Overview of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture—Social Undertakings (Part 8)
Section 8 Ethnic Medicine. I. Traditional Ethnic Medicine. Many legends about medicine and healing circulate among the Tujia and Miao people of Xiangxi. For example, the Tujia "Legend of the Medicine King Bodhisattva" and the Miao "Legend of Grandpa Medicine King" are essentially similar to the legend of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, reflecting the long history of Tujia and Miao medicine. Tujia and Miao doctors in Xiangxi...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section 8 Ethnic Medicine
I. Traditional Ethnic Medicine
Many legends and stories about medicine and healing circulate among the Tujia and Miao peoples of Xiangxi. For example, the Tujia "Legend of the Medicine King Bodhisattva" and the Miao "Legend of Grandpa Medicine King" are basically the same as the legend of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, reflecting the long history of Tujia and Miao medicine. Tujia and Miao medicine in Xiangxi underwent more than three to four thousand years of "exclusive operation" in Tujia and Miao areas of Xiangxi. For a long time, the peoples of all ethnic groups in Xiangxi, in their struggle against nature and disease, continuously studied and utilized ethnic medicine to prevent and treat illness, accumulating rich experience in medical techniques, medical theory, and clinical nursing, and gradually forming their own characteristics. In 1985, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture conducted a general survey of Chinese herbal medicine; folk doctors used more than 1,600 commonly used drugs for treating diseases; at the same time, 2,802 folk herbal proven prescriptions were collected.
Tujia doctors, called Tujia physicians among the people and known in the Tujia language as "shezuo," are divided into three types: medicine artisans, water masters, and Tima (Tujia old masters). Medicine artisans mainly practice internal medicine, while water masters mainly practice external medicine; both rely primarily on drug treatment and massage, integrating medicine, pharmacology, and nursing. Tima presides over religious rituals and also treats various diseases, combining witchcraft and medical skill. Tujia doctors summarize the causes of disease into three types, use five diagnostic methods, and employ more than 20 clinical treatment methods combining internal and external treatment. Disease naming has six major characteristics and three methods; more than 500 diseases are classified respectively into seven syndromes, eight categories, three injuries, or thirty-six frights and seventy-two illnesses. Clinical nursing is summarized into five "attending" techniques. Tujia medicines are divided into three properties—cold, hot, and neutral—and eight natures and flavors; drugs are divided into more than 20 categories such as "seventy-two yin-nourishing," "seventy-two yang-restoring," and "thirty-six centipede" medicines. More than 780 medical prescriptions are classified respectively into 16 categories of formulas. Tujia medicine places special emphasis on processing, with more than 10 processing methods.
Miao medicine has four major characteristics: first, the ethnic character of naming; second, the particularity of classification; third, the simplicity of processing; and fourth, the flexibility of formulas. Clinical treatment has four major features: first, medicine and shamanism as one; second, medicine and pharmacology as one; third, medicine and nursing as one; and fourth, medicine and martial arts as one. Clinical diseases are divided into four major categories: first, internal diseases; second, children's diseases; third, external diseases; and fourth, women's diseases. In disease identification and classification, the theory of "thirty-six syndromes" and "seventy-two illnesses" was established. In terms of causes, diseases are divided into 6 pathogenic causes and 16 treatment methods.
The Tujia and Miao peoples of Xiangxi have language but no script; their medical skills are passed down entirely by oral instruction and heart-to-heart transmission. To make it easier to remember the essentials of medical skill, they are often compiled into songs and rhymes for teaching. For example, to grasp the relationship between drug properties and flavors and diseases, there is a rhyme:
Vines and hollow-stemmed wood surely dispel wind; opposite branches and opposite leaves can remove redness.
Branches and leaves with thorns can reduce swelling; leaves with hidden sap have the power to defeat toxins.
Bitter, astringent, numbing, and dispersing can drive out qi; sour and drying stop diarrhea, sweet tonifies the spleen.
Aromatic and bland can all be used to dispel wind; bite-mouth and tongue-chasing treat strain injuries.
Pungent can relieve pain and dispel cold-dampness; sweet mainly generates flesh and is used for tonification.
Bitter cold eliminates Min and dispels heat, sour and astringent convergence resists foul pus.
Another ten-line rhyme for gathering medicinal herbs:
In spring use tip leaves, in summer flowers and branches; from tall trees mostly take stem bark and fruit;
Shrubs may also use the whole plant; herbaceous plants usually use the whole herb;
Whole-herb medicines are mostly cut in summer; fruits are picked around maturity:
Tree bark can be peeled in late spring; roots and rhizomes are gathered in late autumn or before spring;
Pick flowers when buds are about to open; the herb-gathering rhyme must be remembered clearly.
II. Institutional Development
During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1398), traditional Chinese medicine was introduced to Xiangxi. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, dozens of privately run traditional Chinese medicine shops appeared successively in the counties of Xiangxi. During the Republic of China period, Western medicine was introduced to Xiangxi. After the founding of New China, the Party and government attached great importance to ethnic medicine work. In 1953, in accordance with the spirit of the "National Minority Health Work Plan," 71 ethnic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine joint clinics were established successively across the prefecture, absorbing 216 ethnic medicine personnel into work. In the late 1950s, county hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine were established successively in the counties of the prefecture, most of them formerly county town traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. During the "Cultural Revolution," county traditional Chinese medicine hospitals underwent repeated splits, mergers, and abolitions; after 1972, they were successively restored in all counties of the prefecture. In 1985, the prefecture had 1,873 ethnic medicine personnel, including 802 Tujia, 611 Miao, and 460 of other ethnic groups. In 1995, there were 83 registered private ethnic medicine clinics in the prefecture.
The Ethnic Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established in August 1986 and officially opened in September 1987; its predecessor was the Jishou City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. At the beginning, the hospital had only 52 staff, 34 beds, a building area of 944 square meters, working capital of 70,000 yuan, medical equipment worth 56,000 yuan, fixed assets of 238,500 yuan, and annual business income of 276,600 yuan. After nearly 20 years of arduous pioneering work, by 2005 the hospital had grown to 252 staff, including 22 with the title of associate chief physician or above and 80 mid-level health technical personnel at the attending (supervisory) level, with 216 authorized beds, a building area of more than 20,000 square meters, total assets of 30.86 million yuan, fixed assets of more than 19.27 million yuan, an annual outpatient volume of more than 90,000 visits, and 3,000 inpatients admitted annually. In October 1996, upon review by the Hunan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the hospital was recognized as a Grade II Class A traditional Chinese medicine hospital. In 1996, the traditional Chinese medicine hospitals of Yongshun, Longshan, Fenghuang, and Baojing Counties met the standards for Grade II Class B traditional Chinese medicine hospital construction; by 1999, the traditional Chinese medicine hospitals of Yongshun, Longshan, and Fenghuang Counties had successively met the standards for Grade II Class A traditional Chinese medicine hospital construction. In 1996 and 1998, Longshan and Yongshun Counties successively met the standards for "creating qualified counties in rural traditional Chinese medicine." In 2000, Yongshun County met the standards for creating an "advanced county in rural traditional Chinese medicine."
III. Excavation, Research, Development, and Utilization of Ethnic Medicine
Since the founding of New China, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture has repeatedly organized experts and scholars within the prefecture to carry out in-depth excavation, rescue, literature collection, and collation and research on Tujia medicine, Miao medicine, and folk medicine, and has repeatedly undertaken ethnic medicine literature collation projects of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Hunan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1959, the health administrative department of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture organized ethnic medicine collection activities, mobilizing medical units and folk traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine personnel to contribute medical knowledge, medicines, and prescriptions, promoting the development of ethnic medicine. In the early 1970s, cooperative medical care was implemented in rural areas throughout the prefecture, and ethnic medicine was widely used. In 1985, in accordance with the spirit of the National Ethnic Medicine Work Conference jointly convened by the Ministry of Health and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture conducted a comprehensive survey of ethnic medicine in the prefecture, writing more than 40 survey materials and compiling them into volumes one, two, and three of the "Survey Materials on Ethnic Medicine in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture." In 1988 and 1992, the prefectural health bureau held two meetings on ethnic medicine project demonstration, issuing more than 30 projects on ethnic medicine literature collation and clinical observation, of which more than 20 were completed or partially completed as planned. In 1989, led by the Prefectural Institute of Ethnic Medicine, writing teams for "Tujia Medicine of Xiangxi" and "Miao Medicine of Xiangxi" were established, and "Tujia Medicine of Xiangxi" and "Miao Medicine of Xiangxi" were compiled. That year, the prefectural people's government organized a special team to record the television teaching film on pediatric massage by Associate Professor Liu Kaiyun, "A Wonderful Flower of Massage," which was completed in 1993 and published and distributed by the China Health Science and Education Audio-Visual Publishing House. In 1988, the "Ethnic Medicine Research Society of the Hunan Provincial Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine" was established in Jishou, and in 2002 it was renamed the "Ethnic Medicine Professional Committee of the Hunan Provincial Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine"; in 1993, the "Ethnic Minority Medicine Professional Committee of the Hunan Provincial Association of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine" was established, affiliated respectively with the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Ethnic Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and the Prefectural Institute of Ethnic Medicine. After the establishment of the two societies, they repeatedly carried out provincial and national ethnic medicine academic exchange activities, with more than 1,000 papers exchanged in total. In 2001, they assisted the China Ethnic Medicine Association and the health administrative department of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture in hosting the National Tujia Medicine Academic Seminar, playing a positive role in promoting the development of ethnic medicine.
In addition to activities organized by governments at all levels, medical administrative departments, and academic groups, many workers engaged in ethnic medicine went deep into folk communities, extensively collected various accounts, carefully sought verification, broadly gathered and sparingly issued, worked diligently and earnestly, quietly cultivated, gathering morning and evening regardless of cold or heat, and made positive contributions to the ethnic medicine of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, achieving one result after another.
In 1978, Ou Zhi'an of Fenghuang County, building on the original Compilation of Chinese Herbal Medicines of Fenghuang County, reorganized, enriched, and improved the material to compile the Compilation of Miao Medicines of Fenghuang County, which won the second prize for scientific and technological achievements of the prefecture in 1983. It was later further reorganized into the Compilation of Xiangxi Miao Medicines, published by Yuelu Press in 1990. In 1982, the projects "Study on the Antibacterial and Antidysenteric Effects of Shuihuanglian" researched by Tian Huayong and others, and "Study on the Antibacterial and Antidysenteric Effects of Mugua" researched by Tian Qiwei and others, were both rated second prize for scientific and technological achievements of the prefecture. Dr. Long Yuliu of the Mao'er Township Health Center in Huayuan County was a master of the theoretical knowledge of Miao medicine. In 1985, the Huayuan County Health Bureau organized efforts to collect and reorganize his academic achievements, compiling them into The Generative Philosophy of the Miao People, which systematically introduced the theoretical foundations of Miao medicine. In 1987, "Research on the Diagnostic and Treatment Methods of the Tujia and Miao Peoples" was listed as a Hunan provincial research project. In 1991 and 1993, ethnic medicine research topics such as "Investigation and Study of the Processing Methods of Xiangxi Ethnic Medicines" and "Clinical Observation of Gushengning in the Treatment of Bone Hyperplasia" were included in the Hunan Provincial Health Department's research bidding plan. Among them, "Investigation and Study of the Processing Methods of Xiangxi Ethnic Medicines" passed the provincial department's achievement appraisal and won the third prize for scientific and technological progress in traditional Chinese medicine of Hunan Province. The Tujia Medical Science, authored by Tian Huayong, Pan Yonghua, and Tang Yongjia, was published by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Antiquarian Books Publishing House in 1994, and was the first publicly published monograph on Tujia medicine. The research achievement "Study on the Treatment of Bone Injury Diseases with Miao Medical Bone-Setting Manipulation plus Bailin Bone-Joining Powder," researched by Zhang Donghai, Zhang Li, Tian Huayong, and others, respectively won the third prize for scientific and technological progress in traditional Chinese medicine of Hunan Province and the second prize for scientific and technological progress of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture in 1999. The History of Tujia Medicine, edited by Tian Huayong, was published and distributed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Antiquarian Books Publishing House in 2005.
In order to excavate and reorganize the processing methods of ethnic medicines that had been scattered among the people for hundreds and thousands of years, Tian Huayong, Qu Xianyou, and others of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Ethnic Medicine Research Institute began the collection and reorganization of ethnic medicine processing methods in 1994. The Hunan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine successively funded two projects undertaken by the institute: "Investigation and Study of the Processing Methods of Commonly Used Ethnic Medicines in Xiangxi" and "Investigation and Study of the Processing Methods of Ethnic Medicines Nationwide." The investigation work of the projects extended from the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces to 18 provinces and autonomous regions across the country where ethnic minorities live in relatively concentrated communities, and more than 60 experts and scholars from the domestic ethnic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine circles were invited to jointly participate in the collection and reorganization of folk medicine processing methods. Through on-site investigations and literature collection in various places, more than 30 processing methods for over 1,100 medicines of more than 40 ethnic groups were collected, and compiled into the book A Compendium of Ethnic Medicine Processing in China, published and distributed by the China Antiquarian Books Publishing House in 2000. This book is not only suitable for medical personnel of various ethnic groups, but also serves to broaden the horizons and increase the knowledge of the broad masses of clinical, scientific research, and teaching personnel in traditional Chinese medicine. Its achievement, "Study on the Processing Methods of Ethnic Medicines Nationwide," won the third prize for scientific and technological progress of Hunan Province in 2001.
On the basis of the reorganization, study, and careful verification of ethnic medicine, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture continuously applied it to clinical treatment, which not only achieved special medical effects but also saved considerable medical expenses for the people of all ethnic groups. In 1960, Long Yuliu, a Miao doctor of Huayuan County, summarized and improved the traditional Miao steam therapy to treat malnutritional edema and many other diseases. Because of his outstanding achievements, he was rated a national health model and attended the National Conference of Heroes in Culture, Education, and Health, where he was received by Party and state leaders. In 1971, the Fenghuang County Health Bureau and the prefectural Health Bureau jointly organized a study on the treatment of chronic bronchitis with Jiumuxiang, successively conducting systematic observation of therapeutic effects throughout the prefecture, and cooperating with Beijing, Daqing, and other places to carry out cross-verification. A total of more than 3,000 cases were treated, with 738 cases systematically observed, and the total effective rate reached 91.3%. In 1980, this project won the fourth prize for scientific and technological achievements of Hunan Province. In 1988, the "Mugua Shugan Granules" researched by Tian Qiwei and others obtained a new drug approval number from the Hunan Provincial Pharmaceutical Administration and was put into mass production by the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Pharmaceutical Factory. Since the 1980s, the Prefectural Ethnic Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Chinese medicine hospitals of Fenghuang, Baojing, and Longshan counties, and the Fenghuang County People's Hospital, among others, successively carried out clinical work in ethnic medicine, mainly diagnosing and treating various difficult and complicated diseases, commonly using more than 200 kinds of ethnic medicines. Associate Chief Physician Peng Fangsheng of the Prefectural Ethnic Chinese Medicine Hospital and the Prefectural Ethnic Medicine Research Institute is most skilled in treating chronic colitis, chronic gastritis, and other diseases. Among them, the project "Special Disease of Colitis of the Miao and Tujia Peoples" was listed by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2002 as one of the first batch of 14 key ethnic medicine specialty disease construction projects nationwide. Retired physician Shi Jinhui, hired by the Fenghuang County Chinese Medicine Hospital, treats neurodermatitis; after clinical observation of more than 30 cases by the Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the marked effective rate reached 100%. Dr. Long Qingkao of the Baojing County Chinese Medicine Hospital uses ancestral ethnic medical methods to treat fractures, with a short treatment course, fast healing, and little pain. Zhang Donghai of the Longshan County Ethnic Orthopedics and Traumatology Hospital uses ancestral Miao medical bone-setting manipulation plus Bailin Bone-Joining Powder to treat bone injury diseases with good therapeutic effects, enjoying fame in the border areas of four provinces and municipalities.
The above achievements have brought Tujia and Miao medicine from the "word-of-mouth" medicine circulated among the people for hundreds and thousands of years into the academic hall of the motherland's traditional ethnic medicine, and have also made Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture the leading unit for Tujia medical scholarship in China.
Section 9 Social Security
Social security is the general term for various measures that provide material assistance to members of society. It includes labor security, subsidies for workers' living difficulties, social relief, and the rural "Five Guarantees," among others.
Pension insurance. In 1957, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture began implementing the retirement system. Part of the pension insurance costs was paid directly by enterprises or employers, and part was allocated from 3% of the total wage bill. In 1969, retirement fees were changed to be paid directly by enterprises. In 1986, employees of state-owned enterprises throughout the prefecture implemented pension insurance. The following year, county-level pooling was implemented. In 1988, the standards for pension fund contributions for workers under unified labor contracts were standardized. By the end of the year, 11,251 workers under the nationwide contract system throughout the prefecture had insured, paying 2.0934 million yuan in pension funds, with a collection rate of 98.56%; there were 606 state-owned enterprises and institutions under pooling, with 41,934 employees and 6,091 retired employees, extracting a total of 9.146 million yuan in pooled funds and paying 6.739 million yuan in retirement fees. In 1989, pilot work on social pension insurance for temporary workers began in Longshan, Jishou, and Luxi counties and cities. By the end of the year, a total of 1,968 temporary workers in the three counties and cities had insured, collecting 250,000 yuan in insurance funds. After 1996, pension insurance fund collection throughout the prefecture rose year by year, and social coverage continued to expand. In 2000, 72.19 million yuan in pension insurance funds were collected and deposited; the number of insured persons in state-owned and collective enterprises was 71,457, with an insurance participation rate of 95.7%; the merger of the unified basic pension insurance system for enterprise employees was smoothly realized, unifying the proportion credited to individual accounts and the method for calculating and issuing pensions. In 2002, pension insurance work for organs and institutions advanced steadily. In 2004, 82,745 people throughout the prefecture participated in enterprise pension insurance, and 72,895 people participated in organ and institution pension insurance.
In August 1998, the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture separately convened prefecture-wide work meetings on "pension insurance" and "construction of reemployment service centers," carrying out a general mobilization for the tough battle of the "two guarantees" and making specific deployments and arrangements for work objectives and completion deadlines. The "two guarantees" were ensuring the basic living standards of laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises and ensuring the timely and full payment of basic pensions for retired employees of enterprises. Starting in June 1998, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture changed pension insurance from differential settlement to full settlement, basically achieving timely and full payment of pensions. At the same time, labor security departments at all levels throughout the prefecture actively organized and launched the implementation of pension payment through entrusted banks, post offices, or direct payment by social insurance agencies, namely "socialized payment." In 2000, 11,346 people received socialized pension payment, with a socialized payment rate of 72%. In 2001, the eight counties and cities and the prefectural level all achieved full collection and allocation of pension insurance, paying 85.26 million yuan in pensions to 15,919 retired enterprise employees; the coverage rate, full payment rate, and socialized payment rate of pensions for retired enterprise employees all reached 100%. In 2005, the number of retired enterprise employees throughout the prefecture increased to 23,000, and 170 million yuan in pensions was paid, ensuring the basic living standards of retired enterprise employees.
Unemployment insurance. In 1986, enterprises within the prefecture paid unemployment insurance funds at 1% of the total standard wages of all employees. The relief targets were employees of bankrupt enterprises, employees streamlined during the statutory reorganization period of enterprises on the verge of bankruptcy, workers whose labor contracts were terminated or dissolved, and employees dismissed by enterprises. In 1988, 1,073 units throughout the prefecture participated in unemployment insurance, with 76,265 employees, collecting 636,000 yuan in unemployment insurance funds. In 1993, the Provisions on Unemployment Insurance for Employees of State-Owned Enterprises were implemented, adding three types of relief targets; the standard for raising unemployment insurance funds was raised from 1% of the total standard wage bill of enterprises to 1% of the total wage bill; individual employees paid 1 yuan per month. In 1995, 1,312 units participated in insurance, with 83,607 employees, raising 4.05 million yuan in funds; 47 units and 4,978 people received relief; 142 unemployed employees were placed in jobs. After 1996, unemployment insurance fund collection throughout the prefecture rose year by year, and social coverage continued to expand. In 2000, 10.4 million yuan in unemployment insurance funds were collected and deposited; the number of insured persons in state-owned and collective enterprises for unemployment insurance was 94,500, with an insurance participation rate of 90%. In 2004, the number of people participating in unemployment insurance throughout the prefecture increased to 102,824.
By the end of August 1998, all 316 state-owned enterprises in the prefecture with laid-off workers had established reemployment service centers, and all laid-off workers had entered the centers. Starting in August, funds were transferred into the accounts of the reemployment service centers at the standard of 198 yuan per person per month, and more than 3,200 laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises throughout the prefecture who entered the centers and signed agreements received their basic living allowances on time. From 1998 to 2000, the prefecture cumulatively issued 63.53 million yuan in basic living allowances for laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises, enabling 13,621 laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises to receive their basic living allowances on time. After entering the new century, the basic living allowances for laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises achieved 100% timely and full payment, and the standards increased year by year. In 2005, 40 million yuan in basic living allowances for laid-off workers was issued to bankrupt and restructured enterprises. This ensured the basic living standards of laid-off workers and ensured social stability.
Medical insurance. In 1952, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture began implementing disease and medical insurance. Employees' medical consultation fees, surgery fees, insurance premiums, and ordinary medicine fees were borne by enterprises. In 1994, there were 135 enterprise units throughout the prefecture participating in work-related injury insurance, with 11,551 employees, collecting a total of 276,000 yuan in work-related injury insurance funds and paying out 140,500 yuan; there were 80 units participating in major illness medical insurance, with 6,388 employees, collecting a total of 415,900 yuan in major illness medical insurance premiums and paying out 385,000 yuan. In October 1995, Longshan County and Guzhang County launched maternity insurance for female enterprise workers, filling a gap in social insurance within the prefecture. In 1999, reform of the medical insurance system was implemented. By the end of 2000, a total of 1,395 units had been included in medical insurance participation throughout the prefecture, with 62,792 insured employees; a total of 21.3 million yuan in medical insurance funds was collected, and 16.76 million yuan in hospitalization medical expenses of insured persons was verified and reimbursed; the prefectural level and Luxi County launched and implemented a major illness mutual aid method. In 2003, major illness medical mutual aid was implemented throughout the prefecture, with 98,708 people participating in major illness mutual aid. In 2004, efforts were focused on promoting work-related injury and maternity insurance, with 12,251 and 75,046 insured persons respectively. In 2005, Huayuan County included a group of large-scale private enterprises such as Sanli Group in the scope of medical insurance; Luxi County included all 3,091 high school students in the county in coordinated management of hospitalization medical expenses; Jishou City expanded medical insurance to private enterprises and flexibly employed persons.
Employment and reemployment. In August 1952, after the establishment of the People's Government of the Miao Autonomous Region of Xiangxi, public teachers and urban unemployed laborers from the Republic of China period were taken over and uniformly resettled. In 1957, the employment system of unified transfer and unified allocation was implemented. In 1992, in order to adapt to the requirements of enterprises converting their operating mechanisms, enterprises had autonomy in employment and did not need to report employment plans. From 1979 to 2005, the number of unemployed persons throughout the prefecture was lowest in 1985 at 2,640 and highest in 1994 at 10,350. After entering the new century, the unemployment rate throughout the prefecture was kept within 4.5%. Since 1996, the reemployment project was vigorously implemented, and a series of preferential policies were issued; extensive publicity was carried out on the relationship between state-owned enterprise reform and worker layoffs, the situation faced by reemployment, the state's various preferential policies for reemployment, and advanced models of laid-off workers seeking their own employment; labor training was vigorously carried out. By 2000, labor departments throughout the prefecture had established 9 labor markets; the three-level labor markets at the prefectural, county/city, and township levels basically realized information networking. In 2002, employment was promoted for 16,867 person-times of various types of personnel; vocational skill appraisal was carried out, and vocational qualification certificates were issued to 8,756 practitioners. In 2003, supporting policies were formulated, work measures were improved, and employment and reemployment were further expanded. That year, 16,712 new jobs were added throughout the prefecture, and 21,807 urban jobs were newly added, including 17,400 reemployed laid-off and unemployed persons and 4,300 employed persons in difficult circumstances; 29,459 Reemployment Preferential Certificates were issued, and 5.2599 million yuan in tax and fee reductions and exemptions was implemented; 39.01 million yuan was invested in reemployment funds; 222 townships, towns, and streets and 65 communities throughout the prefecture established labor security work institutions and were equipped with full-time and part-time staff. In 2004, 30 out-of-prefecture transfer employment bases were created; a large number of labor brokers were cultivated, and relatively stable labor cooperation relations were established with more than 110 cities in 12 provinces and municipalities including Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang; distinctive export was developed and labor brands were built. Brands such as "export of folk craftsmen" in Yongshun and Baojing counties and "local transfer for tourism services" in Fenghuang County initially took shape; the cumulative number of people working outside reached 350,000. In 2005, 72.39 million yuan was invested in employment and reemployment funds; 16,452 urban jobs were newly added throughout the prefecture, including 9,950 reemployed laid-off and unemployed persons; vocational skill appraisal was conducted for 12,197 people, of whom 10,746 obtained national vocational qualification certificates; a large-scale labor negotiation and recruitment fair with the theme "Government Builds the Platform, Caring for Xiangxi, Focusing on Employment" was successfully held, with 84 various employment agreements signed, covering 38,414 workers by agreement, taking the lead in Hunan Province in opening a path of regional labor cooperation.
Disaster Relief and Rescue. The prefecture's territory suffers from "nine droughts in ten years," with concentrated rainfall making it highly prone to droughts, floods, landslides, fires, and other disasters, which occur frequently. As a result, the custom of mutual help and assistance had long taken root among the people, and government authorities also frequently stepped in to provide relief and rescue. In the spring and summer of the fifth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1825), the Guzhangping area experienced a massive flood surge; riverside paddy fields were submerged, and buckwheat harvests failed. Displaced victims gathered rock garlic and dug white clay to stave off hunger, and countless people died. At that time, the Yongshun Prefecture opened granaries and reduced grain prices to relieve the populace. After the founding of New China, when one area within the territory suffered disaster, support poured in from all sides. Leaders at all levels took the lead, Party members and cadres actively participated in donating money and goods, civilians contributed labor and materials, students saved their pocket money to donate, people's governments at all levels vigorously organized disaster relief efforts, and troops stationed in the prefecture actively threw themselves into flood-fighting and emergency rescue, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property, minimizing losses, and enabling self-reliant production recovery and rebuilding of homes. From January to April 1960, the prefecture suffered a severe spring drought; on May 20, Baojing, Huayuan, and Guzhang were hit by strong winds and hail; from June to August, rainfall was extremely scarce. Grain production across the prefecture dropped by 92.15 million kilograms. That year, the prefecture distributed 1.569 million yuan in relief funds, 25,000 kilograms of relief cotton, 84,000 meters of cotton cloth, 16,135 cotton-padded jackets, 4,133 cotton-padded quilts, and 2,709 other items of clothing. In 1998, a flood disaster struck; across the prefecture, 63 townships were severely affected, 667,000 people were severely affected, 3,882 residential buildings comprising 8,684 rooms collapsed, 92 people died due to the disaster, and direct economic losses reached 1.35 billion yuan. Party members, cadres, and armed police officers and soldiers risked their lives to organize the masses in flood-fighting and disaster relief. According to statistics, over the five years from 1996 to 2000, the prefecture urgently relocated 185,000 person-times, resettled 128,000 disaster victims, and secured over 90 million yuan (including the converted value of materials) from higher authorities and society, enabling over 2 million person-times of disaster victims across the prefecture to receive varying degrees of relief, safeguarding people's basic living rights and interests, and ensuring stability of public sentiment and social order in disaster areas. In 2002, the civil affairs departments of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture began establishing a social assistance system. In 2003, the prefecture and its 8 counties and cities all established disaster relief contingency plans. From 2001 to 2004, the prefecture allocated a total of 78.55 million yuan in disaster relief funds, along with large quantities of relief materials. In 2005, the "Implementation Opinions of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture on Accelerating the Urban and Rural Social Assistance and Security System" was issued. That year, a total of 2.56 million person-times of urban and rural disadvantaged people were assisted, and 114 million yuan in assistance funds was distributed.
Minimum Living Guarantee for Urban and Rural Residents (Village Residents). On September 1, 1999, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture began implementing the "Implementation Plan for the Rural Social Security System." That year, 6,278 urban residents were verified as guarantee recipients, and a total of 2.368 million yuan in guarantee funds was distributed; 7,728 rural guarantee recipients were verified, with a per capita annual guarantee standard of 500 yuan. In 2000, the coverage of the urban minimum living guarantee was expanded and the standard was raised; 7,803 urban residents were verified as minimum living guarantee recipients, with a per capita monthly guarantee standard of 156 yuan. By the end of 2001, the number of urban minimum living guarantee recipients had expanded to 15,780, and 8.4 million yuan in minimum living guarantee funds was allocated for the year. In 2003, the rural extremely poor household assistance pilot program in Guzhang County succeeded and was rolled out comprehensively; across the prefecture, 13,921 households and 41,657 rural extremely poor people received assistance, with a per capita monthly assistance of 5 yuan or more; that year, the number of urban and rural resident minimum living guarantee recipients across the prefecture expanded to over 70,000, and 41 million yuan in minimum living guarantee funds was allocated for the year. In 2005, a total of 44.56 million yuan in minimum living guarantee funds was secured from higher authorities, with 10 million yuan in matching funds from the prefecture, counties, and cities, and the per capita monthly minimum living guarantee supplement rose from 52 yuan the previous year to 61.7 yuan. The number of rural extremely poor people receiving assistance was 42,000, and the assistance standard was raised to 8 yuan. The prefecture basically achieved the goal of "guaranteeing all those who should be guaranteed."
"Five Guarantees" Household Support. The people of all ethnic groups in Xiangxi have a traditional custom of respecting the elderly, caring for the young, and helping the weak and relieving the poor. In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1735), the four counties of Yongshun, Longshan, Baojing, and Sangzhi, along with Qianzhou Prefecture, each supported 10 solitary elderly persons, providing each with 3 shi and 6 dou of paddy rice and 3 qian of cloth and flower silver annually. In the eighteenth year of the Republic of China (1929), He Long, commander of the Second Detachment of the Xiangxi Patrol Defense Army, established an orphanage in Pushi, Luxi County, taking in 400 orphans. After the founding of New China, the "Five Guarantees" policy of guaranteeing food, clothing, fuel, education (for children), and burial was implemented for solitary elderly and orphans. In 1958, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture established 526 nursing homes, with 8,765 elderly people admitted. In 1959, there were 6,805 orphans under age 13 across the prefecture; 13 orphanages were established, taking in 727 children, while the remaining orphans were supported through a combination of collective upbringing and state subsidies. After the 1960s, nursing homes gradually decreased, and by the 1970s only 3 in urban areas remained. "Five Guarantees" households were supported by production teams, with each person receiving 300 kilograms of paddy rice, 3 kilograms of cooking oil, and 60 yuan in cash annually; civil affairs departments provided a monthly living allowance of 5 yuan. After 1979, nursing homes gradually recovered, and 29 new ones were built that year. In 1993, rural social pension insurance was promoted; 11,465 people across the prefecture enrolled, with an average premium of 58.40 yuan per person. In 2000, the prefecture had 7,338 Five Guarantees households with 10,953 people; there were 99 nursing homes providing centralized support for over 2,300 Five Guarantees elderly; each nursing home had a small fish pond, a small orchard, a small pigpen, and a small vegetable garden, and a support model of "sustaining the home through its gardens" took initial shape; in December, the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Charity Association was established, raising nearly 1 million yuan in charitable funds that year. In 2005, the prefecture had 10,285 Five Guarantees recipients, with an average annual support standard of over 825 yuan. Nursing homes were generally established in all townships, with the goal of one per township by 2007.
Welfare for the Disabled. Helping the disabled and supporting the weak is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. For disabled people, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture adopted relief measures on the one hand, treatment to promote rehabilitation on the other, and various measures to help disabled people find employment and make their own living. In 1958, the prefecture established 261 welfare factories and production groups, employing 8,218 people, accounting for 50% of the total disabled population. After the 1960s, welfare factories were reduced. After the 1990s, people's governments adopted various methods to place disabled people in employment. In 1993, over 3,000 disabled people were newly placed in employment, of whom 485 were placed by 35 welfare enterprises, 499 by township enterprises, 978 became self-employed, and over 1,000 were helped into employment through civil affairs department assistance and socially raised funds. From 1996 to 2000, the prefecture secured 7.9 million yuan in special poverty alleviation loans for the rehabilitation of disabled persons, and carried out microcredit poverty alleviation tailored to the characteristics of disabled persons, enabling over 60,000 impoverished disabled people to basically solve the problem of food and clothing. In 2001, the prefecture supported 10,400 impoverished disabled people in participating in productive labor, enabling 2,900 impoverished disabled people who had not yet solved the problem of food and clothing to basically achieve that goal. In 1989, the prefecture launched cataract restoration, polio orthopedic correction, and deaf children's speech training and rehabilitation work. By 1993, 1,561 people had received cataract restoration, 781 had received polio orthopedic correction, and 142 deaf children had received speech training. From 1994 to 2005, nearly 20,000 disabled people across the prefecture received varying degrees of rehabilitation. In April 2005, a high-level prefecture-wide work conference on the disabled was held; on May 15, a theatrical gala titled "Holding Up the Blue Sky of Life — The 15th 'National Day for Helping the Disabled'" was held; in particular, in conjunction with the education campaign on the advanced nature of members of the Communist Party of China, a prefecture-wide campaign to learn from Zhao Xiaoqiong was extensively carried out, vigorously publicizing work for the disabled and the cause of the disabled, so that the whole society would care about and support disabled people.