What are the experiences of implementing immigration in past dynasties?

In the long-term practice of frontier management, China dynasties have been exploring effective ways to strengthen the frontier and accumulated many useful experiences in implementing the strategy of "immigration to strengthen the frontier".

First, from the strategic height of "strengthening the border defense", we should pay attention to the implementation of "immigration to strengthen the border". The activity of "moving people to the real world" appeared as early as the Warring States and Qin Dynasties. For example, after Qin Shihuang unified China, in order to consolidate the security of the northern border areas, a large-scale "moving people to the real border" campaign was launched. However, the defense of the Huns in the Qin Dynasty mainly relied on military means, and there was no systematic and feasible plan for the work of "emigrating to the border", let alone Jackie Chan's supporting policies, or even forced immigration. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty's "moving people to the border" was only an expedient measure to defend against the harassment of nomadic people, not a strategic measure to stabilize the border. The Han Dynasty summed up the experience of the Warring States and the Qin Dynasty in dealing with the Huns' attack, changed the simple military defense mode in the past, and, starting from the strategy of consolidating the border, incorporated "immigrants' solid border" into the big system of border management as a long-term solution to stabilize the border. This new strategic move organically combines the construction and defense of the frontier, which not only fundamentally changed the situation of the frontier, but also played an important role in the frontier construction of later generations. Since then, the unified dynasties have basically been able to implement the strategy of "emigrating to the real border" as "strengthening the border and securing the defense".

Second, the government should balance the overall situation and proceed from the needs of the national security strategy and implement it in a balanced manner. In the history of China, the frontier is vast, and there is a huge contrast between the frontier and the mainland in natural conditions and the level of economic and cultural development. The situation in each border area is very complicated, with different natural conditions and different economic forms. In particular, the main threats faced by China's ancient frontiers were mostly concentrated in the north and northwest. Therefore, whether the northern and northwestern frontiers can be effectively managed under the premise of ensuring the stability and development of the imperial center hinterland is related to the security and stability of the whole country and the success or failure of the great unification cause. Only by planning from the height of the overall national security strategy can the work of "migrating to the real border" achieve the expected results. For this reason, successive dynasties regarded the management of the northern and northwestern frontiers as the top priority of frontier management, planned the work of "emigrating to the real frontier" from a strategic height, and regarded the northwestern and northern frontier areas as the main direction of immigration, which not only consolidated the achievements of military victory, but also made some areas in the northwestern and northern frontier areas become strategic bases for border construction and management, which fundamentally changed the security situation in the frontier areas.

Third, respect economic laws and formulate various supporting measures to ensure the actual effect of immigration to the frontier. This is manifested in the fact that successive dynasties often chose the location of immigrants in key frontier areas with superior agricultural production conditions to ensure that immigrants settled in the frontier for a long time.

Chao Cuo, Minister of the Western Han Dynasty, was the first person in history to discuss and systematically expound the theory of "migrating people to secure the border". When he put forward the policy proposal of "consolidating the frontier by emigration" to Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, he clearly pointed out that an important prerequisite for the success of "consolidating the frontier by emigration" was to ensure that the emigrants could take root in the frontier for a long time: "I have heard for a long time that the ancient migration is divorced from the reality, but it is also empty, which is the sum of Yin and Yang, so we can taste its water." In fact, the "immigration and border consolidation" in the Han Dynasty also followed this principle. Seo Woo in the Eastern Han Dynasty pointed out in "Please Reply to Three Counties" that the reason why the immigration work in Hexi and the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty was outstanding was that the immigration place he chose was very suitable for agricultural production: "Gong Yu is in Yongzhou, where the land is up and down, the fields are thousands of miles, and the crops are abundant. There is also the Qiuci Salt Pond of Huimin, which is rich in aquatic plants and the soil is suitable for animal husbandry. Cattle and horses with tails between their legs, sheep blocking the way. Because the canal was irrigated, the water was poured into the river, saving hard work and rations. Therefore, it is for this reason that Emperor Xiaowu and Emperor Guangwu built Shuofang, opened Xihe River and set up counties. "It can be seen that the government's macro guidance and planning can avoid the disorderly flow of immigrants and make the immigration work achieve greater benefits.

It is an arduous task for farmers to leave their ancestral hometown and move to the frontier, which requires serious organization by the government and full support from supporting policies. In history, Qin Shihuang forcibly immigrated to the frontier on a large scale, which played a certain role in the development of frontier ethnic areas. However, because he did not mobilize the enthusiasm of immigrants to engage in production in the frontier, he could not persist in it, and only achieved temporary results, which could not guarantee the immigrants to settle in the frontier. However, it is worth noting that even tyranny, such as the Qin dynasty, has implemented preferential policies to exempt migrant farmers from corvee. Since the Han Dynasty, the rulers, on the basis of summing up historical experience and lessons, have practiced "consolidating the border for the people" and paid more attention to encouraging immigrants from policies. For example, the Han government made a generous investment in immigrants: "All of them were given high titles and returned to their homes. Give winter and summer clothes to eat "; The Tang government also expressly stipulated that the local government in the origin of immigrants must provide clothes, rations, seeds, daily necessities and low-interest loans to recruited immigrants (children of ethnic minorities and Han nationality) to help them settle down. Officials are also obliged to buy cattle from all over the country, distribute them to immigrants, and even recruit craftsmen to go to military cities with immigrants to make weapons and farm tools to serve immigrants. After immigrants settle down, there is surplus grain beyond self-sufficiency, and the state will pay double the price to buy it to reward farming land, so as to do everything possible to support small farmers in the border areas and let them farm with peace of mind.

It is also the main experience of immigrants in past dynasties to select capable grassroots officials to organize immigration production, establish a perfect village political system jurisdiction organization and popularize the Central Plains system in frontier immigrant areas. For example, in the Han dynasty, the government "set up a city to build a city, and gave up the border area", and grassroots organizations were generally established in various immigrant areas. According to records in bamboo slips A and B of Juyan Han Dynasty, after Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, rural grass-roots civil affairs organizations have been generally established in frontier immigrant areas. Only some counties in Zhangye County have 99 "Li", and Juyan County has more than 30 "Li". In this way, the Central Plains system was implemented in various places suitable for agricultural production in the border areas, and immigrants were placed under the jurisdiction of the county and township administrative systems. In this process, the border areas have been transformed into inland areas, and the central administrative jurisdiction has gradually expanded to all parts of the border areas.

Implementing the National Defense Needs in the Process of "Moving the People to the Real Border" Chao Cuo suggested in the book "Raising the People to Move the Border" written by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty that the government must consider the needs of border defense when moving the border: "A pawn in a distant place is one year more vigilant, and I don't know what the enemy can do. It is better to choose a permanent residence, a family, a field and be prepared. In order to do this, the high city is dug deep, with forests and stones and canals, which is a city with 150 steps between the city and the city. The key point is that the way to cross the river is not for China. First of all, for the room, equipped with field equipment, in order to raise criminals and avoid being restored as a residence; Insufficient, raise slaves to atone, and worship the Lord when you lose slaves; Insufficient is the desire to raise people. " The purpose of this is to make settlements become border towns and strategic strongholds against invasion. In addition, local governments in border areas should also take organizing immigrants for military training as an important task. The basic practice of past dynasties is to organize immigrants into civil defense organizations, take advantage of their psychology of moving after settlement, carry out appropriate military training, defend the border in peacetime, and participate in the battle to defend the border as a reserve force in wartime.