ann
(Ann)
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imperial pastoralism was devoted to confining itinerant Mongols through
delineating the space of their environmental relations, based on the
connections between people and their livestock.
Of course, theLifanyuan’s pasture delineation did not end disputes,
andjasaghad to be periodically admonished, as in 1783 , to not to violate
boundaries.^18 If anything, management became more complex in the
interim period of nearly a century following theŠongqor conclave with
the introduction of more groups into Inner Mongolia, many of them
northern Khalkha driven south by the Qing-Zunghar conflict. Western
Inner Mongolia wasfilled in this manner by the Alashan Ööled banner
in the mid- 1680 s and the Ejene Gool Torghut banner in the early 1730 s.^19
Some of these refugees, such as those moving through established Urad
banner pastures in 1732 , simply began herding in areas already occupied
and even“selected the plump ones”from Urad livestock they encountered
“to steal and eat.”TheLifanyuanresponded by quickly erecting bound-
ary outposts (Ma:karun) between new Khalkha and old Uradfields.^20
Inner Mongolia was critical for logistics and for the resettlement
of refugee Khalkha, whose lands had been a primary target of Zunghar
operations since their commencement in 1687 – 88. Inner Mongolian
pastures thus came under greater human and livestock population
pressure as the Zunghars put imperial pastoralism to the test under a
succession of expansionist rulers, Galdan, his nephew, Tsewang Rabdan
(r. 1697 – 1727 ), and Rabdan’s son, Galdan Tseren (r. 1727 – 45 ). Initial
Qing problems with the Zunghars in the late 1670 s arose directly from
resource conflicts. The southward flight of several thousand to ten
thousand“tents”of defeated Mongols triggered these conflicts.^21 Even
Zunghar diplomatic and trade missions, ranging from several hundred
to several thousand individuals, caused great ecological disruption.
They traveled the long route from Xinjiang to Zhangjiakou and
Guihua,“pasturing livestock where they pleased, trampling and grazing
in the grainfields.”^22
Herder-livestock management being the basis of the empire’s steppe
borderland, there was increasing concern with controlling interaction
between the two, whatever their administrative context. State gūsa
herding, mainly underNeiwufusupervision, was distinct fromhoshuu
herding presided over by theLifanyuan, which managedjasagbanner and
league boundaries if not their animals. Over time, however, the two forms
could blend together, particularly as more refugee Mongol groups were
settled within state herding zones. These zones became in many respects
sanctuaries for the welfare of displaced pastoral Mongols.
The Nature of Imperial Pastoralism in Southern Inner Mongolia 121
