| Our ethnic policies are equality,unity,mutual help,and fraternal love.At present,fifty ethnic groups are officially recognized by law in China.Actually,there exist many other ethnic groups that fall into two kinds: identified groups which are not defined and unidentified groups to be confirmed.It is because of the co-existence of all the different ethnic groups that makes the great rejuvenation of China possible.Chuanqing people are categorized into identified groups which are not defined in several times of ethnic identification.However,like the other fifty-five minority ethnic groups,Chuanqing people,does exist and is an important part of the Chinese nation.This ethnic group has its own separate features in marital customs,funeral customs,taboos,and practices in family mediation.The thesis is titled A case study on the Marital Customary Laws of Chuanqing People—based on an Investigation of Zhijin County and Nayong County.The customs of marriage and family affairs can best reflect the life state and cultural pattern of a certain ethnic group and a nation.It is a concentrated embodiment of local ethnic culture.This applies equally to Chuanqing people(distributed mainly in Zhijin County and Nayong County of the northwest of Guizhou procvince)who have lived in Guizhou for about 600 years.They have developed its unique culture pattern by means of accumulation,evolution,inheritance,and development in the process of long-term production work.Some regard laws as the wand that distinguishes the good from the bad and that adjusts all the injustice;some declare that although laws maintain the features of neutrality and objectivity and also adhere to the standard of laws specified by the country,they are neither hostile nor friendly to each of the public.Therefore,no one can experience the warmness of laws.On the contrary,Chuanqing people have their characteristic mechanism of resolving disputes.The mechanism is recognized by the local people as warm and friendly.It is deemed as beneficial to their production and living and can sustain the stabilization and promote the development of their area.Therefore,Chuanqing people tend to select people of noble character and high prestige as their Zhailao(someone that can settle various affairs and disputes in a village).With the help of Zhailao,they will be treated impartially in a convenient manner if disputes involving family affairs and property rights arise.The author of this thesis has lived in the settlement of Chuanqing people from childhood and my forefathers have been Chuanqing people for generations.This has provided me great convenience to acquaint myself with the folk culture of Chuanqing people.However,it is because of its embarrassed identity(identified but undefined)that makes it harder for me to search for literature.Information concerning Chuanqing people is hardly mentioned in official documents and research of scholars.Fortunately,the author makes the best of the internship to visit,investigate and survey many places where Chuanqing people inhabit and collect much material about their customs.Then the author makes a comparative study between the marital customary laws of Chuanqing people and state laws.In this way,the author summarizes the contradiction between the customary laws and the state laws.He also provides some advice for the readjustment of the contradiction.At the end of this thesis,the author outlines his hope for the future of Chuanqing people,which may provide some references for the enthnic policies of our country. |
