The geography of Southwest China is characterized by its many mountains and rivers, and the region is likewise populated by numerous distinct ethnic groups. Historical records from China’s ancient past provide a wealth of information about the peoples of this area. This combination of geographical diversity, ethnic complexity, and rich historical data has long attracted historians and anthropologists to Southwest China, becoming a site for research whose value cannot be overstated.
Beginning in the 1920s, researchers at the IHP have engaged in various related research projects, and through the years of tireless efforts, more than 1,100 objects, at least 800 documents and writings, about 7,000 photographs from the field as well as video and audio materials have been collected pertaining to ethnic groups in Southwest China.
The exhibition explores the themes of “identity” and “distinction” among the ethnic groups of the region, and more specifically, has been divided into three topics of interest:
(i) People and Place: The Relationship between Geographical Environments, Resources, and Societies
(ii) People and People: Identities and Distinctions of Ethnic Groups, Classes, and Genders
(iii) People and Heaven: The Cosmological Views of Life and Related Religions and Beliefs of Ethnic Groups
In this way, the exhibition hopes to present the historical processes underlying the formation of minority ethnic groups in Southwest China.
Beginning in the 1920s, researchers at the IHP have engaged in various related research projects, and through the years of tireless efforts, more than 1,100 objects, at least 800 documents and writings, about 7,000 photographs from the field as well as video and audio materials have been collected pertaining to ethnic groups in Southwest China.
The exhibition explores the themes of “identity” and “distinction” among the ethnic groups of the region, and more specifically, has been divided into three topics of interest:
(i) People and Place: The Relationship between Geographical Environments, Resources, and Societies
(ii) People and People: Identities and Distinctions of Ethnic Groups, Classes, and Genders
(iii) People and Heaven: The Cosmological Views of Life and Related Religions and Beliefs of Ethnic Groups
In this way, the exhibition hopes to present the historical processes underlying the formation of minority ethnic groups in Southwest China.
Moving from “Barbarians of the Southwest” to “Ethnic Minorities of Southwest China”
Ethnic Groups in Southwest China during Premodern Times
Since as early as the second century BCE, namely the beginning of the Western Han dynasty, a wide variety of populations have lived in the vast region of high mountains and deep valleys on the eastern border of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Han dynasty historian Sima Qian (145–86 BCE) collectively referred to the groups who dwelled in the region as the “barbarians of the Southwest” and divided them into four categories according to their forms of livelihood, settlements, and hairstyles: sedentary agricultural communities, as represented by the Dian peoples; nomadic groups, such as the Xi and Kunming; groups that combined elements of agricultural and nomadic economies, as exemplified by the Ranmang; and the Baima (White Horse) who resembled the Han Chinese regarding forms of livelihood and settlements.
From the seventh to first century BCE, or roughly spanning from the Spring and Autumn period to the mid-Western Han, the Dian Kingdom was a powerful force in the Lake Dian area of Yunnan. Several of the exquisite bronze drums unearthed from the tomb of the king of Dian at Shizhai mountain in Jinning county, Yunnan province, for example, depict scenes of various ethnic groups offering tribute to the king. The images of these peoples reveal that the tradition of differentiating one’s group through hairstyles, clothing, and ornamentation in Southwest China stretches back to distant antiquity.
Following the Han dynasty, only two kingdoms were established by native rulers in the region between the eighth and thirteenth century—approximately the Tang and Song dynasties: the Nanzhao (738–902) and the Dali (937–1252). In addition to these larger kingdoms, the area was controlled by various influential local chieftains. The imperial court of the Yuan dynasty conferred official positions to many of these chieftains as well as allowing hereditary succession, which marked the beginning of the Tusi (native chieftain) system of administration. The Qing dynasty later attempted to gradually replace these leaders with officials assigned by the central government, but in spite of these efforts, local chieftains continued to govern many areas in Southwest China where both the local and central government were ultimately powerless even as late as the early Republican era.
Changes Brought on by Modernity: Moving from “Barbarians of the Southwest” to “Ethnic Minorities of Southwest China”
Beginning in the mid-Qing dynasty, Western powers such as Britain and France which had already colonized much of Indochina attempted to extend their influence into Southwest China. Han and Manchu intellectuals, under the dual influence of social Darwinism and nationalism, situated these attempts of foreign expansion as a part of a larger contemporary crisis that threatened to destroy the nation and lead to the extinction of their ethnicities, thereby fostering an acute national identity. During the impending revolution and establishment of the Republic of China, Han Chinese thus debated whether the frontier non-Han peoples of the Qing empire should be considered “Chinese,” and finally, the notion of a “Chinese nation” was formed to include both the Han Chinese and the four major non-Han ethnic groups.
Early Surveys of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China by the Institute of History and Philology
Soon after the establishment of the Institute of History and Philology (IHP), significant emphasis was placed on researching ethnic minority groups in China, with particular attention given to those in the Southwest region. IHP researchers carried out extensive research in the area from 1929 to 1946, traveling throughout the provinces of Guangxi, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Sikang. Following fifteen individual surveys, they studied and recorded information concerning more than thirty different ethnic groups in South and Southwest China. At that time, however, warlords and bandits operated throughout the region, and a deep suspicion and hostility existed between the Han Chinese and native ethnic groups. It was within this environment that the researchers conducted their investigations at great personal risk and hardship.
In 1934, the IHP established the Anthropology Division, our fourth division at the time, which aimed to specialize in the surveying of frontier ethnic minorities and of the physical makeup and health of humanity. Prior to its establishment, the IHP had only carried out four surveys in Southwest China, but with the Division in place, another eleven were soon realized.
Since as early as the second century BCE, namely the beginning of the Western Han dynasty, a wide variety of populations have lived in the vast region of high mountains and deep valleys on the eastern border of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Han dynasty historian Sima Qian (145–86 BCE) collectively referred to the groups who dwelled in the region as the “barbarians of the Southwest” and divided them into four categories according to their forms of livelihood, settlements, and hairstyles: sedentary agricultural communities, as represented by the Dian peoples; nomadic groups, such as the Xi and Kunming; groups that combined elements of agricultural and nomadic economies, as exemplified by the Ranmang; and the Baima (White Horse) who resembled the Han Chinese regarding forms of livelihood and settlements.
From the seventh to first century BCE, or roughly spanning from the Spring and Autumn period to the mid-Western Han, the Dian Kingdom was a powerful force in the Lake Dian area of Yunnan. Several of the exquisite bronze drums unearthed from the tomb of the king of Dian at Shizhai mountain in Jinning county, Yunnan province, for example, depict scenes of various ethnic groups offering tribute to the king. The images of these peoples reveal that the tradition of differentiating one’s group through hairstyles, clothing, and ornamentation in Southwest China stretches back to distant antiquity.
Following the Han dynasty, only two kingdoms were established by native rulers in the region between the eighth and thirteenth century—approximately the Tang and Song dynasties: the Nanzhao (738–902) and the Dali (937–1252). In addition to these larger kingdoms, the area was controlled by various influential local chieftains. The imperial court of the Yuan dynasty conferred official positions to many of these chieftains as well as allowing hereditary succession, which marked the beginning of the Tusi (native chieftain) system of administration. The Qing dynasty later attempted to gradually replace these leaders with officials assigned by the central government, but in spite of these efforts, local chieftains continued to govern many areas in Southwest China where both the local and central government were ultimately powerless even as late as the early Republican era.
Changes Brought on by Modernity: Moving from “Barbarians of the Southwest” to “Ethnic Minorities of Southwest China”
Beginning in the mid-Qing dynasty, Western powers such as Britain and France which had already colonized much of Indochina attempted to extend their influence into Southwest China. Han and Manchu intellectuals, under the dual influence of social Darwinism and nationalism, situated these attempts of foreign expansion as a part of a larger contemporary crisis that threatened to destroy the nation and lead to the extinction of their ethnicities, thereby fostering an acute national identity. During the impending revolution and establishment of the Republic of China, Han Chinese thus debated whether the frontier non-Han peoples of the Qing empire should be considered “Chinese,” and finally, the notion of a “Chinese nation” was formed to include both the Han Chinese and the four major non-Han ethnic groups.
Early Surveys of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China by the Institute of History and Philology
Soon after the establishment of the Institute of History and Philology (IHP), significant emphasis was placed on researching ethnic minority groups in China, with particular attention given to those in the Southwest region. IHP researchers carried out extensive research in the area from 1929 to 1946, traveling throughout the provinces of Guangxi, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Sikang. Following fifteen individual surveys, they studied and recorded information concerning more than thirty different ethnic groups in South and Southwest China. At that time, however, warlords and bandits operated throughout the region, and a deep suspicion and hostility existed between the Han Chinese and native ethnic groups. It was within this environment that the researchers conducted their investigations at great personal risk and hardship.
In 1934, the IHP established the Anthropology Division, our fourth division at the time, which aimed to specialize in the surveying of frontier ethnic minorities and of the physical makeup and health of humanity. Prior to its establishment, the IHP had only carried out four surveys in Southwest China, but with the Division in place, another eleven were soon realized.
People and Place: The Relationship between Geographical Environments, Resources, and Societies
Southwest China includes the mountains and rolling hills of southern Hunan and Guangxi, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the precipitous gorges of the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau—a region brimming with geographical and environmental diversity. For thousands of years, people have survived here by exploiting environments according to various subsistence strategies.
Agriculture has been the main form of subsistence shared by all ethnic groups in the region. Rice is grown in flooded paddy fields, and wheat, buckwheat, oats, corn, barley, and potatoes are cultivated in mountains and foothills. In addition, wild game and plants are plentiful in the mountainous areas, providing an important dietary supplement. People gather fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms for food, pick medicinal ingredients to sell to Han merchants, as well as hunting and fishing for fresh meat.
Agriculture has been the main form of subsistence shared by all ethnic groups in the region. Rice is grown in flooded paddy fields, and wheat, buckwheat, oats, corn, barley, and potatoes are cultivated in mountains and foothills. In addition, wild game and plants are plentiful in the mountainous areas, providing an important dietary supplement. People gather fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms for food, pick medicinal ingredients to sell to Han merchants, as well as hunting and fishing for fresh meat.
People and People: Identities and Distinctions of Ethnic Groups, Classes, and Genders
Regardless of the subsistence strategy employed, people almost invariably form kin or pseudo-kin groups. Members of these communities identify with each other through blood—or assumed blood—ties to protect and monopolize an ecological space shared by all within the group. This type of identity group often includes family, lineage, village, tribe, tribal confederation, as well as an even broader one in scope, namely “ethnic group.”
In such systems of identity, demarcations do not merely exist between two distinct ethnic groups but also within the groups themselves, namely communities within communities. Due to the diversity of the natural environments and human ecology in Southwest China, a group of ten or so households would often call themselves a social or even ethnic group in the past.
When distinguishing oneself from the other, people have tended to use physical traits such as skin color and hair or hairstyles as well as intentional alterations to one’s body, including tattoos, body piercings, and so forth. But even more popular is the use of clothing, an extension of the body, as a means to express identity and distinction among individuals and groups. Concerning Southwest China, the physical differences between neighboring groups are largely negligible, and therefore, clothing and ornamentation have long been a marker of identity, demarcating the self or “our” community from that of the other. The Han have likewise historically distinguished the various local “Miao” communities from other “barbarian” ethnic groups based on clothing.
Through the process of identifying ethnic minority groups, a project which began in the 1950s, Southwest China is currently home to 31 ethnic groups that have obtained official minority status.
In such systems of identity, demarcations do not merely exist between two distinct ethnic groups but also within the groups themselves, namely communities within communities. Due to the diversity of the natural environments and human ecology in Southwest China, a group of ten or so households would often call themselves a social or even ethnic group in the past.
When distinguishing oneself from the other, people have tended to use physical traits such as skin color and hair or hairstyles as well as intentional alterations to one’s body, including tattoos, body piercings, and so forth. But even more popular is the use of clothing, an extension of the body, as a means to express identity and distinction among individuals and groups. Concerning Southwest China, the physical differences between neighboring groups are largely negligible, and therefore, clothing and ornamentation have long been a marker of identity, demarcating the self or “our” community from that of the other. The Han have likewise historically distinguished the various local “Miao” communities from other “barbarian” ethnic groups based on clothing.
Through the process of identifying ethnic minority groups, a project which began in the 1950s, Southwest China is currently home to 31 ethnic groups that have obtained official minority status.
People and Heaven: The Cosmological Views of Life and Related Religions and Beliefs of Ethnic Groups
Each individual does not only live in the present moment, but exists within the flow of time. The life of the individual has a beginning and an end, and within this limited span, one encounters the pains of illness and suffering which is difficult to predict, all of which has given rise to the convictions of humankind—both in life and history—as well as beliefs in religion and the supernatural. Through various “life rituals” such as childbirth, moving into adulthood, marriage, and funerary practices, the individual passes through or beyond each stage of their life, and within this process, one’s social role changes as well as their relationship with society being incessantly adjusted.
In addition, individuals often imagine the social life and history of their communities in order to seek the immortality of their own lives within the social group. A common history of origin also strengthens the bonds between the members of a clan or ethnic group. As a result, various myths, legends, and historical accounts about the origins of their communities have been passed down among the ethnic minorities in Southwest China. These oral or written family genealogies and histories act as important collective memories that unite the family; likewise, rituals and beliefs also serve to strengthen the clan and flaunt its social influence.
People often use myth and history to interpret the meaning of one’s life and existence in order to transcend both life and death. Individuals also attempt to master or appeal to the supernatural to relieve physical or mental suffering, and to seek peace and eternity after death, desires of which have resulted in various forms of occult and religious beliefs.
In addition, individuals often imagine the social life and history of their communities in order to seek the immortality of their own lives within the social group. A common history of origin also strengthens the bonds between the members of a clan or ethnic group. As a result, various myths, legends, and historical accounts about the origins of their communities have been passed down among the ethnic minorities in Southwest China. These oral or written family genealogies and histories act as important collective memories that unite the family; likewise, rituals and beliefs also serve to strengthen the clan and flaunt its social influence.
People often use myth and history to interpret the meaning of one’s life and existence in order to transcend both life and death. Individuals also attempt to master or appeal to the supernatural to relieve physical or mental suffering, and to seek peace and eternity after death, desires of which have resulted in various forms of occult and religious beliefs.
