The Highlanders of Central Asia: A History, 1937-1985

333 Pages·1993·8.866 MB·English

by  Jerome Chen

The
HIGHIANDERS
ofCentralChina
A History 1895-1937

The
HIGHIANDERS
o f C entralC hina
A H istory 1895-1937
Jerome Ch'en
An East Gate Book
c7VI.
E. Sharpe
ARMONK, NEW YORK
LONDON, ENGLAND
An East Gate Book
Copyright © 1992 by M. E. Sharpe. Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without written permission from the publisher. M. E. Sharpe. Inc..
80 Business Park Drive. Armonk. New York 10504.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ch'cn. Jerome. 1919-
The highlanders of central China, a history, 1895-1937 /
by Jerome Ch'cn
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-87332-729-2
1. Hupeh Province (China)—Rural conditions.
2. Szechwan Province (China)—Rural conditions.
3. Hunan Province (China)—Rural conditions.
4. Peasantry—China—Hupeh Province—History.
5. Peasantry—China—Szechwan Province—History.
6. Peasantry—China—Hunan Province—History.
I. Title.
II. Series.
HN740.H86C47 1991
307.72'0951 '212—dc20
90-9156
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
ANSI Z39.48-1984.
At the Chengdu end of my life, for C.C. and Yu
At this end of my life, for Laura and Barbara

CONTENTS
Tables ix
Figures xiii
Acknowledgments XV
Weights, Measures, and Monies xvii
1. Introduction 3
2. Food 40
3. Goods for Trade 71
4. Commodity Distribution 89
5. Tribute Money (I) 108
6. Tribute Money (II) 135
7. Cities and Fortresses 153
8. A Martial and Romantic Tradition 180
9. The Civil War Belt 200
10. Two Rural Soviets 221
11. Conclusion 246
Appendix A. On Statistics 249
Appendix B. The Folk Tradition 255
Notes 259
Bibliography 277
Index 293
vii

TABLES
Note : Tables are gathered at the end of each chapter.
1 Fluctuations in the Price of Rice xxi
1.1 Demographic Changes in the Qing Valley 38
1.2 Demographic Changes in Central China 38
1.3 Population Changes 39
1.4 Sichuan Bristles 39
2.1 Demographic Changes in Hubei, Sichuan, and Hunan 52
2.2 The Highland Region: Area and Population 54
2.3 Cultivated Areas in the 1930s 56
2.4 Diet of Staple Food, 1934 57
2.5 Staple Food Output, Early 1930s 58
2.6 Classification of Peasants and Farmland Distribution 61
2.7 Frequency Distribution of Different Forms of Rent 64
2.8 Rates of Rent in Hubei, Sichuan, and Hunan 65
2.9 Changes in Land Value 68
2.10 Sichuan Rice Output and Value 70
3.1 The Highland Salt of Sichuan 81
ix
X
3.2 Production of Bristles, East Sichuan 83
3.3 Tong Households, 1940 85
3.4 Tong Oil Export—Shares of Sichuan,
Hunan, and Hubei, 1912-31 86
3.5 Opium Production, Fuling 88
3.6 Income from Nonagrarian Activities, 1912-37 88
4.1 Motor Roads in West Hubei, East Sichuan,
and West Hunan 106
4.2 Parcel Service 106
4.3 Hongjiang Wholesalers and Retailers 107
5.1 Percentage Changes in the Land Tax Proper, Hubei 123
5.2 Land Surtaxes as Percentage of the
Land Tax Proper, Hubei 123
5.3 Land Tax Proper, West Hubei 124
5.4 Percentage Changes in the Land Tax Proper, Sichuan 125
5.5 Land Surtaxes as Percentage of the
Land Tax Proper, Sichuan 126
5.6 Actual Collection and Accompanied Surtaxes
to Each Tael of Land Tax Proper, Eastern Sichuan 126
5.7 Percentage Changes in the Land Tax Proper, Hunan 127
5.8 Land Surtaxes as Percentage of Diding, Hunan 127
5.9 Land Surtaxes as Percentage of Diding, West Hunan 128