Yao Old Political System Research Projects

Mu Lao is assembled with someone has particular Prestige and full of rich manufacture experience in the Yao village. Mu Lao is a spontaneous society organizations and a political system of village which normative and manage the order of the Yao village, It belongs to non-state political system, not only one of national minority community political system, but it also reflect basic level political life of Yao. Mu Lao is both the organization of production、political and it is organization of military. Mu Lao is responsible for organizing religious ceremonies; it is effects are political, economic, military and cultural; it is restrict the basic level life expansion and developing of Yao. The political system of Yao village is make up Zhai Lao, Zhai Zhu and Dang Long Shi, it is provided with the characteristic of Yao traditional culture and it is the basic level of the political system of village. Different inhabit regions have different appellations. For example, people call it "Zhai Lao" in Gui Zhou, but in Guang Xi, people call it "Cun Lao" and so on. Mu Lao political system is reflect on traditional authority. The members of Mu Lao are constituted with Zhai Lao, Zhai Zhu and Chu Long Shi, they are elected in the Yao society of democratic conference "Cong hui". Although Mu Lao is not provided with the cacique privilege of clan society but through the democratic elections by Yao people, Mu Lao have the political power and the basis of legality, they use the traditional authority take shape a variety of relationships to integration, coordination, control and management the Yao people. This power endow with Yao people from bottom-up, it is meet the needs of social adjustment and maintain order of Yao village society. This is the reciprocation of the power can maintain the village society order not the local authority endowed with the country’s political system from top to bottom. The members of Mu Lao are made up the old who have the most respected and rich experience in production. It’s Functions are choose the right time to sowing, solve the dissension、direct the village meeting, direct the religious sacrifice activity, lead the villagers Resist with enemy. Mu Lao is not only maintain social solidarity and order stability of Yao society, but also ensure the normal life and production of ethnic community; it is made the Yao villages living well.Before the China’s War of Liberation, The political system of Yao village on the one hand dominated by the feudal ruling class and bribed by the ruling class, the ruling class also uses the Mu Lao ruled Yao villagers to maintain backwardness of Yao society. And in the other hand, it transforms its functions to the developing and auxiliary state power of Yao society prolificacy, it management of national frontier. Until the new phase, state power goes deep into national minority society, Mu Lao traditional political system has subjected to certain shocks. Then Mu Lao is losing its authority and prestige and its administrative functions are taking the place of state power and rural grassroots power. Under the new political system and government political power, on the one hand Mu Lao political system retains a part of the original function of the political; on the other hand political power is also weakened. But the political system of Yao village always plays an important role in Yao’s traditional social life and increasingly evolved to the useful supplement of our country primary organs of state power. It’s to be a political system of village which conducting fair、 resolve the family occasion conflicts.Therefore, at the same time the Yao society face of the authority state and the Yao internal order authority. In ethnic minority areas, the dual authority is a universal phenomenon. It is both the subjective needs of minority political life and the objective needs of the socialist grassroots political power. Minority village community political system is the structure of the political system in the bottom; it is also a national grass-roots political system. The Yao’s Mu Lao political system is belong to essentially Ethnic village community political system, characteristics of ethnic, traditional, closed which from the initial kinship, family geo-social development of the geo-social. Mu Lao political system is relatively independent, self-contained, its formation and function of play is essential for the effective operation and stable development of the Yao village community foundation and conditions. In the primitive society, without Mu Lao political system, Yao village community can not be normal operation, which is adapted to the product and the low productivity. But the country’s political culture in minority areas is the mainstream culture; it has been the widespread recognition of the Yao people, the Yao Mu Lao traditional authority gradually fade, the content of the Yao traditional political culture is changing. Yao society’s mainstream political authority penetrate deeply and desalination of traditional political authority, description of the change of the economic foundation, Yao political culture of the society has undergone a fundamental change in, traditional political culture and the system has become increasingly mainstream political culture of the socialist alternative, thus gradually moving towards a more mature, more open, more democratic political system. And even the Yao’s demise of traditional political authority and the weakening of traditional political, the strengthening of the country’s political authority in the Yao area and Yao masses is a trend in the social and historical development process and the inevitable. But in the view of the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the direction, the Yao’s Mu Lao political system has a positive role and modern value; it is an effective form of important social resources to the Yao Shan masses for self-management. Giving full play to the positive role, not only it will contribute to built harmonious society of Yao area, but also has a certain significance to building a socialist harmonious society, maintain the stability of the border ethnic, the "Qiao Tou Bao" strategy of Yunnan and Yao economic development.