ABSTRACT
The people’s commune was established during the “Great Leap Forward” and gradually stabilized after the adjustment, forming a rural collective system. Only by understanding collective governance under the people’s commune system can we have a clear understanding of the rural collective system. Under the commune system, agricultural production was collectively managed by production teams and at the same time accepted guidance and arrangements of the higher authorities. A small farming economy was formed that was resistant to any qualitative change, and the concept of “overdensity” reveals its inherent lack of logic. In addition to crop varieties, the state also had clear output targets for the commune and village. In Hecun Village, during the collective period of the commune, labor management was planned in general at the village level and then specifically arranged by the production team leader. The collective grain and fund retention fluctuated considerably, which was obviously different from the stability of the part turned over to the state.
