ABSTRACT

IN THE foregoing pages we have outlined the basic structure of the rural economy as it exists in Luts’un. In the course of this survey there have been revealed certain phenomena that may be puzzling to an observer who is not familiar with the traditional attitudes of the villagers. Such an observer would almost inevitably ask: “Why should the landowners be content with a small income and a low standard of living when these could be increased by working the farm themselves instead of hiring laborers for that purpose?” It is clear that, if it is at all possible, the owner refuses to perform any labor on his farm and solves the problem of cultivation either by hiring workers or by renting his land to tenants. By so doing, he renounces some income which he might otherwise enjoy, unless the time thus freed is employed in other productive activities. But in Luts’un, as we have seen, the owners devote their time to noneconomic activities in opium dens, at gambling tables, or in the teashops. It is apparent that they are not concerned with securing the maximum material return for the energy they expend. They are interested in improving their family fortunes but, ordinarily, only within certain limitations. These limitations are of a sort which it is difficult for an observer from an acquisitive world to understand, and they result from a deeply rooted and pervasive attitude which characterizes the outlook of the villagers.