南京國民政府成立至全面抗戰前十年間,對農村的治理出現嚴重問題。主要表現為:賦稅繁苛,長期過度剝奪農村;防災、治災、救災基礎建設嚴重被忽視而極其薄弱,農業抵抗自然災害能力大為降低,農村連年遍地災荒。苛政"人禍"與自然"天災"交織相迫,農村經濟連年衰敗;廣大貧民也"命懸一線",陷入求生無望、"坐而待斃"的絕境,從而孕育和釀造了群體反抗與革命的普遍土壤。史實表明,農村經濟并不存在所謂南京國民政府的"黃金十年"。

During the ten years from the establishment of the Nationalist government in Nanjing to total resistance against Japanese aggression by the whole nation,serious problems emerged in rural governance.These were chiefly evident in the exploitation of the countryside through frequent and harsh taxes;neglect of infrastructure projects which would have avoided natural disasters and a feeble response to those disasters;a sharp fall in the peasants’ ability to cope with natural disaster;and a series of large-scale famines.The double blows of man-made and natural disasters led to economic depression in rural areas year after year.The mass of the poor gave up hope and waited for death,thus providing fertile soil for mass rebellion and revolution.Given the above historical realities,the so-called "golden decade"of the Nationalist government in Nanjing was non-existent in the rural economy.