A Brief History of the Tujia—The Tujia in the Reform and Opening-Up Period (Part Two)

II. Economic Development in Tujia Areas After Reform and Opening Up. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, China adhered to proceeding from reality, took economic development as the central task, and implemented the policy of reform and opening up, promoting the healthy and coordinated development of socialist modernization. Against this historical background, reform and opening up gradually unfolded in Tujia areas as well, and in the 20th...

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II. Economic Development of Tujia Areas After the Reform and Opening Up

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, China persisted in proceeding from reality, took economic construction as the center, and implemented the policy of reform and opening up, promoting the healthy and coordinated development of China's socialist modernization drive. Against this historical background, the cause of reform and opening up in Tujia areas also gradually unfolded. In the 1980s, comprehensive reform of the economic system was carried out and foreign trade was actively developed, laying a solid foundation for later economic development.

(I) Reform of the Economic System

The old economic model seriously restricted the development of productive forces. Therefore, Tujia areas reformed the economic system, and the areas of reform involved agriculture, industry, commerce and all other aspects.

1. Reform of the Rural Economic System

Establish and improve the agricultural production responsibility system and implement the management forms of "contracting all work to the household" or "contracting output to the household." These two forms made farmers both laborers and relatively independent commodity producers, giving them decision-making autonomy in management; at the same time, accounting was carried out with the family as the unit, with responsibility for profits and losses. After completing the tasks handed over to the state and the collective, the rest was entirely at their own disposal, reflecting the distribution principle of more pay for more work, and therefore was deeply welcomed by the broad masses of farmers in Tujia areas. Overall, the reform of the rural production responsibility system in Tujia areas began in early 1979. In the process of implementing the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, all localities first carried out pilot experiments with the production responsibility system of contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output. From 1981 onward, the production responsibility system developed toward the "double contract." First, contracting output to the household with three unchanges, determining output by land and work points by output. The production team contracted all output and farm work to households, distributed uniformly within the fixed output, gave excess output to the contracting household, and required compensation for reduced output. Second, the big contract, that is, matching good and poor land, contracting to households, operating separately by household, with production expenses borne by themselves; the contractor undertook the state purchase task and handed over retained funds, and the remaining products belonged to themselves. The double contract responsibility system broke the egalitarianism in distribution and greatly mobilized farmers' enthusiasm for production. After 1982, the household contract responsibility system in Tujia areas entered a stage of stabilization and improvement. Tujia rural areas in Enshi Prefecture generally experienced such a reform process.

After the conclusion of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, the Enshi Prefectural Party Committee combined the transmission and study of the spirit of the Third Plenary Session with organizing a new upsurge in industrial and agricultural production. Each county party committee and county revolutionary committee studied and implemented the spirit of the plenary session in appropriate forms. In February 1979, Lichuan held a meeting attended by 2,000 people, including cadres at the district, commune and brigade levels and model workers, to study and implement the spirit of the plenary session and mobilize and organize the shift of the focus of work. Badong County held the second enlarged meeting of the fifth session to study and implement the spirit of the plenary session and formulate decisions for realizing the shift of the focus of work. Laifeng, Xianfeng and other counties also successively studied and implemented the spirit of the plenary session and formulated corresponding measures in light of their own realities to accelerate the shift of the focus of work.

At that time, the issue of shifting the forms of agricultural production was even more the top priority of the work. In order to establish and improve the agricultural production responsibility system one by one and mobilize farmers' enthusiasm for production, party committees at all levels in Enshi Prefecture went through a process of continuous exploration, continuous practice and continuous improvement.

The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party adopted in principle two documents on developing agriculture: one was the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Issues Concerning Accelerating Agricultural Development (Draft)," and the other was the "Work Regulations of the Rural People's Communes (Trial Draft)." Enshi Prefecture combined the study and implementation of the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party with the implementation of the spirit of the Party Central Committee's two agricultural documents, implemented the Party's various policies in rural areas, respected the decision-making power of production teams, raised the prices of agricultural products, implemented the principle of distribution according to work, adhered to "large collective, small freedom," and gradually established and improved the agricultural production responsibility system. In 1979, in order to implement the central government's two agricultural documents and promote three responsibility systems and forms of remuneration, the prefectural party committee strengthened leadership and boldly let the masses choose. Among the more than 24,600 production teams in the whole prefecture, 41.9% implemented contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output, 40.3% implemented quota scoring (scoring according to the amount of labor completed), and 15.2% implemented time-based work plus evaluation. Through one year of practice, production development was promoted, and the overall situation was relatively good, among which contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output produced more notable results. At autumn harvest, Hefeng County organized cadres throughout the county to conduct acceptance checks and comparisons. As a result, among the 863 production teams that implemented group operations, contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output, 650 teams increased production, accounting for 75.3%; among the 488 production teams that did not implement it, only 262 teams increased production, accounting for only 53.7%. Statistics from Laifeng County also illustrated the same problem: among the 1,569 production teams in the county that did not implement the responsibility system, 719 increased production, accounting for 45.8%, while among the 698 teams that implemented contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output, 467 increased production, accounting for 66.9%. One year of practice changed the views of those who had previously been skeptical about implementing the agricultural production responsibility system, especially contracting work to groups and linking remuneration to output, and thus powerfully promoted the development and consolidation of this responsibility system.

In September 1980, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued Document No. [1980] 75, namely the "Notice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Issues Concerning Further Strengthening and Perfecting the Agricultural Production Responsibility System," which made corresponding policy provisions on the implementation of fixing output quotas to households (including fixing output quotas to households with full responsibility for profits and losses), pointing out: "In those remote mountainous areas and poverty-stricken and backward areas, where production teams have long relied on resold grain for food, loans for production, and relief for livelihood, and where the masses have lost confidence in the collective and therefore demand fixing output quotas to households, the demands of the masses should be supported; they may fix output quotas to households, or fix output quotas to households with full responsibility for profits and losses, and this should remain stable over a relatively long period. Given the specific circumstances of such areas, implementing fixing output quotas to households is a necessary measure for maintaining ties with the masses, developing production, and solving the problem of food and clothing. As far as the whole country is concerned, under the circumstances where socialist industry, socialist commerce, and collective agriculture occupy an absolute advantage, fixing output quotas to households implemented under the leadership of production teams depends on the socialist economy and will not depart from the socialist track; there is no danger of restoring capitalism, and therefore it is not frightening." "In ordinary areas, where the collective economy is relatively stable, production has developed to some extent, and the masses are satisfied with the current production responsibility system or can be satisfied through improvements, fixing output quotas to households should not be implemented. The main energy of the leadership in these areas should be devoted to how to further consolidate and develop the collective economy. Where fixing output quotas to households has already been implemented, if the masses do not demand a change, it should be allowed to continue, and then, according to the development of circumstances and the demands of the masses, further organization should be carried out by guiding the situation along its natural course and using various transitional forms." From the winter of 1980 to the spring of 1981, the Enshi Prefecture concentrated on studying and implementing the document, and established and perfected the production responsibility system in accordance with the spirit of the document. The document was generally welcomed by farmers, but was also disturbed by "Left" interference. In November 1980, Hefeng County stated in a report to the prefectural Party committee that there were three kinds of reactions in Hefeng County: first, the Central Committee's Document No. 75 was good and won the hearts of the people, and this was the main and extensive reaction; wherever it was implemented well and the responsibility system was established early, the communes and teams took the initiative in production and the enthusiasm of commune members ran high; second, there was vague understanding, believing that specialized contracting and responsibility to laborers meant fixing output quotas to households and dividing up the fields for individual farming, and that "the land should return to its old home"; quite a few commune members were unwilling to engage in diversified economic production, worrying that when fields were divided for individual farming in the future they would have no land of their own; third, some openly spread the view that the Central Committee's Document No. 75 was restoration and retrogression, and was wrong.

At this time, the prefectural Party committee, on the one hand, intensified efforts in all localities to study and publicize Document No. 75 and overcome the influence of "Left" thinking, and on the other hand, vigorously grasped implementation. The prefecture-wide diversified economy work conferences held in December 1980 and January 1981 both took the study and implementation of Document No. 75, the strengthening and perfecting of the agricultural production responsibility system, and the proper handling of the diversified economy production responsibility system as important contents. Each county successively took measures to implement the spirit of Document No. 75 and explore production responsibility systems suited to their own actual conditions.

By the second half of 1981, the "large-scale contracting" (contracting production, contracting state unified purchase and assigned purchase, and contracting collective retention) agricultural production responsibility system in Enshi Prefecture had already developed considerably. In October 1981, the Enshi Prefectural Party Committee printed and issued Wang Libin's speech of September 23, 1981, at the meeting of county heads and responsible persons of prefecture-level departments at or above the bureau level convened by the prefectural Party committee. The speech fully affirmed the positive role of "large-scale contracting," holding that dividing fields among households would not deviate from the socialist orientation; that "large-scale contracting" reflected the will of the masses, and the main reason the masses were interested in large-scale contracting was that it overcame egalitarianism, had direct benefits, and strengthened the masses' decision-making power; and that the relations of production adapted to the level of development of the productive forces. This speech affirmed Enshi Prefecture's practice of an agricultural production responsibility system characterized by "large-scale contracting" and played a positive role in promoting the general implementation of the "large-scale contracting" responsibility system. By the autumn of 1982, the whole prefecture had basically realized the "large-scale contracting" household contract responsibility system. According to statistics from Jianshi County in September of that year, there were 3,462 production teams contracting output quotas to households, and only 102 production teams with unified management and responsibility to laborers, accounting for 97.1% and 2.9% of the total number of production teams respectively; Badong County organized more than 1,300 cadres in the spring of 1982 to go deep into communes and teams to perfect the "large-scale contracting" production responsibility system, and by the end of the year the county had generally implemented the "large-scale contracting" production responsibility system.

The consolidation and perfection of the production responsibility system in Tujia areas, the organized and step-by-step adjustment of the relations of production, and the implementation of the household contract responsibility system with signed contracts organically combined unified collective management with decentralized household farming by farmers, broke the "big pot" practice of "whether you show up for work or not, work points are still awarded the same" and "whether you go up the slope or not, grain rations are the same," embodied the socialist distribution principle of more pay for more work, and thereby greatly aroused the production enthusiasm of the broad masses of farmers. Agricultural development in Tujia areas showed an unprecedented good situation, grain output increased year by year, and the industrial structure became increasingly rational. The contract responsibility system with remuneration linked to output was a major breakthrough in China's agricultural reform and one of the important reasons for the leap-forward development of the rural economy in Tujia areas.

Second, reform the three-level relationship in rural areas and the "integration of government and commune." Since the establishment of people's communes in rural areas in 1958, the management system implemented was "integration of government and commune" and "three-level ownership, with the team as the foundation." This system merged the state's grassroots political power organization with the peasants' collective economic organization, enabling the commune, as a state political power organization, actually to have the ability to directly control the production, exchange, distribution, and other economic activities of the collective economy. All activities of the collective economic organization had to obey the command of the political power organization and were controlled by administrative organs. The autonomy of the collective economic organization was negated and it became an appendage of the administrative organ, thereby restricting the decision-making power of production teams and being extremely unfavorable to the rational development of the rural economy. After 1981, Tujia areas reformed this system. In 1984, each county (city) in Enshi Prefecture carried out the work of abolishing communes and teams and establishing districts and townships. The whole prefecture established 687 townships, 66 district-administered towns, and 16 county-administered towns, and set up 78 districts. The functions of grassroots political power organizations formerly exercised by people's communes were transferred to township governments. In rural areas everywhere, production brigades, which had served as administrative organs, were abolished, and villagers' committees were established as grassroots mass self-governing organizations in rural areas to handle public affairs and public welfare undertakings in their residential areas. After communes were changed into economic organizations, they no longer had administrative subordinate relations of higher and lower levels with production brigades and production teams. The status of production teams also changed; they were no longer the basic accounting units in the original three levels, but independent collective economic organizations responsible for their own profits and losses. Because government and commune were separated, collective economic organizations, as independent economic entities, had their rights of autonomy guaranteed, which was conducive to new economic associations, made economic organizations at all levels independent economic entities mutually, facilitated association on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and also streamlined institutions and the cadre ranks and reduced the burden on farmers.

Third, adjust the agricultural structure and implement a rural diversified operation system. In the early period of reform and opening up, Tujia areas proceeded from reality and, while not relaxing grain production, adjusted the rural economic division of labor and vigorously developed diversified economies. The diversified economic model was conducive to arousing the production enthusiasm of people in Tujia areas and to the rapid transformation of the agricultural structure, enabling it to better adapt to market demand and adding vitality to the development of the local rural economy.

Before the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, Enshi Prefecture's policy for developing agricultural production was "take grain as the key link and ensure an all-round development." Although some results were achieved, grain was still very short. In order to solve the difficulty of getting enough to eat, in some places only grain production was emphasized while the development of diversified economies was neglected. Not only was it difficult to get enough to eat, it was also difficult to have money, which seriously affected rural economic development and the improvement of farmers' lives. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, Enshi Prefecture proceeded from reality, comprehensively implemented the agricultural production policy, adjusted the proportional relationships within agriculture, and boldly developed diversified economies while achieving self-sufficiency with a surplus in grain.

First, place the development of diversified economies on the important agenda; this mainly involved grasping extensive and in-depth publicity and mobilization and timely and effective organizational leadership. In October 1979, the then Enshi Prefectural Party Committee and Administrative Office published a letter to rural grassroots cadres and commune members, requiring that on the basis of self-sufficiency with a surplus in grain, diversified economies be vigorously developed, the advantages of mountainous areas be fully brought into play, and efforts be made to catch up with the income level of plain areas as soon as possible. In order to achieve this goal, the prefectural Party committee and administrative office called on the broad masses of cadres and people throughout the prefecture to act immediately and for everyone to plant economic forests. From 1979 to 1981, each person in the prefecture planted 33 economic forest trees, and after 5 to 7 years, income from economic forests would reach 300 yuan per person per year. From this time on, a upsurge of planting "money trees" appeared throughout the prefecture. In December 1979, July 1980, and January 1981, three prefecture-wide diversified economy work conferences were held successively to implement the policy of "never relax grain production and actively develop diversified operations" and related policies, analyze the situation, summarize and exchange experience, and develop, strengthen, and perfect the diversified economy production responsibility system.

Second, further bring into play the enthusiasm of both the collective and individuals. In November 1981, the Enshi Prefecture three-level cadre conference clearly pointed out: all commune and team planting, breeding, processing, and other enterprises already established in the past must strengthen leadership in all respects, help improve management, vigorously support them economically, and give technical guidance so that they may be consolidated and developed; as long as they do not plant opium, engage in speculation and profiteering, or engage in illegal activities exploiting others, all business projects suitable for individual commune members should be boldly left to individuals to undertake, and people should be encouraged to become prosperous through their own hard work and wisdom; it is necessary to suit measures to each household and vigorously organize and support individual commune members in developing various small vegetable gardens, small bamboo gardens, small medicinal herb gardens, small orchards, small mulberry gardens, small tea gardens, small forest farms, small livestock farms, and other household agricultural and sideline production.

Third, solve the problem of grain for farmers in tea-producing areas. In order to further arouse the enthusiasm of farmers in concentrated tea-producing areas for growing tea, in July 1980 the prefectural Party committee and administrative office made provisions on the grain problem of farmers in concentrated tea-producing areas: with the production team as the unit, those with an annual per capita sale of more than 30 jin of dried tea were concentrated tea-producing teams; based on that year's grain output and the amount of dried tea sold to the state, the monthly grain ration standard for each person was verified and the state's fixed grain marketing quota was determined; for teams with a per capita sale of 30 to 40 jin of dried tea, or teams with a per capita sales amount of dried tea above 40 yuan, the grain ration standard was set at 30 jin; for teams with a per capita sale of 40 to 50 jin of dried tea, the grain ration standard was set at 35 jin; for teams with a per capita sale of more than 50 jin of dried tea, the grain ration standard was set at 40 jin, to be determined once a year by the grain department and supplied in the same year.

Fourth, raise farmers' scientific and technological level. The Enshi Prefectural Party Committee and each county Party committee paid attention to promoting advanced planting and processing techniques and raising farmers' scientific and technological level. The agricultural school run by Enshi County to train farmer technicians received full affirmation from higher authorities, and in April 1980, People's Daily published an "Editor's Note" promoting it nationwide. The implementation of the above policies promoted the development of diversified economies, and the whole prefecture began to change from poverty to prosperity. On August 15, 1982, People's Daily published a report on Enshi Prefecture: "Responsibility system goes up the mountain, diversified economy goes up the mountain, science and technology go up the mountain—Enshi Prefecture appears in a new situation of changing from poverty to prosperity." The article said that the "three go up the mountain" brought eight changes to Enshi Prefecture: bellies are full, contributions are greater, sources of wealth are broader, more electricity is generated, roads are opened, there are more new vehicles, there are more new houses, and drinking water is clear.

Rural areas in Xiangxi Prefecture also carried out reform of rural diversified operations, taking measures to return farmland to forest and pasture; substantially raising purchase prices for agricultural products, encouraging the development of a commodity economy and engagement in long-distance transport and trade; and encouraging the broad masses of farming households to engage in business and industry. After adjustment, agricultural development in Xiangxi Prefecture showed vitality. In 1982, the total grain output of Xiangxi Prefecture reached 910 million kilograms, an increase of 20% over 1980; the total agricultural output value reached 612.58 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.73%. The poverty situation in Xiangxi Prefecture changed somewhat, and in some places a number of specialized households and key households that had become prosperous first emerged. On January 12, 1983, at the first representative conference of specialized households and key households in Xiangxi Prefecture, 230 representatives talked freely about their experience of becoming prosperous through labor.

In short, the reform of the rural economic system fully aroused people's production enthusiasm. People could adjust the agricultural structure according to market demand, successfully opening a new path for developing the rural economy, and their living standards were also greatly raised.

2. Reform of the industrial economic system

The center of the reform of the industrial economic system in Tujia areas was to enhance the vitality of enterprises. On the one hand, while adhering to the dominance of public ownership, various economic forms were actively developed; on the other hand, the industrial economy gradually shifted to a model based mainly on expanded reproduction and actively carried out technological transformation within enterprises.

First, expand enterprise decision-making power and implement the enterprise legal person responsibility system. Expanding enterprise decision-making power and enhancing enterprise vitality were always the central link and main task of the reform of the industrial economic system. The essential content and basic requirement of all reforms to expand enterprise decision-making power were to establish a correct relationship between the state and enterprises, so that enterprises could escape their subordinate status to administrative organs, possess greater decision-making autonomy, and become relatively independent commodity producers and operators. In the 1980s, Tujia areas, in accordance with the spirit of documents issued by the State Council such as the "Several Provisions on Expanding the Decision-Making Power of State-Owned Enterprises in Operation and Management" and the "Provisions on Implementing Profit Retention in State-Owned Enterprises," and in light of local conditions, expanded the decision-making power of enterprises in operation and management through implementing the enterprise contract responsibility system and the enterprise legal person responsibility system. On the premise of completing state plans and supply and marketing contracts, enterprises could increase production of marketable products according to market demand; could purchase directly from the market or places of origin according to production needs; products produced according to supplementary plans could, if not purchased by commercial or foreign trade departments, be sold by enterprises themselves at state-prescribed prices; could raise the depreciation rate of fixed assets and the proportion retained by enterprises; could apply for product export; and within recruitment plans, enterprises could select and hire workers on the basis of merit, had the power to reward and punish workers, promote, demote, appoint, and dismiss middle-level and lower-level staff, and decide their own institutional setup.

Xiangxi Prefecture began reforming the industrial economic system in 1983. Implementing the enterprise contract system was one of the main contents of the reform and was called "the word 'contract' enters the city, the word 'contract' enters the factory, the word 'contract' enters the shop." In 1987, the enterprise contract operation responsibility system was comprehensively implemented in industry and commerce throughout the prefecture. The main forms of contracting were as follows: first, "three guarantees and one linkage," namely guaranteeing taxes and profits turned over to the state, guaranteeing technological transformation, and guaranteeing the appreciation of fixed assets, with the total wage bill linked to taxes and profits turned over; second, progressive contracting of turned-over taxes and profits, under which, on the basis of verified turned-over taxes and profits, taxes and profits were turned over to the finance department year by year according to a prescribed progressive rate; third, contracting on the base amount of turned-over taxes and profits, with all or a proportional share of excess revenue retained; fourth, contracting profits and losses, that is, implementing full retention of excess profits or contracting subsidies for losses; fifth, implementing leasing operations. In 1988, 80% of budgeted industrial enterprises implemented contract operations; more than 90% of state-owned commercial enterprises implemented different forms of contract operations, of which about 21% were contracted through public bidding.

In 1987, Enshi Prefecture began implementing the contract responsibility system in 181 state-owned enterprises within the budget, establishing the central position of enterprise operators, expanding enterprise autonomy, and gradually separating enterprise ownership from management rights. By 1988, all enterprises under whole-people ownership across the prefecture were actively promoting various forms of management responsibility systems such as contracting and leasing. The Enshi Prefecture Party Committee pointed out that the focus of industrial and commercial enterprise reform was to continue improving and developing the contract management responsibility system. Around this focus, work began in five areas: first, improving contract agreements, striving to make contract content scientific and clauses standardized, so as to correctly reflect the interest relationships among the state, the collective, operators, and employees; second, comprehensively implementing layer-by-layer contracting and all-staff risk mortgage contracting within enterprises; third, actively promoting the method of linking total enterprise wages to economic benefits; fourth, steadily optimizing the management personnel structure and optimizing labor combinations; fifth, earnestly implementing the Enterprise Law, straightening out enterprise leadership relationships, establishing a new leadership system in which the factory director (manager) assumes full responsibility, and helping factory directors (managers) take their positions. In January 1989, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government determined that the basic guiding ideology for deepening enterprise reform was: "persist in improving the economic environment, rectifying the economic order, comprehensively deepening reform, earnestly implementing the Enterprise Law, and in accordance with the principle of separating ownership from management rights, expand the central position of operators, mobilize the enthusiasm of the broad masses of employees, enhance enterprise vitality, and improve enterprise economic benefits." Accordingly, the entire prefecture continued to promote leasing and contracting for small enterprises and shops—for example, implementing the "five expenses in one" (wages, travel expenses, subsidy fees, business expenses, and bonuses) sales responsibility method among sales personnel, drawing responsibility funds at prescribed proportions according to task completion; state-owned commercial, materials supply and marketing enterprises, and state-owned industrial enterprises implemented the "four liberalizations" in operation, pricing, distribution, and employment. Then, some exploration was made in developing horizontal economic alliances and cooperation, forming enterprise groups, piloting the shareholding system, and the "three introductions." In May 1991, the "Proposals of the Prefecture Party Committee on Formulating the Ten-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Eighth Five-Year Plan of Our Prefecture," adopted at the fifth plenary session of the first Prefecture Party Committee, pointed out: "We must continue to stabilize and improve the enterprise contract system. In the future, enterprise contracting in our prefecture must, on the basis of stability, focus on improvement and development, reasonably determine contract bases mainly according to the average capital profit rate of the same industry in the region while taking into account other relevant variable factors; establish and improve the three major assessment indicator systems of comprehensive economic benefit indicators, technological progress and development indicators, and management indicators; promote collective leadership contracting and all-staff risk contracting; correctly handle the relationship among the Party, administration, and trade unions in enterprises; further straighten out the interest relationships among the state, enterprises, and employees; and at the same time do a good job in supporting reforms in labor, wages, insurance, and other areas within enterprises." In December of the same year, the Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government put forward the "Several Opinions on Further Running State-Owned Enterprises Well," including 14 items and 42 specific measures such as implementing enterprise production and operation rights, implementing enterprise internal distribution rights, expanding pricing rights of production enterprises, increasing investment in technological transformation, encouraging the development of new products, promoting pilot enterprise groups, improving the contract management responsibility system, actively opening up markets inside and outside the prefecture, and doing a good job in building enterprise leadership teams and technical backbone teams. From then on, the implementation of the enterprise contract management responsibility system in Enshi Prefecture began to advance in an all-round, high-quality manner. In January 1992, in order to further improve the contract management responsibility system for state-owned enterprises, the Prefecture Government also carried out "Shougang-style contracting" pilots in Enshi Pharmaceutical Factory, the Prefecture Hemp and Cotton Textile Mill, Enshi City Tool Factory, Badong Three Gorges Cement Plant, and Hefeng Phosphorus Chemical Group.

As one of the main components of supporting reforms for the enterprise contract system, the enterprise legal person responsibility system mainly refers to activities such as production command and operation management being under the overall responsibility of the factory director, so that the factory director (manager) truly enjoys enterprise administrative power, production and operation decision-making power, command power, and personnel appointment and removal power, implementing a production and operation management system that closely combines responsibility, power, and interests. Because this system is conducive to enterprise independent management and decision-making and to improving enterprise production efficiency, enterprises in the Tujia region began to generally implement this system.

When implementing the enterprise legal person responsibility system, Enshi Prefecture formulated specific implementation methods and steps. In September 1988, the "Several Provisional Regulations on Further Persisting in Reform and Opening Up and Accelerating the Development of Commodity Production" issued by the Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government pointed out: "Straighten out relationships in all aspects within enterprises, comprehensively implement the factory director (manager) responsibility system, and further establish and strengthen the central position of the factory director (manager). The factory director (manager) and Party committee secretary of an enterprise shall generally be held by one person. Large and medium-sized enterprises may be assigned an additional full-time deputy secretary; small enterprises generally shall not be assigned a full-time deputy secretary." According to this requirement, the entire prefecture began to change the original methods of managing enterprise cadres and implemented a system of open bidding, election, and appointment for enterprise cadres. First, factory directors (managers) were produced through various methods such as bidding and selection and appointment; second, the factory director (manager) nominated or decided on the appointment of management personnel at all levels within the enterprise through recruitment, selection and appointment, or examination and appointment. At that time, the appointment of enterprise administrative deputy positions, including the chief engineer, chief economist, and chief accountant allocated according to regulations, was carried out according to different circumstances. For example, administrative deputy positions in large and medium-sized enterprises were nominated by the factory director (manager), and after soliciting the opinions of the enterprise Party organization, submitted to the enterprise competent department for examination and approval of appointment and removal (appointment, dismissal); administrative deputy positions in small enterprises were nominated by the factory director (manager), and after soliciting the opinions of the enterprise Party organization and the enterprise competent department, the factory director (manager) decided on appointment and removal (appointment, dismissal) and reported to the enterprise competent department for the record. The general implementation of the factory director (manager) responsibility system in Enshi Prefecture achieved obvious results: first, it expanded the autonomy of enterprise operators and strengthened the enterprise production and operation management system; second, it changed the long-standing phenomenon of the separation of Party and administration in enterprises; third, it mobilized the enthusiasm of enterprise employees; fourth, enterprise economic benefits were improved, enhancing the enterprise's development potential.

Practice has shown that after the expansion of enterprise autonomy in the Tujia region, enterprises had a certain degree of independent management autonomy and independent economic interests and began to become economic units with internal motivation; they began to attach importance to giving play to the regulatory role of the market, and generally strengthened their concepts of operation, market, service, and competition. This played a positive role in promoting the adjustment of the economic system in the Tujia region and striving to achieve an improvement in the fiscal situation.

Second, establish and improve the internal economic responsibility system of enterprises. In October 1981, the State Council successively transmitted two documents formulated jointly by the State Economic Commission and the Office for Restructuring the Economic System: "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Industrial Economic Responsibility System" and "Provisional Regulations on the Implementation of the Industrial Economic Responsibility System." Based on these two documents, enterprises in the Tujia region reformed the wage distribution system, implemented the linkage of responsibility, power, and interests, and required all enterprises to widely promote flexible and diverse forms of labor remuneration such as piece-rate wages, floating wages, duty wages, and post allowances. At the same time, they also reformed the bonus distribution system, stipulating that on the premise that enterprises completed state plans and increased taxes and profits, bonuses could have "no upper limit," and adopted a progressive excess method to levy bonus taxes. The reward funds drawn by each enterprise could be used to issue bonuses or to implement floating wage upgrades. In addition, the labor system and personnel system were also reformed, making enterprise employment methods more flexible and directly linking employees' personal income to enterprise economic benefits. For example, one of the key points of internal reform in Enshi Prefecture enterprises was implementing a management system linking work and efficiency. By the end of 1988, 28 enterprises had been approved for linking work and efficiency. Judging from the trial results, linking work and efficiency achieved certain results, especially in enterprises with stable production and relatively good benefits. First, it could ensure stable growth of fiscal revenue; second, it was conducive to strengthening internal enterprise management and continuously improving economic benefits; third, it clarified the interest distribution relationship between the state and enterprises; fourth, it was conducive to controlling the unreasonable growth of consumption funds.

Third, develop multiple economic forms and operating forms as useful supplements to public ownership and enhance the vitality of the market economy. On the premise of adhering to the dominant position of the public ownership economy, the Tujia region actively developed collective enterprises, private enterprises, and individual industry and commerce and other diverse operating forms.

3. Reform of the commercial economic system

In the early 1980s, the Tujia region reformed the commercial system. The main measures taken were as follows: First, reform the state-owned commercial economic system. As mentioned earlier, this mainly involved separating government from enterprise, adjusting the ownership structure, promoting multiple forms of ownership and multiple operating forms, realizing the separation of ownership and management rights, and enabling enterprises to have increasingly greater autonomy in production planning, product purchasing and marketing, product pricing, asset use, fund distribution, operating methods, and employment mechanisms, thereby enhancing enterprise vitality. Second, implement various forms of contract responsibility systems. This can improve social and economic benefits and closely combine the economic responsibility, economic power, and economic interests of the state, enterprises, and workers, thereby enhancing producers' enthusiasm for production and powerfully promoting the development of enterprise production. Third, reform the supply and marketing cooperative system, highlighting the mass character of supply and marketing cooperatives in organization, democracy in management, and flexibility in operation, and implementing independent accounting and responsibility for their own profits and losses. Fourth, vigorously develop individual service industries, giving play to their flexible, diverse, and highly adaptable characteristics, serving and facilitating the masses and invigorating the market economy. After 1980, counties and cities in Enshi Prefecture successively issued business licenses to individual industrial and commercial households, allowing private individuals to engage in catering, repair, processing, hairdressing, clothing, and retail of daily sundries, and the urban and rural economy gradually became more active. Fifth, develop urban and rural fair trade. This is a traditional form of commodity exchange among the people of the Tujia region and also the main place for people of all ethnic groups to exchange goods and adjust surpluses and shortages. It can strengthen economic exchanges among people of all ethnic groups and promote the development of agricultural production. Sixth, open up urban and rural commodity circulation channels. In the Tujia region, various commercial forms, such as state-owned commerce, supply and marketing cooperative commerce, industry-run commerce, township enterprise-run commerce, individual vendors, and outside merchants, poured into urban and rural markets, filling the market with vitality and vigor. Seventh, expand foreign trade. All localities actively developed specialty products, vigorously opened up foreign markets, and earned foreign exchange.

After the 1990s, in accordance with the trends of social development and adjustments in national economic policy, the Tujia region deepened reform in the economic field on the basis of the economic reform of the 1980s, and achieved obvious results in adjusting the agricultural economic structure, developing individual and private enterprises, reforming state-owned enterprises, and cultivating private enterprises. After adjusting its development strategy, the Enshi Tujia region achieved rapid economic growth. The Enshi region is now taken as an example to reflect the general situation of economic reform and development in the Tujia region after the 1990s.

In terms of agricultural economic reform, Enshi Prefecture implemented the strategy of "optimizing the rural economic structure and grasping the 'three major strategies' together." In the 1990s, in order to adapt to the development of the situation, adjusting and optimizing the rural economic structure became an urgent task. In 1999, the entire prefecture vigorously adjusted the rural economic structure in accordance with the agricultural structural adjustment idea of "adjusting cultivated land management with attention to current-year benefits, developing mountain land resources with attention to long-term benefits, and transforming courtyard economy with attention to combining long-, medium-, and short-term benefits." In terms of crop cultivation, the output value ratio of grain (food) to cash crops (multiple economies) was adjusted from 54:46 in 1998 to 51:49; in agriculture, the output value ratio of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery was adjusted to 57.2:6.6:35.7:0.5; within the rural economy, the proportion of non-agricultural industries rose from 33.9% in 1998 to 39.7%; the proportion of rural labor engaged in secondary and tertiary industries rose from 28.3% in 1998 to 31.3%. The main indicators of agricultural industrialized operation rose comprehensively. In 1999, the agricultural output value of the prefecture's six leading industries reached 2.7 billion yuan; the ratio of agricultural output value to processing output value was adjusted from 1:0.72 in 1998 to 1:0.8; the comprehensive commodity rate of agricultural and sideline products reached 45%, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over 1998; farmers' per capita newly increased net income from industrialized operation was about 40 yuan. The scale of agricultural industrialization bases further expanded. The total area of tobacco leaves, tea, dried and fresh fruit, vegetables, and medicinal materials in the prefecture reached 3.4 million mu, an increase of nearly 500,000 mu over 1998; the number of pigs, goats, and poultry raised also increased substantially. In 1999, the prefecture newly built 42 agricultural product processing and circulation enterprises, and the agricultural industry chain became increasingly closely linked. In 1999, the entire prefecture focused on implementing year-round comprehensive agricultural development centered on large-scale development of mountain land resources, major adjustment of cultivated land management, and major transformation of courtyard economy. Agricultural infrastructure was further improved, and the momentum for sustainable agricultural development was further enhanced.

While optimizing the rural economic structure, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government further proposed the idea of "grasping the three major strategies together": agricultural industrialized operation, township enterprise development, and rural small town construction. In August 1999, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee made specific arrangements for "grasping the three major strategies together": the Enshi Prefecture Construction Commission was specifically responsible for small town construction planning and construction guidance, persisting in gradually standardizing and relatively concentrating the comprehensive functions of towns, and comprehensively considering industrial districts, commercial districts, cultural districts, residential districts, and municipal construction; the Prefecture Enterprise Management Bureau was to do a good job in the development layout of key township enterprises, generally stressing structure and conformity with industrial policy, stressing scientific and technological content in specific development, stressing efficiency for individual enterprises, and combining enterprise development with industrialized operation, the development of the tertiary industry, the individual and private economy, and the private economy, and broadening development paths; departments such as forestry, agriculture, medicine, and animal husbandry in the prefecture were to cooperate well among bases, farmers, and leading enterprises in conjunction with special tasks of agricultural industrialization, and do a good job in forming industrial chains relying on small towns. Its specific goals and tasks were to select 30 key towns across the prefecture as the focus of small town development and pilot sites for rural agricultural modernization, and from them select 10 towns as star towns to receive key support; more than 80% of township enterprises and agricultural industrialization leading enterprises in pilot townships and towns were to be built in the towns; by 2000, the output value of rural non-agricultural industries in the prefecture had to reach 70%, and the non-agricultural rate of rural labor was to rise to more than 30%. After the goals and tasks were determined, the entire prefecture worked hard on the word "grasp together," strongly promoting the healthy development of "grasping the three major strategies together," and forming a small town development pattern oriented by the market, with farmers as the main body, and driven mainly by agricultural industrialization and township enterprises. "Grasping the three major strategies together" was an inevitable choice for realizing the "second entrepreneurship" in rural areas of the prefecture, a realistic path to increasing farmers' income and fiscal revenue and expanding the rural market, an inevitable trend for large-scale transfer of rural surplus labor and realization of agricultural industrialization and rural urbanization, and an effective way to expand the scale of the prefecture's rural economy and improve quality and efficiency.

In 1999, the spirit of Hubei Province's conference on advancing agricultural and rural modernization was thoroughly implemented in Enshi Prefecture. The three major strategies of agricultural industrialization, township and village enterprises, and small town construction were organically combined and coordinated for development throughout the prefecture. Following the overall approach of "13311" for small town construction, scientific planning was carried out, and 30 key market towns were designated as pilot sites for agricultural modernization. Emerging small towns such as Yesanguan, Zouma, Longfengba, and Moudao sprang up, and the prefecture's urbanization level reached 22%, an increase of 2 percentage points over 1998. Agricultural industrialization advanced steadily, and the six leading industries—tobacco, livestock and poultry, tea, forestry and fruit, specialty vegetables, and medicinal herbs—continued to grow and expand through restructuring. A total of 42 leading enterprises were newly built, upgraded, or expanded during the year; the 30 key leading enterprises in the prefecture showed good momentum, with total assets increasing by more than 50 million yuan compared to the beginning of the year; eight specialized agricultural product trading markets were successively established, including the Yesanguan Livestock Trading Market and the Zouma Tea Trading Market, with annual agricultural product transactions reaching 1.15 billion yuan (excluding grain and oil), a 15% increase over 1998; a contingent of 52,000 farmer marketers was organized to invigorate agricultural product circulation, an increase of 11,000 over 1998; over 30 outside investors were brought in during the year to engage in agricultural industrialization in Enshi Prefecture, with actual funds in place exceeding 10 million yuan. Township and village enterprises developed rapidly, with particular emphasis on 30 key townships and 20 key enterprises, and the growth rates of major indicators for township and village enterprise development all exceeded the provincial average.

In terms of individual and private economy reform, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, Enshi Prefecture vigorously developed the individual and private economy, going through roughly three stages: before 1986 was the stage of emergence and initial development of the individual and private economy; 1987–1991 was a stage of tortuous development; and 1992–2000 was a stage of rapid growth. Guided by the principle of "breakthrough development of the non-public economy," the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government focused on improving the governance environment for individual and private economic development, vigorously implementing the "relaxed environment project"; focused on cultivating leading enterprises, implementing the "major household assistance project"; and consistently adhered to the approach of cultivating major households, distinctive households, and households with development potential, helping major households resolve difficult development issues. Party committees and governments at all levels closely integrated individual and private economic development with the advancement of agricultural industrialization, forming a number of planting and breeding enterprises integrating cultivation, breeding, processing, science, industry, and trade; actively promoted the "company + base + farmer" operating model, and in conjunction with the restructuring of state-owned and collective enterprises, expanded the scale of the individual and private economy; advanced the development process of the individual and private economy, and in conjunction with making full use of the advantages of national highway corridors, expanded the development space of the individual and private economy. "Roadside economy" accounted for about 40% of the prefecture's individual and private economy, and in conjunction with investment promotion, injected new vitality into the development of the individual and private economy.

In early 2000, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government proposed the "1452" targets for the individual and private economy (private enterprises stabilized at more than 100,000 households; more than 400,000 employees; output value and turnover of more than 5 billion yuan; tax revenue of more than 200 million yuan). By the end of that year, the prefecture had 961 individual and private enterprises, 410,242 employees, an output value (turnover) of 5.63 billion yuan, and tax revenue of 214.4981 million yuan. Although the development of the individual and private economy in the prefecture achieved certain results, some shortcomings remained: first, the development environment was still not relaxed enough, and a small number of localities and departments, disregarding the overall situation and seeking only departmental or small-group interests, had not yet resolved problems such as "eating, taking, demanding, and extorting" and "forcibly taking and aggressively demanding"; second, individual and private business owners faced difficulties in financing, and their own "blood-making" capacity was insufficient; third, the industrial structure of the individual and private economy was monolithic, with low technological content, a lack of talent, and low quality.

In terms of developing private enterprises, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee, in accordance with the guiding principle proposed by the Provincial Party Committee that the county economy should be dominated by the private economy, demanded great efforts to break through the misconception of viewing forms of ownership realization as identical to social systems, break through the ideological shackles of opposing the private economy to the dominant position of public ownership, and break through the metaphysical view that the transfer of property rights equals the loss of capital. With privatization as the basic orientation, it carried out reform of small state-owned enterprises, implementing state-owned private operation and publicly owned private operation, truly loosening restrictions on the property rights system, broadening the space for enterprise operations, revitalizing existing asset stock, and optimizing the structure of incremental capital. Through reform, full use was made of the advantages of the private economy's complete market mechanism, independent property rights mechanism, and flexible operating mechanism, thoroughly changing the situation where enterprises fed from the state's "big pot" and staff had low work enthusiasm. In November 1999, the Enshi Prefecture Enterprise Reform and Development Conference further pointed out: the reform of state-owned enterprises in the prefecture must adhere to the non-public sector as the main body, with privatization as the basic orientation and sale as the preferred method, vigorously develop a mixed-ownership economy, and strive to fight the tough battle of state-owned enterprise reform and development. Within two years, the privatization of the property rights system and the transformation of employee status of existing state-owned enterprises were to be completed, and within less than five years thereafter, state-owned enterprises were to achieve comprehensive turnaround from losses. Except for a small number of enterprises such as tobacco and hydropower, all state-owned enterprise assets were objects for sale—whole or partial; for cash or in debt offset; ownership rights or operating rights could all be sold. In handling the creditor's rights and debts of restructured enterprises, first, the "mortgage loan and leaseback" method was adopted, whereby the original enterprise assets were mortgaged to the bank, and the newly formed company after restructuring leased them back for operation and paid lease fees; second, debts of the original enterprise were placed on account with interest suspended, to be repaid year by year by the new enterprise after restructuring from pre-tax profits; third, banks could implement "debt-to-equity swaps" to reduce the debt-to-asset ratio of state-owned enterprises; fourth, efforts to collect various receivables were intensified to repay debts. In December of the same year, the Enshi Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Accelerating the Reform and Development of State-Owned Enterprises," making specific arrangements for the overall goals, reform priorities, reform policies, and supporting reform work for state-owned enterprise reform and development in the prefecture. In specific work, for enterprises not yet restructured, the guiding principle of giving priority to private operation was adhered to, creditor's rights and debts were put in place, and restructuring was promoted; for enterprises already restructured, operations were carried out promptly in accordance with standardized requirements, with implementation carried out enterprise by enterprise and link by link. The prefecture's 326 state-owned commercial enterprises basically implemented different forms of reform, with a restructuring rate of 90.8%, of which 196 were sold, 9,098 employees had their seniority bought out, and 5,617 were transferred to social insurance agency management, accounting for 65.4% of the 22,512 employees on the payroll before restructuring; assets revitalized amounted to 511.86 million yuan, accounting for 24.4% of the existing asset stock, and debts implemented amounted to 366.73 million yuan. By the end of 2000, 444 state-owned industrial and commercial enterprises in the prefecture had been restructured, with a restructuring rate of 86.2% of the 515 enterprises at the end of 1998; 253 had their seniority bought out, 18,224 employees had their seniority bought out, and cumulative assets revitalized exceeded 2 billion yuan.

After in-depth reform, the market economy system became more robust, the market awareness of independent operation became stronger, enterprise production became more dynamic, and the economy of the Tujia region showed a trend of sound development.

(II) Implementing ethnic economic policies to provide financial guarantees for the development of the ethnic economy in the Tujia region

Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, in order to revitalize the economy of ethnic regions and accelerate the pace of poverty alleviation and prosperity for ethnic minorities, the state has allocated various special ethnic funds to ethnic regions. Government departments in the Tujia region actively sought the implementation of these policies and scientifically utilized this financial assistance to add vitality to local economic growth.

1. Subsidies for Ethnic Minority Areas

In 1979, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Finance issued the "Regulations on the Management of Subsidies for Ethnic Minority Areas," which stated: subsidies for ethnic minority areas shall be mainly used for subsidizing certain special difficulties of ethnic minorities in developing production, culture and education, and medical health. The Tujia region benefited from this. For example, starting from 1979, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the State Ministry of Finance allocated 2 million yuan annually in subsidies for ethnic minority areas to Hunan Province. Starting from 1980, apart from retaining 20,000 yuan each year as dedicated funding for the five series of books on ethnic issues, the remaining 1.98 million yuan was distributed to relevant prefectures, autonomous prefectures, cities, and counties, incorporated into the fiscal revenue and expenditure base, and arranged comprehensively according to the scope of use. From 1983 to 1988, the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture received 1.1 million yuan annually in ethnic minority subsidies. After the establishment of the Enshi Autonomous Prefecture, through active efforts by the local authorities, subsidies for ethnic minority areas showed a trend of increasing year by year. From the establishment of the prefecture to 2002, the cumulative amount of this subsidy received reached 16.143 million yuan, powerfully promoting the construction of related aspects in the local area.

2. Fiscal "Three Preferences" and Ethnic Trade "Three Preferences"

The state implemented preferential policies of fiscal "Three Preferences" (flexible funds, reserve funds, and subsidies for ethnic areas) and ethnic trade "Three Preferences" (own funds, profit retention, and price subsidies) for ethnic regions. These policies were well implemented in the Tujia region. For example, starting from 1984, Hubei Province, based on the base figure of 150.784 million yuan in Enshi Prefecture's 1983 final accounts expenditure, approved Enshi Prefecture's fiscal "Three Preferences" at 12.399 million yuan (including 6.161 million yuan in flexible funds, 4.73 million yuan in reserve funds, and 1.508 million yuan in subsidies for ethnic areas), and incorporated this amount into the fiscal contract base, greatly promoting the construction of Enshi Prefecture. Through efforts, the ethnic trade "Three Preferences" policy was also gradually implemented. In 1990, the prefecture's state-owned ethnic trade enterprise loans amounted to 169.18 million yuan, enjoying 2.14 million yuan in interest preferences. During August–December 1984, June–December 1985, and January–October 1986, a preferential rate of 3.3‰ was applied. From September 1987 onward, a preferential rate of 2.4‰ was consistently applied to quota-based commodity working capital loans. From 1988 to 1990, the total amount of loans enjoying preferential interest was 447 million yuan, with total preferential interest of 11.76 million yuan. For price subsidies on industrial products and agricultural and sideline products, the two items totaled 1.98 million yuan from 1987 to 1989, and 940,000 yuan in 1990. In Hunan, in addition to implementing the central government's preferential fiscal "Three Preferences" policies for ethnic regions, special measures were also adopted for ethnic regions in light of actual conditions. For example, the central government stipulated a 10% annual increase in subsidy amounts for autonomous regions, and Hunan Province correspondingly increased subsidies for autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties at this rate. In 1989, the nationwide proportional increase method was abolished, but the Hunan Provincial Government still decided that starting from 1990, all ethnic autonomous areas in the province would receive a 5% annual increase in fiscal subsidies. For cities with relatively large scattered ethnic minority populations, counties and cities with ethnic townships and relatively large scattered ethnic minority populations, a certain amount of special funds was arranged when compiling budgets; it was stipulated that counties and cities with ethnic townships should leave room for flexibility when compiling budgets; and the portion of ethnic township fiscal revenue exceeding the target was entirely retained for local use. The Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture received 5.549 million yuan in ethnic minority flexible funds in 1988, with an upward trend year by year thereafter. The fiscal subsidies received by Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture were: 29.87 million yuan in 1980 and 34.16 million yuan in 1989. The ethnic trade "Three Preferences" were consistently implemented in Hunan. In September 1981, the Hunan Provincial Conference on Ethnic Trade and Ethnic Goods Production discussed how to carry out ethnic trade and ethnic goods production in the province. The provincial government decided: regarding the "ethnic preferences" issue, where enterprise own funds had not been allocated in full as stipulated, this would be resolved through low-interest bank loans, and the profit retention for ethnic trade enterprises would be 50%; the off-price transport subsidy for agricultural and sideline products in ethnic areas would be restored. In October 1981, the "Summary of the Provincial Conference on Ethnic Trade and Ethnic Goods Production" approved and forwarded by the Hunan Provincial People's Government pointed out: starting from October 1981, the policy of off-price transport subsidies for agricultural and sideline products in ethnic areas would be restored. The subsidized varieties were 14 items including small miscellaneous bamboo, miscellaneous wood sticks, yellow vitex twigs, charcoal, wooden shoulder poles, and hoe handles. The calculation method for subsidy amounts was based on the provincial list price stipulated before the implementation of negotiated purchase and sale plus the off-price transport subsidy at that time; where the amount was higher than the current negotiated purchase price, a transport subsidy was given for the excess portion.

3. Development Funds for Supporting Underdeveloped Areas

In 1980, the state established this fund in its annual fiscal budget, with an amount of 500 million yuan, to support the construction of economic and social undertakings in underdeveloped areas. The vast majority of underdeveloped areas were ethnic regions, and the Tujia region naturally enjoyed this preferential policy. For example, from 1981 to 1983, the state allocated 2 million yuan annually to Hunan; from 1984 to 1985, this increased to 7 million yuan annually, plus 3 million yuan allocated by the Hunan Provincial Department of Finance, totaling 10 million yuan annually; in 1986, it rose to 16 million yuan, all coordinated and arranged by the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission and issued after review by the Provincial Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation; in 1987, it increased to 21 million yuan. Starting from 1987, 5.5 million yuan was allocated to old revolutionary base areas, arranged by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs; 3.5 million yuan was allocated to the Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office; 5 million yuan was used by the Provincial Planning Commission as matching funds for work-relief programs; and the remaining 7 million yuan was issued annually by the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission, which proposed the total controlled amount and usage plan for development funds, distributed in a planned manner to autonomous prefectures and counties. Prefecture and county governments comprehensively formulated plans for the arrangement and use of funds, reported them to the Provincial Leading Group for Development Funds for approval, and allocated funds according to projects. From 1981 to 1989, the cumulative development funds arranged by the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission totaled 56 million yuan, of which 13.796 million yuan was used for planting and breeding industries, 14.829 million yuan for rural transportation and hydropower construction; 11.337 million yuan to support rural enterprises, 15.038 million yuan to support science, education, culture, and health undertakings, and more than 1 million yuan for other aspects. Of this, the amount directly used for production was 37.961 million yuan, accounting for 67.79% of the total. In Enshi Prefecture, starting from 1984, 2.5 million yuan was sought annually from the state for development funds for underdeveloped areas (ethnic portion) (after 1988, a portion of science and technology training fees was deducted annually). By 1991, a total of 18.32 million yuan had been allocated, and by 2002, a total of 45.82 million yuan had been allocated. According to statistics, by 1990, the ethnic work departments of Enshi Prefecture had used 8.40738 million yuan for developing the ethnic economy, 4.61807 million yuan for developing ethnic education, and 3.95455 million yuan for other aspects, with nearly 700 projects in economic, cultural, educational, sports, and health development. Attention was paid to selecting projects in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities that were rich in ethnic characteristics, short in duration, and quick in results, with a footing in solving food and clothing problems and highlighting ethnic education.

4. Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas

In 1989, the State Council approved the establishment of the Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas. The fund consisted of two parts: one part was the Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas arranged by the state finance (referred to as "Food and Clothing Fund fiscal funds"), and the other part was the Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas arranged by the People's Bank of China (referred to as "Food and Clothing Fund PBOC loans"). Most of the Tujia region was economically impoverished with backward development and relatively low living standards. In some places, the food and clothing problem had not yet been thoroughly solved; in others, although the food and clothing problem had been temporarily solved through effort, from a long-term perspective the foundation was not yet very solid, and there was always the possibility of returning to poverty. Therefore, securing this fund was crucial for thoroughly solving the food and clothing problem of people in the Tujia region. For example, from 1991 to 1994, Enshi Prefecture secured a total of 11 million yuan in Food and Clothing Fund fiscal funds, and in 1990 secured 600,000 yuan in Food and Clothing Fund PBOC loans. In addition, from 1993 to 1996, Enshi Prefecture secured a total of 5.5 million yuan in provincial-level Food and Clothing Funds for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas, basically solving the food and clothing problem of the local impoverished population, effectively preventing the return of poverty in some areas, and consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation.

In addition, the state has also introduced a large number of preferential policies for ethnic minority areas, such as the work-relief program, tax reduction and exemption policies, and border capital construction subsidy policies. Local governments at all levels have also formulated many preferential policies according to actual conditions. The implementation of these policies has greatly supported the economic and social development of ethnic areas, including Tujia areas.

(3) Taking poverty alleviation work as a breakthrough to promote rapid economic development

Since the 1980s, reform of the economic system has provided institutional guarantees for economic development and created a healthy environment. The state's preferential policies have brought financial guarantees for economic development to Tujia areas. The 1990s were a critical period for China's socialist modernization drive and also a critical period for promoting the common progress and prosperity of all ethnic groups. In October 1992, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was successfully convened and clearly put forward the reform goal of establishing a socialist market economy system. This marked that China's modernization drive had entered a new historical stage, pointing out the correct direction for the economic and social development of ethnic minorities and ethnic areas, providing rare opportunities for ethnic economic development, and at the same time bringing a series of severe challenges.

In order to help the broad masses shake off poverty as soon as possible, narrow the gap between rich and poor, comprehensively achieve the goal of a moderately prosperous life, and promote the revival of the ethnic economy, Tujia areas lost no time in actively adjusting their economic development strategies according to local actual conditions, taking poverty alleviation as the focus of economic work, and striving to explore economic models suitable for local development. For example, in 1994, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government decided to make Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture the main battlefield for poverty alleviation across the province and implemented the "Two-Four-Five-Nine" project in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, namely taking two steps, striving to basically solve the problem of food and clothing by the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the prefecture in 1997 and achieve stable poverty alleviation by the end of the 20th century; providing counterpart assistance to do a good job in four major projects: the backbone financial source project, commodity grain bases, water, electricity and road infrastructure, and mountainous development; helping develop a set of pillar industries such as tobacco, food, light textiles, chemicals, and metallurgy; and helping solve specific difficulties in nine aspects: the masses' food and clothing, drinking water for people and livestock, rural electrification, highway construction, broadcasting, communications facilities, education, health, and extremely poor households without housing.

1. Implementing fixed-point poverty alleviation

Under the advocacy of local governments, relevant departments each selected a certain location as their own poverty alleviation contact point, implemented counterpart assistance, invested funds and technical support, and on the basis of first solving the food and clothing problem of people at each poverty alleviation point, comprehensively raised the overall local social and economic level. For example, starting in 1985, the Enshi Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission successively established four poverty alleviation contact points in Zhaojing Township, Guandian District, Jianshi; Hualiling Village, Liangwu District, Lichuan; Zhifang Village, Longma Township, Enshi; and Guzhai Village, Huangnitang Dong Township, Enshi, providing financial assistance, helping develop the economy, build roads, renovate schools, and build drinking water projects for people and livestock, giving each contact point a completely new look and achieving good social benefits. Zhaojing Township changed from the former "township of ten nothings"—"no middle school, no broadcasting, no electric lights, mountains but no money to use, many people but no way out"—into a "township of ten haves." To date, ethnic affairs commissions in various places have successively established more than 30 poverty alleviation contact points throughout the prefecture. In Hunan, since 1984, the provincial government and departments in relevant areas have persisted in sending people in rotation to stay in ethnic minority villages for poverty alleviation, helping formulate poverty alleviation plans, allocating funds and various materials, carrying out technical services, and doing a good job in internal and external connections. By 1990, the goal of per capita food ration and per capita income approaching or reaching the local average level was achieved. For example, starting in 1988, the Hunan Provincial Military Command provided fixed-point support to Sangzhi County, establishing a construction team for Sangzhi County with fixed assets reaching 1.67 million yuan, founding one precast slab factory and one paper bag factory, establishing one fruit base and one pig-raising demonstration point, helping with a loan of 450,000 yuan, and building one coal kiln and one township health center. Since 1986, the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture and the ethnic affairs commissions of its counties and cities have selected poor villages as poverty alleviation contact points and provided support in funds, materials, technology, and other aspects. Through several years of effort, all 15 poverty alleviation contact points achieved poverty alleviation and prosperity. Since 1989, the Xiangxi Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission purchased watermelon seeds and supplied them to ethnic minority people in Pojiao Township, Longshan County and Paibi Township, Huayuan County for trial planting, which succeeded; the Baojing County Ethnic Affairs Commission invested 10,000 yuan in Buzu Village, Bamao Township to build a village road. From 1995 to 1999, relevant units directly under Hunan Province successively sent many cadres deep into the front line of poverty alleviation and development in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, stationed in extremely poor villages, and implemented fixed-point poverty alleviation, investing more than 200 million yuan in poverty alleviation funds for Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture.

2. Supporting economic entities

Relying only on financial assistance without exploring industries suitable for local development and cultivating the ability for self-development cannot truly solve the poverty problem in ethnic areas. It will not only promote the formation of a dependent mentality, but the poverty alleviation results achieved will also be only fleeting. In order to enable poor areas to achieve sustainable development, Tujia areas, in light of local resource advantages, actively explored new paths for poverty alleviation under market economy conditions, cultivated economic entities in vast poor villages, determined the development idea of "using points to drive areas and activate the whole," created the development model of "company + base + farmers," realized large-scale production and operation, reduced the economic risks of ordinary people, and enhanced their own "blood-making" function, thus enabling poor areas to truly embark on the road to prosperity. In Enshi Prefecture, many Tujia areas successively created various types of economic entities according to their own actual conditions. For example, starting in 1990, the Lichuan City Ethnic Affairs Commission invested 920,000 yuan in Fubao Mountain to repair and build new water shield fields, implement water shield development, and build the Fubao Mountain water shield base. By 1996, the water shield planting area reached 1,100 mu, producing 500 tons of water shield, with an output value of 2.03 million yuan, tax revenue of 126,000 yuan, and profit of 454,000 yuan. The completion of the base not only solved the employment problem of more than 300 local surplus laborers, but also, through water shield picking, land leasing, and fresh leaf processing, enabled 243 farmer households to reach an average annual income of 3,392 yuan, helped 1,368 people solve the problem of food and clothing, and enabled some farmers to escape poverty. Another example is that in 1994 the Enshi Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission and Hefeng County Ethnic Affairs Commission invested 300,000 yuan, and in 1995 invested 700,000 yuan, jointly with Zouma Town of the county, leased 2,100 mu of barren hills in Muer Mountain and set up a tea base, planting 2,100 mu of tea. They also created 2,800 mu of high-efficiency economic forest, including 700 mu of economic forest such as ginkgo and eucommia. They not only built a tea processing factory, but also built a number of farmhouses, allowing farmers from extremely poor villages to move to the mountain to engage in tea production and processing, establishing the development model of "company + base + farmers." In 1999, the output value exceeded 10 million yuan and taxes paid reached one million yuan. Shengzi Village could obtain 56,000 yuan in land leasing fees each year. Today, the former barren hills have become a thousand-mu tea garden, and formerly poor households have become prosperous households. At present, poverty alleviation and development bases jointly run by the Enshi Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission system in rural areas have reached more than 6,000 mu, achieving an output value of more than 55 million yuan, creating profits and taxes of more than 3 million yuan, solving employment for more than 500 people, and helping more than 13,500 people solve the problem of food and clothing. The Jishou City Ethnic Affairs Commission of Xiangxi Prefecture actively advocated the "company + farmers" model and founded economic entities such as the Ponkan Development Company, making the Ponkan Development Company an intermediary between farmers' production and market sales and enabling the smooth connection between farmers' production and market sales. From 1991 to 1999, cumulative ponkan output reached 122 million kilograms, income reached 187 million yuan, average household income was 23,415 yuan, and per capita income was 5,204 yuan. Products sold well in more than 10 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Of the more than 8,000 poor farmers participating in project development, more than 2,600 had reached a moderately prosperous living standard, and more than 5,100 had achieved stable poverty alleviation. The Ponkan Development Company also continued to develop and grow, with fixed assets increasing from 150,000 yuan to more than 15 million yuan. The "company + farmers" poverty alleviation model was widely promoted in ethnic areas of Hunan Province, enabling tens of thousands of poor ethnic minority people to bid farewell to poverty and live prosperous lives.

3. Strengthening knowledge-based poverty alleviation

Poverty alleviation is not only about providing material assistance; it should also include assistance in knowledge. Knowledge-based poverty alleviation, on the one hand, refers to experts and scholars providing consultation and guidance on science and technology and information in response to the difficulties encountered by people in poor areas in production and labor, playing the role of a think tank, and directly serving to improve local people's production capacity; on the other hand, it refers to developing modern education in poor areas and cultivating the knowledge qualities they should possess under market economy conditions, so that they can better adapt to survival and development under modern conditions. Because knowledge-based poverty alleviation plays a very important role in economic development, in Tujia areas, governments at all levels attach great importance to it and have carried out various forms of knowledge-based poverty alleviation activities. Starting from actual conditions, various places have organized activities such as enterprise production technology training and consultation, sending scientific and technological knowledge to the countryside, selecting agricultural science experts to guide farmers at home in raising poultry and livestock or going to fields to guide people in planting crops, preventing and controlling pests and diseases, and fertilizing and irrigating, rapidly improving local people's production capacity and producing immediate results. Because such activities are highly practical, they are deeply loved by ordinary people. In addition, starting from long-term goals, various places have also vigorously developed education in poor areas and have now basically established an ethnic education system. Local Tujia students can enjoy education at various levels and in various forms. Various places have also strengthened the construction of "hardware and software" in ethnic schools, including training of teaching staff, summarizing school-running experience, and improving school conditions, and all these aspects have made considerable progress. This has reserved talent and knowledge energy for realizing economic revitalization and development. For example, Hunan carried out "intellectual support for border areas" activities, organizing democratic parties and the Federation of Industry and Commerce to provide intellectual support to ethnic minority areas and provide economic and technical consultation activities. In 1984, the Hunan Provincial Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association and the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce selected 50 members to go to six counties and cities including Jishou and Yongshun to carry out border support services. They provided economic and technical consultation for 10 enterprises and 11 projects, trained 140 technical personnel, solved 33 technical problems, and enabled enterprises to increase output value by 1.25 million yuan and new profits by 256,000 yuan. From 1995 to 1999, Hunan Province focused on supporting Xiangxi Prefecture. In knowledge-based poverty alleviation, on the one hand, it paid attention to the construction of basic education, invested in the new construction of Longshan No. 1 Middle School, helped Luxi No. 1 Middle School build the Zhuzhou Teaching Building, newly built Yueyang Middle School for Baojing County, assisted in building 76 hope primary schools, and repaired nearly 100 hope primary schools, improving local school conditions. On the other hand, it helped train various professional and technical personnel. For example, Xiangtan City organized private enterprise owners and village cadres from Yongshun County to visit and study in various counties, cities, and enterprises in Xiangtan, and at the same time organized professional and technical personnel from relevant units to go to Yongshun for technical guidance and on-site training for teachers, enterprise managers, medical personnel, and other professional and technical personnel. Health schools in Hengyang City and Yueyang City trained medical personnel free of charge for Huayuan and Baojing, and Changde Teachers College recruited students majoring in English and mathematics in Guzhang every year on a targeted basis. In short, because Tujia areas took effective measures in knowledge-based poverty alleviation activities and paid attention to combining current interests with long-term interests, the results were remarkable.

4. Organizing labor export

In the late 1980s, the phenomenon of rural labor export began to appear. At first, it was only a spontaneous behavior of some farmers going to cities to work and seek ways to become rich. Later, because the economic benefits brought by this form of labor were relatively direct and rapid, it gradually rose in vast rural areas. More and more people went out to work, and it gradually formed a trend in rural areas, becoming a new industrial form that could both transfer rural surplus labor and create wealth and increase farmers' income. Tujia areas are regions with a relatively large number of labor exports. Local governments at all levels also gradually recognized the importance of labor export and took measures to carry out this work, promptly providing various services for farmers going out to work. For example, they collected market information and provided labor service information for them; strengthened skills training for migrant workers and actively contacted enterprises in various places to promote business connections between enterprises and migrant workers; organized the orderly flow of migrant workers to avoid blindness in going out to work; provided legal services for migrant workers to effectively protect their rights and interests; and strengthened the cultivation and organization of the labor market and established and improved the labor export mechanism. Because various places adopted effective measures, labor export in Tujia areas showed a stable and sound development trend. People obtained practical benefits and living standards continuously improved. For example, Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County in Guizhou had about 63,000 surplus laborers, and in 1995 70,000 people went out to work from the whole county. Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County had about 62,000 surplus laborers. In 1994, 64,800 people went out to work, accounting for 37.3% of the county's total rural labor force. Migrant workers sent and brought back 63 million yuan in cash, accounting for 27% of the county's total industrial and agricultural output value, more than four times the county's local fiscal revenue, and 2.38 times the per capita net income of farmers. In 1995, the number of people going out to work increased to 66,250, and the cash sent and brought back reached 100 million yuan. Because labor export allows people to learn advanced production technology and skills and market economy knowledge, it is conducive to improving the quality of laborers and plays a direct positive role in poverty alleviation and becoming rich. In Tujia areas of Guizhou, the phenomenon of "send one person away, make one family rich; export one hundred people, lift one village out of poverty" commonly appeared, and was called by the masses a good way of "going out empty-handed and returning home with wealth." Tuhuang Village, Zhongba Township, Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County had 182 households. In the 1990s, because every household had someone working outside, people's living conditions began to change. They raised 210,000 yuan to build 21 water storage tanks, solving drinking water for people and livestock in the whole village. Every household built a new house, and they raised funds to build 10 kilometers of rural roads. Some migrant workers had returned home to open shops, create enterprises, run factories, contract barren hills, run forest farms, and plant fruit trees. Before labor export in Shuitian Village, Quanba Township, Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County, per capita food ration was only 94 kilograms. After labor export, income from this alone reached 1,055 yuan per capita in the whole village. Grain input increased, and in 1995 per capita food ration was 314 kilograms. The whole village escaped poverty, and 13 of 104 households became ten-thousand-yuan households.

With the support of state funds and technology, Tujia areas always took poverty alleviation as the central task. Because development strategies were formulated realistically, economic tasks were clear, and effective poverty alleviation models were adopted, after years of hard struggle, poverty alleviation work in Tujia areas achieved phased results, the economy developed rapidly, the local people's problem of food and clothing was basically solved, people's living conditions improved greatly, and living standards rose steadily. For example, in 2000, the poor population in ethnic areas of Hunan Province decreased from 2.2 million in 1993 to 640,000. The per capita net income of farmers was 1,583 yuan, an increase of 954 yuan, or 1.52 times. The per capita grain supply of farmers was 348.8 kilograms, an increase of 43 kilograms. The poor population in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture dropped from 850,000 in 1991 to 230,000 in 2000, and the per capita net income of farmers reached 1,277 yuan.

Since the 1990s, in addition to focusing on poverty alleviation, the Tujia areas have actively updated their development concepts, adjusted their overall development plans in a timely manner, deepened reform, comprehensively raised their economic level, and gradually narrowed the gap with the outside world in order to better adapt to the socialist market economy. Various places began to tap and leverage local resource advantages, accelerate the pace of industrial restructuring, and gradually develop a distinctive industrial economy. The agricultural structure gradually shifted from a grain-oriented structure to a comprehensive structure integrating farming, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, and fisheries, with the focus on cultivating township and village enterprises, prompting the transformation of individual agricultural operations toward industrialized and intensive operations, and of traditional agriculture toward modern agriculture; relying on local resources, a primary industrial system was established and developed with tobacco, minerals, metallurgy, hydropower, and food processing as its mainstay; the tertiary industry focused on developing tourism, driving the comprehensive development of service industries such as ethnic catering and sales of local specialty products. The proportional allocation of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries also began to become more rational. Various places also invested funds to improve infrastructure such as transportation and communications, actively creating a favorable environment for economic development and people's lives. In addition, the Tujia areas introduced preferential policies, supported ethnic enterprises, carried out investment promotion, and expanded openness, adding vitality to economic development. After preliminary adjustments, all areas of the economy showed good momentum of development, laying a solid foundation for the economic and social development of the Tujia areas after the Western Development Campaign.

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