A Brief History of the Tujia—Folk Literature and Folk Art (Part Two)
II. Folk Art. The Tujia are a people of the south skilled in song and dance, and their folk art is rich and colorful; music, dance, drama, and fine arts all have their own ethnic style and character. (1) Music. "Tujia are born loving song; open your mouth and a basketful comes out." Zhangjiajie folk singers Xiang Zuorong, He Qiguang, and Xiang Taomei are Tujia folk musicians...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
II. Folk Arts
The Tujia are an ethnic group of the south known for their singing and dancing, and their folk arts are rich and varied. Among them, music, dance, drama, and fine arts all have their own ethnic style and characteristics.
(I) Music
"The Tujia are born loving to sing; open your mouth and you sing a big basketful." The folk singers of Zhangjiajie—Xiang Zuorong, He Qiguang, and Xiang Taomei—are representatives of Tujia folk musicians. For example, Xiang Zuorong, female, born in 1955, Tujia, a contemporary folk singer from Taping Village, Chaoxi Township, Sangzhi, is a representative figure in singing and transmitting Sangzhi folk songs. In 1978, she participated in the first national professional troupe performance since the founding of New China, singing the Sangzhi folk song "Sing If You Tell Me to Sing" on the stage of the Beijing Workers' Cultural Palace, which received a strong response. She later won awards many times in cultural and artistic performances at various levels. The Sangzhi folk songs she sang in the TV series "Chronicle of the Long March" and the TV feature "Searching for the Distant Homeland" were unanimously praised by audiences.
The Tujia region is like an ocean of poetry; Tujia singing and poetry are inseparable. Most songs are improvised on the spot; some require instrumental accompaniment, and some are sung while dancing. Not only are the lyrics beautiful, but the melodies are also graceful and pleasant. According to the genre of the songs, there are work chants, mountain songs, Tima divine songs, minor tunes, crying-marriage songs, za-jiu songs, lantern songs, beam-raising songs, children's songs, and so on. The haocao luogu song is a combative labor song, vigorous and powerful, with a distinct rhythm that sounds inspiring. Like other ethnic minorities in central-south and southwest China, the Tujia also popularized pan songs. Two people sing in antiphonal style, questioning and answering each other. For example, one asks: "What is curved and curves up to the sky? What is curved in the river bend? What is curved and sold in front of the street? What is curved before the young lady?" The other answers in song: "The crescent moon curves up to the sky, the boat curves in the river bend, the comb curves and is sold in front of the street, the eyebrows curve before the young lady." There are also pan songs about heaven and earth, flowers and plants, birds and beasts, and production. Among them, men and women often question and answer each other to express love, with four lines per song, answering as fluently as flowing water, extremely vivid and interesting. The Tujia love to sing haozi (work chants), such as the You River haozi, boat-towing haozi, log-dragging haozi, and rock-carrying haozi. They first sing the "hao'er" and then the "song'er," with one leading and many responding, interweaving back and forth, with high-pitched and vigorous tunes. The "chuan haozi" popular in Youyang, Xiushan, Xuan'en, Hefeng, Lichuan, Badong, and Changyang developed from labor chants. The haozi of Hefeng consists of single hao'er, double hao'er, single hao'er bridge-building, double hao'er bridge-building, and chelu qiang, and is a highly developed form of haozi. The Tujia also often hum minor tunes, which are indoor short songs good at expressing emotion and narration. For example, when working at night husking corn leaves, chopping pig grass, sewing shoe soles, embroidering, weaving, or doing needlework, they sing minor tunes. Minor tunes are mostly in single-verse form, with smooth melodies, slow tempo, and a narrow vocal range. They are often repeated and sung over many stanzas, with little variation in melody, easy to sing, and are strophic songs with a deep and inner quality. There are forms such as solo, antiphonal singing, and pan singing. The lyrics of minor tunes have regular line patterns, such as "Four Seasons," "Five Watches," and "Twelve Months." The lyrics may have one stanza or dozens or hundreds of stanzas. The long narrative poems "Wu Yaogu" and "Shanbo Ge," widely circulated in the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou border region, are all sung in the form of minor tunes. The "Sisters' Song" in Tujia marriage customs also often selects minor tunes. "Ganzi Tree" and "Embroidered Sachet" from Hefeng County in the Enshi region, "The Big River Rises and the Small River Muddy" from Laifeng, "Ganzi Grove" from Lichuan, and "Masan Tree" from Sangzhi in western Hunan are all fine works among minor tunes and were already popular as early as the 1950s. Tujia girls must sing crying-marriage songs when they marry, and the day of marriage reaches its climax. Relatives mainly cry the marriage, while neighbors mainly persuade the bride. Whomever the bride calls with her crying-marriage song must cry along with her; in fact, it is antiphonal singing, with graceful singing and moving emotion. The "Ten Sisters' Song," also called "Sisters' Song," is a major form of crying marriage and is very popular among the Tujia of western Hubei. That is, before a girl marries, she invites nine young girls, together with the bride making ten, sets out dishes, fruits, and sweets, and holds a banquet called "Accompanying the Ten Sisters." At that time, they sing to each other, exchange blessings, and express feelings of parting. The songs include "Pomegranate Flowers Bloom and Leaves Are Dense," "Ten Months of Flowers," and "Song Teaching Daughters."
In instrumental music, there are two types: wind music and percussion music. Wind instruments include tree leaves, dongdongkui, and suona. The tree leaf is an instrument commonly popular among all ethnic groups in the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou border region. When a Tujia youth wants to play, he plucks a piece of evergreen leaf, puts it in his mouth, and blows with controlled breath, producing crisp and pleasant songs, with a sound like the warbling of birds, melodious and loud, mostly used to accompany songs. The dongdongkui is a distinctive single-reed vertical-blown instrument of the Tujia, made from fine bamboo about 15 centimeters long and about 2.5 centimeters in circumference. The upper end retains a bamboo node; about half an inch near the node is shaved thin with a small knife, and an open vibrating reed is set as the blowhole. The tube has three or four holes, and the lower end is cut into a slanted opening. The dongdongkui has two types: gong and zhi. According to historical tradition, Tujia women and children are accustomed to playing it. Its traditional repertoire still includes "Baliedong," "Lai Yo Lai, Lai Yo He," and "Daiduli." Most have lyrics, so it can be used both to play tunes and to sing as folk songs. The dongdongkui has a soft timbre, and its tunes are cheerful, lively, and beautiful. The suona was introduced from the Han Chinese, and in terms of tunes and performance it is not much different from that of the Han. At weddings, funerals, and festive occasions, suona accompaniment is often used, with many tune titles and rich local color. Ox horns are also used in Tujia sacrifices or certain folk song and dance activities to heighten the atmosphere. Bengbengtuo, also called koutiao or kouhuang, is an instrument made by Tujia women themselves and loved by them. When playing, both thumbs pull the hemp rope left and right in parallel, the lips enclose the reed part and blow air, and the tongue controls the air volume and adjusts the pitch. There are more than ten tunes, including "Chive Flowers," "Long Climbing Ridge," "Short Climbing Ridge," and "Bitter Hemp Vegetable." In addition, bamboo horns, wild trumpets, and bawu are all wind instruments loved by the Tujia.
Among percussion music, the "da jiahuo" of western Hunan and the "hua luogu" of western Hubei, Youyang, and Xiushan are also a form of entertainment shared by all ethnic groups in the area. Da jiahuo, also called "da cengzi," uses instruments such as the horse gong, first cymbal, second cymbal, and earth gong. Three to four people play in ensemble, with clever coordination of percussion rhythms and compact, rapid beats, and can perform more than a hundred beautiful tune titles such as "Horse Crossing the Bridge," "Myna Bathing," "Hen Laying Eggs," and "Yao Er San." Hua luogu is the general term for wind-and-percussion ensemble music. In the Qingping area of Xianfeng County, the version with suona added is called "chui luogu." The instruments include suona, drum, dongzi gong, large gong, and cymbals, five kinds. Its tune titles are called "yinz" and there are more than eighty. Hua luogu without suona is similar to da jiahuo, only it prefers to use the drum. It has more than seventy tune titles and is composed of a "head," "middle section," and "tail." Its sound resounds through the valleys, giving people a fresh and elegant feeling. In addition, the wind-and-percussion music of Changyang and the surrounding drum of Hefeng also have distinctive features. Changyang wind-and-percussion is instrumental music performed by suona or earth flute together with drums, gongs, cymbals, and other percussion instruments. According to its expressive function, it is divided into seven types: hall tune, major tune, guest tune, dish tune, flute tune, funeral tune, and comprehensive tune. The Hefeng surrounding drum mainly accompanies various lantern troupe activities and is also used on occasions such as weddings, funerals, and various festivals and celebrations. The surrounding drum pieces are divided into civil pieces and martial pieces. Civil pieces are soft and gentle, while martial pieces are passionate and rough. When performed, they are mostly struck while marching. There are five percussion instruments: drum, gong, first gong, second cymbal, and hook gong. The traditional pieces of the Hefeng surrounding drum include "Thrush Crossing the Bridge," "Myna Bathing," "Frog Spitting Bubbles," "River Hawk Spreading Wings," "Two Dragons Emerging from the Cave," "Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl," "Two Lions Holding a Ball," "Climbing the Heavenly Ladder," and "Round Moon."
In addition, outstanding literary and artistic workers such as Mou Lianjiu have emerged in the Tujia region, and they have created a large number of excellent works. Mou Lianjiu, a lyricist, born in 1943, is from Lichuan City, Hubei Province. He is currently deputy director of the Ethnic Literature Working Committee of the Hubei Writers Association. His songs and quyi works have won national and military-wide grand prizes many times. Among them, the Henan dadiaozi "Old Companion" won the first prize at the National Excellent Quyi Program Observation Performance and was included in the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles' "Chinese New Literature and Art Series." His Changyang nanqu "Tujia Stilted House" won the first prize at the Second National Ethnic Minority Literary and Art Performance; the song "Tujia O He Song" won an excellence award at the Tenth Young Singers TV Grand Prix; and "Gorge River Love Song" won the silver prize at the CCTV Young Singers Grand Prix. "Eight Hundred Li of Qingjiang, a Song All the Way," published by the Ethnic Publishing House in 2004, is a summary of the author's more than twenty years of lyric and quyi creation. The book collects 100 lyrics, quyi works, and others created by the author from his time in the military to local life. Its content appeals to both refined and popular tastes and exudes a rich local flavor.
(II) Dance
The traditional dances of the Tujia include the funeral drum dance, hand-waving dance, eight-treasure copper bell dance, Meishan dance, horse-jumping dance, flag-drilling dance, eight-panel skirt dance, wan shua shua, flower-lantern dance, dragon-lantern dance, and clam-shell dance. Among them, the funeral drum dance and hand-waving dance are the most prominent.
The funeral drum dance is an ancient funeral ritual song and dance of the Tujia. As early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, among the Tujia ancestors settled in the Kuixia area, when parents "first died, they beat drums to express grief; their songs must wail, and the crowd must dance," or it was "beating drums and stepping in song." By the Daoguang period of the Qing dynasty, when an elder of the Changyang Tujia died, "on the night before burial, crowds of guests pressed into the mourning place; one man beat a large drum, and they sang in turn, called singing the funeral drum, also called beating the funeral drum. The lyrics were mostly to comfort the deceased soul and console the living." It is still popular today in Changyang, Wufeng, Hefeng, Badong, and other places in the Qingjiang River basin. In Fenghuang, Sangzhi, Zhangjiajie, and other places it is called "tiao lin," or "tiao liuluo" (transliteration). Whenever an elderly person dies a normal death, the funeral dance must be performed. The older the deceased, the more people come to dance. Not only relatives and clan members come to mourn, but neighbors and villagers also participate. This is called "when a person dies, it is a mourning for all families; first beat the funeral drum, second help out." In the past, it was mostly danced by men and women in pairs; later it evolved so that if a man died, men participated, and if a woman died, women sacrificed, and people could join and leave freely in free combinations. The funeral dance is mostly held on the night before burial. Before the deceased's spirit, the song master first beats the drum and calls the song, and paired second, fourth, or eighth song youths respond and take up the song, dancing to the drum rhythm and proceeding according to tune titles, eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. When there are as many as several hundred people, they respond with song and dance on the threshing ground before the coffin to express grief. The lyrics are mostly in 4/3 time, sometimes 4/2 time, or alternating. There are many dance forms, such as "Great King Descends the Mountain," "One Arrow," "Four Big Steps," "Rolling Body," "Willow," "Two Lions Fighting for a Ball," "Swallow Carrying Mud," "Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon," "Phoenix Spreading Wings," "Dead Tree Twining Roots," "Yao Lian He," "Yao Gu Jie," "Ye'er He," "Sha'er He," "Dumb Riddle," "Wind Mixed with Snow," "Shengzi Bottom," and "Ox Scratching Itch," dozens in all, with distinct rhythm and vigor. In recent years, cultural workers in Changyang County have innovated on the basis of the ancient funeral drum dance and adapted it into the "Bashan Dance," which has become a mass entertainment form loved by men, women, old and young of all ethnic groups in the county.
The hand-waving dance is a traditional song and dance loved by the Tujia people. "Hand-waving" is called "Sheba" in the Tujia language, and in Chinese it is called "playing hand-waving." "In the early days of the first lunar month, men and women gather together to sing and dance, to ward off evil influences; this is called hand-waving, also called tuning the year." Its origin is inseparably inherited from the ancient Bayu dance and the funeral sacrificial song and dance of "beating drums and stepping in song to express grief."
Before the founding of New China, the hand-waving dance was generally held from the third to the fifteenth (or seventeenth) day of the first lunar month. After the New Year's Eve dinner during the Spring Festival, Tujia people gathered in front of the hand-waving hall. The Tu teacher (Tima) presided over the sacrificial ceremony. After the sacrifice, firecrackers sounded, gongs and drums resounded, and they danced in a circle, joyfully leaping to their hearts' content. When dancing, hands and feet move in the same direction at the same time. In pairs, facing each other, they kick, step, wave hands, flutter forward and back, twist waists and spin, vigorous and powerful. Hand-waving is divided into "single wave," "double wave," and "spinning wave." When the hand-waving was held at Matizhai in Longshan County, it lasted seven days, and Tujia from the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou border region once gathered in numbers of more than ten thousand, like a temple fair for a patron deity. Generally, thirty or forty people waved hands in front of the hand-waving hall of a nearby village to pray for the year, and there were also hand-wavings in the second and third months and at the community sacrifice.
When dancing the hand-waving dance, one person in the circle beats the drum and also strikes the gong. The male and female dancers, led by a person skilled in hand-waving, dance in a circle, advancing and retreating to the drumbeat and changing dance postures. Every one or several rounds of dancing changes to a set program, linking many movements together to form sections with complete plots, one set connected to the next. For example, "weeding the field," "transplanting rice," "pulling grass," and "looking at the sun" are connected in one continuous sequence to show scenes of the Tujia engaging in various farming activities.
The content of hand-waving is rich, mainly including the "horse-front dance" showing ancient warfare, the "banquet dance" of paying homage to the Tuwang in the palace office, the "hunting dance" showing hunting life, the "production dance" showing labor life, and also "beating mosquitoes," "water buffalo fighting," and others showing daily life. Because the hand-waving dance posture is vigorous, rough and generous, strong and brave, simple in form, natural and poised, without props, and full of ethnic style, the Tujia all love it and it has been passed down from generation to generation. After the founding of New China, the hand-waving dance, excavated, organized, and innovated by literary and art workers of Hunan Province and the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, is not only a traditional excellent Tujia program on stage, but has also become a song and dance loved by the Tujia people of Xiangxi with entertainment and fitness qualities.
The flower-lantern dance is also called "tiao tuantuan," "two-person rotation," and "flower-lantern opera." It is popular in Tujia areas throughout the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou border region, and the Xiushan flower lantern is the most representative. The performance form developed from a single square-table performance into building a flower stage, spreading mats on the ground for performance, and flower-lantern one-sided opera, among other forms. No matter the form, there are only two roles, one male and one female. The female role is mostly played by a male, called Yao Meizi, and the male is called Lai Huazi or another name. Yao Meizi holds a colored scarf in the left hand and a colored fan in the right. Lai Huazi ties his headscarf into a "half moon," ties a red silk sash at the waist, and holds a large palm-leaf fan. Yao Meizi steps with tiny steps, gently shakes the folding fan, gracefully dances the colored scarf, and dances lightly, charming and moving. Lai Huazi surrounds Yao Meizi, steps with low stances, waves the large palm-leaf fan, and sings while dancing, with lively and humorous movements, a comical and amusing image, and full of wit and interest.
The eight-treasure copper bell dance is a sacrificial ritual dance of the Tujia. Before the founding of New China, whenever Tujia people "redeemed money" to their ancestors, they would invite a Tu teacher to preside over the sacrificial rite. The Tu teacher wore an eight-panel skirt, wrapped his head in a red silk scarf, tied a short knife at the waist, and held eight-treasure copper bells, singing while dancing. They praised the ancestors' pioneering and migration, prayed for the ancestors' peace, and sought good fortune for descendants. The dance is divided into sitting-hall and traveling-hall types, one a sitting dance and one a standing dance. In the standing dance, the bell is mostly shaken once, then they advance and retreat three steps each and turn the body, repeating this cycle, dancing the bells and chanting to offer sacrifice to the ancestors.
"Wanshuashua," also called "Huaguzi," is a common folk dance of the Tujia people in western Hubei, southeastern Chongqing, and northwestern Hunan. At first it was mostly a song-and-dance form for courtship between young men and women, and later it also reflected various things in daily life. When dancing, usually one dan (female role) and one chou (clown role) appear, each holding a small fan (or handkerchief), and the movements are relatively simple. Using large and small steps, both hands swing at the sides of the body, and the body naturally sways from side to side with the hands and feet; the men's movements are larger and more rugged, while the women's movements are smaller and gentler. They sing while dancing, relaxed and joyful, without props or stage scenery. This dance style is rooted in the folk and is deeply loved by Tujia youth.
"Lianxiang" originated in the northern minority regions and is a folk dance with a long history loved by many ethnic groups. After spreading to Tujia areas, it evolved into several performance forms with strong ethnic characteristics, such as the two-person stick, multi-section lianxiang, rolling-dragon lianxiang, and the rou lianxiang derived from lianxiang. In general lianxiang performances, the lianxiang is used to strike the body while dancing and singing, with men and women on the same stage and no limit on the number of participants. They perform in pairs, either turning in circles or changing formations, with a lively atmosphere and strong mass appeal.
Contemporary Tujia dancers include Vice Head Yu Daming of the Erpao Song and Dance Ensemble and Xu Wanzhi, a first-class performer of the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble, among others. The Tujia dances they created and choreographed have won awards many times in national dance competitions.
(3) Drama
Drama in Tujia areas emerged somewhat later than poetry and music-dance. Before the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials, the sprouts of drama had already appeared in song-and-dance performances. After the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials, Nuoyuan opera and Tudi opera appeared. By the time of the founding of New China, Youxi opera, Nanxi opera, and Sichuan opera, through dissemination, absorption, and transformation, had become local opera genres loved by the Tujia.
Maogusi is called "Bobuka" in the Tujia language. It is an ancient drama in a budding state popular in Yongshun and Guzhang, and is mostly performed after the Hand-waving Dance in early spring. It is said that the characters in the play are all Tujia ancestors, and their bodies are covered with hair. Performers are wrapped all over with rice straw to symbolize hair people, and sometimes as many as 15 people appear. Generally five scenes are performed: hunting (chasing in battle), farming, fishing, welcoming a new bride, and a teacher teaching reading, with one scene each night and a full audience every time.
Yinhuagu and Naoniange. The "Yinhuagu" popular among the Tujia in Hefeng and the "Naoniange" (also called "Huang Sijie") once prevalent in Jianshi are also local small song performances with primitive dramatic qualities. Their content includes plots about Tujia origins and migration, fishing, hunting, and farming activities, and stories of indignation and resistance against rulers in history. The content is relatively simple, and the form is flexible and changeable.
Nuoyuan Opera. This is a religious ritual drama of the Tujia for rewarding the Nuo deity. Before the founding of New China, the "laoshizi" (that is, Tujia ritual masters) of Hefeng usually performed it in the homes of those who needed to fulfill a Nuo vow. At first, what was sung was mainly the content of religious scriptures, with folk stories occasionally inserted, and the vocal styles and qupai were not very fixed. Later, after long evolution, Nuoyuan opera developed distinct roles and included spoken parts, and its vocal styles and qupai developed to more than 30. The number of Nuo opera repertoire items increased to as many as more than 200. Among them, "Qingjiazhuang" has an anti-feudal character, "Da Jinyin" attacks evildoers and bad deeds, and "White-Nosed Tuwang" exposes the cruelty of the tusi.
Nanxi Opera. It evolved from the Han opera transmitted from the Jinghu region to western Hubei after the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials. It absorbed some strengths of Sichuan opera, Huagu opera, and Kunqu, and developed into an opera genre loved by the Tujia of western Hubei. Its vocal styles, music, repertoire, and performance conventions are basically the same as those of Han opera. Among the roles, sheng and dan are primary, and the content is mostly historical themes. Before the founding of New China, there were Nanxi opera training classes in Tujia concentrated areas such as Laifeng and Xianfeng, and they often performed in the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou border area and were loved by people of all ethnic groups.
Youxi Opera, also called Dengxi opera, is popular in Yongshun, Longshan, Baojing, Guzhang, and other places. It is a local small opera that emerged in Yongshun in the late Qing Dynasty. At first it was created by some Han artisans, but it always grew in the soil of Tujia areas and became one of the opera genres most loved by the Tujia masses in western Hunan. Its repertoire includes more than 100 items, such as "Shanbo Visits a Friend," "Hundred-Day Fate," "Mulberry-Picking Gathering," "Driving the Shoulder Pole," "Huaiyin Gathering," and "Huaiyin Parting."
Liuzi Opera, also called Yangxi opera and commonly known as "Yanghualiu," is a variant of Nuo opera. The opera is divided into the three role types of sheng, dan, and chou, and later, influenced by large operas, it also had jing roles. Its main tune has two ways of singing: one uses the natural voice in a level tune, with the final note not rising, called "old Liuzi"; the other combines true and falsetto voices, with the final note raised an octave, called "new Liuzi." Liuzi opera has more than 100 traditional repertoire items. Commonly performed are the "three beatings" and "three killings," namely "Da Jinyin," "Da Luhua," "Da Bao Jiu Zhu," "Hou Qi Kills His Mother," "Cao An Kills His Son," and "Song Jiang Kills His Wife." In addition, small operas reflecting family life are commonly called "one-family small operas," and transplanted Southern opera pieces about the Yang family generals and the Three Kingdoms are called "one-country operas." Others, such as "Ling Ge Cures Tobacco," "Sweeping the Floor and Hanging a Picture," "The Fool Returns to His Bride's Home," and "Gu Tunzi Welcomes His Sister," are also very popular among the masses.
Tangxi Opera, also called Caitang opera, is popular in Badong. During the Spring Festival and the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, artists gather into troupes and are invited to a certain household to celebrate the New Year. They hang a back curtain in the main hall, place a table at the side for the band, and set up a stage in the center using door planks. Before the performance, a xiaodan first goes on stage to perform "sending characters" and "hanging pictures" to congratulate the host, called "dingtai," and the performance ends at dawn. On occasions such as building a new house or celebrating a harvest, when rewarding deities and making vows, a troupe is also invited to sing Tangxi opera. Tangxi roles are divided into the four types of sheng, dan, jing, and chou. The vocal music is divided into two categories: one belongs to the Liangshan tune system, with the large tongzi huqin as the main instrument, called "large tongzi tune" or "Yanghualiu tune" or "Dengxi tune"; the other belongs to the north-south route (Pihuang) system, with the jinghu as the main instrument, called "small tongzi tune." The two types of vocal music have different styles and can be performed on the same stage, but not in the same play.
In addition, local opera genres welcomed by the masses, such as Sichuan opera, shadow puppetry, and puppet theater, are also relatively popular in Tujia areas. In the area of quyi, there are Huagu, Sanbanggu, Sancaiban, Sixian, Xiaodiao, Yangqin, Jiuzibian, Yugu, and others, which are also entertainment forms loved by the Tujia people.
(4) Arts and Crafts
Tujia arts and crafts are diverse and fully reflect their wisdom and talent. They are mainly expressed in handmade products and buildings. In handmade arts, there are mainly textiles, weaving, and embroidery. In terms of textiles, as early as the Qin and Han dynasties the ancestors of the Tujia could weave finely crafted fine cloth, known in history as "laibu." Later, the "Dong brocade" woven by some ethnic groups in central-south and southwest China, including the Tujia, was also long famous throughout the world. In the Song dynasty, the "Xibu" and "Dong brocade" woven by local people were already famous products presented as tribute by "native chieftains" to the Song court. The "Xilankapu" with Tujia characteristics (called "Tuhua bedcover" in Chinese) actually originated from this. The legend of "Hundred Flowers" circulated before the founding of New China fully shows that Tujia girls are clever and skillful, good at colorful weaving, and that the Tuhua bedcover is a distinctive ethnic handicraft.
Tujia girls begin learning to make shoes, do cross-stitch embroidery, and embroider from the age of eleven or twelve, and then learn colorful weaving. When they marry, they must have a successfully hand-woven Tuhua bedcover as part of their dowry; otherwise, they will be looked down upon by people in the village. They rise early and go to bed late, stay up through the night, and painstakingly weave their beloved Tuhua bedcovers with exquisite workmanship. It is made by joining three pieces of colorful weaving, with flowered borders woven at both ends of each piece, forming a complete and beautiful pattern. Its woven patterns can be divided into three categories: first, patterns taken from natural objects; second, geometric patterns; and third, text patterns. According to surveys, there are about 80 to 120 kinds of Tuhua bedcover patterns, with a great variety of names. Themes include wild flowers, insect-and-bird flowers, butterflies in love with flowers, magpies frolicking among plum blossoms, peacocks spreading their tails, and auspiciousness and good fortune. For example, "Reunion Moon" not only reflects the Tujia people's love for nature and their yearning for and pursuit of a happy life, but also reveals their beautiful ideals and true feelings in opening up the mountain areas. The Qing dynasty anonymous work "Xizhou Zhuzhici" once praised "Xilankapu": "The phoenix gathering peonies is not considered skillful; eight round clusters of peonies are full and lush." From this one can also see the exquisiteness of Tujia colorful weaving.
Cross-stitch, qianhua, embroidery, and paper-cutting are also very prevalent among the people. Cross-stitch and qianhua (also called zhuanghua) mostly use white homespun cloth as the base, with threads of many colors used to make pictures on the base cloth (cross-stitch uses black thread, qianhua uses colored thread), reflecting Tujia women's love of life. The same is true of embroidery, which is mostly used for decoration; for example, Tujia women's clothing is embroidered and trimmed with exquisite lace. Bed sheets, curtain valances, pillows, handkerchiefs, and ribbons all have such beautiful and elegant works. Before the founding of New China, the Tujia had such a lyric song: "The white cloth handkerchief has four corners, and on the four corners are embroidered wild geese. Even if the handkerchief wears out, the wild geese remain; one does not look at talent but at the hands and feet." This shows that Tujia girls are skilled at embroidery. Such arts and crafts have novel patterns, exquisite designs, bright colors, and clear lines, demonstrating the creative ability of the Tujia people.
The making of gold and silver jewelry is also called cuohua, and there are craftsmen who specialize in this art. Tujia women's jewelry, such as the "Palian" worn on the head, silver flowers on clothing, as well as earrings, necklaces, gold and silver locks, bracelets, and rings, are all very exquisite; the cool hats, dog hats, and turtledove hats worn by children, in addition to having lifelike embroidery, must also be studded with silver flowers, "flower-character plaques," "Eighteen Arhats," and the like.
The bamboo back baskets, back carriers, and handled baskets woven by the Tujia are also very exquisite, sturdy, and practical. There are many forms of baskets, generally larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, forming a trumpet shape. Various patterns are woven on the baskets, but geometric patterns are still the most common. The same is true of back carriers, whose uses are even broader. Mountain-area people are almost "never without a basket on the back, never without a basket at hand"; whether for production or daily life, they must use them.
In painting, architecture, carving, and other areas, although they were deeply influenced by Han culture, the parts related to religious belief also have quite distinctive ethnic forms and styles. The main transmitters of traditional painting art in Tujia areas are painters, carpenters, and stonemasons, and women skilled in embroidery can also paint. Painting is mainly done on furniture, walls, roof beams, dougong brackets, rock cliffs, and cool bridges. Wood carving and stone carving are first painted and then carved, and cross-stitch patterns are first painted and then embroidered, all of which require painting skills. Folk painting generally uses only red and black, and when painting on white walls and rock cliffs, generally only black is used. Egg white and the like are mixed into the black ink, so the pictures are glossy and do not fade over time. Paintings on roof beams, cool bridges, and furniture mostly use red and black, and egg white and other substances are also mixed into the pigments, so the pictures remain bright and eye-catching even after decades. Common painting patterns include bat designs, as well as "Five Tigers Present Longevity," "Phoenix Pierces Peony," and "Egret Steps on Lotus." For example, newly built structures such as the Hand-waving Hall in Laifeng and the Bu'ermen Hot Spring Guesthouse in Yongshun have majestic and spectacular towers, terraces, pavilions, and chambers, and also employ superb painting techniques. Layer upon layer of upturned eaves and battlement-like forms, and horizontal beams and dougong brackets everywhere, are painted with colorful pictures in prominent places, either Xilankapu patterns, or paired butterflies and peonies, or golden-net ribbons, or golden melon and gourd designs, making the eye dazzled and visitors linger. The late Qing ancient building complex in Dashuijing, Lichuan, the Li Family Ancestral Hall, also very well preserves the artistic achievements of folk painting. Flower terraces, flower vats, colorful towers, doors, and windows are all painted with colorful pictures. On the horizontal beams of the main hall, the "Lecture Hall," fan-shaped wooden screens are installed, and each screen is painted with designs such as "Hard Study," "Diligent Farming," "Night Weaving," and "Return of the Woodcutter." Under the eaves of the main gate are inlaid pictures of birds and beasts made from broken porcelain, and beside the gatehouse there are also two exquisite glazed murals, "Luoyang Bridge" and "Yellow Crane Tower." Later, batch after batch of ethnic art talent was trained, using the unique folk customs of their own ethnic group as subject matter and creating many highly accomplished works of art. For example, works by seven people including Xiang Naiwan and Li Zinan of western Hunan participated in the "Hunan Province Minority Fine Arts Works Exhibition" celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Party and were sent to Beijing for exhibition. In 1988, four children's paintings from western Hubei participated in the "First National Minority Children's Painting Exhibition," among which "Flowers Embroidered by Mother" won an excellence award. In 1991, Lichuan City of western Hubei held the "Lichuan City Minority Children's Fine Arts Exhibition" at the Wuhan Art Museum, displaying 80 outstanding works. In 1991, ten children's paintings reflecting Tujia customs from western Hubei participated in the "Children's World International Painting Exhibition" held in Czechoslovakia, among which "Tujia Market Town" and "New Clothes" won individual awards. The print "Nostalgia," reflecting Tujia life in western Hubei, participated in the 1987 Hong Kong Small Print Exhibition; the Chinese paintings "Treading the Waves" and "Sending Flying Springs from Ten-Thousand-Zhang Ravines" were selected as works for overseas exhibition. The peasant paintings from Changyang, "Tujia Customs," "Abundant Harvest of Wood and Catalpa," and "Road to Wealth," all won second prizes in the 1983 National Peasant Painting Exhibition and were published respectively in "Collection of Chinese Peasant Paintings" and the "Hubei Daily Pictorial"; "Tujia Customs" was also collected by the National Art Museum of China. The Chinese painting "Going to School," the fine-brush painting "Flowers and Birds," and the woodcut "Waiting for Dad" from Xiushan all appeared in Sichuan Province fine arts exhibitions.
Tujia folk art is abundantly expressed in shrine architecture and decoration. Shizhou's Tang dynasty temple architecture, and even more so the Xianfo Temple Buddha statue grottoes built no later than the first year of Xiankang in the Five Dynasties (925) (within present-day Laifeng), are representative. It is a comprehensive artistic complex of ancient Tujia architecture, painting, and sculpture. The Xiankang Buddha grottoes consist of three large arched grottoes and a row of small grottoes at the southern end, with a total length of 35 meters. There are three large cliff-carved Buddha statues, each 5.5 meters high: the central large Buddha, with four small Buddhas on the left and right; the large Buddhas on both sides are each accompanied by two small Buddhas, and the small Buddhas are all 2 meters high. At the southern end of the large Buddhas is a small Buddhist statue group grotto, with 19 small Buddhas, each 1 meter high. The sculptural technique is superb: the large Buddhas are tall and majestic, and the small Buddhas each have their own expression, rich in the flavor of their era and locality. The Zushi Hall at the Old Tusi City in Yongshun is an ancient building from 937. As historical records say: "The main hall has four columns, several arm-spans around, with wooden beams above; where they join by mortise and tenon there are no marks of axe or chisel, and to this day it is not crooked; truly divine workmanship." Among them is a cast bronze statue weighing 9 jin, "holding the Seven-Star Sword, its radiance dazzling the eyes," showing how extraordinarily exquisite it is. The Xizhou bronze pillar erected in 940, the fifth year of Tianfu of the Later Jin, on the opposite bank of Huixiping in Yongshun, is evidence of the Ma-Peng alliance. "Five thousand jin of copper were cast into a pillar and erected in Xizhou; the pillar is one zhang two chi high, entering the ground six chi." The bronze pillar is octagonal and slightly rounded, hollow, and it is said that inside were actually large coins, with a copper top covering it. As a cast object, it is dignified and generous. Originally it bore 2,118 characters in regular script, neat and elegant, and its base is carved with a stone lotus platform, also extremely delicate and clear, with distinct lines. During the Wanli period of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming dynasty (1573-1620), the stone carvings of people and horses and the tomb reliefs in the shrine established by Tangya tusi Qin Ding have relatively high artistic value. The stone horse is 2.4 meters tall and 3 meters long, showing a strong yet kindly appearance; the stone figure is 2 meters tall, carrying an umbrella and holding the reins, presenting the heroic posture characteristic of Tujia soldiers. From the perspective of sculptural art, there is refinement within the rough and variation within stillness. The Xiangwang Tianzi Temple and Hand-waving Hall in Tujia areas preserve to a certain extent the style of ancient Tujia architectural art. The Shemihu Hand-waving Hall at Maodong by the Youshui River is relatively completely preserved. Its architecture can mainly be divided into two parts: the Tuwang Shrine and the hand-waving ground. Within the gate formed like a memorial archway, short walls enclose a deep and long rectangular hand-waving ground; at the end is the Tuwang Shrine. Between the gate and the shrine there is a corridor, beside which ancient willows stand in rows and red lanterns can be hung high. Whenever the Tujia hold ancestor worship, prayers for a good year, divine judgments, vow fulfillment, spring welcoming, singing and dancing, or athletic contests, they are mostly held there. The shrine is a stone-and-tile architectural structure, simple and heavy, plain and unadorned, quiet and profound, with a unique style. It is precisely these ancient buildings that preserve the practical arts and crafts handed down by the Tujia ancestors, such as wood carving, stone carving, colored painting, and rock art.