The population is 8,028,133 people.
Ethnic Profile
Tujia is one of the ethnic minorities in China. Mainly distributed in the Wuling Mountain area adjacent to Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou. That is, Yongshun, Longshan, Baojing, Sangzhi, Guzhang and other counties in western Hunan Province; Laifeng, Hefeng, Xianfeng, Xuanen, Lichuan, Enshi, Badong, Jianshi, Wufeng, Changyang and other cities in western Hubei Province County; Youyang, Xiushan, Qianjiang, Shizhu, Pengshui and other counties in Sichuan Province. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the Tujia population was 8,028,133. It uses Tujia language, which is an independent language in the Tibeto-Burman language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. There is no native language, and Chinese is generally used. The vast majority of people now speak Chinese; about 200,000 people along the Youshui River basin (which originates from Hefeng in Hubei and flows into Yuanshui in Hunan) still speak Tujia, and some also speak Chinese.
Tujia people have many names in historical records. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, people were called "Linjun species" because of their worship of white tigers, or "Banmei barbarians" because of the characteristics of using weapons, or "responsible people" because their calling "Fu" was "Sai"; A kind of "Bajun Nanjun Barbarian" and "Wuling Barbarian". After that, most of the tribes were named after their regions, and they were called "Ximan", "Luzhongman", "Bajianman", "Xinzhouman", "Yangman" "Barbarian" and so on. In the Song Dynasty, names such as "Tumin", "Tuman" and "Tubing" emerged that were different from other ethnic groups in Wuling area and specifically referred to Tujia. Later, with the large-scale migration of Han people, "Tujia" became the The name of the Tujia people began to appear. There are currently different opinions on the origin of the Tujia people. One theory is that they came from the Ba people who settled in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou after the Qin Dynasty destroyed Ba. According to the Neolithic cultural sites and Tujia place names unearthed in , Dayong and other counties and cities, it is believed that the Tujia people are mainly derived from the indigenous people of western Hunan and merged with the Ba people and Han people who entered. The third theory is based on the relevant records of "Fuxi Prefecture Bronze Pillars" Due to the similarities between the Tujia and Yi languages ??and the similarities between the Tujia and some Yi people in Yunnan, it is believed that it originated from the Wuman people in the middle of the Tang Dynasty.
After Tai destroyed Ba, the Ba people living in Wuling used fire farming. They thrived in water farming, fishing, hunting and mountain cutting. Their leaders relied on their caste kinship to maintain internal relations. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the "Wuling Yi" Tianjiang rebelled against Wang Mang's usurpation of power. ", "Changzhong Barbarians", "Wuzhong Barbarians" and "Lizhong Barbarians" all raised armies to resist oppression. During the Three Kingdoms period, Shu Han and Sun Wu competed for a long time in the Kui, Xia and Wuling areas, and the Tujia people became an important target of their mutual competition. Shu The long-term struggle between Wu and Wu made it difficult for the people of all ethnic groups in the Wuling area to live in peace. After that, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty, the forces in the Wuling area developed rapidly, and each side was often dominated by one side. Central control was relaxed, wars were frequent, and social unrest began. , the central government adopted the system of prefectures and counties, appointing surrendered local leaders to govern their areas with prefecture and county officials, and allowing them to inherit from generation to generation, which made the Tujia people increasingly stable, and the economic and cultural exchanges with the Han people were increasingly strengthened. The Tujia people were fighting against foreign invasion. , Supported the Red Army's Long March. Made significant contributions and sacrifices in the fight against the Kuomintang reactionaries.
Socioeconomic
The Tujia people were the first to engage in farming. The technology was low, the production tools were backward, and the output was low, so they learned advanced production techniques from the Han people and introduced advanced production tools, thereby improving the productivity level of the Tujia people and accelerating social and economic progress. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, due to the implementation of Jisizhou County. The system and society were relatively stable, and the economic and cultural exchanges between Tu and Han were increasingly close, which promoted the development of production. However, it was still in the slash-and-burn stage where cattle farming was not practiced, and the dominant feudal lords, in addition to enslaving the native people, also engaged in fishing and hunting. From time to time, "Tusi soldiers" were sent to the neighboring Han areas to rob people and property. From the Yuan Dynasty to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Tusi system was established. Objectively, the Tujia's area of ??activity was stabilized, and the ethnic characteristics of the Tujia people were maintained. began to appear. During the Yongzheng period, the feudal lord economy was disintegrated and the landlord economy developed rapidly. The prohibition of "barbarians did not leave the country and Han did not enter the cave" was broken, and a large number of Han farmers and businessmen moved in, bringing advanced technology. Advanced production tools and production technologies enabled agriculture, handicrafts and commerce to develop rapidly. However, after the Opium War, capitalist commodities and opium were sold in large quantities to the Tujia area in the late Xianfeng years. Traditional craft products such as homespun cloth, native indigo, and batik gradually lost their market and were hit hard. The imperialists purchased local products such as tung oil, tea, wood, and medicinal materials in large quantities at low prices, which stimulated the development of tung and tea planting industries, oil pressing, and wood and bamboo processing industries. Urban commerce and market trade became increasingly prosperous. Guild organizations in various industries began to appear. After the Revolution of 1911, the Tujia area suffered from frequent military disasters, the rural economy went bankrupt, business stagnated, and the people were in dire straits. Until the eve of liberation, the economy of the Tujia area was still very backward.
After liberation, the party and the state formulated and implemented ethnic policies. Define the Tujia people as a single ethnic group. In 1957, the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established. In 1983, the Western Hubei Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established. In 1983 and 1984, five autonomous counties were established: Youyang, Xiushan, Shizhu, Qianjiang, and Pengshui. The Tujia people have realized their right to be the masters of their own country. With the support and help of the party and the government, the Tujia people in the Wuling Mountain area have basically solved the problem of food and clothing and are moving towards getting rid of poverty and becoming rich.
Culture and Art
After a long period of historical development, the Tujia people’s colorful culture and unique customs and habits have been formed.
Folk stories such as "Zhang Gu Makes Heaven and Earth", "Mei Mountain Fighting Tiger", "Flood Climbs to Heaven", etc. have been passed down to this day. Poetry is rich in content and diverse in form, with the long narrative poem "Mian Chicken" being the most famous. There are many varieties of ethnic folk music. Vocal music includes labor chants, folk songs, sacred songs, etc. Instrumental music includes percussion, wind music, etc. The music industry calls the percussion "Daliuzi" the "symphony of the Tujia people". It is usually played with four instruments. Its strong rhythm, fast melody, and changing sound are fascinating. "Da Liu Zi" is also a "title music", with fixed titles such as "Myna Taking a Bath", "Magpies Making Plum Blossoms", "Train Entering the Mountain", "Horse Crossing the Bridge", "Ow Scratching Itches", etc. There are more than 200 traditional tunes. set. Tujia operas include Maogusi, Yinhuage, Nuo opera, Nan opera, You opera and so on. The Tujia Nuo opera can be called "the living fossil of Chinese drama". The Tujia area in Tongren, Guizhou is the Nuo cultural circle with the most complete preservation of Nuo opera and the largest number of Nuo opera performances in my country. Domestic and foreign experts are paying close attention to it. The traditional hand-waving dance, eight-treasure brass bell dance, and funeral dance are simple and vigorous, with distinctive national characteristics and a strong flavor of life. "Xilangkapu" (Tujia bedding) is a unique handicraft woven by Tujia girls. It has exquisite weavers, gorgeous colors, and more than 100 patterns. Together with the hand-waving dance, it is called the flower of art of the Tujia people.
Customs and Important Festivals
The Tujia people are diligent in farming the mountains, good at fishing and hunting, and "driving sticks" (hunting) in winter and spring. The staple foods include cereals and rice. The most popular flavor foods in the Tujia area are glutinous rice cakes, rice-baked bacon and Tang-style dumplings. In terms of clothing, women's clothing is a short coat with big sleeves, an open placket on the right side, and is rolled with 2 to 3 layers of lace. The original 8-piece skirt was later changed to bordered trousers; men's clothing is a double-breasted blouse with a 2-3 meter headband. Long green silk handkerchief. In many places, the costumes of the Tujia people are similar to those of the Han people. Tujia traditional costumes can only be seen at grand gatherings and festivals, or in remote mountain villages. In terms of residential architecture, the stilted buildings in Tujia Mountain Township are the most distinctive. This is a kind of dry-stall structure. The downstairs is used to feed livestock or pile up sundries, and the upstairs is the girls' boudoir, where they can weave, embroider, make hemp, and make shoes. This design not only overcomes the restrictions of uneven terrain in mountainous areas, but also maximizes the use of space; it is both ventilated and moisture-proof; it is safe and sanitary.
In ancient times, it was popular among the Tujia people that the daughter of a aunt's family must marry her uncle's family (called "bone seed") in a staggered first-class marriage. There are also step marriages where a brother dies and a brother takes his sister-in-law, and a brother dies and a brother takes his sister-in-law. Many men and women sang to each other and fell in love and got married. With the development of the feudal economy, marriage was gradually restricted by property and parents. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China, feudal marriage by purchase and sale was prevalent. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, free love and marriage became more independent, but marriages arranged by parents in rural areas still exist. In the past, cremations were often performed. During the funeral, local teachers (shamans) were invited to chant sutras, and Taoist priests opened the way. Later, under the influence of the Han people, burials were implemented.
In terms of festivals, the main festivals are April 8, June 6 and Tujia Year. The most solemn celebration is the Tujia New Year, commonly known as "rushing for the new year", which is celebrated on the day before the Han Chinese New Year. The big year is the 29th lunar month, and the small year is the twelfth lunar month 28th.
Religious beliefs
Tujia people worship their ancestors and believe in many gods.
(Excerpted from "Ethnic Work Encyclopedia" Qian Liyuan Editor-in-Chief)