Labor Model: Wang Guofan and “Poor Stick Cooperative”

In China, the first labor models appeared in the public enterprises of the Central Soviet Area during the land revolution period. These products epitomized production and facilitated the promotion of advanced production experiences. In the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a large number of labor models also emerged in the agricultural field. They were mainly leaders of the cooperative movement and selflessly dedicated to their work and hardworking. Given the national conditions at that time, why did the state establish agricultural labor models, and why did it choose people with the above characteristics as agricultural labor models? With these questions in mind, Wang Guofan, the first National Agricultural Labor Model, and “Poor Stick Cooperative (qióng bàngzǐ shè),” was used in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China as a case study for empirical research; in addition, the background, formation mechanism, and subsequent effects of the “labor model” keyword were explored in the context of the time, and the hidden relationships between the state and farmers behind it were uncovered.