Transformation of Stockbreeding in Hulunbuir 1900-2020

• In Event: Production and Society in Hulunbuir

Abstract

Stockbreeding has existed in the elevated grasslands of Hulunbeier since Neolithic times. Animals bred in the region were traded within the Mongol world, and were prized commodities in a highly controlled trade the Ming, Qing and Choson Korea. The 1901 completion of the China Eastern Railway in initiated a century of rapid change. The railway connection to Russia and Harbin was followed by a series changes: the growth of Japanese interest during the 1930s, and the rise and decline of the planned economy of the People’s Republic, and most recently the contracting to large international buyers such as Nestle. Each of these changes shifted the end market for animals and animal products, but also transformed Hulunbuir internally. This paper examines the long-term transformation of animal production in terms of shifting internal and external markets, and the development of regional specialization around secondary industries such as tanning, wool and meat and dairy processing. The key focus is on the primary producer, i.e., the pastoralist. How did a century of changes shape the life and activities of the pastoralist, as seen in herd size and composition, the scale and organization of production, and the finances of the family? This project combines Japanese and Chinese archival sources with questionnaire and interviews conducted in Hailar and Ganjuur.

Author

• Thomas DuBois, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific