(no subject)
Interesting, and well worth a read. Farmer or peasant? Feudal or not? Feudal as a technical descriptor or a metaphor used to fuel revolution?
It got me thinking because I'd never thought about how or why we use the words 'farmer' and 'peasant' to translate 'nongmin'. And what is the best translation of 'nongmin', anyway? I mean, the most accurate translation. 'Rural person'? Sounds a bit clunky, but.... At least 'Rural person' covers the full range of people and their occupations in rural areas.
And the argument that pre-revolutionary China was not in fact feudal, at least not in the technical sense, was interesting. Obviously, my understanding of Chinese history and, well, history in general, is pretty shallow.
But I should stop rambling. It's about lunchtime, I'm running low on fuel, and I'm still fighting off the dregs of this cold.
It got me thinking because I'd never thought about how or why we use the words 'farmer' and 'peasant' to translate 'nongmin'. And what is the best translation of 'nongmin', anyway? I mean, the most accurate translation. 'Rural person'? Sounds a bit clunky, but.... At least 'Rural person' covers the full range of people and their occupations in rural areas.
And the argument that pre-revolutionary China was not in fact feudal, at least not in the technical sense, was interesting. Obviously, my understanding of Chinese history and, well, history in general, is pretty shallow.
But I should stop rambling. It's about lunchtime, I'm running low on fuel, and I'm still fighting off the dregs of this cold.