Jin Diwu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Jin Diwu, Male, Yi, from Jinyang, Sichuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Biashilaze Legend (Ⅰ-141). The tradition is documented in Jinyang, Sichuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Biashilaze Legend in Jinyang, Sichuan: The Biashilaze legend has its core area of circulation in Jinyang county of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan, and radiates to the various Yi areas of settlement in the greater and lesser Liangshan of Sichuan and Yunnan. The legends of different villages tend to agree in their overall narrative while differing in local detail, forming a pattern in which clan transmission and regional spread run side by side; Yi bimo priestly families mostly revere him as their founder and continue this tradition through ritual chanting and oral telling. The Biashilaze legend arose in the Liangshan Yi region and is closely bound up with the Yi bimo priestly tradition. Biashilaze is said to have belonged to the Alu sub-branch of the Qunie tribe; his life and deeds were continually deified and added to by later bimo priests and the people, so that he gradually evolved from a historical figure into a legendary culture hero. Jinyang county was one of his important areas of activity, and the legend is widely current in the four towns and thirty townships of the county.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Jin Diwu is anchored in the documented technical standards of Biashilaze Legend in Jinyang, Sichuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Biashilaze Legend in Jinyang, Sichuan: The Biashilaze legend is a folk legend about Biashilaze, a figure known to every household among the Yi of Liangshan, and is current mainly in the greater and lesser Liangshan of Sichuan and Yunnan and in some Yi areas of Yunnan. Jinyang county of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan is said to be one of Biashilaze's important areas of activity, and the legend is therefore widely current and profoundly influential in the four towns and thirty townships of Jinyang. Biashilaze is said to have been a man of the Alu sub-branch of the Qunie tribe of the Liangshan Yi. Gifted and exceptionally wise from childhood, he could recite a thousand volumes of scripture and was versed in medicine and in the various rituals of folk belief. There is even a folk legend that the Yi script was his invention. In the areas of long-standing Yi settlement in the greater and lesser Liangshan of Sichuan and Yunnan his traces survive, and many place names, natural features and legendary stories connected with him circulate. The legend has two forms of expression: one a prose narrative form, mostly told in plain speech, and one a poetic narrative form, mostly chanted on occasions of collective gathering. From village to village the Biashilaze legend shows similarity of overall description together with difference of local detail. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Biashilaze Sorts and Standardizes the Yi Script": The classic story that the Yi script was sorted and standardized by Biashilaze. "Taking His Daughter Shixi to Rid the People of Demons": The legend of Biashilaze and his daughter Shixi ridding the people of harm. "Matching Wits with the Azhi'emo Tusi": The amusing stories of Biashilaze pitting his wit and courage against the tusi. "The Bimo Chanting Contests and Ritual Transmission": The legend of the bimo masters' scripture-chanting contest and the gift of a golden scripture tube, and the occasions of ritual chanting that transmit the tradition.
Biashilaze Sorts and Standardizes the Yi Script
The classic story that the Yi script was sorted and standardized by Biashilaze.
Taking His Daughter Shixi to Rid the People of Demons
The legend of Biashilaze and his daughter Shixi ridding the people of harm.
Matching Wits with the Azhi'emo Tusi
The amusing stories of Biashilaze pitting his wit and courage against the tusi.
The Bimo Chanting Contests and Ritual Transmission
The legend of the bimo masters' scripture-chanting contest and the gift of a golden scripture tube, and the occasions of ritual chanting that transmit the tradition.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Jin Diwu was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Biashilaze Legend, with Jinyang, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Biashilaze Legend in Jinyang, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Jinyang, Sichuan as its declared area, and Jinyang County Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The Biashilaze legend arose in the Liangshan Yi region and is closely bound up with the Yi bimo priestly tradition. Biashilaze is said to have belonged to the Alu sub-branch of the Qunie tribe; his life and deeds were continually deified and added to by later bimo priests and the people, so that he gradually evolved from a historical figure into a legendary culture hero. Jinyang county was one of his important areas of activity, and the legend is widely current in the four towns and thirty townships of the county.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jin Diwu | Jinyang, Sichuan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。