This article deals with the major tribes of south-western China during the Chin and Han period (316 B. C.-220 A. D.) and their classification into several groups as well as a description of their distribution and cultural characteristics. The expansion of the Chin and Han dynasties into the south-western part of China had significant effects on the movement of minority groups.
 The invasion of Han immigrants and the southern movement of the northwestern “Di” descent tribe had implications on the movement of the “I” and “Pu” descent tribes. From the cultural standpoint, the settlement of the Han and the ruling system of the Han and Chin dynasties had lasting effects on the local culture and, indeed, a major cause of its decline was due to the mighty Hua Hsia civilization.

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Most minor ethnic groups of Yunnan province have retained their traditional life styles and value systems, which are considerably different from those of the unity-oriented Han civilization, and greatly different from the logic of modern civilization. They live in separate villages under different ecosystems, engage in different forms of livelihood, and maintain their own languages by which they communicate within each domain under different cultural framework.
 Their logic may be identified as pertaining to the logic of natural world. Spontaneous systems of the natural world never tend to large-scale unity. Biological creatures, for example, tend to evolve toward diversification: distinct habits, different foods, different structures of the individual body and of society. The evolution of the biological domain lies in the achievement of a higher degree of diversification.
 This paper aims to elucidate the situation in which this logic survives among the minor ethnic groups of Yunnan, in spite of the earnest efforts to assimilate them by the Han civilization. The most powerful ecological barrier against the Han assimilation is the climate and the related endemic diseases, particularly malaria and other febrile diseases.
 This paper also argues the viewpoint that the pre-modern history of adjacent Asian countries is connected with the pulsation of the Chinese Empire through the migration of the minor ethnic groups via Yunnan, who sought the safety and independence through trans-border migration.

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The Jungden basin, situated in the high mountain area of northwestern Yunnan Province, has a predominantly Tibetan population who live mainly by animal husbandry and dry farming. Although the Tibetans have traditionally used forest resources to a limited degree, for fuel, construction and fodder, the forest around the basin, originally high mountain conifer forest, has been almost completely degraded to shrub or grassland as the result of forest exploitation that began in the 1970s.
 Today, the only blocks of forest that remain unexploited are those dedicated to the mountain god “Gshi-bdag,” a local tutelary deity. Each hamlet in the basin has at least one “Gshi-bdag” forest which is left uncut, since people believe that disturbance of these forests will invite disaster, such as death of people or domestic animals.
 God-mountain forests and the associated beliefs are observed among not only Tibetan but also Han and Tai peoples in southern Yunnan. These patches of forest appear as oases in a desert of denudation. Here, I discuss the ethos or attitudes of people that keep part of the forest untouched.

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Forest history in Yunnan, or the history of forest degradation there, centers on the forests surrounding its fertile basins. The history of exploitation of forest resources, mainly by the Han people who inhabit the basins, is clearly engraved in these forests.
 During the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, these forests were damaged without restriction or protection. In this time of political confusion, people uprooted forests without thought for the future.
 Following this ecological disaster, the most effective policy for reforestation was division of the forest. Communally managed forests were divided among individual families, who were expected to replant the depleted forest for their own economic interest.
 Bare and eroded forest land could only be replanted with a limited number of pioneer trees, including species of Eucalyptus. Fortunately, eucalypts turned out to be valuable for the oil that could be extracted from their leaves, and thus they began to be widely planted.
 Given the limited demand for eucalyptus oil, however. the economic value of eucalypts may not remain high. Here, I discuss the future of eucalypt plantations and the forests surrounding basins.

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As in other parts of the world today, the tropical forest located in Xishuangbanna has decreased rapidly in the past several decades. The loss of the forest has brought with it environmental degradation, and campaigns for preservation of the environment and rational development have begun recently. In spite of this situation, if you were to visit the Tai village in Xishuangbanna, you would be fascinated by the bio-diversity that still exists there. The paddy fields, trees, bamboos, tea fields, and various kinds of plants all signify a natural vitality. An analysis of this local ecological situation is significant for possible restoration of the environment in the rest of Xishuangbanna.
 This paper examines ecological utilization in a Tai village. The techniques of occupations are considered, and farming “models” relating to the forest are investigated. Through an analysis of these farming models, the paper examines the Tai people's view of their environment.
 Initially, traditional agroforestry cultivation is studied. The models explored include : mixed cultivation of camphor trees and tea trees, cultivating indigo plants in forest clearings, and cultivating siamese senna (Cassia siamea) for firewood. After investigating the actual environmental situation of these models, the economic and ecological benefits of them are discussed.
 Homegardening is also examined. Through an analysis of the kinds, distribution and uses of the various plants, the economic and ecological benefits of the homegarden are also investigated.
 Further, the holy forest linked to Animism is studied. Through an investigation of the social-cultural background of the holy forest, the relationship between the villagers and the forest is explored.
 In conclusion, the paper argues that agroforestry cultivation, homegardening and protection of the holy forest are excellent traditional techniques of land use. These "models" share a common characteristic of sustainable use of a natural resource, and demonsrate that the forest is protected as the most important natural basis of the village's existence. Tai people both use and preserve nature, and this can be regarded as the essence of their natural view of the environment and the world around them. Based on this indigenous view, Tai people seek to coexist with nature. Finally, the paper points out that the example of the Tai people's practice is an excellent "model" for restoring the environment in Xishuangbanna.

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In Yunna, Xishuangbanna has tropical forest as its main form of vegetation as 95% of the land is mountainous with only 5% comprising basins. There are 13 ethnic groups co-residing there. In the long history of ecological adaptation, these ethnic groups transformed the environment and created a great variety of botanical “cultures.” This paper focuses on the Tai ethnic group living in the basins, and explicates the realities of Tai ethnobotanical culture based on field work.
 The realities and techniques of Tai ethnobotanical culture can be summarized as follows:
  First, how Tai people utilize trees, bamboos and rattans as timber. Here special attention is paid to the techniques in prevention against putrefaction and insects. Moreover, the other common uses of bamboos and rattans are also considered.
 Secondly, classification of plants is considered. Tai people classify plants based on shape and utility. According to this system, all kinds of plants receive a name. This folk classification is handed down from generation to generation.
 The third variant is the spice plants and woody vegetables, which are used in Tai food. The common spice plants are arranged into 5types based upon the useful part of a plant, which include the rootstock, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits. All spice plants discussed here are considered for their ecological properties and uses. While, the woody vegetables are arranged into 4 types based on young leaves (includes shoots), flowers (includes buds), pith and fruit, and their cooking is also discussed.
 The fourth factor concerns the cultivation of timber trees, spice plants and woody vegetables. Tai people cultivate plants because they want to use them primarily as a permanent resource.
 The fifth factor concerns the plants which are connected with the Tai people's religion (Buddhism). These particular plants are protected by the villagers. On the other hand, the plants also furnish a good natural environment for the villagers.
 In conclusion, the study throws new light upon the cultural-ecological realities of Tai ethnobotanical culture. The realities show that Tai people use particular plants after learning the characteristics of these plants and their growing conditions. Key plant system supports the basis of the villager's livelihood. Furthermore, the cultivation and protection of wild plants are bound up with the idea of using the plants indefinitely. In a word. Tai people have a sound understanding of their natural environment and/or a deep respect for it.

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The study is based on the life of the minor Han tribe in the limestone cave in the southeastern Yunnan province of China. Its members settled down nearly hundred years ago and had been earning their life by cultivating corn and wheat together with substantial hunting and gathering in the surrounding forests up until 1950s. But because of the collection of saltpeter and population increase, the surrounding forests decreased and environmental problems relating to water, landuse and high population density created pressure on the harmony of the ecology. The process of environmental degradation, the characteristics of limestone environment and the peoples' attitude towards environmental pressure are described in the paper.

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In China's Yunnan, there are 26 ethnic groups of people, most of whom used to be swiddeners. In recent decades, owing to the continuing growth of population, drastic social changes, and other reasons, it has become increasingly difficult to practise swidden cultivation. To sustain their livelihood, the people have to resort to reform. The present report, a result of field surveys, summarizes eight strategies of Yunnan's swiddening peoples in their utilization of forest resources and their solution to the inadequacy crisis of such resources. These strategies are undoubtedly of great use for us to understand Yunnan's changes in swidden cultivation and its development trends in the future.

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This paper attempts to describe the knowledge of the forest among the Lao, a Tai speaking people living in Lao P. D. R. and Northeastern Thailand, and the Mon-Khmer speaking people in southern Laos, focusing on the ways in which they view two kinds of forest, the sacred forest dedicated to the village guardian spirit, and the forest for the dead, neither which is directly concerned with the modern notion of natural resources. The ways of viewing of forest in their localities differ according to the social experiences which construct social reality in the region with which their practical religions, both Buddhism and spirit cults, are strongly concerned. The representation of the forest today is also affected by the peoples' orientation toward the present government policy and market economy, which reflect the transformation of two types of forest in the region. Religious practices in these localities, which tend to be discussed in too general terms in the recent arguments on forest protection by both native and foreign intellectuals, parallel the ways in which representations of forest are constructed, which configurate productive activities dialectically based on a circular logic of birth and death.

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Milking methods in the Mongolian Gobi-nomadic area are described and are classified into four groups according to purpose : to prevent nursing, to return the grazing livestock to camp sites, to domesticate livestock for milking in a narrow sense, and milking in a narrow sense.
 Generally, these four groups of milking methods can also be find in other nomadic areas such as North Africa and Southwest Asia. Several individual methods in these areas can be explained from the results in the survey area by variations in species and number of milking livestock, seasons and periods of milking and so on. On the other hand, in the case of cattle and camels, training young livestock to return to each camp site is characteristic of the milking method in the survey area. This characteristic is the result of a grazing system that is highly labor-saving, because it is not necessary for nomads to lead their herds to and from the grazing land.

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