Communist Interpretations of the Chinese Peasant Wars

Abstract

One of the most heated debates in Chinese Communist historiography concerns the evaluation of the peasant movements in Chinese history. As in many other aspects of mainland intellectual life, the issues debated in this question seem artificial. Yet even in terms of the interpretation of Chinese history new problems have been raised, if not solved. More important, in terms of contemporary intellectual history, the discussions of the Chinese peasant wars form an important part of the documentation for the most massive attempt at ideological reeducation in human history, the effort to inculcate attitudes of struggle in place of the traditional emphasis on harmony.

La Chine et son histoire

“…. En plus d'être les forces motrices de l'Histoire, les « faiseurs de l'histoire » (Lishi de chuangzaozhe Lishi de chuangzaozhe 历史的创造者), elles deviennent la justification unique de la théorie marxiste de la lutte des classes 22 . Dans la volonté non dissimulée de s'intégrer à l'Histoire-Monde, et de bien marquer l'irréconciliable déconnexion avec la période impériale, il faut désormais mettre en avant les vocables de luttes, de conflits, de guerres paysannes, de révoltes et de révolutions.…”