"Life Will Move Downward"

Wars, dynasties and governments come and go, but China's ancient agrarian moon festival goes on forever. Along the paddy walls of the countryside and through teeming lanes of towns, rich & poor alike gathered last week for family reunions and celebrations.

The most memorable of moon festivals occurred in the bitter years when Tartar invaders ruled the land. Revolt brewed against them in 1368. To break it, the alien despots posted guards in the foremost Chinese households. When the feast-day came, families gathered and all went as usual--until mooncakes were served. When the feasters broke into the pastries, they found slips of paper with the message: "Kill the Tartars in your household." All rose in mighty unison. The aliens were driven forth and the peace of the Mings descended on China.

This week, as another autumn moon lit up the traditional festival, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek summoned his countrymen to rise against another kind of Tartar in the national household. "We should understand," he cried in a broadcast to the people, "that in addition to the treacherous rebels who are rampant today, speculation, manipulation and high living to the point of lasciviousness on the part of social parasites in our midst are also to blame for our crisis ... It is my intention to wash away these social dregs by opening the floodgates of public conscience and social justice . . ."

As a starting point "for improving social practices" the Gimo proclaimed a new movement--"industriousness and austerity for national reconstruction." "This movement," said the Gimo, echoing his racket-busting son, Ching-kuo (TIME, Sept. 20), "is a revolutionary social movement . . . Its mission is to check the tendency to extremes of wealth and poverty. Eventually life at the front will move downward to the soldiers' level and life in the rear to the common people's level."

The Gimo had a list of specific changes demanded by the new austerity: fewer passenger cars and more buses; fewer attendants and servants for public officials; less meat, tobacco, wine, candies and superstitious use of joss paper; cheaper weddings, funerals and gifts on holidays; a boycott of dance halls and gambling; heavy taxes on luxuries; severe penalties for government offices which steal water.

Even mooncakes were affected. Where formerly there had been cakes as big around as a table and stuffed with whole hams, chickens and dozens of eggs, all cakes will now be held down to bun size.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.