Socio-economic Conditions Before 1949

The social economy in the various Lisu areas was at different levels before China¡¯s national liberation in 1949. In Lijiang, Dali, Baoshan, Weixi, Lanping and Xichang, areas closer to China's interior, a feudal landlord economy was prevalent, with productivity approaching the level in neighboring Han and Bai areas. Some medium and small slave-owners had appeared from among the Lisus living around the Greater and Lesser Liangshan Mountains, taking up agriculture or part-agriculture and part-hunting, and using ploughs in farming.

As for the Lisus living in Bijiang, Fugong, Gongshan and Lushui, the four counties around the Nujiang River valley, their productivity was comparatively low. They had to make up for their scanty agricultural output by collecting fruits and wild vegetables and hunting. Their simple production tools consisted of iron and bamboo implements. Slash-and-burn was practiced. The division of social labor was not distinct, and handicrafts and commerce had not yet been separated from agriculture. Bartering was in practice. Some primitive markets began to appear in Bijiang and Fugong counties.

Improvement in productivity brought about changes in ownership. Prior to 1949, private ownership of land had been established in the four counties around the Nujiang River valley, though landholding was generally small. The rural population had split up into classes, but the remnants of primitive public ownership and patriarchal slavery still existed. Land ownership was in three main forms: private ownership by individual peasants, ownership by the clan, and public ownership by the clan or village. Among the three, the first was dominant, while the second was a transitional form from the primitive public ownership of land to private ownership. Only a small portion of land was publicly owned.

As a result of the penetration of landlord economic factors and the instability of the small peasant economy, more and better land came under the ownership by some clans, village chieftains or rich households. An increasing number of poor peasants became landless. They lived on rented land or as hired farmhands.

Patriarchal slavery existed in the Nujiang River area in the period between the 16th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The slaves were generally regarded as family members or "adopted children." They lived, ate and worked with their masters, and some of the slaves could buy back their freedom. The masters could buy and sell slaves, but had no power over their lives. The slaves were not stratified. All these reflected the characteristics of exploitation under the early slavery system.

In post-1949 days, the remnant of the clan system could still be found among the Lisus in the Nujiang River valley. There were more than a dozen clans there, each with a different name. They included Tiger, Bear, Monkey, Snake, Sheep, Chicken, Bird, Fish, Mouse, Bee, Buckwheat, Bamboo, Teak, Frost and Fire. The names also served as their totems. Within each clan, except for a feeling of kinship, individual households had little economic links with one another.

The clan and village commune played an important part in practical life. The "ka," or village, meant a place where a group of close relatives lived together. Some villages were composed of families of different clans. Every village had a commonly acknowledged headman, generally an influential elderly man. His job was to settle disputes within the clan, give leadership in production, preside over sacrificial ceremonies, declare clan warfare externally, sign alliances with other villages, collect tributes for the imperial court. Under the rule of a chieftain, such headmen were appointed his assistants. When the Kuomintang came, they became the heads of districts, townships or "bao" (10 households). When there was a war, the various communal villages might form a temporary alliance; when the war was over, the alliance ended.

Apart from common ownership of land and working on it together, clan members helped one another in daily life. When there was wine or pork, they shared it. When a girl got married, they shared the betrothal gifts given to her parents; and when a young man took in a wife, the betrothal gifts for the bride's family were borne by all. Debts too, were to be paid by all. These collective rights and obligations in production and daily life made it possible for clan relations to continue for a long time.

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