What does the "westward advance" of Shanxi population mean?

The westward journey of Shanxi population is a trip abroad, which is a historical scene of a large number of Han immigrants from Shanxi and other places to Mongolia in the Qing Dynasty. Similar to the situation when later generations went to the East, many touching historical stories became indelible historical marks.

When it comes to westward travel, I have to say the black land of the Ming Dynasty. In the process of confrontation with Mongolia, in order to curb the expansion of nomadic people to the Central Plains, the Ming Dynasty organized people to burn grasslands in border areas every year, mainly at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Mongolia. By destroying the pasture, nomadic people lost the supply of food and grass for grazing horses and increased the logistical pressure of the other side, thus playing a defensive role. This burning has been going on for 200 years, and this land has a lot of organic matter deposition, which has become very fertile. However, because it is the dividing line between the two nationalities, it has not been developed and won the title of black land.

The Qing Dynasty practiced apartheid, forbidding communication between Han and Mongolia, and preventing the two forces from joining hands to become bigger. Therefore, the black street area has always been a wasteland where population mobility is prohibited. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the state rule had been very stable, and successive years of floods and droughts in Shanxi were serious, making people's lives difficult. Therefore, some ministers demanded that the Han people be allowed to pioneer here. After getting permission, a large number of people in Shanxi began to migrate here, and after killing the tiger's mouth, they came to Inner Mongolia, so this population migration was also called westward.

People who go to Xikou include farmers who have lost their land and gone bankrupt, and a large number of businessmen who have left their homes to make a living in other places, either out of helplessness or for their future. They have all embarked on this difficult road, and their wives and children who stayed in their hometown are expecting them to bring back wealth, but going to Xikou is also risky, which is why there are so many farewell songs and so many folk stories. For the former Shanxi people, going to Xikou is the same as going to Beishangguang now, because there is an opportunity and a chance to survive, so we must persist no matter how hard it is. Going to Xikou is an event and a declaration, which shows the expectations of ancient Shanxi people for a better future.