Kedao
01 · Historical Records
The Miao Marriage Song arose in a historical period after the Miao passed from matriarchy to patriarchy; though it contains material on ethnic migration and totem worship, it differs from the ancient songs and myths reflecting creation, the splitting of heaven and earth and the origin of humanity. It was created, accumulated and evolved by the Miao forebears over long production and life, in the course of which it absorbed the strengths of other peoples' folk songs, forming the distinctive character and style of Miao poetry. The Kedao is a long Miao marriage narrative poem with a strong ethnic flavour and, more than that, a large-scale and long-historical Miao ancient book; it not only achieves high literary and artistic merit but also has important value for studying Miao origins and migration, totem worship, mathematical knowledge and linguistics.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Miao “kedao” means “cutting wood”, translated into Chinese as the Miao Marriage Song, and circulates mainly on a hillside hollow in the Feiyun grand canyon of Yangliutang town, Shibing county, Guizhou. The kedao is the only surviving woodcut notational symbol among the Miao groups within China and the earliest surviving material record and oldest writing tool of this sub-branch. The Qianlong Zhenyuan Prefecture Gazette records that the Miao “have no writing by custom and for transactions cut bamboo or wood a few inches, called kedao”, and that in marriage “the sister's daughter is fixed as the maternal uncle's son's wife; if he has no son, a heavy gift must be given to the uncle, called the niece-money, otherwise she may never marry or take a young man”. The Guizhou Summary likewise records that the Miao “cut wood to show faith, still preserving ancient ways”. The Kedao is the longest, largest and most widely circulated wine song among the Miao ancient songs, with more than ten thousand lines of lyrics; its descriptions of setting and its portrayal of characters' language, action, psychology and temper are vivid and lifelike.
The Woodcut Notational Symbol
The kedao, that is “cutting wood”, is the only surviving woodcut notational symbol among the Miao groups within China and the oldest writing tool of this sub-branch.
Five-Character Verse Suites
The Miao Kedao is composed in the form of five-character verse suites, narrating the ancient Miao marriage custom with more than ten thousand lines of lyrics.
The Twelve Wine Songs
The inheritor can sing not only the twelve wine songs including the Kedao but also such songs as The Sisters' Song, The New Year Song and The Day-Choosing Song.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Kedao circulates in the Miao villages around the Feiyun grand canyon of Yangliutang town, Shibing county, Guizhou, and is the woodcut notational symbol of the Miao marriage wine song; the Qianlong Zhenyuan Prefecture Gazette records that the Miao “have no writing by custom and for transactions cut bamboo or wood a few inches, called kedao”, and the Guizhou Summary likewise records that the Miao “cut wood to show faith, still preserving ancient ways”.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
What it chiefly reflects is marriage under the maternal uncle's authority, and ethnologists and folklorists call it “the oldest living fossil of Miao marriage”, of very important value for studying the history of Miao development. The singer holds a round bamboo or wooden stick in singing, carved with the main content of the song, whence the name. The Miao Kedao is composed in the form of five-character verse suites and narrates the ancient Miao marriage custom, of very important value for studying Miao development history. As time passes the Miao marriage custom has been partly assimilated by modern life, and very few under fifty can sing the Kedao, some villages even showing a break in transmission.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Shi Guangming 01-0008
- Wu Zhiguang 01-0009
- Wu Tongxian 05-1988
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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