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Most
of China's 2,548,300 Bouyei people live in several Bouyei-Miao
autonomous counties in Xingyi and Anshun prefectures and Qiannan
Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province. Others are
distributed in counties in the Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous
Prefecture or near Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou.
The Bouyei region is on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which slopes
from an altitude of 1,000 meters in the north to 400 meters in the
south. The Miaoling Mountains stretch across the plateau, forming part
of its striking landscape.
The famous Huangguoshu Falls cascade down more than 60 meters
near the Yunnan-Guizhou highway in Zhenning Bouyei-Miao Autonomous
County. The thunder of water can be heard several kilometers away, and
mists from the falls contribute to a magnificent view.
The Bouyeis are blessed with fertile land and a mild climate. The
average annual temperature is 16 degrees Centigrade, and an essentially
tropical environment, receiving between 100 and 140 centimeters of rain
a year, is ideal for farming. Local crops include paddy rice, wheat,
maize, dry rice, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, potatoes and beans. Farmers
also grow cotton, ramie, tobacco, sugar cane, tung oil, tea and oil-tea
camellia as profitable cash crops.
As the Red River valley is low-lying and tropical, paddy rice
yields two harvests annually. Silk, hemp, bamboo shoots and bananas
complement the local economy, and coffee and cocoa have also been
planted there recently.
The valley is also rich in trees, yielding a variety of timber,
which is good for construction, such as pines and China firs. The
remote, heavily-forested mountain and river areas provide a habitat for
tigers, leopards, bears, musk deer, foxes, golden pheasants and others.
Medicinal herbs are abundant in the woods, and the area is also rich in
mineral resources, such as coal, iron, zinc, antimony, copper,
petroleum, asbestos and mercury.
The Bouyei language is of the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong
group belonging to the Chinese-Tibetan family of languages. In the past,
the Bouyeis had no written language of their own, and used Han
characters instead. After 1949, the government helped formulate a Bouyei
writing system based on Latin letters.
This ethnic group possesses a rich folk literature, which
includes fairy tales, fables, folk songs, proverbs and poems. During
weddings, scores of young men and women are invited to join in
antiphonal singing of a rich ethnic quality. In the Biandan Mountain
area of Zhenning County, old women are invited to sing songs of blessing
by firesides. They can sing day and night for up to a week without
repeating the words of their ballads. Popular musical instruments of the
Bouyeis include the suona horn,
yueqin, dongxiao,
short xiao, and sister xiao
(all vertical bamboo flutes) and a copper drum. Their favorite dances
include the weaving dance and the lion dance.
The Bouyeis are skilled in arts and crafts. Their colorful and
beautifully-patterned batik dates far back to ancient times. In 1953, a
batik factory was built in the city of Anshun with the help of the local
authorities, and traditional technology was improved. Now, batik has
become one of their best-selling handicrafts, popular both on domestic
and foreign markets. In addition, their colorful embroidery, exquisite
summer sleeping mats and bamboo hats are not only durable and
attractive, but also highly artistic.
They live mostly on plains or in river valleys in villages
composed of families from several different clans, in two-storied
houses, bungalows or a combination of the two. Often people live on an
upper floor, and keep livestock on the lower.
Young Bouyei males generally wear short buttoned jackets and long
trousers, with scarves on their heads. Women wear jackets buttoned on
the right (although some young women prefer lace-trimmed jackets
buttoning down the middle), and long trousers or pleated skirts. They
also wear scarves and a variety of silver jewelry.
They are monogamous, but young people of opposite sexes mix
freely. When they go to fairs or other festivities, unmarried young men
and women get together to sing songs. If a woman is attracted to a man,
she will throw him a ball made of silk strips which she has embroidered
herself. If the man is agreeable, they then make a date at which they
will sing love songs to each other. After several dates, they may
announce their engagement. Under the feudal system of the past, however,
most marriages were arranged by parents.
In the past, the Bouyeis believed in spirits and worshipped
ancestors, although many living near missionary outposts were converted
to Christianity. In general, they observe the same festivals as the
Hans. On June 6 and April 8, however, they celebrate their own festivals
in commemoration of the leaders of ancient uprisings and their
ancestors. On "Ox King Festival," April 8, special cakes and
glutinous rice dyed in five different colors are made and offered to
ancestors. After the ceremony, half of these offerings are given to
their cattle, which are also granted a day of rest as a reward for their
hard work.
History
Studies of the language, names and geographical distribution of
the Bouyeis indicate that they have a common ancestry with the Zhuangs.
The ancient Yue people, who were widely distributed, were composed of
such ethnic groups as the Xiou and Louyue in Guangdong and Guizhou
provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The similarity between
the modern Zhuang and Bouyei languages and the ancient Louyue tongue is
a strong indication of the origin of the Bouyeis. In addition, many
habits and customs of the Yues still prevail among the Bouyeis.
For several centuries before the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907),
both the Zhuang and Bouyei peoples were referred to as "the alien
barbarians," but long separation eventually led to development of
different cultures and lifestyles. After A.D. 900, they became
recognized as separate minority groups.
After the second century B.C., increasing contacts between the
Bouyeis and the Hans boosted the former's productivity, and feudal
economic relationships were established.
By the Tang Dynasty, the central imperial court had established
in the Bouyei region an administrative system, under which local feudal
lords were appointed prefectural governors, and land became their
hereditary property. The system lasted for more than 1,000 years, until
the Qing court forced minority officials to surrender their powers.
Under the rule of minority headmen, the Bouyei society had retained its
feudal lord presence until 1911. Feudal lords and local officials owned
all the land, but not literally the peasants or serfs within their
territories. Lords still subjected peasants to cruel exploitation, but
were no longer allowed to kill them at will. Each peasant household was
given a piece of land to support itself, but was forbidden to purchase
it. Peasants and serfs were thus bound to the land and made to work for
the feudal lords for generations.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the imperial court abolished
the rule of minority headmen, and appointed officials with limited
tenures. As a result, the feudal lord economy collapsed and a landlord
economy took its place. As most land was owned by the rich few and
exploitation of the peasants by landlords became even crueler, class
conflicts intensified and led to many peasant uprisings, the biggest of
which was the Nanlong Uprising in 1797.
Post-1949
Development
In the early years of the People's Republic, few Bouyeis took
part in management. By 1981, however, there were 8,220 Bouyei
administrators, accounting for 65 per cent of the total minority
managerial staff in the area.
Before 1949, Bouyei agriculture was backward, especially in
remote mountain areas, where slash-and-burn farming methods still
dominated. Since liberation, tremendous changes have taken place. By
1982, grain output totaled 720,000 tons, nearly twice as much as the
1949 figure, and 12,880 water conservancy projects had been built. These
stored 200 million cubic meters of water, and brought 6,600 hectares of
land under irrigation -- a six-fold increase over the 1949 area.
Before 1949, there was virtually no industry in the Bouyei
region. Since then, however, many industries have been developed,
including iron and steel, coal, machine building, chemicals, electronic
products, building materials and plastics.
In 1949, the total length of roads came to only 296 kilometers in
what is now Qiannan Prefecture. By 1981, 6,100 kilometers of new roads
had been built. And three main railway lines (Guizhou-Guangxi,
Yunnan-Guizhou and Hunan-Guizhou) run through Bouyei areas in Qiannan,
Anshun and Guiyang. In addition, air services now link Guiyang with
Beijing, Shanghai and other big Chinese cities.
Education and medical care have also improved greatly since 1949.
By 1981, the numbers of secondary and primary schools had already risen
to 150 and 3,789 respectively, compared with hardly any in 1949. Teacher
training schools and colleges teaching modern farming methods have also
been established.
In the past, medical facilities in the area were very poor.
Epidemic diseases, such as smallpox, cholera and dysentery were rampant,
with malaria alone affecting 58 per cent of the local population. After
1949, the government supplied financial aid, equipment and large numbers
of medical workers to help the Bouyeis improve health care. Now, besides
major hospitals at prefectural level, every county has its own hospital,
epidemic prevention station and maternal health center, and every
district has a clinic.
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