Between Collision And Harmony

Chieftain system was a special political system for the central dynasty to strengthen the rule of remote peoples. Namely, the central government appointed minority officials as hereditary aristocracy and ordered them to manage local people, to achieve the goal of government in ethnic areas. Chieftain system’s implement, to a certain extent, was that the central dynasty only realized indirect management of ethnic regions, it was a stopgap measure for the central dynasty to solve the problem of inadequate management of remote areas. So there existed a contradiction of the distribution of power from the beginning between central dynasty and local chieftains, which often leaded to more conflict between them with the further strengthening of central authority.Under chieftain system, as a tool of central dynasty ruling minorities, local chieftains enjoyed supreme hereditary ruling right.Although its surface was placed in a bureaucracy of imperial unified system, which was relatively surrendered to the central dynasty, it essentially belonged to a local government that was relatively independent of the central government’s traditional management system separatist party, did whatever they wanted, its inherent separatist and independence, after all, posed a potential threat to the imperial power itself and central dynasty. When the dynasty was powerful enough to overcome this independence, the two sides could coexist, on the contrary, when the decline of dynasty central strength, chieftain was strong enough to match the central or compete, its existence became a serious obstacle for unitary state. This politic gamble and armed confrontation relationship between central dynasty and local chieftain, ultimately changed in the Qing Kangxi and Yongzheng yearsIn this paper, based on the above perspective and background, as a case study in Guangxi chieftain, selected the Qing Kang Yong transition period as the horizon, systematic studied the change situation of relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty, comprehensive analysis of the reasons for its change, summarized its change characteristics and historical influences, in order to perspective the history and laws of interaction between feudal central dynasty and local chieftain society in Kang Yong period.Dialectical materialism believes that things can only change under certain conditions. In Kang Yong period, transformation of the relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty was mainly based on the following kinds of reasons:first, the rising power of the Qing central and the social economy development of the areas under chieftains ruling laid a good material foundation and objective condition for transformation of their relationship; second, the central dynasty improving management on Chieftains’inheritance, sub-inheritance, tribute, reward and punishment system, as well as the Guangxi chiefs provided institutional guarantee; the third was,the formation of the new national concept which treated all nationalities equally and the new national policy which disseminated Han Chinese traditional culture to minority areas provided ideological guidance; the forth was that the Guangxi chieftains were deeply affected by Central Plains culture, which provided cultural guide for transformation of the relationship between the two; the fifth was the fading soldiers, making Guangxi chieftains lose military barrier, objectively accelerated the transformation of the relationship; the sixth was that Emperor Kangxi and Yongzheng expanded territory proactively, properly resolved Guangxi chieftains’issues, which offered strong subjective conditions for transformation of the relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty. Such combined effects based on subjective and objective conditions, eventually caused the relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty in Kang Yong years achieving by "collision" to "harmony", namely, Guangxi chieftains from separated, against central, free estranged relationship outside of the central domination, into a normal "relative" relation of subordination, obedience to the central government and maintained close contact with the central dynasty.In fact, in Kang Yong years, under the careful management of the Qing government, the relationship between Southwest chieftains and Qing government all experienced varying degrees of change, however, relative to the relations transformation process of neighboring provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou chieftains and Qing government, which was repeated, complex, the change in Guangxi chieftains relation with the central dynasty became easier and simpler.In Kang Yong years, the transformation of the relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty, as an important turning point in the history of Guangxi chieftain system, had a quite profound influence on social history of then and later. It was not only beneficial to areas under chieftains ruling and the whole Guangxi nation regional economic development and social progress,but also with collapse of the separatist regime in Guangxi chieftain and Guangxi chieftain forces plummeted, Guangxi minorities gradually became the people who were under central direct management, thus speeding up the formation of a unified multi-ethnic country.All in all, in Kang Yong years, as China ancient feudal autocratic centralization unprecedented strengthening, as well as a critical period of the formation of a unified multi-ethnic country, to achieve "peace" into Guangxi chieftains relation with the central dynasty and to make Guangxi minority areas into centralized rule orbit became historical necessities. Meanwhile, with the transformation of relationship between Guangxi chieftains and central dynasty, Guangxi entered a new historical development period. Therefore, in Kang Yong period, a successful resolution of Guangxi chieftains and ethnic issues, not only enriched the Guangxi regional history, national history, chieftain history, but also provided a rational thinking and beneficial reference to solve our contemporary national issues.