Turpan Water Conservancy Order And Rural Society In The Late Qing Dynast

Water,which is primarily a restricted element of agriculture in arid areas,is the core of Turpan’s ecology,economy and society,and the central to the social and economic order of the region.The concept of “A social order centered on water ” refers to a dynamic condition of confrontation or integration,which is reflected by the action of various subjects in society around water conservancy.In the long traditional China,daily water conservancy working within spontaneous rules showed the orderliness and conformity of rural social order.But water disputes and litigation show the tension and antagonism of social order.Therefore,water disputes and litigation are the focus of social and economic history research.By studying how to resolve water disputes and lawsuits,we can learn how stable social order comes about.In recent years,some scholars have pointed out that the settlement of disputes and lawsuits in traditional society is related to multiple authorities and networks of social connections.The process of settling disputes reflects the game between the state and civil forces,the interaction between the national judicial system and local regulations,and so on,so that we can observe the way and process of interaction between the state and local society.This study used Turpan’ hall lawsuit archives in the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China published recently,deeply studied the principle of water and water system in Turpan,the articles of association of water conservancy,grassroots governance and rural society,analyzed Turpan’s interaction between multivariate authority and power,and the reconstruction process and mechanism of local social order after Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang.On the basis of the above research,I further consider the transformation of frontier society in the late Qing Dynasty.The research object of this paper is public water resources represented by spring stream.Compared with private karez,public water resources have the problem of water right distribution,and a large number of water disputes and lawsuits caused by water distribution.The principle of water distribution refers to the conditions on how water rights are distributed among the main channels,villages and households of the same water source.It has been a spontaneous "habit" for a long time.The principle of water distribution in Turpan in the late Qing Dynasty was influenced by natural environment factors and human social factors,which had both historical inheritance and arid area commonness.The prominent characteristic of turpan water distribution principle is that it embodies strong national orientation.The formation of water division principle symbolizes the preliminary establishment of water conservancy order.The concept of water distribution charter is an official water conservancy system formulated according to the principle of water distribution and kept in government documents,water brochures,inscriptions or local Chronicles.Water distribution regulations are the basis for local water conservancy order.In the existing historical documents,there is no record of the specific content of the complete water distribution regulations in any region of Xinjiang,so the academic circle has little knowledge about the formation and change of the water conservancy order in the traditional rural society in the arid area of northwest China.By copying and analyzing the water conservancy litigation files of The Yamen of Turpan Hall in the late Qing Dynasty,this chapter sorted out the specific content of the Regulation of Grape Gully Water Distribution after Zuo Zongtang Recovered Xinjiang and the change process of the actual content of the regulation under the name of “Old Charter",showing the order of the society in Turpan village and the intervention of state power during the years of Guangxu and Xuantong.The power game between villages in regional society and the process and mechanism of water conservancy order reconstruction in rural society.The process of disputes and lawsuits between villagers(Group or individual),as well as the process of disputes and lawsuits handled by local leaders and local governments,fully show the grass-roots governance and rural social structure of Turpan in the late Qing Dynasty.In the late Qing Dynasty,the basic social structure of Turpan changed.Therefore,there are many disputes around the appointment and post of local head of Turpan Water Conservancy.The interaction and game between households,local leaders and the government with different positions constituted the power structure of Turpan’ rural society in the late Qing Dynasty,which reflected the specific form of the frontier rural society.Through the analysis of the lawsuit files in Turpan,it can be found that water conservancy disputes and lawsuits run through the establishment and implementation of water conservancy principles,the promulgation and modification of water conservancy regulations,the appointment and removal of grass-roots leaders and daily water conservancy management.From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China,the regional social structure of Turpan showed two characteristics: the molding of rural water conservancy order by the change of local power,and the leading position of state power in Turpan society and the process of extending to the grass-roots society.This is the main vein of Turpan regional social development in this period.