The article is well written but a little light on facts. From my bad and distant memory; The terms of the contract stated that you had to give X amount to the

The article is well written but a little light on facts. From my bad and distant memory; The terms of the contract stated that you had to give X amount to the collective from your land, anything over and above this you kept. The X amount was originally set to be the same as the previous years harvest. The local collective had to raise the amount X a few times so it would appear that they where role models within the system. It was only after other farmers in the region saw the results that they copied the process. It was eventually turned into the standard for a lot of China. There are differing versions of the same story around depending on what the politics are for the writer. This version sticks to the American line of "The officials swore at him, treated him like he was on death row.". The Chinese version probably made the villagers look like model, conforming, hardworking and communist loving citizens. I am neither American or Chinese, I am just fascinated by history and the differing ways it is represented. "History is written by the winners."