North China Rural Migrants To The Northeast (1897-1931)

The phenomenon of immigration was caused by the historical join forces.It was the combined action of the thrust of the emigrant area and the pull of the immigrant area. During the early 20th century,the contradictionbetween the populationand the farming lands was hugely increased in North China.At the same time,the natural and man-made disaster run amuck in this area,such as big flood,drought damage,locust plague,the overloaded farm taxes,usurious loans,the harass of soldiers and bandits,and so on.The unbalanced social ruling order gave the small-scale peasant economy a fatal blow.During this period,wha was worse,the industry and commerce in North China was still less developed,it couldnot absorb so many peasants who were forced to leave their villages. So,a number of peasants were almost in an extremity in this area.The Northeast China Region,which bordered upon The North China,was gradually developed ever since the late Qing Dynasty.However,the extensive northern areas of The Northeast China still had a great deal of wastelands to be cultivated during the period of the early Republic of China.Meanwhile,by virtue of the abundant agricultural and mineral resources in The Northeast China,the local authorities and the aggressive forces of Russia and Japan all vigorously promoted the commercialization of agricultural products and modernization of the industry.In order to absorb enough immigrants from the North China,some preferential measures were positively established.These advantaged factors caused enormous attraction for those immigrants from the North China,and during just 30 years before the September 18th Incident,many people swarmed into the Northeast China.As a result,the agriculture in Northeast China got highly developed.The development of the agriculture supplied raw materials for the commercialization of agricultural products,the redundant products exported to many foreign countries.The plentiful immigrants also provided abundant labor resources for the northeast industry.The immigrants,which majorly came from the Shandong province,gradually formed the features of hard-working,cooperative,brave,and so forth.They made a living in the disturbing areas,and shaped some commercial groups in many districts.The immigrants from the North China promoted the economic development of the Northeast China Region.Yet, the accumulation of mass population inevitably brought varied social problems.The jobless immigrants tended to became bandits or thieves.The skewed sex ratio caused by the immigrants also led to passive influences.Last but not least,massive young adults from the North China swarmed into the Northeast Area,which made large farming lands went out of cultivation in North China.As a result,the food security in North China was deeply affected.