The struggle works of petty citizens related Zhang Jian and the agricultural modernization in the early years of the Republic of China.

  China's transformation of traditional agriculture began in the late Qing dynasty's Wuxu Reform and New Deal period, but it was more fully developed after the founding of the Republic of China. When Zhang Jian was Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, he laid the foundation for this effort. This not only meant that measures to transform traditional agriculture became more comprehensive, but also that they took a path towards legalization, with the promulgation of a series of laws and regulations related to transforming traditional agriculture, as well as the formulation and implementation of policies and measures to revitalize agriculture.

  Zhang Jian was the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Beiyang government during the Republic of China. While promoting industrial development, he also attached great importance to transforming traditional agriculture and put forward modern ideas for transforming traditional agriculture. Traditional agriculture refers to an agricultural production mode that takes biological and natural production factors passed down through generations as its basis, with self-sufficiency as its purpose, and feudal rent and small-scale farming as its production methods. This type of agriculture has simple tools, lacks knowledge among laborers, uses primitive technology, relies on nature for land and water resources, lacks external stimuli for production development, and has a closed and rigid production mode, making it difficult to expand reproduction, with low levels of commercialization and economic efficiency, and requiring large amounts of labor input. Therefore, not only can it not provide sufficient capital accumulation, a broad market, sufficient raw materials, and a large workforce for industrialization, but it also cannot occupy an important position in the modernization of the entire social economy, and may even become a burden and obstacle to modernization. Thus, to develop industrialization, traditional agriculture must be transformed through modernization. Zhang Jian had a relatively clear understanding of this. He particularly pointed out two points: First, the development of industry and commerce requires agriculture to provide sufficient and high-quality raw materials. "Agricultural products are the raw materials for various manufactured goods. Without them, industrial and commercial development will never be possible." "To increase manufacturing output, it is necessary to expand the quantity of raw materials and improve their quality." Second, the increase in national fiscal revenue must take agriculture as its foundation. "The source of financial resources lies in tax revenue, and the source of tax revenue lies in agricultural production." Therefore, he wanted to apply the "protectionism" that was adopted for industry to agriculture, such as planting cotton, sugarcane, and sweet potatoes, and raising Merino sheep from the United States. The government would provide rewards and subsidies to encourage their growth and improvement, thereby transforming traditional agriculture. The measures he took mainly included the following aspects:

  First, promote multiple industries and reward the development of industrial raw materials agriculture, closely combining the transformation of traditional agriculture with industrial modernization. As mentioned earlier, Zhang Jian started from the development of cotton textile industry, sugar industry, and wool textile industry, advocating for the adoption of reward measures to develop large-scale planting of cotton, sugarcane, beets, and sheep farming.

  His plan was: "Every year, expand the area of cotton cultivation by 200,000 mu (about 13333 hectares), with a reward of 30,000 yuan; improve cotton varieties on 10,000 mu, with a reward of 10,000 yuan; increase the area of sugar production raw materials by 100,000 mu, with a reward of 30,000 yuan; and improve sheep breeds by 100,000 heads, with a reward of 25,000 yuan."

  In April 1914, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce officially promulgated the "Regulations on Rewards for Cotton, Sugar, and Sheep Farming", providing different rewards for different expansion and improvement efforts. The regulations stipulated: For those who expanded cotton cultivation, each mu would be rewarded with 1 jiao (a unit of currency); for those who improved cotton varieties, each mu would be rewarded with 3 jiao; for those who planted sugar production raw materials, sugarcane fields would receive a subsidy of 3 jiao per mu for seedlings and 6 jiao for fertilizers, while beet fields would receive a subsidy of 1 jiao per mu for seeds and 3 jiao for fertilizers. For those who improved sheep breeds, each hundred heads would be rewarded with 30 yuan.

  The regulations also encouraged large-scale farming and the promotion of universal education, proposing to adopt an incremental reward system based on the size of the farm and the differences in farming practices. Zhang Jian pointed out: "I hope that the development of agriculture will mainly rely on multiple industries. However, the effectiveness of large farms and small farms, as well as many and few farmers, is different, so the reward rate cannot be the same. Now, I further explain below:

  * Expanding cotton production, rewarding large farms, because only large farms have the ability to expand production capacity, so the average reward rate is adopted. The reward for 10,000 mu is 1,000 yuan, which is equivalent to 1 jiao per mu; the reward for 50,000 mu and 100,000 mu is 1 jiao and 2 fen (a unit of currency) per mu; the reward for 200,000 mu is 1 jiao and 5 fen per mu.

  * Improving cotton production, rewarding small farmers, because small farmers' achievements are difficult to achieve, but they can also promote a good atmosphere. Therefore, individual rewards are 2 yuan per mu; rewards for agricultural associations and schools are 1 yuan and 5 jiao per mu; while companies specializing in this area have easier results, so the reward is 1 yuan per mu.

  * Expanding and improving sugar production raw materials, benefiting large farms, so the incremental reward rate is similar to that of cotton production expansion.

  * Improving Merino sheep breeds, with fewer heads being more difficult to breed, while more heads are easier to breed. Therefore, the reward for improving 300 heads is 3 jiao and 3 fen per head; the reward for improving 1,000 heads is 3 jiao per head; the reward for improving 1,500 heads is 2 jiao and 6 fen per head; the reward for improving 2,000 heads is 2 jiao and 5 fen per head.

  This fully reflects the scientificity, systematicness, and strictness of his reward policy.

  Zhang Jian's advocacy for diversified agricultural operations also included the forestry industry. He believed that, based on domestic and foreign experience, the rise and fall of the forestry industry was not only related to agricultural water conservancy conditions and ecological environment, but also to the supply of raw materials for some industries. "Now, our country's large forests have been over-harvested, leaving behind barren mountains and hills everywhere. Not only are electric poles and railway sleepers purchased from abroad, but even civilian buildings are not entirely made of domestic products."

  To change this situation, on November 3, 1914, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce promulgated China's first Forest Law, planning to establish protective forests in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Pearl River to "prevent water disasters", "conserve water sources", improve "public health", protect "navigation targets", facilitate "fisheries", and prevent "wind and sand damage" to control water conservancy and improve the ecological environment. The law also rewarded afforestation efforts: "Individuals or groups willing to take over official barren mountain land for afforestation will be given it free of charge." From the date of taking over, they would be exempt from rent and taxes for five years and within 30 years.

  The Forest Law Implementation Details and Afforestation Reward Regulations promulgated on June 30, 1915, specifically stipulated the methods for promoting and rewarding afforestation. For those who had afforested an area of 200 to 3,000 mu (about 13-200 hectares) or more, and had survived for five years or more, they would be awarded honorary rewards ranging from fourth-grade to special-grade; it was also stipulated that "those engaged in special forestry operations with significant international trade relations, or those who have made outstanding contributions to shipbuilding, road construction, and other large-scale projects, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce may provide subsidies based on the area and number of trees planted."

  Obviously, these reward policies aimed not only at promoting diversified agricultural operations but also at providing raw materials for industrial development and improving the ecological environment for agriculture.

  Second, advocating the use of scientific means to transform traditional agriculture, promoting scientific farming, improving and introducing good varieties, providing sufficient, suitable, and high-quality raw materials for industrial development. Zhang Jian advocated for diversified agricultural operations, not just general promotion of planting areas, but taking a scientific attitude and approach. In promoting planting areas, whether there is a suitable natural geographical environment was taken as the basis. The planting regions for cotton, sugarcane, and beets were specified as: "Cotton planting region: Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, etc. Sugarcane planting region: Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, etc. Beet trial planting region: Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, etc.... Each province in the cotton and sugarcane planting regions had several counties designated as suitable for cotton and sugarcane cultivation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, which sent personnel to jointly demarcate with local officials." Only then did local officials "set up methods to reclaim land and expand cotton and sugarcane cultivation."

  Regarding agricultural pests and diseases, Zhang Jian proposed the use of scientific methods to prevent and control them. On March 18, 1914, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce issued a directive to all provinces to collect information on plant diseases and pests, as well as scientific methods for their prevention and control. At the same time, it promulgated the "Regulations for Collecting Information on Plant Diseases" and "Regulations for Collecting Information on Plant Pests". The aim was to use scientific investigation and research to adopt scientific methods to eliminate harm and disease.

  The directive pointed out: "In the past, science was not well understood, and when natural disasters occurred, they were often attributed to fate, and people would only pray for relief. However, our country has done little research on pests and diseases, and tasks such as fungal inspection and plant anatomy have not been prepared for in advance, making it difficult to achieve results in a short time.

  Previously, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce had set up a department for pest control at its experimental farm, adopting European and American methods, conducting field research, and achieving some success. However, this matter is of great importance and requires nationwide coordination to be effective. Therefore, we are now collecting information on pests and diseases from all over the country for further study.

  Furthermore, agricultural experiment stations and schools in each province that have conducted research on this scientific topic and achieved results are requested to report to the Ministry at any time, so that their methods can be promoted."

  Zhang Jian, while promoting diversified agricultural operations, placed greater emphasis on the improvement of farm forestry and animal husbandry varieties. On February 28, 1914, he summarized the reasons for the rise and fall of agriculture in China and abroad, pointing out the importance of improving varieties: "Our country has always emphasized agriculture, with rice and wheat production being the best in the world. However, due to frequent wars and disasters, the agricultural industry has gradually declined. Furthermore, the people are ignorant and stubbornly adhere to old methods, neglecting the selection, preservation, and transmission of good varieties, resulting in the deterioration of crops and poor products. In contrast, Western countries have specialized institutions for selling seeds, which compare and select strong varieties every year, eliminating weak ones, benefiting both public and private interests. Our country has not yet established such an institution, with good and bad varieties mixed together, lacking standards. As our department is responsible for promoting agricultural affairs, we should first consider this matter and make preparations to achieve results." He immediately issued a command to all provinces and districts to widely collect good varieties, requiring each province to send one sample of rice, wheat, and barley from each county to the ministry, which would then be cultivated at various agricultural experiment stations to prepare for the dissemination of good varieties.

  The aforementioned experimental farms established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were mainly engaged in the collection, introduction, cultivation, trial planting, trial breeding and dissemination of excellent varieties. For example, the cotton industry experimental farm was responsible for "distributing the cotton varieties that have undergone experiments with good results to the people for planting"; "every year, it should collect new cotton products from the people and hold a cotton product evaluation meeting once". The technical staff of the animal husbandry experimental farm were in charge of "breeding improvement of domestic animals", "pure breeding of excellent breeds", "comparative experiments of Chinese and foreign breeds", "animal evaluation meetings" and so on. The forestry experimental farm, in the year it was established, "imported new species, cultivated seedlings, ... transplanted more than 700,000 poplar trees from abroad". After that, every year there were 600,000 to 700,000 seedlings, either transplanted or distributed to the people. Each agricultural experimental farm also hired "diligent and practical" personnel who had been engaged in agriculture for more than 25 years as "agricultural extension officers", who went to various places to engage in "touring lectures, distributing seed varieties, teaching the use of agricultural tools, investigating natural disasters and pests, and other matters related to agricultural improvement". This was used to disseminate agricultural scientific knowledge and farming techniques, promote excellent breeds and new agricultural tools, and promote agricultural improvement. Moreover, great importance was attached to the introduction of excellent varieties. In addition to requiring each level of government to establish agricultural experimental institutions with the main task of introducing and experimenting with excellent varieties, localities and people were encouraged to select and introduce excellent varieties. The regulations for planting cotton, sugarcane and sheep stipulated that: for expanding cotton cultivation, it was advisable to choose fine-grained or other excellent cotton varieties; for improving cotton cultivation, it was advisable to choose Egyptian or American cotton varieties; sugar beet varieties should be adopted from Germany; sugarcane varieties should be adopted from Java; sheep breeds should be adopted from Merino. "Those who improve sheep breeds will be rewarded according to the regulations of the Cotton Sugar Sheep Reward Regulations... from the first generation to the completely improved breed, each generation will be rewarded". The reward measures stipulated in the Cotton Sugar Sheep Reward Regulations had a greater reward for variety improvement than for expansion and cultivation, such as the reward for "improving cotton cultivation" was three times that of "expanding cotton cultivation"; only those who improved sheep breeds were rewarded. For afforestation, it was required to trial plant excellent foreign tree species nationwide, and notify each province: "According to the forestry experimental farm, German poplar trees grow quickly and have many uses. After the establishment of this station, we purchased tree seeds from Qingdao and tried them out... In areas that had been abandoned for a long time and were suitable for half-drought conditions, they could still survive 80% and develop well. This station has prepared to promote afforestation, so this year we have ordered more than 700 pounds of poplar tree seeds from Germany, which have now arrived in Beijing. Except for the seedlings planted by this station, there are still over 300 pounds left... It is hoped that each locality will choose suitable species, cultivate seedlings and plant trees, as a plan for ten years of afforestation... Please notify each agricultural and forestry agency to plant according to law, for trial purposes, and for the benefit of the people."

  Third, formulate reclamation regulations, unify the reclamation method, encourage people to reclaim land, and expand the planting area. Reclaiming wasteland, although it cannot be said to be a measure to completely transform traditional agriculture, has a certain modernization significance from the historical context of the early years of the Republic of China and Zhang Jian's proposed reclamation policy.

  As China's history entered the early years of the Republic of China, with the increase in population and the development of industry and commerce, on the one hand, the per capita arable land area gradually decreased, and on the other hand, grain and various agricultural by-products could not meet the needs of people's lives, industrial raw materials, and export trade. Therefore, increasing agricultural product output became a prerequisite for the development of industry and commerce, as well as the entire economy.

  Increasing agricultural product output can be achieved through improving production technology and increasing unit area yield. Another important way is to expand the planting area of crops. To expand the planting area, it is necessary to reclaim wasteland. At the same time, Zhang Jian's policy of encouraging reclamation has changed traditional practices to a large extent.

  The agricultural reclamation companies that emerged under the encouragement of reclamation policies have the characteristics of capitalist large-scale agriculture and play a role in promoting China's agricultural modernization to some extent.

  Zhang Jian had always attached great importance to the development of wasteland. As early as the late Qing dynasty, he founded the Tonghai Reclamation and Pastoral Company, which was engaged in the reclamation of saline-alkali land. After taking office as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, he tried to promote the reclamation of wasteland nationwide, advocating for the opening up of state-owned wasteland for people to reclaim, and enthusiastically supporting local governments' reclamation efforts. He pointed out: "I think that the rise and fall of a country's wealth and power are always linked to the prosperity or decline of its material production. Today, in order to alleviate poverty, there is no better way than to open up wasteland for reclamation, and especially to first sort out state-owned wasteland as a necessary step. Our country has vast territory, with many state-owned wastelands... If we can gradually clear them up, and uniformly invite people to reclaim them, not only will the land be fully utilized, but also the current problem of idle laborers can be solved, and in the future, when the reclamation is completed, it will increase the country's income." He especially emphasized the importance of reclamation efforts in the northeastern and northwestern border regions, believing that opening up border wasteland not only had the general significance of reclamation but also had the special meaning of moving people to the borders and defending national territory. Regarding the reclamation of Heilongjiang wasteland, he pointed out: "The wasteland in Heilongjiang is vast, especially along the border. The colonization of Russia and Japan is gradually flourishing, taking advantage of our country's resources and eroding its rights. But our people rarely go to those places. Neighboring countries take advantage of the emptiness to enter, while the owners wait for them, and after a long time, they will be occupied by foreign tribes, and the danger will become more serious." Regarding the reclamation of Mongolian wasteland, he believed that there were five benefits: "Firstly, it can eliminate all the harsh rules imposed on Mongolia by the former Qing government, allowing people to go where they want and get rid of what they dislike, thus linking up with the Mongols and preventing them from being tempted by external things; secondly, poor people in the border areas can enjoy the benefits of reclamation, cultivate their livelihoods, and increase their income; thirdly, when land is opened up and people gather, the borders will naturally become solid, and there will be no need to worry about external threats; fourthly, through the reclamation efforts of Mongols and Hans, the government can provide some assistance in water conservancy and other aspects, making it easier for them to establish themselves and increase their income; fifthly, our government's support for their operations can make Mongols feel grateful, thus truly demonstrating the unity of the Republic and its ability to respond to external challenges." He also demanded that Yuan Shikai issue a clear order: "Abolish old rules, establish new ones, guarantee the interests of Mongolian people, allow them to enjoy the benefits of opening up, and avoid being deprived of their rights." He strongly advocated for the implementation of a border defense strategy through the reclamation of border wasteland.

  The development of wasteland, expanding the area of arable land, began in the early and mid-Qing dynasty and by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, a comprehensive policy of reclamation with official colonization as the main focus had been implemented. However, there was still a lack of unified methods, and many problems arose.

  After the founding of the Republic of China, the Beijing government promulgated the "Outline of Agricultural Administration" on September 30, 1912, which included only four articles directly related to reclamation, and these were relatively brief, simply proposing the principles of "migrating to the northeast and northwest, opening up official wasteland", and "encouraging national reclamation".

  It wasn't until Zhang Jian took office as the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce that he believed it was necessary to establish a unified method for reclamation in order to further develop land resources and encourage reclamation. He pointed out: "I think that the national wasteland in various provinces should be opened up to people for reclamation, but there has been no fixed method for this so far. Now that the Republic of China has been established, all matters related to land should be regulated by rules and regulations."

  Immediately after investigating and surveying the wasteland across the country, he promulgated China's first relatively complete reclamation regulations, namely the "Regulations on Reclamation of National Wasteland" (29 articles) in March 1914. He then promulgated the "Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Regulations on Reclamation of National Wasteland" (18 articles) in July and the "Regulations on Reclamation of Border Wasteland" (24 articles) in November.

  These regulations specifically stipulated policies and methods to encourage reclamation, which was a significant improvement over previous reclamation policies and management methods, and showed a certain degree of scientific nature. Specifically, they included the following points:

  First, the scope of wasteland that can be reclaimed was defined. According to these regulations, the types of state-owned wasteland include: newly emerged and abandoned land without owners that has not been cultivated, including river, lake, sea, beach, grassland, forest land, salt marshes, sandy land, etc. The scope of border wasteland includes: outside the Great Wall in Zhili, northeast border of Fengtian, borders of Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Yunnan-Sichuan. These types and scopes of wasteland are obviously those unused and sparsely populated areas. Reclaiming these wastelands will not only turn waste into good land, increase cultivated area, but also drive people from densely populated areas to migrate to sparsely populated areas, achieving the effect of both strengthening border defense and making population distribution more rational.

  Secondly, it clarifies the qualifications and responsibilities of the reclamation applicant. Any person with the nationality of the Republic of China, whether an individual, a legal person or a group, may apply for reclamation in accordance with the law. Once the application is approved, the reclamation applicant must submit a plan for reclamation, including:

  * A general outline of the planned construction of dikes, canals and waterways;

  * The main items of agricultural operation, such as grain cultivation, animal husbandry or afforestation;

  * Matters related to the reclamation and operation of the land;

  * The proposed construction of dams, dikes, canals and other projects, as well as the expected completion date.

  Unless there are special circumstances, the applicant must complete the reclamation plan within the specified period; must report the progress of reclamation to the competent authorities every year; must start actual reclamation within the first year; and may not arbitrarily inherit or transfer the reclamation right. Otherwise, all or part of the reclamation right will be revoked and the reclamation guarantee deposit will be confiscated. The intention is clearly to prevent fraud and improve the actual effectiveness of reclamation.

  Three is the standardization of the reclamation procedure. The relevant regulations detail the different reclamation procedures that need to be handled by different reclaimers; the different reclamation guarantees and completion deadlines for different areas of wasteland; the different land prices for different types of wasteland; and the different penalties for different violations. To avoid the occurrence of private transactions and corruption, such as "those who have reclaimed, many under false names, taking over large tracts, even privately selling wasteland to outsiders".

  Fourth, economic incentives were adopted. The basic principle of Zhang Jian's formulation and promulgation of these reclamation regulations was to encourage reclamation. To encourage reclamation, wasteland was priced at five levels of fertility, with general wasteland priced at a maximum of $1.5 per mu and a minimum of $0.3 per mu; border wasteland was priced at a maximum of $0.3 per mu and a minimum of $0.05 per mu, to encourage the reclamation of poor-quality wasteland. For those who completed reclamation on time, the guarantee deposit would be refunded in full. For those who completed reclamation ahead of schedule, land prices would be reduced: for general wasteland, 5% to 30% of the original price would be deducted for each year of early completion from one to six years; for border wasteland, 10% to 60% of the original price would be deducted for each year of early completion from one to ten years, in order to encourage large-scale and efficient reclamation.

  In addition, Zhang Jian highly valued and actively supported the establishment of farming companies by merchants to engage in modern "large-scale" reclamation. He wrote to the governor of Heilongjiang Province: "If the wasteland in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces is not reclaimed on a large scale, it will not be effective... In the past, I saw the reclamation plan map set by Heilongjiang Province, which was similar to the American model and the one I operated in my hometown (Tonghai Farming and Pastoral Company). It seems that even if small-scale farming is adopted, it should be slightly adjusted and guided. This will not harm the progress of large-scale farming and is a good thing." When Chinese merchants such as Zhejiang native Jiang Ruzao, Guangdong merchant Zheng Guanying's nephew Zheng Runchang, and American agronomist Baron cooperated with Dongyi Company to open up wasteland in Heilongjiang, Zhang Jian gave his active support, believing that: "Jiang Ruzao and Zheng Runchang purchased land in Tongyuan County, Heilongjiang Province, and used large-scale farming methods to reclaim the land. They signed a contract with Dongyi Company for hired reclamation... The method is that Chinese people are the landlords, American people are the reclamation contractors, and it is purely an employment relationship... Chinese people are the landlords but lack capital, while foreign capitalists have both capital and technology but cannot be landlords. If they do not combine their efforts, they will not be able to achieve the effect of reclaiming wasteland. Moreover, large-scale farming can attract immigrants, so the country does not need to spend money on economic development, and the border areas will naturally become prosperous. This is especially a good strategy in terms of economic administration."

  The formulation and promulgation of the above regulations and rules initially laid the foundation for the reclamation policy during the Republican period. Later, successive governments formulated and promulgated some policies and regulations encouraging reclamation, but most were formed on the basis of revising the relevant regulations promulgated during Zhang Jian's tenure. For example, in 1928, when the Nanjing National Government adjusted its policy to encourage reclamation, it still approved the "Regulations for Reclaiming State-owned Wasteland" formulated by Zhang Jian and continued to implement them as specific measures for reclamation management.[29]

  After the promulgation of these regulations, they were also well implemented and strongly promoted the development of agricultural reclamation. These regulations not only promoted the expansion of arable land and the development of agriculture in remote areas but also provided conditions for the emergence and development of new-style agricultural reclamation companies, thus enabling China's agricultural reclamation industry to enter a new period of development from the early years of the Republic of China. Not only did it continue the original official tuntian system, but also the private business-oriented agricultural reclamation further developed, with a large increase in agricultural reclamation companies and private agricultural reclamation activities becoming more active, forming an official, commercial, and private reclamation situation. For example, in Northeast China, from the early years of the Republic of China, the government vigorously promoted the reclamation of wasteland, reclaimed a large amount of state-owned wasteland, and adopted encouraging measures to attract people from other provinces to reclaim wasteland. In Northwest China, the government encouraged the reclamation of imperial hunting grounds and wasteland, and in 1915, the General Bureau of Reclamation was established in Suiyuan to operate official reclamation projects. In the southeastern coastal areas, the reclamation of tidal flats developed rapidly with the support of the Republican government, and in 1914, the Ministry of Finance established the Huaihai Reclamation Bureau, expanding the scope of agricultural reclamation from the Tonghai area to other areas.

  New-style agricultural reclamation companies also entered a relatively prosperous stage from the early years of the Republic of China. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, between 1913 and 1920, the number of agricultural reclamation companies was less than 171 in 1912, with a total capital of around 6.35 million yuan. The number of companies peaked at 142 in 1913 and bottomed out at 83 in 1920; the lowest total capital was 4.95 million yuan in 1914, while the highest was 41.14 million yuan in 1920.

  However, statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce after the Republic of China are incomplete due to underreporting by provinces, resulting in a significant discrepancy with the actual situation at the time. According to other records, around 40 agricultural reclamation companies were established in northern Jiangsu between 1914 and 1920; Guangxi had 64 such companies established between 1912 and 1916; the three northeastern provinces saw the establishment of 137 agricultural reclamation companies between 1913 and 1920, with a total capital of over 15.8 million yuan; and Fujian Province saw a surge in agricultural reclamation companies after the Republic of China, with 16 major companies established by 1916.

  These three provinces alone had 257 agricultural reclamation companies before 1920, not counting other regions. The number of agricultural reclamation companies increased significantly compared to previous years, as did their capital and scale of operations. Most of these companies adopted capitalist large-scale agricultural management methods to varying degrees, playing a guiding role in changing China's agricultural management methods, promoting commodity production and diversified operations, and improving production technology.

  Their business models included unified employment by the company; renting land to contractors for organized production; renting land to tenant farmers for cultivation; or selling reclaimed land. Their primary goal was to sell products and make a profit, with business categories including cotton, sericulture, forestry, tea, animal husbandry, grain, and beekeeping.

  Their production technology was relatively advanced, using improved varieties, applying chemical fertilizers, or purchasing agricultural machinery. They also promoted their cultivated superior varieties, adopted production technologies, and influenced nearby farmers to engage in diversified agriculture through the benefits of planting economic crops.

  The above-mentioned Zhang Jian's measures to transform traditional agriculture with science and technology, although due to his limited tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, coupled with the government's lack of support, made it extremely limited in implementation. For example, the "Regulations on Cotton Sugar Sheep Breeding Rewards" could not be seriously implemented due to financial difficulties; the plan to establish cotton sugar forestry and pasture experimental fields by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce had to be reduced from 11 to 7 due to insufficient funds; some provinces' plans to establish agricultural experimental fields also had to be "postponed" due to lack of funding, and even those that had been established were constrained by insufficient funds and could not fully carry out their work. There was no power to use sufficient economic means to assist and encourage the adoption of advanced production technologies by the people. However, Zhang Jian's proposals for transforming traditional agriculture, policies, and regulations were inherited and developed by various sectors of society and government, gradually put into practice, and opened up a new atmosphere for agricultural modernization in the Republican era, pointing out the direction of development for agricultural modernization in the Republican era - developing multiple operations with economic crops as the mainstay, improving the commodity rate of agricultural products; adopting scientific farming techniques centered on breeding good varieties and mechanized cultivation to improve agricultural productivity; immigrants reclaiming wasteland to expand arable land, developing operational agriculture. The agricultural modernization of the Republican era basically followed the direction pointed out by Zhang Jian.