A Study On The Changes Of Livelihood Of Xiaomaopoying Miao Village(1949-2022)

Livelihood is a method or means for people to maintain their living needs when they adapt to their natural and social environment.Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,affected by national policies,the ecological and social environment of the nation and the nation itself,the way of livelihood has been changing with the development of the times.Especially after the reform and opening-up,the control of population flow between urban and rural areas has been gradually released,which has promoted the transfer of rural surplus labor and accelerated the diversification of livelihood from traditional to modern.This paper selects Xiaomaopoying Village,Xuan’en County,located in the southwest border of Hubei Province,as the research object,and studies the livelihood changes of Miao people in the context of several historical stages after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.The Miao people in Xiaomaopoying Village have successively gone through the stages of land reform,agricultural production mutual aid group,agricultural production cooperative,household contract responsibility system and heat wave of migrant workers into the city.The characteristics of the land policy reflect a process of privatization and then gradual collectivization.In particular,the implementation of the household contract responsibility system enables farmers to obtain the right to be engaged in agriculture independently and flow between cities and rural areas.The rural surplus labor force has gradually moved away from agricultural production to cities,which has also accelerated the formation of the "wave of migrant workers".With the development of science and technology,the vigorous development of artificial intelligence has promoted the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry,and the employment situation of migrant workers is grim.In this process,the livelihood of the Miao people in Xiaomaopoying Village reflects the development process from a single crop planting to a diversified livelihood combining crop planting and multiple occupations.There is also an important relationship between the way of livelihood and the national culture.With the continuous changes of the way of livelihood,the national culture has also been affected accordingly.In the process of continuous blending and collision with the surrounding Han and Tujia cultures,the diversified changes in the way of livelihood of the Miao people in Xiaomaoying Village reflect the characteristics from simple to complex,from single to multiple,with the characteristics of the times and diversity.At the same time as the livelihood changes,the Miao culture has also been greatly affected,including material culture and spiritual culture.In terms of material culture,it is mainly manifested in changes in clothing culture,eating habits,living habits,travel methods,and so on,and in terms of spiritual culture,it is mainly manifested in changes in festival customs,family concepts,national concepts,marriage concepts,education concepts,and so on.Through the analysis of the process of the livelihood changes of the Miao people in Xiaomaopoying Village and the impact of the changes on the Miao culture,it is not difficult to see that the livelihood changes of the Miao people penetrate into all aspects of their lives,which is a dynamic and complex process of change.The reasons for their livelihood changes are mainly reflected in the internal and external factors:the external factors affecting the livelihood changes include the development of national policies,ecological environment,cultural environment and science and technology;The internal factors affecting livelihood changes include cultural factors,the improvement of ideological level,and the change of education level.In the process of livelihood changes,the livelihood changes of the Miao people reflect the times and diversity.They gradually integrate into the whole society in the process of continuous contact and integration with other ethnic groups around them.The Miao culture draws on and absorbs other heterogeneous cultures,inherits and enriches its own culture,and its culture also contains persistence in the process of change,accompanied by changes,reflecting the integration of change and persistence.