central Peasant Department and the Kuomintang Central Peasant Movement Committee, which were mainly composed of Communist Party members, the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee initially decided on a peasant movement plan in March 1924, resolving to organize peasant associations and peasant self-defense armies. After the macro plan was formulated, supporting guiding documents were needed. Accordingly, the Kuomintang Central Peasant Department promulgated the “Peasant Association Charter” in July. Even under the framework of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, it was still the Chinese Communist Party that played the truly key role, so establishing corresponding working mechanisms within the Party was very important. To this end, the Guangzhou Local Committee of the Chinese Communist Party formally established the Peasant Movement Committee in August.

那么，中国共产党怎样进行工作布局呢?首要步骤是在国共合作框架下制定农民运动的宏观指导计划。在以共产党员为主的国民党中央农民部和国民党中央农民运动委员会积极推动下，国民党中央执行委员会于1924年3月初步确定农民运动计划，决定组织农民协会和农民自卫军。宏观计划制定后，就需要配套的指导性文件。由此，国民党中央农民部于7月颁布《农民协会章程》。即便是在国共合作框架下，真正发挥关键作用的依然是中国共产党，因而在党内建立相应的工作机制非常重要。为此，中共广州地委于8月正式建立农民运动委员会。

On the basis of this work arrangement, the Chinese Communist Party, through the Kuomintang Central Peasant Department and the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government, dispatched special commissioners to various counties in Guangdong to carry out propaganda and organizational work, achieving notable results and igniting the flames of the peasant movement. Peasant associations were established one after another in various counties, and a wave of the peasant movement surged in central Guangdong, the West River region, and the North River region.

在这样的工作布局基础上，中国共产党通过国民党中央农民部和广州革命政府，派遣特派员到广东各县开展宣传和组织工作，取得显著成效，点燃了农民运动的火焰，各县纷纷建立农民协会，粤中地区、西江地区、北江地区均掀起农民运动的热潮。

The primary reason the peasant movement in Guangdong was able to surge was that carrying out the peasant movement won tangible benefits for the peasants, gaining their support and endorsement. Immediately after their establishment, peasant associations in various parts of Guangdong launched economic struggles such as rent reduction and tax resistance. These struggles greatly weakened the interests of the landlords, who consequently formed “property protection assemblies,” “landlord armies,” and the like to counterattack. Faced with the harsh reality of struggle, the Chinese Communist Party gradually realized that if “we do not establish armed contingents of the peasants,” “our work will not achieve the necessary results.” To defend peasant interests, many peasant associations organized peasant self-defense armies.

广东的农民运动之所以能够掀起热潮，首要原因是开展农民运动为农民争取到实实在在的利益，得到农民拥护和支持。广东各地的农会成立后就立即开展减租、抗捐等经济斗争。这些斗争极大削弱地主利益，于是地主纷纷成立“保产大会”“业主军”等进行反扑。在严酷的斗争事实面前，中国共产党逐渐意识到，如果“不建立农民的武装队伍”，“我们的工作就得不到必要的结果”。为了保卫农民利益，许多农会组织建立了农民自卫军。

Peasant armies could not always have sufficient strength to resist attacks by reactionary forces, so the Chinese Communist Party’s mobilization of forces from all sides to provide strong support was extremely crucial for the development of the peasant movement. In early December 1924, after landlord armed forces in Guangning launched a surprise attack on the peasant army, Peng Pai, who was leading the peasant struggle in Guangning, immediately submitted a written report to the Guangdong District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, requesting that troops be sent as soon as possible to provide support. Peng Pai also noted the mutual influence among peasant movements in different localities, emphasizing that “the outcome of our struggle will have decisive significance for the peasant movement in all neighboring counties.” Through the efforts of Communist Party members, the Guangzhou side dispatched the Armored Car Unit to Guangning to support the peasant struggle. In the end, the landlord armed forces surrendered to the peasant army.

农军不可能在任何时候都有足够力量抵抗反动势力的进攻，因而由中国共产党调用各方面力量给予强有力的支持对于农民运动的发展极为关键。1924年12月初，在广宁地主武装向农军发动突然袭击后，正在广宁领导农民斗争的彭湃立即向中共广东区委作书面报告，要求尽快派队伍前来支援。彭湃还注意到各地农民运动之间的相互影响，强调“我们斗争的结果如何对于所有邻县的农民运动将有决定性的意义”。经过共产党员的努力，广州方面派铁甲车队到广宁支援农民斗争。最终，地主武装向农军投降。

Under the leadership and promotion of the Chinese Communist Party, the peasant movement in Guangdong developed rapidly, with results evident to all. In December 1924, Voitinsky, in a letter to the Communist International, believed that “the work of organizing peasant associations only began in the spring when we were in Guangzhou, and it is now developing very quickly,” and that “these organizations were established under the banner of the Kuomintang, but our comrades are the actual leaders.”

在中国共产党领导和推动下，广东农民运动迅速发展，成效有目共睹。1924年12月，维经斯基在给共产国际的一封信中认为，“组织农会的工作是春天我们在广州的时候才开始的，现在发展很快”，“这些组织是打着国民党的旗号成立的，但我们的同志是实际领导人”。

(B) The Chinese Communist Party’s Early Practical Activities in Leading and Promoting the Peasant Movement in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Other Regions

（二）中国共产党领导和推动湖南、湖北、安徽等地农民运动的早期实践活动

Based on China’s complex fundamental national conditions and the overall state of revolutionary development at the time, the policies and strategies adopted by the Chinese Communist Party in leading and promoting the peasant movement in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and other regions were more flexible.

基于中国复杂的基本国情和当时革命发展的总体状况，中国共产党在湖南、湖北、安徽等地领导和推动农民运动的政策和策略更加灵活。

In Hunan, the Chinese Communist Party led the peasant masses in struggle by establishing Party branches. In June 1924, a Party branch was established in Jinjiadi, Lanxi Township, Yiyang, to lead and carry out the peasant movement. In September, a Party branch was established in Baxiang Township, Xiangtan, and in May of the following year, the Baxiang Township Peasant Association was established, carrying out the peasant movement in the Zhuzhou and Xiangtan areas.

在湖南，中国共产党通过组建党支部领导农民群众开展斗争。1924年6月，益阳兰溪乡金家堤成立党支部，领导开展农民运动。9月，湘潭八叠乡成立党支部，翌年5月成立八叠乡农民协会，在株洲、湘潭一带开展农民运动。

In Hubei, the Chinese Communist Party led the peasants in struggle through Party organizations and peasant organizations under Party leadership. In October 1924, the Peasant Problems Research Society, a peasant organization led by the Party, was established in Huangmei. That winter, the Huangmei Party organization and the Research Society mobilized the peasants of the southern townships to launch a struggle against the exploitation of tobacco merchants and demanding the honoring of promissory notes, ultimately forcing the county government and the chamber of commerce to agree to the peasants’ conditions for honoring the notes.

在湖北，中国共产党通过党组织以及党领导下的农民组织带领农民开展斗争。1924年10月，党领导的农民组织农民问题研究会在黄梅成立。是年冬天，黄梅党组织和研究会发动南乡农民开展反抗烟草商剥削、要求兑现期条的斗争，最终迫使县署和商会答应农民提出的兑现条件。

In Anhui, the Chinese Communist Party and the Youth League organizations prepared for the peasant movement by conducting investigation and research, and in the process discovered backbone elements for the peasant movement. In the summer of 1924, the Wuhu League organization decided to take advantage of the opportunity of students returning to their hometowns during summer vacation to investigate the living conditions of the peasants. Communist Party member Xue Zhuohan conducted an investigation in Shou County and wrote an investigative report on the class composition of the countryside, among other things. The following year, the Shou County League organization selected Xue Zhuohan and others to be sent to the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute; after completing their training, they returned to Anhui to engage in the peasant movement.

在安徽，中国共产党及青年团组织通过开展调查研究为农民运动作准备，并从中发现农民运动骨干。1924年夏，芜湖团组织决定利用学生暑假回乡的机会对农民生活状况进行调查。共产党员薛卓汉在寿县进行调查并就农村阶级构成等写成调查报告。翌年，寿县团组织将薛卓汉等选送到广州农民运动讲习所，培训结束后回安徽从事农民运动。

Judging from the Chinese Communist Party’s early practical activities in leading and promoting peasant movements in various regions in 1924, carrying out the peasant movement required not only a certain objective environment and conditions but also, even more, the Party’s adoption of highly flexible policies and strategies based on actual circumstances.

从1924年中国共产党领导和推动各地农民运动的早期实践活动来看，开展农民运动不仅需要一定的客观环境和条件，更需要党根据实际情况采取高度灵活的政策和策略。

Through the early exploration of the peasant movement in 1924, the Chinese Communist Party deepened its theoretical understanding of the peasant problem, gradually enriched its practical experience, and diversified the methods and pathways for carrying out the peasant movement. Although a theoretical consensus had not yet been formed, and the degree of practical development of the peasant movement in various regions was very uneven, this was beneficial for further deepening the understanding and comprehension of China’s fundamental national conditions, the overall state of revolutionary development, and revolutionary practical activities. It also accumulated effective experience in conducting revolutionary cadre training according to the actual needs of revolutionary work, creating theoretical possibilities and providing a practical foundation for the Party’s Fourth National Congress in January 1925 to raise the issue of the worker-peasant alliance and achieve a key leap in the Party’s understanding and comprehension of the peasant problem.

经过1924年对农民运动的早期探索，中国共产党对农民问题的理论认知有所加深、实践经验日渐丰富、开展农民运动的方法和路径更加多样，虽然还没有形成理论共识，各地农民运动的实践发展程度也很不平衡，但有益于进一步加深对中国基本国情和革命发展总体状况以及革命实践活动的认识和理解，并积累了根据革命工作实际需要开展革命干部培训的有效经验，为1925年1月党的四大提出工农联盟问题、实现党在对农民问题认识和理解方面的关键性跃升创造了理论可能、提供了实践基础。

(Author’s affiliation: Second Research Department, Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party)

(作者单位：中央党史和文献研究院第二研究部)

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆