The Sun in Winter

By the end of 20th century, the political system in rural China was evolving towards “democratic” autonomy at the village level. This was after having undergone the countryside gentleman’s administration system, the baojia system, the local autonomy system, the people’s commune system, and the household contract responsibility system respectively over the past centuries and millennia. It was winter during the Year of the Tiger when the revised Villager’s Committee Organization Law was issued. Three thousand villagers of Dong Puo Village voluntarily elected village representatives to select the candidate for the Villager Committee. This film depicts a village in western China as a single case study, adopting the method of observing and recording events over a three year period. The film reflects the unique course of “democratic” autonomy that several hundreds of millions of Chinese farmers have encountered in the complex environment of rural politics, economy, and culture.