What were the thoughts of ancient peasants in China?
Of course, the peasant class also has its own ideas, that is, anti-feudal democratic ideas. This anti-feudal democratic thought is reflected in opposing the feudal hierarchy politically and advocating equality between the noble and the humble; Economically, he opposed the feudal property system and advocated equality between the rich and the poor. Some comrades pointed out that the peasant class has its own "discipline", "ideological theory" and simple political ideals in the war, which is opposite to the ideas of the landlord class, and the peasants have their own classes of philosophy, religion, morality, literature and art. Most comrades believe that egalitarianism and equality are the ideological weapons of China's peasant war. In the peasant war in the middle and late feudal society, the revolutionary requirements of this peasant order and the ideological tendency of peasant leaders are particularly obvious. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun rebelled and put forward the idea that "I am equal to the inequality between the rich and the poor, and now I am equal to you". In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao revolted: "It is not good to divide the rich and the poor by law. I am a lawyer, and I don't care whether I am rich or poor. " During the Li Zicheng Uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, the slogans of "equal farmland" and "equal farmland without food" were put forward, with "equal farmland" as the center. In addition, this idea is also reflected in the title of peasant leader. In the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, there were titles such as "King Ping", "King Helping the Poor" and "King Changing the World". What exactly does peasants' egalitarianism include? One view is that farmers' egalitarianism is limited to economic average wealth. First, it is required to share the wealth of feudal countries and some landlords equally, that is, "cutting the rich to help the poor." The second is to implement "public" and "public property" to a certain extent. Another view is that peasant egalitarianism is not only economic equality, but also political equality. Regarding the nature of egalitarianism, one view holds that egalitarianism is a product of small-scale peasant economy and a feudal thought branded with peasant class. It does not oppose feudal disciplines and theories, but only supplements them. Another view holds that egalitarianism is the progressive thought of farmers, which is revolutionary and utopian, and is opposite to feudal discipline and theory. There are still great differences on the role of egalitarianism in history. One opinion fully affirmed the positive role of egalitarianism in the peasant war. It is considered as a powerful ideological weapon for farmers to resist feudal exploitation and oppression. It improved the revolutionary enthusiasm of farmers, quickly expanded the ranks of the uprising, and played a role in calling and mobilizing the people. At the beginning of the uprising, the peasant leaders maintained their hard-working and simple class quality and relatively democratic work style, which promoted the unity of the revolutionary ranks and enhanced their combat effectiveness. It impacted feudal rule and opened the way for the development of productive forces. On the negative side, it is impossible to completely defeat feudalism and establish new relations of production. But this is secondary. Another view is that egalitarianism is the thought of small farmers, not a powerful weapon against feudalism. Only in the anti-feudal sense can it be determined and cannot be overestimated.