Zhangjiajie Ethnic Customs
The ethnic minorities of Dayong, mainly Tujia and Bai, are known as 'mountain peoples,' with a character as solid as the mountains and as simple as the waters. The harsh primitive environment and dramatic social changes shaped their distinctive character and gave rise to unique ethnic customs. The Qing juren Jin Derong, on his way to assume office as Yongding magistrate...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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 ethnic minorities of Dayong City are mainly the Tujia and Bai, and have long been known as a "mountain people." Their ethnic temperament is like the solidity of the mountains and the simplicity of the waters. The primitive and perilous ecological environment and the great social upheavals gave these minority peoples a special character and nurtured uniquely distinctive ethnic customs. Jin Derong, a Qing dynasty juren who went to serve as magistrate of Yongding, once wrote "Forty Rhymes on the Local Customs of Yongding" to explore their mystery: "If you would ask about the customs of Dayong, / Chong Mountain follows the auspices of the Shun canon. / Since the Ming opened the registers, / from ancient times it belonged to the wilds. ... / A faint wind brings miasma, / the first sun stirs the mountain mist. / The place is remote and sparsely populated, / the sky low and the birds' paths long... / The people are diligent in farming, / the soil itself joins the immortal land... / They are fond of shamans and witch doctors, / and their customs especially favor prayer and sacrifice... / Great clans revere ancestral halls, / and in good years they hold Daoist rites... / Oil is pressed from tung seeds for taxes, / wine is brewed with the fragrance of ligustrum... / Painted boats clamor on summer noons, / village drums compete in the spring sun..." There is also the Yongding County Gazetteer, which says: "The people's feelings are sincere and simple; the soil is rich and the customs are pure." The Kangxi Yongding Guard Gazetteer records the customs of Dayong: "The Chu wind is vigorous and strong, and its defect often flows into indignation. Yongding is attached to the Chu border; its customs still value simplicity and purity, and it still preserves the lingering ways of the Central Plains." "The men are honest and the women simple; by nature they are diligent in farming and devote themselves to weaving, and do not pursue commerce or cleverness in order to indulge their feelings... they rather esteem frugality and plainness..." In olden times the tusi were the supreme authority in the market area, combining political, military, and financial powers in one person. Before the replacement of native officials with centrally appointed ones, Yongding had the Qin tusi of Maogang, and Sangzhi had the Xiang tusi, and so on. The Xiang tusi was once powerful and became the leader of the various tusi of western Hunan (Xiang Guodong). The old gazetteer says: "The tusi each divided their tribes into banners, and each banner had its chief, who governed households, each attached to the various prefectural offices and under the overall command of the general office. In times of trouble they were mobilized as soldiers to carry out campaigns; in times of peace they dispersed as common people to practice farming and digging. If a native committed a minor crime, the native subprefectural magistrate governed it; if major, the tusi himself judged it. If a guest household committed an offense, it was handed over to the jingli, for the jingli was the official for guests." "The tusi called himself 'this noble,' and the native people called him 'Lord Noble.' His native people were divided among the various banners. When a child was born, male or female, it was at once reported and written in the register; when grown, they served as corvée. Taxes and levies had no fixed name, and punishment, killing, arbitrary confiscation, and sale were all done as he pleased. Whenever he went out, his guards and attendants were quite numerous, and the native people who saw him lined the roads. It is commonly said that the tusi could kill people without requesting imperial approval, and that when relatives died he did not observe mourning, and so people feared him." (Yongshun Prefecture Gazetteer) The Tujia were fond of martial arts and slighted letters: "Most tie up their books and do not read them, and so very few pass the provincial examinations." (Hefeng Prefecture Gazetteer) The Tujia people were good at warfare and believed in ghosts and favored shamans. "When going out on campaign, they tied an ox before the god and cut off the ox's head with a knife to divine victory or defeat. If the ox advanced, it meant victory; if it retreated, defeat; if it retreated and then advanced again, it meant first defeat and then victory. They took this as a test. Although their love of life and hatred of death was the same as other people's, their delight in battle and contempt for life was indeed their constant nature." (Wanli Cili County Gazetteer, juan 17) Dayong has many ethnic minorities, and the customs of each ethnic group not only preserve their traditional elements but also have mutually penetrated and transformed one another, and in some local areas have even reached a state of fusion; for example, the seasonal festivals and food, lodging, and daily life are quite similar.