Origins of the Leftist Deviation in the Movement for Rent and Interest Reduction in the Shanxi Base Area

Abstract

To win support from all social groups in rural China after the inception of Japan’s full-scale invasion, the CCP introduced the program of “rent and interest reduction” in place of its original radical land policy. Nevertheless, the “25-percent rent reduction” did not have much appeal to owner-cultivators in Shanxi province, where land ownership was dispersed and tenancy not predominant. Money-lending activities largely vanished after the implementation of “reduction of interest rates to 15 percent.” As a result, the Border Region Government had to raise the ceiling on interest rates. Later, to win support of owner-cultivators who had long paid only taxes rather than rents, the CCP modified its policy by confiscating and redistributing the land, houses, and other properties of landlords and rich peasants under the pretext of “Settling Old Accounts” during the struggles against corruption, local bullies, unregistered land, and pro-Japanese collaborators. This, in conjunction with the worsening shortage of resources, the radical mindset, and the vested interests of grassroots cadres, led to the emergence of leftist deviations.