Study On Respecting The Elderly And Supporting The Elderly In Qingshuijiang Valley From The Perspective Of Documents(1644-1949)

Both the Ming and Qing dynasties devoted themselves to the governance and development of Guizhou,which promoted the development of Guizhou into the "land of Kings".With the introduction of Confucian culture into the Central Plains,it also brought Chinese characters and the way of writing contracts to the Miao and Dong ethnic groups in Qingshuijiang Valley,leaving many valuable documents for the later generations.The documents span as long as 500 years,with the earliest dating from the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty and most of the rest from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.Although the Qingshuijiang documents are produced around the development of forestry economy,there are many forest trade contracts,but also contain many land sale documents,adoption documents,family division documents,marriage documents,dispute contracts,bills,deed tax bills,etc.,covering the economy,culture,law,education,customs and other aspects of the basin,which is an important document to study the history and culture of the Qingshuijiang Basin.Most of the documents are written with individuals or families as the main body,so it is also the central material for this study to explore the families and social culture of respecting the elderly in Qingshuijiang River basin.The reason why the Miao and Dong ethnic groups in Qingshuijiang River Basin changed from "carving wood as a bond" to writing contracts in Chinese is that the Ming and Qing governments vigorously promoted Confucianism and developed Confucianism education in order to bring the valley under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains.Moreover,the immigration of Han people here also accelerated the spread of Confucian culture.There is a profound clan culture in this basin.The clan organizations,which take blood ties as the bond and respect ancestors as the idea,also play a role in disciplining the clan-people to practice the idea of respecting the elderly and supporting the clan-people,and restraining their unfilial behavior.The economic role is also very important.Due to the geographical condition of rich fir,most residents of Qingshuijiang River basin engaged in the timber trade,and thus accumulated wealth.Growing up under the education of the Confucian culture of "loyalty and filial piety",some timber traders became rich later on,and adhering to the idea of respecting the old and supporting the elderly,they fed their hometown and family,while ordinary timber traders could also rely on the forest farm to support their parents.In Qingshuijiang Wenshu,there are quite a few sales lease documents related to the daily life of the elderly.The reasons for the signing of these documents can be summarized as the "difficulties in supporting the elderly" caused by the lack of money,food,living supplies,famine and arable land,and the "difficulties in death,burial and sacrifice" caused by the lack of burial expenses,white cloth,coffin and sacrificial expenses for ancestors,parents and elders.As can be seen from the identity of the covenanter in the document,when these difficulties occur,they are solved by the old man himself as the covenanter,or by his children and grandchildren as well as the family.From the way of sale and lease,to sell the family property to obtain funds,to borrow money from relatives and friends,the old people to obtain land to cultivate or rent the land to collect rent to maintain a living,the descendants to bury their elders to buy Yin land to practice the idea of respecting the old.Qingshuijiang River Basin family development to a certain period will be held family division activities,the reasons for the choice of family division is usually for the aging parents,children married or established a career,the increase in the number of people,family affairs can not be taken care of,family members conflict not cohabitation,and no children,social changes,changes in the situation will be carried out family division activities.In the family separation book,there is a clear arrangement for the birth,support,death and burial of the elderly.According to the customary law of folk inheritance in the basin,the son and the nephew are the object of the family property analysis,and also assume the responsibility of supporting the elderly.In the book of Family separation,plans are made for the elderly to reserve their old-age property in advance,arrange life eclipse in advance,and make funeral offerings after death,which reflects the local residents’ forward-looking way of respecting the elderly and supporting the elderly and the wisdom of maintaining family harmony and beauty,as well as the fact that Confucian "filial piety" and "rites" have penetrated into the lives of the Miao and Dong people in Qingshui River basin.The Miao and Dong ethnic groups in the Qingshuijiang River basin have the same idea as the Han people,that to be without an heir is to be without a family,and to be without a family is unfilial.Childless families choose heirs because of childless or bereaved children.Heirs usually choose stepson according to blood affinity in different branches of the same lineage,and rarely choose non-consanguineous families.Different from the families of the Central Plains,the families of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups do not strictly follow the Zhaomu system,so they have unique flexibility.Stepson of step-parents or following the grandparents have bear the responsibility of the dead buried,more want to inherit her stepfather or the grandfather Zong Tiao,at the same time also can inherit its heritage.However,making an heir is not a perfect solution to the elderly’s difficulties.There are also cases of unauthorized return to the family,so there is also a certain risk.Unfilial acts also occur in individual families.The son’s unfilial behavior will cause the breakdown of family relations,which goes against the values of pursuing a perfect and harmonious family in Qingshuijiang River Basin.It will also destroy the hard work of the grandparents and parents,and will make the parents who gave birth to them "have nothing to rely on" in their old age.In the face of unfilial behavior,the residents of Qingshuijiang River Basin mainly seek the power of law and clan.The parents give priority to clan mediation and determent,and only report to the government when they have no choice but to do so.This shows that the Miao and Dong ethnic groups in Qingshuijiang River attach importance to family kinship,and reflects the characteristics of local society to be autonomous.At the same time,these measures also restrained the growth of unfilial acts and promoted the development of "filial piety" thought in the valley.