Militia: Study on the Integration of “People” and “Soldiers”

A militia is a mass-armed organization that does not disassemble; it is usually a part of the armed forces of a state or political group and in this capacity serves as the reserve force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The period of the People’s Commune was an important historical period in the last century. In addition to the characteristics of political and social unity, the “First Big, Second Public (yī dà èr gōng)” ownership form, and the combination of workers, farmers, commerce, education, and soldiers, there was also the national armament; thus, the people were all seen as soldiers. They both carried out agricultural production and conducted militia training, thereby highlighting that all people were soldiers and that there was a combination of labor and military in effect. This change gave farmers a dual identity of both people and soldiers. This article describes macrolevel national behavior as a type of microlevel military organization behavior and identity conversion between farmers and militia, which plays a certain role in understanding militia and people’s commune system during the commune period.