Sum Of Inner Mongolia
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Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, a sum or sumu is a township-level political/administrative division. The ''sum'' division is equivalent to a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
but is unique to
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
. It is therefore larger than a gaqa (village) and smaller than a
banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...
(the Inner Mongolia equivalent of the
county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...
). Examples include
Shiwei, Inner Mongolia Mengwu Shiwei (; ) is a ''sum'' (a type of township-level division) under the administration of Ergun City, northeastern Inner Mongolia, situated directly on the border with the Russian- Siberian Far East. Shiwei is known for its use of Russian ...
and
Honggor Sum, Siziwang Banner Honggor Sum (, Mongolian: ''soft'', or ''sweetheart''; ) is a sum in the Siziwang Banner of Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China. In 2000, it had 2594 inhabitants.ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
are designated
ethnic sum Ethnic townships (officially translated as nationality townshipsConstitution of the People's Republic of China, Article 95), ethnic towns, and ethnic sums are fourth-level administrative units designated for ethnic minorities of political divi ...
 – parallel with the ethnic township in the rest of China. , there is only one ethnic sum in China, the
Evenk Ethnic Sum The Evenk Ethnic Sum () is an administrative subdivision in the northeastern part of Old Barag Banner in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia. It has an area of and, , a population of 2665 of which 1560 (54.4%) are ethnic Evenks. , it is the only ethnic s ...
. The
Enhe Enhe Russian Ethnic Township (, ) is an ethnic township in Northeast Inner Mongolia under the administration of Ergun City. The township along the banks of the Argun River. Enhe is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russi ...
Russian Ethnic Township of Inner Mongolia is not called ''sum''.


History

The past century saw immense change in the local administrative processes within China, invoked by
political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
,
civil wars A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.James Fearon"Iraq' ...
and the changing role of rural regions. This eventually turned in the sum system in 1983.Rong, M. (2003). Changes in Local Administration and their Impact on Community Life in the Grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China. China Report , 39(4), 459–475.


1961–1982

In the period of 1961–1983, China introduced the commune-brigade system to locally administrate “socio-economic functions” under the rule of Mao Zedong. The commune is the lowest rank of authority in the
Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
underneath the “central government, provincial (autonomous region) government and county government.” The commune authority had the responsibility of specific key functions including supplementing reinforcement to the army regime, fluent connections between party members, administration of economic goals and ensuring correct was carried out in response to
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
. It helped orchestrate and maintain three integral organisations that overlooked women's role in society, developing the youth generation and fulfilling needs of herdsman. The brigade authority supplemented the commune role, through the organisations of meetings that enacted the plans and policies defined by the commune. It oversaw
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
protection schemes, preservation of
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
, the family planning programme, taxation processes and financially supported herdsman. Resources such as
tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
, storage houses and general equipment required to carry out economic functions were organised by the unit. The brigade provided resources needed to carry out infrastructure projects directed by upper authorities.


1983

The 1980s was the period of
decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...
and mass reformation within the domestic economic, trading systems and finance. This included greater integration of rural government in economic decisions.Baskaran, S., & Ihjas, M. (2019). The Development of Public Administration in the People’s Republic of China: An Analysis of Administrative Reform. Civil Service Management and Administrative Systems in South Asia , 305–323. 1983 was China's first administrative reform, aimed to restructure the government and establish a “retirement and tenure system.” This aimed to reduce individuals in government positions for long periods of time. It meant the dissolvement of commune-brigade system, reforming into the sum-gaca system. This system still retains the
political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and administrative functions, however, not involved in the agricultural organisation. The collective
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
was redistricted to households within the gaca (previously called the brigade) based on the capacity of the households, roughly equating to over 50 per person. This determined the
territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
distributed according to the size and needs of animals. Native herdsmen were given favoured distribution due to their experience and knowledge. The reform meant some government roles were united, reducing the number of overall positions within the sum. This reduced total number of agencies from 60 to 50 in provinces, 40 to 30 in the autonomous regions and 40 to 25 in counties. In regional
provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
within China and Mongolia, “staffing decreased from over 180,000 to about 120,000” This reformation involved a significant time lag in implementation due to the large scope of townships and their
cultural differences Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...
. The reform was due to the economic needs of China, and increased demand for economic improvement. The restructure of government-based institutions was to redistribute the sum's role in responding to economic shocks and high-level authority requests.


Impact on population


Migration

Migration saw an increase under the previous commune-brigade system, due to the introduction of collective hard labour tasks requiring migrants with agricultural background. The shift to the sum system meant the removal of work assignments by higher authorities. This saw a spike of migrants moving back out of sums in conquest for stable employment opportunities. The Chinese State Statistical Bureau released a national survey in 1987 showing that between the years 1982 and 1987 there was a net rural-urban migration of 13 million, in comparison to the 35 million in the period of 1978 and 1982. The old system provided work points and residential registration, in exchange for the completion of tasks rejected by the native's herdsman. These tasks included gardening, supply of food chain, use of gardening equipment, construction work and other one-off tasks enforced by the government.


Impact on agriculture


Distribution of land

Despite the productivity gains land distribution was still skewed under the idea that land was owned by every member of the sum, neglecting the arduous nature of
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
maintenance. The entirety of the population had claim on land property and the distribution was primarily based on size of household members and villager stater commonly disregarded accumulation of skill and experience.Chen, F., & David, J. (n.d.). Land reform in rural China since the mid-1980s. Retrieved from Fao.org: http://www.fao.org/3/x1372t/x1372t10.htm This eligibility system increased the worry in farmers about losing land and investment. This partially stagnated growth and reduced motivation to develop agricultural infrastructure. The irrigation system remained unchanged in the 1980s, due to the technical difficulty and risk induced nature of developing it.Ministry of Agriculture of China. (1993). Survey on agrarian operation under household responsibility system in China. Problems of Agricultural Economy, 11, 45–52. The distribution of land caused disputes amongst livestock keepers, as the natural requirement for certain pasturage was not taken into account in the division of land.Bold, B.-O. (1997). The coordination of territorial-administrative divisions with pastoral areas: an important prerequisite for the effective use of pasture land. Mongolian Studies , 20, 1–22. Farmland in these areas differed in terms of soil types, access to irrigation resources and the types of plants they can foster. The reformation left unconsidered the “indivisibility of pasture necessary for seasonal pasturage” and how different locations change according to the soil type and exposure to extreme conditions. Cultivated was left to waste seasonally and commonly fragmented as boundaries were formed to separate households and create divisions. A survey conducted by the
Chinese Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) was a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council which was responsible for agriculture in China. Areas of the ministry's responsibility included agriculture and environmental issues relating to a ...
of 7983 sample villages within the Chinese provinces showed that in 1986, “average cultivated area per household 0.466 ha (7 mu),3 fragmented into 5.85 plots, each plot on average 0.08 ha” This method of division has remained in modern society limiting these areas in using more advanced methods of production that capitalise on technical infrastructures.Chen, F., & David, J. (n.d.).
Land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
in rural China since the mid-1980s. Retrieved from Fao.org: http://www.fao.org/3/x1372t/x1372t10.htm
The constant redistribution of land was embedded with additional costs and time, reducing the efficiency of the implementation process. Before the introduction of sums, pasture of herdsman would shift from mountains to lowlands, in response to seasonal change. The territorial-administrative division meant that within Mongolia, 60 sums were strictly in high mountain regions and 40 were in forage dense areas. The homogenisation initially restricted gross pasture produced by each sum and overall health of livestock. The land currently owned by the Ogiinuur Sum, in Mongolia, was previously used for strictly summer and fall pasture due to the seasons. In 1983, the redistribution of land meant the sum allocated to the land had no appropriate pasture for the remaining two seasons. This caused high fatality rates in
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
. In 1983, this Ogiinuur Sum faced the highest percentage of deaths in total livestock within Mongolia.


Non-agricultural business

The sum administration shift saw an increase in productivity which led to decline in the need for rural workers. However, rural townships that's predominant income was derived from non-agricultural activities had significant growth. The shift to sum administration relaxed restrictions surrounding access to machinery and processing materials, facilitating for growth in production fields.Wang, X. (2018). 10. China’s macroeconomics in the 40 years of reform . In R. Garnaut, L. Song, & C. Fang, China’s 40 Years of Reform and Development: 1978–2018 . ANU Press. These towns become major contributors to economic growth of China. Their availability to resource allows them to quickly respond to changing demand in the urban areas. Employment in these towns increased from 23 million in 1977 to 52 million in 1984. This heavily benefits farmers who saw an increase in income of 15.7 percent from 1978 to 1984.


See also

*
List of township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia This is a list of township-level divisions of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrat ...


References

{{Types of administrative division Townships Types of administrative division Articles containing Mongolian script text Township-level divisions of China