Study of Institutional Culture in Ancient Tujia Society—Education System Culture (II)
Section 2: Educational Content and Methods. In terms of content and purpose, ancient education in Tujia areas shared certain similarities with ancient education in Han areas—namely, emphasis on instilling Confucian culture and moral education, with the civil service examination as the value orientation of ethnic education. Meanwhile, ancient education in Tujia areas always attended to local...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
Section 2 Educational Content and Educational Methods
In terms of educational content and educational purpose, ancient education in Tujia areas had certain similarities with ancient education in Han areas, namely, it emphasized the inculcation of Confucian culture and the moral instruction of Confucianism, and took the imperial examination system for selecting officials as the value orientation of ethnic education. At the same time, ancient education in Tujia areas always focused on the survival and development of the ethnic group and placed the preservation and development of ethnic culture first in ethnic education. Therefore, the educational content and educational methods of its ancient education had strong ethnic characteristics.
I. Educational Content
In addition to emphasizing moral instruction and knowledge transmission, ancient Tujia education also emphasized ethnic history education and ethnic art education. Therefore, the selection of its educational content was strongly ethnic in nature. These educational contents reflecting ethnic characteristics were mainly completed through folk education.
(1) Moral Education
Moral education was an important part of ancient Tujia education. The Tujia have always retained traditional virtues such as respecting the elderly and caring for the young, being kind to others, taking pleasure in helping others, being warm and hospitable, and treating others with sincerity. These moral concepts permeated Tujia family life and social life, reflecting the value orientation of Tujia moral education with its emphasis on ethics, family, and community, and also reflecting the ethnic character of Tujia moral education. This is because the moral system and moral norms of every ethnic group originate from the living soil of its traditional culture and from the ethnic group's own awareness of and pursuit of moral needs.
Respecting the elderly and caring for the young was an important part of traditional Tujia moral education. The Qianlong-era Laifeng County Gazetteer records, "Let all of us, old and young, encourage one another: as ministers, be loyal; as children, be filial; let there be order between elders and juniors, and friendliness and respect between brothers; within, be harmonious with kin; without, be in accord with village neighbors." "All fathers and elder brothers should certainly take care to instruct and supervise; and younger brothers and sons should especially devote themselves to study, so that as days and months transform them, a heart of filial piety, fraternal duty, propriety, and yielding will arise spontaneously." Mao Junde, the first magistrate of Hefeng, in his "Notice on Broadly Establishing Schools," listed respecting the elderly and caring for the young as important educational content: "Since you are all subjects of a sage age, you should gradually receive the supreme teachings of the sages; invite teachers into the schools and teach them the cardinal principles and ritual propriety, the five constant virtues of human relations." Moral education on fairness and good faith was embodied in Tujia production activities. For example, the Tujia "ganzhang," or hunting activity, reflected from beginning to end a spirit of unity, friendship, and cooperative labor. The principle for distributing the game obtained stipulated that, apart from the hunter receiving the animal skin, head, and blood-mouth meat as a reward, the rest was divided equally according to the principle of "in surround hunting and driven hunting, all who see have a share," reflecting the Tujia moral custom of common labor and common enjoyment of the fruits of labor. Family harmony was also one of the important contents of traditional Tujia moral education. At New Year, the Tujia must eat "mixed dish," commonly called "reunion dish." It is made by cooking radish, tofu, potato, cabbage, garlic, and cured meat together in one pot. On New Year's Eve, the whole family eats "mixed dish," symbolizing family reunion and harmony. In handling interpersonal relations, the Tujia stress treating others with sincerity. For example, when Tujia people in western Hubei kill a pig at New Year, if a passerby happens to come by, they will insist without discussion on keeping the guest for a meal; if the guest declines, they will chase after them with a knife until the other party is forced to eat and drink heartily before being allowed to leave. The Tujia's forthright and generous feelings are fully expressed.
(2) Historical Education
Ethnic history education was one of the important contents of ancient Tujia education. Using myths and epics as teaching materials and transmitting them orally from ear to ear, the Tujia passed down the arduous history of their ancestors overcoming layer upon layer of difficulties and developing the Wuling mountain region. "Making Heaven and Earth," "Yongni Busuo," and the "Hand-Waving Song" are not only creation epics recording the life and reproduction of the Tujia, but also vivid teaching materials for Tujia ethnic history education.
"Making Heaven and Earth" mainly tells of the re-creation of heaven and earth and the creation of humans by the heavenly god. In the form of myth and legend, the work recounts the process by which the heavenly god Motieba created humanity. "Yongni Busuo" tells how, after humanity suffered the catastrophe of a great flood, the heavenly god Motieba saved humanity and caused humans to multiply again. These two creation myths are the Tujia ancestors' understanding of human origins. They not only reflect the Tujia cosmological view of "natural generation," but also reflect the Tujia historical moral view of the "two poles of good and evil." From the content of the creation myths, the Tujia ancestors took whether something was beneficial to the survival and reproduction of the ethnic group as the standard for judging good and evil. The heavenly god Motieba saving humanity was "good"; the Thunder God sending a flood to destroy humanity was "evil." It can thus be seen that the core of early Tujia ethics and morality was concern for the life and reproduction of the ethnic group, and their judgment of good and evil was embodied in their mythological imagination. This historical moral view of the "two poles of good and evil" had a profound influence on later moral education. Later moral customs such as tolerance, good faith, and mutual aid were all derived from it, because these behaviors and manifestations were fundamentally beneficial to the survival and development of the ethnic group. As vivid teaching materials for ethnic history education, "Making Heaven and Earth" and "Yongni Busuo" placed the understanding of ethnic origins within mythological imagination, reflecting the rational thinking ability of the Tujia ancestors in exploring the sources of ethnic culture.
The "Hand-Waving Song" is a heroic epic recording the arduous pioneering of the Tujia. Its entire content is divided into four parts: "Song of Human Origins," "Song of Ethnic Migration," "Song of Farming and Production," and "Song of Heroic Stories." Among them, the "Song of Ethnic Migration" praises the pioneering spirit of Grandpa Shenba and Grandma Shenba in braving difficulties and dangers to establish the Tujia foundation; the "Song of Farming and Production" expresses the optimistic spirit of the Tujia ancestors in loving labor and living and working in peace and contentment; and the "Song of Heroic Stories" praises the fighting spirit of the Tujia pioneering ancestors in defying brutal force and daring to resist. Therefore, the ethnological value of the "Hand-Waving Song" lies not only in its gathering of the rich life experience of the Tujia and the specific cultural items of the ethnic group, but also in its recording of the historical process of change in the life and reproduction of the Tujia. The process of transmitting the "Hand-Waving Song" is in fact the process through which the Tujia experience ethnic history education.
(3) Skill Education
The Tujia, who have lived for generations in the Wuling mountain region, gradually explored, in the historical process of ethnic survival and development, production methods and ways of life suited to the needs of their own ethnic development, and accumulated rich production skills and life skills. These production skills and life skills were passed down from generation to generation through teaching by words and example and oral transmission from ear to ear, and became important contents of traditional Tujia education.
Agricultural production was the main mode of production of the Tujia. In long-term productive labor, the Tujia explored and accumulated many production skills in farming methods, crop cultivation, and livestock and poultry raising. In terms of farming methods, the Tujia underwent a transition from slash-and-burn cultivation to opening land and building fields. In the era of a fishing-and-hunting economy, felling trees and burning swidden, using fertile soil and ash as fertilizer, and sowing miscellaneous grains such as broomcorn millet, millet, foxtail millet, and buckwheat on the spot constituted the entire content of the slash-and-burn production method. Because this production method could not increase grain yields, it was ultimately replaced by the production method of opening land and building fields. The Tujia built stone embankments on cleared slope land to conserve soil and create terraced fields. With the spread of rice cultivation, terraced fields with water sources were then converted into paddy fields. Thus, in Tujia areas, terraced fields winding around mountains and streams and linked layer upon layer gradually took shape. In terms of crop cultivation, the Tujia's grain crops mainly included rice, corn, and wheat; cash crops mainly included cotton, hemp, tobacco, peanuts, and rapeseed. In cultivating grain and cash crops, the Tujia paid attention to adapting measures to local conditions and fine management, determining cultivation methods and management methods according to the farming system and crop habits. The Tujia also attached great importance to vegetable cultivation: in spring they planted cucumber, pumpkin, winter melon, bitter melon, loofah, and chili; in summer they planted lotus root, carrot, and taro; in autumn they planted Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, and chives; in winter they planted lettuce, peas, and amaranth. In livestock and poultry raising, the Tujia accumulated a complete set of raising methods. Pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, and ducks were the main domestic livestock and poultry of the Tujia. Pigs were mostly raised in large pens and piglets were free-range, and they customarily raised black pigs because the Tujia taboo white. The Tujia were very meticulous in raising and protecting cattle. Every household had a cattle pen, with thick wooden boards laid on the bottom, and beneath the boards was a manure pit. Wooden fences were installed around the cattle pen, with the upper section ventilated to prevent heat and the lower section tightly sealed to prevent cold. The top floor was laid with strips of wood or boards for the cattle keeper to spread bedding and sleep. Tujia areas were suitable for beekeeping and sericulture. Tujia beekeeping was customarily domestic. Beekeepers' homes were equipped with round beehives, coated on the inside with honey and placed in sunny yet cool places on corner wooden buildings. If a swarming colony of bees was suddenly seen flying past, they would beat bamboo tubes, winnowing baskets, and other sound-making objects to retain them. Sericulture was also one of the Tujia's favorite activities. There were two kinds of silkworms, mulberry silkworms and oak silkworms. Mulberry silkworms generally hatched in spring, spun cocoons and were reeled in summer, and seed cocoons were left to emerge as moths and lay eggs for seed. Oak silkworms overwintered as pupae, underwent a period of low-temperature diapause, and then emerged and laid eggs. Mulberry silkworms were fed mulberry leaves, and oak silkworms were fed coriaria leaves. The many production skills of the Tujia were continuously enriched and perfected along with the growth and development of the Tujia. Therefore, the education of Tujia production skills began from the very moment this ethnic group came into being and developed continuously with the passage of time.
The Tujia people live in a specific environment, and through their long real-life experiences, they gradually learned various life skills. In terms of clothing and adornments, initially, Tujia men and women wore colorful floral garments (pipa skirts) and eight-panel skirts. Adult men generally wrapped their heads with black cloth turbans, some wrapping the cloth into a 'ren' (person) shape, with the 'ren' shape appearing on the forehead and a section hanging down past the ear on the left side. The elderly wore full-front garments with short collars and tied waistbands. Young and middle-aged adults wore chest-facing garments with cloth buttons, high collars, and small but long sleeves with rolled cuffs. Pants were the same for all ages, made of blue or black cloth with white waistbands, and the pant legs were wide and short. Footwear was also particular: the elderly wore elephant-nose shoes, while young and middle-aged adults wore tile shoes, both with black cloth uppers and white cloth linings. The elderly wore cloth socks, and young and middle-aged adults wrapped their feet with cloth. Later, except for some elderly who continued to wear full-front garments, most men wore lightweight chest-facing garments and Zhongshan suits. Tujia women's clothing is more elaborate. Elderly women wear a black cloth turban, a short-collared, full-front garment with rolled edges in black or blue cloth, and black or blue trousers with a white waistband. Middle-aged women usually wear an embroidered apron, with a black cloth border on the shoulders, chest, and cuffs of their upper garment. Young women like to wear outer garments with shoulder pads in black, blue, green, or red, with a white undershirt, tailored to fit closely and show clear lines. In terms of diet, the Tujia people also have distinctive features. They use various grains and spring water to brew shaojiu. Oil tea soup is also a common drink for the Tujia. First, mix green tea leaves with corn kernels or soybeans, add a little sesame, stir-fry in a clay pot, then add oil, salt, and water. After the water boils, add some fried rice, simmer for a while, and it is ready to drink. It tastes fragrant and salty. Cured meat, stuffed sausage, blood tofu, fermented tofu, bean dregs, and fermented black beans are distinctive dishes of the Tujia, and their preparation techniques are very particular. The Tujia people's 'snacks' are extremely rich, mainly including rice noodles, rice tofu, spicy beef, dried radish, and chili sauce. In terms of housing, the Tujia people also have their own unique features. The Tujia people have long lived in the mountains, and their dwellings are mainly stilted houses, forming many stilted house clusters and villages. In terms of transportation tools, bamboo-made carriers include the firewood basket for carrying firewood and pigs, the bamboo basket for carrying grain, and the bamboo clip for carrying seedlings or grass; wooden carriers include the bucket for carrying manure, the shoulder pole for carrying grass, and the wooden staff for lifting things, etc.
(4) Art Education
Tujia art education was mainly embodied in craft and fine-art activities such as brocade weaving, cross-stitch, embroidery, pottery making, printing and dyeing, carving, and weaving. Craft and fine-art education in Tujia areas was a kind of subtle, imperceptible education; many people simply learned it naturally in daily life. Of course, some people also specially and systematically learned one or several craft and fine-art skills. It was precisely these people who inherited and developed the Tujia craft and fine-art skills and continuously pushed Tujia craft and fine-art education forward.
Tujia brocade was completed on wooden looms, and its artistic patterns were diverse and ingenious. The range of subjects of Tujia brocade was very broad: there were brocades depicting animals, plants, and everyday utensils; brocades depicting customs and habits; and brocades depicting historical events. Cross-stitch and embroidery were also important contents of Tujia art education. Cross-stitch, also called cross-stitch embroidery, involved Tujia girls, on straight-grained plain cloth, following the warp and weft cross-points of the cloth and using thread of a color contrasting with the base cloth to stitch patterns. Many Tujia girls, under the guidance of their elders, began learning cross-stitch and embroidery from childhood. Cross-stitch emphasized the selection of materials and color matching; the flower-color patterns had to be stitched according to the color of the base cloth. Embroidery meant first cutting the flower to be embroidered into a paper pattern, pasting it onto the embroidery base cloth, and then, following the paper pattern, stitching it into the base cloth with silk thread. The Tujia were skilled at pottery making; as early as the Neolithic Age they could make gray pottery, yellow pottery, black pottery, white pottery, and painted pottery, and these pottery wares had diverse decorations and exquisite craftsmanship. The Tujia printing and dyeing method was unique: they placed a natural plant in a rock pool, added lime and other raw materials, and through fermentation made a blue dye—indigo—which was then used to dye patterned cloth. The dyed patterned cloth included both blue-ground white-flower and white-ground blue-flower types, as well as double-sided printed patterns. Carving mainly refers to stone carving and wood carving; the production process was to paint first and carve afterward, painting and carving done by the same person. Tujia stone and wood carving artworks mostly drew their subjects from natural images and animal patterns and contained a rich flavor of life. Tujia weaving can be divided into three major categories: rattan weaving, grass weaving, and bamboo weaving. Tujia woven products had a certain practical value, such as boxes, chairs, mats, and other daily necessities made from rattan and bamboo as raw materials, and also a certain appreciative value; among these craft products, common artistic forms included "Chang'e Flying to the Moon," "Nezha Stirring Up the Sea," "Heavenly Maidens Scattering Flowers," "Beauties Dancing with Swords," "Red Phoenix Facing the Sun," "Magpies Teasing the Plum," and so on.
II. Educational Methods
In the long ancient society of the Tujia, because the degree of control by the central regime was sometimes tight and sometimes loose, the restrictions and influences on their education were also very different from those in Han areas. Among these, Confucian civilizing education, expressed as "taking the cultivation of people and the establishment of social order as its purpose and immersion and exposure as its method," was mainly completed through school education; the educational content reflecting ethnic characteristics was completed through the ethnic group's religious activities, farming activities, and folk-custom activities.
(1) Religious Activities
In Tujia areas, religious activities presided over by the Tima (one who worships the gods, also called the Tulaosi, a spokesperson between gods and people) can be divided into large-scale ritual activities and small-scale ritual activities. Large-scale ritual activities were collective sacrificial ceremonies presided over by the Tima; small-scale ritual activities were mainly held according to the needs of a clan or family, generally with the Tima performing rituals independently, including ritual activities such as "redeeming vows" and "untying knots."
As the presiders over Tujia religious activities, the Tima preserved and transmitted cultural heritage such as Tujia history, literature and art, and folk customs. Therefore, in a certain sense, the Tima were the teachers in Tujia education during the era of extensive agriculture. They embedded the transmission of their ethnic group's traditional culture in religious activities, making it a way of educating later generations; this was undoubtedly an effective method by which Tujia traditional culture was able to be passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, the religious activities presided over by the Tima also embodied a certain function of moral edification. The religious emotions and awe of the gods in "redeeming vows" activities actually directly affected the norms of social order and social relations; religious concepts became people's highest concepts, and the Tima became mass leaders who communicated the relationship between gods and people. The realistic basis of "redeeming vows" activities was to satisfy believers' survival needs in a harsh living environment; it provided people with a spiritual support and strengthened people's confidence in struggling against alien natural and social forces. Therefore, the religious activities presided over by the Tima were in fact a kind of moral edification activity. It was precisely by means of this unique educational method that many traditional moral concepts of the Tujia were transmitted to the present through the vicissitudes of time and took deep root in ethnic consciousness.
(2) Farming Activities
Using folk songs to describe the production process and transmit production knowledge and labor concepts to the younger generation was also a kind of visualized educational method of the Tujia. In farming activities, the Tujia created an art form combined with productive labor—the weeding gong-and-drum song. Its sung content was very rich, including both singing about the labor process itself and praise of good social morality. According to the Tongzhi-era Qing dynasty Laifeng County Gazetteer, "In the fourth and fifth months, when weeding, several families would gather at one family's fields, sometimes as many as thirty or forty people; when one family finished weeding, they would go on to another. One person beat a drum to boost strength, and one person sounded a gong to regulate work and rest. They sang as they weeded, and this was called the 'weeding drum.'" With social development and progress, the performance methods of the weeding gong-and-drum song tended toward diversification, with many performance forms such as solo singing, antiphonal singing, and choral singing. Because regions differed, the structure of the weeding gong-and-drum song was also not entirely the same. However, the cultural implication of the weeding gong-and-drum song was to express emotion through song and to express aspiration through song; it was a traditional educational method created by the Tujia in farming activities.
First, the weeding gong-and-drum song had special functions such as directing labor and arousing enthusiasm. Historical documents often explained these functions. Summarizing what historical documents record, their functions can be generalized as follows: raising labor efficiency, as recorded in the Qianlong-era Longshan County Gazetteer: "Hearing the songs, they leap with joy, toil and forget fatigue, and their work is several times more effective." Supervising labor, as recorded in Wang Qi's Ming dynasty Sancai Hui Tu: "Guarding against their joking and chattering, and thus guarding against neglect of work." Arousing drive, as recorded in Li Xu's Laifeng County Gazetteer: Customs Record: "One person beats the drum to boost strength, one person sounds the gong to regulate work and rest." The Qianlong-era Changle County Gazetteer records: "It is intended to make those who plow and weed happy and forget fatigue." Enlivening the labor atmosphere, as recorded in the Qianlong-era Chenzhou Prefecture Gazetteer: "Among the weeders there are those who sound gongs and beat drums and sing to entertain one another." Second, the weeding gong-and-drum song also had the functions of transmitting labor skills and promoting ethical and moral concepts. For example, lyrics transmitting labor skills include: "When you come to the field there are dozens of rows, with some little kids mixed in between; if you can't hoe out the weeds in the corn hills, put down the hoe and grab them with your hands; after grabbing out the weeds and pondweed, finish weeding this patch and then that patch." "In the first month comes the New Year, I urge my man to set his heart on farming; when farming, do not play with flower lanterns; on the fifteenth, the start of spring, prepare for spring plowing." "In the tenth month comes the frost, broad beans and peas must be planted; I urge my man to plant more beans and wheat, so next year's spring and summer will have something to fall back on." "Farm families have no winter leisure; every day they must be busy; when it clears, plant winter grain; when it rains, turn the fallow fields; soak the winter grass and plow deep, and take advantage of winter to prepare the winter paddy fields; if you want to eat your fill next year, do half the work a year ahead." The Tujia weeding gong-and-drum songs also contained rich and colorful admonitions to the world. For example, lyrics urging people to be kind and filial to their parents include: "If you do not care for your parents in the hall, why go to the mountain to worship Buddha? If you do not care for your brothers and sisters, why burn incense and bow to siblings? If you do not care for your wife at home, why lodge in the willow lanes? One day when right and wrong are judged, a steelyard hook will hook your backbone." Lyrics urging people not to gamble include: "Third admonition to my man: do not learn to gamble; gamblers come to no good end, brother oh, sister oh, yo yi yo, first they sell the fields, then they sell the house." The lyrics "Ten Fans," which promote the merits and faults of historical figures, narrate the merits and faults of the "Yang family generals" very clearly. "Six fans are worth six fen, handed to Yang Liulang of the Yang family; Liulang guarded the frontier and was loyal to the court, repeatedly defeating the Khitan and becoming a famous general. Seven fans are worth seven fen, given to General Yang Ye; he made great achievements in the great northern expedition, and, captured, fasted to death and spread a fine name. Eight fans are worth eight fen, given to the heroine Mu Guiying; spurring her horse, she greatly broke the Heaven Gate Formation, the first among the Yang family's women generals. Nine fans are worth nine fen, given to Yang's mother She Taijun; twelve widows took command, and heroines are respected by all."
(3) Folk-Custom Activities
The hand-waving activity was one of the most important folk-custom activities of the Tujia. The Yongzheng-era Qing dynasty Yongshun Prefecture Gazetteer records: "Every year from the third to the fifteenth day of the first month, the Tujia people gather together, drape themselves in five-colored quilts, wrap their heads in brocade kerchiefs, beat drums and fire guns, dance and sing. ... This is called hand-waving." The entire hand-waving activity had songs and dances; through dance movements, accompanied by lyrics and music, it reenacted the process of the Tujia ancestors creating the world, leading the people in migration, and engaging in agricultural production. Clearly, as a folk-custom activity unique to the Tujia, the hand-waving activity vividly displayed the rough life style of the Tujia ancestors and the arduous course of opening up territory. The performers and spectators participating in the hand-waving activity, precisely in this special folk-custom activity, felt ethnic history, received ethnic education, and drew spiritual strength. Therefore, the hand-waving activity was not only a special folk-custom activity, but also a special educational activity.
The performance of Maogusi was another cultural spectacle in the hand-waving activity. The primitive drama Maogusi was an art form performed interspersed within the hand-waving activity; its performance content and expressive form were closely linked with the hand-waving songs and dances yet relatively independent, and its performance style and the artistic atmosphere it presented were in harmony with the rough and mysterious shamanic cultural keynote of the hand-waving activity. It was a highly distinctive component attached to the hand-waving activity. After deeply studying the main expressive content and expressive forms of Maogusi, we discover that this performance activity had an extremely strong educational function. Its performance content was drawn directly from various livelihood matters in the lives of the Tujia ancestors, such as farming, fishing, and hunting; its performance form was the repeated imitation of various labor movements, which can be said to be on-site demonstrations of labor skills; and the characters' spoken lines and singing narration were explanations of the production process. Thus, it constituted a relatively complete performance system for transmitting labor knowledge and skills. Therefore, the performance of Maogusi played a certain educational role in raising people's level of knowledge and survival skills.