1. The origin of Xiangxi:
In ancient times, Xiangxi was always considered a barbaric land, far away from feudal orthodoxy, and was called Miao territory. But Xiangxi can only be regarded as part of the Miao territory. The scope of the Miao territory here is much broader, because at that time the Miao territory generally referred to the vast areas where ethnic minorities lived in southwest Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Before the Yuan Dynasty, it mainly pointed to the Chen and Yuan River valleys in the lower reaches of the Yuanshui River. The battle for the dynasty's territory was mainly concentrated in the lower and lower reaches of Yuanshui River. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty began to penetrate deep into the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The opening and protection of the Southwest Post Road connected almost the entire southwest. Therefore, the southwestern frontiers such as Xiangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan were all Miao territories. As the court's influence continued to deepen and powerful rule advanced, the dynasties continued to reduce the scope of the Miao territory, because no court allowed local regional forces to become stronger. Parts become powerful, thereby threatening centralized rule. Since the Qing Dynasty, Miao territory mainly refers to the two Miao growing areas of La'er Mountain and Leigong Mountain. Most of the people living in the Tusi District in the Youshui River Basin are Tujia people. Due to the vague concept, they are also collectively called Miaojiang. It was not until the Republic of China that the concept of "Xiangxi" really appeared. Xiangxi, as the name suggests, is the western part of Hunan, which includes the cities of Changde, Zhangjiajie, Jishou, and Huaihua. New China also established the Xiangxi Miao and Tujia Autonomous Prefecture, so Xiangxi and Xiaoze represent Xiangxi Prefecture.
2. The mother river of western Hunan - Yuanshui
The Yuanshui originates from southeastern Guizhou, flows through the entire western Hunan region, and finally merges into Dongting Lake. In the past when transportation was underdeveloped, the Yuanshui River was the most important transportation route in western Hunan. It was a natural water channel for people from Xiangxi to go out and people from outside to come in. Yuanshui is the river of life for all ethnic groups in western Hunan. Because the prosperity of a country, a nation, and a region is often inseparable from a river or a river. For example: Chinese civilization is inseparable from the Yellow River, and there is also the rise of the Hou Jin Dynasty. The ancestors of the Qing Dynasty were among the white mountains and black waters, which laid the foundation for their rise. Due to natural disasters and wars, the Yuanshui River Basin has become a place where ethnic groups in the southwest take refuge, multiply, and live together. On this land, ancient ethnic groups such as the Ba people, Chu people, Huaxia people, Baiyue people and Pu people once lived. But as time goes by, these ancient ethnic groups continue to multiply and change. Some migrate out, some are assimilated and integrated, and new ethnic groups are constantly derived. As a result, the Tujia, Miao, Yao and other ethnic groups were formed in the future. But no matter the customs or the national belief, they all have the shadow of the ancient nation.
3. The Shaman Culture of Western Hunan
In the mysterious land of Western Hunan, in ancient times, it has always been far away from feudal orthodoxy, and naturally it will not be affected by the culture of the Central Plains. But a region always has its cultural beliefs. What is witch culture? Witch culture is a human civilization full of mystery. It has not only penetrated and influenced the Yin-Yang theory, Lao-Zhuang thought, Qu Yuan's poetry, and even included Zen, traditional Chinese medicine, and religion, but it has also enriched the philosophy, technology, and art of the Chinese nation. It greatly promoted the growth of the Chinese nation. Witch culture is a primitive culture created by human beings in ancient times to adapt to and transform nature while reproducing and promoting social development. It is also the general name for the culture during the period when people worshiped animism, and is the ancient culture of mankind. Witch culture integrates astronomy and geography, humanities and mathematics, medical horoscopes, Five Elements and Bagua, rituals and entertainment. It interprets traditional Chinese Tao, philosophy, theory, literature and marriage, and has penetrated and influenced the Yin-Yang theory, Zhuang Lao thought, Qu Yuan's poetry and Confucius' benevolence and righteousness. It constitutes an important part of the multicultural culture of the Chinese nation, greatly enriches the treasure house of Chinese national literature and art, religious philosophy, science and technology, and promotes the growth of Chinese culture.
The people of the ancient Miao border lived in a harsh environment for a long time, and life and death threatened them at all times. Human beings, fox fairies and ghosts merged together. They believe that their ancestors have given them divine powers, believe in the existence of ghosts, and believe that everything is spiritual. They believe that by respecting God and worshiping gods, they can drive away epidemics and bring blessings, pray for blessings and avoid disasters, and eliminate difficulties. In this way, Nuo sacrifice activities appeared. Nuo sacrifices have various forms of expression, including Nuo hall opera, Nuo god opera, Wu Nuo singing and dancing, etc. At the same time, various acrobatics and witchcraft are gradually integrated into these expression forms. People in western Hunan believe that by offering sacrifices, they can get blessings from the gods. In this way, a rich and colorful beach festival culture was formed, such as: vertebrae of cattle and vertebrae of pigs, repaying Nuo wishes, pole immortals, wrapping coffins, etc. People who engage in this aspect are called witches, Mr. Yin and Yang, and Yang Wichang in Xiangxi. In the first generation of Xiangxi, Taoism was very popular, and Taoist culture and witchcraft culture blended with each other. Prominent examples include various secret images such as poisoning, falling into the hole, Chenzhou talismans, corpse exorcism, and magic weapons. Compared with the Central Plains’ understanding of heaven, gods, and ghosts, ancient Miao territory had a different side. The existing hand-waving dance of the Tujia people in western Hunan is a special understanding and expression of the ancient Miao people towards heaven, gods and ghosts. Tujia people dance hand-waving dances, play Maogusi, and cry for marriage and mourning. Weeping for marriage is the beginning of a new life and rejoicing for the upcoming birth of new life; weeping for mourning sings for the passing of life, because in their concept, new life is the beginning of a new life. The alternation of the old is like the reincarnation of the four seasons. It is not a sad thing. It is the passing of the old that leads to the birth of new life.
4. Diaojiaolou in Western Hunan
Diaojiaolou is a common folk residence in Western Hunan. Because Xiangxi is a mountainous place, the land is not even three feet flat, and there is no convenience for building houses in plain areas. Therefore, most buildings in western Hunan are built along rivers or mountains.
As long as you enter Xiangxi, you can see Diaojiao Towers everywhere. Some are hidden in the river valleys with beautiful scenery, and some are built deep in the white clouds, which are picturesque and poetic, integrating with nature. They are like pearls inlaid in the mountains, showing luxury in their simplicity. The hanging corner building is usually a wooden and green tile structure, with adobe bricks or bluestone as the wall, and then hanging corners are built to form angled corners. The hanging turret built along the stream has stairs leading to the stream, which is convenient for drawing water and cleaning. Diaoyulou built along the mountain ridge or ridge, the downstairs is mostly used for keeping animals or stacking firewood, while the upper floors are occupied by people. Most of the construction materials of Diaojiaolou are wood, so the craftsmanship required is relatively high. Carpenters in the old days almost always used "mao" for carpentry work, and rarely used iron nails to connect and fix. However, with the advancement of modernization construction, the mountains have "changed their old appearance to a new look", and reinforced concrete buildings have risen from the ground. Those national treasures are disappearing step by step. It makes people sigh at the achievements of modern civilization, but also feels a little bit regretful.