Zhuang

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Zhuang

ALTERNATE NAMES: Buzhuang, Bunong, Buyang, Butu, Buyue, Buman, Gaolan
LOCATION: China
POPULATION: 16.2 million
LANGUAGE: Zhuang
RELIGION: Polytheistic; ancestor worship, Christianity
RELATED ARTICLES: Vol. 3: China and Her National Minorities

INTRODUCTION

The Zhuang developed as a branch of the ancient Baiyue people. They are historically linked with the Xi'ou and Luoyue people of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States (475-221 BC) during the Zhou Dynasty (1121- 221 BC); with the Liao, Li, and Wuhu of the Han (206 BC-AC 220) and Tang dynasties (618-907); and with the Zhuang, Liang, and Tu of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), as recorded in ancient Chinese books. After unifying China, the First Emperor of Qin (221-207 BC) sent an army half a million strong to Lingnan (present Guangxi and Guangdong). Having conquered the Xi'ou, he set up three command posts and ordered the local population to dig a canal connecting the Xiangjiang and Lijiang rivers, thus linking the Yangzi River system with the Zhujiang River system. A great number of Chinese moved from the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to the south to live together with the Xi'ou and the Luoyue. After the fall of the imperial Qin in 207 BC, Zhao Tuo, an ex-general of Qin, proclaimed himself King of South Yue. The rebellion was put down by Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 7). After the fall of the Han Dynasty in ad 220, there appeared in present Guangxi large clans, such as Lu, Xian, Ning, etc., each of whom had large numbers of slaves, extensive property and great political power. The imperial Tang Dynasty appointed local hereditary chieftains as its officials. Thereafter, the ancestors of the Zhuang, despite sporadic restlessness and rebellions, submitted to the rule of the central government.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Zhuang is the largest national minority of China. Their population was 16.2 million in 2000. More than 90% of them live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There are also compact Zhuang communities in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (in southeast Yunnan) and smaller groups in Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces. The Guangxi landscape is typical of southern China. In its central portion, a chain of undulating hills formed by eroded limestone of an ancient uplifted seabed casts a spell on Chinese and foreigners alike. Strings of jadeite-green peaks seem suspended from the blue sky. A number of grottoes have been found inside those hills. Some of them are large enough to accommodate thousands of people. It is also in those hills that one finds the famous "gorge paintings"; there are more than 60 gorges stretching over some 125 mi. The largest one is 130 ft high and more than 325 ft long. In all, more than 1,300 images can be seen. The largest drawings exceed 10 ft, while the small ones are only 12 in.

LANGUAGE

Zhuang is classified as belonging to the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family, Zhuang-Dong group, Zhuang-Dai branch. A writing system was created on the basis of the Chinese script as early as the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) but had only a limited use, recording genealogies, contracts, scriptures, and popular stories; it nevertheless contributed greatly to the knowledge of traditional Zhuang society and culture. A new alphabetical system based on Latin was put in use in 1955 and revised in 1982.

The Zhuang call themselves Buzhuang. "Bu" means "man." Other self-given names include Bunong, Buyang, Butu, Buyue, Buman, Gaolan, etc., as many as 20 and more. Zhuang has now become the unified name of all these groups.

FOLKLORE

The Zhuang have a rich mythology, revolving in good part around the question of origins. In one story, it is said that there were no seeds of grains in ancient times, so people had to allay their hunger with wild herbs. Because of the multiplication of mankind, their demand far exceeded supply. Actually, there were seeds of grains in the heavens, but people living there were not willing to give them to people living on earth. The latter had no choice but to send a dog to look for seeds in Heaven. In those days, a dog had nine tails. On arriving on the threshing ground, the dog put its tails on the floor so that many seeds stuck themselves onto the hairs. Unfortunately, the dog was discovered by a guard, who chopped off eight out of its nine tails; but, the dog was able run away. The seeds stuck on the remaining tail of the dog brought great benefits to mankind. For this reason, dogs are kept at home and fed with rice. Today, dogs have only one tail, but the grains have nine spikes reminding people that dogs formerly had nine tails.

Another story concerning the origins of the Zhuang relates that human beings were few in ancient times. A Carpenter God came to a large forest and made men and women from wood; they were able to talk and move, like real people. There were three groups: the "wooden" Yao were located beside a stream; the "wooden" Zhuang, halfway up the hill; and the "wooden" Miao, on the hilltop. The Carpenter God's wife did the cooking and his son took the meal to his father in the forest. One day, the Carpenter God wanted to know which of the two sexes was cleverer. When the son called his father to lunch in the forest, the wooden men all responded. The child could not tell who his father was. When he went back, his mother taught him to find the man with sweat on his nose due to manual labor. The child returned to the forest and found his father easily without calling. When the Carpenter God realized that his wife had outwitted him, he made a wooden stick of even thickness for his wife, which was delivered by the child. His wife had to guess which end was the original root and which was the tip. His wife hung the stick by the middle. The weighty end was marked as the root. The Carpenter God was astonished by her wisdom and became so angry that he burned the wooden people on the spot. The wooden Yao were charred and became black. That is why the Yao wear black clothes. The wooden Zhuang halfway up the hill were not seriously burnt, so they wear blue clothes. The wooden Miao were caught unawares by the fire and fled in turmoil. Some of them escaped; some had burns over different parts of the body. Therefore, there are Flowery Miao, White Miao, and Black Miao today.

RELIGION

The Zhuang are polytheistic. They worship their ancestors and revere big stones, large trees, snakes, birds, and the earth. There are part-time shamans (daogong) in the rural areas, frequently solicited by Zhuang people to chase ghosts away. The Zhuang offer sacrifices to the Mountain God, the Water God, the Kitchen God, the Sun God, and so on. For example, they offer glutinous rice and colored boiled eggs to the Crop God beside the fields prior to sowing grain. The third day of lunar March (Western calendar, between March 26 and April 24) is regarded as the birthday of Shennong (Divine Farmer), who is said to have invented agriculture; on that occasion, pigs are butchered for sacrificial offerings. The second day of lunar June (Western calendar, between June 23 and July 23) is the birthday of the great King Muyi, who saved the Zhuang from disasters; not only do they offer a sacrifice every year, but they also hold a grand ceremony in his honor every six years. The numerous sacrifices offered by the Zhuang all aim at receiving the blessings of the gods: well-being of the family, healthy livestock, and abundant crops. The Zhuang were influenced by organized Buddhism and Taoism since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Since the beginning of this century, a small number have adopted Christian beliefs and practices.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

There are dozens of holidays among the Zhuang, all according to the lunar calendar. On the Lunar New Year's Eve (Western calendar, between January 21 and February 20), the whole family reunites at the dinner table. They talk cheerfully all night long. On the first day of the New Year, a lot of things will be done. They all dress up. Firecrackers are kindled. The women draw water from the wells or rivers and then boil it with brown sugar, bamboo leaves, shallot, and ginger to concoct a beverage for the family. In some areas, the sacrificial rites to the ancestors are performed in the morning. Then, the children should study seriously for a while, for the day is believed to be propitious for rapid advance in their studies. The lady of the house will place a little fertilizer and seeds in the field and drop some chicken feathers on the village road to beckon a flourishing year for the crops and the livestock. In other areas, the Zhuang offer a sacrifice in a tiny temple housing the Village God. Wooden swords and spears included among the offerings are expected to be used by the god to protect the village. In small towns, sporting and recreational events, such as "tossing an embroidered ball" (a kind of ball game for children), Lion Dance, Dragon Dance, and Zhuang drama will be held. The same festive activities will be repeated on January 30 (lunar calendar; Western calendar, between February 19 and March 18), the "Late New Year." It is said that a long time ago the local people had to fight against an invading army on a lunar New Year and during the whole month of January, obtaining victory only on January 30.

The eighth of April (lunar calendar; Western calendar, between May 2 and May 30) is the birthday of Buffalo God. People clean the pen, wash and brush the buffalo at the riverside, feed it with multicolored glutinous rice, and give it a day off.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Huapo (flower woman) is the goddess of reproduction and also the patron saint of babies. Right after childbirth, a holy tablet dedicated to Huapo and a bouquet of wild flowers are placed by the wall along the bedside. It is said that all babies are flowers cultivated by the goddess. If the baby falls ill, the mother makes offerings to Huapo and abundantly waters the wild flowers, which symbolize her baby.

The Zhuang's funerary rites are unique. The coffin is made of thin plank and buried about 2 ft from the surface to hasten the decaying of the corpse. Three to five years later (never even-numbered years), the coffin is opened, the bones are cleansed of any remnants of soft tissue; the skeleton is then placed in a sitting posture inside an earthen jar, sprinkled with cinnabar. The name of the deceased and his or her dates of birth and death are written on the inside of the lid, and the sealed jar is finally buried in the clan graveyard.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

A straw hat hung on a door is a warning that there is a lying-in woman inside and that no entrance is allowed unless authorized. The guest should pay attention to this warning. Th is custom is quite common among the national minorities.

Zhuang youngsters enjoy full freedom in dating. Antiphonal singing parties are a popular way to choose partners of the opposite sex; they are held on all festivals. The lyrics include astronomy, geography, history, social life, productive labor, ethics, and, of course, passions. Someone adept in antiphonal singing is much admired and will be the "target" of the opposite sex.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Most of the Zhuang houses are now similar to those of the local Chinese. Some areas, however, still retain traditional "stilt dwelling" housing. The house is built on stilts, keeping the family above the damp earth and away from animals. Th is type of house is not much different from that of the ancient Baiyue more than 1,000 years ago. It is well adapted to the climate and environment of south China. In Guangxi the house and stilts are made of bamboo and wood. The size of the house may vary from three to seven rooms. Livestock and stored goods are placed on the ground floor.

A number of infectious diseases prevalent in bygone days, including schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease), are now completely eradicated.

FAMILY LIFE

The Zhuang family is patrilineal, monogamous, and relatively small in size. The women's position is somewhat lower than that of men. The custom of "not living in the husband's house" has been prevalent since remote antiquity. Right after the wedding ceremony, the bride, accompanied by her bridesmaids, goes back to her own family. She will only return to her husband during festivals; in the busy agricultural seasons, she will only visit her husband when invited by him. If she gets pregnant, she will then move to her husband's house; otherwise, she will move three to five years after the wedding.

Among the Zhuang living in compact communities in north Guangdong, the bride and her bridesmaids all wear black. They hold black umbrellas while accompanying the bride from her home family to her husband's house. The dresses are prepared by the bridegroom's side and delivered to the bride's family by the matchmaker. According to tradition black costumes are joyous and auspicious.

CLOTHING

Nowadays, the Zhuang's clothes are, by and large, the same as those of the local Chinese. In some rural areas, however, they preserve ancient traditions. For example, in northwest Guangxi, the aged women still wear a collarless, trimmed garment with buttons down the left side and trimmed loose trousers, with an embroidered apron on their waist. Some of them wear wax-printed straight skirts in dark navy, with embroidered shoes and an embroidered kerchief wrapped around the head. Zhuang peasants put on dark navy blue cloth pants and upper garments.

Zhuang women are fond of wearing gold or silver hair clasps, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Most of them have abandoned the tradition of tattooing their faces.

FOOD

The staple foods of the Zhuang are rice and corn. They like salted and sour dishes. Raw fish fillets are one of their delicacies. On festivals, they make various dishes from glutinous rice, such as cakes, rice-flour noodles, and pyramid-shaped dump-lings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. Women like to chew areca, especially those in Longzhou near the Vietnam border. In some districts, they do not eat beef because they follow the old custom handed down from their ancestors, who regarded the buffalo as their savior.

EDUCATION

About 95% of school-age children are registered in state schools. There are 17 universities in Guangxi. One-quarter of the college students are from the national minorities, the vast majority being from the Zhuang people. The cultural and educational level of the Zhuang is higher than the average for the national minorities but still lower than the average for China as a whole.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

A large part of Zhuang popular culture revolves around singing. For instance, singing is the main activity during festivals. Singing parties are organized on different scales. A grand gathering during a major festival may attract more than 10,000 participants. They form small groups of boys and girls within the larger gathering and engage in antiphonal singing. Song, thus, has a very important social function. Dance is also important but is performed independently from singing. There are a variety of dances, such as the Bronze Drum Dance, the Tea-Leaves Collecting Dance, the Shoulder Pole Dance, the Buffalo Dance, and so on.

Studies of the Zhuang nationality have developed rapidly since the 1960s. The researchers, mainly Zhuang, collected 1,000 ancient Zhuang books concerning ancient writings, literature, art, history, and religions. A dictionary of ancient Zhuang language, an epic relating the origin of the Zhuang, a collection of their folk songs and love songs, a general history of the Zhuang, an encyclopedia on the Zhuang, and books concerning Zhuang culture were published in the past decade.

WORK

The Zhuang have traditionally engaged in agriculture and in forestry. The land is fertile and the climate propitious both for wet crops and dry crops. Besides the labor-intensive cultivation of rice and other grains, the Zhuang of Guangxi produce commercial quantities of sugarcane, banana, longan, litchi, pineapple, shaddock, and mango. The coastal area they inhabit abounds in quality pearls.

SPORTS

The Zhuang are renowned as outstanding athletes in different fields of gymnastics. Intensive training for young boys and girls is provided on a voluntary basis after school hours.

"Tossing the embroidered ball" is a traditional game. The ball is a cloth bag padded with rice husks or cottonseed, about 1 lb in weight and variable in size. A colored string is attached to it. In a match, youngsters are divided into two teams of opposing sex. They are separated by a paling. The method of tossing the ball is to hold the string in one hand, swing the ball in circles, then release it; it resembles the hammer throw. The opposite side should catch the ball; if not, one member of the opposite team is captured. Whenever the commander (usually the last team member) is captured, the game is over.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Television has become a very popular pastime for the urban Zhuang. Most of the small towns are now provided with television broadcasting stations; rural families with a television set are thus able to watch a wide variety of television programs at home. Guangxi set up its own film studio decades ago.

There are many recreational festivals during the year. A grand fair is held annually in the spring; in addition to the interflow of commodities, a number of recreational activities are held. Commemorative feasts for the ancestors are celebrated twice a year, in spring and autumn; they now contain many recreational elements, such as singing parties, dancing performances, and Zhuang opera.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

The Zhuang are internationally famous for the antiquity and beauty of their bronze drums. The size of the drums varies considerably. The drums are hollow and bottomless with a flat surface. Artistic figures and designs decorate the drums. They were used as percussion instruments, both in religious and governmental rituals. They became a sign of power and wealth. They are considered as a national treasure by the Zhuang.

Brocade is also a well-known traditional art form of the Zhuang. The brocade is woven with cotton and multicolored silk to form beautiful, sophisticated, and durable designs. Wall hangings, table cloth, cushions, and curtains made of Zhuang brocade are highly appreciated both in China and abroad. Zhuang girls are particularly fond of brocaded knapsacks.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Although Guangxi is an area of fertile soil, warm climate and abundant rainfall, the Zhuang are far from wealthy. The rich mineral resources, coastal areas, and tourism potential of Guangxi are not yet fully tapped. For this reason, large numbers of surplus rural labor of the Zhuang and other nationalities move from Guangxi to its neighboring province Guangdong, which is more developed economically. Th is population movement poses serious problems both to Guangdong and to Guangxi.

GENDER ISSUES

The Chinese constitution states that women have equal rights with men in all areas of life, and most legislation is gender neutral. However, Zhuang women's status is regarded as somewhat lower than that of Zhuang men. A wife does not live with her husband until the couple has been married at least three years. For the first three years of marriage, the wife only visits the husband when he invites her. However, if the wife becomes pregnant, she moves into her husband's house.

China has strict family planning laws, and it is illegal for women to marry before 20 years of age, 22 for men, and it is illegal for single women to give birth. The Family Planning Bureau can require women to take periodic pregnancy tests, and enforce laws that often leave women with no real options other than abortion or sterilization. Though minority populations were previously exempt from family planning regulations, policy has changed in recent years to limit minority population growth. Today, urban minority couples may have two children while rural couples may have three or four.

Prostitution and the sex trade is a significant problem in China nvolving between 1.7 and five million women. It involved organized crime, businessmen, the police and government workers, so prosecution against prostitution has limited success. In 2002, the nation removed homosexuality from its official list of mental illnesses, and though it is still a taboo topic, homosexuality is increasingly accepted, especially in large, international cities.