--The Mongolian cultural factor in Han folklore
The Mongolian people are a nation with a long and legendary history. Whenever its name is mentioned, people will recall the ancient song of "the sky is pale, the field is vast, the wind blows the grass to see the cattle and sheep", and the vast and boundless prairie scenery with white clouds, gurgling river, blossoming flowers, herds of cattle and sheep, galloping horses, and fragrant meat and milk will be presented in front of their eyes, which will bring to mind that this "nation on the back of the horse" used to reign supreme over Europe and Asia, fight bravely and bravely, and be a great warrior and a great warrior. Europe and Asia, valiant and warlike, swallowed the mountains and rivers of the magnificent posture.
As the only one in ancient China established a unified dynasty of the northern nomadic people, Mongolian culture in the vast history of Chinese culture has left an indelible mark of glory. However, the historical and cultural research since the founding of the nation has had a tendency to simplify Mongolian culture for a long period of time. In many books or textbooks, the Mongolian culture is often lightly sketched over with only one or two strokes, and scholars are mostly guided by Marx's famous assertion that "barbaric conquerors are always conquered by the higher civilization of those peoples they conquer" (1), which Either they emphasize the aspect of the Mongols' learning and absorption of Chinese culture and national integration or the negative impacts of the Yuan Dynasty's rule in terms of economic destruction, injection of backward production relations, ethnic oppression and discrimination, etc., while ignoring the impact of this great nation, which had conquered in all directions and established a trans-Eurasian and steppe-based culture that ruled China for nearly a century (1279-1368) on the Chinese people, especially the Han folklore. This great nation, which had conquered the four directions and established a steppe-based culture across Eurasia for nearly a century (1279-1368), had a profound and positive influence on the Chinese nation, especially on the folklore of the Han. In fact, Mongolian culture, with its "sky like a dome, covering the four fields", in the process of continuous penetration and deepening of the Han culture, many aspects of the Han folk culture have more or less influence.
Why Mongolian culture affects Han folklore
(1) The history of Mongolian migration is a prerequisite for the "Mongolization" of Han folklore
The history of Mongolian migration shows that the predecessors of the Mongols were first active in the city of Erguna, Hulunbeier League, Inner Mongolia (2), and lived a simple nomadic life. nomadic life. It was only after they gradually moved westward onto the Mongolian plateau in the 9th century that they began to see greater socio-economic development. In 1206, Temujin unified the Mongolian ministries and established the Mongol state, after which he made three expeditions to the west, aiming directly at West Asia, Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, the Mongol army began to attack to the south, successively destroying the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, and established the Yuan Dynasty in 1276, with its capital at Dadu (now Beijing). As the political center later moved south, the Mongols, as the ruling people, also continued to migrate across the country.
The Mongols at the time of the Yuan Dynasty, in addition to living on the Mongolian Plateau, were widely distributed in northwestern China, the central plains, the southwest, and the south of the Yangtze River. "In the course of their western conquests, a large number of Mongols stayed behind in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu. When Genghis Khan divided the Mongol tribes and then followed into the grassland area of present-day southeastern Inner Mongolia. After the unification of China in the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian army in the northeast to the Liaohe River Basin is the most concentrated. The Mongols living in Yunnan today are also descended from the Mongol army stationed there during the Yuan Dynasty" (3). At the same time, the Gyeonggi region (present-day Beijing, Shanxi, and the northern part of Hebei Province), centered on the capital city, was also the area with the highest concentration of Mongols. In addition, there were large numbers of Mongols in the pre-Yuan period in Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Sichuan, which are located at the border of Song and Jin. Henan and Shandong in the Yuan Dynasty were called "the heart of the world" and were the key areas for the Mongol army, according to the "Yuan History" Volume "Shizu Ji XIV", around 1327, the Mongol army stationed in this area amounted to 110,000 households, and the Mongolian language was very popular in the area (4). At the same time, although many people thought that the area south of the Yangtze River had nothing to do with the Mongols, as the economic center of the Yuan Dynasty, a considerable number of Mongol armies were also stationed here. Yangzhou, for example, was the fiefdom of King Zhennan, the ninth son of Yuan Shizu, and up to 40,000 Mongol troops were stationed there.
Today, the Mongols live mainly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Mongolian autonomous prefectures and counties in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and other provinces and districts; the rest are scattered in provinces, cities and districts such as Ningxia, Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Beijing and other provinces, cities and districts. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the population of Mongolians was 5813947 (5). This is how the Mongolian culture has influenced the Han culture with the migration of the Mongols, and in such a long process, many Mongolian folklore has been gradually accepted by the Han people, injecting a certain amount of "Mongolization factor" into the lives of Han people nowadays.
(2) The Mongolian "steppe-oriented" ruling culture is the basis for the preservation of Mongolian culture and its influence on Han folklore.
Genghis Khan once said, "If one day my heirs and subjects live in houses made of clay, that will be the end of the Mongolia I founded." (6) The Mongolian culture was different from that of the northern peoples of the previous generation. (6) Compared with the regimes established by the northern ethnic groups in the previous generations, the Mongols had their own peculiarities. China's ancient dynasties of the northern minorities, most of them were influenced by the Han agricultural civilization after entering the Central Plains, and embarked on the road of Sinicization, which is a general historical trend. But in the steppe nomadic people on the road of sinicization, Mongolia's step is hesitant, difficult. Great Mongolia's steppe-based policy, decided the Mongolian Khan on the Han only take indirect rule, heavy scavenging and light governance, resulting in "Han not rule" situation. After the accession of Kublai, change the course, the implementation of the Han law, the center of gravity of the rule from the desert north to the Han, thus in the road of sinicization took a key step. However, Kublai's policy of implementing Han law was incomplete from the very beginning. With the establishment of the regime largely complete and the initial completion of the ceremonial system, the further implementation of the Han law and the work of bridging cultural differences came to a standstill. A great deal of the old Mongol system, which hindered social progress, was preserved for a long time under the guise of "ancestry" because it involved the privileged interests of the nobility.
This may have been one of the reasons for the early decline of the Yuan dynasty. But on the other hand, Mongol rule had a very positive effect on Chinese culture. In the northern steppe of the desert before the establishment of the Mongolian state, there were frequent changes of various ethnic groups in more than a thousand years, and the rise and fall was unpredictable, but since the establishment of the Mongolian state until now, in the past thousand years, there has been only one main ethnic group in the northern steppe of the desert, even after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the disintegration of the unified regime of the Mongols, there is also no exception. As a result, Mongolian culture has been preserved, and many Mongolian folklore has influenced the Han Chinese and become part of their folklore, injecting new elements into their lives and folklore.
The "Mongolization" factor in Han folklore
(1) Meat and cheese were spread to the Central Plains--Mongolian food culture influenced Han folklore.
In the process of the gradual integration of Mongolian culture with Han folklore, many people may not realize that many of our common customs are related to the Mongols. And many of the common foods in our daily lives are also inextricably linked to the Mongols.
1. The origin of shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu is originally a traditional Mongolian food, which began to spread to Beijing in the Qing Dynasty. Although many Han Chinese today enjoy shabu-shabu, few know that it actually originated in the Yuan Dynasty. According to Fan Yuchun's book "Cultural Roots," when Yuan Shizuizu Kublai led his army on an expedition to the south, he ordered a fire to be set up for a meal when he was so tired and hungry. Kublai devoured even ate a few bowls, that is, across the army horse, led the army to meet the war, the results of the flag victory. After the triumph Kublai Lie ordered to treat the whole army, asked the cooks to still cook the delicious mutton eaten before the war, this time the chefs selected a high-quality sheep leg of the big three forks and on the brain of the tender meat, cut into uniform slices, and then with a variety of condiments, shabu-shabu after the tender and tasty, the generals were full of praise, Kublai Lie is a smile on his face. The chef came forward and said, "This dish does not have a name, so please give it to the commander-in-chief. "Kublai replied with a smile while shabu-shabuing the slices of mutton, "I think it's called shabu-shabu, what do you generals think?" From then on, shabu-shabu became a palace delicacy until the Guangxu years of the Qing Dynasty, when it gradually went to the people (7).
Nowadays, when Chongqing hot pot, Beijing hot pot, and especially the famous "Beijing Donglaishun Shabu Shabu" and "Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Hot Pot" are all over the streets, shabu shabu has become a famous Chinese dish, and has been introduced to countless common people. While shabu-shabu has become a famous Chinese dish that has made its way out of China and into the homes of countless ordinary people, few people know that this much-loved dish actually has such a profound connection with the Mongolian people.
2, milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products have become an important part of the daily life of the Han Chinese essential. As the staple food of the nomads in the north, dairy products are indispensable food in the daily life of the nomads. In the Central Plains, where grains and vegetables are the staple food, there were no dairy products to eat at first. When dairy products were first introduced to the Central Plains, they were only consumed by the upper class as a very precious food. During the Western Jin Dynasty, a Shangshu order was weak and sickly, and Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, to show his favor, specially "gave him cheese, which was given to him by his officials on a daily basis" (8). Visible, in the Western Jin Dynasty, cheese in the northern Han society is still a very treasured food. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the migration of a large number of northern peoples to the south, dairy products gradually became common in the south. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty, with the large number of Mongols moving south, that dairy products such as yogurt, cream, cheese, milk skin, milk tofu, etc. gradually became important foods in people's daily lives and officially began to play an important role.
Today, as China's "Dairy Capital", Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, in addition to the two giants of China's dairy industry, Mengniu Dairy and Yili Dairy, also has the "Grassland Love", "Yili Dairy", and "Yili Dairy". With "Grassland Love", "Nailun Dairy" and many other dairy enterprises, Inner Mongolia's dairy products are not only famous all over the world, but also occupy most of the domestic dairy market, in the just concluded 27th IDF World Dairy Congress, the International Dairy Federation President Mr. Jim Begg pointed out that in 2005, the dairy industry will continue to grow. Mr. Jim Begg pointed out that in 2005, 50% of the growth of the global dairy industry, that is, from China, "and in the growth of China's dairy industry, more than 50% of the contribution from Mengniu and other enterprises as the representative of the Inner Mongolia dairy industry" (9). When you walk into any supermarket, Inner Mongolian "Mengniu" or "Yili" yogurt and liquid milk will have a place, and its milk powder, cheese, milk tea powder and other dairy products also have a large number of customers. With "Yili" becoming the official product of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, "Mengniu" successfully sponsoring Hunan TV's "Super Girls" and the December 2006 partnership with "Yogurt Group", the world's largest yogurt group, "Mengniu" has become a major player in the global yogurt market. After the cooperation with the world's largest yogurt group "France Danone" in December 2006, Mongolian dairy products in Inner Mongolia are playing an increasingly important role in both international and domestic societies, and drinking a certain amount of yogurt or milk every day has long been a necessary part of the daily life of most Han Chinese, and Mongolian dairy products are playing an even more important role in Han Chinese folklore in a more powerful way. Mongolian dairy products are playing a more important role in Han folklore in a stronger way.
(2) The Influence of the Mongolian Language on the Chinese Language
Besides the gradual influence of the Mongolian diet on Han folklore, the use of language and writing also reflected a similar situation. In particular, during the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols established a centralized power to rule the country, and the Mongolian language had a profound impact on the Chinese language. During the Yuan Dynasty, "Kublai ordered Bastba to imitate the Tibetan script to create "Mongolian new characters", which were issued to the whole world, and all official documents must be written in it, and then attached to the local script (Chinese, Woodruff's, etc.), and in order to popularize this kind of script, the imperial court set up a wide range of Mongolian character studies at the local level for the teaching of the language. In order to promote this script, the imperial court set up a number of Mongolian character schools to teach it at the local level" (10). A large number of Han Chinese were enrolled in the Mongolian Character School in order to get a step up. Familiarity with the Mongolian language, Mongolian names, and a tendency toward Mongolization were not uncommon in Han Chinese society. Although the Liao, Jin, and Qing dynasties had created their own scripts, none of them had such a strong effect on the Han region as the Mongols. Instead, the influence of the Han script on the Mongolian aristocracy was much weaker than on other northern minority dynasties. The Mongolian language was mainly used in the court. The Qing dynasty, Zhao Yi has made a preliminary study of this, pointed out that the Yuan dynasty, "not only the emperor did not learn Chinese, that is, the ministers who learn Chinese language is also small" (11).
Under such circumstances, the influence of the Mongolian language on the Chinese language has become increasingly strong, and even though it has been about 700 years since the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, to this day, there are still a lot of words in the Chinese language that come from the Mongolian language. For example:
Station: when understood as a place of temporary stopover or a transitory institution (12) comes from the Mongolian language. The Yuan dynasty established the most complete stagecoach system in ancient China, and there were specialized agencies for stagecoaches in various places, called "station chi", whose original Mongolian word was jamci, meaning "the person who manages the stagecoach", which later evolved into a specific reference to the place where the stagecoach had to be transferred, and later on, the word "station" was derived. Later, it evolved to mean the place where the stagecoach was transferred, and then later to mean "station" (13).
Hutong: From the Mongolian guolum, meaning "well", the word "hutong" came to mean an alley with houses on both sides, and was later used to refer to the alleyways of the north (14).
Gobi: from the Mongolian gobi, meaning "a place where it is difficult to grow grass and trees", referring to deserts and rocky beaches, and later referring to the desert terrain on the hard soil layer covered with coarse sand and gravel. "In modern Chinese, the ancient and original meaning of "歹" has disappeared, and the Mongolian meaning of "歹" has become the basic vocabulary of the Chinese language (15).
In most of the Han regions of Inner Mongolia today, the names of places transliterated from the Mongolian language are still preserved, such as "Hohhot", which is the Mongolian word for "green city"; "Arshan", which is the Mongolian word for "sacred water"; and "Xixi", which is the name of a mountain in the middle of a river in the middle of a river. "and Xilin Gol, horqin, Urumqin grassland, Ulanqab, Alashan, Ordos and other names is a vivid record of the Mongolian language on the influence of Chinese culture. It can be seen that the profound culture of the Chinese language is still y engraved with traces of the Mongolian language, the Mongolian language on the Chinese language still plays a role that can not be ignored.
(3) Songs and Dances: The Influence of Mongolian Music and Dance on Chinese Folklore
The Yuan Dynasty seems to be the dynasty in China that placed the greatest emphasis on music and art. It is reported that the scale of the Yuan dynasty's Ministry of Education and Music was very large, which was quite prominent in Chinese history, and various songs, dances and miscellaneous dramas were often moved by the Ministry of Education and Music in the Yuan court, and under the conditions of that time, the Yuan rulers often had no scruples about socializing with the artists (16). This is on the one hand, because most people in the Yuan ruling class of Chinese cultural training is not enough to appreciate the elegant poetry, on the other hand, the Mongolian national character is also difficult to be interested in this purely written literature and art, so the song and dance music for their special hobby. This is actually a kind of cultural "heterogeneous" intrusion, which broke the unequal relationship between traditional poetry and popular literature. This attitude directly led to a "Mongolian sound" in the Yellow River valley after the Jin-Yuan Dynasty entered the Central Plains, which led to the wide spread of Mongolian-style music and dance.
1. The Mongolian Style in the Han Music World
"Birds can't get away from their wings, and the Mongols can't get away from their singing" (17). As a nation that has been able to sing and dance since ancient times, Mongolian songs are diverse in content, especially its Mongolian long-toned folk songs, which are rude and bold, with high and melodious tunes. Its content is very rich, there are depictions of love and marriage marriage, there are praises of horses, grasslands, mountains, rivers, there are praises of grassland heroes and so on, these folk songs vividly reflect the Mongolian society and customs, listening to the sound of the aftermath of the feeling of three days never stop. With the Jin Yuan into the Central Plains, "Mongolia sound" spread throughout the country, the Yuan people also created a strong hu music color of the northern popular tunes based on the new tunes - Beiquan. The Northern Songs swept away the Han and Tang Dynasty since the song works despise vulgarity Chong Ya, conservative still quiet characteristics, in the aesthetic style of natural simplicity, hearty, strong Yi Dao Jin's main features, so that the Mongolian style of music is y rooted in the people, and has been revitalized.
In recent years, in China's national folk art treasure trove, Mongolian folk songs are even more rich in content, unique grassland style and shine, by the Han people's welcome and love, many Han artists in the grasslands of the song sea picking, so that the Mongolian folk songs have been further sorted out, protection, and dissemination. In the 60's, the large-scale music and dance epic "The East is Red" has been popular for a while, and the songs such as "Going up to this high Xing'anling", which still has the charm of art, are based on the Mongolian long-tone folk songs. In many large-scale cultural evenings and sympathy performances, famous musicians such as Li Shuangjiang sang Mongolian songs such as "The Beauty of the Grassland Night" and "Night on the Grassland", which also left a deep impression on people. The unique Mongolian "a cappella mixed chorus" is loved by many Han musicians and has gradually become a new form of singing in the Han music culture.On February 15, 2007, Inner Mongolia Grassland Songs with the unique "a cappella mixed chorus" and the long and melodious voice
The Inner Mongolian grassland song with this unique "a cappella mixed chorus" and melodious long tone into the Vienna Golden Hall, Inner Mongolia grassland song popularity from this further in the international singing world to get strengthened.
And in 2007 the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Mongolian songs are also brilliant. By the Inner Mongolia famous singer Qi Feng sang "Inner Mongolia wine song" again to the people of the country to show the Mongolian enthusiasm and bold, the comic "I spoiled him" in the Mongolian song "above the moon" of the adaptation also reflects the Mongolian song is widely circulated. In the 2006 Spring Festival Gala, the Mongolian girl Ingmar sang the song "Auspicious Three Treasures" for the national audience in a clear but full of ethnic flavor, which made the song "Auspicious Three Treasures" popular throughout the country, and the Chinese music scene once again blew up a wave of "Mongolian song wind". In addition to "Auspicious Three Jewels", "Ulan Bator's father", and "Phoenix Legend" sang "Over the Moon" and other Mongolian songs have also been sung north and south of the Yangtze River, and "Paradise", "Mongolians", "Father's Grassland, Mother's River", "Grassland Night Beauty", "Carved Saddles", "Blue Mongolian Plateau", "Beautiful Grassland My Home", etc. are also familiar to the ear. Mongolian songs are also familiar, together with the long-sung nationwide "Ovoo meeting", "Gadamerin", "blue sky white clouds floating", "the grasslands rising Sun" and other songs, Mongolian songs have really become China's music scene red-hot "grassland a family".
Nowadays, in many programs, parties or competitions of CCTV, Chinese singers singing Mongolian songs have long been familiar to people, and those songs with different ethnic flavors have made many Chinese singers stand out in various performances or competitions, and many Chinese songs are also popular among people because of their obvious integration of Mongolian flavors. In addition, whether it is the "Auspicious Three Treasures" in the Spring Festival Gala or the "Phoenix Legend" group and "Erguna" band from the "Avenue of Stars" program that went to the whole country, or the "Mongolian Songs" that went to the whole country with the Mongolian songs, it is a very popular song in the country. Along with the Mongolian songs to the national Dedema, Tengger, Sichin Gezhil, Mahi, Qi Feng and a number of grassland singers and singers, their rise, further expanding the influence of Mongolian songs in the Chinese music scene, so that the singing and creation of Han songs are relatively more integrated into a certain element of Mongolian music.
2. The Influence of Mongolian Dance on Han Dance
Dance is an important way for human beings to express their feelings. People first need to use language to express their feelings, "the lack of words, so long words (singing); long words of insufficient, so contempt; contempt of insufficient, so the hands of the dance, the feet of the dance also." Due to the earlier origin of Han Chinese writing, the use of writing is more developed, coupled with the long-term cultivation and immersion in farming and sedentary life and the traditional culture of Confucianism, which emphasizes ethics, Han Chinese are more accustomed to using language to express their own feelings, so Han Chinese are far less developed than the ethnic minorities in the use of music or dance, and the way of expressing themselves is far less developed than that of the ethnic minorities in the nomadic economy. Therefore, the Han Chinese are far less developed than the ethnic minorities in expressing themselves through music or dance, and their ways of expression are far less unrestrained and direct than those of the ethnic minorities in the nomadic economy. Therefore, even though a large number of Han Chinese have migrated to most of the minority areas, the music and dance culture of the Han Chinese has been largely influenced by the minorities. In this regard, the Mongolian dance, with the constant collision of the Mongol Yuan culture and the Central Plains culture, has greatly influenced the Han dance with its crisp, smooth, free, stretching and bold features.
Mongolian dance has been famous for a long time, and there are countless dances that have won awards at national and international level. Famous traditional dances include "Andai Dance", "Cup and Bowl Dance" and "Chopstick Dance". Contemporary dances include "Eagle", "Saber Dance", "Horse Taming Dance", "Prancing", "Ordos Wedding Dance" and so on. Among them, "Cup and Bowl Dance" and "Ordos Dance" created by dancer Jia Zuoguang won the international gold medal, and "Milkman Dance" won the international bronze medal (18). Mongolian dances are mainly characterized by rhythmic and passionate. Female dances are characterized by cheerful rhythm, light steps, and the most famous movements such as shaking shoulders and turning over hand bowls, which show the enthusiastic and cheerful character of Mongolian girls. Men's dance is modeling upright and bold, the pace is free and light, in a wave of the hand, a whip, a prancing jump, giving a person tough and brave, strong and powerful masculine beauty.
Mongolian traditional dance, some strong and high-pitched, some free and unrestrained, and the soft and sluggish traditional Han dance formed a sharp contrast. Throughout the Han, Tang, Song and other Han dances, more light like a swallow, look forward to stay, dance skirt for the beauty of this "dance clear shadow" of the beauty of the Mongolian dance with the "wind up and clouds fly" like a really far away. In today's television screen, we can often see the lively red hot, extraordinary momentum, bold and magnificent, majestic and elegant dance, these dances are the Han dance and Mongolian and other ethnic minorities for thousands of years after the fusion of dance products, from a certain degree of identification of the brilliant Mongolian civilization.
In addition to these aspects, Mongolian culture has also influenced Han folklore in many ways, such as the Inner Mongolian cashmere or wool enterprises represented by Ordos cashmere products, which have promoted the use and development of cashmere and wool in Han; Mongolian beef jerky is a common favorite of Han people; Mongolian Yuanzai Opera, which is the basis for today's Han Chinese drama, is a real theater with complete literary scripts and strict performance forms. The Mongolian Yuanzai Opera is the foundation and prototype of today's Chinese drama, which is a mature drama with a complete literary script, strict performance form, and complete and rich content; the Mongolian operas such as "Gadamerin" and "Danabala" have enriched the singing form of Chinese operas and influenced the creation of Chinese operas later on, etc. In short, the Mongolian opera is the most famous opera in China.
In short, in the process of lasting, extensive role in the Han culture, Mongolian culture with its "sky like a dome, covering the four fields" of the breadth of mind and vigor constantly injected into Chinese culture with new vitality, and gradually become an important factor in the development of Han folk culture. Along the vein of historical development, we can clearly see that the Mongolian people's accession to the Central Plains and the continuous migration to the Han area have influenced the formation of today's Han folklore to a certain extent in various aspects such as dietary culture, language and culture, music and dance culture, etc. And it is as the Mongolian culture and the Han folklore have become more and more intertwined with each other, that the Mongolian culture and the Han culture have become more and more intertwined. And it is with the large-scale integration and convergence of Mongolian and Han cultures over and over again that the formation of the diversified integration pattern of the entire Chinese nation and Chinese culture has been accelerated. It is also in this Han folklore in the process of continuous "Mongolianization", which creates our Chinese nation's growing, Han folk culture is constantly enriched, as well as the longevity of the Chinese culture and endless.