Miao Ancient Songs
01 · Historical Records
The Miao ancient songs are an ancient oral literary form of the Miao; their content includes the splitting of heaven and earth, war and migration, customs and habits, productive labour, myths and legends, love stories, love songs and ceremonial words, funeral torches, Miao medicine and Miao pharmacology and astronomy and philosophy.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Miao ancient songs are transmitted in two forms: oral presentation and manuscript circulation. They have a long history: from the Miao forebears the Sanmiao, Guandou, Nanman and Wuling Man to the Miao of the Song, they were always regarded as their “encyclopedia” and widely recited, known to every household. During the ten years of havoc in the Cultural Revolution their manuscripts and square-Miao-script texts were burnt to nothing, but the Miao people quietly preserved them in oral form. Around Huayuan the ancient songs are mainly sung by song masters with the crowd responding at such Miao festivals as the autumn-warding festival and the eighth of the fourth month and at weddings and funerals, making them the most important local Miao oral tradition; they are widely found in Huayuan, Jishou, Fenghuang, Baojing, Guzhang and Luxi counties and cities of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture and in the adjoining Guizhou, Chongqing and Hubei. Lying in the Wuling mountains on the eastern extension of the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, with ranges of peaks and dense forests, relatively backward economy and a fairly closed environment, the area became soil for the multiplication of folk literature. As the most important cultural heritage of the Miao, the ancient songs have present-day significance for strengthening ethnic cohesion and building a harmonious society.
Splitting Heaven and Earth
One of the core contents of the western Hunan Miao ancient songs.
War and Migration
One of the core contents, recording the wars and migrations of the Miao forebears.
Love Songs and Ceremonial Words
One of the core contents of the western Hunan Miao ancient songs.
Funeral Torches
One of the core contents, related to funeral rites.
Miao Medicine, Pharmacology and Astronomy and Philosophy
One of the core contents, embodying the ancient songs' character as the Miao “encyclopedia”.
Singing at the Autumn-Warding Festival and the Eighth of the Fourth Month
The main occasions for singing the ancient songs around Huayuan, led by song masters with the crowd responding.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Miao ancient songs centre on Huayuan county, Hunan, and circulate widely in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture's Huayuan, Jishou, Fenghuang, Baojing, Guzhang and Luxi and in the adjoining Guizhou, Chongqing and Hubei; lying in the Wuling mountains on the eastern extension of the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, with ranges of peaks, dense forests and a fairly closed environment, the area became soil for the multiplication of folk literature.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Miao Ancient Songs · Miao Ancient Songs · Miao Ancient Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Miao ancient songs have important value for studying the ancient history, politics, economy, religion, philosophy, literature, art, sacrifice, medicine, agriculture, astronomy, folk custom and military affairs of the Miao and their ethnic migration; as the most important cultural heritage of the Miao, they have present-day significance for strengthening ethnic cohesion and building a harmonious society.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Anjiang 01-0001
- Liu Yonghong 01-0002
- Long Tongzhen 01-0003
- Wang Mingzhi 01-0004
- Zhang Dingqiang 03-0778
- Tian Jinfeng 05-1987
- Wang Chaomei
- Wang Qiguang
- Zhang Hongzhen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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