In 1978, villagers in Xiaogang Village made a big decision. Two decades earlier, Mao had barred private land ownership and forced the peasantry onto communes, aiming to make each commune self-sufficient, to render commerce between them unnecessary.

Xiaogang's residents were mere laborers. They tended collective fields in exchange for "work points" that could be redeemed for food. But the commune couldn't always grow enough. In the bad years, people's life was not as good as the government wished -- and 1978 was a very bad year.

Therefore, One night in December of 1978, a total of 18 households secretly met in the biggest house in the village. After a short discussion, a short and concise document was produced.

The signatories agreed to divide the commune's land into family plots, turn their production quotas over to the leadership, and keep whatever remained for themselves. In case of failure, the document concluded, if any cadres were to be sentenced to prison or even death, other commune members would raise their children until the age of 18.

They conjectured that even though the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) had just ended, their proposal amounted to heresy, as the authorities had forbidden people from keeping part of the harvest for personal gain.

However, to everyone's surprise, the household responsibility system initiated in Xiaogang Village was later approved by the Central Government chaired by Deng Xiaoping and spread fast nationwide. It turned out to be a huge success, with people's living standard greatly improved.

Accordingly, "Fengyang Drum Dance" has dissociated itself from begging and poverty, and is now an entertainment for local people.

Author:Lency

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