Study On The Animal Husbandry In The Alxa Khoshut Banner During The Mid And Late Qing Dynasty

During the Qing dynasty,the economy of the Alxa Khoshut banner,sharing considerable economic characteristics with many a Mongol banner,is based on livestock due to its barren landscape is of deserts,mountains,hills and shrub steppes(where mainly are deserts,steppes and semi-desert steppes).According to the varieties in ownership,the livestocks can be categorized into noyan tsang,yamen tsang,miao tsang and that of princes and officials.Among them,noyan tsang(also known as noyan surug)of jasak officials and miao tsang of Buddhist clergies dominate.Noticeably,the constitution of noyan tsang embodies some nomadic characteristics: with one to three herding households,known as hota,supervised by functionaries designated by jasak,the chieftain.During the mid and late reign of the Qing court,the government,faced with the vulnerable and decaying ecology,launched a set of rules and regulations to manage mining,migration and herbalists.Moreover,functionaries from the seal-holding administrations directed campaigns,involving water resource protection,wildfire prevention,mining prohibition etc.,to retain a sound ecology.Also,they set laws to assure fields as well as well-being of the residents within the banner.As for the finance,it is worth mentioning that jasaks,as a way of taking advantages,rented the fields to refugees from neighboring banners,namely Urad,Ordos and outer Khalkha,and taxed them to fund the budget.Accounting for the overwhelming percentage of the banner income,Baoda tax consists of regular and temporary ones.The former is charged during spring and autumn mainly from arbatu in eight sumun,while the latter from all the civilians within the banner.In Alxa Khoshut banner,camels,the greatest in number and with the vastest living habitats,are seen as the most versatile livestock.During the Qing dynasty,a camel was a unit in taxation and played a pivotal role in transportation as well as in wartime logistics.Against the backdrop of scarce population,harsh natural environment and absence of sufficient infrastructure,camels,as a main vehicle,shoulder the passage of fortune and trade for the residents and merchants.Therefore,apart from baoda tax,jasaks charge from those who trade and trade with camels(mainly salt merchants and Mongolians).