A Brief History of the Tujia—The Tujia in the Reform and Opening-Up Period (Part One)
Section 2: The Tujia During the Reform and Opening-Up Era — The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee marked a major turning point in China's socialist construction, shifting its focus from ideology to economic development, which became the central task thereafter.
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Section 2 The Tujia During the Period of Reform and Opening Up
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party was a major turning point in the history of China's socialist construction, marking a fundamental shift in the focus of China's socialist construction from one-sided emphasis on ideology to emphasis on economic development. From then on, economic development became the central task of socialist construction. The reform and opening-up policy was precisely the basic national policy established for the purpose of developing the economy. Under the great tide of reform and opening up, and under the care of the state's ethnic policies and development strategies, the Tujia felt the warmth of spring, seized development opportunities, and actively sought development, undergoing unprecedented innovation in political, economic, cultural, and other aspects.
I. Political Changes in Tujia Areas After Reform and Opening Up
After reform and opening up, the state attached importance to the publicity and implementation of ethnic policies, and the idea of ethnic equality and unity took root in people's hearts. Under the care of the state government, the work of restoring Tujia ethnic identity also proceeded smoothly, and ethnic regional autonomy was gradually realized in Tujia concentrated areas. Moreover, under the guidance of the state, the Tujia areas conformed to the requirements of the times and, according to local actual conditions, carried out political system reform. The implementation of these measures effectively safeguarded the political rights and interests of the Tujia people and created a favorable political environment for the construction cause of the Tujia areas.
(1) Restoration of Tujia Ethnic Identity
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, the Party's ethnic policies were gradually implemented, and the issue of some people in the neighboring areas of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou requesting to change their ethnic identity to Tujia was also placed on the agenda.
In November 1979, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission issued the "Notice on Urgently Carrying Out Ethnic Identification Work." Encouraged by this notice, the Enshi region took the lead in carrying out this work. In May 1980, the two Tujia autonomous counties of Laifeng and Hefeng were successively established. In the autumn of 1981, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission sent Liu Xiaoyu (South-Central College for Nationalities) and Zhang Menglin (Hubei Provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Office) to the Enshi region to guide the work of restoring ethnic identity. The United Front Work Department of the Enshi Prefectural Party Committee formed a working group and conducted a pilot in Lichuan, carrying out comparative investigations in three places—Zhonglu (Tusi area), Baiyang (Han area), and Wangying (Weisuo area)—accumulating experience for guiding the restoration of ethnic identity throughout the region. Subsequently, the United Front Work Department of the Prefectural Party Committee held a meeting of the heads of the United Front Work Departments of all counties in Xianfeng County to deploy the work of restoring ethnic identity throughout the region, and reported the experience in Lichuan and the situation of the Xianfeng United Front Work Department heads meeting to the Prefectural Party Committee. After receiving the Prefectural Party Committee's affirmation, the counties were approved to carry out the work of restoring ethnic identity. In March 1982, Zhang Erju (Political and Legal Department of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission), Wang Jubao (Central College for Nationalities), Liu Xiaoyu, and others came to northwestern Hunan, southeastern Sichuan, northeastern Guizhou, and southwestern Hubei to conduct investigations and research, and held a meeting in the Enshi region of responsible persons from relevant departments of the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou bordering areas to summarize the work of restoring Tujia identity in the adjacent areas of the four provinces. In April 1982, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission held a symposium in Beijing on the work of restoring Tujia ethnic identity. The meeting produced the "Summary of the Symposium on the Work of Restoring Tujia Ethnic Identity for Some People in the Border Adjacent Areas of the Four Provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou" (hereinafter referred to as the "Summary"). The "Summary" explained and stipulated the historical basis, geographical scope, contemporary characteristics, and specific methods for restoring Tujia identity.
In the summer of 1982, the comprehensive registration work for restoring Tujia identity in the Enshi region began. Based on relevant documents from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Leading Group for the State Council Population Census, and the Ministry of Public Security, as well as the specific circumstances of the western Hubei region, the basic methods for restoring Tujia identity were determined: First, the work of restoring Tujia ethnic identity according to the "Summary" was mainly carried out in the Tujia areas under the jurisdiction of tusi and tuguan before the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials in the Qing Dynasty, and in the surrounding Weisuo areas and marginal zones; second, those who had Tujia characteristics, such as celebrating the Gan Nian (Rushing New Year), worshipping ancestors, sacrificing to the Tuwang, dancing the Baishou Dance and Sa'erhe, and who had ethnic consciousness and personally requested restoration of Tujia identity; third, for the ethnic identity of children born of intermarriage between different ethnic groups, those who had reached the age of 18 could choose the ethnic identity of either parent; those under 18 were decided by the parents, and either the father's or mother's ethnic identity could be chosen; if the parents were deceased, the ethnic identity of the paternal or maternal grandparents could be chosen, but no further tracing of kinship relations was permitted; fourth, state cadres and employees applying to restore their ethnic identity had to obtain a verification certificate issued by the commune where their hometown was located, and then be approved and issued a certificate by the county or city ethnic affairs committee. The results of ethnic identity registration in the Enshi region were: Tujia numbered 1,167,103 people, accounting for 35.89% of the total population (3,251,615 people).
In May 1982, the Changyang County government also decided to carry out the work of restoring Tujia identity and established an ethnic work organization. On May 31, Zhang Menglin, Wang Jun (United Front Work Department of the Yichang Prefectural Party Committee), and others came to Changyang to guide the work of restoring Tujia identity. At the same time, Changyang County also organized personnel to conduct in-depth investigations of the Tujia. On June 25, Zhou Xingxiong (United Front Work Department of the Yichang Prefectural Party Committee), Li Desheng, and others reported the investigation results to the United Front Work Department of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee. Afterwards, during the third national population census, Changyang County registered part of the Tujia population. In May 1983, Ma Weiqing (United Front Work Department of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee), Zhang Menglin, Wang Jubao, Liu Xiaoyu, Tian Desheng (Southwest College for Nationalities), and others came to Changyang County to investigate the history and current situation of the Tujia in Changyang County and wrote a report to the United Front Work Department of the Provincial Party Committee. Thereafter, the Changyang County Party Committee and County Government identified the ethnic identity of the county's population, and the county had 189,795 Tujia people, accounting for 47.76% of the county's total population.
In September 1981, Wang Jun and others came to Wufeng County to investigate and put forward specific requirements for Wufeng's ethnic identification work. In November of the same year, the United Front Work Department of the County Party Committee submitted the "Request Report on Carrying Out Investigations of Ethnic Minorities" to the County Party Committee and County Government. In May 1982, the United Front Work Department of the County Party Committee and the Office of the County Population Census Leading Group again submitted the "Request Report on Conducting Re-education on Ethnic Policies and Effectively Carrying Out the Work of Restoring or Correcting Ethnic Identity" to the County Party Committee and County Government, and the County Party Committee and County Government forwarded this report to government organs throughout the county. Afterwards, the United Front Work Department of the County Party Committee and the County Population Census Office jointly deployed the population census and the work of restoring ethnic identity. In July, through the population census, a total of 109,929 Tujia people were registered in the county, accounting for 58.4% of the county's total population. In 1983, Wang Jubao, Liu Xiaoyu, Ma Weiqing, and Zhang Menglin came to Wufeng and investigated the historical origins, ethnic artifacts, literature and art, and customs of the local Tujia, and wrote the "Investigation Report on the Work of Restoring Tujia Ethnic Identity in Wufeng," confirming that Wufeng County was a Tujia concentrated area.
In western Hunan, there were relatively strong calls from some people in Sangzhi, Dayong, Cili, and other counties to restore Tujia identity. On June 9, 1981, Gong Baogui (United Front Work Department of the Xiangxi Prefectural Party Committee) came to Sangzhi County to inspect ethnic work and required Sangzhi County to first conduct ethnic investigations. Sangzhi County established an ethnic investigation group. After long, arduous, and meticulous investigation, it basically clarified the ethnic composition of Sangzhi County and wrote the "Report on Requesting the Restoration of Tujia Ethnic Identity for Some People in Sangzhi." In May 1982, the ethnic work conference of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was held, conveying the spirit of the "Summary" and the instructions of the Provincial Party Committee, and holding that the restoration of ethnic identity was a major matter related to the implementation of ethnic policies. After the meeting, Sangzhi County began ethnic population registration throughout the county, and 204,805 Tujia people were registered in the county, accounting for 50.6% of the county's total population. In 1982, the Dayong County Party Committee established a working group for the investigation and identification of Tujia identity, and from July carried out ethnic identification work throughout the county, investigating the people in 14 Tusi areas including Luotaping, and from March to November 1983 restored Tujia identity for 97,851 people. In 1983, the Dayong County government established the County Ethnic Affairs Commission, which registered people of eight surnames—Tian, Qin, Peng, Xiang, Huang, Tuo, Fu, and Zhen—in 14 Tusi townships including Wentang and in the remaining townships and towns of the county belonging to Weisuo areas, among whom 16,807 were Tujia. From 1986 to 1987, another 15,685 were added. Therefore, from 1983 to 1987, Dayong County restored Tujia identity for a total of 232,099 people, accounting for 65% of the county's total population. Some people in Cili County also strongly requested restoration of Tujia identity. Under the guidance of relevant departments, identification and restoration work was carried out successively. After long efforts, the Tujia identity of local people was successively recognized or corrected. At the time of the fourth national population census in 1990, the population of 16 ethnic minorities in Cili County was 82,828, of whom 80,623 were Tujia. Due to the natural growth of the ethnic minority population and the resolution of remaining issues concerning ethnic identity, by 1999 Cili County had 407,504 ethnic minorities, including 401,513 Tujia. In the 1990s, relevant counties in Hunan Province also compiled statistics on the Tujia population, among which Shimen County had more than 345,000, Yuanling County had more than 80,000, and Xupu County had more than 50,000.
In southeastern Sichuan, the issue of Tujia ethnic identity attracted great attention from relevant departments. In 1982, the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee sent Feng Bingxiang and others, together with relevant responsible persons of the Fuling region, to conduct a special investigation of the Tujia situation in southeastern Sichuan. They held that the ethnic origin of the Tujia in southeastern Sichuan was clear, and although most of the language had disappeared, some appellations were still retained and ethnic characteristics were relatively obvious, basically unifying the understanding of Tujia identity in southeastern Sichuan. After May 1982, under the guidance of the spirit of the "Summary," the identification and statistical work of the Tujia in southeastern Sichuan was carried out successively, and finally it was calculated that there were 800,000 Tujia people in Xiushan, Youyang, Qianjiang, Pengshui, Shizhu, and other counties.
The southeastern region of Guizhou Province also carried out this work. Local counties such as Yanhe, Yinjiang, Dejiang, Sinan, and Jiangkou had implemented the tusi system since the Yuan Dynasty, and native officials had held hereditary office for more than 500 years. Their ancestors were called "Tumanzi," "Manzi," "Tumiaozi," "Tubaliao," and so on. Most of these areas had Tuwang temples and Tuzhu temples, with clear distribution boundaries, clear ethnic origins, and relatively prominent contemporary characteristics. In particular, Tujia women's clothing still retained strong ethnic features. Under the guidance of the spirit of the "Summary," these areas, through pilot registration, voluntary application, mass declaration, mass deliberation, public posting, and approval by higher authorities, restored Tujia identity for nearly 700,000 people. In July 1984, relevant experts from Guizhou Province came to Yinjiang, Yanhe, Jiangkou, Songtao, and other counties to conduct repeated investigations, holding that "although the language of some Tujia people has disappeared, there are still traces of linguistic remnants, certain ethnic characteristics are still retained, and ethnic consciousness clearly exists," affirming the work of restoring Tujia ethnic identity in the Tongren region. In 1986, the Guizhou Provincial Government formally issued a reply, legalizing Tujia identity.
With the restoration of Tujia ethnic identity for large numbers of people, the Tujia population increased dramatically. According to the fifth national population census in 2000, the Tujia population nationwide had reached 8.02 million.
(2) Implementation of the Policy of Ethnic Regional Autonomy
Ethnic regional autonomy is a basic political system of our country. It has enormous superiority: it is conducive to national unity and can safeguard the equal autonomy of ethnic minorities; it fully safeguards the autonomous rights and equal rights of ethnic minorities, realizes the political aspiration of ethnic minorities to be masters of their own affairs and manage their own ethnic affairs, is the concrete embodiment of our country's people's democratic regime in ethnic minority areas, and helps the economic, social development and prosperity of ethnic minorities.
The establishment of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the 1950s inspired strong aspirations for ethnic regional autonomy in other Tujia areas, but due to the impact of local political trends and political movements, various places had to temporarily abandon this idea. Since the 1980s, the state's ethnic policies were gradually implemented, people's minds were also emancipated, and various places again began to deliberate and implement plans for ethnic regional autonomy.
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, a publicity and education campaign on ethnic policies was generally carried out in western Hubei. In August 1979, the Enshi Administrative Office selected Tian Enbo (Tujia) of Laifeng, Tian Dongsheng (Tujia) of Hefeng, and Shi Bangzhi (Miao) of Xuan'en as representatives to form a delegation to Beijing to attend the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Before the celebration, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission organized visits to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which gave them the desire to realize ethnic regional autonomy. After the visits ended, they separately reported to the leaders of the county party committees and county governments, put forward requests for implementing ethnic regional autonomy, received support from the leaders of the Laifeng and Hefeng county party committees and county governments, and promptly wrote application reports to the Enshi Prefectural Party Committee and Administrative Office. The Enshi Administrative Office and the provincial people's government forwarded their reports upward. In April 1980, the State Council approved the establishment of the two Tujia autonomous counties of Laifeng and Hefeng. In May 1980, the two Tujia autonomous counties of Laifeng and Hefeng were successively established, which had a great impact on ethnic minority cadres and masses in other counties of western Hubei, and the call for realizing ethnic regional autonomy grew louder and louder. The four counties of Xianfeng, Xuan'en, Enshi, and Lichuan successively wrote two reports requesting the establishment of autonomous counties in 1980-1981. After careful consideration, in October 1980, the Enshi Administrative Office wrote a report to the Hubei Provincial People's Government requesting the establishment of the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. On July 13, 1983, the Hubei Provincial People's Government submitted a report to the State Council on establishing the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. On August 19, 1983, the State Council approved the establishment of the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, with the administrative region of the Enshi region as the administrative region of the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and abolished the Enshi Administrative Office. At the same time, the Laifeng Tujia Autonomous County was abolished and Laifeng County was restored; the Hefeng Tujia Autonomous County was abolished and Hefeng County was restored. From November 23 to 29, 1983, the first session of the first People's Congress of the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was held. On December 1, 1983, the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture held its founding assembly.
At the same time, Tujia autonomous counties were established one after another. On July 13, 1984, the State Council approved the establishment of Changyang Tujia Autonomous County and Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County. On November 25, 1984, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County held its first People's Congress, and on December 8, the founding assembly of Changyang Tujia Autonomous County was held. On November 26, 1984, Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County held its first People's Congress, and on December 12, the founding assembly of Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County was held. In addition, in Sichuan, on November 7, 1983, Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County was established; on November 11, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County was established; in 1984, on November 10, Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County was established; on November 13, Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County was established; on November 18, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County was established. In Guizhou, on October 7, 1986, Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County was established; on December 13, Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County was established. In addition to the establishment of autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, Tujia townships in the counties and cities along the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border were also established one after another. At this point, the Tujia areas had basically achieved regional ethnic autonomy, the autonomous organs in various places had begun normal operation, and the Tujia people began to exercise their right to be masters of their own affairs.
(3) Establishment of Ethnic Work Organs
Ethnic work organs mainly include the ethnic work organs of Party committees and people's governments at all levels, as well as the ethnic affairs committees or ethnic work committees established by provincial people's congresses and provincial CPPCC committees. Among them, as part of government departments, the ethnic affairs committees of counties, cities, and prefectures are most closely connected with local social politics, the economy, and people's lives. Their work responsibilities mainly include: promoting the implementation of regional ethnic autonomy, safeguarding the equal rights of ethnic minorities, developing socialist ethnic relations of equality, unity, and mutual assistance, coordinating with relevant departments to formulate and implement regulations concerning ethnic minorities, assisting relevant departments in publicizing and educating on ethnic policies, inspecting the implementation of ethnic policies, investigating the ethnic economy, participating in research on guidelines, policies, and planning for developing the ethnic economy, assisting relevant departments in developing economic construction in ethnic areas, assisting relevant departments in managing the allocation and use of various subsidy funds and special funds for ethnic minorities, working with relevant departments on socioeconomic statistics for ethnic minorities, coordinating with relevant departments to promote the development of cultural, educational, and health undertakings for ethnic minorities, studying ethnic theory and ethnic policy, organizing and receiving visits by ethnic minorities, and accepting and handling suggestions from people of all ethnic groups on ethnic affairs. Therefore, the establishment of ethnic affairs committees is the key to doing ethnic work well, developing harmonious socialist ethnic relations, and promoting economic and social development in ethnic areas.
After reform and opening up, the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou, as well as the municipal and county governments under their jurisdiction, began to restore ethnic affairs committees or related work organs. In May 1979, Xiangxi Prefecture established the Prefecture Party Committee United Front Work Department, under which an Ethnic Affairs Section was set up to take charge of ethnic affairs throughout the prefecture. In August 1983, with the comprehensive beginning of national institutional reform, Xiangxi decided to formally establish the Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Committee. After 1987, the ethnic affairs groups of the counties and cities in the prefecture were also successively renamed ethnic affairs committees. In Enshi Prefecture, as administrative work at all levels gradually got on track, the Ethnic Affairs Section of the Enshi Administrative Office was restored, but it still shared offices with the United Front Work Department and remained under its leadership. With the realization of regional ethnic autonomy, in April 1984, the Ethnic Affairs Bureau of the Exi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established, and the ethnic affairs bureaus of the counties and cities were also established one after another, formally becoming constituent departments of governments at all levels. In July 1984, the ethnic affairs bureaus of the prefecture, counties, and cities were renamed ethnic affairs committees. In December 2001, the Enshi Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Committee was renamed the Enshi Prefecture Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, and the ethnic affairs committees of the counties and cities were correspondingly renamed ethnic and religious affairs bureaus.
(4) Training and Use of Tujia Cadres
Training and using ethnic minority cadres is of great significance. It is an important manifestation of political ethnic equality and an important symbol of political democracy; it helps safeguard national unity and ethnic solidarity; it is an inevitable requirement for promoting coordinated social and economic development in ethnic areas and promoting the common prosperity of all ethnic groups. To strengthen the political power construction of ethnic autonomous areas, it is necessary to strengthen the building of the ethnic cadre ranks; therefore, it is also the key to implementing regional ethnic autonomy.
After reform and opening up, the Tujia areas attached great importance to the training and selection of ethnic minority cadres, including Tujia cadres, and implemented this as an important strategic task. In order to train excellent ethnic cadres, the Tujia areas adopted various methods, including further study at various institutions of higher learning to improve their theoretical level and overall quality by studying theoretical knowledge; study at Party schools at all levels to improve their moral cultivation and ideological awareness; temporary post training at higher-level organs to learn and become familiar with work norms and procedures and improve their work attitude; temporary post training at outstanding enterprises or economically developed coastal areas to learn from and draw on advanced management experience and management models of enterprises or developed areas and improve their work efficiency; training at the grassroots level to observe people's conditions, understand the real situation of grassroots people, and enhance the purposefulness of their work; and rotation and exchange training to enrich work experience, improve work approaches, and enhance the ability to respond to different work posts. Through the above various methods of training and tempering, the political quality and professional ability of ethnic cadres in the Tujia areas were generally improved, and the ranks of ethnic cadres continued to develop and grow. They took up various work posts and gradually became the main decision-makers and core force in local economic and social development.
In 1983, there were 17,429 ethnic minority cadres in Enshi Prefecture, accounting for 30% of the total number of cadres. Through training and selection, this number grew to 49,016 by 1998, with their proportion rising to 54.9%, gradually coming to match the share of the ethnic minority population in the prefecture's total population. After the autonomous prefecture was established, Tujia and Miao cadres in Enshi Prefecture assumed the positions of chairman and vice-chairmen of the Standing Committee of the Prefecture People's Congress and of prefect and vice-prefects of the Prefecture People's Government. They also held a certain proportion of leadership positions in the Party committees, people's congresses, and government leading bodies at the prefecture, county, and city levels. The specific figures are as follows: when the prefecture was established in 1983, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 33.33% of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the Standing Committee of the Prefecture People's Congress and 42.86% of the prefect and vice-prefects of the Prefecture People's Government; after the term-change election in 1988, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 28.57% of the chairman and vice-chairmen of the Standing Committee of the Prefecture People's Congress and 33.33% of the prefect and vice-prefects of the Prefecture People's Government. After the 1993 term-change elections, among the director and deputy directors of the Prefectural People's Congress Standing Committee, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 28.57%, and among the prefect and vice prefects of the Prefectural People's Government, Tujia and Miao cadres also accounted for 28.57%. After the 1998 term-change elections, among the director and deputy directors of the Prefectural People's Congress Standing Committee, Tujia cadres accounted for 16.66%, and among the prefect and vice prefects of the Prefectural People's Government, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 50%. After the 2003 term-change elections, among the director and deputy directors of the Prefectural People's Congress Standing Committee, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 37.5%, and among the prefect and vice prefects of the Prefectural People's Government, Tujia and Miao cadres accounted for 57.14%. Within the Prefectural Party Committee leadership, ethnic minorities made up only 8.33% in 1983, rising to 54.55% by 1987. In 1998, due to changes in cadre exchanges, the proportion of ethnic-minority cadres declined somewhat but still stood at 25%. In the leadership teams of county- and prefecture-level governments, the proportion of ethnic-minority cadres has consistently trended upward, and in Party committee teams it has remained above 40 percent in recent years. According to statistics, in 1983 there were 18 ethnic-minority cadres in county and municipal government teams, accounting for 35.29 percent of the total; in 1993 there were 28 ethnic-minority cadres in county and municipal government teams, accounting for 47.46 percent of the total.
In Guizhou, with the restoration of Tujia ethnic identity, the training, selection, and use of Tujia cadres also received attention from governments at all levels. The Tujia cadre ranks developed relatively quickly, and their numbers continued to increase. According to 1995 statistics, the province had 20,795 Tujia cadres, including 15 at the prefecture and department level, 205 at the county and division level, and 2,300 at the section and bureau level. In Tongren Prefecture, there were 4 Tujia cadres at the prefecture and department level and 69 at the county and division level. Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County had 2,926 cadres in 1990, with Tujia cadres accounting for 78% of the total. Among the main leaders of units such as the county government, people's congress, CPPCC, discipline inspection commission, and people's armed forces department, Tujia cadres occupied a certain proportion, and among county section and bureau level and township leaders, Tujia cadres accounted for between 70% and 83%. Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County had 4,101 Tujia cadres in 1995, accounting for 82% of the county's total cadres. Dejiang County had 5,035 Tujia cadres in 1995, accounting for 88% of the county's total cadres.
In Xiangxi, the training and use of ethnic cadres also achieved relatively great results. The ranks of ethnic minority cadres continued to grow, and their educational quality also gradually improved. By the end of 1997, the prefecture had 36,900 ethnic minority cadres, accounting for 71.4% of the total number of cadres; among ethnic minority cadres, 14,300 had a college degree or above, accounting for 38.8% of the total number of ethnic minority cadres; 6,757 ethnic minority cadres had senior or intermediate professional and technical titles, accounting for 18.3% of the total number of ethnic minority cadres; in the prefecture Party committee, prefecture people's congress, prefecture government, and prefecture CPPCC, there were 272 leading members, of whom 209 were ethnic minorities, accounting for 76.84%; among the 1,367 members of the Party and government leadership teams of 218 townships, 1,079 were ethnic minorities, accounting for 78.93%. Among these ethnic minority cadres, Tujia cadres accounted for a very large proportion.
In addition, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, political system reform was carried out successively across the country. The main contents of the reform involved many aspects, including establishing and improving democratic institutions, expanding citizens' political participation, ensuring that the people exercise democratic election, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision in accordance with the law, and enabling people to enjoy extensive rights and freedoms; strengthening legal system construction, strengthening legislative work, improving legislative quality, strengthening supervision over law enforcement activities, promoting administration according to law, safeguarding judicial fairness, improving the level of law enforcement, expanding and standardizing legal services, actively carrying out legal aid, strengthening legal system publicity and education, and improving the people's legal quality; reforming and improving the Party's leadership style and governing style, improving the Party's work organs and work mechanisms, and giving play to the role of Party organizations and Party members; deepening the reform of the administrative management system, rationally setting up institutions, optimizing personnel structure, and improving administrative efficiency and work style; advancing judicial system reform, improving the institutional setup, division of functions and powers, and management systems of judicial organs, strengthening supervision over judicial work, improving litigation procedures, and safeguarding citizens' lawful rights and interests; deepening the reform of the cadre and personnel system, and improving mechanisms for selection and appointment and personnel management. In accordance with the state's arrangements, the Tujia areas advanced political system reform step by step in light of actual conditions and achieved great results.