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The Lisu ethnic minority
 The Lisu ethnic group numbers 574,600 people, and most
of them live in concentrated communities in Bijiang, Fugong, Gongshan
and Lushui counties of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in
northwestern Yunnan Province. The rest are scattered in Lijiang,
Baoshan, Diqing, Dehong, Dali, Chuxiong prefectures or counties in
Yunnan Province as well as in Xichang and Yanbian counties in Sichuan
Province, living in small communities with the Han, Bai, Yi and Naxi
peoples.
The Lisu language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family. In
1957, a new alphabetic script was created for the Lisu people.
 Geography The Lisus inhabit a mountainous area slashed
by rivers. It is flanked by Gaoligong Mountain on the west and Biluo
Mountain on the east, both over 4,000 meters above sea level. The
Nujiang River and the Lancang River flow through the area, forming two
big valleys. The average annual temperature along the river basins
ranges between 17 and 26 degrees Centigrade, and the annual rainfall
averages 2,500 millimeters. Main farm crops are maize, rice, wheat,
buckwheat, sorghum and beans. Cash crops include ramie, lacquer trees
and sugarcane. Many parts of the mountains are covered with dense
forests, famous for their China firs. In addition to rare animals, the
forests yield many medicinal herbs including the rhizome of Chinese
gold thread and the bulb of fritillary. The
 Lisu area also has
abundant mineral and water resources. History
According to historical records and folk legend, the forbears of the
Lisu people lived along the banks of the Jinsha River and were once
ruled by "Wudeng" and "Lianglin," two powerful tribes. After the 12th
century, the Lisu people came under the rule of the Lijiang
Prefectural Administration of the Yuan Dynasty, and in the succeeding
Ming Dynasty, under the rule of the Lijiang district magistrate with
the family surname of Mu.
During the 1820s, the Qing government sent officials to Lijiang,
Yongsheng and Huaping, areas where the Lisus lived in compact
communities, to replace Naxi and Bai hereditary chieftains. This
practice speeded up the transformation of the feudal manorial economy
to a landlord economy, and tightened up the rule of the Qing court
over Lisu and other ethnic groups. In the years preceding and
following the turn of the 20th century, large numbers of Han, Bai and
Naxi peoples moved to the Nujiang River valleys, taking with them iron
farm tools and more advanced production techniques, giving an impetus
to local production.
 During the period between the 18th and 19th century, the Lisus waged
many struggles against oppression. From 1941 to 1943, together with
the Hans, Dais and Jingpos, they heroically resisted the Japanese
troops invading western Yunnan Province and succeeded in preventing
the aggressors from crossing the Nujiang River, contributing to the
defense of China's frontier.
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. |
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