Dazhai Work Point: Labor Management During the People’s Commune Period

The work point system was an important labor management and distribution system used during the collective era; It was implemented by mutual aid groups before the founding of the People’s Republic of China and became the main form of distribution during the People’s Commune period. It was also an important institutional design during the People’s Commune period in China. “Dazhai work point” was considered a special manifestation of the work point system. It originated in a small mountain village in the north in the 1960s and 1970s and was promoted nationwide as a universal labor-management experience during the Cultural Revolution. From 1968 to the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Dazhai-style work evaluation and scoring method were widely implemented nationwide, and “Dazhai work point” blossomed everywhere. As a result, “Dazhai work point” became a key term that influenced China in the 1960s and 1970s. As an institutional arrangement for labor management in the agricultural production process, studying “Dazhai work point” has important practical significance and academic value.