From: 3011_6470@UWOVAX.UWO.CA
Subject:      Re: South China in <Dem. China> - a review
Reply-To: 3011_6470@UWOVAX.UWO.CA
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 15:49:42 GMT
Comments: cc: China-net <china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu>

Land reform could not be implemented by local cadres was a
well known fact.  Their relatives were the landlords.  Most
of the CCP officials, who had a little education, came from
not so bad family, including Mao himself, who defined his
own family background as between Rich Peasant to Small Landlord.
Can you imagine the tough job of doing land reform in Chairman
Mao's hometown?  GuangDong was not special in this case at all.

There was a simple explanation to the fact that Chinese culture
had been dominated by Southerners from Tang to Qing, specifically by
5 provinces: JiangSu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian.  The
reason was two fold: 1. These were the economically most developed
regions (with the available agricultural tools back then).  and 2.
Refugees moved in from central China into these regions because
of the invasion from Northern China and it was usually the well-to-do
family that had the (financial) means to survive such forced
"immigration".

After Opium War, it was the coastal provinces absorbed (or forced with)
Western "learning" first, especially in JiangSu, Zhejiang,
Fujian and Guangdong.  Before Qing, Guangdong and South West China
were not fully developed agriculturally and they were the frontier
regions.  The so-called "Ocean Culture" and "Landblubber Culture"
were ill-defined and were not necessary to explain the absence of
Guangdong Ren in Chinese politics before late Qing.  Jiangsu and
Zhejiang were the heart of both of the so-called "Landblubber"
and "Ocean" culture.  Economic prosperity would be a better explanation.

Guangdong was the first province which had extensive contact with
the West.  Guangdong people were thus among the most patriotic and
anti-foreign, among other things, at least during
late Qing, although today they are
probably the least anti-foreign, or should I ask are there still
anti-foreign feelings in China at all?  After the forced opening
of China, the center of exchange between China and the west was
soon moved to Shanghai, which turned from the center of "landblubber
culture" in Jiangsu and Zhejiang into the center of "ocean culture",
Again it was the economic
reason.  Tea and silk were abundant in this region and transportation
was much easier.

Guangdong suffered economically because of this change and many transportation
workers were thus unemployed.  They later became the major force
behind Taipin uprising led by Hong XiouQuen who failed in his
pursuit of the dream of the "landblubber culture", i.e. to pass
the examination to become a Mandarin, and went insane.  There were
quite a few failed scholars who then went into rebellion, and Hong
was probably the last one.

Guangdong contributed a lot to the modern Chinese history, reflecting
her rapid economic development in the last century and her advantageous
geographic position.  By the way, Guangdong contributed both to the
KMT and the CCP movements.  The trade unions in both Canton and HongKong,
and the earliest peasant movement led by Peng Pai were important
contributions to CCP(I don't know how does these fit into
Su's ocean culture theory).  On the KMT side, it was even more
prominent.  But whether Sun Yat-sen really contribute positively or
negatively to China's development is an open question and is not
definite at all.

I am amazed that Kung JieSheng was able to find anthropology reasons
for Guangdong's success (sounds almost like racism).
His theory could be best termed as stereotype.  An
analysis of the economical and social conditions
would probably uncover the unique position of Guangdong much better.

As for Guangdong independence, was that a joke?  Let's talk about
HongKong instead.  As much as HongKong contributed to China's economy,
the economic boom in HongKong was impossible without China.  Cheap
labor and cheap resource of China was one of the most important
reasons for HongKong's boom in late 1970s.  It was a testimony
to Beijing's mismanagement that HongKong could profit so much
from China, not Shanghai or Qingdao.  I don't believe HongKong's
economy could realistically afford a sour relationship with China.

Guangdong's boom has many reasons.  The provincial leadership
was one of them.  Another two important reasons
was hard-working and closeness to
Hongkong.  Yet there was also an important administrative reason,
the central government in Beijing, like the Qing dynasty before
opium war, used Canton as a trading port, and granted them
more freedom in foreign trade as an experiment.  Guangdong also
enjoys less taxation as a favor from the central government.
These are the underlying reasons for other provinces' complaints
against Guangdong and they are not totally groundless.

Guangdong has achieved remarkable success over the last
decade.  But it doesn't mean Guangdong independence is viable and desirable.
Realistically, I believe the independence would be a disaster
for everyone.

Dave Sheng.
Newsgroups: talk.politics.china