An Investigation of Rural Qingpu [County] (August 1961)*

Peasants in Xiaozheng have a tradition of raising sows, and three out of ten households used to raise sows. Before the commune was established, the 2,400 households raised a total of 700 to 800 sows that gave birth to more than 10,000 piglets a year. Some piglets were kept for raising pork, and the rest were sold to the neighboring areas in exchange for feed. Xiaozheng People’s Commune is located in an area with low -lying land. The average per capita cultivated land of the agricultural population is 2.4 mu. In the last few years, the agricultural production there has remained quite stable. Grain output in 1960 went beyond that of 1957 and even reached approximately the bumper harvest level achieved in 1956. Farming customs that have evolved over a long period of time should not be changed rashly. In the past, there was no double cropped rice and little wheat planted in the Xiaozheng area.