Transformation and Development: A Study on the Socio-Cultural Changes of the Tujia People in the Contemporary Era

Author: Bo Guixi / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-11-01
Features: The description of sociocultural change can be aided by many variables, among which economic variables are convenient and typical. Since economics has always been regarded as an extremely important and highly special element in the sociocultural system, sociocultural anthropologists have never overlooked the perspective of economics in their descriptions of sociocultural phenomena. For example, Mr. Huang Zongzhi of the United States describes the transformation of the small-peasant society in North China as essentially a segmentary agricultural history. However, explaining sociocultural change through economic change easily falls into the trap of explaining economics in terms of economics. This chapter attempts to demonstrate the dynamic operation process of the macroeconomy of the Tujia people from the aspects of economic growth and structural change.
I. Economic Growth
Nobel laureate in Economics Simon Kuznets stated: "Economic growth of a country can be defined as a long-term increase in its ability to supply its people with a growing variety of economic goods. This growing capacity is based on technological improvements and requires adjustments in institutions and ideologies." ② Sustained and stable economic growth is the fundamental driving force for economic development and the primary and necessary material condition for all economic progress. Measuring economic growth is highly complex, involving three major categories of indicators: total growth indicators, structural growth indicators, and indicators of the speed and efficiency of economic growth, each category containing several specific indicators. ③ The economic growth of the contemporary Tujia people can be divided into two major stages, and several key indicators will be used here to conduct a preliminary analysis of the characteristics of the two stages of Tujia economic growth.
(1) Economic Growth under the Traditional System (1949–1978)
Under the traditional system, national economic growth exhibited extreme highs and lows, marked by significant "classical cycles." For instance, from 1952 to 1978, national economic growth experienced five major fluctuations. Calculated at comparable prices, the highest growth rate of social total output reached 32.6 percentage points, while the lowest exceeded -33.5 percentage points, with a difference of 66.1 percentage points. ④ The fluctuations in national income were roughly similar, with the highest growth rate reaching 32.8 percentage points and the lowest hitting a historical record of -39.2 percentage points, a difference of 72 percentage points. ⑤ The economic growth of the Tujia people closely resembled that of the nation. Taking Enshi Prefecture as an example, from 1949 to 1978, the growth rate of social total output in Enshi exceeded 10 percentage points in 1952–1953, 1956, 1963, 1970, and 1978, peaking at 22.2 percentage points; correspondingly, the growth rates were below 5 percentage points in 1954, 1957–1961, 1964, 1966–1969, 1971–1972, and 1974–1975, with five years of negative growth, reaching a low of -9.6 percentage points. The fluctuations in national income were largely similar. However, unlike the nation, the fluctuations in Enshi’s economy were not as pronounced, with a difference of 29.8 percentage points in social total output growth rates and 32 percentage points in national income growth rates, respectively 40 and 36.3 percentage points less than the national levels. See Table 2-1 for details.
Since the reform, the economy of the Tujia region has achieved tremendous growth through economic reform and structural adjustment. , the speed of economic growth has accelerated. Compared to the period before the reform, the growth rate of the Tujia economy has shown a clear acceleration trend. Table 2—2 shows that from 1953 to 1978, the average annual growth rate of GDP in Enshi was 4.5, with the average annual growth rates of agricultural and industrial total output being 3.6 and 13.2, respectively. From 1979 to 1997, the average annual growth rate of GDP in Enshi increased to 7.5, a rise of 3 percentage points compared to the pre-reform period; the average annual growth rates of agricultural and industrial total output reached 43 and 15.1, respectively, an increase of 0.7 and 1.9 percentage points compared to the pre-reform period. Compared to the pre-reform period, the average annual growth rates of these three indicators at the national level increased by 27, 29, and 3.5 percentage points, respectively, with the increase in the average annual growth rate of industrial and agricultural total output clearly exceeding that of Enshi. However, after the reform, although the average annual growth rate of agriculture in Enshi was 17 percentage points lower than the national average (while it was 0.9 percentage points higher before the reform), the average annual growth rate of industrial total output remained slightly higher than the national average.
From the perspective of the growth of the three industries, the average annual growth rates of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in Enshi were 36, 64, and 8.0, respectively, from 1952 to 1978, while from 1978 to 1997, they were 43, 13.8, and 18.3, respectively. Compared to the pre-reform period, the smallest increase in growth rate was in the primary industry, with an increase of 0.7 percentage points, while the largest increase was in the tertiary industry, with an increase of 10.3 percentage points. The growth rate of the secondary industry, although not as large as that of the tertiary industry, also increased by 7.4 percentage points. Compared to the nation, the increase in the average annual growth rate of the primary industry was lower than the national level, but the increases in the average annual growth rates of the secondary and tertiary industries were significantly higher than the national level. This fully illustrates the accelerating trend in the growth rates of the secondary and tertiary industries in Enshi.
From the perspective of fiscal revenue, the trend of accelerating economic growth is also evident. Before the reform, the average annual growth rate of fiscal revenue in Enshi was 7.4, which increased to 15.9 after the reform, an increase of 8.5 percentage points, far exceeding the national increase of 4.1 percentage points. See Table 2-2 for a comparison of major economic indicators in Enshi before and after the reform.