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3/1/1948 - Pa Chia Ts’un Village by A. Doak Barnett

INSTITUTE OF CURRENT VJORI D AFFAIRS ADB NOT PU LIC TION Ta Hsueh Chia Tao Huung eiping China February Waler S Rogers Instiule Current World Affairs Fifth Avenue New York New York Dear Mr Rogers highest point Pa Chia Ts Eight Families Village small building which village Buddhist temple By slanding balcony building surrounding countryside Oher villages includ sother Pa Chia Ts years evillage split Front Rear sections which separate divisions marked cattered landscape break monotonous yellow brown aspect purple Western Hills borders plain miles hills clearly visible Visible central building Summer Palace magnificent folly Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi funds appropriated Chinese I looks unreal which villagers Pa Chia Ts Peiping which miles visible To north smokestack rises plain Pa Chia Ts I textile factory manufacturing military supplies Ch He Ch He market where villagers Pa Chia Ts econoaic focal local It unseasonally Spring I stood temple balcony Pa Chia Ts The brown fields around village unplowed devoid activity because Spring PloWing planing begin about month The scene apieCe serenity A young sociologist onefaculyoYenchingUniversitywassandingnext He raised pointed north Do smokesacR heasked Ahalfmilebeyondtha isComunisterriory I known villages eiping Coaums hands which casually pointed place there soewha shuck I wouldprobabl correct placid cuntryside north Chia Ts front China civil Yet sigrs noving troops orZifica nothing indicate preparations military sruggle Froa another front China civil newspaper dispalches visie Chia Ts described situation follows Fall another outpost ukden imminent 1ousands Communis troops sormed mining centre Penki forty uiles south 4iukden after siege At elaborate Communist preparations early attack Sinmin ukden Tiehling miles reported A sizeable Red Army present marching Yingkow recently captured steel Anshan Considerable uneasiness saido prevailinMukdenaseCoaunisZstrangleholdohe metropolis tightens prices odiZies vital necessi standing dizzy heights presen civil China bitter violent In anchuria batles artillery attacks heavy casualies In curren reports anchuria indicate military situation there explosive acually exploding remaining Nationalist troops highly uncertain But civil country large China means different different times places different people For present least environs Peiping enjoy uneasy stability There little offensive action initiated either Communists Nationalists sitting present Ariion gradually undermining Governmen position however Nationalis leaders Peiping their anxiously fixed Northeast where fighting anchuria inevitably affect Peiping position But villagers Pa Chia Ts fixed primarily their fields about month their begin unaware civil It affecting But their attention still directed ainly oward their major imaediate problem problem extracting necessities brown North China Pa Chia Ts population three hundred fifty persons Perhaps third these refugees virtually either relatives friends local villagers active areas It difficult where people circuaference village minutes It relatively prosperous village fnily which include three generations compound containiag buildings equipment necessary sustaining buildings substanial compare favorably houses Peiping Although large percentage tilled villages belongs absentee owners Peiping fared reasonabl Bu villagers existing econoaic conditions prices manufac goods risen prices agricultural goods consequence purchasing power local people slowly dwindled Furthermore taxes tends eliminate advantages aight accrue rising prices their producs Various village econo activities deteriorated The principal agricultural industry owned weaving establishment equipped simple human operated machinery which fabricates cloth thread purchased I family hired number laborers scale unusually large villa Pa Chia Ts Now operations family aembers I small being A respected farmer wonderful which looks someone accidentally applied I formerly raised ducks large numbers supply discriminating palate Peiping He still known locally Dck King present twelve dmcks In spite ducks bringing excellen prices Peiping grain price range merely examples which villagers affected civil consequences though village remains quiet certainly prosperous compared villages including close Par quietness which I encountered Pa Chia Ts course merely seasomal phenomenon Although illagers textile factory Ch He slack season farmers Vir I observed during being women children A small operaoting which I mentioned TWo healthy young women spervising blind folded donkey circuit around grindstone converting flour And various busying themselves small I seemed enjoying afternoon leisure polite conversation Children evidence Streets rathereareas between copounds village school normally gathers children seversl villages Pa Chia Ts temple still closed protracted Chinese New Year holiday interrupted their games flying along visiting strangers obligingly preceded silence Aongrels which serve wachdogs every 2ousehold After visiting several farmers visited farmer considemable local prestige Althoug lives comlortably buthisprestigeseems toeriveinpartfroeact ancestors landowners In addition doctor sorls political positions A wemthe local census representative Peiping ucipal Government WiCh jurisdiction Ia Chia Tsun dressed polite young soldier He making daily rounds Every visits Te dozen villages erriory check arrivals departures village general siation And every according illagers Cmmuniss across village situation All which makes rather peculiar situation Pa Chia Ts itself mporan poliicall Although Ca chiefs residenl Pao headquartersoferegionareino1ervillages hishelpsI xplain lacks uniformed official people which places Peiping remind rogress AS apart visiting census resenatlve I single person uniform other evidence In I impressed rightly wrongly curious Unconcern relaxation Whether existing peace Pa Chim Ts continue probably determined factors which local villagers cannot control fully under At present however living quietly peacefully waiting Spring Pa Chia Ts miles Peiping conversations I having Professor Yen Chng sociologis Acing Dean College Public Affairs Yenching University Yenching Department Sociology making village years S ciology students assigned different aspects village concentrate their research extremely successful winning confidence villagers licipai village teaching school wihoul disrupting normal pattern there The informa which aered makes extremely interesting valuable study village I learned great village general Pa Chia Ts particular alking Professor Yen other Peiping professors Fei Hsiao TSinghua University offered conducted I jumped chance I planning begin personal village project I leave Peiping presenl tentative schedule calls saring project about first April It however definite arrangements contacts I Educated Chinese relucan under projects being suspected subversive political activities Pa Chia Ts enough established avoid suspicion looks unless feasible Chinese student I decide settle Chia Ts One sudens projecisinvestigatingwhetherornoaplacecould befoundforme there greatly overcrowded Furthermore alhough would definite advantages working Yenching students sociological raining I inclinedo would become acquainted region I corresponding friends about possible arrangements areas Honan North Kiangsu Central China Sever factors complicate simple problem One overcrowding villages influx refugees AnoZher general political uneasiness consequen reluctance incur suspicion official disapproval which associated harboring outsider whose motives vaguely known I confiden I necessary arrangements about beginning April choice locale factors expediencFo Sincerely yours Doak Barne