Abstract: The central theme of Fei Xiaotong’s Peasant Life in China is the agrarian question， not the land question. The agrarian question is an academic concept， derived from Karl Kautsky’s book published in 1899. The concept refers to the transition and changes of agriculture, land， peasantry， and rural areas during the processes of modernization and development of nations， particularly the changes of agricultural production, land ownership， peasant differentiation， and rural governance. Kautsky’s book represents an orthodox Marxist theoretical analysis of agrarian question as well as a solution to the rural transformation that is based on capitalist mode of production， and can only be successfully achieved through agrarian capitalist development. A careful examination of Peasant Life in China revealed that Fei’s treatment of the Chinese rural issues and rural transition followed the concept and framework of orthodox Marxism. However， Fei attempted to explore a Chinese non-capitalist，livelihood-oriented and diversified development path of agrarian transition as an alternative response to the orthodox Marxist solution. Fei Xiaotong supported small-land ownership and cautioned against ownership concentration of means of production such as landed property. He believed that the Chinese rural labor division was largely based gender and generation， and there were no clearly defined classes in rural China and no employment institution playing a role in village economy. He was convinced that diversified family agriculture and village industry were the key measures to sustain family life. He considered that traditional forces were very important in social relation and social development. In contrast to Karl Kautsky， Fei Xiaotong’s analysis of agrarian question and his standpoint of agrarian transition constituted a quite different theoretical perspective and value orientation. Adding to the praise for Peasant Life in China widely shared by the academic community， this study once again demonstrated the important intellectual contribution that made Fei’s work a classical masterpiece.

Key words: Peasant Life in China, agrarian question, agrarian transition, Marxism, livelihood perspective