Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1998 Make a living: agriculture, industry and commerce in Eastern Hebei, 1870-1937 Fuming Wang Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Agriculture Commons, Asian History Commons, Economic History Commons, and the Other History Commons Recommended Citation Wang, Fuming, "Make a living: agriculture, industry and commerce in Eastern Hebei, 1870-1937 " (1998). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 11819. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/11819 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly fi'om the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &c&, while others may be fi-om any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afiect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., msqjs, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, begiiming at the upper left-hand comer and continuing fi'om left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations spearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Compai^ 300 Noith Zed) Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Make a living: Agriculture, industry and commerce in Eastern Hebei, 1870-1937 by Fuming Wang A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major. Agricultural History and Rural Studies Major Professor. Adrian A. Bennett Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1998 Copyright © Fuming Wang, 1998, All rights reserved UMI Nximber: 9826580 Copyright 1998 by Waing, Ftuning All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9826580 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 II Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Doctoral dissertation of Fuming Wang has met the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Major Program Signature was redacted for privacy. For the College iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LISTOFnOURES v LIST OF TABLES vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS « ABSTRACT CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION I Fei Xiaotong's interpretation of Chinese peasant economy 2 Past scholarship 5 Research area and the basic sources 12 A few words about the time frame and the thesis organization 17 CHAPTER 2. THE ECOSYSTEM OF EASTERN HEBEI: ITS GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE AND POPULATION 19 The location of Eastern Hebei 20 The problem of bannerland 23 The soil condition and climate in Eastern Hebei 31 Population and total grain production: A supply and demand analysis 37 Cash crop planting in Eastern Hebei 45 CHAPTERS. LrriLE RETURN FROM THE LAND: INVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE 55 Land distribution and tenancy in Eastern Hebei 56 Few working animals and simple farming tools in Eastern Hebei 69 Agricultural calendar and labor supply 74 Agricultural production: A cost and return analysis 79 CHAPTER 4. SUPPORTING AGRICULTURE WITH SIDELINE PRODUCTION; THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL INDUSTRY 90 Sidelines of agricultural production: Domestic animal raiding, fruit production, fishing, and grain processing 90 Local resources and local industries: Reed weaving, basket and paper making 102 Seizing the opportunity: Straw braiding and bristle processing 109 From sideline to main production: I^dicraft weaving in Baodi area 115 iv CHAPTERS. LOOKING BEYOND THE VILLAGE: WORKING IN THE CITIES OR GOING TO MANCHURIA 129 The improvement of transportation and the rise of the new industnal cities 129 Finding jobs in the cities: Peasant workers in Beijing, Tianjin and other market towns 136 Going to Manchuria and the rise of the merchant-landlord class 149 CHAPTER 6. mS HARDER TO MAKE A LIVING: STATE INVOLUTION, IMPERIALISM AND PEASANTS' LIVELIHOOD IN THE 1930S 170 State involution and increasing taxation 170 Civil war, banditry and peasant losses 182 The door is closed: The arrival of the Japanese 187 Word economic depression and Eastern Hebei economy 198 Peasants' livelihood in the 1930s: An analysis of peasants' budget 206 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION 216 Make a living by all means 216 Re-evaluating feudalism and imperialism 218 Rural industrialization and peasants' livelihood 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY 225 V LISTOFnOURES Figure I-1. Philip Huang's research area and the Mantetsu-surveyed villages 14 Figure 2-1. Counties in Eastern Hebei 21 Figure 2-2. Topography of Eastern Hebei 33 Figure 2-3. Monthly average rainfall in Tianjin (1891-1925) 34 Figure 2-4. Rainfall in June in Tianjin (1891-1925) 35 Figure 3-1. Equal division of land in the Zhang clan in Oabeiguan village, Pinggu county 62 Figure 3-2. Labor-days distribution in Michang village, Fengrun county 77 Figure 4-1. Map showing often flooded areas and distribution of cotton handlooms in Baodi county 119 Figure 4-2. Map showing trade routes for Baodi fabrics 120 Figure 5-1. Railroad, canal and cities in Eastern Hebei 132 VI LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1. Mu of bannerland in Eastern Hebei 24 Table 2-2. Bannerland and its percentage in Ji and Fengrun counties 25 Table 2-3. Land taxes and rents in Shunyi county, 1930s 30 Table 2-4. Land and population in Eastern Hebei, 1937 38 Table 2-5. Percentage of households according to occupational division, 1936 39 Table 2-6. Percentage of main crops planted in Eastern Hebei, 1939 41 Table 2-7. Grain production, consumption and shortage in Eastern Hebei, 1938-39 42 Table 2-8. Percentage of main crops in six Eastern Hebei villages, 1936 43 Table 2-9. Grain production and per-capita share in seven Eastern Hebei villages, 1936 44 Table 2-10. Mu of cotton land and its percentage in total cultivable land in Eastern Hebei, 1936 48 Table 2-11. Cotton planting and yields in Fengrun count>', 1930-1935 49 Table 2-12. Percentage of different crops in seven villages in Yutian county 50 Table 3-1. Percentage of households according to landownership in four Eastern Hebei counties, 1930s 56 Table 3-2. Percentage of owners, tenant and part-tenant, and year-laborers in twenty Eastern Hebei villages, 1930s and early 1940s 58 Table 3-3. Percentage of households according to land holding in Eastern Hebei villages, 1936 59 Table 3-4. Percentile of landholding according to how much land they held in Eastern Hebei villages, 1936 60 vii Table 3-5. Land buying by Liu Lihetang, 1880-1922 64 Table 3-6. Average landholding per household and percentage of owner-peasants in three generations in Dabeiguan village 65 Table 3-7. Percentage of households and land farmed according to the size of farms 67 Table 3-8. Households and working animals in nine Eastern Hebei villages, 1935-1936 69 Table 3-9. Domestic animal raising in the farming households in Xiaoying village, 1936 70 Table 3-10. Cost of working animal raising in Xiaoying village, 1936 71 Table 3-11. Planting and harvesting schedules in Miyun and Linyu counties, 1930s 75 Table 3-12. Labor-day needed to farm on 4 mu of land in Fengrun and Luan counties, 1930s 76 Table 3-13. Farming cost and income in Michang village, 1937 80 Table 3-14. Agricultural income and family budget in Xiaojie village, 1935 81 Table 3-15. Farming cost in Michang village, 1937 82 Table 3-16. Percentage of fertilizer, hired-labor, rent and taxes in farming cost in Michang village, 1937 82 Table 3-17. Net farming income after deducting "family-labor-cost" in Michang village, 1937 83 Table 3-18. Adjusted agricultural income and family budget in Xiaojie village, 1935 85 Table 3-19. Average net agricultural income for 11 househods in Xiaojie, 1935 86 Table 3-20. Average returns ofagricultural investment in Michang, 1937 86 Vlll Table 3-21. Farming return for owner-peasant in Xiaojie village, 1935 87 Table 3-22. Tenant farming returns in Michang, 1937 88 Table 4-1. Farm size and domestic animal raising in Lujiazhai and Xiaojie, 1930s 91 Table 4-2. Number of pigs transported to the cities by railway, 1934 94 Table 4-3. Estimated fruit production in three counties, 1934 95 Table 4-4. Fruit production in Zhongliangshan, Changli county, 1936 96 Table 4-5. Dried and fresh fruits exported from Eastern Hebei, 1934 96 Table 4-6. Fishing households and harvests along the Pohai Bay, 1934 97 Table 4-7. Oil-pressing industry in some Eastern Hebei counties, 1934 99 Table 4-8. Reed mats woven in some Eastern Hebei counties, 1934 103 Table 4-9. Basket making and exporting in Eastern Hebei, 1934 105 Table 4-10.