This topical and concise report on one commune in China’s innovative commune system is designed to present key features of the system as a whole. The range of source materials—collected as a project of the Texas China Council and the University of Texas Center for Asian Studies—includes official Chinese documents, criticisms of a prominent regional leader published during the Cultural Revolution, official statements to foreign visitors at Huadong, observations about the commune by foreign visitors and journalists, and recollections by local emigrés. The author emphasizes the personal...