The Demise Of The Chieftain System Elegy

The Dust Settles Down tells of, from the viewpoint of an imbecile, how a Kangba chieftain led to his downfall when he seemed to be at the height of power and splendors. The author represents the scene with great ardor while he poses the major character as seemingly detached to what was happening around him. We can not only see how the chieftain system came to its end, but also get a better understanding and appreciation of the local customs and lifestyles of the local people . From a historic point of view, this can be taken as an elegy for the chieftain system. The romantic mystical chieftain system had enjoyed its splendor and celebrity when Chieftain Maiqi took some advantage over other chieftains with his great wealth, advanced arms and the support of Han people from the then central government. However , the chieftain system could not escape its destined ruin, however prosperous it might seem to be . The novel presents the reader, from the standpoint of two characters, one seems foolishly brainless and another wise, a picture of how the chieftain family lived a decadent and dissolute life, and how they enslaved and shackled the people under their ruling, revealing the fact that the chieftain system must inevitably come to its destined ruin out of its backwardness in its economic and political systems.. their decadent and dissolute life, and historical necessities . The 搃mbecile?, as a witness of the chieftain system from its prosperity to its downfall, experienced its rise and decline. But he was more of a scapegoat on a historical sacrificial altar of his times. And he could mystically see everything dispassionately from a peculiar angle of his own. While Wengboyixi ,an intelligent and wise lama from the holy city Lasa, showed an acute insight into the disputes among the chieftains, and always with an detachment of a stander-by. And nothing could escape his piercing eyes and mind. The chieftain system and its civilization had fallen far behind the times. The planting of opium intensified the conflict and deepened the enmity between Chieftain Maiqi and other chieftains in the neighborhood, and wars broke out as a result. The chieftain system was just like dust in the air. It seemed to be full of vigor and vitality; both the ruling class and the ruled class are intoxicated by the apparently prosperity at the moment. But the chieftain system is doomed to its downfall destiny, just like the dust is doomed to settle down at last. The ruin of the chieftain system is destined by its corruption he extravagant and dissipated life of the ruling class and its ruthless reign over its people, and its ruin is historically inevitable. Perilous factors lay concealed under the peaceful life of the chieftain family. The scrambling for power and profit among all the chieftains . disagreements among the chieftain family members. opposition and hostility from the ruled class and intricate conflicts and disputes with the Kuomintang warlords were all factors contributing to the doom of the chieftain system. The development of the domestic situation and the intense fight for power and wealth among the different chieftains brought the chieftain system under the threat of growing crises and hastened the end of the system. The chieftain system had always existed on the fringes of the reign of the centralized authorities. The chieftain system was featured by its unenlightened state -. its backwardness and its consequent exclusiveness in religious believes. It is marked by its attachment to both Beijing, where its political power came from, and the holy city Lasa, where the peo...