The Development of the North Manchuria Frontier, 1900-1931

ii This thesis examines the history of the North Manchuria frontier from 1900 to 1931, which was a crucial period in regional development. Within thirty-one years, about four million Chinese peasants immigrated into the region. The frontier society that took shape exhibited features different from China Proper. It lacked traditional Chinese social characteristics such as the clan system. The frontier exhibited a volatile social order. However, the new society was still Chinese and the coming of millions of immigrants impressed this character further on the region. Land ownership changed dramatically. Once the state began to sell off land, private ownership quickly developed. By the end of the 1920s, over ninety-five percent of the land was privately owned. Large-scale ownership was balanced off by a small-scale farming economy. Seventy-five percent ofland was occupied by small farmers. The region developed special ties with the international market, and the great demand after World War One for soybean spurred rapid economic growth