How did the Northeast become the "Kanto"?

The main reason for "going to the East" is that they got rid of poverty. The reasons for emigrating to Northeast China are, of course, the immigration and active reclamation policies of the central and local governments mentioned above, as well as the attraction brought by the natural economy in Northeast China. But the bigger driving force is the deteriorating natural economic environment and social unrest in North China, which pushes bankrupt farmers and refugees to the northeast to make a living. First of all, North China has less land and a large population, which is the premise of emigrating to Northeast China. After the Qing Dynasty, the population of Shandong, Henan and Zhili provinces soared, and the population density was much higher than the national average, and even once became the highest density province. 1840, 1898 and 1936, the national average population per square kilometer was 43.63, 4 1.29 and 48.88, respectively, while the population of Shandong province in these three years was 207. 1 and 248. In three years, there were 147.80 people, 157.07 people and 192.52 people in Henan province, respectively, rising from the seventh place to the fourth place in the country. In the past three years, there were 97.39 people, 165 people, 438+0.33 people and 139.35 people in Hebei province, respectively, rising from the tenth place to the eighth place in the country. (Note: According to Zhang Youyi: Re-estimation of Modern Population and Cultivated Land in China, Research on Chinese Economic History,No. 199 1 issue. Therefore, the per capita land volume is decreasing year by year. According to statistics, in the first year of Xianfeng in Hebei, Shandong, Henan and North China (185 1), the per capita cultivated land was 4.46 mu, which was reduced to 3.66 mu after 19 12, and then to 2.93 mu after 1928. (Note: Quoted from Li Wenhai and others: Ten Famines in Modern China, p. 44, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1994. The imbalance between cultivated land and population has brought great pressure to the rural areas in North China, prompting people to emigrate to the northeast region with vast land and sparse population and fertile land. Second, successive natural disasters are the direct cause of North China refugees leaving their homes for the Northeast. In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), the Yellow River was diverted, affecting Shandong, Henan and Zhi Zhi provinces. In Shandong Province, there are 7 16 1 villages with more than 7 million victims. (Note: Yuan Changji et al.: Natural disasters of floods and droughts in Shandong in Qing Dynasty, Historical Records of Shandong No.2 1982. During the 56 years from that year to the demise of the Qing Dynasty in 19 12, the Yellow River burst in 52 years, 263 times and 966 counties. (Note: Shen Bao, August 24th, Guangxu two years. ) In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), Zhili suffered from locust plague for five consecutive years, especially in Beijing, Tianjin, northeast and south of Zhili, where locusts covered up the famine, and the fields reached the point where there was no wheat in spring and all the stalks were eaten up. After the first year of Guangxu (1876), there was a severe drought in North China for four consecutive years, which spread all over the five northeastern provinces, with more than 20 million refugees affected and100000 people starving. Shandong refugee rural areas are all "supporting the old and bringing the young, in droves, fleeing to Jin Feng families at the same speed, eating meals from relatives and friends of clans". (Note: Zhang Zhidong: Complete Memories of the Duke of Zhang Wenxiang, vol. 1, p. 25: Please hurry to raise money for the drought in your house in August of Guangxu five years. ) In the third year of Guangxu (1979), there was a drought in Zhili, and the affected area was extensive. "There are ten people in a village, and I haven't seen the valley for many years, with ten rooms and five rooms; Exiles, ten rooms and three rooms. " (Note: Investigation on Farmers in Different Regions-Shandong Province, Vol. 24,No. 16, Oriental Magazine; Quoted from Zhang Youyi: Materials of Modern Agricultural History in China, No.2, p.613. 1920 A long-term and large-scale severe drought occurred in five provinces of North China, covering an area of about 27 1.27 million square meters, with 340 affected counties, 30 million people affected and 500,000 people killed. From 1928 to 1930, North China and Northwest China suffered from drought, water, hail, insects and epidemics, which spread all over Gansu, Shanxi, Sui, Hebei, Shandong, Chacha, Hot and Henan provinces, and there was famine everywhere, leaving bare land in Wan Li. In the face of continuous natural disasters, victims who are unwilling to wait for death have to leave their homes and flee everywhere, following the footsteps of their predecessors and "going east" and becoming the mainstream of immigration to Northeast China. Third, frequent wars such as warlord melee have seriously damaged rural social productive forces, deepened the bankruptcy of rural natural economy, and forced farmers to migrate to the northeast. In modern China, there were frequent wars and military disasters at home and abroad. The Second Opium War, Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China, the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Nian Army, the Black Flag Army and the Boxer Rebellion all swept across the provinces in North China, causing huge losses to local farmers directly or indirectly. Especially after 19 15, the wars between the old and new warlords, such as the Anhui direct war, the two direct wars and the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, continued year after year, and the war disaster spread to the provinces in North China. For example, in Shandong, "the army claimed to be 200,000 troops and fought for years", resulting in "the war zone (Jin-Pu line) was ten rooms and nine empty rooms, and the mourners could not be born, so they abandoned Tian She's family and went to the three northeastern provinces to survive". 1930 The new warlord war between Chiang Kai-shek and Feng, Yan and Li cost 200 million yuan. The war zone is "a market with scattered residents". At the same time, rural areas in North China are often harassed by bandits. Luxi, southern Hebei and eastern Henan were the hardest hit. There are not only tens of thousands of stragglers in the ranks of warlords, but also armed with all kinds of light and heavy weapons, killing and setting fires everywhere, extorting money, passing by like washing water, and people and money are empty. "In all the 108 counties in Henan, people who want to find a village that has not been harmed by bandits can't get it." (Note: Morning Post, 192 1 year 65438+1October 20th. ) In Shandong, "there are countless bandits"; There are also many bandits in other areas, nearly 10 thousand, few and thousands. In Hebei, there are "five million bandits in this province", and "almost all counties in Hebei have bandits of all sizes, and even villages near Tianjin and Peiping have been occupied by bandits". (Note: Rural Hebei in the Process of Collapse, China Economy, Vol. 1, No.4 and No.5, August 1933. Quoted from Zhang Youyi: Materials of Modern Agricultural History in China, No.3, pp. 902-903. ) "Bandits spread like combs, soldiers spread like combs", and soldiers and bandits were mixed, making farmers have no chance to live and have to go far away. Fourth, heavy taxes and heavy troops force extremely poor farmers to make another living. The government is increasingly corrupt, warlords are fighting, and rural taxes in North China are increasing year by year. According to statistics, the land tax in Henan 1902 increased by 6.5 times, and that in Laiyang 1927 in Shandong increased by nearly 5 times. (Note: Quoted from Zhang Youyi: Data of Modern Agricultural History in China, Series 3, p. 12. ) The amount of various additional taxes is even more shocking. Land tax and tax increase are the main means for rulers, especially local governments, to increase fiscal revenue. In Qing dynasty, there were surplus consumption, surplus grain consumption and public consumption. By the middle of Guangxu, the provinces had formally set up additional land tax, which was levied by grain or apportioned by mu to cope with the increasing local expenses. But at this time, in terms of types and quantities, the number is still small. After the Republic of China, the provinces in North China merged all the original miscellaneous funds, surcharges and local bad regulations into regular tax collection, which actually increased the burden on farmers. Soon, the government stipulated that local governments had the right to levy additional land taxes, but they could not exceed 30% of the regular taxes. Therefore, in order to pay the huge financial expenditure and raise the military expenses of warlords, local governments have increased the collection of additional taxes in terms of types and quantities. In addition, from provinces, counties, and even local garrison and township offices, the additional tax has increased year by year. The number of additional tax items in each province has increased to dozens or hundreds, and the rate of additional tax in some counties has exceeded the normal tax by several times or even dozens of times. The surtax of 1926 and 1927 is the heaviest. The additional tax in Hebei and Henan provinces is more than twice that of the regular tax, and that in Shandong Province is more than four times that of the regular tax. (Note: Quoted from Han Xiang: Modern Hebei, Shandong and Henan Villages, p. 492, China Social Sciences Press, 1995. When Zhang Zongchang ruled Shandong, he also added four kinds of exorbitant taxes to the land tax: special military donation, military shoes donation, ordnance donation, and barracks construction donation, adding a total of 5.3 yuan; (Note: Quoted from Zhang Youyi: Materials of Modern Agricultural History in China, No.2, p.571. ) From March 1928, eight additional taxes were added out of thin air. For every regular tax of 1, you have to pay a harsh tax of 14.56 yuan, which greatly exceeds the regular tax. (Note: (Japan) Junichiro Matsuzaki: Re-understanding of Shandong Province, page 2 13-233, 1940. According to the investigation in July of1934, there are 48 kinds of surtax in Hebei province, 42 kinds in Henan province, 30 kinds in Shanxi province and 1 1 species in Shandong province. (Note: Quoted from Zhang Youyi: Data of Modern Agricultural History in China, Series 3, p. 16. ) Perennial conscripts and soldiers who exceed the quota, especially those who are temporarily recruited in the name of military affairs, are mainly in kind and money, which has brought great disasters to farmers. When the rulers of the Qing Dynasty besieged the Taiping Army and the Nian Army, they sent civilian workers, chariots and horses along the villages in North China. They were in such a hurry that the soldiers were badly outnumbered. Every year, the difference between provinces is several million to two million. After the Republic of China, the soldiers were heavily outnumbered and the people could not bear it. The army crossed the border and paid for a car and horse. A little hesitation, flogging or even arresting people and killing people. After 1928, the difference in soldiers was the most serious. There are 77 counties in Shandong 107, 92 counties in Henan 1 12, and counties in Hebei and Shanxi. According to statistics, there are 1928 soldiers in Linyi County, Shandong Province. Ding Zheng tax covering an area of 274.4 1%; The difference of soldiers in 8 counties in central Hebei 1929 accounts for 534.28% of the regular tax; Shangqiu and other counties in Henan actually reached 2339.83% of the regular tax. (Note: Wang Yinsheng et al., Soldiers and Peasants in Northern China, p. 1 1, Appendix 2, Table 22, Institute of Social Studies, Academia Sinica, 193 1 version. ) After the 20th century, there has been a large increase in immigrants, and the most direct reason should be human factors such as war disasters, taxes, and poor soldiers in North China. As the researchers said at that time, "The people of Hebei, Shandong and Henan went to Guan, and their motives were less because of the inducement of the situation in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and more because of the oppression of the original environment." (Note: He Lian: A Study on Internal Migration in the Three Eastern Provinces; Quarterly economic statistics; Volume 65438+0; No.2). June 1932. In addition, social consciousness and customs also play an important role. In Shandong and other places, it has a long history of "going east". Some immigrants send money to their hometown, some bring property back to their hometown for the New Year, and some get rich and get married. These have stimulated more people to make a living outside the customs. In some villages in Jiaodong, almost every household has "going to Kanto", and even the young people in the village who don't go to Kanto are regarded as worthless by the villagers, and the custom of "going to Kanto" has gradually formed. Therefore, in North China, especially in Jiaodong, Shandong Province and Jidong, Hebei Province, when the labor force is slightly abundant, or when encountering natural or man-made disasters, the first thing that comes to mind is to bring family members or gather friends and relatives to flock to Kanto to make a living.