Rent Reduction in Hunan and Government-Gentry Conflicts after the Victory in the War of Resistance against Japan

Abstract After the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, the rural economy of Hunan province was in decline. In southern provinces, where per capita arable land was minimal and the proportion of tenant farmers considerable, the tenancy system was notably harsh. In 1945, the Guomindang government implemented a one-year rent reduction policy in the recovered territories. However, due to real difficulties, Hunan province postponed its implementation until 1946 and again enacted a rent limit protection policy for tenants in 1947. Nevertheless, with the establishment of the Hunan Provincial Senate in 1946, provincial senators, representing local gentry interests, engaged in a conflict with the rent reduction ordinance put forth by the Hunan provincial government. The conflicting understandings between the two sides about the relationship between the existing system and rent reduction led to an impasse in the legislative process. Eventually, due to the provincial government’s compromises, the rent reduction ordinances were repeatedly revised and ultimately became hollow in substance. At the grassroots level, seeing this situation, implementation was delayed, turning the ordinances into mere paper decrees. Throughout this process, the tenant farmers, deceived by the landlords, resented the government, and the credibility of the Guomindang government was gradually depleted.