New Perspectives on Miao History and Culture in the Li River Basin of Zhangjiajie
The Li River basin has been a place where Tujia and Miao peoples have lived together since ancient times, with over 33,000 Miao people in total. Among them, Zhangjiajie City has 27,250 Miao people, and Hefeng County has 6,209 Miao people. The Miao call themselves "Guoxiong," and historical documents refer to the Miao ancestors as "Miao." The name "Miao" originates from the "Sanmiao" of the Yao and Shun period. The ethnic origins of the Miao include...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
The Li River basin has since ancient times been a place where Tujia and Miao people lived together, with a total of more than 33,000 Miao people. Among them, Zhangjiajie City has 27,250 Miao people, and Hefeng County has 6,209 Miao people.
The Miao people call themselves "Guoxiong," and historical documents refer to the Miao ancestors as "Miao." The name "Miao" originates from the "Sanmiao" of the Yao and Shun period. Theories on Miao ethnic origin include the Sanmiao theory and the Huandou theory. The Miao originated from the "Jiuli" of the Yan-Huang period and the "Sanmiao" of the Yao-Shun period. Five thousand years ago, after the Jiuli tribe was defeated by the Yan-Huang tribal alliance at Zhuolu, it retreated to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and developed anew. By the Yao-Shun period, the "Sanmiao" tribe had formed.
More than 4,200 years ago, Emperor Shun exiled Huandou to Chongshan in the Li River basin. The Records of the Grand Historian states: "Huandou was exiled to Chongshan, to transform the Southern Man." The Huandou tribe set out from Danshui in Henan, crossed the Yangtze River, traced the Li River upstream, and came to settle at Chongshan. The Miao epic "Xiuba Xiuma" describes the Miao migration: "Coming up from Lixian in Lizhou, coming up from Taohua Creek and Taohua Gully, coming up from Taohua Garden and Taohua Cave... walking up along the long river, moving up along the high mountains. Passing through vast forests where you look up and cannot see the sky, rushing through winding rapids and dangerous shoals..." They finally migrated to Chongshan (called Gaorong Bazou in the Miao language). After Huandou died, he was buried at Chongshan, and his descendants evolved into the Miao "Gahuandou." From then on, the Chongshan area became the center of Miao ancestral activities. In Miao-distributed counties such as Yongding District, Luxi County, and Huayuan County, there are many historical and cultural records of Chongshan, Huandou's tomb, Huandou Temple, and the Huandou tripod. The Ming Dynasty "Wanli Cili County Gazetteer" records: "Chongshan is more than a hundred li west of the county; Shun exiled Huandou to Chongshan, namely this place." "Huandou" has great influence among the Miao, and the Miao Shi surname reveres Huandou as their ancestor. In the Miao language, the Miao Shi surname of northwestern Hunan is called "Gahuandou," and the Shi surname is divided into major and minor; remarkably, the Miao language directly calls the "major Shi surname" "Huandou," proving that the Miao Shi surname is descended from the Huandou tribe.
The Miao ancestor Zhang Hanchen of Sangzhi County was a native of Luxi County, Chenzhou Prefecture, and moved to Jiuxi Guard's Anfu Office during the Ming Dynasty. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Miao ancestor Shi Duofeng moved to Banaping in Shanghexi, Sangzhi County. In the early Ming Dynasty, Shi Tingfang and others moved to Yongding and multiplied many Miao descendants in places such as Meijiaping and Shijiapu. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the Miao man Long Tingzhou moved from Huayuan County to Yongding Guard, and his descendants gathered in Baiyangpo, Longjiazui, and other places. The Miao man Shi Zhongyi and his brothers moved from Yuanling County to Haxi, Shijiawan, and other places in Yongding Guard. Zhang Hongbing and others of Yangping Village, Yanghe Tujia Township, Cili County, had an ancestor Zhang Ling who moved from Bajinzhai in Jishou City during the Qing Dynasty.
The Miao people have created precious literature and art over the long course of history. Miao folk literature is divided into three major compilations: folk songs, folk tales, and proverbs. Folk songs are divided into epics, ancient songs, bitter songs, narrative songs, labor songs, custom songs, uprising songs, love songs, children's songs, and so on. Singable verse works include "Migration Song," "Labor Song," "Marriage Proposal Song," "Panlong Song," "Longing for the Red Army," "Sending My Son to Join the Red Army," "The Miao Family Misses the Red Army," "First Love Song," "Song of Betrothal," and others. Folk tales include "The Story of Leigong and Gaobi," "The Legend of Chongshan," "How the Lusheng Came to Be Played," "Lying Jiangshan," "The Shi Surname Does Not Eat Dog Meat," "The Long Family Sisters," "The Red Army Tree," and others. Miao folk art is divided into four categories: music, dance, drama, and crafts. Music is further divided into Miao songs and musical instruments. Miao songs are divided by tune into high-pitched and level-pitched types; instruments are divided by playing method into percussion and wind instruments. Percussion instruments include bronze drums, bronze gongs, bronze cymbals, and bells. Wind instruments include suona, lusheng, long horn, and vertical flute. Miao dances include the wooden drum dance, lusheng dance, incense-jumping dance, and dragon-welcoming dance. Miao drama includes Nuotang opera, flower drum opera, and Miao opera. Miao crafts include embroidery, cross-stitch, woven flower belts, woven baskets, woven back baskets, batik, and silver ornaments. Among them, Miao embroidery, flower belts, Miao brocade, Miao silver ornaments, batik clothing, and rice baskets have become tourist souvenirs of the Zhangjiajie scenic area, loved by countless visitors from home and abroad.
The Miao people have preserved relatively unique living customs and folk beliefs. Miao men wrap their heads in blue cloth turbans, wear front-buttoned short jackets, and short, wide trousers with blue cloth leg wrappings. Women wrap their heads in patterned handkerchiefs, wear shoulder-padded large-front jackets with wide, short sleeves and no collar, with embroidered borders on the chest and cuffs; their trouser legs are short and wide, with inlaid floral borders, and they wear silver crowns, neck rings, capes, and other silver ornaments. The Miao love tea oil and enjoy flavored dishes such as cured meat, cured fish, pickled vegetables, and clay-pot braised dog meat. Miao dwellings include both single-story houses and multi-story buildings. Miao marriage has two forms: arranged marriage and self-determined marriage. Marriage is mainly based on free choice, such as during festivals, song gatherings, or market days, when men and women sing antiphonally to express mutual affection. Some have the man ask a matchmaker to propose. After obtaining the woman's parents' consent, they choose a day for betrothal, called "taking the eight characters." When the wedding date arrives, relatives are sent to escort the bride. The bride walks or rides a sedan chair to the groom's home. After entering the door, they drink the union cup, but do not bow to heaven and earth. After the wedding ceremony, they celebrate for a day. After midnight, the groom and bride cannot share a bed. Only after the guests have all dispersed the next day can they live together. Hence a Miao proverb says: "On the wedding night, accompany the guests; man and woman may not share the bed." Miao festivals include the lunar "Third Day of the Third Month Antiphonal Singing Festival," the "Eighth Day of the Fourth Month Gathering," as well as the "Fifteenth Day of the Seventh Month Lusheng Festival" and the "Beginning of Autumn Autumn-Catching Festival." Miao funeral customs include announcing the death, encoffining, mourning, circling the coffin, escorting the funeral, and burial. Miao belief is a polytheistic belief evolved from "all things have spirits." Sacrificial activities include ox sacrifice, pig sacrifice, ancestor worship, dragon welcoming, and redeeming Nuotang vows. Dragon welcoming is a prayer held by wealthy Miao families to seek family prosperity. Some Miao people believe in orthodox religions.