The historical development role of the peasant class in China

In ancient China, agriculture has always been the main economic development model, and the small-scale peasant economy has not changed in ancient China for thousands of years. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the rulers began to adopt the economic development idea of emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce, controlling the population on the land and increasing the accumulation of agricultural products to meet the needs of daily life and wartime. Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, although oppressed by the nobility and the ruling class in economy, are far superior to workers and businessmen in social status. Therefore, in ancient China, businessmen were rich but could not be officials, while peasants were poor but could enter the ruling class through the imperial examination. As a result, businessmen bought a lot of land after making a fortune in business, and gradually became farmers and landlords. The reason why China attached so much importance to agriculture in ancient times is that in ancient times, agriculture was an industry that consolidated people's interests. Food, clothing, housing and transportation are the basic needs of people's lives. Due to the national conditions in ancient China, families often live together, and the number of houses can remain stable for a long time. In ancient China, the policy of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business and the characteristics of family living in groups made travel unnecessary, so food and clothing became the focus of these basic needs. Agricultural products are directly related to people's food and clothing. Therefore, the mode of developing agriculture is a simple and efficient economic development mode, and it is precisely because of the long-term use of this simple and easy way that China developed very rapidly in ancient times. The national policy of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining commerce gave ancient China a very large peasant class. It is this small-scale peasant economy development model that enabled the national financial resources of ancient China to be effectively accumulated. The reason why ancient China was ahead of the world at that time for a long time was inseparable from the contribution of the peasant class. The peasant class supported the development of feudal history in China with its own labor and sweat.