A Brief Discussion on Miao Costume andthe Awareness of Miao Self—Identity

ZHANG Shenglan

Abstract： Historically， the Miao had no unified writing system. The historical records that we read today are mostly recorded from the perspective of “the other”. We know that “historical memory” is a significant factor for the formation of a groups awareness of its self-identity.This means that the writings of “historical memory”， one of the important factors for the formation of the Miaos awareness of their self-identity， were constructed by “the other”. However， was the “historical memory” of the Miao only constructed by “the other”？ Did they inherit some other forms of expression constructed from their own perspective？ Actually， in addition to ancient songsand oral heritage， Miao costume， with its rich and deeply symbolic designs，is one of these expressions.

Miao traditional costume can be regarded as a history book which records their long history of migration. Such kind of costume becomes an important ethnic cultural marker， and is also a factor in the formation of the awareness of their ethnic self-identity. Moreover， while Miao costume is an important marker enabling outsiders to recognize the Miao， it is also a criterion for the Miao to distinguish themselves from other branches within thegroup in different areas.

Following the Qing governments direct control of Guizhou， an area which was mainly inhabited by the Miao， this kind of strong， distinctive， cultural symbol became one of the governments targets for assimilating the Miao. Therefore， the government adopted some mandatory policies aimed at reforming Miao costume. Due to this unprecedented political environment， what kind of impacts did this have on Miao costume？And， what kind of roles did these impacts play on the awareness of Miao self-identity？ This article gives a brief discussion of the impacts on the Miaos awareness of their self-identity， resulting from the reforms to Miao costume implemented by the central governments of the Qing and the Republic of China.

There is already a lot of scholarship concerning Miao costume and its relationship to Miao ethnic awareness. At the beginning of this article， we mentioned the significance of “historical memory” in the formation of the awareness of self-identity. Here let us take a look at some cultural elements of the Guizhou Miaos costume which have a close relationship with the Miaos historical memory. First， one element that an ethnic groups historical memory will doubtlessly involve is the origin of the group and their ancestors.This is the most important factor. When we talk about the ancestors of the Miao today， we must undoubtedly mention Chiyou. Because of this we can notice the element of Chiyou in many traditional Miao costumes. Now， let us take a look atthe element of migration. We know that todays Miao are scattered in a wide area， and they have many sub-branches. One of the main reasons for this situation is “migration”. The reasons for their migration are many—some were due to natural disasters and their search for a better and more suitable environment， and some were due to their fleeing war or political oppression. No matter what the reason， following the migration， the Miao produced many memories related to their former lives or wars， etc. .As some scholars have mentioned， in order to confirm this ethnic awareness， the designs on their traditional costume became special symbols expressing their feelings and awareness. The migration itself became a symbol integratedinto the patterns on the costume. Moreover， the different costumes formed from different environments became markers of the different branches， which formed and enhanced each branchs awareness of their self-identity.

Now let us have a look at the change of Miao costume since the Qing dynasty， i.e. after the Miao area was directly ruled by the central government. One important policy which was part of the well-known gaituguiliu policy（i.e.the replacement of native officials with the court appointed officials） was integrating local cultures.One measure of this cultural integration， the reform of costume， was a kind of marker of this assimilation. In the Qing governments gaituguiliu policy， the content relevant to the reform of Miao costume could be summarized by the following three points： 1） costume change due to the governments mandatory action； 2） costume change by the Miao themselves due to the influence of assimilation； 3） change through the symbolization of costume in local ethnographies. How do we analyze the change in the awareness of the Miaos self-identity through these factors？ Firstly， the forced costume change was a kind of oppression from the outside， therefore， the non-Han ethnic groups， including the Miao， would undoubtedly resist. Secondly， with the infiltration of Han-Chinese culture into the Miao， Miao elites appeared whose titles were “Juren”（successful candidates in the imperial examinations at the provincial level）， and who were accepted by the Han-Chinese cultural circle. Their appearance made a direct dialogue between the Miao and the central government possible. Thirdly， the appearance of books like the miaoman tuce（The Album of the Miao Barbarians） fixed and enhanced the view of the powerful “other”， and expanded this recognition to the general public represented by the Han-Chinese or even by people overseas. This would doubtlessly trigger feedback， and influence the process of the Miaos awareness of their self-identity.

The Qing combined its rule of the Miao with the integration of their costume， and this was just what symbolized the action of the rulers towards those different ethnic groups who were ruled. Such an “other”， as the central government， changed the Miao in order to make them a proper member of the empire， and recorded them by the way of symbolizing their costume. In this way， the Miao concentrated the unprecedented varieties of the views of “the other”. During the process of contact， conflict， and integration， a wider and deeper awareness of Miao self-identity had been awakened and enhanced，which， in turn， become the prototype of the Miaos multiple self-identity awareness.

The government of the Republic of China also involved itself in the reform of Miao costume，and implemented a series of compulsory policies relevant to costume reform.Same as that of the Qing government， it implemented a policy of “cultural assimilation from the surface”. The typical event was a costume reform movement， aiming at “improving the costume of the compatriots”. In the early years of the Republic of China， the government was not able to rule the Miao in Guizhou directly. Following the division and opposition of the warlords， the Miao in Guizhou were under the rule of the warlords in Southwest China. The warlords in Hunan， Guizhou， Guangxi and Yunnan implemented several laws and regulations based on the policies of the Nationalist Party. The content of these laws and regulations clearly expressed that their purpose was to abolish the languages and customs of the ethnic minorities， including the Miao， Yi and Dong， etc. . Moreover， the warlords of Yunnan also implemented mandatory reform on the costume in Malipo and Guangnan counties.The warlords of Guangxi took the same actions in Sanjiang and Rongshui counties. From 1934 to 1935， the power of Chiang Kai-shek began to emerge in the southwest region， and the central government of the Nationalist Party began to rule Southwest China more directly. The officials in various Miao areas began to enhance the process of “assimilation” from the administrative and legal aspects， and even used the military force to support it. The important content of “assimilation”—the costume reform became more concrete.

From the Qing to the Republican Period， the rulers implemented costume reform policies which oppressed the Miao by “the other”to various degrees.It is from this kind of historical context in which “every person was united as one people”was formed，and the self-identity of being Miao was strengthened. The founding of the Republic of China in modern time brought the Miao a much more complicated external environment. The Miao who were involved in the construction of a modern state had to face a contradictory and helpless situation in which they resisted the Han on one hand， but on the other hand， they had to accept the influence of Han culture. At the same time， the new generation of the Miao elites started to think about their own ethnic group from a perspective beyond geographical limitations， and one which promoted their ethnic pride. This kind of awareness gradually emerged into a common Miao mentality—a multi-awareness which included “state”， “Miao”， and “Miao branches in various regions”， was strengthened. It could be said that as one important part of assimilation policy， the existence and change of the Miaos traditional costume strengthened this kind of multi-level self-identity awareness of the Miao.

Key Words： the Miaos traditional costume；etnic cultural representation； the awareness of self-identity

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