Farmers' Friend: creating nationalist, Chinese farmers in rural 1950s Taiwan

In the early 1950s, the Nationalist government on Taiwan sought to generate support for their regime by turning farmers into modern, Nationalist citizens. Using the journal, the "Farmers' Friend," the Nationalist government and Taiwan's Provincial Farmers' Association presented themselves as friends to farmers by teaching them what it meant to be modern, Nationalist citizens. At the same time, the organization's director, Ma You-yue, provided a model for farmers to emulate. While the journal was a tool the Nationalists used to further state penetration, it also provided a limited space for farmers to express their concerns. This thesis looks at the citizen creation strategies the Nationalists used in the journal. Although these strategies were similar to those used during the Republican period to "awaken" Chinese citizens, Taiwan's unique experience required the Nationalists to emphasize Chinese culture over modernization.