A Tentative Discussion of the "Four Histories" and the "Cultural Revolution" (vi): Complicated Commune Histories

Abstract

It was only in September 1958 that people's communes formally appeared; at present they have only been in existence for fourteen years. This is not a long history, but if it is reckoned in terms of background, then the history is both long and complex. This is because when people's communes were first promoted in 1958, some Chinese Communist leaders declared that they not only followed the ideal of the utopian Great Harmony in the Duke of Chou's Li-yün and the Marxian concept of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" (1), but also were tied to the practical actions of the Paris Commune. Thus considered, the birth of people's communes was the culmination of the "Utopian" ideal of all ages and all countries. Their history is long and protracted.