ABSTRACT
The Wastelands Policy stipulates that wasteland can be used for planting trees or grass (zhong shu, zhong cao). The government used the word ‘grass’ to refer to ‘forage’: alfalfa, milk vetch and pea tree. Of the respondents in Guanting, 46 per cent stated they used wasteland for planting grass (compared to 25 per cent in Changcheng). A crucial issue is what was planted. Of the respondents in Guyuan who planted ‘grass’, most of them (81 per cent) had in fact planted sorghum and millet. In comparison, of those who planted ‘grass’ in Changcheng, the majority (82 per cent) indicated they planted alfalfa. The contrast between the conception of ‘grass’ by Guanting and Changcheng villagers seems ludicrous. The following dialog with a Guanting farmer might illustrate this ironic misunderstanding of terms:
‘Are farmers allowed to plant grain on wasteland?’ ‘No,’ the farmer said. ‘What do you plant at present?’ ‘Sorghum, millet and corn.’ ‘But isn’t that grain?’ No, it’s grass, because we use the stalks as forage for our sheep and
oxen.’
