Hmong - Early Chinese

levels. According to Ethnographic Atlas variable 31 ’Mean Size of Local Communities’, the Miao possess groups of ’200-399’, smaller than 400-1000, any town of more than 5,000, Towns of 5,000-50,000 (one or more), and Cities of more than 50,000 (one or more). (2) Village and (2) Hamlet.
[(3) Chinese Provincial Capitals; (2) Chinese Towns;] (1) Hmong and other Villages and Hamlets
Most Hmong lived in small villages or dispersed hamlets: ’At higher elevations, as on the plateau straddling Guizhou and Yunnan, settlements are rarely larger than twenty households. An average village in central Guizhou might have 35 or 40 households, while in Qiandongnan villages of 80 to 130 families are common, and a few settlements have close to 1,000 households. Villages are compact, with some cleared space in front of the houses, and footpaths. In some areas houses are of wood, raised off the ground, and with an additional sleeping and storage loft under a thatched or tiled roof. Elsewhere they are single-story buildings made of tamped earth or stone depending on local conditions. Windows are a recent introduction. Animals are now kept in outbuildings; in the past they were sheltered under the raised house or kept inside. Many settlements are marked by a grove of trees, where religious ceremonies are held.’ ^[1] ’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[2] ’3) Lodging. Most of the Miao-I tribes live clustered in hamlets in the mountains, except the Chung-chia and the Sui-chia among the I, who live near water, hence the names “Kao-shan Miao” /high mountain Miao/ and “Shui-Chung-chia” /water Chung-chia/. It is said that the Miao-I must live in the high mountains in order to thrive and that if they live at the bottom of the mountains, they would suffer disaster and death. But, today, the Miao-I have gradually learned to live /on the plains/ and well-to-do farmers who have moved downhill are increasing in number. Although they cannot avoid pestilence, their suffering is not necessarily more than those living uphill. Most of the Miao-I follow the traditions of their ancestors and live precariously on the cliffs in backward conditions. Their living quarters are generally on one level, but some of the Miao-I in the southeast also build storied houses. In houses of one level men and beasts share the floor, but in the storied houses, men live upstairs and beasts downstairs. An ordinary house has one to three rooms; in the latter case, the rooms are small. If there is only one room, then it is used for cooking, eating, sleeping, and all other purposes. The construction of the houses is rather crude. Except those of a few wealthy families, which are enclosed with wooden or brick walls and covered with mud, tile or slate roofs, an average house is built of bamboo or corn stalks with tree barks as walls and straw for a roof. They are often slanting and dilapidated. Worse still, some of the poorest Hua Miao and Ch’ing Miao still live today in mountain caves in conditions as wretched as those in the inferno.’ ^[3] ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[4] ’They [the Ch’uan Hmong; comment by RA] do not live in villages, towns, or cities but are interspersed among a much larger population of Chinese who live in the towns and cities and in many of the farmhouses.’ ^[5] Government offices were generally located in Chinese towns and provincial capitals: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[6] The infrastructural facilities available to urban and rural settlements differed considerably: ’The Ch’uan Miao are an ethnic group living on the borders of Szechwan, Kweichow, and Yunnan Provinces, western China. The country is very mountainous with numerous peaks rising 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. There are many streams, forests, waterfalls, perpendicular or overhanging cliffs, natural caves and natural bridges, and deepholes or pits where the water disappears into the bowels of the earth. While the roads between the Chinese towns and villages are generally paved with stones, most of the roads are narrow footpaths up and down the steep mountainsides or through fields and forests.’ ^[7]

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 8

[4]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

[5]: Diamond, Norma: Cultural Summary for the Miao

[6]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[7]: Graham, David Crockett 1954. “Songs And Stories Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 1

levels.
(1) Local Shamans or Diviners
Communal rituals were guided by village shamans or diviners: ’In religion, most Miao practice ancestor worship and believe in a wide variety of spirits. They have shamans who may exorcise malevolent spirits or recall the soul of a sick patient, and animal sacrifice is widespread (see shamanism; soul loss).’ ^[1] ’Most religious ritual is performed or guided by various part-time specialists who act as priests, diviners, or shamans for the local community or for kin groups. Most of them are males. They engage in ordinary work, and only the most important religious activities require them to don special items of dress and decoration to mark them from others. There are no written texts for learning the chants, songs, dances, and rituals: they are memorized. If called by a family, specialists receive a small payment (often in foodstuffs) for their assistance. Shamans play a key role at funerals and postburial rites. They are also involved in analysis and healing of illness: some are skilled in herbal medicine as well as ritual procedures. Shamans also provide explanations of the possible causes of misfortune and can provide protective amulets. Ceremonies on behalf of the village community or a gathering of kin from several villages are conducted by skilled male elders who function as priests, following ritual procedures, administering the necessary animal and food sacrifices, and chanting the songs and myths without going into trance or communicating directly with the supernaturals and spirits. Some ceremonies are led by the male head of household on behalf of his immediate family.’ ^[2] ’The eleventh part is performed in front of the main house. A bamboo mat is spread on the ground and on it are placed the caps and clothes of the members of the lower generation. Behind the mat there is a bench, on which are placed a bowl of wine and a piece of water-buffalo meat. The sorcerer-priest stands outside the entrance, wearing a wide rain hat on his head and carrying a bamboo cage on his back, in which are clothes and other articles. Wielding a wooden rod, he utters an incantation, telling of the source of the kuei of pigs. After the incantation he goes directly into the house and partakes of the wine and meat on the bench.’ ^[3] There were male and female shamans, although men were preferred in the case of serious illness or death: ’(1) Spiritual Media. The names for spiritual media in An-shun are the same in the Miao-I language as in the Chinese. The men are known as Kwei-shin or Tuan-kung; the women, Mi-la or Mi-pu. Their duty is to sacrifice to the spirits to invoke their aid and to provide a medium between the spiritual and the human worlds. As such they are respected by the people. All ancestor worship and funeral events have to be presided over by the Kwei-shih. Every Miao-I center has one or two Kwei-shih, who learned their trade since childhood. Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple. The Kwei-shih, who are farmers by trade, take up mediumship as a side line to supplement their income from remunerations gained from its practice. In case of sickness the Miao-I believe the evil spirits are causing trouble, and it is the duty of the Mi-la to chase them away in order to cure the sick person. Often she is invited to the house to do her work. Sometimes in public gatherings the Mi-la is surrounded by people inquiring from her as to the best method of driving away spirits. Evidently the Mi-la is less able than the Kwei-shih, for in case of very serious illness or in the performance of funeral rites the man medium is always preferred.’ ^[4] Non-shamans generally also had some knowledge of healing practices: ’Aside from the shaman’s extensive knowledge, ordinary persons also have some knowledge of plants and other materials that have healing properties. The Chinese invert this by claiming that Miao women engage in magical poisoning, but all evidence suggests this is a Han myth rather than Miao practice. Divination and exorcism of ghosts and evil spirits are also a part of healing.’ ^[2] Christian missionaries also attracted followers: ’Since the reign of Kwang-hsu /1875-1907/ in the Ch’ing Dynasty, foreign Protestant and Catholic missionaries had come to Kweichow to rent houses for dispensing medicine and preaching the gospel. The Miao-I people were attracted by their kind and dignified bearings and many were subsequently converted. These preachers bought property where their congregation was the largest and established schools with teachers instructing the people in the gospel. Today Shih-men-k’an at Wei-ning is the southwest headquarters of the Christian missions. There many Hua Miao become sincere believers and followers. The missionaries have also introduced a romanized form of Miao language based on the English alphabet, which the Hua Miao learn as the “Miao language.”’ ^[5] The material is coded for Hmong shamanism rather than Christian converts.

[1]: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Miao

[2]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 199

[4]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[5]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

levels.
[(4) Provincial Military Authorities; (3) Senior Chinese Officers;] (2) Chinese and Hmong Petty Officers; (1) Chinese and Hmong Soldiers
The Chinese administration had established military units, including Hmong petty officers, before the onset of the republican period: ’When the Miao rebellion was put down in the first year of Chia Ch’ing /1796/, it was found that the policy of governing the Miao with Chinese was wrong. The then governor-general of Hunan and Kwangtung, Pi Yüan, submitted a plan to govern the Miao with Miao. The ministry’s response to the memorial setting up regulations for Miao officials, Miao Chiang Chin- Yao Shan-Hou Shih I /Important Remedial Measures for the Miao Frontier Region/, has a passage, “Miao Chiang Pe Hu Chai Ch’ang Ming-Mu Ying Cho Liang Keng Ting /The Names of the Village Leaders of 100 Families Should be Decided after Due Deliberation/,” stating: “According to the memorial, in the three provinces of Szechwan, Kweichow, and Hupeh, such areas as Yu-yang and T’ung-jen were all previously governed by headmen, but following their application to be put under government officials, the administrative areas of chou, hsien, and ying were established, subject to the jurisdiction of civil and military authorities. In the Miao villages, there were established only village chiefs to govern a unit of 100 families. However, since Chinese were also permitted to fill these posts, gradually there were rapacious, unscrupulous rogues, whose mistreatment caused disturbances. It is requested that from among the Miao who have submitted, and on whom were conferred the peacock feather decoration /for merit, in early Ch’ing times/, there be selected some intelligent, aware persons, to be appointed at each ying /military station/ as native second captain /shoupei/, lieutenant /ch’ien-tsung/, and sergeant or corporal /wai-wei/, such positions to be filled through the governor-general and governor’s /tu-wu/ yamen /tu-wu ya-men/ and to be subject to the control of the civil and military authorities. When the various t’ang hsin in the Miao area have official despatches to send, they can order the said native petty officers to select Miao to question and send, and also to give them some cash and rations. When officials traveling on official business require servants, they may also recruit them from the Miao, and pay them wages according to the Chinese scales. It would appear that the 100-families village chief was originally inaugurated to discipline the Miao, but these men were unimportant and their powers limited, as that the Miao did not heed them. Moreover, among the Chinese holding such positions there were rapacious, unscrupulous rogues, whose mistreatment led to disturbances. This should naturally be explained, deliberated, and changed, so as to fix responsibility. During the recent campaign those submissive Miao who accompanied the army and won peacock feather awards are numerous, therefore from these select those who are intelligent and aware, and who have the support of the rest, and according to the customary set-up of t’u-kuan /officials governing aboriginal tribes in West China/, every Ying should have one or two men to be native second captains, under whom there should be native lieutenants and sergeants, for better control of the Miao. Their number will depend upon the number of villages put under control, and they shall be appointed by the governor-general and governor’s yamen and also be under the control of regional officials. If there are fights, robberies and thefts among the Miao these native officers will be asked to make the arrests. On their inspection tours, the governor-general and governor and military officials should examine the merits and demerits of these officers and reward or punish them accordingly to demonstrate justice, following the recommendations memorialized by Governor-general Ho Lin. When the t’ang-hsin system of communication in the Miao area has been abolished, official communications should be despatched according to old methods so as to avoid delay. In the regions where the t’ang-hsin system exists as before, the local officials /t’u kuan/ should be asked to pick out honest Miao to be given the responsibility of delivering messages after being questioned, to be paid wages and rations from unallotted funds, according to the scale for t’un soldiers. When officials traveling on official business need servants, then order the said Miao to serve, and pay them wages according to recommendations memorialized.”’ ^[1] The Chinese military administration was highly formalized, as evidenced in clerical documents outlining the organizational structure of Chinese army divisions: ’2. Regulations for the organization and administration of the T’un Bureau from the headquarters of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division of the Army. Article 1. The said Bureau is to be organized on the order of Divisional Commander Ch’en of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division. Article 2. The said Bureau shall set up, according to the temporary organization regulations of the Division, a chief and a deputy chief, three department heads, a number of departmental staff, clerks, and copyists. Article 3. The chief of the Bureau will receive orders from the Commander of the Division, and will have general superintendence over the t’un army west of the Hsiang River, and Miao defense officials and soldiers, t’un grain supplies, and the keeping in order of t’un properties, and coordinate everything, with the authority to direct and supervise all the Bureau’s personnel. Article 4. The said Bureau shall have three departments, Departments One, Two, and Three. Each department head shall receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, to assist him by dividing control over military matters, t’un matters, and general matters, with the responsibility to direct and manage his particular department’s responsibilities.’ ^[2] Senior t’un leaders and Hmong petty officials fulfilled multiple administrative and security-related tasks in the area, while receiving state salaries, produce, or arable land: ’The t’un fields in the Miao frontier were divided into people’s /i.e. Chinese/ t’uns and Miao t’uns, the two being entirely different in nature. The t’un males working on the Chinese t’uns were also divided into t’un men and fighting men. The t’un men received fields to cultivate, and guarded the t’un guard houses. The fighting men, also called home guards, were solely trained for military operations, and did not farm. In the five sub-prefectures and hsiens of the Miao frontier there are 7,000 t’un men, from among whom are appointed hsiao-ch’i, tsung-ch’i, and pe-tsung to facilitate control. The distribution of fields was as follows: the men /san ting/ are each given 4.5 mu; the hsiao-ch’i, 5.5 mu; the tsung-ch’i, 6.5 mu; and the pe-tsung, 7.5 mu. There are 1,000 fighting men, each being given 3 shih, 6 tou of rice per year. The non-fighting men are also each given annually 10.8 liang of silver for salt and vegetables. The hsiao-ch’i receives each year 12 liang of silver; the tsung-ch’i, 13.2 liang of silver; the pe-tsung, 16.8 liang of silver. Therefore, in the Chinese t’un, the fields and land left over after the t’un men have received their fields to plant and care for are leased out for the collection of rent. Granaries (Illus. 57) have been built to store the grain, and general t’un leaders are set up to manage these matters. There are no t’un men in the Miao t’uns, and the t’un fields are allotted to people to cultivate /Illus. 57 and 58 on pages 124 and 125/ for the collection of rent, in order to feed the Miao soldiers, under the control of the Miao officials. The t’un fields in the Miao frontier region, at the inception of the system, totaled 150,000 mu of arable land, of which barely a third was directly cultivated by t’un personnel, the rest being allotted out as rented fields. Today, the t’un army in the Miao frontier region is about 1,000 strong. The maintainance of the Black Flag Battalion of the Miao troops (Illus. 58) largely comes from the rented fields. T’un fields were set up to support troops on the spot as a defense against the Miao. Today, the Miao have been largely acculturated by the Chinese and the boundary line between the Miao and the Chinese is gradually becoming obliterated. There is no longer the need for this kind of system of t’un defense against the Miao. In fact, unrest in the Miao area today is often due to the maladministration of the t’un fields system. The Miao petty officers and the t’un leaders often are oppressive in collecting rent and sometimes are corrupt in their methods, thus causing dissatisfaction and disturbances. In the twenty-sixth year of the Republic /1937/ the Miao rebellion in western Hunan arose because of the t’un land system. It resulted in the burning of t’un granaries and killing of t’un officers. Although the rebellion was pacified only after bloody and expensive campaigns, it is imperative to change the t’un and enter the newly opened or reclaimed land as available for taxation, so as to reach a fundamental solution.’ ^[3] We have assumed that these observations are true for the A-Hmao as well, despite of historical differences. [The A-Hmao group doesn’t appear to have been directly involved in the more eastern Hmong rebellions, but it appears to have been increasingly subsumed by the Late Qing/Early Chinese in the aftermath of these rebellions.]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 152

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 182

levels. According to the Ethnographic Atlas’ variable 33 ’Jurisdictional Hierarchy Beyond Local Community’ there are ’Two levels (e.g., larger chiefdoms chiefdoms)’ of administrative control-petty chiefs and local leaders.
[(6) the Chinese Central Government; (5) the Chinese Provincial Governments; (4) Senior Chinese Officials; (3) Yi officials;] (2) Hmong Petty Officials and Chiefs of Townships;(1) Village and Hamlet Headmen
On the village and hamlet levels, respected elders served as informal leaders: ’Respected knowledgeable elders, heads of family groups, and religious experts of both genders served as informal leaders. Among the more Sinicized, landlords and those who had some literacy in Chinese exercised power in the community. Under the present system, those who are members of the Communist party stand as the official leaders of the community.’ ^[1] ’The Ch’uan Miao are not a tribe with a political organization that includes the whole group. There are no tribal rulers, but they have local headmen, called gü leo or “old clubs,” who sometimes cooperate for the common good. These people are an ethnic group bound together by common language, ideals, and customs and by a strong sense of unity. They are very sociable and mutually helpful.’ ^[2] ’Traditionally, the Miao had little political organization above the village level, and the highest position was that of village leader. In China the Miao have come under the political organization common to the whole of China; where minority populations are dense, they live in autonomous counties, townships, or prefectures, where a certain amount of self-representation is allowed.’ ^[3] Rui also mentions chiefs of village clusters or townships, a position established by the Chinese, although the chronology is not quite clear: ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[4] Hmong petty officials acting as intermediaries between Hmong communities and Chinese authorities had been set up during the Qing period already: ’When the Miao rebellion was put down in the first year of Chia Ch’ing /1796/, it was found that the policy of governing the Miao with Chinese was wrong. The then governor-general of Hunan and Kwangtung, Pi Yüan, submitted a plan to govern the Miao with Miao. "[...] It is requested that from among the Miao who have submitted, and on whom were conferred the peacock feather decoration /for merit, in early Ch’ing times/, there be selected some intelligent, aware persons, to be appointed at each ying /military station/ as native second captain /shoupei/, lieutenant /ch’ien-tsung/, and sergeant or corporal /wai-wei/, such positions to be filled through the governor-general and governor’s /tu-wu/ yamen /tu-wu ya-men/ and to be subject to the control of the civil and military authorities. When the various t’ang hsin in the Miao area have official despatches to send, they can order the said native petty officers to select Miao to question and send, and also to give them some cash and rations. When officials traveling on official business require servants, they may also recruit them from the Miao, and pay them wages according to the Chinese scales. It would appear that the 100-families village chief was originally inaugurated to discipline the Miao, but these men were unimportant and their powers limited, as that the Miao did not heed them. Moreover, among the Chinese holding such positions there were rapacious, unscrupulous rogues, whose mistreatment led to disturbances. This should naturally be explained, deliberated, and changed, so as to fix responsibility. During the recent campaign those submissive Miao who accompanied the army and won peacock feather awards are numerous, therefore from these select those who are intelligent and aware, and who have the support of the rest, and according to the customary set-up of t’u-kuan /officials governing aboriginal tribes in West China/, every Ying should have one or two men to be native second captains, under whom there should be native lieutenants and sergeants, for better control of the Miao. Their number will depend upon the number of villages put under control, and they shall be appointed by the governor-general and governor’s yamen and also be under the control of regional officials. If there are fights, robberies and thefts among the Miao these native officers will be asked to make the arrests. On their inspection tours, the governor-general and governor and military officials should examine the merits and demerits of these officers and reward or punish them accordingly to demonstrate justice, following the recommendations memorialized by Governor-general Ho Lin. When the t’ang-hsin system of communication in the Miao area has been abolished, official communications should be despatched according to old methods so as to avoid delay. In the regions where the t’ang-hsin system exists as before, the local officials /t’u kuan/ should be asked to pick out honest Miao to be given the responsibility of delivering messages after being questioned, to be paid wages and rations from unallotted funds, according to the scale for t’un soldiers. When officials traveling on official business need servants, then order the said Miao to serve, and pay them wages according to recommendations memorialized.”’ ^[5] Members of the higher social strata of Yi communities also served as more senior intermediaries: ’Opium was also an important feature of the economy until the 1920s: the Hua Miao grew it, but they had no control over its sale, and very few were attracted to its use. Most Hua Miao villages were tenant communities on lands held by Han or Hui, or more commonly in this area, by members of the elite strata of the Yi (also called Nosu or Black Yi). In the pacification of the region, large tracts of land were awarded to the Yi nobility by the expanding Chinese state. In return for the right to claim rentals and labor service, the Yi “native officials” (tu si) collected taxes for the state and generally maintained law and order within the boundaries of their estate holdings. This feudal system lasted until the 1920s. The Hua Miao met their obligations to these overlords by the forced growing of the opium poppy, payments in kind or in cash or a specified number of days of labor service (agricultural work, collecting of firewood, household service, transport work). However, as tenants they were free to move residence, to change landlords and to make their own marriage arrangements, rights that were not granted to the slave class within Yi society. Within the ethnic stratification of the area, the Hua Miao ranked below the Yi nobility and freeborn classes, and below the Hui and the Han, but their status was better than that of the Yi slaves-some of whom were Han who had been forced into slavery. Relations between the Hua Miao and their Yi overlords were tense but in general the Yi made no attempt to force the Hua Miao to assimilate to Yi cultural [Page 65] practices, and at times the Miao fled from the Han to the protection of the Yi.’ ^[6] Senior Chinese adminitrative officials were located in provincial capitals and district towns: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding countryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[7] We have assumed that these observations are true for the A-Hmao as well, despite of historical differences. [The A-Hmao group doesn’t appear to have been directly involved in the more eastern Hmong rebellions, but it appears to have been increasingly subsumed by the Late Qing/Early Chinese in the aftermath of these rebellions.]

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1954. “Songs And Stories Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 4

[3]: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Miao

[4]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

[5]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 152

[6]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 64

[7]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

Full-time specialists Chinese administrators installed military garrisons in the Hmong area long before the onset of the republican period: ’From the middle of the Ming period up to the beginning of the Ch’ing period, soldiers were sent into the Miao area. The most important duty of the military garrisons was to keep the communication lines open for troops and food supplies. So the construction of roads and bridges in the area appears monumental. There are four kinds of land routes: the main road connecting Yunnan with Kweichow is the official road; the roads connecting the various military posts are military roads; the roads traversed by the Chinese people are civilian roads; and the small winding paths leading to Miao settlements are Miao roads. Taking Feng-huang as the center, the official road leads to Ch’en-chou, Mo-yang, and Chih-chiang; the military roads lead to Kan-ch’eng, Yung-sui, and T’ung-jen; the civilian roads lead to P’u-shih and Kan-ch’eng; and the Miao roads are on both sides of the military routes, threading out in all directions so numerous that they defy enumeration. The official and the military roads are all paved with stone slabs (Illus. 20), requiring considerable construction work. The civilian roads were not constructed in a uniform way, those passing prosperous areas being much better than others. The Miao paths generally follow the contours of the mountains and require very little human labor. As to the means of transportation, travelers /Illustrations 18-26 occur on pp. 45-52/ generally ride horses or ride in sedan chairs (Illus. 21), while cargo is carried by carriers on their backs.’ ^[1] The military administration was organized bureaucratically, as evidenced in primary sources and clerical documents: ’2. Regulations for the organization and administration of the T’un Bureau from the headquarters of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division of the Army. Article 1. The said Bureau is to be organized on the order of Divisional Commander Ch’en of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division. Article 2. The said Bureau shall set up, according to the temporary organization regulations of the Division, a chief and a deputy chief, three department heads, a number of departmental staff, clerks, and copyists. Article 3. The chief of the Bureau will receive orders from the Commander of the Division, and will have general superintendence over the t’un army west of the Hsiang River, and Miao defense officials and soldiers, t’un grain supplies, and the keeping in order of t’un properties, and coordinate everything, with the authority to direct and supervise all the Bureau’s personnel. Article 4. The said Bureau shall have three departments, Departments One, Two, and Three. Each department head shall receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, to assist him by dividing control over military matters, t’un matters, and general matters, with the responsibility to direct and manage his particular department’s responsibilities.’ ^[2] Chinese officers and Hmong staff in lower-ranking or intermediate roles were salaried officials or otherwise compensated in the form of produce or arable land, which was also rented out to tenants in order to generate government income: ’The t’un fields in the Miao frontier were divided into people’s /i.e. Chinese/ t’uns and Miao t’uns, the two being entirely different in nature. The t’un males working on the Chinese t’uns were also divided into t’un men and fighting men. The t’un men received fields to cultivate, and guarded the t’un guard houses. The fighting men, also called home guards, were solely trained for military operations, and did not farm. In the five sub-prefectures and hsiens of the Miao frontier there are 7,000 t’un men, from among whom are appointed hsiao-ch’i, tsung-ch’i, and pe-tsung to facilitate control. The distribution of fields was as follows: the men /san ting/ are each given 4.5 mu; the hsiao-ch’i, 5.5 mu; the tsung-ch’i, 6.5 mu; and the pe-tsung, 7.5 mu. There are 1,000 fighting men, each being given 3 shih, 6 tou of rice per year. The non-fighting men are also each given annually 10.8 liang of silver for salt and vegetables. The hsiao-ch’i receives each year 12 liang of silver; the tsung-ch’i, 13.2 liang of silver; the pe-tsung, 16.8 liang of silver. Therefore, in the Chinese t’un, the fields and land left over after the t’un men have received their fields to plant and care for are leased out for the collection of rent. Granaries (Illus. 57) have been built to store the grain, and general t’un leaders are set up to manage these matters. There are no t’un men in the Miao t’uns, and the t’un fields are allotted to people to cultivate /Illus. 57 and 58 on pages 124 and 125/ for the collection of rent, in order to feed the Miao soldiers, under the control of the Miao officials. The t’un fields in the Miao frontier region, at the inception of the system, totaled 150,000 mu of arable land, of which barely a third was directly cultivated by t’un personnel, the rest being allotted out as rented fields. Today, the t’un army in the Miao frontier region is about 1,000 strong. The maintainance of the Black Flag Battalion of the Miao troops (Illus. 58) largely comes from the rented fields. T’un fields were set up to support troops on the spot as a defense against the Miao. Today, the Miao have been largely acculturated by the Chinese and the boundary line between the Miao and the Chinese is gradually becoming obliterated. There is no longer the need for this kind of system of t’un defense against the Miao. In fact, unrest in the Miao area today is often due to the maladministration of the t’un fields system. The Miao petty officers and the t’un leaders often are oppressive in collecting rent and sometimes are corrupt in their methods, thus causing dissatisfaction and disturbances. In the twenty-sixth year of the Republic /1937/ the Miao rebellion in western Hunan arose because of the t’un land system. It resulted in the burning of t’un granaries and killing of t’un officers. Although the rebellion was pacified only after bloody and expensive campaigns, it is imperative to change the t’un and enter the newly opened or reclaimed land as available for taxation, so as to reach a fundamental solution.’ ^[3] Hmong communities also had their own informal village security: ’The drum tower is also the post for the night watch. Every night three or four able-bodied men, bearing arms, hunting rifles, ammunition, etc., would keep vigil at the drum tower, crying every hour /lit., several tens of minutes/: “Bandits are coming - do not fall asleep.” All through the night one hears these intermittent strange calls, the idea being to prevent the guards themselves from falling asleep, and the bandits, from coming if they should hear such calls and know that the whole village is on the alert. This is like beating the grass with a stick to scare the snakes away. But if the bandits actually come, the watchmen would then climb up the tower to beat the drum, awaking all the able-bodied men in the village to give the bandits a good fight.’ ^[4] We have assumed that these observations are true for the A-Hmao as well, despite of historical differences. [The A-Hmao group doesn’t appear to have been directly involved in the more eastern Hmong rebellions, but it appears to have been increasingly subsumed by the Late Qing/Early Chinese in the aftermath of these rebellions.]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 70

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 182

[4]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 110

Full-time specialists Ritual specialists were not full-time professionals: ’The Ch’uan Miao are an agricultural people. They are all sons of the soil and get their living from the soil. Even those who are blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, hunters, priests or shamans have farms, sometimes owned but generally rented, and they depend primarily on farming for a living. Sometimes there are houses that are only a few rods apart but I have not seen or heard of a single Ch’uan Miao village or a locality that could boast of a single street.’ ^[1] ’Most religious ritual is performed or guided by various part-time specialists who act as priests, diviners, or shamans for the local community or for kin groups. Most of them are males. They engage in ordinary work, and only the most important religious activities require them to don special items of dress and decoration to mark them from others. There are no written texts for learning the chants, songs, dances, and rituals: they are memorized. If called by a family, specialists receive a small payment (often in foodstuffs) for their assistance. Shamans play a key role at funerals and postburial rites. They are also involved in analysis and healing of illness: some are skilled in herbal medicine as well as ritual procedures. Shamans also provide explanations of the possible causes of misfortune and can provide protective amulets. Ceremonies on behalf of the village community or a gathering of kin from several villages are conducted by skilled male elders who function as priests, following ritual procedures, administering the necessary animal and food sacrifices, and chanting the songs and myths without going into trance or communicating directly with the supernaturals and spirits. Some ceremonies are led by the male head of household on behalf of his immediate family.’ ^[2] Shamans were not part of an organized body, instead serving their own communities: ’In religion, most Miao practice ancestor worship and believe in a wide variety of spirits. They have shamans who may exorcise malevolent spirits or recall the soul of a sick patient, and animal sacrifice is widespread (see shamanism; soul loss).’ ^[3] ’(1) Spiritual Media. The names for spiritual media in An-shun are the same in the Miao-I language as in the Chinese. The men are known as Kwei-shin or Tuan-kung; the women, Mi-la or Mi-pu. Their duty is to sacrifice to the spirits to invoke their aid and to provide a medium between the spiritual and the human worlds. As such they are respected by the people. All ancestor worship and funeral events have to be presided over by the Kwei-shih. Every Miao-I center has one or two Kwei-shih, who learned their trade since childhood. Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple. The Kwei-shih, who are farmers by trade, take up mediumship as a side line to supplement their income from remunerations gained from its practice. In case of sickness the Miao-I believe the evil spirits are causing trouble, and it is the duty of the Mi-la to chase them away in order to cure the sick person. Often she is invited to the house to do her work. Sometimes in public gatherings the Mi-la is surrounded by people inquiring from her as to the best method of driving away spirits. Evidently the Mi-la is less able than the Kwei-shih, for in case of very serious illness or in the performance of funeral rites the man medium is always preferred.’ ^[4] ’The eleventh part is performed in front of the main house. A bamboo mat is spread on the ground and on it are placed the caps and clothes of the members of the lower generation. Behind the mat there is a bench, on which are placed a bowl of wine and a piece of water-buffalo meat. The sorcerer-priest stands outside the entrance, wearing a wide rain hat on his head and carrying a bamboo cage on his back, in which are clothes and other articles. Wielding a wooden rod, he utters an incantation, telling of the source of the kuei of pigs. After the incantation he goes directly into the house and partakes of the wine and meat on the bench.’ ^[5] Non-shamans generally also had some knowledge of healing practices: ’Aside from the shaman’s extensive knowledge, ordinary persons also have some knowledge of plants and other materials that have healing properties. The Chinese invert this by claiming that Miao women engage in magical poisoning, but all evidence suggests this is a Han myth rather than Miao practice. Divination and exorcism of ghosts and evil spirits are also a part of healing.’ ^[2] Chrisitan missionaries also attracted followers: ’Since the reign of Kwang-hsu /1875-1907/ in the Ch’ing Dynasty, foreign Protestant and Catholic missionaries had come to Kweichow to rent houses for dispensing medicine and preaching the gospel. The Miao-I people were attracted by their kind and dignified bearings and many were subsequently converted. These preachers bought property where their congregation was the largest and established schools with teachers instructing the people in the gospel. Today Shih-men-k’an at Wei-ning is the southwest headquarters of the Christian missions. There many Hua Miao become sincere believers and followers. The missionaries have also introduced a romanized form of Miao language based on the English alphabet, which the Hua Miao learn as the “Miao language.”’ ^[6] The material is coded for Hmong shamanism rather than converts to Christianity.

[1]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 21

[2]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[3]: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Miao

[4]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[5]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 199

[6]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

Full-time specialists Chinese administrators installed military garrisons in the Hmong area long before the onset of the republican period: ’From the middle of the Ming period up to the beginning of the Ch’ing period, soldiers were sent into the Miao area. The most important duty of the military garrisons was to keep the communication lines open for troops and food supplies. So the construction of roads and bridges in the area appears monumental. There are four kinds of land routes: the main road connecting Yunnan with Kweichow is the official road; the roads connecting the various military posts are military roads; the roads traversed by the Chinese people are civilian roads; and the small winding paths leading to Miao settlements are Miao roads. Taking Feng-huang as the center, the official road leads to Ch’en-chou, Mo-yang, and Chih-chiang; the military roads lead to Kan-ch’eng, Yung-sui, and T’ung-jen; the civilian roads lead to P’u-shih and Kan-ch’eng; and the Miao roads are on both sides of the military routes, threading out in all directions so numerous that they defy enumeration. The official and the military roads are all paved with stone slabs (Illus. 20), requiring considerable construction work. The civilian roads were not constructed in a uniform way, those passing prosperous areas being much better than others. The Miao paths generally follow the contours of the mountains and require very little human labor. As to the means of transportation, travelers /Illustrations 18-26 occur on pp. 45-52/ generally ride horses or ride in sedan chairs (Illus. 21), while cargo is carried by carriers on their backs.’ ^[1] The military administration was organized bureaucratically, as evidenced in primary sources and clerical documents: ’2. Regulations for the organization and administration of the T’un Bureau from the headquarters of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division of the Army. Article 1. The said Bureau is to be organized on the order of Divisional Commander Ch’en of the newly organized Thirty-Fourth Division. Article 2. The said Bureau shall set up, according to the temporary organization regulations of the Division, a chief and a deputy chief, three department heads, a number of departmental staff, clerks, and copyists. Article 3. The chief of the Bureau will receive orders from the Commander of the Division, and will have general superintendence over the t’un army west of the Hsiang River, and Miao defense officials and soldiers, t’un grain supplies, and the keeping in order of t’un properties, and coordinate everything, with the authority to direct and supervise all the Bureau’s personnel. Article 4. The said Bureau shall have three departments, Departments One, Two, and Three. Each department head shall receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, to assist him by dividing control over military matters, t’un matters, and general matters, with the responsibility to direct and manage his particular department’s responsibilities.’ ^[2] Chinese officers and Hmong staff in lower-ranking or intermediate roles were salaried officials or otherwise compensated in the form of produce or arable land, which was also rented out to tenants in order to generate government income: ’The t’un fields in the Miao frontier were divided into people’s /i.e. Chinese/ t’uns and Miao t’uns, the two being entirely different in nature. The t’un males working on the Chinese t’uns were also divided into t’un men and fighting men. The t’un men received fields to cultivate, and guarded the t’un guard houses. The fighting men, also called home guards, were solely trained for military operations, and did not farm. In the five sub-prefectures and hsiens of the Miao frontier there are 7,000 t’un men, from among whom are appointed hsiao-ch’i, tsung-ch’i, and pe-tsung to facilitate control. The distribution of fields was as follows: the men /san ting/ are each given 4.5 mu; the hsiao-ch’i, 5.5 mu; the tsung-ch’i, 6.5 mu; and the pe-tsung, 7.5 mu. There are 1,000 fighting men, each being given 3 shih, 6 tou of rice per year. The non-fighting men are also each given annually 10.8 liang of silver for salt and vegetables. The hsiao-ch’i receives each year 12 liang of silver; the tsung-ch’i, 13.2 liang of silver; the pe-tsung, 16.8 liang of silver. Therefore, in the Chinese t’un, the fields and land left over after the t’un men have received their fields to plant and care for are leased out for the collection of rent. Granaries (Illus. 57) have been built to store the grain, and general t’un leaders are set up to manage these matters. There are no t’un men in the Miao t’uns, and the t’un fields are allotted to people to cultivate /Illus. 57 and 58 on pages 124 and 125/ for the collection of rent, in order to feed the Miao soldiers, under the control of the Miao officials. The t’un fields in the Miao frontier region, at the inception of the system, totaled 150,000 mu of arable land, of which barely a third was directly cultivated by t’un personnel, the rest being allotted out as rented fields. Today, the t’un army in the Miao frontier region is about 1,000 strong. The maintainance of the Black Flag Battalion of the Miao troops (Illus. 58) largely comes from the rented fields. T’un fields were set up to support troops on the spot as a defense against the Miao. Today, the Miao have been largely acculturated by the Chinese and the boundary line between the Miao and the Chinese is gradually becoming obliterated. There is no longer the need for this kind of system of t’un defense against the Miao. In fact, unrest in the Miao area today is often due to the maladministration of the t’un fields system. The Miao petty officers and the t’un leaders often are oppressive in collecting rent and sometimes are corrupt in their methods, thus causing dissatisfaction and disturbances. In the twenty-sixth year of the Republic /1937/ the Miao rebellion in western Hunan arose because of the t’un land system. It resulted in the burning of t’un granaries and killing of t’un officers. Although the rebellion was pacified only after bloody and expensive campaigns, it is imperative to change the t’un and enter the newly opened or reclaimed land as available for taxation, so as to reach a fundamental solution.’ ^[3] Hmong communities also had their own informal village security: ’The drum tower is also the post for the night watch. Every night three or four able-bodied men, bearing arms, hunting rifles, ammunition, etc., would keep vigil at the drum tower, crying every hour /lit., several tens of minutes/: “Bandits are coming - do not fall asleep.” All through the night one hears these intermittent strange calls, the idea being to prevent the guards themselves from falling asleep, and the bandits, from coming if they should hear such calls and know that the whole village is on the alert. This is like beating the grass with a stick to scare the snakes away. But if the bandits actually come, the watchmen would then climb up the tower to beat the drum, awaking all the able-bodied men in the village to give the bandits a good fight.’ ^[4] We have assumed that these observations are true for the A-Hmao as well, despite of historical differences. [The A-Hmao group doesn’t appear to have been directly involved in the more eastern Hmong rebellions, but it appears to have been increasingly subsumed by the Late Qing/Early Chinese in the aftermath of these rebellions.]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 70

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 182

[4]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 110

The Hmong population was subject to Chinese administrative integration even before the republican period: ’From Song on, in periods of relative peace, government control was exercised through the tusi system of indirect rule by appointed native headmen who collected taxes, organized corvée, and kept the peace. Miao filled this role in Hunan and eastern Guizhou, but farther west the rulers were often drawn from a hereditary Yi nobility, a system that lasted into the twentieth century. In Guizhou, some tusi claimed Han ancestry, but were probably drawn from the ranks of assimilated Bouyei, Dong, and Miao. Government documents refer to the "Sheng Miao" (raw Miao), meaning those living in areas beyond government control and not paying taxes or labor service to the state. In the sixteenth century, in the more pacified areas, the implementation of the policy of gaitu guiliu began the replacement of native rulers with regular civilian and military officials, a few of whom were drawn from assimilated minority families. Land became a commodity, creating both landlords and some freeholding peasants in the areas affected. In the Yunnan-Guizhou border area, the tusi system continued and Miao purchase of land and participation in local markets was restricted by law until the Republican period (1911-1949).’ ^[1] ’Throughout the Republican period, the government favored a policy of assimilation for the Miao and strongly discouraged expressions of ethnicity. Southwestern China came under Communist government control by 1951, and Miao participated in land reform, collectivization, and the various national political campaigns.’ ^[1] The quasi-feudal Yi nobility was rewarded with labour services performed by the Hmong tenants working their land and not subject to formal examination or promotion. Officials serving in the military and civilian administrations were likely examined and promoted on the basis of demonstrated merit, as suggested by the degree of formalization presented in primary and secondary sources: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[2] The administration relied on clerks and other professionals, as evidenced in primary sources: ’Article 9. The secretary of the Bureau will receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, and will attend to such matters as the writing of official despatches of the Bureau, the keeping of the archives, and directing the copying of documents. Article 10. The clerks will receive orders from the chief of the Bureau, and, under the direction of the department head, will assist in carrying out the various duties of the department. Article 11. The copyists will receive their orders from the chief of the Bureau and the departmental heads, and, under the direction of department members and the secretary, shall be responsible for copying despatches and telegrams.’ ^[3] We have provisionally assumed that petty officials in the military bureaucracy were subject to some form of examination and merit promotion. This is open to re-evaluation.

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 179

Authority was informal on the village and hamlet level: ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[1] The Hmong population was subject to Chinese administrative integration even before the republican period: ’From Song on, in periods of relative peace, government control was exercised through the tusi system of indirect rule by appointed native headmen who collected taxes, organized corvée, and kept the peace. Miao filled this role in Hunan and eastern Guizhou, but farther west the rulers were often drawn from a hereditary Yi nobility, a system that lasted into the twentieth century. In Guizhou, some tusi claimed Han ancestry, but were probably drawn from the ranks of assimilated Bouyei, Dong, and Miao. Government documents refer to the "Sheng Miao" (raw Miao), meaning those living in areas beyond government control and not paying taxes or labor service to the state. In the sixteenth century, in the more pacified areas, the implementation of the policy of gaitu guiliu began the replacement of native rulers with regular civilian and military officials, a few of whom were drawn from assimilated minority families. Land became a commodity, creating both landlords and some freeholding peasants in the areas affected. In the Yunnan-Guizhou border area, the tusi system continued and Miao purchase of land and participation in local markets was restricted by law until the Republican period (1911-1949).’ ^[2] ’Throughout the Republican period, the government favored a policy of assimilation for the Miao and strongly discouraged expressions of ethnicity. Southwestern China came under Communist government control by 1951, and Miao participated in land reform, collectivization, and the various national political campaigns.’ ^[2] The Chinese administration established a bureaucratic infrastructure in the towns: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding countryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[3] The administration relied on clerics and other professionals, as evidenced in primary sources: ’Article 9. The secretary of the Bureau will receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, and will attend to such matters as the writing of official despatches of the Bureau, the keeping of the archives, and directing the copying of documents. Article 10. The clerks will receive orders from the chief of the Bureau, and, under the direction of the department head, will assist in carrying out the various duties of the department. Article 11. The copyists will receive their orders from the chief of the Bureau and the departmental heads, and, under the direction of department members and the secretary, shall be responsible for copying despatches and telegrams.’ ^[4] The expanding Chinese state also relied on some quasi-feudal arrangements in the Hmong area until the 1920s: ’Opium was also an important feature of the economy until the 1920s: the Hua Miao grew it, but they had no control over its sale, and very few were attracted to its use. Most Hua Miao villages were tenant communities on lands held by Han or Hui, or more commonly in this area, by members of the elite strata of the Yi (also called Nosu or Black Yi). In the pacification of the region, large tracts of land were awarded to the Yi nobility by the expanding Chinese state. In return for the right to claim rentals and labor service, the Yi “native officials” (tu si) collected taxes for the state and generally maintained law and order within the boundaries of their estate holdings. This feudal system lasted until the 1920s. The Hua Miao met their obligations to these overlords by the forced growing of the opium poppy, payments in kind or in cash or a specified number of days of labor service (agricultural work, collecting of firewood, household service, transport work). However, as tenants they were free to move residence, to change landlords and to make their own marriage arrangements, rights that were not granted to the slave class within Yi society. Within the ethnic stratification of the area, the Hua Miao ranked below the Yi nobility and freeborn classes, and below the Hui and the Han, but their status was better than that of the Yi slaves-some of whom were Han who had been forced into slavery. Relations between the Hua Miao and their Yi overlords were tense but in general the Yi made no attempt to force the Hua Miao to assimilate to Yi cultural [Page 65] practices, and at times the Miao fled from the Han to the protection of the Yi.’ ^[5] Given the participation of Hmong petty officials in the administrative structure, we have decided to code the variable ’present’. We have provisionally assumed this to be true of the A-Hmao as well, but this is open to re-evaluation (see military sections above).

[1]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

[2]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[3]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[4]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 179

[5]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 64

This code should not reflect the colonial administration. The Hmong population was subject to Chinese administrative integration even before the republican period: ’From Song on, in periods of relative peace, government control was exercised through the tusi system of indirect rule by appointed native headmen who collected taxes, organized corvée, and kept the peace. Miao filled this role in Hunan and eastern Guizhou, but farther west the rulers were often drawn from a hereditary Yi nobility, a system that lasted into the twentieth century. In Guizhou, some tusi claimed Han ancestry, but were probably drawn from the ranks of assimilated Bouyei, Dong, and Miao. Government documents refer to the "Sheng Miao" (raw Miao), meaning those living in areas beyond government control and not paying taxes or labor service to the state. In the sixteenth century, in the more pacified areas, the implementation of the policy of gaitu guiliu began the replacement of native rulers with regular civilian and military officials, a few of whom were drawn from assimilated minority families. Land became a commodity, creating both landlords and some freeholding peasants in the areas affected. In the Yunnan-Guizhou border area, the tusi system continued and Miao purchase of land and participation in local markets was restricted by law until the Republican period (1911-1949).’ ^[1] ’Throughout the Republican period, the government favored a policy of assimilation for the Miao and strongly discouraged expressions of ethnicity. Southwestern China came under Communist government control by 1951, and Miao participated in land reform, collectivization, and the various national political campaigns.’ ^[1] The quasi-feudal Yi nobility was rewarded with labour services performed by the Hmong tenants working their land and not subject to formal examination. Officials serving in the military and civilian administrations were likely examined, as suggested by the degree of formalization presented in primary and secondary sources: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[2] The administration relied on clerks and other professionals, as evidenced in primary sources: ’Article 9. The secretary of the Bureau will receive his orders from the chief of the Bureau, and will attend to such matters as the writing of official despatches of the Bureau, the keeping of the archives, and directing the copying of documents. Article 10. The clerks will receive orders from the chief of the Bureau, and, under the direction of the department head, will assist in carrying out the various duties of the department. Article 11. The copyists will receive their orders from the chief of the Bureau and the departmental heads, and, under the direction of department members and the secretary, shall be responsible for copying despatches and telegrams.’ ^[3] We have provisionally assumed that petty officials in the military bureaucracy were subject to some form of examination and merit promotion. This is open to re-evaluation.

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 179

No professional advocates were present on the informal village level: ’In every Sheng Miao village there is a set of rules and regulations which are voluntarily observed. In case of violation the offense is quickly adjudged by the public and an elder is invited to execute the punishment. Before it is carried out, however, he would tell the accused in a solemn manner the myths of their ancestors. Also in the case of a serious dispute the elder would summon both parties together, and first tell them the story of their ancestors before settling the dispute. After a decision is rendered in this fashion both parties would show compliance and would not carry the case to the law courts. Although the mythology handed down from mouth to mouth does not have religious contents, it becomes a kind of prophecy to those people who hold everything pertaining to their ancestors in the highest respect. It is entirely due to this inherent respect for their ancestors that the ancestral myth is recounted before carrying out the punishment or at the time of settling a dispute. The idea is to employ the will of the ancestors to restrain the actions of their descendants. It is interesting to note that the mythology of the Sheng Miao, meant originally to inform posterity of the stories of their ancestors’ life, has also assumed the corrective and preventive functions of law.’ ^[1] ’If a certain village has a most serious affair, such as banditry, the meeting would then be different from that stated above. The Tung-chia call this meeting “Ch’uan-k’uan” /summoning for conditions/, which means to summon all elders from various villages to discuss conditions. The meeting place is still at the drum tower. The procedure of “Ch’uan-k’uan” consists of the dispatch of a piece of wood (known in the Tung-chia language as ch’a) about one foot long and as large as a staff, on which is written the name of the elder to be summoned and the nature of the business. Those qualified for summoning are all village leaders who can direct the villagers. Ordinarily, such contacts have been established before and so on receipt of the wooden tablet the leaders would come immediately at the specified time. The purpose of such summons is for collective defense against brigandage. Therefore at the time of the summons, each village would send over all its young men. But there are also evil elements who use the summon for ulterior purposes. The decisions reached by the participants at the meeting are final, and no one can oppose them. The wronged party has to swallow the bitter pill: he may become angry but he may not protest. He who violates the decision of the summoned assembly not only subjects his life to danger but also his property to confiscation. Mob psychology is blindfold, and often at such a meeting some cunning and wicked person would accuse a victim, declaring that he should be killed or his house searched and his property confiscated. If the mob should cry out assent, the matter is not further inquired into and the decision is carried out. The original intention of the summoned assembly is good, but it can be easily abused by the cunning and the wicked. Therefore the system is fraught with grave dangers, and has created many conflicts and crimes. It is hoped that the government would step in to outlaw the system.’ ^[2] The sources claim a great deal of litigation for the Hmong area: ’The Miao are addicted to kuei and to litigation. Sometimes litigation may last a year, and the court, unable to decide the case, may ask both parties to eat blood. This serves as a deterrent. Yen Ju-yü in his Miao Fang-pei Lan says: “Those who enter the temple to drink blood move on their knees and bellies, not daring to look up; those who are in the wrong dare not drink it, but repent and yield.” In the course of our investigations in the Miao frontier area, the private secretary of the hsien government at Feng-huang, Mr. Wang Yüeh-yen told us: “The T ’ien Wang temple is the Supreme Court of the Miao area. When a Miao is not satisfied with the decision of the hsien government, then he is ordered to go to the T ’ien Wang temple to drink blood. Whatever the litigation, big or small, it receives immediate settlement.” It can be seen that the Miao’s awe of kuei is greater than their awe of the law.’ ^[3] So far no mention of professional lawyers has been made when referring to the Chinese court system in the Hmong area.

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 76

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 109

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 228

Disputes between villagers were settled by respected elders rather than judges: ’In every Sheng Miao village there is a set of rules and regulations which are voluntarily observed. In case of violation the offense is quickly adjudged by the public and an elder is invited to execute the punishment. Before it is carried out, however, he would tell the accused in a solemn manner the myths of their ancestors. Also in the case of a serious dispute the elder would summon both parties together, and first tell them the story of their ancestors before settling the dispute. After a decision is rendered in this fashion both parties would show compliance and would not carry the case to the law courts. Although the mythology handed down from mouth to mouth does not have religious contents, it becomes a kind of prophecy to those people who hold everything pertaining to their ancestors in the highest respect. It is entirely due to this inherent respect for their ancestors that the ancestral myth is recounted before carrying out the punishment or at the time of settling a dispute. The idea is to employ the will of the ancestors to restrain the actions of their descendants. It is interesting to note that the mythology of the Sheng Miao, meant originally to inform posterity of the stories of their ancestors’ life, has also assumed the corrective and preventive functions of law.’ ^[1] ’These, of course, were only a few of the disputes which arose in the village or among the whole group of Cowrie Shell Miao. Most small matters were settled among themselves. Much of the old man’s time was taken up with such cases. Sometimes others of the village elders were called in for consultation. This was according to the Chinese Government system, though in effect this formed the village government, or council. If matters could not be settled by them, they were taken before the lien pao official, and, if necessary, to the hsien magistrate.’ ^[2] Cases were occasionally decided by ordeal: ’The Miao are addicted to kuei and to litigation. Sometimes litigation may last a year, and the court, unable to decide the case, may ask both parties to eat blood. This serves as a deterrent. Yen Ju-yü in his Miao Fang-pei Lan says: “Those who enter the temple to drink blood move on their knees and bellies, not daring to look up; those who are in the wrong dare not drink it, but repent and yield.” In the course of our investigations in the Miao frontier area, the private secretary of the hsien government at Feng-huang, Mr. Wang Yüeh-yen told us: “The T ’ien Wang temple is the Supreme Court of the Miao area. When a Miao is not satisfied with the decision of the hsien government, then he is ordered to go to the T ’ien Wang temple to drink blood. Whatever the litigation, big or small, it receives immediate settlement.” It can be seen that the Miao’s awe of kuei is greater than their awe of the law.’ ^[3] Formal courts presided over by Chinese judges were located in towns and handled disputes that could not be settled on the local level: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[4] ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[5] Given how Hmong villagers made use of the Chinese legal system, we have decided to code the variable ’present’.

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 76

[2]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 45a

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 228

[4]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[5]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

Hmong legal customs did not operate according to a written code: ’Among the Ch’uan Miao there are no written laws. The customs and habits of the group are the laws and what is customary is right. Crimes are infractions against the customs or mores of the group.’ ^[1] ’In every Sheng Miao village there is a set of rules and regulations which are voluntarily observed. In case of violation the offense is quickly adjudged by the public and an elder is invited to execute the punishment. Before it is carried out, however, he would tell the accused in a solemn manner the myths of their ancestors. Also in the case of a serious dispute the elder would summon both parties together, and first tell them the story of their ancestors before settling the dispute. After a decision is rendered in this fashion both parties would show compliance and would not carry the case to the law courts. Although the mythology handed down from mouth to mouth does not have religious contents, it becomes a kind of prophecy to those people who hold everything pertaining to their ancestors in the highest respect. It is entirely due to this inherent respect for their ancestors that the ancestral myth is recounted before carrying out the punishment or at the time of settling a dispute. The idea is to employ the will of the ancestors to restrain the actions of their descendants. It is interesting to note that the mythology of the Sheng Miao, meant originally to inform posterity of the stories of their ancestors’ life, has also assumed the corrective and preventive functions of law.’ ^[2] Disputes were handled by local headmen, sometimes through ordeals: ’The Miao are addicted to kuei and to litigation. Sometimes litigation may last a year, and the court, unable to decide the case, may ask both parties to eat blood. This serves as a deterrent. Yen Ju-yü in his Miao Fang-pei Lan says: “Those who enter the temple to drink blood move on their knees and bellies, not daring to look up; those who are in the wrong dare not drink it, but repent and yield.” In the course of our investigations in the Miao frontier area, the private secretary of the hsien government at Feng-huang, Mr. Wang Yüeh-yen told us: “The T ’ien Wang temple is the Supreme Court of the Miao area. When a Miao is not satisfied with the decision of the hsien government, then he is ordered to go to the T ’ien Wang temple to drink blood. Whatever the litigation, big or small, it receives immediate settlement.” It can be seen that the Miao’s awe of kuei is greater than their awe of the law.’ ^[3] Where literate residents were available, ad hoc regulations for specific situations were written down occasionally: ’After feasting each family brings home a small quantity of pork, from which a piece is cut off for sacrifice on the border of one’s field. A string of paper money is also stuck there as a token to invoke a prosperous harvest. In the afternoon every family contributes a few dimes for the purchase of vegetables and sends a representative to the party, at which rules and regulations are discussed regarding indemnities for damages to crops. He who can write is asked to list the rules on a piece of white paper to be affixed at the village gate. Then on the top of a high mound near the village they set up a straw mark and let loose a din of firecrackers to announce to villages far and near that this village has already passed its laws so that none may go there to violate them.’ ^[4] Cases were transferred to formal courts operating under Chinese law when local settlement proved impossible: ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[5] Given how Hmong villagers made use of the Chinese legal system, we have decided to code the variable ’present’.

[1]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 28

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 76

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 228

[4]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 103

[5]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

Disputes between villagers were settled by respected elders rather than in formal courts: ’In every Sheng Miao village there is a set of rules and regulations which are voluntarily observed. In case of violation the offense is quickly adjudged by the public and an elder is invited to execute the punishment. Before it is carried out, however, he would tell the accused in a solemn manner the myths of their ancestors. Also in the case of a serious dispute the elder would summon both parties together, and first tell them the story of their ancestors before settling the dispute. After a decision is rendered in this fashion both parties would show compliance and would not carry the case to the law courts. Although the mythology handed down from mouth to mouth does not have religious contents, it becomes a kind of prophecy to those people who hold everything pertaining to their ancestors in the highest respect. It is entirely due to this inherent respect for their ancestors that the ancestral myth is recounted before carrying out the punishment or at the time of settling a dispute. The idea is to employ the will of the ancestors to restrain the actions of their descendants. It is interesting to note that the mythology of the Sheng Miao, meant originally to inform posterity of the stories of their ancestors’ life, has also assumed the corrective and preventive functions of law.’ ^[1] ’These, of course, were only a few of the disputes which arose in the village or among the whole group of Cowrie Shell Miao. Most small matters were settled among themselves. Much of the old man’s time was taken up with such cases. Sometimes others of the village elders were called in for consultation. This was according to the Chinese Government system, though in effect this formed the village government, or council. If matters could not be settled by them, they were taken before the lien pao official, and, if necessary, to the hsien magistrate.’ ^[2] Cases were occasionally decided by ordeal: ’The Miao are addicted to kuei and to litigation. Sometimes litigation may last a year, and the court, unable to decide the case, may ask both parties to eat blood. This serves as a deterrent. Yen Ju-yü in his Miao Fang-pei Lan says: “Those who enter the temple to drink blood move on their knees and bellies, not daring to look up; those who are in the wrong dare not drink it, but repent and yield.” In the course of our investigations in the Miao frontier area, the private secretary of the hsien government at Feng-huang, Mr. Wang Yüeh-yen told us: “The T ’ien Wang temple is the Supreme Court of the Miao area. When a Miao is not satisfied with the decision of the hsien government, then he is ordered to go to the T ’ien Wang temple to drink blood. Whatever the litigation, big or small, it receives immediate settlement.” It can be seen that the Miao’s awe of kuei is greater than their awe of the law.’ ^[3] Formal courts presided over by Chinese judges were located in towns and handled disputes that could not be settled on the local level: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[4] ’The Magpie Miao live in villages, occasionally compact but normally consisting of a cluster of separate hamlets. These are located on mountain slopes, usually far enough away from main transportation routes to be inaccessible and readily defensible. The Miao lack any political organization of their own, and are thoroughly integrated into the Chinese administrative system. The basic political, as well as economic and social unit, is the village. Villages are grouped into townships and divided into hamlets of about ten to twenty households each. The headmen of both the village and the hamlet are appointed by the chief of the township. The members of different villages or hamlets are bound principally by affinal ties. They may cooperate for the common good, but they lack any formal organization of an indigenous character. Disputes between members of the same hamlet are settled, if possible, within the hamlet. Those between members of different hamlets of the same village are adjudicated by a council composed of the village headman and the heads of the hamlets involved. If this council cannot effect a settlement, the litigants have a right to carry their dispute to the chief of the township or even to the Chinese court of the county.’ ^[5] Given how Hmong villagers made use of the Chinese legal system, we have decided to code the variable ’present’.

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 76

[2]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 45a

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 228

[4]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

[5]: Rui, Yifu 1960. “Magpie Miao Of Southern Szechuan”, 145

Hmong communities traded with Chinese merchants in towns and desginated market-places: ’Trade. - The Miao people do not know how to trade. Formerly, the Chinese brought salt and cloth into the Miao villages to exchange for their local products, but there were many dishonest traders, who cheated the Miao, giving rise to much confusion at times. Later the Chinese were officially prohibited from entering Miao villages to trade, but certain places were designated for sitting up markets, to be used once every five days, six times a month. The best-known markets among the Miao are the Te-sheng-ying, Kan-tzu-p’ing, Ya-pao-chai, Ya-la-ying, and Hsin-chai (Illus. 40) of Feng-huang; the Ta-hsin-chai of Kan-ch’eng; and the Wei-ch’eng, Lung-t’an, and Ma-li-ch’ang of Yung-sui. The important articles of trade are salt, cloth, animals, /Illus. 39, p. 73/ /Illus. 40 appears here/ and grains. Formerly, in trade between the Chinese and the Miao four small bowls were equal to one sheng. For cloth one measure between two hands was considered four ch’ih. The price of cattle and horses are set by the number of fists, regardless of age. The method of measurement by fist is like this. They take a bamboo splint and wind it around the fore ribs of the cow to set its girth, and then they measure the bamboo splint with their fists. A water buffalo which measures 16 fists is big, and a common yellow cow which measures 13 fists is large. The operation is called “fisting a cow.” In the case of horses age does come into consideration. They measure a horse from the ground to the saddle place by comparing it with a wooden rod. A 13-fist high one is big. A horse with few teeth but of many fists fetches a higher price, and the reverse fetches a lower price. This operation is called “comparing horses.” In recent times, in the sale of rice, cloth, and other articles, they have adopted the Chinese standards of weight and measurement, but “fisting cows” and “comparing horses” are sometimes still done.’ ^[1] ’Before 1949, some Miao sold opium, but more often poppy growing and production of raw opium was the required rent for cropland and the profits went to the landlord and middlemen. Very few Miao were full-time merchants or traders.’ ^[2] ’There are localities where the Ch’uan Miao barter a great deal because of the shortage of money, the differences being paid in cash. This is more common in northern Yunnan than in Szechwan where market-places and towns are more accessible. The Ch’uan Miao sell cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, corn, rice, eggs and vegetables and purchase salt. cloth, silver ornaments, pottery and implements and tools made of iron.’ ^[3]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 103

[2]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[3]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 24

According to Ethnographic Atlas variable 28 ’Intensity of Agriculture’, the Hmong practice ’Intensive irrigated agriculture (J.)’ Agricultural technologies and practices varied depending on the prevalence of dry swidden versus wet rice cultivation: ’Economic strategies vary. The Hua Miao were shifting-swidden agriculturalists, growing buckwheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and hemp, and using a simple wooden hand plow or hoe. Sheep and goats were fed on nearby pasture land. Additionally the Hua Miao hunted with crossbow and poisoned arrows and gathered foodstuffs in the forests. In parts of Guizhou, the Miao more closely resembled their Han neighbors in their economic strategies as well as in their technology (the bullock-drawn plow, harrowing, use of animal and human wastes as fertilizer). The Cowrie Shell Miao in central Guizhou were settled farmers growing rice in flooded fields, and also raising millet, wheat, beans, vegetables, and tobacco. Their livestock was limited to barnyard pigs and poultry, with hunting and gathering playing a very minor role. Some of the Black Miao in southeast Guizhou combine intensive irrigated terrace farming of rice with dry-field upland cropping.’ ^[1] Wet rice cultivators farmed irrigated fields: ’In the region where the rivers flow down, the hills are less steep than in the plateau area. Both sides of the rivers can be made into terraced fields, and the water from the rivers used for irrigation. Further, the rivers are navigable by small craft, thus making communication relatively easier, and the Chinese have migrated here.’ ^[2] ’Besides the yü fields the Miao also plant plots of land which can be flooded for growing rice. Rice grown in flooded fields is transplanted in April and May and is harvested in August and September. The Miao area is very mountainous and there are very few level areas for rice fields. They are found in small number only in the small basins in the mountains and along the banks of streams and rivers (Illus. 27), the rest being terraced fields (Illus. 28, 29). The land of the basins in the mountains are mainly irrigated by leading water from springs fed by mountain streams. Water wheels (Illus. 30) are used for irrigation in the terraced fields along the streams.’ ^[3] As indicated above, we have decided to code for the A-Hmao, who were swidden cultivators. We have assumed that swidden farming was practiced without irrigation systems.

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 53

[3]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 81

Hmong families stored food in the household: "In the houses of wealthy families side rooms are built on both sides of the main house (Illus. 17). If the side rooms should have two stories, then the top story is for the storage of grain and the ground floor for rearing domestic animals. [...] Besides the storage loft the Miao house often has underground storage, dug underground about a chang deep and divided into two or three bins for storing foreign potatoes or sweet potatoes. After the sweet potatoes, etc. are stored underground, they are covered with a bamboo-plaited cover, to allow free circulation of air. If the potatoes spoil, it is necessary to wait for some time after the bamboo covering has been removed before going down." ^[1] "Even the poorest house with one room, stable, and thatch roof had a loft for the storage of faggots, straw, unthreshed grain, baskets of grain and miscellaneous articles, sometimes piles of grain and other foods." ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 66

[2]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 21b

Hmong settlements relied on natural freshwater sources: ’Topography. (Illus. 2). - Topographically, the Miao area may be divided into two natural regions. The northwestern section can be called the La-erh plateau region; the southeastern section is the region where the rivers flow down. Although the plateau rises about 700 kung ch’ih above sea level, on it there are a great many small basins, with many springs and ponds good for irrigation. The Miao call such small basins p’ing /a plain/, t’ang /a pond/, or ch’ung. The best known among these is the Pao-mu-ying-p’ing, about 70 li north 30 of Feng-huang-ch’eng /city/. Surrounded by mountains, this level area measures five to six li in length and three to four li in width and has seven or eight spring-fed ponds, supplying ample drinking water. It is the largest basin on the plateau. Ya-pao-chai (Illus. 7), situated in the Ya-pao-shan mountains, about 93 li north of Feng-huang-ch’eng, is very high and cold. It has several fish ponds and produces rough rice and yams. In 1795, when the Miao revolted, the headman, Wu Lung-teng, whose family had lived there for generations, was entrenched there. The above two places are the largest among the basins on the plateau. There are countless small basins /p’ing and ch’ung/. There are numerous wells and springs in the mountains, wells being found even on the peaks. The “Yao K’ao” section of the Miao Fang-pei Lan states: “Fifty li southwest outside the city is Ma-an Shan /“Horse Saddle Mountain”/, which is about eight or nine li in height, is very steep, and resembles a horse saddle in shape. On top of the mountain there is a well that never goes dry. On the mountain there are pockets where there are irrigated rice fields. It is a strategic point for the uncivilized Miao to defend.” The La-erh plateau is dotted with Miao villages and settlements because of its level places /p’ing/ and wells and springs, and there the Miao people thrive.’ ^[1] Only some villages benefited from missionary pipe construction schemes: ’The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 52

[2]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Hmong communities mostly relied on footpaths and trails rather than roads: "The streets of a [village] zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached". ^[1] The various Chinese administrations constructed stone roads, ^{[2] [3]} but here we are mostly interested in the Hmong themselves.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 70

[3]: Graham, David Crockett 1954. “Songs And Stories Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 1

The Hmong relied on natural waterways: ’Roads. - The communication system in the Miao area consists of land routes and waterways. The most important waterway is the T’ung Ho, because it is navigable for a comparatively long distance, and it goes deep into Miao country. This river starts at Lu Ch’i and goes toward the mouth, extending 17 li to Su-mu Ch’i, ten more li to Hsien-ch’i-t’ang, another 21 li to Nung-t’an, 15 more li to T’an Ch’i, ten more li to Ta-pi-liu, another ten li to Ch’e-ch’i, and 30 more li to Ho Ch’i. From the mouth of the river to Ho Ch’i, some 130 li, the waterway is known as the Wu Ch’i River. Above Ho Ch’i it divides into two branches, south and north: the northern branch, known as the Wan-yung Chiang, runs ten li to Chang-p’ai-chai, where it again divides into two more branches, one flowing westward as the Wan-yung Chiang proper, passing through Ta-chuang and Hsiao-chuang for 50 li to Kan-ch’eng. The other branch, which flows northwestward, is known as Kao-yen Ho, and goes 15 li to Chen-ch’i-so, 15 li to Hsienchen-ying, ten li to Chen-ning-ying, 20 li to P’ing-lang, five li to Wei-che, eight li to Hsün-chien-p’ing, 20 li to Kao-yen-hsin. The branch flowing south of Ho Ch’i, known as the T’o Chiang, flows through Ch’i-k’ou, Chiang-chün-yen, and Mao Chou to Lao-hu-k’ou for about 60 li, and then passing Lao-hu-k’ou it flows from Mu-lung-ti Chiang to Feng-huang for another 70 li.’ ^[1] ’The parts of the T’ung Ho navigable by small craft are: the Wu Ch’i, 113 li; the Wan-yung Chiang, 60 li; /Illus. 16, 17 on pp. 42, 43/ the Kao-yen Ho, 93 li; and the T’o Chiang, 130 li; totaling 296 li in all. These river courses are difficult to navigate and are not passable all year round. Miao Fang-pei Lan in the section on roads and waterways says: “This river (the T’ung Ho) has precipitous cliffs standing up like daggers, strange rocks clustering like a forest of spears, and rioting cataracts. Through slight negligence a boat can be crashed into pieces. It dries up in autumn and winter, causing difficulty in transportation. It is only in summer when mountain streams rush down from the Miao villages, that small craft may ply here and there. However, the cliffs and rocks become more dangerous as the water rises. Once a sandbank is reached, a day is often spent in lifting the boat across to deep water. The difficulty of crossing such banks is twice as much as in other rivers.”’ ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 66

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 67

Chinese anthropologists report a variety of bridges in the area: ’Bridges. - The bridge in the Miao area involve considerable construction work. On important communication roads, they generally built three or five-arch bridges (Illus. 11) on which were built houses for hotels and restaurants for the convenience of travelers. Places where a river is wide and shallow are spanned by long bridges (Illus. 22, 23). Places where a river is wide and deep are crossed by rope bridges (Illus. 24). In small streams which are narrow and have sandbanks they sat up stone steps, customarily called ho shui ch’iao /“bridge enclosing the water”/ (Illus. 25), or they build small bridges (Illus. 26) over them.’ ^[1] Some mission stations devised bridge construction schemes: ’The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 71

[2]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Mines had been established under Qing sponsorship already: ’The region’s mineral resources were crucial in garnering the state’s attention. In the eighteenth century the need to keep pace with rising imports of silver from abroad intensified the exploitation of copper mines. Under Qing government sponsorship, copper mining increased tenfold, and from 1700 until 1850 the region’s copper output accounted for a full one-fifth of the world’s production. Meanwhile, the mining boom attracted more migrants, swelling the area’s population fourfold during the same 150 years. Migrants from the north and east developed a metropolitan culture that remained far removed from that of the rural agriculturalists, many of whom were non-Han (Naquin and Rawski 1987:199-202).’ ^[1]

[1]: Schein, Louisa 2000. “Minority Rules: The Miao And The Feminine In China’s Cultural Politics", 6

Some shamans used written magic charms: "Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple". ^[1] However, it is not clear that these magic charms included "at least several sentences strung together", as per our definition of "written records". Christian missionaries introduced a Romanized script for the publication of sacred texts and religious literature in the native languages, ^[2] but since we are discounting most other Christian "interventions", it makes sense to discount this one as well.

[1]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

The Hmong initially had no written records: ’They have no written language, their knowledge is limited, and their living standard is far below the standard of modern life. Because of the backwardness of their civilization they are held in contempt by the Chinese. Due to repeated conflicts in the past between the Chinese and the Miao-I, a great deal of misunderstanding, suspicion and prejudice still exists between the two groups. Fortunately, there are no unified spoken language customs and habits among the various Miao-I groups, and so among their many millions of people there is yet no apparent consolidation of a minority group movement to oppose the Chinese. If our government authorities can undertake the development of their educational standards on the one hand and the elimination of misunderstanding and racial prejudices on the other, then the many millions of Miao-I people can be made into a powerful new force to assume special responsibilities in the war of defense and national reconstruction.’ ^[1] Some shamans used written magic charms: ’(1) Spiritual Media. The names for spiritual media in An-shun are the same in the Miao-I language as in the Chinese. The men are known as Kwei-shin or Tuan-kung; the women, Mi-la or Mi-pu. Their duty is to sacrifice to the spirits to invoke their aid and to provide a medium between the spiritual and the human worlds. As such they are respected by the people. All ancestor worship and funeral events have to be presided over by the Kwei-shih. Every Miao-I center has one or two Kwei-shih, who learned their trade since childhood. Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple. The Kwei-shih, who are farmers by trade, take up mediumship as a side line to supplement their income from remunerations gained from its practice. In case of sickness the Miao-I believe the evil spirits are causing trouble, and it is the duty of the Mi-la to chase them away in order to cure the sick person. Often she is invited to the house to do her work. Sometimes in public gatherings the Mi-la is surrounded by people inquiring from her as to the best method of driving away spirits. Evidently the Mi-la is less able than the Kwei-shih, for in case of very serious illness or in the performance of funeral rites the man medium is always preferred.’ ^[2] Christian missionaries introduced a romanized script for the publication of sacred texts and religious literature in the native languages: ’Since the reign of Kwang-hsu /1875-1907/ in the Ch’ing Dynasty, foreign Protestant and Catholic missionaries had come to Kweichow to rent houses for dispensing medicine and preaching the gospel. The Miao-I people were attracted by their kind and dignified bearings and many were subsequently converted. These preachers bought property where their congregation was the largest and established schools with teachers instructing the people in the gospel. Today Shih-men-k’an at Wei-ning is the southwest headquarters of the Christian missions. There many Hua Miao become sincere believers and followers. The missionaries have also introduced a romanized form of Miao language based on the English alphabet, which the Hua Miao learn as the “Miao language.”’ ^[3] ’The first missionaries among the Hua Miao belonged to the Bible Christian Church, a dissenting Methodist sect, that placed great importance on the ability to read the Bible for oneself. With missionary assistance and encouragement, a simple phonetic script was developed in 1905 and in the following years the New Testament was translated in full into Dian Dongbei. Hymnals and study guides were also produced, and a series of school primers. In the 1930s and 1940s a small newspaper was published. Village chapels, built with communal effort, functioned also as one-room primary schools and centers for adult education. The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ ^[4]

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 37

[2]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

[4]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Certain types of Hmong magical charms feature Chinese characters "as phonetic symbols", ^[1] but it is not entirely clear what that means. And of course the "Romanized" script introduced by Christian missionaries would have been phonetic, ^[2] but we are not counting it here.

[1]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

The Hmong transmitted songs, stories, and oral histories: ’The singing may be by either a man or a woman, generally of middle age or older. Nearly all the stories and myths and bits of history of the group have been made into songs and as such are handed down from generation to generation, taught by one singer to another. Some of the singers know only a few songs, but there are some who know and can sing several hundred. It should be emphasized that the Ch’uan Miao have no written language or literature.’ ^[1] ’The spirit most venerated by the Hung Miao today is Pai Ti T’ien Wang, who also is one of three brothers. According to the Lu-ch’i Hsien Chih /Annals of Lu-ch’i Hsien/: “The boy found in the bamboo as recorded in the story of the southwest barbarians in Hou Han Shu grew up to be the Marquis Yeh Lang and was killed by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. His three sons were all respected by the southern barbarians, and among them the third was the bravest. Posterity regarded the Bamboo King, since he was not born of flesh and blood, as a spirit and built a temple in his honor. Today, the idol, San Lang, worshiped in the temples, has the fiercest appearance and is held most in awe by the Miao. It must be the spirit of the third son. The Yung-sui T’ing Chih also says: “Large T’ien Wang /heavenly king/ temples are found in all localities, of which the one at Ch’ao-shui-ch’i is the oldest. This is the Ch’ao-shui-c’hi of Wei-ch’eng. The present-day Ch’ao-shui-ch’i has no temple at all. But the one most honored by the people is in Ch’u-shan-yu.” T’ien Wang was one of three brothers; the Bamboo King had three sons; the Bamboo King Temple is in Ch’u Lin /Bamboo Grove/; and the most respected T’ien Wang temple is also in Ch’u-shan-ao /Bamboo Hill Cave/. Since there are these several similar points recorded, then the deductions reached in the Lu-ch’i Hsien Chih are not without basis.’ ^[2]

[1]: Graham, David Crockett 1954. “Songs And Stories Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 4

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 25

Magic charms written by shamans may be considered mnemonic devices, ^[1] but that is far from clear.

[1]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

Some shamans used written magic charms: ’(1) Spiritual Media. The names for spiritual media in An-shun are the same in the Miao-I language as in the Chinese. The men are known as Kwei-shin or Tuan-kung; the women, Mi-la or Mi-pu. Their duty is to sacrifice to the spirits to invoke their aid and to provide a medium between the spiritual and the human worlds. As such they are respected by the people. All ancestor worship and funeral events have to be presided over by the Kwei-shih. Every Miao-I center has one or two Kwei-shih, who learned their trade since childhood. Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple. The Kwei-shih, who are farmers by trade, take up mediumship as a side line to supplement their income from remunerations gained from its practice. In case of sickness the Miao-I believe the evil spirits are causing trouble, and it is the duty of the Mi-la to chase them away in order to cure the sick person. Often she is invited to the house to do her work. Sometimes in public gatherings the Mi-la is surrounded by people inquiring from her as to the best method of driving away spirits. Evidently the Mi-la is less able than the Kwei-shih, for in case of very serious illness or in the performance of funeral rites the man medium is always preferred.’ ^[1] Christian missionaries introduced a romanized script for the publication of sacred texts and religious literature in the native languages: ’Since the reign of Kwang-hsu /1875-1907/ in the Ch’ing Dynasty, foreign Protestant and Catholic missionaries had come to Kweichow to rent houses for dispensing medicine and preaching the gospel. The Miao-I people were attracted by their kind and dignified bearings and many were subsequently converted. These preachers bought property where their congregation was the largest and established schools with teachers instructing the people in the gospel. Today Shih-men-k’an at Wei-ning is the southwest headquarters of the Christian missions. There many Hua Miao become sincere believers and followers. The missionaries have also introduced a romanized form of Miao language based on the English alphabet, which the Hua Miao learn as the “Miao language.”’ ^[2] ’The first missionaries among the Hua Miao belonged to the Bible Christian Church, a dissenting Methodist sect, that placed great importance on the ability to read the Bible for oneself. With missionary assistance and encouragement, a simple phonetic script was developed in 1905 and in the following years the New Testament was translated in full into Dian Dongbei. Hymnals and study guides were also produced, and a series of school primers. In the 1930s and 1940s a small newspaper was published. Village chapels, built with communal effort, functioned also as one-room primary schools and centers for adult education. The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ ^[3]

[1]: Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

[3]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Sources do not describe anything like "religious literature" besides the texts produced by Christian missionaries. ^{[1] [2]}

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15

[2]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Literate Hmong made use of the Farmers’ Almanac, ^[1] and Christian missionaries published educational materials, ^[2] but here we are mostly interested in documents produced by the Hmong themselves.

[1]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 30a

[2]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

Chinese administrators produced clerical texts, ^[1] but here we are mainly interested in documents produced by the Hmong themselves.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 179

The Hmong used an unwritten lunar calendar: ’The method of reckoning time is that of the Chinese from whom it was evidently learned. A month is called a moon. There are twelve lunar months in one year and sometimes thirteen. Each month has thirty days and is divided into three periods of ten days each. Through the Chinese the Gregorian calendar is becoming known.’ ^[1] ’Recently, the Miao have adopted the Chinese custom of inviting friends and relatives to a feast and naming ceremony on the third day after a child’s birth. A name is sometimes adopted according to the time of birth. For instance, if a child is born in a certain month, it would be named after the month. The chief of the Miao at the time of the rebellion during the reign of Emperor Ch’ien Lung was called Wu pa-yüeh /Wu, Eighth Month/. Sometimes the name of the season when the birth occurred is adopted. In another case, the weight of the infant may be used as the name, for instance, an infant weighing so many chin at birth will be named for that weight. In still other cases, the name of an animal, a pig, goat, sheep, dog, or cow is used in the belief that the child will be easy to raise.’ ^[2] This is supported by the relative irrelevance of exact dates in the Miao system: ’The calendar used by the various Miao-I tribes at An-shun is the lunar calendar, but as a rule nobody remembers dates or knows the exact time of the New Year’s day, those having almanacs at home being very few. To count the days they generally use the symbolic animals of the twelve cyclical branches, - rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog and boar - because the markets are held on days named after these animals. But those who can calculate the days according to them are very few. Indeed the majority of the people do not even know the day and month in which they were born. The occurrence of an event on a particular day cannot be recalled with accuracy a month hence, and after a year it is relegated to limbo with at most perhaps a vague notion that it took place at the time of peach blossom, or in the planting season, or during harvest time.’ ^[3] The written calender used by the administration was not adopted for the management of Hmong local affairs: ’Although those who were educated knew about the foreign calendar followed by the Chinese Government, it meant almost nothing to them. What they consulted were the lunar calendar and the Farmers’ Almanac. For them the year began with the lunar New Year (February 15 in 1942) and its festival days. This was the slack season of the year, and for the first month they did as little work as possible. The lofts were full of faggots and brushwood for fuel; the granaries were full of rice, both “big” and glutinous, white and black. The New Year pigs had been killed and made into smoked meat, cured meat, and sausage. There were hundreds of glutinous rice cakes, jars of rice wine, and much bean curd on hand. The gardens furnished a greater variety of vegetables than at any other season of the year.’ ^[4]

[1]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 24

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan", 140

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 98

[4]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 29a

While cowrie shells have a long history of being used as tokens of exchange, Mickey only refers to the use of stylized ornamental cowrie shells among the Hmong: ’Cowrie Shells. Cowrie shells have played and still do play various roles in China. From very ancient times they have been used as money. With regard to the character “pei” (□) Wieger quotes a Chinese phrase which may be translated, “an animal from the sea, representation, in ancient times money and precious shell; from the Chou until the Ch’in Dynasty they used cowries in trade.” Marco Polo refers to them in this capacity in his description of the journey he took into the southwest of China on behalf of the Great Khan. The I-shu (□) says, “Yünnan people call the pei ‘hai p’a,’ p’a being the shell of the animal.” There are in the Museum at West China Union University at Ch’engtu metal objects made to represent cowries and once used as money. Hai-p’a (Cowrie Shell) Miao girls also wear ornaments of silver in the form of cowrie shells.’ ^[1] This is in need of further confirmation.

[1]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow", 7b

Dowry payments were made in silver pieces. The context suggests that those were coins rather than tokens: ’In the old days the gift and dowry were given in terms of the number of cows instead of money. Recently, they have been changed to silver pieces, and the larger the amount, the more magnificent it is for the girl’s family. If the amount is small then the girl’s status is considered low and it becomes a disgrace to the family. When the question of the bride price is settled (with the Hua Miao the highest gift comes to $100 or more) the go-between appoints a date to convey it to the girl’s family. Accepting the gift, the family gives a feast, in which friends and relatives are invited to keep the go-between company and to regale him with meat and wine. This is the engagement. Before the wedding day, the gift donation must be fully paid up through the go-between; but if the girl’s family is fond of the future son-in-law, half or all the bride price may be waived. [...] The following day or the third day the bride returns home with her companions, and the host dispenses cash presents to all the members of the bridal party. The other guests stay on to partake of the farewell feast. After her return the bride stays with her parents for a month or fortnight, and has to be welcomed back to her new home by her husband. But the girl’s family would keep the son-in-law as a house guest for several days before sending the young couple away. After a short stay the bride goes back again to live with her mother, and only on New Year, at festivals and harvest times, would she accompany her husband home to stay for a few days as a guest of his family. It is only after the children are born that she lives permanently with him. One month after the birth of the first child there would be a feast, and the wife’s family would send along some baby clothes and, in case of a wealthy family, also cows and pigs. Those who have received cash gifts from the husband’s family at the wedding would now give in return baby’s bedding and clothing as well as chicken and duck eggs. Friends and relatives would each carry with him a sheng /a measure equivalent to 31.6 cubic inches/ of rice and a jug of wine to partake in a feast provided by the host, who would slaughter cattle or buy pork and beef from the market for the occasion.’ ^[1]

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 12

(this position codes only for indigenously produced currency) Chinese currency was used where markets and cash were accessible: ’Trade. - The Miao people do not know how to trade. Formerly, the Chinese brought salt and cloth into the Miao villages to exchange for their local products, but there were many dishonest traders, who cheated the Miao, giving rise to much confusion at times. Later the Chinese were officially prohibited from entering Miao villages to trade, but certain places were designated for sitting up markets, to be used once every five days, six times a month. The best-known markets among the Miao are the Te-sheng-ying, Kan-tzu-p’ing, Ya-pao-chai, Ya-la-ying, and Hsin-chai (Illus. 40) of Feng-huang; the Ta-hsin-chai of Kan-ch’eng; and the Wei-ch’eng, Lung-t’an, and Ma-li-ch’ang of Yung-sui. The important articles of trade are salt, cloth, animals, /Illus. 39, p. 73/ /Illus. 40 appears here/ and grains. Formerly, in trade between the Chinese and the Miao four small bowls were equal to one sheng. For cloth one measure between two hands was considered four ch’ih. The price of cattle and horses are set by the number of fists, regardless of age. The method of measurement by fist is like this. They take a bamboo splint and wind it around the fore ribs of the cow to set its girth, and then they measure the bamboo splint with their fists. A water buffalo which measures 16 fists is big, and a common yellow cow which measures 13 fists is large. The operation is called “fisting a cow.” In the case of horses age does come into consideration. They measure a horse from the ground to the saddle place by comparing it with a wooden rod. A 13-fist high one is big. A horse with few teeth but of many fists fetches a higher price, and the reverse fetches a lower price. This operation is called “comparing horses.” In recent times, in the sale of rice, cloth, and other articles, they have adopted the Chinese standards of weight and measurement, but “fisting cows” and “comparing horses” are sometimes still done.’ ^[1] ’There are localities where the Ch’uan Miao barter a great deal because of the shortage of money, the differences being paid in cash. This is more common in northern Yunnan than in Szechwan where market-places and towns are more accessible. The Ch’uan Miao sell cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, corn, rice, eggs and vegetables and purchase salt. cloth, silver ornaments, pottery and implements and tools made of iron.’ ^[2] Cash gifts were also part of marriage negotiations: ’A considerable time is allowed to elapse between engagement and marriage. Before the wedding ceremony the boy’s parents select another lucky day to make a formal call upon the girl’s family in company with five to eight relatives to deliver cash and other gifts. This is called “sung p’ing-chin” /sending betrothal money/ or "tsou k’ê /going as guests/. The cash present varies from $30 or $50 up to $400 or $500, depending upon the financial ability of the boy’s family. The dowry of the girl is also proportional to the amount of cash. Other gifts include glutinous rice, (rich families giving as many as one or two piculs /a picul is 100 catties or 133.3 1 bs/), puffed rice /candies/, cakes, brown sugar, a silver necklace, and one or two fat pigs. The gifts are placed on table scaffoldings, each carried by two men. The presents of rich families can be quite lavish and sometimes amount to as many as a dozen tables. [...] The head of the groom’s family then picks up the cash and the silver necklace both wrapped in a piece of red paper and places them on the rice. Next he burns incense and lights candles to worship the ancestors. After a few minutes the four representatives at the table each pick up a bowl of wine and empties it in one gulp. These then become the witnesses who are required to testify in the event of marital complications or divorce. At that time, if the bride’s family considers the cash gift as not large enough to match the dowry, they may ask their representatives to refrain from drinking the wine to indicate dissatisfaction.’ ^[3]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 103

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 24

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 44

Chinese currency was used where markets and cash were accessible: ’Trade. - The Miao people do not know how to trade. Formerly, the Chinese brought salt and cloth into the Miao villages to exchange for their local products, but there were many dishonest traders, who cheated the Miao, giving rise to much confusion at times. Later the Chinese were officially prohibited from entering Miao villages to trade, but certain places were designated for sitting up markets, to be used once every five days, six times a month. The best-known markets among the Miao are the Te-sheng-ying, Kan-tzu-p’ing, Ya-pao-chai, Ya-la-ying, and Hsin-chai (Illus. 40) of Feng-huang; the Ta-hsin-chai of Kan-ch’eng; and the Wei-ch’eng, Lung-t’an, and Ma-li-ch’ang of Yung-sui. The important articles of trade are salt, cloth, animals, /Illus. 39, p. 73/ /Illus. 40 appears here/ and grains. Formerly, in trade between the Chinese and the Miao four small bowls were equal to one sheng. For cloth one measure between two hands was considered four ch’ih. The price of cattle and horses are set by the number of fists, regardless of age. The method of measurement by fist is like this. They take a bamboo splint and wind it around the fore ribs of the cow to set its girth, and then they measure the bamboo splint with their fists. A water buffalo which measures 16 fists is big, and a common yellow cow which measures 13 fists is large. The operation is called “fisting a cow.” In the case of horses age does come into consideration. They measure a horse from the ground to the saddle place by comparing it with a wooden rod. A 13-fist high one is big. A horse with few teeth but of many fists fetches a higher price, and the reverse fetches a lower price. This operation is called “comparing horses.” In recent times, in the sale of rice, cloth, and other articles, they have adopted the Chinese standards of weight and measurement, but “fisting cows” and “comparing horses” are sometimes still done.’ ^[1] ’There are localities where the Ch’uan Miao barter a great deal because of the shortage of money, the differences being paid in cash. This is more common in northern Yunnan than in Szechwan where market-places and towns are more accessible. The Ch’uan Miao sell cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, corn, rice, eggs and vegetables and purchase salt. cloth, silver ornaments, pottery and implements and tools made of iron.’ ^[2] Cash gifts were also part of marriage negotiations: ’A considerable time is allowed to elapse between engagement and marriage. Before the wedding ceremony the boy’s parents select another lucky day to make a formal call upon the girl’s family in company with five to eight relatives to deliver cash and other gifts. This is called “sung p’ing-chin” /sending betrothal money/ or "tsou k’ê /going as guests/. The cash present varies from $30 or $50 up to $400 or $500, depending upon the financial ability of the boy’s family. The dowry of the girl is also proportional to the amount of cash. Other gifts include glutinous rice, (rich families giving as many as one or two piculs /a picul is 100 catties or 133.3 1 bs/), puffed rice /candies/, cakes, brown sugar, a silver necklace, and one or two fat pigs. The gifts are placed on table scaffoldings, each carried by two men. The presents of rich families can be quite lavish and sometimes amount to as many as a dozen tables. [...] The head of the groom’s family then picks up the cash and the silver necklace both wrapped in a piece of red paper and places them on the rice. Next he burns incense and lights candles to worship the ancestors. After a few minutes the four representatives at the table each pick up a bowl of wine and empties it in one gulp. These then become the witnesses who are required to testify in the event of marital complications or divorce. At that time, if the bride’s family considers the cash gift as not large enough to match the dowry, they may ask their representatives to refrain from drinking the wine to indicate dissatisfaction.’ ^[3]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 103

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 24

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 44

The Hmong bartered where money was not accessible: ’Trade. - The Miao people do not know how to trade. Formerly, the Chinese brought salt and cloth into the Miao villages to exchange for their local products, but there were many dishonest traders, who cheated the Miao, giving rise to much confusion at times. Later the Chinese were officially prohibited from entering Miao villages to trade, but certain places were designated for sitting up markets, to be used once every five days, six times a month. The best-known markets among the Miao are the Te-sheng-ying, Kan-tzu-p’ing, Ya-pao-chai, Ya-la-ying, and Hsin-chai (Illus. 40) of Feng-huang; the Ta-hsin-chai of Kan-ch’eng; and the Wei-ch’eng, Lung-t’an, and Ma-li-ch’ang of Yung-sui. The important articles of trade are salt, cloth, animals, /Illus. 39, p. 73/ /Illus. 40 appears here/ and grains. Formerly, in trade between the Chinese and the Miao four small bowls were equal to one sheng. For cloth one measure between two hands was considered four ch’ih. The price of cattle and horses are set by the number of fists, regardless of age. The method of measurement by fist is like this. They take a bamboo splint and wind it around the fore ribs of the cow to set its girth, and then they measure the bamboo splint with their fists. A water buffalo which measures 16 fists is big, and a common yellow cow which measures 13 fists is large. The operation is called “fisting a cow.” In the case of horses age does come into consideration. They measure a horse from the ground to the saddle place by comparing it with a wooden rod. A 13-fist high one is big. A horse with few teeth but of many fists fetches a higher price, and the reverse fetches a lower price. This operation is called “comparing horses.” In recent times, in the sale of rice, cloth, and other articles, they have adopted the Chinese standards of weight and measurement, but “fisting cows” and “comparing horses” are sometimes still done.’ ^[1] ’There are localities where the Ch’uan Miao barter a great deal because of the shortage of money, the differences being paid in cash. This is more common in northern Yunnan than in Szechwan where market-places and towns are more accessible. The Ch’uan Miao sell cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, corn, rice, eggs and vegetables and purchase salt. cloth, silver ornaments, pottery and implements and tools made of iron.’ ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 103

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 24

Hmong villages also transmitted messages through ad hoc dispatches and the use of the drum tower: ’Whenever there is an emergency that requires a public meeting, the drum tower keeper, also known as messenger (or footman, who receives as remuneration from the village 1,000 catties of grain a year), would climb up the wooden pillar to beat the drum at the top, crying loudly at the same time. The tempo and the number of the beats vary according to a fixed set of rules. The “tum, tum” beats can be heard within a radius of many li. The first drum beat signifies a call for a meeting for some important affair, and upon hearing it, the villagers would abandon their work to listen attentively. The second drum beat is an urgent call to gather together at the drum tower, and the third drum beat is a signal for the meeting to start. Ordinarily, after the third beat each family would have without fail a representative at the drum tower.’ ^[1] ’If a certain village has a most serious affair, such as banditry, the meeting would then be different from that stated above. The Tung-chia call this meeting “Ch’uan-k’uan” /summoning for conditions/, which means to summon all elders from various villages to discuss conditions. The meeting place is still at the drum tower. The procedure of “Ch’uan-k’uan” consists of the dispatch of a piece of wood (known in the Tung-chia language as ch’a) about one foot long and as large as a staff, on which is written the name of the elder to be summoned and the nature of the business. Those qualified for summoning are all village leaders who can direct the villagers.’ ^[2] Only Chinese towns had postal offices: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[3] But Mickey’s comments imply that non-Chinese communities made use of the postal services in Chinese towns.

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 108

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 109

[3]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

Hmong villages also transmitted messages through ad hoc dispatches and the use of the drum tower: ’Whenever there is an emergency that requires a public meeting, the drum tower keeper, also known as messenger (or footman, who receives as remuneration from the village 1,000 catties of grain a year), would climb up the wooden pillar to beat the drum at the top, crying loudly at the same time. The tempo and the number of the beats vary according to a fixed set of rules. The “tum, tum” beats can be heard within a radius of many li. The first drum beat signifies a call for a meeting for some important affair, and upon hearing it, the villagers would abandon their work to listen attentively. The second drum beat is an urgent call to gather together at the drum tower, and the third drum beat is a signal for the meeting to start. Ordinarily, after the third beat each family would have without fail a representative at the drum tower.’ ^[1] ’If a certain village has a most serious affair, such as banditry, the meeting would then be different from that stated above. The Tung-chia call this meeting “Ch’uan-k’uan” /summoning for conditions/, which means to summon all elders from various villages to discuss conditions. The meeting place is still at the drum tower. The procedure of “Ch’uan-k’uan” consists of the dispatch of a piece of wood (known in the Tung-chia language as ch’a) about one foot long and as large as a staff, on which is written the name of the elder to be summoned and the nature of the business. Those qualified for summoning are all village leaders who can direct the villagers.’ ^[2] Only Chinese towns had postal offices: ’Like Kweiyang, the hsien city of Lung-li was in an open plain, but a narrow one. The space between the mountains was sufficient for a walled town of one long street between the east and west gates and one or two on either side. There were fields outside the city walls. Its normal population was between three and four thousand, augmented during the war by the coming of some “companies” for the installation and repair of charcoal burners in motor lorries and the distillation of grain alcohol for fuel, an Army officers’ training school, and the engineers’ corps of the railway being built through the town from Kwangsi to Kweiyang. To it the people of the surrounding contryside, including at least three groups of Miao and the Chung-chia, went to market. It was also the seat of the hsien government and contained a middle school, postal and telegraph offices, and a cooperative bank, with all of which the non-Chinese, as well as the Chinese, had some dealings. A few of the more well-to-do families sent one of their boys to the middle school. Cases which could not be settled in the village or by the lien pao official, who was also a Chinese, were of necessity brought to the hsien court, as well as cases which involved both Miao and Chinese.’ ^[3] Mickey’s comments imply that there were no postal stations in Hmong villages.

[1]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 108

[2]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow", 109

[3]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, 40b

Hmong families and villages sent out relatives and other community members on the occasion of festivals. These were not professionals: ’After the autumn harvest has been completed and the first frost has arrived, an auspicious day is chosen to sacrifice to the kuei. Half a month before, four paternal male cousins are asked to go separately to where the relatives live to notify them. The most important relatives are the families of the hosts mother’s brother and the wife’s maternal uncle, who are said to be the “leg-bearing relatives.” They are so-called because after sacrificing to the kuei, one leg of the buffalo is given to the maternal uncle’s relatives. A buffalo is divided into four legs. The first belongs to the /host’s/ mother’s brother, the second to the wife’s maternal uncle, and the third and fourth are sent to other close relatives. The “leg-bearing relatives on receiving the notification presents the messenger with a strip of red cloth as an expression of gratitude.’ ^[1] ’A few days before “Welcoming the Dragon,” messengers must be sent to the family of the wife of the mother’s brother /chiu-mu; is this an inversion of mu-chiu, “mother’s brother”?/ to convey the tidings. The host personally goes to engage the services of two Miao sorcerers. The relatives /of the same clan/ in the village are also asked to come to help. For this affair they prepare three kinds of mi-pa, the thunder pa, the dragon pa, and the guest pa, and in addition, a rice dragon must be made.’ ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 208

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 233

’With Qing advances in 1795, the Miao would build fortifications of an unspecified type quickly, presumably wooden palisades, earth ramparts, and ditches.’ ^[1] This presumably still applies for this period.

[1]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

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The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

’With Qing advances in 1795, the Miao would build fortications of an unspecified type quickly, presumably wooden palisades, earth ramparts, and ditches.’ ^[1] This presumably still applies for this period.

[1]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

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[Could find no direct mention of steel but seems likely that at least some weapons esp. guns could have been made with steel]

Several millions of these other peoples still live in the southern provinces of China. They are the Tai, the Lo-lo, and the Hmong. Like the Chinese peasants of southern China, all of these people are Iron-Age agriculturalists, growing rice and other grains, keeping a few pigs and cattle, living in villages of a few hundred persons, and trading their surplus agricultural products and handicraft products in the market towns for cutting tools and other manufactured objects. ^[1] [And also see presence of handheld firearms and swords below, presumably made of iron.]

[1]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, viia

We need expert input in order to code this variable. Cannot be inferred from the presence of iron and steel since it depends on access to ores.

We need expert input in order to code this variable. Cannot be inferred from the presence of iron and steel since it depends on access to ores.

we need expert input in order to code this variable

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[Spears are present (see below) but no mention of whether they were thrown or used in close-combat; given the presence of firearms, the latter seems more likely.]

’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1, 000 home guards, 7, 000 t’un males, 1, 800 old and young males, and 5, 000 Miao soldiers. There were 120 t’un and Miao camps, 731 stone houses, 151 t’un guard houses, 137 guard stations, 99 patrol posts, 11 gun emplacements, 38 gates, and 11 gate houses. The above stone houses, guard houses, guard stations, patrol posts, gun emplacements, gates, and gate houses totaled 1, 178. There were altogether 131 t’un and Miao granaries; the set rent was 79, 218 shih, 3 tou, 9 sheng. There were in all 16, 388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1, 643 swords, and 5, 002 spears, totaling 41, 136 weapons.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

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Diamond mentions the use of crossbows on hunting trips among swidden cultivators: ’Economic strategies vary. The Hua Miao were shifting-swidden agriculturalists, growing buckwheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and hemp, and using a simple wooden hand plow or hoe. Sheep and goats were fed on nearby pasture land. Additionally the Hua Miao hunted with crossbow and poisoned arrows and gathered foodstuffs in the forests.’ ^[1] But the presence of firearms seems to make the active use of the crossbow in violent conflict less likely.

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

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’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1, 000 home guards, 7, 000 t’un males, 1, 800 old and young males, and 5, 000 Miao soldiers. There were 120 t’un and Miao camps, 731 stone houses, 151 t’un guard houses, 137 guard stations, 99 patrol posts, 11 gun emplacements, 38 gates, and 11 gate houses. The above stone houses, guard houses, guard stations, patrol posts, gun emplacements, gates, and gate houses totaled 1, 178. There were altogether 131 t’un and Miao granaries; the set rent was 79, 218 shih, 3 tou, 9 sheng. There were in all 16, 388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1, 643 swords, and 5, 002 spears, totaling 41, 136 weapons.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1, 000 home guards, 7, 000 t’un males, 1, 800 old and young males, and 5, 000 Miao soldiers. There were 120 t’un and Miao camps, 731 stone houses, 151 t’un guard houses, 137 guard stations, 99 patrol posts, 11 gun emplacements, 38 gates, and 11 gate houses. The above stone houses, guard houses, guard stations, patrol posts, gun emplacements, gates, and gate houses totaled 1, 178. There were altogether 131 t’un and Miao granaries; the set rent was 79, 218 shih, 3 tou, 9 sheng. There were in all 16, 388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1, 643 swords, and 5, 002 spears, totaling 41, 136 weapons.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

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’The boat used in the Miao area generally measures nine kung ch’ih in length, divided into seven holds, the middle hold being the widest, about one kung ch’ih in width (Illus. 18, 19). The oar, the paddle, the pole, the mast, and other attachments of the boat are not different from those seen elsewhere, except that at the bow there is a long paddle about six kung ch’ih long, which is used for coming down the sandbanks. Traveling upstream offers the greatest difficulty. Every time a sandbank is crossed, the boat has to be poled, lifted, towed, or pushed by several dozen men. Their chanting is as loud as the angry waves.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao. 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan.", 70

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