Qiang Nationality

The Qiang nationality originated from the ancient Qiang. The ancient Qiang people are famous for their shepherding. They are not only an important part of the Chinese nation, but also have a broad and far-reaching impact on the development of Chinese history and the formation of the Chinese nation.

"Qiang" was originally a general term for nomadic tribes living in the west of the motherland in ancient times. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Qiang people in the northwest migrated on a large scale and over a long distance under the pressure of the state of Qin.

After the Song Dynasty, some of the Qiang people who moved to the South and the Qiang people in the western mountains developed into the current Qiang people, retaining the name of Qiang.

Since the 1950s, Neolithic cultural sites have been found in jiangweicheng, Weizhou, Wenchuan County, jianshanzhai, Lixian County, Yingpanshan, Maoxian county and other places along the upper reaches of Minjiang River and Zagunao River. Many sarcophagus tombs from the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period to the Western Han Dynasty have also been found, such as the sarcophagus tombs in zuojishan, Maoxian County, the sarcophagus tombs and accompanying pits in Moutuo, and the sarcophagus tombs in Jiashan, Lixian County. Unearthed artifacts include pottery, stone tools, wood, bronze and so on. These archaeological discoveries not only show that human beings inhabited and multiplied in the areas where Qiang people are distributed today, but also provide new data and clues for exploring the origin of ancient culture in the upper reaches of Minjiang River.

The Qiang nationality originated from the ancient Qiang. The ancient Qiang people are famous for their shepherding. They are not only an important part of the Chinese nation, but also have a broad and far-reaching impact on the development of Chinese history and the formation of the Chinese nation.

"Qiang" was originally a general term for nomadic tribes living in the west of the motherland in ancient times. Today, the Yellow River, Huangshui River, Taohe River, Datong River in Gansu and Qinghai and the upper reaches of Minjiang River in Sichuan are the activity centers of ancient Qiang people. According to historical records, during the Yin and Shang Dynasties, Qiang was one of its "Fang states", and leaders served as officials in the court. Some of them live a nomadic life without a fixed place, and some are engaged in agricultural production. The book of songs · Ode to Shang records: "there was a soup in the past, since the di Qiang, dare not come to enjoy it, dare not come to the king...", reflecting the close relationship between the ancient Qiang and the Yin Shang Dynasty. Many records about "Qiang" in oracle inscriptions show that Qiang people were very active on the historical stage at that time.

In the Zhou Dynasty, "Jiang", another kind of Qiang, had a close relationship with Zhou, and a large number of Qiang people integrated into China. During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the Yiqu state built by the Qiang people, covering the east of Gansu, the north of Shaanxi, Ningxia and the south of Hetao, is an important force in the Central Plains, and has fought with the state of Qin for more than 170 years. Zhurong, mainly composed of Qiang people, was gradually integrated by the state of Qin. However, the Qiang people living in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Huangshui River Basin in Gansu and Qinghai are still in the state of "less grain, more livestock, shooting and hunting". In the biography of the Western Qiang in the book of the later Han Dynasty, when Duke li of the Qin Dynasty, the Qiang people were captured without a sword and fled to their hometown to teach the Qiang people "field livestock". Since then, the Qiang people began to have primitive agricultural production, increase their population and economic development.

Since then, the Qiang people have further developed and differentiated. According to the biography of the Western Qiang in the book of the later Han Dynasty, "when the great grandson of Yuanjian was Ren, the Duke of Qin Xiangong first established himself,... He attached his seed to the South and gave it to Zhihe Quxi for thousands of miles, which was far away from the public. His descendants were the seed of their own, either the cattle seed, the Yue Qiang, the white horse seed, the Guanghan Qiang, or the ginseng wolf seed, the Wudu Qiang." during this period, Forced by the pressure of Qin, the Qiang people in Northwest China carried out large-scale and long-distance migration.

The Qiang people in the Han Dynasty were widely distributed and had many tribes. In order to isolate the Huns from the Qiang people, the Han Dynasty set up four counties in Hexi Corridor: Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Wuwei, established a local administrative system, and set up important official positions such as protecting the Qiang school captain to manage the affairs of the Qiang people. At the same time, the attached Qiang people moved in a large number, which can be divided into eastern Qiang and Western Qiang geographically. The eastern Qiang who entered the Central Plains lived in the Great Wall, lived together, intermarried and integrated with the Han nationality, engaged in agricultural production, developed the private economy to a certain extent, and gradually entered the feudal society. Most of the Western Qiang who do not enter the central plains are scattered in the northwest and southwest regions, including Qiang in the south of Tarim Basin, FA Qiang in Yarlung Zangbo River Basin, Tang yak, yak Qiang, white horse Qiang, Qingyi Qiang, shenlang Qiang and ran Qiang in Southwest China. Among them, yak Qiang was first distributed in Shenli county (now Jiuxiang Town, Hanyuan County, Sichuan), and then continued south to Yueyi county (now Anning River Basin and lower reaches of Yalong River, Sichuan). White horse Qiang is mainly distributed in the northwest of Mianyang City, Sichuan Province and the south of Wudu City, Gansu Province. Qingyi Qiang people live in the area of Ya'an City in Western Sichuan. Shenlang Qiang is mainly located in Wudu City, Gansu Province, especially in the Bailong River area. Ran pengqiang is distributed in the upper reaches of Minjiang River and the vast areas in Northwest Sichuan. According to the biography of Nanman Southwest Barbarians in the later Han Dynasty, "ran Pengyi was founded by Emperor Wu. In the sixth year of Yuanding, it was regarded as Wenshan County... Its mountains have six barbarians, seven Qiang and nine Di, each with tribes", indicating that Qiang people account for a large proportion and the development level of each department is very uneven, Most of them are still in the clan and tribal stage.

During the Wei, Jin, southern and Northern Dynasties, Fu Jian, a native of Di, established the pre Qin regime, and Yao, a native of Nan'an, established the post Qin regime. The post Qin regime was located in the south of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the north of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It ruled the Qiang people and all ethnic groups in the Central Plains for 33 years. After that, several Qiang tribes rose one after another. That is, Dangchang Qiang in southern Gansu and Deng Zhiqiang in the border between Sichuan and Gansu and the upper reaches of Minjiang River have existed for more than 140 years. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, most Qiang people in the north have basically integrated into the Han nationality.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Qiang tribes active in Gansu, Qinghai and the southeast of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau included Dangxiang, dongnu, Bulan, Xishan eight, Baigou and Fuguo. Among them, Xishan eight were collectively referred to as the mountains west of Chengdu Plain and the upper reaches of Minjiang River. They were between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Tubo forces. Some were assimilated to the Tibetans, some were attached to the Central Plains Dynasty, or assimilated to the Han nationality, or survived in the cracks. Under the situation of long-term peace and war between the Tang and the Tibetan, they were able to preserve and develop independently.

After the Song Dynasty, some of the Qiang people who moved south and the Qiang people in Xishan developed into Tibetan and Burmese ethnic groups, and some developed into the present Qiang people. The narrative poem qiangge war, which is widely spread among the Qiang people, records that in ancient times, the Qiang people once lived in the northwest prairie and were forced to move west and South due to war and natural disasters. One of the Qiang people who moved south met the strong "goki people". The two sides fought and lost many times. The Qiang people were preparing to abandon their land and move far away, but they got the Enlightenment of God in their dream, They tied wool thread around their necks as a sign and used hard dolomite and wooden sticks as weapons to defeat the "goki people". Finally, they were able to live and work in peace and contentment, and divided into nine branches to live in scattered places. This legend reflects the migration history of Qiang people. Combined with historical documents and archaeological data, it confirms the origin of Qiang people.

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, some Qiang people moved from Sichuan to Tongren, Guizhou. So far, the distribution pattern of Qiang people has basically taken shape.

After 1840, China gradually became a semi colonial and semi feudal country. Like other nationalities in the country, the Qiang nationality also faced imperialist aggression and exploitation and oppression by the feudal ruling class. To this end, the Qiang people, together with the people of other nationalities, have waged a heroic and unyielding struggle against imperialism, the reactionary government and the feudal ruling class, and made their own contributions to the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation.

In 1841, during the Opium War, the Qiang people and the Tibetan, Yi and other people formed an army of 2000 people and went to the front line of Zhejiang, which seriously damaged the British invading army in the Zhenhai battle of Ningbo. In 1894, a remnant of a chieftain surnamed Kun in the Qiang region, relying on feudal privileges, exploited its people and aroused strong opposition from more than 170 Qiang people in Heihu village and other places. They unanimously listed 23 crimes of Kun Chieftain to the government of the Qing Dynasty, launched a face-to-face struggle with the remaining evils of the feudal chieftain, and finally forced the Qing Dynasty to "take off the top hat and hand it over to the state for inspection". In 1905, the Qing Dynasty set up an "official salt shop" in Maozhou to monopolize salt and profit from it, which aroused the armed resistance of the Qiang people and forced the Qing government to announce the cancellation of the "official salt shop" and allow the free sale of salt.

After the birth of the Communist Party of China in 1921, the struggle of the Qiang people against imperialism and feudalism entered a new historical stage. The Qiang people in jiashanzhai, Tonghua Township, Li County, rallied together to kill the evil leader of the regiment in order to resist the exorbitant taxes and levies of the Kuomintang government. From 1924 to 1926, the Tibetan, Qiang and other ethnic groups in Lixian resisted the oppression of the feudal warlords' exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. More than 2000 people conquered Lixian County, and also attacked Wenchuan, Maoxian, Songpan and other places. The struggle lasted for three years and dealt a severe blow to the arrogance of the Kuomintang reactionaries.

In 1935, the Chinese workers' and peasants' Red Army passed through the Qiang areas on the long march. Under the leadership of the party, the Qiang people established the workers' and peasants' revolutionary regime and carried out a vigorous agrarian revolution. They love the people's army and actively join the army to support the front. In Maoxian County alone, more than 1000 people took part in the Red Army's northward Anti Japanese campaign, and tens of thousands of migrant workers provided logistical support for the Red Army. After the red army went north to resist Japan, the Kuomintang made a comeback and implemented white terror rule in the Qiang areas. The Qiang people, tempered by the revolution, continued to wage a heroic and unyielding struggle against the reactionaries.

In 1942, Maobei incident broke out in Maoxian county. In the name of "shoveling smoke", the Commissioner and head of Maoxian special district sent troops to ransack some villages in Canling Township, North Road, Maoxian County, causing strong indignation among the local Qiang and Han people. They destroyed the security squadron that went to search and plunder, and took advantage of the situation to attack the county seat of Mao County, smashed the Kuomintang army defending the city and surrounded the county seat. Although the struggle was finally defeated due to the bribe differentiation of the Kuomintang, the momentum of the struggle dealt a powerful blow to the enemy and showed the indomitable revolutionary struggle spirit of the Qiang people. In 1947, the Qiang people in Longping, Sanqi and other townships of Mao County launched another armed uprising called the "Longping incident". The incident originated from the contradiction between the Kuomintang government and some upper ruling classes of the Qiang nationality, and later developed into an armed uprising of the Qiang people against the rule of the Kuomintang. In the end, the struggle also failed due to the betrayal of the ruling class of the Qiang nationality, but it once again showed the great power of the people.

According to the documentary records, as early as 310 BC, the Qin Dynasty set up guidi Dao in the upper reaches of Minjiang River and Jianjiang River. In the Han Dynasty, Wenshan County was established to govern the "six Yi, seven Qiang and nine Di" tribes in this area. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial court implemented the "Jimi Prefecture" system, with Maozhou governor's office and several Jimi prefectures in Maoxian county and its surrounding areas. During the Five Dynasties, there was Maozhou in the former Shu, governing four counties: Wenshan, Wenchuan, Shiquan and Tonghua; Weizhou is established, governing Baoning and Xiaofeng counties; The scope is mainly in the south of Mao County and Wenchuan County and the east of Li county. In the Song Dynasty, the "Jimi Prefecture" system of the Tang Dynasty was basically followed, with Maozhou and Weizhou, each governing two counties and more than a dozen Jimi prefectures. In the ninth year of Xining (1076), Shiquan County was transformed into mianzhou.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the chieftain system was implemented and Maozhou was established, governing Wenshan and Wenchuan counties. Local officials are appointed to govern the place, with pacification department, 1000 household offices and 10000 household offices. Today, Pingwu County has set up a Longzhou sanzhai Chief Department to manage the "white horse, papaya and white grass" sanzhai. Among them, Baicao is the Qiang Nationality in Beichuan. The chieftain system of the Ming Dynasty was further improved. In Maoxian and other places, there were the chief executive division of Jingzhou surnamed Dong, the chief executive division of Yue Xichang surnamed Kun, the chief executive division of Longmu surnamed he, the patrol inspection of moutuotu surnamed Wen, the patrol inspection of water lawn, the Changning appeasement division surnamed Su, the Diexi Yuchang division, the division of Shida customs, the appeasement division of zagu and the wa temple. Two small chieftains, commonly known as Ailin chieftain and dam bottom chieftain, are added at Kaiping and dam bottom in the Midwest of Beichuan county to manage the surrounding Qiang villages. At this time, the Qiang people were basically under full jurisdiction. At the same time, under the chieftain, there were Paitou and zhaitou in each village. The imperial court established a relatively strict military security system in these areas, set up a large number of customs, forts and piers, and stationed troops for defense.

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the "lower five clusters" of Qiang villages in machao and Baishi areas of Beichuan were managed by Ailin chieftain, dam bottom chieftain, Longmu chieftain and Diexi chieftain in Maozhou. After the reign of Qianlong, the Qiang region gradually implemented the "change of land to flow", replacing the chieftain regime with flow officials, and the Qiang region entered the era of flow officials' rule. The Qing government adopted special management measures for the Qiang people in Beichuan, that is, set up a number of people who knew both Qiang and Chinese as "generals" to convey the instructions of local officials of the county to the Qiang people and reflect the opinions of the Qiang people. The criminal and prison litigation cases of the Qiang village were handled by the county magistrate, and the daily affairs were handled by the Qiang village itself. The implementation areas include all or part of today's Kaiping, Xiaoba, Taolong, Piankou, dunshang, dam bottom, qingpian, Yuli and other townships. This area was collectively referred to as "Fanzhai" at that time. It was not until the eve of the revolution of 1911 that this area was under the direct jurisdiction of the county local government.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the defense area system of Sichuan warlords gradually took shape. The 28th army took the areas of song, Li, Mao and Wen as defense areas and set up a "settlement supervision office" in Qiang areas. At the end of 1935, the Kuomintang government put the Qiang area under the jurisdiction of the "commissioner's office of the 16th administrative supervision district of Sichuan Province", which was located in Mao County and implemented the Baojia system. In Beichuan, many Qiang people living deep in the mountains are regarded as "Han people" because "it is Han people to change the soil and return to the stream".

The administrative system brought the Qiang region into the rule of the central government of previous dynasties, which closely linked the Qiang region with the mainland of the motherland. The close exchanges between the Qiang and Han peoples have never stopped. As early as the third century BC, many Qiang people participated in the world-famous Dujiangyan water conservancy project. The central governments of previous dynasties sent officials here to establish governance, which objectively promoted the relationship between the people of the two nationalities. The Qiang people exchanged horses, medicinal materials and other local products with the Han people for production tools and daily necessities. Especially since modern times, the exchanges between Qiang and Han nationalities have been further strengthened, and some Qiang people began to receive Confucian education; A large number of religious venues have been built; Some advanced production technologies and tools have been introduced; Commercial trade began to appear, and Han and Qiang merchants gathered in Maozhou, Beichuan and other places, which improved the social productivity of the Qiang nationality to a certain extent.

faith

Except that some of the Qiang people near Tibetan areas believe in Tibetan Buddhism, the rest generally believe in primitive religions, that is, animism, polytheism and ancestor worship. The gods are represented by white stone (white quartz stone), which is worshipped in the mountains, woodlands, roofs and indoors. Generally, there are five white stones at the four corners of the roof of the blockhouse, symbolizing the gods of heaven, earth, mountain, mountain and tree. Among them, the God has the highest status, can dominate all things, bring disaster and blessing to people and animals. The shrine in the main room is provided with family gods (commonly known as horn gods), including ancestral gods, goddesses (God who bless women), male gods (God who bless men), livestock gods (God who bless the prosperity of six livestock), wealth gods (attract wealth and treasure), warehouse gods (guard family food and property), and door gods (block three disasters and six disasters). The tripod on the fire pool under the shrine, one of which is tied with a small iron ring, which represents the God of fire. In addition, families engaged in special industries also worship their ancestors and gods. Such as monkey head God, medicine King God, Mason God, Luban and taishanglaojun. Influenced by the Han nationality, Qiang people in some places also offer kitchen god, land God, Guanyin Bodhisattva, mother of giving birth, Lord of Sichuan, Saint Guan, jade emperor, etc.

The priest of Qiang nationality, called "Shibi" or "Xu" in Qiang language, is not only a cleric engaged in religious activities, but also an agricultural producer. He can marry a wife and have children, and occupies a high position in Qiang society. All the Scriptures are handed down from generation to generation through oral and heart instruction between teachers and disciples and between father and son. People believe that he can reach the gods and produce mysterious and incredible power. He will preside over ceremonies such as mountain sacrifice, sacrifice, vow repayment, medical treatment, exorcism, disaster elimination and refuge, soul summoning, divination, house building, marriage between men and women, naming of newborns, transcending the dead, etc. Do Divination (sheep leg divination, egg divination, white dog divination, etc.), expel ghosts and evil spirits (send Mao people), step on the red pot, step on the plowshare, open the red mountain, draw a water bowl and other witchcraft. The magic tools used include sheepskin drum, monkey hat, divine staff, Gong, token, etc. Before doing this, Shibi should purify his body, burn cedar to smoke his body, or kill white chickens to worship his ancestors, in order to show his piety and respect for God. Chanting involves rich content and everything. It is mainly divided into three categories: the scriptures of God, which are mainly used in inviting God, worshipping God or fulfilling a vow; The personnel Sutra is sung during weddings and funerals; Ghost Sutra is used to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. After the Dharma, people will return money, food and other useful items. In the Weicheng area of Maoxian County, Shibi mastered the picture scroll of the picture Sutra "Shule Ri", which was regarded as a holy book by the local Qiang nationality. In the past, Shibi was the main disseminator of Qiang oral inheritance and religious culture.

Clothes & Accessories

Qiang costumes vary slightly from place to place. Among them, Longxi, mianxiang and Yanmen in Wenchuan County, Puxi in Li County, CHIBUSU, Heihu, Sanlong and weimen in Mao County, qingpian in Beichuan county and Zhenping in Songpan county are representative. Headdress, men's and women's headdress. "One tile" is popular among women in CHIBUSU area. Tile shaped green cloth is embroidered with patterns and decorated with silver medals and rings. Women in Heihu Township Baotou with white cloth PA (known as "Wannian filial piety"). Legend is to commemorate the national hero General black tiger. Puxi women use a black headdress with a white cloth exposed at the front end, which is called "magpie headdress".

Both men and women wear cotton or brocade (used to be homemade earth cloth or linen) long shirts with a loose right lapel, which looks like a cheongsam. Men's clothes are over the knee, and some women's clothes reach the instep. Colors vary with age. Most middle-aged and elderly people are single blue and black, while young girls like bright colors. There are tie flowers on the collar, cuffs and placket, one to three finger wide patterns are embedded in the oblique placket, and some are inlaid with plum blossom silver ornaments, which are all hand-made.

Various patterns and bright colors. The coat is a collarless, sleeveless and buttonless sheepskin jacket. The sheepskin jacket is surrounded by long hair. The hair is outward in sunny days and inward in rainy days. It can be used to prevent cold, rain, cushion sitting, back and load.

In addition to girdling men and women, women also like to tie flower bibs and embroidered streamers, and men tie belly wraps. Qiang men and women in high or semi high mountains wrap Leggings with linen or felt.

Self made "yunyun shoes" are the most distinctive footwear. It looks like a boat, with slightly upturned shoe tips and cloud patterns embroidered on the surface. Unmarried men and girls wear embroidered colored shoes, while middle-aged and elderly people wear plain round mouth cloth shoes.

In terms of decoration, women generally like to wear silver medals, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and hairpins. Some rings are also inlaid with agate, jade and coral, and some have Pendant Beads on their chest and oval "sewu".

Adult men are decorated with waist knives, cigarette bags and iron sickles.

diet

Qiang people have a rich diet.

The staple food is corn, potato, wheat and highland barley, supplemented by buckwheat, oil wheat and various beans. There are a variety of vegetables.

The traditional diet includes stir dough, corn steaming, "gold wrapped in silver" or "silver wrapped in gold", potato Ciba, boiled potato and pig fat meat.

People generally smoke orchid cigarettes and like to drink Za wine, "corn steamed wine" and Mead.

Zajiu is a special drinking method popular in Qiang areas.

Architecture

Qiang people usually build houses in the high mountains or river valleys with sunny and leeward, cultivated land and water sources, and several or dozens of households form natural villages.

Buildings can be roughly divided into two categories: Diaolou and Diaolou. Diaolou is a relic of ancient architecture, which was called "qionglong" in the Han Dynasty. As early as 2000 years ago, in the book of the later Han Dynasty, the biography of the Southwest Barbarians, it was recorded that the people of Ran Chang "lived close to the mountain and built houses on stones, which were more than ten feet high". They were buildings used to resist the enemy and store grain and firewood. Most of them stood near and in the center of the pass or village. They were built with stones. The appearance was majestic, solid and practical. The building was in the shape of four corners, six corners or octagons, thin at the top and thick at the bottom, with prominent edges and corners, The structure is tight, with six or seven floors, and the highest is thirteen or four floors. In 1988, Yongping castle, an ancient castle site of the Ming Dynasty, was found in Yong'an village, Qiang Township, Beichuan County, Sichuan Province. It is still well preserved after hundreds of years of wind and rain.

Blockhouse is also called "Zhuang house", which is used for living. It is square and generally divided into three layers (also two and four layers). Grain is stacked in the upper layer, people live in the middle layer, and livestock are kept in captivity in the lower layer. The floors are connected by sawtooth stairs made of single wood. The roof can thresh, dry grain and dry clothes. Tower shaped stone niches are set at the four corners, with white stones on them, which is the residence of the gods. In the middle floor building, there are bedrooms at both ends and a main room in the middle. It is an important place for the family to gather, receive guests, celebrate songs and dances and hold sacrifices. There are shrines to worship ancestors, domestic gods and many gods, and a fire pond. The fire does not extinguish all year round, which is known as "ten thousand year fire". The buildings of the blockhouse are made of local materials, earth and stone, without drawing, hanging lines or column support. They are built by local men's labor. They skillfully combine the terrain and build rooms on different platforms. The blockhouse has various forms and different levels. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. It is firm and durable.

Travel

The Qiang nationality area has high mountains, narrow valleys and dangerous traffic. With their wisdom, the Qiang people have built bamboo cable bridges, sliding cables of "hanging tube crossing cables" and cantilever bridges of wooden frames, and dug trestle roads.

In ancient times, the cable bridge was called "Zuo", which tied bamboo ropes to solid objects on both sides of the river valley. There were no nails or piers, but multiple bamboo cables were used to cross the river side by side, covered with wooden boards to connect people and animals.

Trestle roads refer to rock drilling roads, some of which are suspended channels formed by drilling holes, erecting wood and planking on the steep wall, and some are built into retaining walls with rubble at the interruption of the road, and the wooden beams are placed on the retaining walls for easy passage. Today, a large number of plank road remains can still be seen in Qiang areas.

family

The Qiang family is basically a monogamous patriarchal family, which is composed of three generations of grandparents and grandchildren or two generations of parents and children. Every family is a unit of production and life.

When a son is married, he should set up another door, and the only son or young son will live with his parents. The father mainly arranges and dominates the economic life of the family, decides the marriage affairs and property inheritance of his children, and organizes or participates in religious sacrifice and external social activities; Mothers mainly participate in labor production and housework. Uncle power plays an important role in marriage and family.

In case of marriage between a man and a woman, the consent of his mother and uncle must be obtained in advance; The mother's death can only be buried with the consent of her uncle; The separation is presided over by my mother and uncle; The mother and uncle have the responsibility and obligation to discipline and raise the younger generation.

family

The Qiang family is basically a monogamous patriarchal family, which is composed of three generations of grandparents and grandchildren or two generations of parents and children. Every family is a unit of production and life.

When a son is married, he should set up another door, and the only son or young son will live with his parents. The father mainly arranges and dominates the economic life of the family, decides the marriage affairs and property inheritance of his children, and organizes or participates in religious sacrifice and external social activities; Mothers mainly participate in labor production and housework. Uncle power plays an important role in marriage and family.

In case of marriage between a man and a woman, the consent of his mother and uncle must be obtained in advance; The mother's death can only be buried with the consent of her uncle; The separation is presided over by my mother and uncle; The mother and uncle have the responsibility and obligation to discipline and raise the younger generation.

ceremony

Life etiquette

Qiang people still maintain the ancient life etiquette.

After the child is born, the son-in-law should bring gifts to the mother-in-law's house. Relatives and friends brought clothes, rice, eggs and noodles to visit pregnant women. In some places, there is a custom of hanging boots in front of the door after giving birth. If you give birth to a woman, the upper is up, and if you give birth to a man, the upper is down. After giving birth to a child, we should invite Shibi to practice and avoid strangers coming home. The Qiang surname is generally the Han surname. Generally, they follow their father's surname in different ways. Some are named by Shibi, while others are named by their elders or according to their personal wishes. After the child's full moon and full year, the family will also entertain relatives and friends to eat "full moon wine" and "full year wine". Children wear long-life locks around their necks to avoid evil spirits and diseases and ensure safety and health.

Qiang men hold a rite of passage (crown ceremony) when they reach the age of 15. It is usually held from October to December of the lunar calendar. At that time, relatives and friends will be invited to sit around the fire pond. The recipient of the crown ceremony will wear new clothes, kneel down and worship at the shrine at home, and accept a gift from Shibi on behalf of the God of heaven - a five-color cloth tied with white male wool thread as an amulet around his neck. Then, the elders of the family narrate the history of their ancestors, or Shibi chants scriptures and prays to offer sacrifices to family gods and many gods.

Hospitality

When the guests arrive at home, the Qiang people will shoot guns to welcome them, and let the guests sit on the top. The host will offer tea and toast to express his blessing. There is a red hanging custom to express respect for guests, blessing for newcomers, respect and praise for heroes.

respect the old

Qiang people have a tradition of respecting the elderly. When people drink Zajiu, the elders first use Qiang language to make opening words, which means to pray to the gods, and then use the wine rod to drink according to the order of seniority, age, subject and guest status. At the banquet, the old man sat on the top and waited until he was seated before others could sit down. When you meet an old man, you should honor him and give way. The old man led the singing and dancing. Pay attention to birthday greetings for the elderly.

language

Qiang language belongs to the Qiang branch of Tibetan Burmese language family of Sino Tibetan language family, which is divided into northern and southern dialects.

The northern dialect is popular in CHIBUSU district and Jiaochang District in the north of Mao County, Shaba District in the middle, Xiaoxing Township, Zhenping Township, Baiyang Township in Songpan county and most areas of Heishui county. It is divided into 9 local languages: Luhua, Mawo, cimulin, Weigu, Qugu, Zhenping, Sanlong, Heihu and Goukou weimen. The southern dialect is popular in the south of Li County, Wenchuan County and Mao County. It is divided into six local languages: Yanmen, Longxi, miankan, Puxi, muka and Taoping.

Due to frequent contacts with the Han nationality, many Qiang people can speak and use Chinese.

Until the 1980s, the Qiang nationality ended its history without its own national characters. In May 1989, according to the wishes of the Qiang people and the party's ethnic policy, the "leading group for the creation of Sichuan Qiang Pinyin scheme" was established. After years of investigation and research, the creation group completed the design of Qiang Pinyin scheme (Draft) in the form of 26 Latin letters, which was approved by relevant departments in 1993. Subsequently, the Qiang language was promoted in the Qiang language distribution areas of Mao County, Wenchuan County, Li county and Songpan county.

literature

Folk literature is mainly inherited by people's oral instruction from generation to generation and long-term singing

The crystallization of folk collective creation, with a wide range of themes, including legends, fables, stories and myths, reflects the history, life, customs, thoughts and feelings of the Qiang nationality, has distinctive national style and artistic characteristics, and is a precious cultural treasure of the Qiang nationality. For example, the long narrative poem "Mu Jie Zhu and Dou an Zhu" praises the diligence and wisdom of the Qiang people and reflects people's good wish to pursue free marriage without fear of divine power; The heroic epic war of Qiang Ge is composed of five parts: preface song, source of sheepskin drum, source of snow mountain, meeting of Qiang Ge and rebuilding their homes, reflecting the migration memory of ancient Qiang people in history.

Most folk songs are improvised to express the singer's different mood. It is mainly divided into wine songs, folk songs, love songs, current political songs, labor songs, festive songs, funeral songs, etc. Among them, wine songs are specially sung when drinking. They are led by the elderly and reconciled with each other. Most of the contents are praising heroes, ancestors' achievements and welcoming guests, with strong etiquette. Multi voice folk songs are still popular in Xiaoxing Township, Zhenping Township, CHIBUSU, Jiaochang and other places in Songpan County, with unique singing skills. There are not only two parts, three parts, five parts and multi parts, but also different combinations of chorus folk songs.

Sports

There are many kinds of Qiang Folk Sports. Such as putting, turning over under the fist, hugging, supine pole lifting, twisting stick, wrestling, etc.

Musical Instruments

Folk musical instruments mainly include Qiang flute, mouth string, suona, Gong, cymbal, ring plate (copper bell), sheepskin drum, finger bell, shoulder bell, etc.

Among them, the most distinctive Qiang flute is the six tone scale double pipe clarinet. When playing, it is mostly solo and the melody is free. It can be roughly divided into three categories: Labor music, love music and spring greeting music. The tone layers are padded with each other, and the double tone rhymes. The tone is soft, melodious and tactful, expressing a sad artistic conception.

dance

Qiang dance style is simple and elegant, rough and beautiful. It is mainly divided into four categories: self entertainment dance, sacrificial dance, ceremonial dance and assembly dance. The basic movements are relatively consistent and have their own characteristics.

The most representative dances of self entertainment dance are "Sharon" and "Xi Bu Cu", which are closely related to festivals and festive activities.

Sacrificial dance mainly refers to sheepskin dance and armor dance. Sheepskin drum is an ancient

The dance precipitated by history is mainly performed by Shibi in solemn religious sacrificial activities, so as to achieve the purposes of worship, disaster elimination, refuge and blessing. Armor dance is popular in Mao County and Heishui county. It is a sacrificial dance performed at grand funerals for war dead, national heroes and prestigious old people. Wearing raw cowhide armor, helmets with pheasant feathers and wheat straw, bronze bells on their shoulders and weapons in their hands, the dancers danced against each other. The roar shook the sky and was majestic. Singing, dancing and shouting were integrated, showing the bravery of ancient soldiers.

Ceremonial dance is a kind of dance as one of the ceremonial contents when welcoming guests. It has special rhythm and more crotch movements, which shows the primitive and simple aesthetic consciousness of Qiang nationality.

Assembly dance is a group dance dominated by men. The dancers sang calling and demonstrating songs, accompanied by strong and powerful roars, and stepped out of different queues and formations, reflecting the high morale of ancient soldiers.

Since the founding of new China, Qiang Folk Dance has been excavated and rescued. The dances refined and adapted by artists, such as armor dance, belt dance and Qiang Guozhuang, have had a wide impact at home and abroad. Especially since 1991, the Qiang Sharon dance launched by ABA Art Museum has been welcomed by the people of all ethnic groups, and made many Chinese and foreign visitors feel the unique artistic charm of Qiang dance.

workmanship

The Qiang Folk Crafts are the most excellent in cross stitch and embroidery. Without drawing, Qiang women can draw all kinds of beautiful patterns and embroider colorful finished products. The theme is taken from all things in the world. It is embroidered in handkerchiefs, clothes, belts, belly wraps, waistbands, shoes and socks, sachets and other local places with a variety of stitches, such as picking, binding, embroidery, hook, receiving, lifting, splicing, buckle, fiber and so on. It is beautiful and durable. Tripod (made of copper or iron) made by Qiang craftsmen, as well as gold and silver jewelry such as hairpins, earrings, bracelets and rings; The stone dog, stone pillar, gate and stele carved by the Mason are exquisite and beautiful, showing the superb technology of folk technology.

Saddles, earrings, bracelets, hat flowers, various pendants, ornaments, stone carvings, wood carvings, lacquerware, carpet weaving, especially cross stitch, Qiang embroidery and other folk crafts made by modern Qiang people, with their own national traditional style, strong local flavor and exquisite skills, integrate practicality and aesthetics. After the founding of new China, Qiang Folk Crafts have been further developed. In July 1959, Wang Yuhua's cross dressing waistband "happy ocean" in Wenchuan County was sent to Chengdu for exhibition and won the first prize of the provincial arts and crafts exhibition. In 1978, Qiang costumes won praise from the ethnological circles at home and abroad for their simplicity, strong local flavor and exquisite art. At the end of the same year, the National Museum of Ethnology of Japan purchased the collection of Qiang costumes. In 1980, ABA County carpet factory produced carpets, which were exported to the United States, Canada, India, Nepal, the Philippines and other countries, and won a reputation for Qiang Folk Crafts.

festival

Qiang people attach importance to the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival, also known as "Celebrating the new year", is an important day for the Qiang family's new year. From the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household should sweep the dust, respect the stove and prepare rich new year goods. On New Year's Eve, pig head meat should be burned to honor ancestors and gods. The whole family sat together and had a noisy reunion dinner, and then sat around the fire pond to watch the new year. Generally, the first day of junior high school does not work and does not leave the house. After the second day of junior high school, we began to visit relatives and friends. The Lantern Festival is held on the 15th of the first month, and the new year is sent on the 30th of the first month. Every household is decorated and held various recreational activities.

In addition, Qiang people have to celebrate such festivals as Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival, but the most distinctive ones are Qiang calendar years, mountain sacrifice meeting and Lingge Festival.

Over the years, the Qiang language called "rimeiji", which means "auspicious and happy days". Also known as "Celebrating the Lunar New Year". It was originally a major festival to offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors and repay their wishes to God after harvesting grain in autumn. It is held on the first day of October of the lunar calendar every year. Celebrations vary from place to place, usually three to five days. In some villages, it is until the tenth day of the lunar calendar. The main activities are to worship God and eat banquets. Qiang stopped for a time in the 1980s. It was restored in 1988 and became a common festival of the Qiang people. In Qiang District, various celebrations are held every year.

Mountain Festival is one of the most solemn traditional festivals of Qiang nationality. It is also called Zhuanshan meeting, Tazi meeting, heaven worship meeting, Mountain King meeting, mountain god meeting or blockhouse meeting. It is an activity for Qiang people to offer sacrifices to Baishi God, who represents many gods such as God of heaven and Mountain God. It is also a grand ceremony for people to pray for the prosperity of people and animals, bumper grain, local peace and lush forests in the coming year. Due to different climates, the time and frequency of the event are not uniform. It can be held in the first month, April and may, or once or twice or three times a year.

During the Lingge Festival, the Qiang language calls it "waer'e foot". It is mainly popular in Qugu area of Mao County. It is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year (if a woman aged 13 to 50 dies in the village, it will not be held in that year). In memory of sister Sharon, the goddess of song and dance in the sky. The whole festival lasts 3 days. Women do their best, forget their feelings and dance, Sharon. Men are in charge of farming and housework.

marriage

Before the founding of new China, the marriage of Qiang men and women followed the "orders of parents and the words of matchmakers", and there were marriage forms such as "finger belly marriage", "hug marriage", "child marriage" and "sale marriage". Marriage pays attention to matching families, and there are customs of transferring houses, entering redundancy and robbing marriage. After the founding of new China, autonomous marriage gradually prevailed. But the traditional etiquette procedure has been retained so far. With the development of Qiang village economy, people's life has been improved, and the old marriage ceremony has added new content. The combination of tradition and modernity gives full play to the traditional culture of Qiang nationality and adds a festive atmosphere.

The wedding ceremony mainly includes engagement and marriage. In Qiang village, the matchmaker is called "Hongye". If the man is interested in the woman, the man's house will prepare gifts and ask the red master to propose marriage to the woman's house. The woman's family can only marry with the consent of her mother and uncle. After that, Hongye will take pig fat, wine and other gifts to the woman's house to eat "Xu Kou wine". A few months or years later, the man's family asked Hong Ye to bring gifts to the woman's house to entertain his close relatives with "small order wine", and asked Shi Bi to calculate the eight characters of their birthdays and set a lucky wedding day. Then, the man's family should prepare heavy gifts, go to the woman's family to report the date, and hold a banquet at the woman's family, that is, "big order wine", as a formal wedding, to celebrate the woman's whole family. Since then, the two families began to prepare for the wedding, looking forward to the good day of "the woman's family spent the night and the man's family was having a banquet". "Flower Night" means a festive party for the new couple, which is the most solemn procedure for marriage. It is usually held the night before marriage. What the man does is called "male flower night" and what the woman does is called "female flower night". The man celebrates his wife and the woman welcomes her away. On this day, the woman's house was full of friends, with Zajiu and 12 "dry plates" (i.e. peanuts, walnuts, red dates, persimmons, apples, oranges, candy, etc., full of perfection, auspiciousness and festivity).

The eloquent welcoming team sent by the man's family will be warmly entertained. The two sides should have a cross song competition according to custom. The cross song means cross examination by song. The way is one question and one answer. The singing content is extensive, and the form is casual and interesting. The next morning, my uncle covered the bride in wedding clothes with red silk. The bride married in tears and said goodbye to her parents, brothers and people. At the door of the man's house, Shibi will do a ceremony to sacrifice the gods, drive out the "evil spirit" attached to the bride, and then bless the new couple. People held a "red hanging" ceremony for the new couple. The couple saluted in front of the shrine. First, they paid homage to their ancestors' entrepreneurial kindness, second, they paid homage to their parents' upbringing kindness, third, they paid homage to their husband and wife, and fourth, they paid homage to their children and grandchildren. Then they paid homage to their relatives and guests, and finally they paid homage to each other. After worship, the bride officially became a man. Then, the crowd had a feast. That night, the male parents lit incense to worship God and bless the new couple. All the guests danced a happy Sharon dance around the bonfire in the courtyard dam. The next day is the thank-you day, and the host will prepare two more tables for "thank-you". The new couple should take a pig's head and a pig's tail to thank the red master, indicating that they have a head and a tail and are round and full. On the third day after marriage, the newlyweds have to "go back". The bridegroom and his brothers carry wine and meat to send the bride home. The groom only stays in the woman's house for a few days, while the bride can stay for a few days, months or even longer before being picked up by her husband and start family life.

funeral

The burial styles of Qiang nationality include cremation, earth burial and rock burial.

Cremation has the longest history. According to Lv's spring and Autumn Annals · Yishang, "the prisoners of DI and Qiang do not worry about their tiredness, but worry about their death and do not burn them." Taiping Yulan quoted a lost article from Zhuangzi: "Qiang people die and burn their ashes." until the mid Qing Dynasty, cremation was still preserved in Shaba, CHIBUSU, Jiaochang and other places in Mao County. Each family has its own fire cemetery.

Due to the influence of the Han nationality and the promotion of the feudal dynasty, most areas take earth burial as the main burial style, which has been retained until now. Every village has the custom of coming uninvited to assist in funeral care. The funeral home shall inform the relatives in time, report the situation before and after the death of the deceased to the mother's and uncle's house, and ask Shibi to kill sheep for sacrifice and calculate the burial time. Generally, three days later, people bury the dead underground in Fengshui treasure. His family should light a bonfire in front of the new tomb, burn cypress branches, incense wax, tobacco, wine and meat to show sacrifice. Three days after the burial, prepare sacrifices and repair the cemetery. At this time, the funeral ceremony came to an end.

Cliff burials mainly exist in some places in Beichuan. If a child dies before the age of three, he or she is buried in a bee barrel or simple wooden box and placed in a mountain cave.

taboo

There are some taboos among Qiang people. For example:

The fire pond is sacred. No one is allowed to cross the fire pond, quarrel or say unlucky words by the fire pond. There are differences between men and women in the seats near the fire pond. If you sit wrong, you will offend the God of fire.

If someone at home is ill, avoid seeing strangers. Set up a bench outside the door to refuse outsiders to enter.

Avoid shouting and scolding on the first day of the first month. You can't use tongs, ropes and kitchen knives.

Women are prohibited from participating in important religious activities.

Pregnant women cannot enter the newlyweds' new house for fear of happiness.

When the bride gets married, she can't look back to avoid bad luck and loss of wealth.

Before the child reaches the full moon, women are not allowed to enter the kitchen, otherwise they will offend the kitchen god and the family God.