How to scientifically grasp the laws of village evolution
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the Central Rural Work Conference that as the economy and society develop, some villages will gather more people while some natural villages will gradually die out, and this conforms to the laws of village evolution. In studying this important exposition, we should work hard to grasp the laws of village evolution.
As for the laws of village evolution, the author believes there are mainly the following five aspects:
The law of interaction. This mainly refers to the interaction between villages and towns, which requires the two-way free flow of population, resources and factors of production and daily life between urban and rural areas. In this process of flow, villages generally undergo a historic transition of decline and revival. Generally speaking, an urbanization rate of 50% is an important threshold between decline and revival; once this threshold is crossed, villages will begin to revive one after another.
The law of integration. This mainly refers to the integration of villages and industry, which requires villages as the carrier and industry as the support, with integrated village-industry development and interactive integration. Roughly in step with village revival, agriculture gradually becomes modernized and multifunctional, and villages also become an important element of rural tourism. Without industrial support, no matter how beautifully a village is built, it cannot escape the fate of "hollowing out."
The law of harmony. This mainly refers to harmony between villages and nature, which requires the harmonious integration of villages, farmhouses, mountains and waters, woodlands and farm fields. Traditional villages pay attention to feng shui, which is in fact a respect for natural mountains and waters; it is precisely this respect that has allowed villages to conform to nature and endure far and long. The destruction of mountains, waters, forests and fields and the deterioration of the environment are the direct cause of the disappearance of some natural villages.
The law of difference. This mainly refers to differentiation among villages, which requires every village to embody its own regional, economic, social, cultural and ecological characteristics. In different villages, people should be able to see vivid faces one after another. It is precisely these different faces that form the facial makeup of each village. Otherwise, with a thousand villages all alike, villages will lose their charm.
The law of inheritance. This mainly refers to the inheritance of history and culture, which requires protecting ancient courtyards, dwellings, woodlands and various vernacular buildings, so that the cultural flame left by our ancestors is passed down from generation to generation. Now, people increasingly recognize that villages are the carrier of farming-and-reading civilization, that the root of traditional culture lies here, and that our soft power lies here. This precisely reflects an understanding of the law of inheritance.
The laws of village evolution are the basic guide for village development. Only by grasping these laws well can we ensure that village development follows the right path and the right direction.