Village Governance Construction and the Reshaping of the Cadre Group in the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area

In the early period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the development of democratic political power in Shandong was slow. Most grassroots political power was in the hands of local tyrants and evil gentry, and the state of village governance deteriorated day by day, leading to the situation where “most villages below the township level were unable to work independently” (Shandong Party History Materials Library, Vol. 7, Shandong People’s Publishing House, 2015, p. 472). To serve the war of resistance and effectively govern the countryside, the Chinese Communist Party carried out effective work in reshaping the village cadre group in the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area. Institutional precedence was the key measure for the Party to reshape the village cadre group in the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area. In this process, effective measures were explored, including rationalizing the administrative village system, peacefully transforming village-level political power, integrating mass organizations to establish natural-village Party branches, establishing a top-down vertical management system, and improving the village cadre education system. Ultimately, a village cadre contingent mainly composed of poor and middle peasants was established, taking on the arduous tasks of mobilizing the masses, supporting the war of resistance, and governing the countryside.

抗日战争初期，山东的民主政权发展缓慢，基层政权大多把持在土豪、劣绅等手中，村庄治理状况日益恶化，导致“乡村以下大部分不能独立工作”（《山东党史资料文库》第7卷，山东人民出版社2015年版，第472页）。为服务抗战与有效治理乡村，中国共产党在山东抗日根据地开展了卓有成效的村干部群体重塑工作。制度先行是党对山东抗日根据地村干部群体进行重塑的关键之举，在这一过程中探索出合理化行政村制、和平改造村级政权、整合群众组织建立自然村支部、建立自上而下的垂直管理体系、完善村级干部教育制度等有效措施，最终建立起一支以贫、中农为主体的村干部队伍，担当起动员群众、支持抗战、治理乡村等艰巨任务。

Adjusting the Administrative Village System, Transforming Village-Level Political Power

调整行政村制，改造村级政权

In the early period of the War of Resistance, the rural grassroots organizations in the Shandong Base Area were originally divided into three levels: district, township, and village. After the abolition of the township office, the district office directly led the villages. However, because the administrative divisions were too large, the district office directly led more than 40 villages. The large number and the differing conditions of each village made effective management difficult. To address this, the base area decided to implement a central-village system, i.e., taking 5 to 8 villages as a unit to establish a central village, serving as an auxiliary organization for the district office. Later, due to factors such as the distance between villages, their number, and the role played by village cadres, in October 1941, the Shandong Provincial Wartime Work Promotion Committee issued the “New Decision on Village Governance Organization and Work,” which clearly stipulated the abolition of the central-village system and the implementation of the administrative village system. “Any natural village with a registered residence of over one hundred households and a population of over four hundred people shall be designated as one administrative village” (Selected Documents of Legal Literature from the Base Areas during China’s New Democratic Revolution, Vol. 2, China Social Sciences Press, 1981, p. 392), and it was required that each district govern no more than twenty administrative villages. Consequently, the work of village governance transformation was further advanced.

抗战初期，山东根据地农村基层组织原分为区、乡、村三级。在取消乡公所之后，区公所直接领导村，但由于行政区划过大，区公所直接领导的村庄达40个以上，数量多且村情各有不同，难以实现有效管理。为此，根据地决定推行中心村制，即以5到8个村为单位设立中心村，作为区公所的辅助组织。后因村庄的距离、数量及村干部作用发挥等因素的影响，1941年10月，山东省战时工作推行委员会通过《关于村政组织与工作的新决定》，明确规定取消中心村制，实行行政村制，“凡自然村户口在百户以上，人口在四百人以上者，即划为一个行政村”（《中国新民主主义革命时期根据地法制文献选编》第2卷，中国社会科学出版社1981年版，第392页），且需做到每区管辖单位不超过二十个行政村。由此，村政改造工作也进一步开展起来。

Implementing democratic “village elections” and peacefully transforming village-level political power were important measures for the village governance transformation to achieve the reshaping of the village cadre group. In 1940, the Shandong Provincial Wartime Administrative Committee clearly designated the democratic transformation of village and township political power as the central task. In January 1941, the Military and Political Committee of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region further emphasized “transforming village political power” and advocated for the establishment of a “Village Governance Research Committee” (Selected Historical Materials of the Chinese Communist Party in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region [Vol. 2, Documents Part·1], Henan People’s Publishing House, 1988, p. 444). In accordance with the spirit of the “Shandong Provincial Wartime Administrative Program,” it aimed to “enable all those who approve of the war of resistance and approve of democracy” to “participate in democratic politics” (Selected Historical Archives of the Jinan Revolution, Vol. 3, Jinan Publishing House, 1998, p. 40). From then on, a wave of universal democratic elections, from the district level down to the village level, swept through the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area. Under the guidance of the election reform committees, by the end of 1942, among the 10,128 villages in the basic areas of the Shandong administrative region (excluding guerrilla zones), 8,170 had completed transformation, accounting for over 80% of the total (Selected Historical Archives of the Shandong Revolution, Vol. 10, Shandong People’s Publishing House, 1983, p. 241). Village election work in various regions gradually got on track. The democratic style in the base area was completely renewed, and the democratic consciousness of the villagers continuously strengthened. Through democratic elections, the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area gradually eliminated old village cadres such as local tyrants and evil gentry, replacing them with new village cadres supported and trusted by the masses. According to rough estimates, by June 1944, more than half of the villages that had undergone preliminary transformation had implemented the administrative village system. In some areas, the old jia-lin system [1]1 The jia-lin system (闾邻制) was a traditional system of rural household registration and mutual surveillance, with units of 5 (lin) and 25 (jia) families, often used by the Kuomintang government and associated with elite control., which was convenient for feudal rule, was abolished, and village governance committees characterized by collective leadership and scientific division of labor began to be established. Consequently, the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area gained the support of the masses and became increasingly consolidated and developed. On this basis, the Shandong Sub-Bureau and the Provincial Wartime Administrative Committee further strengthened leadership over the village cadre group. The Second Provincial Administrative Conference emphasized: the representative assembly composed of representatives from citizen small groups is the highest organ of power; the village governance committee is the responsible organ after the representative assembly, deciding to convene the representative assembly; the village office is the organ for implementing daily administrative affairs and government decrees, with the village head concentrating power, and each committee member having specific divisions of labor, such as civil affairs and finance, production, education, etc., working under the leadership of the village head; committees are established as needed and not set up as sinecures (Selected Revolutionary Historical Documents of the Shandong Party (1920–1949), Vol. 8, Shandong People’s Publishing House, 2015, p. 51). This measure continuously expanded the grassroots cadre contingent, enabling a sufficient number of village cadres to engage in village governance work, thereby strengthening the vast rural grassroots political power within the base area.

实行民主“村选”、和平改造村级政权，是村政改造实现对村干部群体重塑的重要举措。1940年，山东省战时行政委员会明确提出民主改造村乡政权的中心工作。1941年1月，冀鲁豫边区军政委员会进一步强调“改造村政权”，主张成立“村政研究委员会”（《中共冀鲁豫边区党史资料选编》〔第2辑 文献部分·上〕，河南人民出版社1988年版，第444页），按照《山东省战时施政纲领》精神“使一切赞成抗战、赞成民主者”，“都能参加民主政治”（《济南革命历史档案资料选编》第3辑，济南出版社1998年版，第40页）。自此，山东抗日根据地掀起了一场区村自上而下的普遍民主选举热潮。在改选委员会的指导下，截至1942年底，山东行政区基本区（不含游击区）的10128个村中，已有8170个完成改造，占总数百分之八十以上（《山东革命历史档案资料选编》第10辑，山东人民出版社1983年版，第241页）。各地区的村选工作逐渐步入正轨，根据地的民主作风焕然一新，村民的民主意识不断增强。通过民主选举，山东抗日根据地逐渐淘汰土豪劣绅等旧村干，代之以群众支持和信任的新村干。据粗略估计，到1944年6月，经过初步改造的村庄中有一半以上实行了行政村制，部分地废除了便于封建统治的旧闾邻制，开始建立有集体领导、科学分工特点的村政委员会，山东抗日根据地也因此得到群众拥护而日益巩固发展。在此基础上，山东分局、省战时行政委员会进一步加强对村干部群体的领导，省第二次行政会议强调：以公民小组代表组成的代表会议为最高权力机关；村政委员会为代表会议后的责任机关，决定召开代表会议；村公所是日常政务政令推行机关，村长权力集中，各委员有具体分工，如民财、生产、教育等，在村长领导下工作；各委员会根据需要设立，不虚设（《山东党的革命历史文献选编（1920—1949）》第8卷，山东人民出版社2015年版，第51页）。此举不断壮大基层干部队伍，使足够数量的村干部投入到村政工作中，根据地内广大农村基层政权得到加强。

Integrating Mass Organizations, Establishing Natural-Village Party Branches

整合群众组织，建立自然村支部

Integrating mass organizations was an important part of rural political construction and an inevitable choice for reshaping the village cadre group. Under the leadership of the Party, mass organizations with peasants as the main body, such as the Peasant Association, the Youth National Salvation Association, and the Women’s National Salvation Association, sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. These mass organizations and the village offices “respected each other, developed together, exchanged opinions, and coordinated work” (Selected Historical Archives of the Shandong Revolution, Vol. 7, p. 454), establishing a good relationship of mutual benefit and mutual assistance. On the one hand, the village head and the village governance committee, while respecting the independence of the mass organizations, helped them develop and grow through various means. On the other hand, the mass organizations supported and supervised the village political power, helped the government implement laws and policies through propaganda and persuasion, used movements and struggles to meet the urgent needs of the people while realizing rural democratic elections, and relied on the masses to mobilize, organize, and arm the masses, “enabling the masses to recognize their own strength, recognize the necessity of the war of resistance, recognize the bright future, and increase their confidence in victory” (Shandong Party History Materials Library, Vol. 14, p. 189). With the support of the masses, the Party further achieved penetration into rural society and control over rural social resources. In 1942, the number of people in Shandong who participated in mass organizations was: 1,070,000 in the Peasant Association, 200,000 in the Trade Union, 400,000 in the Youth Association, 500,000 in the Women’s Association, and 238,367 in the Children’s Corps (Dagfinn Gatu, Toward Revolution, Chinese Communist Party History Materials Publishing House, 1987, p. 113). The Peasant Association was the most important organization among them, and its members therefore became important targets for Party development. They were often outstanding in ability and deeply supported by the masses, frequently being elected as village heads. In the execution of practical work, these village cadres who came from mass organizations also demonstrated extraordinary leadership, becoming a key force in promoting rural development and governance.

整合群众组织是乡村建政的一项重要内容，也是重塑村干部群体的必然选择。在党的领导下，以农民为主体的农会、青救会、妇救会等群众组织如雨后春笋般涌现。这些群众组织与村公所“互相尊重，互相发展，交换意见，配合工作”（《山东革命历史档案资料选编》第7辑，第454页），建立起良好的互助互利关系：一方面，村长、村政委员会在尊重群众组织独立性的前提下，通过各种方式帮助其发展壮大；另一方面，群众组织拥护、监督村政权，通过宣传和说服帮助政府贯彻法律与政策，借助运动与斗争满足民众迫切需要的同时实现乡村民选，依靠群众去发动群众、组织群众、武装群众，“使群众认识自己的力量，认识抗战的必要，认识光明的前途，增加胜利的信心”（《山东党史资料文库》第14卷，第189页）。在群众的拥戴中，党进一步实现对乡村社会的渗透和对乡村社会资源的掌握。1942年，山东人民参加群众组织的人数为：农会1070000人，工会200000人，青年会400000人，妇女会500000人，儿童团238367人（［瑞典］达格芬·嘉图：《走向革命》，中共党史资料出版社1987年版，第113页）。农会是其中最重要的组织，农会会员也因此成为党的重要发展对象，他们往往能力突出，又深得群众支持，常被推选为村长。在实际工作执行中，这些出身群众组织的村干部也展现出非凡的领导力，成为推动乡村发展与治理的关键力量。

Furthermore, the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area continuously improved branch work and strengthened grassroots organization building. In November 1940, when Zhu Rui [2]2 Zhu Rui (朱瑞, 1905–1948) was a senior CPC military and political leader who served as the secretary of the Shandong Sub-Bureau of the CPC Central Committee during the War of Resistance. made the “Shandong Work Report,” he emphasized making “establishing and perfecting work in Party branches below the county committee level, especially in rural branches” the central task (Shandong Party History Materials Library, Vol. 7, p. 768). After the establishment of administrative villages, Party branches were originally organized on the basis of administrative villages, but later changed to establishing branches on the basis of natural villages. Branches with a relatively good work foundation could be designated as central branches. To be able to lead the struggle under any circumstances, “therefore, among the branch secretary, organization committee member, and propaganda committee member, the most low-key cadre should be designated as a secret cadre, not participating in open leadership work. The remaining Party affairs cadres may take on an open job or a deputy position as appropriate” (Selected Revolutionary Historical Documents of the Shandong Party (1920–1949), Vol. 6, p. 219). Each mass organization timely established Party branches, reasonably absorbed Party member leaders from the mass organizations as branch members, and cultivated and absorbed outstanding individuals into the Party. In strengthening branch building, branch organizations and daily branch management systems were established and perfected. The Party’s grassroots organizations were strengthened, the quality of village cadres was improved, and the role of the Party’s grassroots organizations as fighting fortresses was further brought into play.

此外，山东抗日根据地还不断改进支部工作，加强基层组织建设。1940年11月，朱瑞作《山东工作报告》时，强调要把“建立及健全县委以下尤其是乡村支部工作”作为中心工作（《山东党史资料文库》第7卷，第768页）。行政村建立后，党的支部便以行政村为单位，后改为以自然村建立支部，工作基础较好的支部可以化为中心支部。为了能在任何情况下都领导斗争，“故在支级书、组、宣中选择最灰色的干部一人确定为秘密干部，不参加公开领导工作，其余党务干部可以担任一种公开工作或副职为宜”（《山东党的革命历史文献选编（1920—1949）》第6卷，第219页），各群众组织适时建立了党支部，合理吸收群众组织的党员负责人为支部成员，培养吸收优秀分子入党。在加强支部建设中，建立健全了支部组织和支部日常管理制度，党的基层组织得到加强，村干部素质得到提高，使党的基层组织的战斗堡垒作用进一步发挥出来。

Our Party’s reshaping of the village-level cadre corps in the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area was unprecedented. On the one hand, by expanding the organizational framework of village political power and extending Party leadership down to the village level, it not only ensured the implementation of government decrees at the village level but also greatly enhanced our Party’s ability to extract resources from the countryside. On the other hand, through democratic elections and the reorganization of mass organizations, it removed some landlords and local tyrants from village political power while absorbing a number of mass leaders and progressive elements, breaking the traditional situation in which the rural gentry monopolized control over rural society, and forming a power structure with poor and middle peasants as the main body. This reshaping not only formed for our Party a grassroots cadre contingent with high political consciousness but also linked revolutionary power with the masses, integrating villagers in a democratic manner, thereby strengthening the revolutionary forces.

我们党对山东抗日根据地村干部群体的重塑是史无前例的。一方面，扩张村政权的组织框架，将党的领导延伸到村一级，既保障了政府法令在村级的贯彻实施，又极大地提高了我们党从农村获取资源的能力。另一方面，通过民主选举、调整群众组织，在村政权清除了部分地主豪绅，同时吸纳了一批群众领袖和进步分子，打破了乡村士绅垄断乡村社会控制权的传统局面，形成了以贫、中农为主体的权力格局。这种重塑不仅为我们党组建了一支觉悟性高的基层干部队伍，又将革命权力与民众联系起来，将村民以民主的方式整合起来，壮大了革命力量。

Establishing a top-down organizational management system for village-level cadres

建立自上而下的村级干部组织管理体系

During the War of Resistance against Japan, the Party made many useful explorations regarding the work of establishing a top-down organizational management system for village-level cadres. In September 1941, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Regional Party Committee, when summing up its work, had already proposed a plan to set up village political committees based on the “Three-Thirds System,”[3]3 The “Three-Thirds System” (三三制) was a policy for united front political power in the anti-Japanese base areas, stipulating that in the organs of political power, Communist Party members, progressive non-Party leftists, and centrists (including members of the national bourgeoisie and enlightened gentry) each occupied approximately one-third of the positions. with a village head, a secretary, and several other committee members. The village head was to accept Party leadership politically and specifically lead each committee member in carrying out various tasks. This system played a certain positive role in implementing government decrees and responding to government calls, but it also had limitations such as “insufficient struggle against the enemy” (Selected Historical Materials of the Chinese Communist Party in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region, Vol. 2, Documents, Part 2, p. 142). In October of the same year, the Shandong Wartime Work Promotion Committee decided to adjust and improve village political organizations, setting about constructing a top-down organizational management system for village-level cadres, which mainly exhibited the following characteristics. First, clarifying the village-level organizational structure. Village political power took the villagers’ assembly and the villagers’ representative assembly as the highest organs of authority, and the village office as the executive organ. The village office included the village political committee as a collective leadership organ and the village head and deputy village head. Under the village political committee, various specialized committees were established, such as those for cultural-educational propaganda, economic construction, supporting the army and relieving the families of soldiers, mediation, and the people’s self-defense corps against the enemy, each responsible for specific tasks. Second, strict cadre management regulations. Members of the village political committee, the village head, and the deputy village head had to be elected through the villagers’ assembly or the villagers’ representative assembly, with a term of six months, and could be re-elected. After election, they had to be reported to the district office for approval; the village head and deputy village head also had to be reported to the county government for the record, strengthening the management and supervision of village-level cadres by higher-level departments. Third, adherence to the principle of democratic centralism. The administrative village led the natural villages under it, and each natural village had to implement the resolutions of the administrative village. The district office strengthened its leadership over administrative villages and its management of village cadres through methods such as regularly convening village-head meetings and listening to reports. Fourth, the office expenses of the village office were to be coordinated by the entire county and could not be levied independently, ensuring the leadership of higher-level political power over village-level organizations economically and strengthening top-down supervision of village-level cadres. However, the construction of this village-level cadre organizational management system faced many difficulties. Surveys showed that, as of August 1942, the progress of village political reform in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region was limited, with widespread corruption and waste, and serious lags in democratic construction (Shandong Party History Materials Library, Vol. 9, pp. 326–343).

抗战时期，党针对建立自上而下的村级干部组织管理体系工作作出许多有益探索。1941年9月，冀鲁豫区党委作工作总结时已提出依托“三三制”成立村政委员会的方案，设置村长、书记以及其他委员若干，村长政治上接受党的领导，并具体领导各个委员做好各项工作。这一体系在执行政府法令、响应政府号召等方面起到一定积极作用，但也存在诸如“对敌斗争作得不够”（《中共冀鲁豫边区党史资料选编》〔第2辑 文献部分·中〕，第142页）等局限性。同年10月，山东战时工作推行委员会决定调整、完善村政组织，着手构建自上而下的村级干部组织管理体系，主要表现出以下特点。第一，明确村级组织架构。村政权以村民大会和村民代表会议为最高权力机关，村公所为执行机关。村公所包括村政委员会这一集体领导机关及村长、副村长，村政委员会下设文化教育宣传、经济建设、优抗救济、调解、人民抗敌自卫团等各类专门委员会，分工负责相关具体事务。第二，严格干部管理制度。村政委员、村长、副村长必须通过村民大会或村民代表会议选举产生，任期半年，可连选连任。选出后必须报区公所批准，村长、副村长还需报县政府备案，加强了上级部门对村级干部的管理与监督。第三，遵循民主集中制原则。行政村领导所属各自然村，各自然村必须执行行政村决议。区公所通过定期召开村长会议、听取汇报等方式，加强对行政村的领导及对村干部的管理。第四，村公所办公费由全县统筹，不得自行征收，确保了上级政权在经济上对村级组织的领导，加强了对村级干部自上而下的监督。但是，这一村级干部组织管理体系的构建面临诸多困境。调查显示，截至1942年8月，冀鲁豫边区的村政改造进展有限，贪污浪费现象大量存在，民主建设严重滞后（《山东党史资料文库》第9卷，第326~343页）。

Under the Party’s leadership, relevant departments analyzed and made improvements to the problems existing in the construction of the village-level cadre organizational management system. In 1942, the Shandong Wartime Work Promotion Committee issued the “Directive on Streamlining Work,” requiring district offices to streamline administration and better assist administrative village work; at the same time, it granted administrative village heads a monthly “subsidy of sixty to eighty catties of grain,” a measure that greatly lightened the economic burden on village heads, making it possible for “poor workers and peasants to also have the opportunity to participate in village political affairs” (Selected Materials from Shandong Revolutionary Historical Archives, Vol. 9, p. 104). In May 1943, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region Anti-Japanese Federation proposed several suggestions regarding the procedures for promoting village-level cadres: first, promotion should be step by step from the most grassroots cadres; second, promotion from village committee member to district-level cadre required approval by the county federation; third, promoted cadres had to be elected by the membership assembly to be formally confirmed (Selected Materials on the Mass Movement in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region, Hebei People’s Publishing House, 1992, p. 407). In June, when the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Administrative Office outlined the work policy for the second half of the year, it emphasized, for those villages where the old political power obstructed the mass movement, “old village heads should be removed from above and new village heads appointed” (Selected Historical Materials of the Chinese Communist Party in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region, Vol. 2, Documents, Part 2, p. 651). Against the background of the just-completed transformation of village political power at that time, top-down leadership by district-level political power over village political power was very important, but some localities still had problems such as not knowing how to lead or not understanding village-level work. Therefore, strengthening the leadership of the district over the village became a key direction: first, urging village cadres to change their work style and become more closely connected with the masses; second, adhering to streamlined administration, delegating some transactional work down to the village-level political power; third, county-level cadres should help district-level cadres identify problems and sum up experience, so as to improve the work ability of district-level cadres. In addition, district and county cadres should also make timely rounds to various villages to provide assistance and coordinate the resolution of related problems. Practice proved that this top-down work model achieved good results.

在党的领导下，相关部门针对村级干部组织管理体系构建中存在的问题作出分析与改进。1942年，山东省战时工作推行委员会发布《关于精简工作的指示》，要求区公所精兵简政，更好帮助行政村工作；同时每月给予行政村村长“六十至八十斤粮食的津贴”，这一举措大大减轻了村长的经济负担，使得“贫苦工农亦有参加村政的机会”（《山东革命历史档案资料选编》第9辑，第104页）。1943年5月，冀鲁豫边区抗联提出几条关于村级干部提拔程序的建议：一是要从最基层的干部逐级提拔，二是由村委员提为区干部时必须经县会批准，三是提拔的干部经会员大会选出才得以正式确认（《冀鲁豫边区群众运动资料选编》，河北人民出版社1992年版，第407页）。6月，冀鲁豫行署布置介绍下半年工作方针时，针对那些旧政权阻碍群众运动的村庄，强调“应自上而下的撤换旧村长另委新村长”（《中共冀鲁豫边区党史资料选编》〔第2辑 文献部分·中〕，第651页）。在当时村政权刚刚改造的背景下，区级政权对村政权由上而下的领导十分重要，但一些地方却仍旧存在着不会领导或不了解村级工作等问题。因此，加强区对村的领导便成为一个重点方向：一是督促村干部改变工作作风，更加密切地联系群众；二是坚持精兵简政，将一部分事务工作下放到村级政权；三是县级干部要帮助区级干部发现问题、总结经验，以提高区级干部工作能力。此外，区县干部也应当及时到各村巡回帮助，协调解决相关问题。实践证明这一自上而下的工作模式起到了良好效果。

Improving the education and training system for village-level cadres, enhancing the capacity and competence of the village-level cadre corps

完善村级干部教育培训制度，提升村干部群体能力素养

In order to forge a cadre contingent with both high political consciousness and a certain level of cultural knowledge and professional expertise, the Party and the anti-Japanese democratic government attached great importance to the education and training of cadres in office. In February 1942, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China promulgated the “Decision on Education for Cadres in Office,” emphasizing that “the work of cadre education should occupy the first place in the overall work of cadre education” (Liberation Daily, March 2, 1942). The government of the Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area, in accordance with the spirit of the Party Central Committee, actively reformed and strengthened education for village-level cadres, gradually forming a set of education and training systems for village-level cadres suited to wartime needs, and progressively raising the cultural quality and work ability of rural cadres.

为造就一支既有高度政治觉悟又有一定文化水平和专业知识的干部队伍，党和抗日民主政府高度重视在职干部的培养教育工作。1942年2月，中共中央颁布了《关于在职干部教育的决定》，强调“干部教育工作，在全部干部教育工作中的比重，应该是第一位的”（《解放日报》，1942年3月2日）。山东抗日根据地政府依据党中央精神，积极改革与加强村级干部教育，逐渐形成了一套适用于战时需要的村级干部教育培训制度，逐步提高了乡村干部的文化素质和工作能力。

The Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area, taking as its principle that “cadre education must be closely linked with the masses” and aiming to cultivate “cadres who can truly represent the interests of the masses,” perfected the system of village-level cadre education and training. First, universal rotation training for village heads: whether already re-elected or not, all village heads and deputy village heads were required to undergo rotation training, lasting from half a month to one month. The educational content generally allocated one-third of the time to “the principles of the War of Resistance” and two-thirds to village governance work and various basic policies, with flexibility allowed under special circumstances. Second, intensive training for village cadres: this adopted forms such as training classes involving self-examination, reporting, review, discussion, investigation meetings, debate, and summarization, correcting the previous method that mainly relied on lectures and reports. Third, rectification [4]4 Rectification (整风, *zhengfeng*): Refers to the Yan’an Rectification Movement (1942–1944), a Party-wide campaign of ideological education and criticism aimed at correcting subjectivism, sectarianism, and stereotypical Party writing, and establishing the principle of seeking truth from facts. was used as a supplementary form of rural cadre education. An on-the-job cadre study system was established, strictly implementing a two-hour daily study requirement; village cadres were to pay particular attention to studying the various policies and decrees related to their own work. Fourth, a system of regular transmission of work plans, meetings, and work reports was established, with each meeting required to practically resolve work issues. Trained village cadres were able to grow rapidly in a short period. For example, in Ye County, 835 village heads were trained; in Zhaoyuan, 560 village heads were trained; in the Beihai District, trained village-level cadres accounted for four-fifths of the total; and under different specific conditions, 560 model villages were created (Selected Documents of the Party’s Revolutionary History in Shandong (1920–1949), Vol. 6, p. 247). In November 1944, the Education Group of the Second Shandong Provincial Administrative Conference made a summary report, proposing to strengthen cadre education through “advanced civilian schools” and other means: “Public advanced civilian schools are responsible for training village cadres and active backbone elements in the village (including village school teachers); private advanced civilian schools adopt a method without fixed school sites. Using a decentralized and concentrated teaching method, teachers can be concurrently held by central village school teachers, and pilot programs can be run in joint defense areas, such as holding classes on market days, with classes every ten days” (Selected Historical Archive Materials of the Shandong Revolution, Vol. 13, p. 243). Through the continuous improvement and implementation of these systems, grassroots village cadres learned many practical and effective work methods, enhanced their own abilities and qualities, and, under the严峻 [5]5 严峻 (yánjùn): A four-character idiom meaning “stern” or “severe,” here describing the harsh and difficult conditions of the war. circumstances of the War of Resistance, shouldered important tasks such as governing the countryside and supporting the war effort.

山东抗日根据地以“干部教育要与群众密切联系”为原则，以培养“真正能代表群众利益的干部”为目标，完善村级干部教育培训制度。一是村长轮流普训，无论是已改选或未改选的村长、副村长一律要轮流受训，时间为半月至一月，教育内容一般以“抗战道理”占三分之一的时间，村政工作与各种基本政策占三分之二的时间，有特殊情形可以机动。二是村干集训，采用反省、汇报、检讨、座谈、调查会、讨论、总结等训练班的形式，纠正了过去以讲授报告为主的方式。三是以整风作为乡村干部教育方式的一种补充形式。制定在职干部学习制度，严格执行每天两小时的学习制，村干部要特别注重学习与自己工作相关的各种政策法令。四是建立定期传达工作计划、会议、汇报工作制度，每次会议要切实解决工作问题。经过训练的村干部，在短时间内得以迅速成长起来。如掖县受训村长835人，招远受训村长560人，北海区受训村级干部占总数五分之四，并在不同的具体条件之下，创造了模范村560个（《山东党的革命历史文献选编（1920—1949）》第6卷，第247页）。1944年11月，山东省第二次行政会议教育组作总结报告，提出通过“高级民校”等方式加强干部教育，“公立高级民校负责训练村干及村中积极骨干分子（包括村学教员在内）；民办高级民校采取无固定校址办法。用分散集中的教学方式，教员可由中心村学教员兼任，可以联防区试办，如赶集上课，十日上课”（《山东革命历史档案资料选编》第13辑，第243页）。通过不断完善并贯彻执行这些制度，基层村干部学习了诸多切实有效的工作方法，提高了自身能力素养，在严峻的抗战形势下担当起治理乡村、支援抗战等重要任务。

(Author: Ma Mingchong, Professor and Vice Dean of the School of Marxism, Shandong University)

（作者：马明冲，系山东大学马克思主义学院副院长、教授）