By SHUAI XUEJIAN
Former director of the Cultural Bureau of Anshun City, who is a specialist in the Tunpu culture.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization and historically it was certainly one of the richest and most populous empires. However, during its early period, the nation's economy was in a slump; large areas of arable land had been laid to waste by years of war, and most people were living in dire poverty. In order to restore the peacetime economy and strengthen the country's borders, Ming Dynasty founder Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang encouraged the garrison troops stationed on the northeastern, northwestern and southwestern borders to reclaim the wastelands. Encouragement came in the form of a promise that both their military ranks and land could be passed down to future generations. Zhu also reinforced the garrison policy by spurring a massive migration - hordes of farmers, architects, servants and merchants from the interior were relocated to borderlands. His policies transformed garrison communities into more complex settlements that strengthened the solidity of the empire's edge.

A massive army of 300,000 soldiers and civilians following Zhu's orders settled at today's Anshun City in Guizhou Province 600 years ago, and set about reclaiming the land around this former garrison frontier. It is possible that Emperor Zhu gave little thought to the possibility that his orders would preserve the Ming lifestyle from that day until this.