Prosperity of Yunyang Prefecture

Historically, Yunyang was adjacent to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Henan, and it was the place where keys were locked. The territory is vast and sparsely populated, and the government's ruling tentacles are beyond reach, making it a refuge for the poor to avoid natural and man-made disasters. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming regime, Yunyang Mountain Area was listed as the largest closed area in China. "Open space, no refugees." After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the government was corrupt and the people were poor, which led to a massive influx of refugees from all over the country. According to the Ming History, Yunyang Mountain was "hungry at the age of two, and the people had to move". In the second year of Chenghua (A.D. 1466), the number of refugees was as high as 1.5 million. What these refugees did disturbed the feudal ruling order, which was not allowed by the imperial court, so they were sent out by officers and men, and "the principal criminals were put to death, and the Ministry of Housing compiled exile troops" to show their disobedience. Faced with high pressure, the people rebelled angrily. In the 12th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1476), imperial academy offered a toast to Hong Chau and wrote to Ming Xianzong, suggesting that the refugees should be "settled in counties and counties, provided with officials, supplemented with armor, and given a lenient corvee, so that they can live in peace". This suggestion was adopted by Xianzong, and Jie Yuan (Zi Ying), the right capital suggestion, was sent to Yunyang to help refugees. Yuan Jie registered 1 1337 1 household 438644 people, Yunyang * * 1476. Since then, it is no longer illegal for immigrants to move into Yunyang Mountain area, and the ban on Yunyang Mountain area has been broken. After the establishment of Yunyang Prefecture, the area of government governance has been expanding. At the most glorious time, it reached Kuizhou in the southwest, Xi Anfu in the west, Wan Fu in the north, Anlu Fu in the east and Jingzhou Fu in the south. * * * There are five provinces, eight states and sixty-five counties, which are much larger than today's provinces.

When the Qing army entered Shanhaiguan and the Ming Dynasty fell, the Qing government drew lessons from history and adopted the policy of softening Yunyang refugees. "Prosperity breeds people and never increases taxes." This has attracted a large number of immigrants, especially Jiangxi. Today, the buildings of "Jiangxi Pavilion" can still be seen in six counties of Yunyang. Because Yunyang is located in the passage from Hubei to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Henan, and benefited from the navigation of the Han River and the gathering of merchants, and the policy of light tax and lenient corvee was implemented in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the living conditions of the people were better than those in the plain areas, which led to the increasing migration of the people. Yunyang and Zhou Jun had shops, textiles and oil production.