Thirty Years of Turbulence - Chinese Enterprises

作者：admin  点击次数：4  发布时间：2026-04-10

In 1986, there was no power at all

But you always laugh at me, with nothing.

——Cui Jian: "Nothing", 1986

On March 26th, Chen Yonggui, a former Vice Premier of the State Council from Dazhai, Shanxi, passed away while sleeping soundly. More than 30 years ago, Chen Yonggui led a group of poor people to carve a 700 meter long loess mountain valley into a terraced field capable of growing crops. Mao Zedong called on the whole country to "learn from agriculture", and Chen Yonggui became an idol of Chinese farmers. After he came to Beijing to serve as Vice Premier of the State Council, he still wore a white bellied handkerchief and did not change his peasant nature. During his serious illness, he took half of the medicine prescribed by the doctor every day and kept the other half, accumulating small amounts and saving a small drawer. He instructed his son to return it to the country.

Chen's death did not attract much attention. People seem to have started to forget about the most famous' Eternal Noble Uncle 'who fought in heaven and earth across the country. Because in this year, the 'farmer hero' in everyone's mind has become a different image.

Township enterprise managers and farmer entrepreneurs - their titles always carry a hint of soil flavor, but in fact, they also look like they are from the land, as if they have just planted seedlings from the farmland.