Guizhou Miao Costumes: Keeping Watch In The Inscription

For a nation without the history of writing, clothing has become a visible and touching "no word" written by the Miao people in its historical heritage and cultural pmission. It is a unique historical book on the body, which describes the joys and sorrows of this nation's development.

The work of inscription is going on vigorously.

Anada is a Miao girl, known as "the blue lark". Many people regard it as the best Miao female singer after Guizhou's "Miao nationality song" A Youduo.

Ahna loves to wear her Miao costume every time she goes out.

In her performance clothes, there are both traditional Miao clothes made by her parents, and there are also fashionable seedlings fitted with many modern elements after being improved.

"Miao nationality's clothing inscription is something that every Miao descendant wants to see."

Talking about the Miao nationality dress inscription in Guizhou, Ahna is very excited.

She said she would like to contribute herself to the inscription of the Miao costume as long as needed.

In Guizhou, where the vast majority of Miao compatriots live together, the inscription has become a topic of conversation.

Many people, like Anada, hope that after the song of the Dong nationality, Guizhou can declare the precious Miao costume as the intangible cultural heritage of mankind.

The Miao nationality is a nation with a long history.

Because there are no words in the Miao nationality, clothing has become one of the most important carriers of its traditional culture.

In order to inherit and protect this excellent national culture, since 2010, Guizhou has explicitly recommended the "Guizhou Miao dress" to the UNESCO recommending a list of representative works of human intangible cultural heritage. On the basis of conscientiously summarizing the successful experience of the great song of the Dong nationality, it has made overall plans and scientific arrangements. It is clear that Tang Yaping's studio of Guizhou TV station is responsible for filming special films. Miao experts Liu Yong, Yang Zhengwen and other experts in language and literature are mainly responsible for writing the inscription.

In fact, in order to do a good job in the application of Miao ethnic group's clothing in Guizhou, over the past decade or so, Guizhou has done a lot of fruitful work: "Miao batik" and "Miao nationality" belonging to Guizhou Miao costumes.

In order to expand the international influence of Guizhou Miao costumes, from June 23, 2011 to July 12th, "Guizhou Miao dress exhibition" was held in Paris, France.

The exhibition has greatly enhanced the popularity of Miao clothing in Guizhou.

During the official goodwill visit to France, He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, visited the exhibition and affirmed the protection of Guizhou's intangible heritage.

{page_break}

"The intangible cultural heritage of Guizhou is characterized by its diversity and universality. It is considered to be one of the most distinctive cultural heritages of the world."

Ms. Dover, director of the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Department, said that Guizhou is one of the most abundant ethnic minority cultures in China. The protection and inheritance of Miao costumes is conducive to the protection of human cultural ecology. The UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Office will actively support the work of Guizhou Miao costumes.

Watch the spiritual home of the Millennium

Yang Changguo is an anthropology professor and Miao expert at Guizhou Institute for Nationalities.

Over the years, in order to find out the whole picture of Miao nationality's clothing, he has run all over the country, so long as there are places of Miao compatriots, he has his own figure.

He wrote books and wrote the anthropological exploration of Miao costumes and the cultural symbols and symbols of Chinese ethnic costumes.

Zeng Li is the curator of the Guizhou folk custom museum (Guiyang Zeng Xian Yang Collection Museum). Her father, Ceng Xianyang, is a famous photographer in Guizhou. She has a special liking for Miao costumes and has a large collection of folk precious Miao costumes.

After Ceng Xianyang's death, Zeng Li took over his father's mantle, and moved along the trail of his father many years ago to find out the root and soul of the Miao people's clothing.

...

In Guizhou, there are a group of people like Yang Changguo and Ceng Li.

They have different occupations, different ages and different cultural levels, but their love for the dress culture of Miao nationality is the same.

First of all, we have to understand the history of the Miao nationality.

Legend has it that thousands of years ago, the nine tribes led by the Miao ancestors Chi You were defeated in the clash with the Yellow Emperor tribes. The Miao ancestors went through hardships and moved continuously to the southwest mountainous area with Guizhou as their center.

The Miao nationality is based on the clan, forming multiple branches and scattered in different places.

Due to the closed environment, it is difficult for the branches to interact with each other, and influenced by the surrounding ethnic groups, gradually forming language and cultural differences, and creating different styles and patterns of costumes accordingly, so that clothing has the function of "ethnic emblem" indicating identity and community identity, and becomes the carrier of recording history and inheriting culture.

"The biggest costume of Miao nationality"

According to ethnographic data and research results, there are altogether 3 types, 8 forms and 180 species.

Xu Qi, director of the Guizhou Provincial Department of culture, said about the Miao costumes in Guizhou. The clothing culture of the Miao nationality is gorgeous and colorful. The clothing structure, color, pattern, overall shape, and production process all reflect the characteristics of variety, outstanding features, exquisite workmanship, ingenious form and profound meaning.

For example, the bird clothing of the Dou Liujiang area preserves the ancient style of clothing in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The Miao nationality's silver dress in the Qingshui River Valley weighs more than 10 kilograms and consists of more than 100 silver ornaments.

{page_break}

Because of this, people can read rich historical and cultural information from the Miao costumes in Guizhou.

The extremely simple and abstract lines of the skirt are regarded as rivers, and one can point out which one is the Yangtze River, which is the Yellow River, which is the Jialing River and which is the Qingshui River. The circular square pattern on the back card is regarded as a city once owned, and some people can point out which city walls, which are the streets, which is the command post of Chi You's ancestral home, which is the turret, and the soldiers guard; and the other.

"Miao clothing has the answer to the question of" where do we come from? Where are we going? Who are we? "And the responsibilities of such important issues can be called" history books worn on them ".

Yang Changguo said.

As for the value of Miao costumes, Liu Yong, one of the leading authors of the inscription and the ten master of Arts and crafts in China, believes that in the treasure house of the world's original ecological art, Miao costumes are as precious as African, Oceania woodcarving, American Indian pottery, stone carving of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Only by binding the inscription can we have hope?

For the present work of the Guizhou Miao costumes, Yang Changguo believes that it should be brought into the agenda of the relevant departments.

As early as 2000, UNESCO and Yunnan University held the "International Seminar on Miao, Mongolian and costumes in China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam", UNESCO officials put forward that Miao costumes should be included in the world's intangible cultural heritage.

"Shen does not apply for the inscription. Miao clothing is a world-class cultural heritage."

Yang Changguo said that the success of Guizhou's Miao nationality's dress application depends entirely on the declaration strategy and the specific work link.

He believes that the Miao nationality dress adornment can learn from Danxia, Guangdong and Hunan.

Of course, Yang Changguo expressed optimism about the prospect of the Miao nationality's clothing inscription. He believes that the Miao costume itself contains a variety of intercultural genes, which is a prerequisite for its going to the world.

"In general, the clothing of the Miao people embodies a primitive state of thinking, which emanates a bold, lively, free, healthy and vigorous atmosphere. It displays a strong sense of life in a rich, simple, chaotic and orderly way, showing optimism, happiness, longevity, auspicious attitude towards life and the perfect realm of life."

Yang Changguo said.

It is this cognitive way and emotional expression way of human existence and development that has communicated the common psychological inclination and aesthetic foundation of human beings. It is like a link linking people in different times, different cultural traditions and different cultural atmosphere.

This communication effect enables different people to feel different levels of content from the different shapes and patterns and patterns of Miao nationality clothing from different goals and angles, which is the cosmopolitan nature of Miao costumes.