The Dai ethnic group lives in the southern part of Yunnan Province, mainly in the Xishuangbanna region. The area is subtropical, with plentiful rainfall and fertile land.

Local products include rice, sugar cane, coffee, hemp, rubber, camphor and a wide variety of fruits. Xishuangbanna is the home of China’s famous Pu’er tea. The dense forests produce large amounts of teak, sandalwood and medicinal plants, and are home to wild animals including elephants, tigers and peacocks.

The Dai language belongs to the Chinese-Tibetan language family and has three major dialects. It is written in an alphabetic script.

History

The history of contact between the Dai and Han peoples dates back to 109 B.C., when Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty set up Yizhou Prefecture in southwestern Yi (the name used to signify the minority areas of what are now Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces). The Dais in subsequent years sent tribute to the Han court in Luoyang, and among the emissaries were musicians and acrobats. The Han court gave gold seals to the Dai ambassadors and their chieftain was given the title “Great Captain.”      

According to Chinese documents of the ninth century, the Dais had a fairly well developed agriculture. They used oxen and elephants to till the land, grew large quantities of rice and had built an extensive irrigation system. They used kapok for weaving, panned salt and made weapons of metal. They plated their teeth with gold and silver.

In the 12th century, a Dai chieftain named Bazhen unified all the tribes and established the Mengle local regime with Jinghong as the capital, and called it the “Jinglong Golden Hall Kingdom.” According to local records, the kingdom had a population of more than one million, and was famous for white elephants and fine-breed horses. It recognized the Chinese imperial court as its sovereign. When Bazhen ascended the throne, he was given a “tiger-head gold seal” by the Emperor, and the title “Lord of the Region.” Previously, the Dais in the Dehong region had established the Mengmao Kingdom, with Ruilijiang as the capital.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Dai area was subordinate to Yunnan Province and the system of appointing hereditary headmen from among the ethnic minorities was instituted; this system was consolidated during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Past Socio-Economic Conditions

The increasing economic and cultural interflow between the Han and Dai peoples, as well as the migration of many Han people to the frontiers, taking with them advanced production skills and culture and science, promoted the economic development of Dai society. The feudal lord system established in the Dai areas at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty further promoted social production. The use of iron implements was widespread, new strains of crops were cultivated, and cotton was grown extensively. A number of fairly large commercial townships such as Cheli were established.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), on the whole, carried on the practice of the Yuan and Ming system in the minority areas. However, it placed the Dai areas with more advanced economy under its jurisdiction and sent officials to practice direct control. During the Kuomintang rule, a county was set up in the Dai area close to the frontier and the policy of national oppression was carried out through the county administration.

The historical conditions of the Dai communities were not the same, nor were the stages of their social development. So each had its own characteristics as to the form of land ownership, class structure and political system. Such areas as Jingdong, Xinping and Yuanjiang, where the Dais mingled with the Hans, had entered the feudal landlord economy stage earlier because the Dais absorbed the Han’s more advanced tools and techniques of production. Social progress was slower in Xishuangbanna and Dehong on the border, particularly Xishuangbanna, which still retained a fairly complete feudal manorial economy.

Since the Yuan, Ming and Qing regimes practiced the system of appointing national-minority hereditary headmen, the “Cheli Official” had for generations been the highest manorial lord and ruler until liberation. All the land, forests and water belonged to him, and he subdivided his domain to be hereditarily ruled by his clan members and trusted followers. Under such a system, part of the land owned directly by the manorial lords became their private manors or served as pay for their household officials. The remaining part was allocated to the serfs and came under the common ownership of the whole village.

The manorial lords established a set of political institutions, and had their own troops, courts and prisons to facilitate their plunder and strengthen their rule.

The frontier Dai areas such as Dehong, Menglian and Gengma were nearly the same as Xishuangbanna, basically having a feudal manorial economy. However, their social economy underwent new changes. The land allocated to the peasants became more stabilized and hereditary, and land rent in kind was widely practiced. In Mangshi and Yingjiang, the landlord economy developed faster and the rich peasant economy also grew, because of the Dai people’s frequent contact with the Hans.

For a long time the Dais had grown rice as their main crop, and they had developed a rather complete, intensive farming system and gained rich experience in irrigation. However, under the shackles of feudalism, yields were low. The reckless exploitation by the luxury loving ruling class and the Han landlords and merchants forced many peasants to flee their villages.

Religion

The religious beliefs of the Dai people were closely related to their economic development. Residents on the borders generally were followers of Hinayana, a sect of Buddhism, while retaining remnants of shamanism. There were many Buddhist temples in the countryside, and it was a common practice, especially in Xishuangbanna, to send young boys to the temples to learn to read and write and chant scriptures, as a form of schooling. Some of them became monks, while most of them returned to secular life. While staying in the temple, the boys had to do all kinds of hard work, and the Dai people had to bear all the financial burden of the temples.

Customs and Habits

The marriage of the Dais was characterized by intermarriage on strictly equal social and economic status. Polygamy was common among chieftains, who also humiliated the wives and daughters of peasants at will. The patriarchal monogamous nuclear family was the common form among peasants. Pre-marital social contact between young men and women was quite free, especially during festivals. It was common for the groom to move into the bride’s home after the wedding.

The graveyards of aristocrats and poor people were strictly separated. When a monk or a Buddhist leader died, he was cremated and his ashes placed in a pottery urn to be buried behind a temple.

Men wore collarless tight-sleeved short jackets, with the opening at the front or along the right side, and long baggy trousers. In winter they drape a blanket over their shoulders. They wore black or hite turbans. Tattooing was common. When a boy reached the age of 11 or 12, a tattoo artist was invited to tattoo his body and limbs with designs of animals, flowers, geometric patterns or the Dai written script. Traditionally, women wore tight-sleeved short dresses and sarongs.

Rice is the staple food. The Dais in Dehong prefer dry rice, while those in Xishuangbanna like sticky rice. All love sour and hot flavors. In addition to beef, chicken and duck, they enjoy fish and shrimp. Cabbages, carrots, bamboo shoots and beans are among the popular vegetables. The Dais also love wine, liquor, and betel nuts.

The villages of the Dais in Dehong and Xishuangbanna are found on the plains, near rivers or streams, and among clusters of bamboo. The buildings generally are built on stilts. Some of the houses are square, with two stories. The upper story serves as the living place, while the lower space, without walls, is used as a storehouse and for keeping livestock.

Dai festivals, closely related to religious activities, included the “Door-Closing” festival in mid-June by the lunar calendar, the “Door-Opening” festival in mid-September, and the “Water-Splashing” festival in spring. “Door-Closing” started three months of intensive religious activities. “Door-Opening” marked the beginning of normal life. “Water-Splashing,” still held every year, is the most important festival, during which the Dais splash water on one another, and hold dragon boat races in the hope of chasing away all the illnesses and bad fortune of the past year and bringing about good weather and bumper harvests.

The Dais have a rich, colorful culture. They have their own calendar, which started in 638 A.D. There are books in Dai script for calculating solar and lunar eclipses. Dai historical documents carry a rich variety of literary works covering poetry, legends, stories, fables and children’s tales. They love to sing and dance, accompanied by their native musical instruments.

Population: 1,923,400

Major areas of distribution: Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang

Language: Korean and Han

Region: Buddhism

The largest concentration of Koreans is in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Jilin Province. Under its jurisdiction are the cities of Yanji and Tumen, and the counties of Yanji, Helong, Antu, Huichun, Wangqing and Dunhua, covering a total area of 41,500 sq. km.

The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is a beautiful, majestic land of high mountains and deep valleys. The land rises to 2,744 meters above sea level to the highest peak of the Changbai Mountains — White Head Summit. This is an extinct volcano, from the crater lake of which spring the Yalu and Tumen rivers, flowing south and north respectively, and forming the boundary with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the east.

The area is accessible nowadays by both road and rail, except for the mountain-locked Hunchun District. The prefecture has 1,600 km of railways and 3,700 km of highways and branch roads.

Another community of Koreans lives in the Changbai Korean Autonomous County in southeastern Jilin.

The area is one of China’s major sources of timber and forest products, including ginseng, marten pelts and deer antlers. It is also a habitat for many wild animals, including tigers.

Copper, lead, zinc and gold have been mined here since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the area also has deposits of iron, antimony, phosphorus, graphite, quartz, limestone and oil shale.

Yanbian is also blessed with agricultural riches and is a major tobacco producer. It is famous for apples and pears, which have been exported since 1955.

The ancestors of the Korean ethnic group migrated from the Korean peninsula from about the late 17th century, mostly peasants fleeing from their oppressive feudal landlords. Especially following a severe famine in the northern part of Korea in 1869, they settled down in large numbers in what is now the Yanbian area. Another wave of migration took place in the early years of this century when Japan annexed Korea and drove many peasants off the land. The Japanese seizure of the Manchurian provinces further served to drive landless Koreans to settle in Northeast China.

The Koreans have their own spoken and written language, which is thought to belong to the Altaic family. Their alphabet is a simple, ingenious one, and the Koreans are very proud of it.

Most of China’s 2,548,300 Bouyei people live in several Bouyei-Miao autonomous counties in Xingyi and Anshun prefectures and Qiannan Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province. Others are distributed in counties in the Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture or near Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou.

The Bouyei region is on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which slopes from an altitude of 1,000 meters in the north to 400 meters in the south. The Miaoling Mountains stretch across the plateau, forming part of its striking landscape.

The famous Huangguoshu Falls cascade down more than 60 meters near the Yunnan-Guizhou highway in Zhenning Bouyei-Miao Autonomous County. The thunder of water can be heard several kilometers away, and mists from the falls contribute to a magnificent view.

The Bouyeis are blessed with fertile land and a mild climate. The average annual temperature is 16 degrees Centigrade, and an essentially tropical environment, receiving between 100 and 140 centimeters of rain a year, is ideal for farming. Local crops include paddy rice, wheat, maize, dry rice, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, potatoes and beans. Farmers also grow cotton, ramie, tobacco, sugar cane, tung oil, tea and oil-tea camellia as profitable cash crops.

As the Red River valley is low-lying and tropical, paddy rice yields two harvests annually. Silk, hemp, bamboo shoots and bananas complement the local economy, and coffee and cocoa have also been planted there recently.

The valley is also rich in trees, yielding a variety of timber, which is good for construction, such as pines and China firs. The remote, heavily-forested mountain and river areas provide a habitat for tigers, leopards, bears, musk deer, foxes, golden pheasants and others. Medicinal herbs are abundant in the woods, and the area is also rich in mineral resources, such as coal, iron, zinc, antimony, copper, petroleum, asbestos and mercury.

The Bouyei language is of the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong group belonging to the Chinese-Tibetan family of languages. In the past, the Bouyeis had no written language of their own, and used Han characters instead. After 1949, the government helped formulate a Bouyei writing system based on Latin letters.

This ethnic group possesses a rich folk literature, which includes fairy tales, fables, folk songs, proverbs and poems. During weddings, scores of young men and women are invited to join in antiphonal singing of a rich ethnic quality. In the Biandan Mountain area of Zhenning County, old women are invited to sing songs of blessing by firesides. They can sing day and night for up to a week without repeating the words of their ballads. Popular musical instruments of the Bouyeis include the suona horn, yueqin, dongxiao, short xiao, and sister xiao (all vertical bamboo flutes) and a copper drum. Their favorite dances include the weaving dance and the lion dance.

The Bouyeis are skilled in arts and crafts. Their colorful and beautifully-patterned batik dates far back to ancient times. In 1953, a batik factory was built in the city of Anshun with the help of the local authorities, and traditional technology was improved. Now, batik has become one of their best-selling handicrafts, popular both on domestic and foreign markets. In addition, their colorful embroidery, exquisite summer sleeping mats and bamboo hats are not only durable and attractive, but also highly artistic.

They live mostly on plains or in river valleys in villages composed of families from several different clans, in two-storied houses, bungalows or a combination of the two. Often people live on an upper floor, and keep livestock on the lower.

Young Bouyei males generally wear short buttoned jackets and long trousers, with scarves on their heads. Women wear jackets buttoned on the right (although some young women prefer lace-trimmed jackets buttoning down the middle), and long trousers or pleated skirts. They also wear scarves and a variety of silver jewelry.

They are monogamous, but young people of opposite sexes mix freely. When they go to fairs or other festivities, unmarried young men and women get together to sing songs. If a woman is attracted to a man, she will throw him a ball made of silk strips which she has embroidered herself. If the man is agreeable, they then make a date at which they will sing love songs to each other. After several dates, they may announce their engagement. Under the feudal system of the past, however, most marriages were arranged by parents.

In the past, the Bouyeis believed in spirits and worshipped ancestors, although many living near missionary outposts were converted to Christianity. In general, they observe the same festivals as the Hans. On June 6 and April 8, however, they celebrate their own festivals in commemoration of the leaders of ancient uprisings and their ancestors. On “Ox King Festival,” April 8, special cakes and glutinous rice dyed in five different colors are made and offered to ancestors. After the ceremony, half of these offerings are given to their cattle, which are also granted a day of rest as a reward for their hard work.

History

Studies of the language, names and geographical distribution of the Bouyeis indicate that they have a common ancestry with the Zhuangs. The ancient Yue people, who were widely distributed, were composed of such ethnic groups as the Xiou and Louyue in Guangdong and Guizhou provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The similarity between the modern Zhuang and Bouyei languages and the ancient Louyue tongue is a strong indication of the origin of the Bouyeis. In addition, many habits and customs of the Yues still prevail among the Bouyeis.

For several centuries before the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907), both the Zhuang and Bouyei peoples were referred to as “the alien barbarians,” but long separation eventually led to development of different cultures and lifestyles. After A.D. 900, they became recognized as separate minority groups.

After the second century B.C., increasing contacts between the Bouyeis and the Hans boosted the former’s productivity, and feudal economic relationships were established.

By the Tang Dynasty, the central imperial court had established in the Bouyei region an administrative system, under which local feudal lords were appointed prefectural governors, and land became their hereditary property. The system lasted for more than 1,000 years, until the Qing court forced minority officials to surrender their powers. Under the rule of minority headmen, the Bouyei society had retained its feudal lord presence until 1911. Feudal lords and local officials owned all the land, but not literally the peasants or serfs within their territories. Lords still subjected peasants to cruel exploitation, but were no longer allowed to kill them at will. Each peasant household was given a piece of land to support itself, but was forbidden to purchase it. Peasants and serfs were thus bound to the land and made to work for the feudal lords for generations.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the imperial court abolished the rule of minority headmen, and appointed officials with limited tenures. As a result, the feudal lord economy collapsed and a landlord economy took its place. As most land was owned by the rich few and exploitation of the peasants by landlords became even crueler, class conflicts intensified and led to many peasant uprisings, the biggest of which was the Nanlong Uprising in 1797.

Post-1949 Development

In the early years of the People’s Republic, few Bouyeis took part in management. By 1981, however, there were 8,220 Bouyei administrators, accounting for 65 per cent of the total minority managerial staff in the area.

Before 1949, Bouyei agriculture was backward, especially in remote mountain areas, where slash-and-burn farming methods still dominated. Since liberation, tremendous changes have taken place. By 1982, grain output totaled 720,000 tons, nearly twice as much as the 1949 figure, and 12,880 water conservancy projects had been built. These stored 200 million cubic meters of water, and brought 6,600 hectares of land under irrigation — a six-fold increase over the 1949 area.

Before 1949, there was virtually no industry in the Bouyei region. Since then, however, many industries have been developed, including iron and steel, coal, machine building, chemicals, electronic products, building materials and plastics.

In 1949, the total length of roads came to only 296 kilometers in what is now Qiannan Prefecture. By 1981, 6,100 kilometers of new roads had been built. And three main railway lines (Guizhou-Guangxi, Yunnan-Guizhou and Hunan-Guizhou) run through Bouyei areas in Qiannan, Anshun and Guiyang. In addition, air services now link Guiyang with Beijing, Shanghai and other big Chinese cities.

Education and medical care have also improved greatly since 1949. By 1981, the numbers of secondary and primary schools had already risen to 150 and 3,789 respectively, compared with hardly any in 1949. Teacher training schools and colleges teaching modern farming methods have also been established.

In the past, medical facilities in the area were very poor. Epidemic diseases, such as smallpox, cholera and dysentery were rampant, with malaria alone affecting 58 per cent of the local population. After 1949, the government supplied financial aid, equipment and large numbers of medical workers to help the Bouyeis improve health care. Now, besides major hospitals at prefectural level, every county has its own hospital, epidemic prevention station and maternal health center, and every district has a clinic.

General Information

The Blang people mainly live in the Menghai and Jinghong counties in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, with a small portion scattering around Shuangjiang, Yongde, Yunxian and Gengma counties in the Lincang prefecture as well as the Lancang and Mojiang counties in Simao prefecture. It has a total population of about 91882.

History and origin

According to records on the history of the Han Dynasty, the origin of the Blang people can be traced back to the ancient Pu tribe who were believed to be their ancestors settled in the Lancang and Nujiang river valleys in Yongchang area. In the so called “Nanyi Chaos” in the Yuangkang Year of Hui Emperor in Xijin Dynasties (297-299AD), some of the Pu people began to migrate from north to south. Among them, some came to the Yongshou (that is Yongde and Zhengkang today); some went down the Langcang River and finally came to Shuangjiang, Gengma, and Menghai; some just stayed where they were, and then developed into the Blang people today.

Ethnic names

Some of the Blangs call themselves “Buang”, some say “Awa”, “Aerwa”, “Yiwa”, “Wa”, or “Wenggon”. The Han or Dai people like to call them “Puman”, or “Plang” or “Meng”. Other names for the Blang ethnic group are: “La”, “Da”, “Mila”, “Manl’, “Kapo”, or “Abe”. After the Republic of China was founded, they are officially called “Blang”.

Language

The Blang people have their own spoken language, but they do not have written script. As the Blangs are scattered in different areas of southwest China, the language they speak also differs slightly from one place to another. One of their major dialects is spoken in the Xishuangbanna area and another in the Zhenkang County (known as the Wu dialect).Most of the Blangs can speak Chinese, Dai and Va languages. Some of the Blang literalists can use the Dai written script. Today Chinese is widely used.

Clothes

The Blang people wear simple clothes. They like clothes of dark color such as black or dark green and blue whether they are men or women. There is not much difference in different areas.

The Blang men have the habit of having tattooing in the body, including arms, chest, bellies or backs. These tattooing are of the patterns of wild animals, birds or beast or other different shapes. It was usually dyed with carbon ash and snake bile. The Blang men usually wear collarless jackets and black loose pants. They often have turbans of either black or white.

The Blang women dress very similarly to the Dai women. They wear collarless jackets over the so called Tong skirts. They tie their hair into a bun and cover it with cloth. They also like earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Young women like wearing flowers in the hair. Many of the women are fond of dying the cheek red.

Hair styles: Most of the Blang women have their hair done in a peculiar way with ornamental articles. A silver hair pin with nice pattern of three- trail-snail, known as “gazigazong”, is their favorite. Most of the women like to tie their hair into a bun with layers of white or blue cloth, just like the shape of the three-trail-snail.

There used to be a legend about the snail and the beautiful young lady named Yiying. Women today do their hair in the way in honor of the miserable girl, hoping that they can always be free of misfortune and bad luck, and that their happy marriage may last forever.

Diet

The foods of the Blangs feature special ethnic characteristics. The main food of Blang people is rice. It is usually accompanied by corn, buckwheat, beans and peas, potatoes, and red rice. Sticky rice is their favorite. Most of the families have three meals a day, and at lunch they have cold rice. The rice is done either braised or steamed. Blang men are especially good at cooking bamboo tube rice. The rice, covered with bamboo pulp, and mixed with the taste of fresh bamboo and the fragrance resulted from charcoal baking, is very delicious. Their daily vegetables consist of cabbage, greengrocery, melons, beans, radish, eggplant, hot pepper, leek, tomato and so on. Women may go up the mountain and collect the edible fungus, mushrooms, bamboo shoot, dasheen, wild potatoes and wild potherbs to cook. Meat includes pork, beef, mutton, chicken, and sometimes animals like sparrow, bamboo mice, snake and elk are edible too. Other foods include fish, shrimp, and crab.

The Blangs in Xishangbanna do their cooking by steaming, frying, baking, pickling, or pounding. Sample dishes include fried meat, barbecued meat, grilled fish, fried cake, deep-fried spider.

The Blangs are also fond of sour food and they often preserve food in salt. There are pickled bamboo shoots, meat and fish. Some of the Blangs are fond of raw meat too. They eat raw pork, fish and the animal blood.

The Blangs in Simao area like porridges very much. They have porridge with chicken, porridge with field mouse, and porridge with dog meat. Porridge with field mice are quite rare, therefore, it is usually used to entertain the honorable guests.

The Blangs drink tea and wine. There is the tradition of smoking among men and women. Men like strong, hot tobaccos, while women smoke mild and soft tobaccos. Today most of the young women no longer have that habit while young men still have. 

Etiquette and taboo

It is polite to take off the shoes before entering the house in the Blang villages. It is forbidden to touch the head of Buddha, monks, and the elders.

Certain woods are considered to be holy and it is forbidden to cut down any trees and take away any soil or stones from the holy wood. You can not relieve the bowels there too.

Don’t go into the host’s bedroom unless you are formally invited. And don’t trample or span the fire place in the room as it is believed to be unlucky for the house owner. The altar holding offerings to the household god in the main room of the house is considered to be a holy place. Don’t touch it.

The turbans that the Blang men wear symbolize their dignity. Therefore, don’t touch them on the head especially those of the elders.

If you come to the wedding of the Blangs, you will get ready to accept the ablution rite. That is, you will be served by both the bride and the groom at the gate to wash your hands before you go into the reception.  

In Blang villages, pregnant women are forbidden to take part in any religious ceremony and ritual.

Festivals

Since the Blangs live together with Dai people, they use the Dai Calendar too. They celebrate the New Year’s Day at the same day when the Dai people are having the Water Splashing Festival. But they do not have dragon boats, and they do not splash waters at the day. April 15th is the traditional “Kangshan Festival”, and during the time young people should send presents to the elders, performances of folk music (singing and dancing) and traditional martial arts is presented. People will get together for comity meals too.

Flower Festival: It is celebrated on February 2nd according to the lunar calendar. At the time, all the women from the village go up to the mountains to collect flowers with long narrow flags in their hands. All the flowers they get in the Flower Tree are erected at the center of the village. Paper scrip and colorful flags are also put onto the same tree. Then all the people in the village will circle around the tree, cheerfully dancing to the beat of drums and gongs and other instruments. Puffed rice are thrown to the tree by women while they are dancing. This is done as a symbol of unity and prosperity for the village. Young men and women will take the chance to find their ideal spouse too.

Gang Yong Festival: The Blangs regard bamboo rats as their totem. During the days of the planting season in April and the harvest season in September, Blangs will celebrate the Gang Yong Festival to worship the bamboo rats. In the past, every time the festival took place, all the villagers would put on new dress, carry bamboo baskets and take the rattraps. They all went up the mountains to the bamboo forest to catch bamboo rats.

Once having caught the bamboo rats, people tie them on the stick and put flowers on them. Two people carry them to go around the village. A person will follow the rat lifters, shaking a broken bamboo pole, and reciting aloud the blessing and greeting words. Finally, they carry the rats to the house of the Shaikh, and cut off the rat head for him. The rest parts will be chopped up and allotted one portion to each family. Then people will take their part back home for the ritual. It is believed that by such a ritual there will be prosperity in the village and bring ample food and clothing for the family in coming year.

Culture

The Blang ethnic group has a unique literature of their own and these are passed down from generation to generation by oral tellings. The rich oral literature includes legends, folk tales, stories, poetry, riddles and ballads. Most of these are about the origin of human beings. Among them, the most famous ones are “Yanbu Lingga”, “the legend of the birth of human from gourd.  And there are myths about the creation of the world, such as “the myths of God Gumiya”, “the story of how the rhinoceros created the world”. Besides these, there are stories about “the elephant and the swan”, telling how brave the Blangs are, and how they fight against the evils. All these are how the Blang tell their history, impart their knowledge and express their feelings.

The Blangs also like singing and dancing. Young people like a courting dance called the “circle dance.” Young women are in the inner side of the circle while young men are at the outer side. Te girls dance gracefully while moving in an anticlockwise direction while boys will dance like tigers in the circle. Yong men sing love songs to those who he loves. The Circle Dance is the most popular among the groups of young people.

The Blang men like Wushu very much. They reveal their energy in the “knife dance.” Dancing is mixed with Wushu there. They can play Long sword, single stick or short stick. From these, their spirit of bravery is shown.

Residence and buildings

The Blangs live in the two-story house and the house is usually built according the shape of the earth. Sine they live in the sub-tropical area, where there is abundant rain and moisture, the love the two-story house. Like the Dai people, the homes are made of wood. Most of them are made of bamboo with thatched roofs.

Celebration of the erection of new house: When a new house is being built in the Blang village, it is a tradition that all the villagers would come for help. Therefore, it is also a tradition for the house owners to hold a ceremony to host all the villagers, friends and relatives. It is something similar to the tradition of the Dai people.

The ceremony begins at noon when the sun is at the best. Fireworks are played around the house.

The first men to get upstairs into the house are those holding a bull head. They sing songs of blessing; they dance while getting up the wood steps. Girls, in their festival bests, then stand along the stairs holding basins of water. Girls splash water to the young men as symbols of blessing. Then men with household trunks, women holding bedding and clothes, girls carrying dishes go into the new house in succession.

When everyone is upstairs, things are sorted and put into the right place. After that, fire is made and guests are seated. Feast is given to all those participate. People sing and drink and enjoy themselves to celebrate the occasion.

Craftworks

The bamboo products, the textile goods and the dye works made by the Blang groups feature special ethnic characteristics.

Bamboo products:The Blang people reside in places where bamboos grow, so bamboo strips and rattans are commonly used to make into family appliance and utensils. Most of the Blang men are able to make bamboo products by hand, such as bamboo basket, bucket, dustpan, mat, table, and workbox. Most of the products are be used by themselves and some are taken to the market for sale or exchange.

Textile goods: The Blang women are good at spinning and weaving. Raw materials like cotton, ramee and hemp are used to make into textile products of damask and brocade. This kind of cloth is thick and lasting and therefore favored by the local residents. In some of the Blang villages, loom is being used now, which has improved the quality of their textile products.

Dye works:The Blangs use simple way of dyeing. They choose different kinds of plants and flowers to make different colors. For example, blue is made from a plant after soaking, pounding, filtrating and depositing. When dyeing, they put the liquid with the cortices into a big pot and boiled together with plain white cotton cloth. After repeated infusion, they get colored cloth.

Religion

Ancestor worship is also popular for the Blangs. They believe that men’s production, lives, happiness and miseries are all governed by ghosts or gods and all the living things have souls. Since most of them live together with the Dai people, most of them practice Hinayana Buddhism. Monastery can be found in almost every village. There are also those people who practice Shamanism and Totemism and have similar custom with those of Dais.

 

Population: 16,505

Major area of distribution: Gansu

Language: Bonan

Religion: Islam

The Bonan is one of China’s smallest ethnic minorities, with only 16,505 people. Its language belongs to the Mongolian branch of the Altaic language family and is close to that of the Tu and Dongxiang ethnic minorities. Due to long years of contacts and exchanges with the neighboring Han and Hui people, the Bonan people have borrowed quite a number of words from the Han language. The Han language is accepted as the common written language among the Bonans.

 

Judging from their legends, language features and customs, many of which were identical with those of the Mongolians, the Bonan minority seems to have taken shape after many years of interchanges during the Yuan and Ming (1271-1644) periods between Islamic Mongolians who settled down as garrison troops in Qinghai’s Tongren County, and the neighboring Hui, Han, Tibetan and Tu people. The Bonans used to live in three major villages in the Baoan region, situated along the banks of the Longwu River within the boundaries of Tongren County.

 

During the early years of the reign of Qing Emperor Tongzhi (1862-1874), they fled from the oppression of the feudal serf owners of the local Lamaist Longwu Monastery. After staying for a few years in Xunhua, they moved on into Gansu Province and finally settled down at the foot of Jishi Mountain in Dahejia and Liuji, Linxia County. Incidentally, they again formed themselves into three villages – Dadun, Ganmei and Gaoli – which they referred to as the “tripartite village of Baoan” in remembrance of their roots.

 

Dahejia in western Linxia County is the place where the Bonans mainly concentrated. The area is thickly wooded and enjoys a moderate temperature supported by plenty of water and lush grass, which make it suitable for farming and stockbreeding.

 

The Bonan people, mainly Muslims, are divided into two different sects – the Old and the New.

 

A sideline occupation for which Bonans are particularly noted is the making of knives. A cottage industry, the Bonan knives are famous all over China for their beauty and sturdiness.

 

　　

More than 90 per cent of the 27,700 Achangs live in Longchuan, Lianghe and Luxi counties in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Yunnan Province. The rest live in Longling County in the neighboring Baoshan Prefecture.

　　These areas are on the southern tip of the Gaoligong Mountains. The climate is warm; the land fertile, crisscrossed by the Daying and Longchuan rivers and their numerous tributaries. The river valleys contain many plains, the Fusa and Lasa being the largest of them. Dense forests populated by deer, musk deer and bears cover the mountain slopes. Natural resources, such as coal, iron, copper, lead, mica and graphite, abound.

　　Achangs speak a language belonging to the Tibetan-Myanmese language family of the Chinese-Tibetan system. Most Achangs also can speak Chinese and the language of Dais. Their written language is Chinese.

　　Achangs treasure their oral culture of ballads, stories and folk tales. Singing alternating duets is a favorite evening recreation of young men and women. Musical instruments used by Achangs include the bamboo qin (a stringed plucked instrument), the bamboo flute, the gourd-shaped sheng (a wind instrument), the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), the elephant-leg drum and the gong. Drum and monkey dances are among the most popular. Handicrafts include embroidery, lacquering, dyeing, weaving, engraving and silverware making and are known for their elaborate patterns and detail. Achang engraving is extraordinary and can best be seen on furniture, buildings and Buddhist shrines, on which workers have etched vivid forms of animals and plants.

　　Customs

　　Achang men tend to wear blue, white or black jackets which button down the front, although on the Lasa plain many men wear jackets with buttons toward the left side. Achang women like to wear silver objects on festive occasions. Their clothes vary somewhat depending on where they live, but in general married women wear skirts and jackets with tight sleeves and wrap their heads with black or blue cloth that may go as high as three decimeters. Unmarried women wear trousers and tie their pigtails on top of their heads. Although the habit is disappearing, young men and women used to chew areca, blackening their teeth. For food, Achangs eat rice as their staple and prefer sour dishes. They live in courtyard houses of brick or stone with wood beam supports. Achang villages are connected by gravel paths or roads paved with stone slabs.

　　The basic unit of the Achang society is the patriarchal, monogamous family. Young men and women are free to choose their spouses. Courting rituals are quite specific. When dusk falls, young men go to bamboo groves near the homes of the young women they desire and play the sheng to win their favor. In some places, groups of young men and women gather around a bonfire, where couples flirt by singing alternate verses. This can go on until dawn. Before 1949, marriages were arranged by parents, which often led to forced marriage and misery for unlucky young lovers. The Achangs have a strict incest taboo: people with the same surname do not marry each other. But intermarriage with Hans and Dais has always been permitted.

　　Under the Han influence, Achangs generally practice ancestor worship. Most Achangs on the Fusa plain believe in Hinayana, a branch of Buddhism.

　　Achangs generally bury their dead. In Buddhist areas, funerals are scheduled on holy days and follow the chanting of scripture by monks. One monk leads the funeral procession. As he walks, he holds a long strand of white cloth tied to the coffin, as if he were guiding the dead into the “Heavenly Kingdom.” The coffin is to be carried above the heads of the close relatives of the dead, figuratively providing the deceased with a “bridge” to cross the river to the netherworld. The dead are buried without their metal ornaments; even the gold coatings on false teeth must be removed to make sure nothing will contaminate their reincarnation. Those who die of infectious diseases or childbirth are cremated.

Ethnic minorities in China

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For a list of ethnic groups in China, see List of ethnic groups in China.

 

Ethnolinguistic map of mainland China and Taiwan

Ethnic minorities in China refer to the non-Han Chinese population in mainland China and Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority.^[1] As of the mid-2000’s, the combined population of officially recognised minority groups numbered at 123.33 million, comprising 9.44% of mainland China and Taiwan’s total population.^[2] In addition to these officially recognized ethnic minority groups, there are PRC nationals who privately classify themselves as members of unrecognized ethnic groups (such as Jewish, Tuvan, Oirat and Ili Turki). Also, foreign nationals who have become Chinese citizens form yet another separate group.

In general, the officially recognized ethnic minority groups reside within mainland China, with the exception of the Taiwanese aborigines. The Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan officially recognises 13 Taiwanese aborigine groups, while the People’s Republic of China classifies them all as a single ethnic minority group, the Gaoshan. Hong Kong and Macau do not use this ethnic classification system, and figures by the PRC government do not include the two territories.

These ethnic minority groups, together with the Han majority, make up the greater Chinese nationality known as Zhonghua Minzu.

Contents [hide] 1 Naming 2 Ethnic groups 3 Demographics of the ethnic minorities 4 Guarantee of rights and interests 5 Undistinguished ethnic groups 6 Taiwan aborigines 7 World religions in China and their most common affiliations 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Naming

Ethnic groups in China are often called nationalities in official English-language documents of the People’s Republic of China, such as the nation’s 1982-adopted constitution.^[3] This is in the naming style of the Soviet Union government. The Chinese word minzu (民族) is used to translate the German and Russian words for “people” and “nationality” as used in Marxist-Leninist ideology.^[4] However, all the ethnic minorities in China are Chinese citizens, regardless of the fact that they are sometimes referred to as different “nationalities” in English, and the Chinese-language term that is used to refer to different ethnic groups, minzu, is not specific on citizenship status.

Officially, English-language terms such as “ethnic minorities”,^[5][6] “ethnic groups”,^[7] and “national minorities”^[8] are also used in PRC publications.

[edit] Ethnic groups

 

The Long-horn tribe, a small branch of ethnic Miao in the western part of Guizhou Province.

Most ethnic groups are distinctive from one another, but there are some that are very similar to the Han majority group. For example, most Hui Chinese are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except for the fact that they practice Islam.

Some of the ethnic groups as classified by the PRC government contain, within themselves, diverse groups of people. Various groups of the Miao minority, for example, speak different dialects of the Hmong-Mien languages, Kradai languages, and Chinese languages, and practice a variety of different cultural customs. Some ethnic groups with smaller populations are simply classified by the PRC together with another distinct ethnic group, such as the case with the Utsuls of Hainan being classified as part of the Hui minority, and the Chuanqing being classified as part of the Han majority^{[citation needed]}.

While Han Chinese make up the vast majority of China’s total population, the population distribution is highly uneven with large parts of western China having Han Chinese as a minority.

The multi-ethnic nature of China is a result of many centuries of assimilation, expansion and modern consolidation of territories incorporated during the Qing Dynasty, whose emperors were themselves Manchu and not members of the Han majority. Today, modern Chinese ethnic theory is heavily influenced by that of the Soviet Union.

The degree of integration of ethnic minorities with the national mainstream community varies widely from group to group. With some groups, such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs, there is some resentment against the majority. Other groups such as the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, and Koreans are well integrated into the national community.

See also: List of ethnic groups in China

[edit] Demographics of the ethnic minorities

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) officially recognises 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are Han Chinese, which constitutes about 91.9% of the total population. The 55 other ethnic groups are officially recognised as ethnic minority groups. The large ethnic minority groups in terms of population include the Zhuang at 16 million, the Manchu at 10 million, the Hui at 9 million, the Miao at 8 million, the Uyghur at 7 million, the Yi at 7 million, the Tujia at 5.75 million, the Mongols at 5 million, the Tibetans at 5 million, the Buyei at 3 million, and the Koreans at 2 million.

Minority population grows faster than that of the majority Han Chinese, in 1953 at 6.1%, in 1990 at 8.04%, in 2000 at 8.41ï¼…, and in 2005 at 9.44%. In the most recent survey, their population growth is about seven times faster than that of the Han Chinese.That is because the “One child policy only applies to the majority Han Chinese. ^{[9] [10] [11] [2]}

[edit] Guarantee of rights and interests

The PRC’s Constitution and laws guarantee equal rights to all ethnic groups in China and help promote ethnic minority groups’ economic and cultural development. One notable preferential treatment ethnic minorities enjoy is that they are exempt from the population growth control of the One-Child Policy. Ethnic minorities are well represented in the National People’s Congress as well as governments at the provincial and prefectural levels. Some ethnic minorities in China live in what are described as ethnic autonomous areas. These “regional autonomies” guarantee ethnic minorities the freedom to use and develop their ethnic languages, and to maintain their own cultural and social customs. In addition, the PRC government has provided preferential economic development and aid to areas where ethnic minorities live. The “regional autonomies” are also to protect ethnic minorities’ freedom of religion, however, the issue of freedom of religion in the PRC is, in itself, highly controversial and debatable.

[edit] Undistinguished ethnic groups

Main article: Undistinguished ethnic groups in China

“Undistinguished” ethnic groups are ethnic groups that have not been officially recognized or classified by the central government. The group numbers more than 730,000 people, and would constitute the twentieth most populous ethnic group of China if taken as a single group. The vast majority of this group is found in Guizhou Province.

These “undistinguished ethnic groups” do not include groups that have been controversially classified into existing groups. For example, the Mosuo are officially classified as Naxi, and the Chuanqing are classified as Han Chinese, but they reject these classifications and view themselves as separate ethnic groups.

Citizens of mainland China who are of foreign origin are classified using yet another separate label: “foreigners naturalized into the Chinese citizenship” (外国人入中国籍). However, if there is a newly naturalized citizen who already belongs to a recognized existing group among the 56 ethnic groups (e.g. Han Chinese, Korean, Russian, Gin, Kazakh, etc.), then he or she is classified into that ethnic group rather than the special label.

[edit] Taiwan aborigines

Main article: Taiwanese aborigines

The PRC government officially refers to all Taiwanese aborigines as Gaoshan, whereas the ROC government of Taiwan recognizes 14 groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term Gaoshan has a different connotation in Taiwan than it does in mainland China. While several thousands of these aborigines have migrated to Fujian province in mainland China, most remain in Taiwan. Due to the contested political status and legal status of Taiwan, the PRC classification of Taiwanese aborigines may be controversial.

[edit] World religions in China and their most common affiliations

• Buddhism: the Bai, Bulang, Dai, Jinuo, Jing, Jingpo, Mongol, Manchu, Naxi (including Mosuo), Nu, Tibetan and Yugur (”Yellow Uyghurs”).^[12]
• Eastern Orthodox Christianity: the Russians, Evens
• Islam: the Hui, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Dongxiang people, Kyrgyz people, Salar, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Bonan and Tatars.^[13]
• shamanism/animism: the Daur, Ewenkis, and Oroqen.

[edit] See also

• China National Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble
• Chinese nationality law
• Han chauvinism
• Demographics of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Languages of China
• List of China administrative regions by ethnic group
• List of ethnic groups in China
• Minzu University of China
• Taiwanese aborigines
• Undistinguished ethnic groups in China
• Zhonghua minzu

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Minorities/China-Nationalities.html
2. ^ ^{a b} “2005年全国1%人口抽样调查主要数据公报” (in Simplified Chinese). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. 2006-03-17. http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cept/chn/xwdt/t240927.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-19. 
3. ^ Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, 1982-12-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
4. ^ “China’s Fresh Approach to the National Minority Question,” by George Moseley, The China Quarterly
5. ^ PRC official publication “Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities in China (2005)”
6. ^ Google search for “ethnic minorities” in the gov.cn domain
7. ^ Google search for “ethnic groups” in the gov.cn domain
8. ^ Google search for “national minorities” in the gov.cn domain
9. ^ http://www.stats.gov.cn/was40/gjtjj_en_detail.jsp?searchword=population&channelid=9528&record=6 Communiqué on Major Data of 1% National Population Sample Survey in 2005
10. ^ 之十五：控制人口增长成绩巨大 坚持基本国策任重道远
11. ^ 中国民族
12. ^ Ethnic Minorities in China
13. ^ Jackie Armijo (Winter 2006). “Islamic Education in China“. Harvard Asia Quarterly 10 (1). http://www.asiaquarterly.com/content/view/166/41. 

[edit] External links

• Chinese National Minorities
• The Ethnic Publishing House: on customs and autonomous places (in Simplified Chinese)
• China National Ethnic Song & Dance Ensemble
• Brief description of Chinese ethnic minority groups
• Descriptions of each ethnic minority group (china.org.cn)
• Guarantee of Rights and Interests of Ethnic Minorities
• China: Minority Exclusion, Marginalization and Rising Tensions, report by Minority Rights Group and Human Rights in China, April 2007