International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2022

The “green land” in the “red” years: an analysis of the ecological improvement through building terraced field in the Shashiyu Village

(Abstract)

Xiaoyi Wang and Qian Zhang

Shashiyu, a village in the Zunhua County, Hebei Province, has been well known for the villagers’ efforts to change their environment. The village had been established by the government as an example for making living conditions and environment better. They work hard to build terraced field and plant trees  to increase their income. A story told by journalists about them has been described as a “red narrative”, in which both determination to win victory and courage to surmount every difficulty was emphasized. In the discourse, however, the peasants’ real pursuit for better living and their wisdom in the effort to transform nature in large scale have often been neglected. More yields and more income were their purposes, and it would be essential for the government to respect peasants’ interests, the laws of nature, and the green values.