Transformation of indigenous society in Southwest China : a case study of the Dai

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dc.contributor.authorHenin, Bernard Henryen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-14T16:50:18Z
dc.date.available2024-08-14T16:50:18Z
dc.date.copyright1994en_US
dc.date.issued1994
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractChina's fast pace of development since the 1978 economic reforms has had a wide range of impacts on the country's social and natural environment. The decollectivization of agriculture, the introduction of responsibility systems in agricultural and industrial production, and a growing emphasis on regional specialization have raised living standards considerably in rural and urban areas. However, they have also generated significant disparities in wealth among counties, provinces, and other administrative areas in the country. At the same time, the pressures of modernization and economic development have had a severe impact on the country's natural resources, resulting in loss of agricultural land, increased deforestation, and global ecological damage. China 's ethnic minority areas are largely distributed in the western half of the country. Their economic development has not kept pace with the rest of the country. The southwest region, which contains a high proportions of ethnic minority populations, remains the poorest region in the country. Nevertheless, increased autonomy in political, economic, and cultural affairs has encouraged the minority groups in this region to explore new paths of development. This study focuses on the Dai of Xishuangbanna, a subtropical area in the South of Yunnan province that is characterized by a high degree of ethnic diversity. Their society is undergoing rapid changes to adjust to the forces of modernization in the market economy and to a situation of decreased agricultural and forested land base in the area. This study investigates the changes in land-use strategies and traditional social institutions adopted by the Dai in response to these pressures. It focuses on two villages that have embraced very different forms of agro-forestry practices and social arrangements. A questionnaire survey designed to gather local resident knowledge as well as informal interviews and observations have been performed in these two villages. In addition, development issues and environmental problems in various parts of Xishuangbanna were identified through informal interviews, observations, and a questionnaire survey of village leaders. The study presents the results of the empirical analysis of the data and their interpretation according to known theories of peasant economic behaviour and peasant social organizations. It then investigates the implications of the findings for the Dai society's capacity to absorb pressures of modernization in a political environment largely controlled by the Chinese state.en
dc.format.extent157 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/18115
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleTransformation of indigenous society in Southwest China : a case study of the Daien_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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