The Miao is a people with a long history, but the historical development of the Miao is very slow, in the modern Miao culture and customs still retain many very old and even primitive components. In studying the culture of the ancient Miao, it is inevitable to link the relationship to the culture of the Chu, and then trace the relationship between the origins of Miao and Chu. For the ancient history of the legendary era of the southern clans or tribes between the origin of the relationship, has always been controversial, historical records are confusing, not easy to distinguish. But there is one thing is **** the same, these clans or tribes of the same scope of activities, mainly in the Yin and Zhou era of the Jing barbarians. Jing barbarians, is the name of the place and the name of Jingzhou, generally known as the residence of the various tribes of the nation. It is not surprising that the *** same living environment gave rise to the *** same cultural characteristics. Therefore, the Jingban area of the Chu people and the Miao ancestors who have long lived in this area, in the culture has an extremely close relationship, it is also reasonable. Especially after the establishment of the state of Chu, became the center of integration of the various ethnic groups in the south of our country, when strong, had jurisdiction over the southern territory stretching thousands of miles, the group of barbarians, Baipu, Yue, Qunshu, Yong, Mia, and Yelang. The ancient tribes of Yunnan, Wu and Yue were all subject to its rule. They influenced each other in their customs and habits as well as in their culture. As a result, many features of the Chu culture remain among the modern ethnic groups in the south of China, especially among the Miao.
Ancient Chinese Tribal Groups
In China, the Yellow River Valley is the cradle of Chinese civilization, and the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties are the important periods of occurrence and development of our ancient civilization. The civilization of these three generations laid down the tradition of ancient Chinese culture. Just as the civilization of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties was developing in the Yellow River Basin, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were also developing an agricultural culture, which was developing the primitive culture of our country at the same time with the Yellow River City, one from the south and the other from the north. And the ancestors of the Miao people are all the originators of creating the culture of this region.
From the archaeological type, the Chu culture has a close relationship with the Daxi culture, the Qujialing culture and the Qinglongquan culture which is equivalent to the stage of Longshan culture. According to the archaeological discovery of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Neolithic culture types are numerous and extremely complex, and it shows the characteristics of multi-ethnic settlement in this area. At the same time, it also shows that cultural creation and exchange is very prosperous as well as the phenomenon of mutual penetration in the process of forming their own splendid culture of each ancient nation.
Opening up the sky
Cultural relics of Miao and Chu
The ancient distribution of Miao and Chu ancestors was mainly in the vast area of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to archaeological data proved that there are many agricultural tribal sites in the Yangtze River Basin, such as the sites of Qinglongquan in Uyu County, Hubei, Qujialing in Jingshan, Daxi in Wushan, etc., there are a large number of production tools and rice seeds, etc., unearthed, in addition to stone axes, stone adzes, stone chisels, net pendants, fishhooks, arrowheads, spinning wheels and other fishing and hunting tools. In addition, the Neolithic culture of Hunan Li County and Changde western Baimahu as well as the Sichuan family Jinggou and Hubei Yichang Yangjiawan and other sites, culturally has a close relationship with. The "Tao Zu" unearthed at the Qujialing Culture site is a reflection of the practice of male genital worship. Qujialing culture and Longshan culture is similar to the same patriarchal clan society era sites. The burial system of the Hushu culture in the Jingchu area, which used perforated tortoise shells to protect the male genitalia, and a series of activities of male genital worship expressed in the ancestor worship ceremonies of the Miao, all have the same cultural characteristics. The burial system of the Chu and Miao is mostly earth burial, but in the mountainous areas there is also the habit of using cliff caves for burial. For example, in 1980, in Jiangxi Guixi County, Huxi River found a number of Warring States cliff burials of Chu tombs. There were 37 coffins and a large number of cultural relics in the tombs. Cliff burial tombs have also been found in northwest Qianbei, southeast Qianbei and other places where the Miao people live. Hanging-coffin burials, mostly burying influential Miao people in their lifetime. Both types of burials have been found in northwest Qianbei. There is a cliff tomb burial had found more than ten coffins Miao tomb, and Luxi River Warring States cliff tomb burials have analogies.
Miao hanging coffins
Miao and Chu weapons comparison
Miao ancestors "do not fear fierce poison, in and out of the knife, crossbow, agricultural gap that is to fish and hunt for the matter. Miao knife and crossbow is a production tool and weapon, very early has been homemade. Legend has it that the Miao people when the baby boy was born three days later, that is, its weight, and according to the weight of friends and relatives gifts or long ago reserves of pig iron smelting buried in the soil. Every year on the day of birth to take out and then refined, year after year, until the age of fifteen or sixteen years old will be iron into a knife with the body, known as the "Miao knife". Because of the long refining into steel, the texture is strong. The shape of this knife is similar to the knife unearthed in Chu. Miao crossbow, and the crossbow of Chu is also very similar. The crossbow was originally produced in Chu. It is said to have come from the Lone Father, and then passed to the Chu Qin Clan, and then outward. In Changsha found a lot of crossbow machine, can prove that Chu is the production of crossbow base.
Miao crossbow in Guiyang
Miao and Chu phoenix and bird totem worship
Bird totem worship, Chu and Miao ancestors of the **** the same characteristics. The Chu people venerate the phoenix and luan. Some people believe that the phoenix is the embodiment of Zhu Rong; "White Tiger Tong - five elements" recorded: Zhu Rong the ...... its essence for the bird, away from the luan. Some people also think: 驩兜也为鸟名，驩兜即驩头，又作驩兜，也称丹朱，古文作鴅熠。 The note of "Shangshu": ? should be peng. Human face, bird's beak and wings," has been described as a bird totem worship of the Tetsujin Tou. The creation of totems is generally related to their ancestors. Primitive people are convinced that each clan has a kinship or other special relationship with a certain kind of animal or plant or no living thing. That object becomes the totem or the symbol of the protector of that clan and is worshipped by the whole clan. The Miao people believe that their ancestors were the offspring of a marriage between a brother and a sister during a flood, and the legend of the oviparous ancestor has been put forward. Especially in the ancient songs such as "Twelve Eggs", "Maple Tree", "Meibong Meiliu" or "Mother Butterfly" which are popular in the Qiandongnan area, there are references to the giant birds "Ke Cai" and "Le Cai", which were born in the egg world, and "Jio" and "Magpie Yu", which were born in the egg world. In the ancient songs such as "Butterfly Mother", the giant birds "Ke Cai" and "Le Cai" are mentioned as having laid their eggs in heaven and earth, and "Jie Mei" and "Jie Yu" or "Kiyu" are mentioned as having hatched their eggs and reproduced the Hmong. To this day, the Hmong people still use birds as the theme in their clothes, decorations (headdresses, jewelry), and embroidery patterns and other crafts.
Miao Jinji Dance
Women in Qiandongnan dress up to wear a variety of headdresses or other ornaments, including a kind of unfolding peacock-like silver horns or bird-shaped headdresses, with a bunch of feathers on the end of each horn. Men often use feathers as headdresses on their heads. The Miao men of Liuzhi use a bunch of two or three feet long Jinji tail feathers to insert on the head, usually with a white chicken feathers. Nowadays, men have short hair and don't wear headgear, and they also put feathers on their lushengs as decoration. Bird totem worship in clothing also have a lot of signs can be found, such as Qianzhong region of the Miao women's ornaments a back plate, there is a representation of the "bird's eye" and "bird wings" of the pick flower pattern, "bird wings The "bird's wings" are exactly on the shoulders. There are "bird clothes" trimmed with white feathers in Southeast Guizhou and the Great Miao Mountains, as well as the white pleated skirts of Miao women all over the world, which unfold like the peacock's open screen. Miao bird totem worship in the oral tradition of the ancient songs or folk stories are common, and will not repeat here. As for the Chu bird totem worship, many unearthed artifacts have reflected.
Chu clothing
Jiangling County, Wangshan Tomb No. 1 (Warring States period of the Chu tombs) unearthed a painted wood carving small seat screen and wood carving and lacquer double phoenix tiger seat drums, there is a clear reflection. The small screen is 51.8 centimeters long, 15 centimeters high, and only 3 centimeters thick, but there are fifty-five animals such as snakes, frogs, deer, and finches (or phoenixes), which constitute a picture of fighting with each other. The layout of the image is symmetrical, and if it is separated from the center, the two sides are the same image. The image is centered on a bird (or a finch or a phoenix) with its back swooping downward in the shape of a pecking snake, with two snakes coiled into a ball underneath, their heads reaching out to both sides and biting the forelimbs of two running deer. On each side there are two phoenixes, mouthing and clawing the snakes. The two sides of the convergence of the double wind **** ki a snake, two claws to grab two snakes. There are animal (mainly snake) reliefs on the base and both sides of the border of the seat screen. Some of the snakes are stretching their heads to bite the frogs that want to escape. The whole image is centered on the bird (or phoenix or finch), which is the only victor. The Double Wind Tiger Seat Drum is a symmetrical image of a pair of phoenixes with feet on the back of a tiger. A double-sided drum is tied to the bodies of the two phoenixes. The two phoenixes step on the tiger's back and raise their heads and whine. Delighted very much, while the tiger is tame lying down, let the bird on the back trampled. Analyzed from the point of view of totem, the two pieces of cultural relics constitute the bird totem and the snake and tiger totem struggle for victory. This is a true reflection of the strong history of Chu. Primitive society with birds as totems of many clans, but in the same region living in the same clans, the same bird totem worship, its relationship is extraordinary.
Chu phoenix bird drum
Miao and the witch culture of Chu
Chu culture, generally refers to the culture of Chu after the founding of the state. However, the witch culture of Chu can be said to have a long history. It inherited the witchcraft of the Jiu Li and San Miao. Ancient history of the legendary era of Zhuan Xu may be a great witch or religious master of the Chiyu tribe, after the defeat of Chiyu had been attached to the Yellow Emperor tribe. At that time, the Jiu Li tribe, which was conquered by the Yellow Emperor, still practiced witchcraft and worshiped ghosts and gods. The Yellow Emperor then ordered Zhuan Xu to force his original Jiu Li tribe to submit to the Yellow Emperor's indoctrination. Subsequently, the San Miao continued the Jiu Li's witchcraft. According to Lv Ding: "When the San Miao were in a state of chaos, they listened to the gods". The Chu people inherited witchcraft and practiced witchcraft, sacrificing to ghosts and gods. Sorcerers practicing magic, must use witch songs, singing forbidden incantations. Ancient records on the Jingchu region of the activities of ghost sacrifice a lot. In the "Chu Rhetoric" also has a lot of accounts. Wang Yi, "Chu Rhetoric Chapter and Verse": "the former state of Chu in the south of Ying, between Yuan and Xiang, its customs believe in ghosts and good rituals, the rituals must be made song and music inspired by music and the gods". Han Shu - Geography Zhi: "Chu ...... believe in witch and ghost, heavy obscene shrine". Sui book - geography records: Jingzhou rate of respect for ghosts, especially heavy shrine things. Gu Yanwu also said: "Hunan and Chu popular Shang ghosts, since ancient times for the natural". Later, the Miao living in this area is also the same, according to Xiangxi "Yongsui Hall Records": statistics of the Miao ghost rituals have more than seventy halls. Another record: the Miao fishing and hunting in the agricultural leisure time, but also to sacrifice the ghost first and then eat. Miao people have 36 God, 72 ghosts said, but actually believe that the ghosts and gods are everywhere, everywhere, believe that everything has a spirit can be attached to the ghosts and gods. They believe that everything has a spirit and can be attached to ghosts and gods. Since they are powerless to fight against diseases and disasters, they only pray to the ghosts and gods. Even the sorcerers do not know much about the Hmong wizard's words. It can be seen that there are many kinds of wizard and god words, up to more than a hundred kinds, and they are sung in pairs. With the "Chu rhetoric" used for rituals "nine songs" have similarities. Chu's "nine songs" is Qu Yuan Chu folk rituals sung by the priest and sorcerer to welcome the gods and send the gods and other ritual songs processed and adapted. Some of the wizard rhetoric of the Miao may be part of the prototype of the Nine Songs made by Qu Yuan. The contents of the Miao wizard's words are used to worship ancestors, such as catching the dragon, vertebrae cattle, vertebrae pigs, and eating bullu dirty (drumshe). There are also water spells to drive away evil spirits and illnesses, as well as oaths to wash the heart, early drought to seek rain, choose the right fortune, divination, and fortune-telling. There are also similarities between the Chu Rhetoric - Invoking Souls and the Hmong's Invoking Souls Witchcraft Rhetoric.
Chu murals
Miao people and the martial spirit of the Chu people
Chu people and Miao people have the same martial spirit. The people of Chu believe that it is a great shame not to go to war for five years, and that they will not be able to see their ancestors when they die. Therefore, the Chu said war. This is not unrelated to the ancient Chi You "still good to kill" and then be regarded as "God of War'' legend. With the Miao "thirty years a small counter, sixty years a counter" is also somewhat similar. Miao martial arts, a traditional cultural influence, one is out of self-defense. Thousands of historical conquests and resistance, prompting the Miao people have been practicing martial arts, including the legacy of Chu. Wushu, also known as the national art, is the Chinese nation fitness body art. Historically, the fight between the various ethnic groups, strengthened the development of martial arts. Now it is difficult to distinguish between those sets of martial arts founded in which ethnic groups. But nowadays, the Miao's martial arts still has its own characteristics.
The Basha Miao
Myths and legends of the Miao and the Chu
The Chu worshiped Nuwa as the god who opened up the sky and the earth. The Hmong, on the other hand, say that Fuxi and Nuwa are brother and sister, the only survivors of the flood, and that mankind was bred from them. The Yin and Zhou dynasties did not hear much about Nuwa. By the time of the Warring States period, when the state of Chu was powerful, it was widely spread, probably due to the expansion of the state of Chu, and became the human origin story of the Han and other Xuxiang minorities later on. The legend about Fuxi is first contained in the Yi Series of Rhetoric: "In the ancient times, the king of the Baosi clan was also the king of the world", and the Baosi clan is Fuxi. The form of name calling is the same as that of the Miao. When the Miao call a man, they often add a "p044" (Zhouxi in Qiandongnan), or "p035" (Yaoqiao, which translates as "bag" or "shoulder") in front. or "p035" (in Yangxiao, which is translated as "bao" or "膊", meaning "brother" or "哥哥"). The Miao people still have a wooden statue of the first siblings used in ancestor worship, although the name of the siblings of the Miao people around the name of the Fu brothers and sisters, Fuxi Nuwa, Jiang central brother and sister, central public central mother, two phases of the two Mang (gourd siblings), Nuo Nuo mother, etc. are different, but they all refer to the same first ancestor.
Fuxi Nuwa figure
Miao literature and Chu literature
Chu people's literature and Miao folklore also have **** the same place, especially on the format of the **** the same point. The Chu Rhetoric "Li Sao" uses the Chu language, makes the Chu sound, remembers the Chu land, names the Chu things, and has a strong local color. Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" is "to describe the beginning of the birth, to the strong Boda, as of the end of the ...... said the ancient emperor, the mountain of Huai Shen, called the dragon gnarled", put words of reverie. It is said that Qu Yuan spent nine years between Yuan and Hunan, traveling along the banks of the river, and that the Li Sao is a piece of ancient literature, his masterpiece. Poetry in the style of Chu Rhetoric, traditionally known as "Sao Style", is characterized by the use of ancient myths and legends, romanticism in its creation, and the common use of the Chu dialect, as well as the use of the Chu language's double rhymes and overlapping characters. Ruoxi is used more often to regulate the rhythm of a poem or as an auxiliary word. These stylistic features are almost identical to those of the ancient songs passed down orally by the Miao. The Hmong rhyme "Ga" (the oldest kind of poetry) is the crystallization of Hmong myths, historical songs and stories. The Gah is more than 10,000 lines long, with questions or answers in the verses, starting from the beginning of heaven and earth, the origin of mankind, the emergence of various kinds of natural phenomena, the migration and development of the ethnic groups....... is rich in content and lively and touching. In terms of its content, it has similarities with the "Heavenly Questions" of Chu Rhetoric. At the beginning of "Plus", the question "Which is the earliest?" is raised. Slowly chasing the Hmong legend of Jiang Yang, Xiu Niu, Huo Nai, Caipa, Fufang, etc., and singing until "the fog covers the birth of white mud, white mud into the sky, the fog covers the birth of black mud, black mud into the ground". "The sky and the earth stick together, the earth and the sky are connected. Two thick pieces of east ah, connected together ... ."
Chinese Costume
The entire "Questions of Heaven" is three hundred and seventy-four sentences long. The main content is to raise one hundred and seventy-two questions about various natural phenomena, myths and legends, and historical facts between heaven and earth before and after the formation of the universe. The questions start from the universe first, and then ask about the sun, moon, stars, and stars in the sky, and then ask about geographical knowledge. From ancient legends and history to the state of Chu. The whole piece is very clearly layered and organized. The Miao's "Plus" has similarities with it and may be one of its original materials. Chu Rhetoric's Nine Chapters, Qu Yuan's works when he was banished, there are also different understandings, if arranged according to the old for "cherish recitation", "wading in the river", "mourning Ying", "pumping thoughts", "Wyatt Sand", "thinking of the beauty", "cherish the past", "Orange Ode", "sad back to the wind", of which the "wading in the river" is said to be the qu yuan was banished, across the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake to the xupu on the road made. From Ezhu (Wuchang) to Xupu, and shed the boat land line, from Wushu to Chenyang, forked again east to Xupu. Along the way, in addition to recounting the poet's political ideals, but also describes some of the scenery, with the Chu dialect, place names, such as Ezhu, Yuan, Xiang, Fanglin, Wushu, Chenyang, Xupu and so on. Chu dialect such as "transport" that is, turn, "long tongs'' that is, long sword, "Xinyi" that is, wooden pen, "altar "that is, the atrium, and so on. There are also some Chu dialects, such as "chaotic said" Miao language meaning ' "on" or "on right and wrong", "Li Sao" and "nine chapters - Shibujiang" and other articles have "Chaos" is used as the ending of a verse, which is usually translated as "epilogue" when translated into vernacular, which may not be appropriate. According to the meaning of the Miao language, it should be translated as "discussing the day" or "speaking in accordance with the principles of Taoism", which is more appropriate.
Qu Yuan
Another example is "Sha" in "Huai Sha", which is difficult to interpret in Chinese, but it is translated as "Song" in Miao (Xiangxi Miao "Sha'" is "Song"). The song "Huai Sha" is a song that expresses the nostalgia in one's heart. In addition to this, the Nine Songs of the Chu Rhetoric is a folk religious dance song of the Chu state, and Wang Yi says in the Chu Rhetoric: "The Nine Songs are also the work of Qu Yuan. In the past, in the south of Ying in Chu, between Yuan and Xiang, the custom was to sacrifice the ghosts, and the sacrifices must be sung and inspired to multiply the gods. Qu Yuan was in exile, harboring bitter and poisonous thoughts. He came out to see the rituals of the commoners' sacrifices and the music of songs and dances, the words of which were despicable, and thus he made the song of the Nine Songs". Zhu Xi said in the Chu Rhetoric set of notes: "the original both banished, see and feel, so quite more defined its words, go to its Thai very much". Wang Yi or Zhu Xi's notes, all indicate that the "nine songs" is the essence of the folk ritual song. Miao ancestors of the ritual song, in addition to sacrifices to ancestors and all things in the world, there are some of the contents of the people on the happy life of the longing, yearning, or the pursuit of love, the joys of love and pain camp and so on with the life of the close combination of things. During ceremonies or banquets, most of them are sung by sorcerers, and some of them are called "wine songs", which are sung while drinking or danced and sung at the same time. According to the Shangshu Yixun, the nine songs were "always dancing and singing, and singing in the room". The Book of Songs says: "The drums are beaten under the Wanyuqiu, and the heron's feathers are valued in winter and in summer". Although the nine songs is witch song, but its content is not all praise of the gods, there are a lot of stories in the world, both with the sacrifice of the gods, and people's lives are closely related. The communication between people and the gods was carried out by wizards who sang and danced. These are the same rituals that are still prevalent in the Miao Eh region today.
Hundred Bird Clothes
Similarities and Differences between the Miao and Chu Languages
In the Chu Rhetoric and the Chu Dialect, we can find words that are phonetically similar to the Miao language. In the book "Dialect", the reason why Yang Xiong called his elder brother "shoulder" to the despicable Jing Yang of Chu is not known. In fact, the Hmong name for brother is "膊" or "包", "荆扬之鄙" is the area where the Hmong forefathers used to live, and there is no doubt that this is the Hmong language. "Tig" (音羊，意为游玩), "戾" (音雷，意为到达), "泄、戏" (意为休息) "陂" (音比，意为山山). " (音比，意为山), "缴" (意为多), etc., which all have the same sound and meaning as the Hmong language.
The Miao bird-shaped walking rock
The ethnic festivals are different, some gradually unified through mutual influence, but some are still inherent in the traditional festivals of a particular ethnic group. The Duanyang Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month was originally a festival of the Jingchu people. Dai Dai Li Ji": "May 5, storage of orchids for the bath". Chu Si" said: "Mu Lan Tang Ruoxi Mu Fanghua", so it is called Mu Lan Festival. Also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, the four people step on the grass, picking mugwort hanging over the door to relieve the poisonous gas. On this day, there was a race to cross the river and a race to pick miscellaneous medicines. Later, it became a commemoration of Qu Yuan's casting of Miluo River and the sacrifice of casting rice dumplings. The Miao people still take May 5 as the festival, holding ceremonies, drinking and stepping on drums, dragon boat races, throwing food into the river water and other activities. Now almost the whole country over the Dragon Boat Festival, some with dragon boat races as the theme. In addition, the Jing Chu people in April 8 for the festival, the day of the temples set up fasting, to five packets of incense soup bath Buddha, some welcome eight of the Buddha in the Golden City, set up the streamers and drums and blowing, for the Dharma music. On this day, there are child seekers to the temple pavilion offering pancakes to pray for children. The Miao people also take April 8 as a big festival, which is said to be in honor of a national hero, but there are other ways of saying it. The activities in the western Hunan and Qianzhong regions are the most solemn, including singing, dancing Lusheng, drumming and sports activities. April 8 as a holiday, ancient Jingchu, today there are Miao people to celebrate, just the degree of the festival for different reasons.
Miao Dragon Boat Festival
Based on the above discussion, it can be assumed that the ancestors of the Miao people do not "Chu ancestors are far from the time of the same tribal alliance of the two tribes. As a result of long-term *** with the same life, produced each other similar ancestor legends, totem worship and culture, customs. Later, the Chu people increasingly strong, especially after the founding of the country, on the basis of the original creation of a brilliant Chu culture, many of which is the essence of ancient Chinese culture. In recent years, the unearthed cultural relics of Chu even make the present people marvel. However, the Miao ancestors have experienced great historical ups and downs, constant migration, the Miao political, economic and cultural development has a great impact, the living area is extremely dispersed, can not form a unified economic, political and cultural center. Due to the extremely slow development of the Miao society, there are still a lot of remnants of primitive culture. So that we can take this and the Chu culture comparison, explore thousands of years ago, Chu, Miao ancestors historical and cultural development trajectory.