How did the tusi system govern local communities in Yunnan?

The tusi system was a method of indirect rule employed in Yunnan during the Ming dynasty and continued through the Qing dynasty and the republican era.1

Under this system, local leaders—known as tusi—served as hereditary agents of the Chinese magistrates. By utilizing these indigenous chiefs to govern local communities, the central government sought to maintain authority over the province's diverse regions. This policy allowed for a degree of local autonomy while integrating these areas into the broader administrative framework of the Chinese state. However, the effectiveness of this system varied, and the central government periodically undertook efforts to exert more direct control over the province.1