From shared water to shared opportunity

Editor's note: Zhou Wenxing, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at the School of International Studies (SIS) and assistant dean of Huazhi Institute for Global Governance, Nanjing University. He writes extensively on comparative politics and international relations, with an emphasis on the Taiwan question and China-U.S. relations. Xie Yiwen is a research assistant at SIS. The article reflects the authors' opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

For generations, the Hani people in southwest China's Yunnan Province have used a simple but ingenious device to distribute water across their terraced fields. Known as muke fenshui, or "carved-wood water sharing," the practice uses grooves of different widths cut into a piece of wood to direct water into separate irrigation channels. The amount entering each channel is determined by the size and irrigation needs of the fields it serves.

The technique embodies a straightforward principle: A precious shared resource should be distributed fairly, under rules accepted by the community, so that everyone can benefit.

Today, this traditional wisdom has taken on new meaning in Wujiazhai, a multi-ethnic village in Jinping County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The village has used the name "Carved-Wood Water Sharing" for a student aid program, partly financed by its collective economic income.

The initiative may appear modest. Yet it offers important insights into rural revitalization, grassroots governance and ethnic unity in China. It also shows how traditional culture can be creatively adapted to meet contemporary development needs.

First, it demonstrates how cultural heritage can remain relevant by addressing real problems.

Wujiazhai is home to nearly 2,000 residents from the Hani, Yi and Han ethnic groups. According to Mu Haowei, the first secretary of the village Party branch dispatched by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the village initially considered several generic names for the student assistance program. It ultimately settled on "Carved-Wood Water Sharing" because the phrase is rooted in local culture and immediately recognizable to residents.

The program sets aside a portion of the village's collective economic income to reward students admitted to universities and to assist families facing financial difficulties. Village organizations and resident representatives supervise the process to help ensure that the funds are distributed openly and fairly. The mechanism is simple, but its objective is significant: No young person should have to abandon further education because of financial hardship.

In recent years, the number of Wujiazhai students entering undergraduate programs has risen from occasional admissions to three or four each year. The village has also established a WeChat group to maintain contact with university students, share information on scholarships and employment, and invite returning students to participate in volunteer activities and community affairs.

The old irrigation method once directed water toward different fields. Its underlying principle now directs collective resources toward education and young people's futures. The example speaks to how cultural heritage is viewed in the village. Rather than remaining confined to museums or festival occasions, it becomes a living source of ideas for modern governance.

Second, the program demonstrates why rural assistance must strengthen local capacity rather than create long-term dependence.

Jinping County has received targeted assistance from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1992. Shanghai's Changning District, public welfare organizations, research institutions, universities and enterprises have also provided resources and expertise.

In Wujiazhai, this support has helped improve roads, install solar-powered streetlights, construct water storage facilities, and develop local industries. The village is also advancing a sericulture project that connects infrastructure funding, seedlings, technical training, research support and purchasing channels. It is designed around local conditions and the needs of elderly residents and women who remain in the village to care for their families.

The goal is not simply to bring projects into the village. It is to build a sustainable collective economy that can continue to finance education, elderly care, public facilities, and other services.

This reflects a broader transformation in China's rural development. External support can provide an initial source of momentum, but lasting progress depends on whether villages can convert resources into their own organizational capacity, industries and sources of income.

Like water flowing into terraced fields, outside resources generate lasting value only when they are properly channeled. Grassroots governance is therefore not merely about receiving assistance. It is about coordinating different forms of support, adapting them to local realities and turning them into opportunities shared by residents.

Third, the practice centers on fairness and shared participation in ethnic unity.

Wujiazhai respects the cultural traditions of its Hani, Yi, and Han residents, but it does not distribute development opportunities based on ethnic identity. Employment in collective projects, participation in cooperatives, educational assistance and public services are open to all villagers.

This means ethnic unity is not treated merely as an abstract idea. It is experienced through common work, shared facilities, fair access to opportunities and participation in village affairs.

Different ethnic festivals are increasingly celebrated together. Regular interaction through employment, trade and community activities has also deepened mutual understanding. The village's approach is clear: Cultural differences should be respected, while public interests and development opportunities should be shared.

Such an approach does not ask people to abandon their cultural identities. Instead, it creates a broader sense of community through common interests and equal participation. When villagers see that development benefits are distributed fairly, mutual trust becomes stronger, and differences are less likely to become sources of division.

Finally, the experience shows that lasting harmony depends on solving the practical problems behind disagreements.

During a dry-season dispute over water access, residents from different ethnic communities once gathered in confrontation. Village officials eased tensions through dialogue, while an emergency reservoir was later built to address the underlying shortage.

The solution was not to decide which ethnic group should prevail, but to better meet the needs of the whole community. This reflects a broader lesson in grassroots governance: Fairness, dialogue and common development can prevent ordinary disputes from hardening into identity-based divisions.

"Carved-Wood Water Sharing" therefore means more than student aid. It shows how rural revitalization, cultural heritage and ethnic unity can reinforce one another.

The form of the ancient practice has changed, but its wisdom remains: A community grows stronger when opportunity flows to everyone.

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