Miao Jiali
01 · Historical Records
In the 1950s the lilaos who knew the Jiali suffered political attacks and most dared not take disciples to teach them.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Miao Jiali is a compilation of the classic historical and cultural memory of the Miao area of Qiandongnan; it gathers the creation myth, clan-origin legends, branch genealogies, knowledge and skills, primitive religious beliefs and customs, folk ritual, ethics, litigation rhetoric and typical cases in one, bringing together the original culture of the Miao and reflecting in a concentrated way the spiritual feeling and wisdom of the Miao. The Miao Jiali is rich in content; for instance, Turbid Water and Tadpole tells people in the manner of a fairy tale that wind sometimes causes small disharmony, but if the wind did not blow, the severe winter would always be there, and that would be the greatest disharmony and the world would be in chaos, so the blowing of the wind is to return to harmony.
Turbid Water and Tadpole
A Jiali chapter telling the principle of harmony in fairy-tale form.
Manduoduo
A Jiali chapter displaying moral judgement through a case of two deaths.
The Basis for the Stone-Planting Council
The basis for the Miao's stone-planting council, sacrificial rites and major festivals.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Miao Jiali takes the Miao-concentrated areas of Danzhai, Leishan and Kaili in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou as its main area of circulation; it is mostly performed at the planting of stones for the yi-lang council, at sacrificial rites and at major festivals, transmitted by the lilaos by word of mouth.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Manduoduo, on the other hand, uses the story of a case of two deaths to inspire and display a deeper moral tendency and judgement of right and wrong in people's thoughts and feelings. The Jiali is a model for the Miao in narrating history and expounding the classics, the basis for the Miao's stone-planting yi-lang council, sacrificial rites and major festivals, and the sacred norm that the Miao forebears must follow in word and deed; it plays an extremely important role in transmitting the inherent culture, shaping the character of the clansmen, promoting national identity, strengthening cohesion, realising the effective management of Miao communities and promoting the orderly development of Miao society, and also has precious value for the study of cultural studies, anthropology, history, philosophy, religious studies, literary studies and linguistics. At present fewer than a hundred people understand the Jiali, those who know it thoroughly are very few and mostly elderly, and the endangered situation of the Miao Jiali is worrying and urgently needs salvage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Huitang 05-2008
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。