At the beginning of the founding of New China, with the development of large-scale economic construction, on the one hand, the number of urban population increased greatly, and the demand for food increased greatly; On the other hand, because private grain merchants compete with the state for the grain market, farmers are reluctant to sell and it is difficult to collect grain. In order to solve the above problems, the State Council's "Order on Planned Purchase and Planned Supply of Grain" puts forward that "in order to ensure the grain needed by people's lives and national construction, stabilize food prices, put an end to grain speculation, and further consolidate the alliance of workers and peasants, according to the provisions of Article 28 of the same program, it is decided that all undertakings that are related to the lifeline of the national economy and can manipulate the national economy and people's livelihood will be managed by the state in a unified way." 5 From the background and objectives of the unified purchase and marketing, The second is the guarantee of unified marketing for urban food supply.
The compulsory purchase of rural grain is mainly manifested in the continuous strengthening of the state's control over rural grain, the gradual loss of farmers' right to dispose of grain freely, and the state's control over rural grain to the maximum.
First of all, the national unified purchase policy has strengthened the control of rural grain in the process of continuous evolution. The State Council 1953 "Order on Planned Purchase and Planned Supply of Grain" stipulates: "Farmers who produce grain should sell surplus grain to the state according to the grain varieties purchased by the state, the purchase price and the allocated quantity of the planned purchase. Farmers can freely store and use surplus grain other than public grain and grain planned to be purchased, and can continue to sell it to state grain departments or cooperatives, or trade it in grain markets set up by the state, and exchange a small amount of needed commodities in rural areas. 61April 2, 955, the "Instructions of the Ministry of Grain on Strengthening the Work of the National Grain Market" stipulates: "After the formal end of the unified acquisition, farmers shall not be restricted from selling grain in the market or changing grain varieties; Unnecessary query registration must be cancelled. It can be seen that the state still tends to protect farmers' right to dispose of surplus grain freely at this time. In August 1955, the national policy orientation began to change. The Interim Measures for the Unified Purchase and Marketing of Rural Grain issued by the State Council stipulates: "Surplus grain households have the right to dispose of surplus grain after completing the task of grain delivery, and self-sufficient households have the right to save surplus grain because of increasing production; It can be stored freely, used freely, sold to the state or cooperatives, traded in the national grain market, and exchanged needed commodities among farmers without interference. But no one is allowed to speculate on food. 8 and 1957 Supplementary Provisions of the State Council on State Grain Purchase and Sale further strengthened the grain control in rural areas, stipulating: "After the completion of the state grain purchase task, the grain market under the leadership of the state in the past will be opened to adjust grain among farmers. In order to strengthen grain management in the future, this grain market should be closed. After the closure, the state grain agency will try its best to help agricultural cooperatives and farmers adjust their grain varieties. At this point, an increasingly perfect rural grain market regulation system has been formed, and rural grain is completely under the control of the state.
Through the interpretation of the stalls, we find that farmers have two free disposal rights to the surplus grain of 1953: one is for their own use; The second is to sell. Among them, the way of sale includes three options: it can be sold to the national grain department and cooperatives, traded in the state-led grain market, and traded in rural fairs. However, after the passage of time from 1955 to August 15, farmers' right to dispose of grain freely was greatly restricted. State regulations prohibit anyone from frying food. In fact, rural fairs are in a state of being banned. There are only two options for farmers to sell surplus grain, both of which are within the scope of national monitoring. By 1957, farmers basically lost the right to dispose of surplus grain, and the state-led grain market was also cancelled. It can be seen that grain basically belongs to the scope of state administrative intervention. As a member of agricultural cooperatives, farmers have objectively lost the right to dispose of grain independently. Agricultural cooperatives uniformly distribute farmers' rations, and farmers no longer need or have the right to ask about the specific use of food.
Second, the way of purchasing grain is mandatory. First of all, it is reflected in the unified purchase of all varieties. 1953 at the beginning of the implementation of the policy of unified purchase and marketing, small grains were not included in the national compulsory unified purchase. The Order on Planned Purchase and Planned Supply of Grain stipulates: "In principle, all kinds of minor cereals (local non-staple foods) should also be managed by the state in a unified way. Before the state implements unified management, private grain merchants can be temporarily allowed to operate under the strict supervision and management of the state. " 10 and 1955 the State Council issued the Interim Measures for the Unified Purchase and Marketing of Rural Grain, which stipulates: "Generally, grain and soybeans are the main varieties of grain subject to unified purchase and marketing, and some minor grains can also be purchased. In areas where potato production is reduced, some potatoes can be purchased according to supply needs and storage conditions. " 1 1 The national unified procurement target has been expanded to small miscellaneous grains, including potatoes. 1957 "the State Council's instructions on purchasing and storing summer grain" points out: "It is an important task for rural areas to harvest new summer grain (including wheat, wheat, barley, broad beans, peas, early rice, etc.). ) One by one. 12 from this, we can see more clearly that even broad beans and peas have entered the field of vision of national unified acquisition, and the details of the acquisition can be seen. In addition, twice a year also reflects the mandatory grain purchase. 1957 "the State Council's instructions on doing a good job in summer grain purchase" stipulates: "The summer grain purchase tasks of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government should be delivered to agricultural production cooperatives (households) in time, and the number of tasks completed by agricultural production cooperatives (households) is part of the national grain purchase tasks that should be completed throughout the year, and should be consolidated and settled in the autumn grain purchase. 13 national rural grain purchase includes two parts, summer and autumn, which are settled in a unified way, and summer and autumn are not enough to make up for it, which reflects the priority of national grain purchase tasks in rural grain distribution.
The compulsion of grain purchase is also reflected in the fact that the unified purchase as a government act is irresistible. Article 1 of the Order on Implementing Planned Purchase and Planned Supply of Grain stipulates: "Farmers who produce grain shall sell surplus grain to the state according to the grain varieties, purchase prices and planned purchase quantities stipulated by the state. Article 9 stipulates: "Counter-revolutionaries who disrupt planned acquisitions and planned supplies shall be punished in accordance with the Regulations of People's Republic of China (PRC) on Punishing Counter-revolutionaries. "In the case that the state monopoly on purchase and marketing has become the standard to measure whether a person is revolutionary, farmers have to accept it. In fact, some farmers who resisted were also severely punished. After the implementation of the policy of unified purchase and marketing, there have been a large number of crimes that undermine the policy of unified purchase and marketing. The intervention of the judicial department also clearly reflects the compulsory nature of the system. Fengyang County Court pointed out in the summary of judicial work in 1955: "In the grain purchase in July and August and the agricultural tax collection in the afternoon, we took the initiative to crack down on the sabotage activities of counter-revolutionaries in time with the spirit of going all out to ensure the smooth progress of these work. A total of 68 cases were accepted in these two categories, accounting for 23.6% of the total cases accepted in the third quarter. 38 people were arrested (including 2 counter-revolutionaries, 2 landlords, 28 rich peasants and 6 middle peasants). "14 after the implementation of the national policy of state monopoly on purchase and marketing, farmers lost the right to dispose of their own grain. The case of Xu Tingxian, a rich farmer in Fengyang County, Anhui Province, obstructing the unified purchase and marketing of grain is an example. " In the summer of 1955, the township government assessed that the household sold surplus grain 16 1 kg, and after detailed accounting by the court, it was found that 703 kg of surplus grain should be sold, and the surplus grain had been sold 130 kg. Claiming that there is no surplus grain, our hospital does not check whether there is surplus grain, that is, it is determined that it refuses to sell surplus grain and sentenced to one year (later exempted from criminal punishment). 15 although Xu xianting was sentenced after the incident, the fact that he was sentenced to refuse to sell surplus grain exists. This fully highlights the irresistible nature of the unified purchase and marketing system.
The second characteristic of the state monopoly on purchase and marketing is to ensure the urban food supply, which is mainly reflected in two aspects. The first is to ensure the low-level food demand of urban residents. The Order on Planned Purchase and Planned Supply of Grain stipulates that people in cities, organs, organizations, schools, enterprises and other units. Food can be supplied through their organizations; For ordinary citizens, you can issue grain purchase vouchers, purchase them with vouchers or temporarily purchase them with household registration books. 1955 issued the Interim Measures for the Quantitative Supply of Grain in Cities and Towns, which stipulates that the people's committees of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall determine the specific supply levels and monthly ration standards of urban residents according to the labor differences, ages and food consumption habits of urban residents in different regions. These regulations ensure the food demand of urban residents. The second is the financial guarantee for industrialization. One of the reasons why the state promotes the unified purchase and marketing is the accumulation of industry's extraction from agriculture. After the implementation of this system, the state has been buying agricultural and sideline products at extremely low prices, and at the same time selling industrial products to the countryside at high prices. Under this scissors system, the state has seized a lot of funds from rural areas and agriculture, which has ensured the smooth progress of industrial and urban construction to a certain extent. According to relevant statistics, by the end of 1970, the state had taken away 600 billion yuan from farmers only through the scissors difference of industrial and agricultural products. 16, and these are all realized with the unified purchase and marketing system as the carrier.
At the same time, in order to ensure the effective operation of the unified purchase and marketing system, the state has implemented two important social changes, namely, the household registration system and agricultural collectivization. Although it can't be said that these institutional changes are entirely the result of unified purchase and marketing, their introduction has indeed strengthened and ensured the operation of the unified purchase and marketing system. The household registration system strictly restricts the flow of urban and rural population, so that the urban population is always under control, and the amount of grain sold by the state is strictly controlled. The collectivization of agriculture in rural areas has changed the object of national grain purchase from individual farmers to rural cooperatives, greatly simplifying transaction costs and ensuring the smooth progress of grain purchase.