Pingdiyao Cultural Studies

The Yao minority nationality has a long history. She has formed a single nationality community in the North and South Dynasty. Since Song Dynasty, the Yao minority nationality has lived in the South of Xiang Province and North Gui Province. With the development of the Productive forces and feudal Dynasty forces penetrating in the Yao area, the posture of division appeared in the inner part of the Yao minority nationality. During the Ming and Qing Dynasty period , Ping-Di Yao minority nationality formed in the boundary of Xiang and Gui province. The so-called Ping-Di Yao is the opposite of "Guo-shan" Yao, which refers to those people who lives in the plain area with the better surroundings and social conditions and the more advanced social. They began to cultivate and dwell there in early time. Ping-Di Yao is the important portion of the Yao minority nationality, which originates from Pan-Yao. Altough she has close contact with each other, each one has its own features and relative independent character, has the linguistic culture and customs which differs from the other Yao branches. As to the research on Yao branch's history and culture, the scholars have done a lot, but compared with the study on the other branch of Yao, the research on Ping-Di Yao is rather little, the systematic monograph and expert study have been not found. The thesis makes a big attempt on the base of the rich document materials and wide-ranging investigation through the Ping-Di Yao area, in order to contribute my share for the cultured study on Yao minority nationality. Ping-Di Yao is a rather more complicated group, whose main part originates from Yao. She evolved and formed with the historical development. My thesis begins with the analyses of the historical reasons for the Ping-Di Yao's forming,, concludes its four portions: the first, "Guo-shan Yao" moved to the plain area, paid the grain and taxes to the government and become its subject; the second , the Yao people, after the failure of their uprising, accepted the feudal government's amnesty and enlistment and evolved into Ping-Di Yao; the third, some people of Han and Zhuang nationality evolved into Ping-Di Yao after constantly contact and mixture with Yao nationality; fourthly, the soldiers of other nationality stationed in the Yao nationality district gradually evolved into Ping-Di Yao. The complex structure of Ping-Di Yao nationality determines its cultural plurality. The existential environment preconditions for the emergence and development of culture. The second section of the paper deals with the existential environment of Ping-Di Yao culture. Ping-Di Yao, as a branch of Yao nationality, is inevitably impacted by Yao nationality culture. Therefore, the belief in the totem of Yao nationality----PanHu, constitutes the psychological base for the emergence of Ping-Di Yao culture. Secondly, the settled agriculture livelihood is the material basis of the emergence of Ping-Di Yao culture. It determines the difference between Ping-Di Yao's culture and the cultures of other branches of Yao nationality. Finally, after settled in plain, Ping-Di Yao gradually lived in mixed community with Han and Zhuang nationality, forming the mutual lives and district, on the basis of which, Ping-Di Yao strengthened itseconomic and cultural ties with Han and Zhuang nationality. Thus, the collision and exchange of diversified cultures provides the soil for the emergence of Ping-Di Yao culture. The middle part of the paper, starting with the culture of life, such as production tool, clothing, food and housing, deals with Ping-Di Yao's marriage culture and marriage evolvement feature, patriarchal culture, religion culture and folk literature.According to my research, I holds that Ping-Di Yao culture is the production of its contact and mixture with other cultures, among which Han culture is most influential. We can see the trace of other nationality's culture from many aspects of Ping-Di Yao culture. Early settled in the plain, Ping-Di Yao not only retained the traditional way o...