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

Author: Bo Guixi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: The description of sociocultural change can be assisted by many variables, among which are convenience and are typical economic variables. Since economics has always been regarded as an extremely important and highly special element in the sociocultural system, sociocultural anthropologists have never ignored the perspective of economics in their descriptions of sociocultural phenomena. For example, Mr. Philip C. C. Huang 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 in terms of economic change is prone to falling into the trap of explaining economics through economics. This chapter attempts to demonstrate the dynamic operation process of the macroeconomy of the Tujia ethnic group from the aspects of economic growth and structural change.
I. Economic Growth
Nobel laureate in Economics Simon Kuznets defined economic growth as "the long-term increase in a country's ability to supply its people with a growing variety of economic goods. This growing capacity is based on technological improvements and requires institutional and ideological adjustments." 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 with several specific metrics. ③ The economic growth of the contemporary Tujia ethnic group can be divided into two major phases, and several key indicators will be used here to conduct a preliminary analysis of the characteristics of these two phases 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, characterized by clear "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 creating a historical record of -39.2 percentage points, a difference of 72 percentage points. ⑤ The economic growth of the Tujia ethnic group was quite similar to 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 the highest and lowest growth rates of social total output differing by 29.8 percentage points and the highest and lowest growth rates of national income differing by 32 percentage points, respectively, 40 and 36.3 percentage points less than the national figures. See Table 2-1 for details.
Since the reform, the economy of the Tujia ethnic group has achieved significant 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 clearly accelerated. As shown in Table 2—2, 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 4.3 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 industry, with an average annual growth rate increase of 0.7 percentage points, while the largest increase was in the third industry, with an average annual growth rate increase of 10.3 percentage points. The growth rate of the secondary industry, though not as large as that of the third industry, also increased by 7.4 percentage points. Compared to the national level, the increase in the average annual growth rate of the industry was lower than the national average, but the increases in the average annual growth rates of the secondary and tertiary industries were significantly higher than the national average. This fully demonstrates 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 can also be observed. 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. Table 2-2 compares the growth rates of major economic indicators in Enshi before and after the reform.