Hu Population Line and the transitional border between agriculture and pasture: A discussion from a new perspective

In this paper, the historical background and present progress of studies on the Hu Population Line is described. As a transitional border between agriculture and pasture, the Hu Population Line is considered to be diverse in connotations, non-unique in forms, and consistent in data-time series. This border has occurred since the Bronze Age, with cultural exchanges and ethnic amalgamations between agricultural and nomadic civilizations, undergoing steady developments in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, and it was finally formed during the Qin and Han dynasty. The functions of such a transitioning border between agriculture and pasture are in the exchanging, coupling, and merging of energy, matter, and population; in the harmonic unity of historical opportunity, geographic advantages, and peaceful neighborhoods; in the sustainable exploitation of natural resources and the sustainable development of regional economics, politics and societies. The agricultural/pastoral transitional border is not merely a heterogeneous landscape composed of crop fields and pastures, or a mixed residency of Han and minority populations, it is the backbone of Chinese spirit, a place where the Chinese nation rises.