Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Overview — Regional Ethnic Autonomy (Part 5)
Section 5 People's Livelihood. In the Yuan Dynasty, Xiangxi entered the era of tusi (native chieftain) rule. The tusi was both the supreme political ruler and the greatest feudal lord, and the region's economy was a feudal manorial one. Within a tusi's jurisdiction, land, fields and forests belonged to the tusi, while the common people had no land or only "scattered scraps." The tusi exploited them mainly through corvée rent...
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 Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.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 5 People's Livelihood
During the Yuan Dynasty, Xiangxi entered the period of Tusi (native chieftain) rule. The Tusi was both the highest political ruler and the largest feudal lord, and the social economy of Xiangxi was a feudal lord economy. Within the Tusi's jurisdiction, fields, land, and forests belonged to the Tusi, and the native people had no land or only "scattered patches of land." The Tusi exploited the native people through taxes, mainly in the form of labor rent, followed by rent in kind, and then by money rent. The native people had to spend most of their time farming the domains of the Tusi and other officials of various ranks, such as the Sheba, "like slaves." The native people were in effect serfs without personal freedom, and their livelihood depended entirely on the grain produced on their "allotted land," making life extremely difficult.
In the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, private land ownership began to appear in Xiangxi. By the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, land transactions became prevalent. In the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1730), the Xiangxi region completed the "replacement of native officials with appointed ones" (gaituguiliu), marking the end of Tusi rule. The feudal lord economy completely disintegrated, the feudal landlord economy was fully established, and the native people freed themselves from personal dependence on the lords and became farmers. After the "replacement of native officials with appointed ones," land concentration accelerated, and many farmers lost their land and had no means of livelihood. The Miao people in particular suffered even greater oppression, exploitation, and bullying, which led to the "Qianjia Miao People's Uprising" (1795-1805). Beginning in the fourth year of the Jiaqing reign (1799), the policy of building border walls and forts and stationing troops supported by military farms was implemented in the Miao areas of Xiangxi, known as "tunzheng" (the garrison farm system). After losing ownership of their land, the vast Miao people became "tenant farmers" of the feudal state, shackled by the exploitation of "tun rent," and once again fell into an abyss of poverty and suffering.
After the Revolution of 1911, as imperialist aggression deepened, old and new warlords fought year after year in Xiangxi, bandits ran rampant, and Xiangxi's economy fluctuated. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the population moving into the Xiangxi region increased sharply, outside sources of goods were cut off, and daily necessities were in short supply, giving Xiangxi's handicraft industry a brief opportunity for development. However, due to years of war, daily necessities could not be transported in and Xiangxi's local products could not be transported out. Coupled with severe inflation, Xiangxi's economy gradually declined. Per capita grain availability was less than 200 kilograms, and salt became so extremely overvalued that a dou of rice could only be exchanged for a jin of salt, or even over a hundred jin of rice for one jin of salt, forcing people to eat bland food all year round and live in extreme hardship.
After the founding of New China, from the winter of 1950 to the spring of 1952, land reform was completed in the prefecture, and the broad masses of farmers realized their long-cherished wish of "land to the tiller," with unprecedented enthusiasm for production. At the same time, the industrial foundation was initially established, commerce revived, and the lives of urban and rural people gradually improved. In 1952, the Xiangxi Miao Autonomous Region had a per capita grain availability of 269 kilograms, 2.2 kilograms of edible vegetable oil, 5.24 kilograms of pork, and 0.82 kilograms of aquatic products. In 1953, the region sold a total of 3.755 million kilograms of salt, 4.06 times that of 1950. In 1957, the total grain output of the 10 counties of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture was 577.33 million kilograms, and agricultural output value was 158.84 million yuan (at 1957 constant prices), an increase of 89.0% and 77.8% respectively over 1949, and people's living standards improved significantly. In the following 20 years, industrial production increased substantially and agricultural production advanced amid fluctuations, but people's lives improved little. In the 1980s, with the gradual implementation of reform and opening up, the economy of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture developed rapidly. In 1985, the prefecture's per capita grain availability reached 315 kilograms, 13.07 kilograms of edible vegetable oil, 17.59 kilograms of pork, and 2.24 kilograms of aquatic products. In 2005, despite suffering severe natural disasters, farmers in the prefecture still had a per capita availability of 224.1 kilograms of grain, 3.2 kilograms of beans and bean products, 127.8 kilograms of vegetables, 4.4 kilograms of oils and fats, 21.7 kilograms of meat, poultry, and their products, 1.51 kilograms of eggs and egg products, 0.11 kilograms of milk and dairy products, and 1.3 kilograms of aquatic products.
In 2005, the urbanization level of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture reached 28.5%. The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 6,529 yuan, an increase of 635 yuan over the previous year, or 10.8%, with an average annual growth of 6.8% during the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period. The per capita net income of farmers was 1,766 yuan, an increase of 164 yuan over the previous year, or 10.2%, with an average annual growth of 6.7% during the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period. The balance of savings deposits of urban and rural residents was 9.203 billion yuan, an increase of 17.1% over the previous year, with an average annual growth of 18.4% during the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period. Urban and rural markets were active, and total retail sales of consumer goods were 5.339 billion yuan, an increase of 14.1% over the previous year, with an average annual growth of 9.4% during the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period.
Along with the relatively large increase in income, the overall price level remained fairly stable. In 2005, the prefecture's total consumer price index was 102.8%, the total retail price index of commodities was 101.8%, the price index of agricultural means of production was 107.0%, the ex-factory price index of industrial products was 105.9%, and the price index of investment in fixed assets was 103.6%. The per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents was 4,022 yuan, down 1.4%; the per capita total living consumption expenditure of rural residents was 1,597 yuan, up 6.6%.
Housing conditions improved markedly. By the end of 2005, the per capita housing area of urban residents was 28 square meters, 2.6 times more than the 7.78 square meters in the 1985 urban housing census; the per capita housing area of rural residents was 22.9 square meters. Not only did the area increase, but housing quality also improved significantly.
Poverty alleviation and development achieved remarkable results, and rural production and living conditions improved considerably. In 1984, 1.56 million people in rural Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture lived below the poverty line. After years of effort, by 2000 the poor population had dropped to 300,000 (not including the 160,000 who returned to poverty due to disasters), and the poverty rate fell from 84% to 13.7%. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, a cumulative total of 1.26 billion yuan was invested in poverty alleviation over five years, focusing on industrial poverty alleviation and infrastructure construction, reducing the low-income population by 540,000. The rate of villages connected by roads reached 95.0%, the rate of villages connected by telephone reached 95.8%, and all villages had access to electricity.
Major consumer goods for urban households were basically universal. By the end of 2005, per 100 households there were 93 washing machines, 85 refrigerators, 119 color televisions, 87 ordinary telephones, and 116 mobile phones. The prefecture had 11,700 computer internet users, an increase of 20% over the previous year. Many households had also installed air conditioners.
Social security was further strengthened. By the end of 2005, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture had 78 nursing homes, caring for 1,583 people under the five-guarantee system. The average annual support standard for the prefecture's 10,285 rural five-guarantee recipients reached 825 yuan. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, 1.26 million person-times of rural people in extreme poverty were assisted, and in 2005 alone 3.61 million yuan in relief funds was distributed. Urban minimum living security work was fully implemented in July 1999. In 2001, 11.4 million yuan in minimum living security funds was allocated, and by 2005 it reached 50.5 million yuan. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, the prefecture cumulatively provided security to 3.9621 million person-times of urban minimum living security recipients and distributed 159 million yuan, of which 42.71 million yuan was distributed in 2005. That year, nearly 70,000 people in the prefecture were covered by urban minimum living security, and the goal of "ensuring coverage for all who need it" was basically achieved for urban residents' minimum living security. The urban minimum living security standard rose from 80 yuan per month in 2001 to 156 yuan per month in 2005, reaching the national average. At the same time, preferential policies on the prices of five items including water and electricity, medical assistance for serious illnesses, housing assistance, and judicial assistance were fully implemented. Work on basic old-age pensions, unemployment, medical care, work-related injury, and maternity insurance for urban workers was further strengthened, with cumulative participation in various types of insurance reaching 408,400 person-times.
Over more than 50 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially over more than 20 years of reform and opening up, earth-shaking changes have taken place in the lives of all ethnic groups in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, as all can see. However, compared with the national and provincial averages, there is still a relatively large gap. It falls within the scope of China's Western Development and is an underdeveloped area. In building a moderately prosperous society and a new socialist countryside, strenuous efforts and hard work are still needed.