A Study Of Lisu Migration History

Considering that the Lisu people's migrations contributed to their formation as an ethnic group,their means of development,and their socio-cultural transformation,the central question of this thesis is about how the Lisu migrations in both short and long durations of history contributed to the changes in the Lisu people's living space so much so that it sometimes shifted,often extended,and finally proliferated.The Lisu migrations in short durations of history refer to the large-scale and long-distance movements of the Lisu people due to the failures of their uprisings against various ruling regimes.This type of migrations was the key to the sudden,considerable,and historical movements of people that were the key to the expansion of the Lisu people's living space.The Lisu migrations in long durations of history refer to the frequent,small-scale,and short-distance movements of the Lisu people due to their mode of production and their mode of livelihood,resulting in the constant shift of their living space over time.The former relied on the latter in actuality,and it was towards the areas of land where at least some Lisu people had ready taken up residence.The latter depended on the former,and it was towards the areas of land where the living space of the Lisu people could be further expanded.The discussions that follow are also intended to explain how connected migrations were to the Lisu's people's relations with other ethnic groups and to their collective mentality.To do so,this thesis draws extensively on classical texts of history,works of literature,philosophical writings,archival materials,annals of local history,witness accounts,inscriptions on stone steles,government documents,oral histories,old newspapers,and a collection of ethnic histories during the 1950 s and 1960 s.In the process of research and writing,the author has given keen attention to works by scholars of past generations as well as contemporary historians and ethnologists.The preface of this thesis serves as a literature review with a number of explanations about methodologies and definitions.The first chapter is concerned with the Lisu migrations in the historical eras extending from the Han and Tang dynasties to the Ming dynasty.The second chapter is concerned with the Lisu migrations during the Qing dynasty,focusing on the impact of several Lisu uprisings and ecological pressures that affected Lisu migrations.The third chapter is concerned with the continuous migrations of the Lisu in the Republic era and their becoming of border-crossing people in the context of political and military complexities as well as social and economic transformations.The final part of the thesis serves as a summary of this study's main findings,and it offers a critique of James Scott's anarchist point of view with regard to the histories of the hill peoples in Southeast Asia.