Studies To The Cultivation Of Early Qing Dynasty In Shan Dong Province

Fanning came to a standstill in early Qing Period in Shandong Province, with the fields out of cultivation and the populace running off. Undoubtedly, this situation was both a disaster for the populace and a disadvantage for the feudal government to consolidate its rule. To turn the tide, the Qing government took several measures: the first is to encourage and reward wasteland cultivation. The government called on peasants to reclaim wasteland, supplied certain numbers of stud cattle, extended the years before tax, guarantee the ownership of the reclaimed land, and instructed the officials to supervise it, thus arousing the enthusiasm of both the peasants and the officials. The second is to reduce corvee and taxes. Having rectified the chaotic tax systems, the Qing government adopted the policy of "never extra tax for the sake of the increased population in time of prosperity" in Emperor Kangxi's late reign, and then the policy of "land apportioned to grown men" in the early reign of Emperor Yongzheng. Considering that Shandong had repeatedly suffered from natural calamities, the government reduced its taxes many times. The third is to take the "redistributed land" system. The vassals of the Ming Dynasty owned large stretch of land, most of which were wasted at the beginning of Qing Dynasty, and part of which were already in the possession of the local peasants. In the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, "redistributed land" decree were issued, returning the vassal land to its original owner and claiming it as civil and lifetime estate. In this way, much of the land wasted during the war at the end of the Ming Dynasty was reclaimed. The fourth is to undertake water conservancy projects. The frequent floods in the early years of Qing Dynasty had done great damage to farming, which attracted much attention of the early Qing monarchs to controlling the water. During Kangxi's reign, the Yellow River and other prime rivers were harnessed one after another. By dredging the watercourse, floods were controlled to some extent in Shandong, quickening the recovery of farming. By the middle of Kangxi's reign, both land and population in Shandong had been greatly increased.The early period of Qing Dynasty also witnessed the fast development of agricultural productivity in Shandong. First, farming made much progress: the peasants collected valuable experience through practice, such as improving the fertility of soil, growing crops at the right time of year, growing different crops in different soil, thus enhancing the resistance against natural disasters. Second, farming construction was adjusted, that is, the adjustment of grain crops ratio and the development of industrial crops. This not only greatly raised the efficiency of land and the economic profit, but also the commercialization of farming, keeping the petty farmers closer to markets. Although the development of agricultural productivity in this area was to some extent obvious, it was more in quantity than in quality. Since the tool of production, which is a decisive element for productivity, didn't improve much, the progress in productivity of this period inevitably had its limitations.The feudal government took various measures to recover farming and to benefit the owner-peasants in early periods, thus creating an environment for peasants to rest and build up strength, in which many peasants had their own acres of land, strengthening their economic ability. Therefore, the ownership of small land had somehow developed in Shandong. From the middle of Kangxi's reign, the appearance of land annexation tended to concentrate land, mainly by purchasing, not excluding by force or by accepting contributions.The main form of exploitation in agriculture was tenancy system, which was again divided into deduction tenancy and ration tenancy, the former was prevalent in Shandong while the latter tended to prevail towards the late Qing period. There had been examples of money tenancy in Shandong in the early period. Towards late Qing period, in some areas, there appeared the system of employment with allotted profit, which was an indication of both the deterioration of tenancy and the development of capitalism.The early Qing period also witnessed the recovered agriculture and the active commodity economy, in which village markets were growing up and the expansion of social division labor led to the birth of towns engaged in business and handcraft. All of these stimulated the development of commercial agriculture, which in turn further boosted the intensive farming in which more hands were needed, causing the increase in number of hired hands. It was very common to employ hands in agriculture and in some parts there even existed markets for hired hands. In such a relationship, not only hirers but also the hired had the freedom to choose, and hired hands had more freedom in working out of their hometown, especially after the rule of Emperor Qianlong. Agricultural employment had great effect on the nature of economic activities: in farmer economy, hired hands include owner-peasants, rich peasants and tenants; while in landowner economy, landowners include both landowners and land-dealers. It was mainly the wealthy farmer or land-dealers who manipulated such activities. They hired hands not for self-sufficiency, but for profits from markets. Thus, to exploit the surplus value was the new tendency in the nature of economical activities conceived in such agricultural engagement.To sum up, the development of agriculture in Shandong in the early Qing period was first the deepening of land source exploitation and then was the adjustment and optimization of economic construction. With the development of economy, the change in the form of land allocation made tenancy the main form of feudal exploitation in agriculture. At the same time, the development of commercial farming reflected the evolvement of production construction of this period, displaying the internal drive and tendency of Chinese traditional economy.