tion of 90 percent of all able-bodied women working in agriculture. This claim was made before agricultural work really had started for the year. In 1959 and in 1960, the same percentage was reiterated by the official New China News Agency and the Ta Kung Pao in Peking, respectively. (Source see table 3, "average areas" 1958-60).

After the busy summer season was over, a report from one province, Shansi, in the People's Daily, listed 76 to 78 percent of the women active in farming. (Source see table 3, "busy season" for 1960.) If Shansi Province is representative with 76 to 78 percent of the women active in "busy season," then the figure of 90 percent for "average areas" must be far too high.

Model Areas

Turning to "model areas" in table 3, the official organ of the ACDWF, Hsin Chung-kuo fu-nü, in 1950 listed 80 percent of the women in "model areas" in agricultural work already in 1949. (Source see table 3, "model areas" 1949). The high participation rate of 80 percent specifically referred to localities where both women's work was well done and labor power was in short supply. That might imply that many able-bodied men were still away as soldiers.

The following year, 80 to 90 percent of the women were said to join farmwork. In directives issued by the ACDWF and published by the People's Daily in April 1950, a "model area" was mentioned where 80 percent of the women worked in agricutlure. (Source see table 3, "model areas" (80) for 1950).

A book from 1953 gave 90 percent for the period 1950-52 for "model areas." (Source see table 3, "average areas" (60) 1950.) Hsin Chungkuo fu-nü in September 1953 and Ta Kung Pao in 1954 repeated the 80 to 90 percent range for "model areas" for 1953. (Source see table 3, "model areas" 1953.) The People's Daily in 1957 claimed that more than 90 percent of the able-bodied women in the preceding year had done some farmwork in "model areas," while a Women's Day article in the same paper on Women's Day in 1958 claimed to know of a "model area" where all women worked. (See table 3, "model areas" for 1956 and 1958.)

Busy Season

As "model areas" could be of any size and chosen in the most suitable way, it might be of interest to compare them with the participation rate for "busy season," though the estimates are computed in different ways. In "model areas" a range has been given for the proportion of women usually said to participate in agricultural production. "Busy season" just measured the peak involvement of the

year.

In 1950, 80 percent of the women working, it was estimated, were working in "model areas," while up to 80 to 90 percent of the women in all of China were needed during the "busy season" in farming. (Source see table 3, "model area" 1949, and "busy season" 1949.) The interesting thing is that in 1951 and 1956 and even more so in 1958, a higher proportion of women working, it was claimed, were working in agriculture in "model areas" than the proportion of women working when there was a peak demand for women's labor during the most

labor-intensive periods of the year, during the "busy season." (Sources see table 3, "model areas" 1951, 1956, 1958, and "busy season" 1951, 1957.)

Thus, either the "model areas" were less mechanized and therefore had to rely on more labor, which does not seem very likely, or they had managed to keep the population more intensively occupied throughout the year either in land improvement or developing more sideline production, which might seem more likely. In reports from "model areas," the development of subsidiary production was especially mentioned. (See table 3, "model areas" 1950, 1952, 1958). Hence, in our definition of agricultural work, category (c), those engaged solely in subsidiary production might have increased more in "model areas" than in other districts. In this way more women could be engaged than would otherwise have been the case if only peak seasons requirements in agriculture were to be met. Thus, much of this increase might have fallen outside our definition of estimate I, but within the wider definition of estimate II.

The demands for women's labor participation either decreased over time during "busy season," or the early estimates were inflated because the estimates given show a decreasing proportion of women participating in fieldwork during "busy seasons." (Sources see table 3, "busy season.")

Backward, New and Old Liberated Areas

J. L. Buck estimated that about a third of all women did some farmwork in 1929-30, which corresponds to estimates given for "backward areas" for 1950, and for "new liberated areas" for 1949-52. The estimate of 32 to 53 percent calculated for "average areas" from J. L. Buck's data for 1929-33 (see explanation to data for 1929-33), corresponds to the range of 30 to 50 percent given for "new liberated areas" in 1949. That is, one-third to one-half of all able-bodied women took some part in agricultural work. For the years 1949 and 1950, what are called backward areas correspond to "new liberated areas." Still, the claims made for 1949 for both "backward," "new liberated areas,' and "old liberated areas," were apparently set too high, as the participation rate decreased over the next 3 years.

In a Women's Day speech in 1950 Teng Ying-ch'ao, Vice-Chairman of the ACDWF, compared "old liberated areas" with 50 to 70 percent of all able-bodied women workers in farming to "new liberated areas" with only 30 to 50 percent of the women participating in 1949. Three years later Teng Ying-ch'ao in a speech to the Second AllChina Women's Congress in May 1953, made the same comparison. On this occasion, however, fewer women were estimated working in agriculture, only 40 to 50 percent in "old" in contrast to 20 percent in "new liberated areas." If we are to believe the estimates the proportion of women participating decreased over time, both during "busy season," and in "new and old liberated areas."

Most likely the very first claims for all of them were inflated, they were for the "average areas" during the first period. According to official Chinese sources, "old liberated areas" were considered to be more advanced, because they had carried out land reform earlier. Therefore they were also officially claimed to have emancipated women earlier, (i.e., mobilized more women for agricultural produc

tion). Still by comparing different statement from Teng Ying-ch'ao, Vice-Chairman of the ACDWF, in 1952 and 1953 we can see that the reverse was the case. That is "old liberated areas" were estimated to have fewer women in agricultural production than there were on the average in China.

In "old liberated areas" 40 to 50 percent of the women in 1952 were listed as working in agriculture by Teng Ying-ch'ao in a speech to the All-China Women's Congress in 1953. (Source see table 3, "old liberated areas" 1952.)

Teng Ying-ch'ao at the same congress and on two more occasions also estimated that 60 percent of all women in 1952 worked in agriculture in "average areas" in China. (See ibid., and "average areas" (60) 1952.)

In a publication by the ACDWF from 1953, 60 to 80 percent of the women were said to work in agriculture in "average areas" in 1952. (See "average areas" (60-80) 1952.) Apparently in different types of agriculture traditions corresponding to varying requirements of women's labor mattered more than the timing of the land reform. In view of the fact that in an underdeveloped country with faulty statistics like those of China in the 1950's a figure for a small local area usually is more accurate than aggregate data, the provincial data would more likely reflect the real situation than the total sum or an average given for the whole country, and particularly so during the earlier years. Therefore we might look with greater confidence on the provincial figures supplied, then on those for different Chinese regions and last in order of decreasing reliability on data relating to all of China.

In table 4 below Chinese data have been computed on the percentage of women estimated to be working in different Chinsee provinces or regions 1949-60. Most of the figures are from local Chinese newspapers and a few from national papers.

TABLE 4.-PROPORTION OF WOMEN WORKING IN AGRICULTURE OF ALL WOMEN OF WORKING AGE IN THE AGRICULTURAL POPULATION, BY PROVINCE OR REGION OF CHINA, 1949-60

[In percent]

Single province or region

1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960

FOR EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS, SEE NOTES TO TABLES 2, 3

1949-Hsin chung-kuo ti fu-nü ch'ien-chin (New China's women are advancing) Liu Mien-chih, Peking, 1953, p. 15 ff.

1952-Ibid.

North China

1959 (I)-Women in New China, Peking, 1950, Foreign Languages Press, pp. 16 and 37,

(II)-Folkets Kina (People's China), Stockholm, 1951, Arbetarkultur, p. 186.

Kirin

1950 (I) "New China's women show great activity in the construction of the fatherland", T'ien-chin jih-pao (Tientsin Daily), 1951.3.5.,

(II)-"Women of all places, with strength take part in the state's construction", HHYP, 1951, March.

1956-Extract from a report by the 3rd Women's Delegate Assembly, "Women! Try to be activists in socialist construction", Chi-lin jih-pao (Kirin Daily), 1957.5.10.

Hopei

1956-"Women make up an enormous force in the construction of socialism", Ho-pei jih-pao (Hopei Daily), 1957.3.8.

Shantung

1954 "The masses of women actively take part in agricultural production. A great many women became backbones in the agricultural mutual help movement", JMJP, 1955.3.7.

Shansi

1955-P'u Hsing, Shansi Provincial Women's Federation, News team, "The great liberation of Shansi women has provided a decade of civil development and military preparedness", Shan-hsi jih-pao (Shansi Daily), 1959.9.23.

1956-Ibid.

1960-"The women of Shansi participate in the autumn field management", JMJP, 1960.8.19., p. 4. The figures refer only to Shansi province in the busy

season.

Honan

1956-The Provincial Women's Federation calls a conference to discuss the problems of women having jobs. "Manage well household work, practise equalwork equal-pay. Let women join agricultural production enthusiastically and happily", Ho-nan jih-pao (Honan Daily), 1956.9.9.

Kiangsu

1949-Shih Chien, "Ten brilliant years in the Kiangsu women's movement”, Hsin-hua jih-pao (New China Daily), Nanking, 1959.9.24.

1955-Ibid.

1958-Ibid.

1959-Ibid.

Anhwei

1953-"Women are a fresh army for socialist construction", An-hui jih-pao (Anhwei Daily), 1959.9.20.

1958-Ibid.

Chekiang

1953-Wen Yun, Chairman Chekiang Provincial Women's Federation, "Women... the liveliest reinforcement in the big leap forward", Che-chiang jih-pao (Chekiang Daily), 1959.9.22.

1956-Ibid.

1959-Ibid.

Kiangsi

1956-Yang Shang-k'uei, Secretary of the Kiangsi CP, "Fully develop the power of women and struggle to fulfill in advance the 1st 5-year plan", Chiang-hsi jih-pao (Kiangsi Daily), 1956.6.15.

Fukien

1956 "Important contributions at various posts", Hsia-men jih-pao (Amoy Daily), 1957.3.7.

1957-Editorial-"Wish all the village women to be heroines", Fu-chien jih-pao (Fukien Daily), 1958.3.25.

Hunan

1957-"Progress and make great use of developing women in socialist construction", JMJP, 1958.11.12.

1958-Ibid.

Kweichow

1960 "Extend the great utility of women in the high tide of production", Kuei-chou jih-pao (Kweichow Daily), 1960.4.25.

Szechwan

1956-Tai K'o-yu, Vice-Chairman, Szechwan Provincial Women's Federation "Hail the mighty achievements of the Szechwan women's movement", Szu-ch'uan jih-pao (Szechwan Daily), 1959.9.29.

Yünnan

1957-Fang Wen-chien, Vice-Chairman, Yünnan Provincial Women's Federation, "The Great Leap Forward of the women's movement”, Yün-nan jih-pao (Yunnan Daily), 1959.10.12.

1958-Ibid. 1959-Ibid.

Jehol

Jehol was abolished as a province in 1955. The eastern section of Jehol and Liaoning province were amalgamated. The rest, the western part of Jehol was incorporated into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. "The masses of women actively take part in agricultural production. A great many women became backbones in the agricultural mutual help movement", JMJP, 1955.3.7. Sinkiang

1954-Ibid.

1955-Ma-li-ya, Sinkiang Women's Democratic Federation, Leader of propaganda department, "Sinkiang women in the big family of the motherland", JMJP, 1955.3.2.

1956: Wu Ch'ien-chang, Secretary of the CCP Committee of the Sinkiang Uighur Autonomous Region, speech at the 2nd Women's Representative Conference of the Sinkiang Uighur Autonomous Region, "Command all the women forces in the Autonomous Region to construct socialism", Hsin-chiang jih-pao (Sinkiang Daily), 1956.10.23.

1957 "Thousands and tens of thousands of women of all races take part in productive construction and make important contributions to the socialist construction cause of the autonomous district of Sinkiang", Hsin-chiang jih-pao (Sinkiang Daily), 1957.3.8.

Explanation of data from Hunan 1957 and 1958

According to statistics, Hunan province had a year-end population in 1957 of 36.2 million. The statistics in the article are from September 1958 therefore the round figure of 37 million is used. In the article it is said that 10.15 million women working in production were 64 percent of the total number of the village women. Thus there is a total of 15.87 million village women which is 43 percent of the total population. Women aged 15-59 in the 1950's made up 27-29 percent of the total population (data derived from calculations in my forthcoming dissertation), which is roughly 10 million.

With 10 million women 15-59 years in the total population a maximum of 85 percent can be counted as rural, which means 8.5 million women 15-59 years of the agricultural population. Of the 10 million women who had joined production 8 million had joined agricultural production. Thus more than 90 percent of the women 15-59 of the agricultural population worked in agriculture. Thus, of all women in production here, 80 percent were in agriculture.

With 10 million women in production that more than doubled the number working in production in comparison to last year the same time (September 1957). Thus 5 million women worked in production in September 1957. Assuming

1 N.-R. Chen, 1965, p. 132.