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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Joseph LawsonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Four-wheeled, 25–50 horsepower tractors imported to China from other socialist countries in the 1950s were a symbol of modernity and a source of problems. They were introduced to North China to increase multiple cropping. No significant increase in multiple cropping occurred in that region. The cost of tractor services far outweighed what could be earned with the labour they displaced in the 1950s and early 1960s. However, the government remained committed to them, even as it promoted cheaper five horsepower two-wheeled tractors. Greater use of four-wheeled tractors was sustained by the rapid downgrading of the hitherto privileged role of the tractor driver, alongside an ad hoc system of tacit subsidies. These changes meant deviation from the original vision for tractors. The dire fate of draught livestock during the era of rural collectivisation was an important reason for persevering with four-wheeled tractors even as the country turned away from Soviet development models.
Author(s): Lawson J, Wang C, Li Z
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Rural History
Year: 2025
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 05/09/2025
Acceptance date: 22/07/2025
Date deposited: 05/09/2025
ISSN (print): 0956-7933
ISSN (electronic): 1474-0656
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956793325100113
DOI: 10.1017/S0956793325100113
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