认识苗族
Introduction to the Hmong ethnic minority group
我们很荣幸有请到来自贵州省凯里学院苗侗文化博物馆的淳于步馆长，为我们带来有关苗族文化的访谈。在访谈视频中，我们将探寻苗族的文化、工艺、建筑、女性地位。文字为访谈概述。
We are honored to welcome the curator of the Hmong and Dong Culture Museum of Kaili College in Guizhou Province, Curator Chun Yu Bu, to bring us an interview about the Hmong culture. We will explore the culture, craftsmanship, architecture, and status of women of the Hmong people.
1
苗族文化中，是否有宗教？他们的眼中，物种是怎样起源的？
Are there religions in the Hmong culture? In the eyes of the Hmong people, how did life originate?
“苗族共有三个文化发端。第一个带有原始巫教的特点，也就是自然崇拜，也有人说它是‘万物有灵’崇拜，认为世间万物都有灵性，认为人敬畏自然、爱护自然，自然便会同样地给予人呵护。原始巫教一直贯穿着苗族社会群体。到了19世纪初，特别是辛亥革命以后，西方的一些传教士将天主教、基督教引进至苗族地区，在苗寨中建立福音堂等，造成了一定影响。”
“而对于物种起源而言，在苗族文化中，蝴蝶妈妈和水泡谈恋爱，诞生了十二个蛋，包括蜈蚣、牛、雷、人等等。十二个蛋孵出后，就成了世间的万事万物。这样的传说还原了人的起源之前的'卵生状态'。”
"There are three cultural origins of the Hmong. The first one is characterized by primitive Wicca, or nature worship, which some people say is the worship of 'everything has a spirit'. This belief states that everything in the world has a spirit and that if people fear and love nature, nature will give the same care to people. Primitive Wicca has always been a part of the Hmong social group. By the early 19th century, especially after the Xinhai Revolution, some Western missionaries introduced Catholicism and Christianity to the Hmong area and established evangelical churches in the Hmong villages, which had a certain influence. "
"As for the origin of life, in Hmong culture, the mother butterfly fell in love with the water bubble and gave birth to twelve eggs, including centipedes, cows, thunder, people and so on. After the twelve eggs hatched, they became all things in the world. Such a legend restores the 'oviparous state' before the origin of man."
2
在中国历史中，苗族与汉族关系如何？苗族给汉族带来了怎样的影响？
What is the relationship between the Hmong people and the Han people (the majority ethnic group) in Chinese history? What impact did the Hmong people bring to the Han people?
“五千年前，炎、黄统一了黄淮流域。而在此之前，一直是苗族在此居住，可以一直追溯到一万多年前，从伏羲氏，到红山文化，再到半坡文化等等。实际上，在北纬35度到北纬55度这一个区间中，最早是苗族在这里生存的。到了五千年前，炎、黄联合起来打败了以蚩尤为首的九黎部落，兼容了苗族文化，才形成了中国文化的第一次腾飞。从这以后，中华文明就是以这一时段作为开端。苗族失去了话语权，换成了汉族延续着中华文化的历史。所以，很难说究竟是谁影响谁、谁引导谁。我们只能还原历史，还原在某一时段是哪个民族在作为领导，演绎着中国优秀的文化。”
"Five thousand years ago, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang unified the Huang-Huai area. And before that, it had always been the Hmong who lived here. The Hmong history goes all the way back more than 10,000 years, from the Fuxi clan, to the Hongshan culture, to the Hanpo culture, and so on. In fact, it was the Hmong people who first lived here in the zone from 35 degrees north latitude to 55 degrees north latitude in China. Five thousand years ago, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang united to defeat the Jiu Li tribe led by Chi You, blended with the Hmong culture, and formed the first take-off of Chinese culture. Since then, the Chinese civilization has been considered to start at that period of time. The Hmong tribe lost its voice and was replaced by the Han ethnic group who continued the history of Chinese culture. Therefore, it is difficult to say exactly who influenced who and who guided who. We can only restore the history and restore which ethnic group was the leader at a certain point in time, carrying on the excellent Chinese culture. "
3
历史上，苗族大致是怎样不断迁徙的？
What is the pattern of the constant migration of the Hmong people in history?
“我们说苗族有五次大迁徙。第一次迁徙是炎、黄部落联合起来打败了九黎部落，把九黎部落从黄淮地区，也就是真正的‘中原’，驱逐到了湖北地区。”
“到了尧舜禹时代，也就是大约一千多年以后，苗族在大禹治水中起到了很大的帮助。而天下太平后，禹对苗族进行了镇压，迫使苗族做第二次迁徙，往南迁，迁到了湖南和江西一带，还有的迁徙到了鄱阳湖、洞庭湖一带。”
“到了春秋战国，楚国是一个以苗族文化为主体的国家，秦统一中国，楚国被秦国兼并后，苗族再一次被迫迁徙，开始第三次迁徙，来到了湘西。在这里生活一段时间后，他们一部分接受了汉文化的影响，进入了汉代，一部分又被迫迁徙，从云贵高原的西南端，来到了广西北部。在迁徙过程中，他们遇到了珠江的一个支流，叫都柳江，就溯都柳江来到黔东南。这就是第四次迁徙。”
“到了唐代，岭南开发，少数民族生存空间受挤压，又逐渐往西、往北迁徙，其中一支民族同样来到都柳江。而苗族因为长期遭遇战乱、迁徙，对外来民族有着恐惧，一部分翻越雷公山，来到了剑河九仰居住，一部分上了月亮山。”
"We believe that there were five great migrations of the Hmong people. The first migration was when the Yan and Yellow tribes united and defeated the Jiu Li tribe, expelling them from the Yellow and Huai areas, the real 'Central Plains', to the Hubei region. "
"In the era of Yao, Shun and Yu, which was about a thousand years later, the Hmong played a big role in helping Yu control floods. And after the floods were controlled, Yu suppressed the Hmong people, forcing them to make a second migration, southward, to the area of Hunan and Jiangxi, and some to the area of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake."
"By the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Chu was a country dominated by the Hmong culture. After Qin unified China, Chu was annexed by Qin. The Hmong people were forced to migrate once again and began a third migration to western Hunan. After living here for some time, part of them accepted the influence of Han culture and entered the Han Dynasty, and part of them were forced to migrate again, from the southwest end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, to the northern part of Guangxi. In the process of migration, they encountered a tributary of the Pearl River called the Duliu River, and came to the Qiandongnan Region by tracing the Duliu River. This is the fourth migration."
"In the Tang Dynasty, the area of Lingnan was developed by the central government and the survival space of ethnic minorities was squeezed. They gradually migrated to the west and north. One of the ethnic groups also came to the Duliu River. The Hmong people, because of the long encounter with war and migration, had fear of foreign ethnic groups, and part of them went over the Leigong Mountain and came to live in Jianhe Jiuyang, and part of them went into the Moon Mountains."
4
九秋村位于月亮山中。在苗族的众多支系中，月亮山一带的苗族在文化、服装、饮食、语言等方面有着怎样的特色？
Jiuqiu is located in the Moon Mountains. Among the many branches of the Hmong, what are the special characteristics of the Hmong around the Moon Mountains in terms of culture, clothing, food and language?
“语言上，月亮山中的苗族与其他苗族基本上相通，只是有一些古语、俚语不太一样，特别是由‘鬼师’传承的古语、俚语。每一个宗族都有自己特定的‘鬼师’，这些鬼师是他们最原始、最本真的文化的传承者。在迁徙到不同的地区以后，他们受到不同区域的文化影响，所以在语言上会产生区别。饮食上，他们基本上都相似，比如肉食会吃牛瘪羊瘪、吃香猪。在海拔较高的地区中，上个世纪以前的主要蔬菜是大叶韭菜。”
"In terms of language, the Hmong in the Moon Mountains are basically the same as other Hmong, except that there are some ancient languages and slang that are not the same, especially those passed down by the 'ghost wizards'. Each clan has its own 'ghost wizards', who are the inheritors of their most original and authentic culture. After migrating to different areas, they are influenced by the culture of different regions, so there are differences in language."
"In terms of diet, they are basically similar, for example, for meat they will eat 'niubie' and 'yangbie' as well as pigs. Among the higher altitude areas, the main vegetable before the last century was the big leaf leek."
5
苗族以精美的银器、蜡染、刺绣而闻名，那么他们为什么会精通这些工艺？这些工艺对于他们来说为何重要？
The Hmong are known for their exquisite silverware, batik and embroidery. Why are they proficient in these crafts? Why are these crafts important to them?
"每一个苗族的族群（以村落为单位）即使迁徙到了不同的地方，也依旧保留着他们的原始文化。由于苗族没有文字，只有语言，那么历史的最好的传承方式就是符号。从现在考古出的上千年的文物当中的符号来看，这些族群最早的很多对自然生态的理解、很多古朴的哲学思维，都是相似的。只不过不同的族群迁徙到不同地方以后，宗族中的几个能人以自己的理解，把这一族群的标志性符号表达了出来，用蜡染、用刺绣、以及后期的银器。苗族的蜡染历史很久。我国出土的蜡染最早大约有2000多年历史，苗族最早的蜡染大约有1000多年，且苗族在整个历史中从来没有离开过蜡染。苗族蜡染上的纹样是最古老的、最原始的，然后刺绣又模仿了蜡染的纹样，银饰又模仿了刺绣和蜡染的纹样。”
“苗族最大的一个特点，就是它用符号来表达自己支系对世界的认知、对祖先的认知、对生育繁衍崇拜的认知。苗族人的身上穿戴的不管是蜡染、刺绣、还是银饰，都基本上具备了这三种文化内涵。比如白领苗，以“涡纹”为代表，中间为‘四瓣花’。‘涡’是个复合图，本身代表水涡，水涡旁边又延伸出两根触须，代表蝴蝶，展现的是‘蝴蝶和水泡谈恋爱，诞生了人类’的故事，它表示的是‘阴阳’。这一特定的纹案，再加上配色，表示的是这一支系的‘归宗图案’。当这一支系的人老去以后，必须穿戴带有这一纹案的服饰，这一服饰是通往祖先灵魂所在地的符号。历史故事、英雄战歌、苗族古歌等也同样有可能用刺绣纹样表现在服饰上。”
"Each branch (in terms of villages) of the Hmong still retains their original culture even after migrating to different places. Since the Hmong have no writing, only language, the best way to pass on their history is through symbols. Judging from the symbols in the thousands of years of archaeological artifacts, many of the earliest understandings of nature and ecology and many of the ancient philosophical thinking of these branches are similar. Only after different branches migrated to different places, a few capable people in the clan expressed the iconic symbols of this branch with their own understanding, using batik, embroidery, and later silverware. The Hmong have a long history of batik. The earliest batiks excavated in China are about 2,000 years old, and the earliest Hmong batiks are about 1,000 years old. The Hmong have always been passing down batik throughout their history. The patterns on the Hmong batik are the oldest and most primitive, and then the embroidery imitated the patterns of batik, and the silver jewelry imitated the patterns of embroidery and batik."
"One of the greatest characteristics of the Hmong is that it uses symbols to express its own branch's perception of the world, of its ancestors, and of the cult of fertility and reproduction. What the Hmong wear——whether it is batik, embroidery, or silver jewelry——basically has these three cultural connotations. For example, the ‘vortex pattern’ represents the white-collar Hmong, with the "four-petal flower" in the middle. The 'vortex' is a composite figure. The figure represents the water vortex itself, and two tentacles extending next to the water vortex represent the butterfly. This shows the story of 'the butterfly and the water bubble fell in love and gave birth to human beings'. It represents 'yin' and 'yang'. This particular pattern, together with the color scheme, represents the "return pattern" of this branch. When the people of this branch grow old, they must wear a costume with this figure. The figure is a guidance to the location of their ancestors' souls. It is also possible that historical stories, heroic battle songs, and ancient songs of the Hmong people are also embroidered on the costumes."
6
苗族与汉族对于“龙”的崇拜有怎样的相似点与不同点？
What are the similarities and differences between the worship of the dragon by the Hmong and the Han (the majority ethnic group)?
“汉族把‘龙’作为整个汉民族的图腾，认为自己是‘龙的传人’。但是对于苗族而言，苗族不把它作为图腾，而是把它作为一个‘吉祥纹样’来崇拜，这两者是有本质区别的。每一种文化必须要有生态人类学的支撑，因为所有文化都诞生在生态当中，没有生态就没有文化。特定的区域、特定的生态，产生特定的文化。那么苗族在在中原生存的几千年甚至上万年中，我们可以发现苗族生存的区域出土了很多‘龙’的纹样，但至今为止没有一个支系把‘龙’作为图腾来崇拜。”
“苗族最早在中原地区开始农耕。原始的农耕是没有现代的这些设备的，全靠天吃饭。当长长的身子的这些生物——比如蛇、蜈蚣、蜥蜴、泥鳅这些——出现在我们的视野里的时候，天就下雨，只要是在农村生活过的人就都有这种自然经验。有了雨，庄稼得到了灌溉，就得到五谷丰登、人畜兴旺。那么，这些生物都成为了‘龙’的原始纹样。在整个苗族中部方言区，‘龙’代表的是吉祥；而在汉族当中，‘龙’是图腾，这就是它本质的区别。”
"The Han take the 'dragon' as a totem for the entire Han ethnic group and consider themselves as 'heirs of the dragon.' But for the Hmong, they do not worship it as a totem, but as an 'auspicious pattern,' and there is a fundamental difference between the two. Every culture must be supported by ecological anthropology, because all cultures are born in the ecology, and without ecology there is no culture. A specific region, a specific ecology, produces a specific culture. We can find many 'dragon' motifs excavated in the area in the Central Plains where the Hmong survived for thousands of years or even tens of thousands of years, but so far no clan has worshiped the 'dragon' as a totem."
"The Hmong first started farming in the Central Plains. The primitive farming did not have modern equipment, and all food depended on the sky. When the creatures with long bodies - such as snakes, centipedes, lizards, loaches - appeared in people's view, it rained. Anyone who has lived in the countryside has this natural experience. With the rain, the crops are irrigated. People get a good harvest, people and animals thrive. Thus, all these creatures become the original pattern of 'dragon'. Throughout the central Hmong dialect area, 'dragon' represents auspiciousness; while among the Han ethnic group, 'dragon' is a totem. This is its essential difference."
7
苗寨中的建筑大多是木质吊脚楼，这些建筑的大致设计是怎样的？每一层楼都有怎样的功能？
Most of the buildings in Hmong Villages are wooden hanging towers. What is the general design of these buildings? What is the function of each floor?
“苗族大多依山而居、凭山借势，所以土地很少。对于贵州而言，特别是雷公山区和月亮山区，都是比较陡的斜坡。山上每一块稍微好一点的平地都会开垦出来作为农田。过去没有钢铁冶炼没有钉子，所以苗族智慧地使用了榫卯结构，作为吊脚楼建筑的主要的工艺。“
“一般来说，苗族吊脚楼都分为下、中、上三层，最下面一层是悬空的，用柱子支撑起来。牲畜、家禽居住在最下层。中间一层是起居层，堂屋、卧室等等这些就在起居层。由于山地太陡峭，房屋也不能修得太高，一般三层。第三层就作为仓库，粮食储存在第三层。“
“在苗族的建筑当中，还有很多独特的造型。比如美人靠（见视频）。由于空间不够，客厅的空间太小，所以需要在一个向阳的地方开辟一个空间出去。因为经常有妇女穿着盛装靠在上面做针线活，所以在旅游开发以后给它取了一个很好听的名字，叫美人靠，实际上就是一个客厅窗户延伸出去的一个空间。还有比如说空中回廊。因为地势太陡峭，上面一家的房屋悬空在上面一家的顶端，没有活动空间，所以苗族就在房屋的墙的旁边做了一个回廊，供人走动。还有一些，由于正房的地理位置不好，没有地方建造厨房，就经常在正房的旁边，非对称地搭一个小小的偏房，来作为厨房。在苗族的建筑当中，有很多独特的结构。对称结构、非对称结构、房屋外的结构，等等。“
"Most of the Hmong live by the mountains and leverage on them, so there is very little land. For Guizhou, especially the Leigong Mountain area and the Moon Mountain area, the land is full of steep slopes. Every slightly better flat land in the mountains is reclaimed as farmland. In the past, there was no steel or nails, so the Hmong wisely used mortise and tenon construction as the main craft of hammock construction. "
"Generally speaking, Hmong hanging foot buildings are divided into three levels: lower, middle and upper, with the lowest level being suspended and supported by pillars. Livestock and poultry live in the bottom layer. The middle floor is the living floor, where the halls, bedrooms, etc. are located. Because the mountain is too steep, the house can not be built too high, so there are generally three floors. The third floor was used as a warehouse, and food was stored on the third floor. "
"There are also many unique shapes in the architecture of the Hmong. For example, the beauty leaning (see video). Since there was not enough space and the living room was too small, it was necessary to create a space to go out in a sunny place. Because there are often women in costume leaning on it to do needlework, so after the development of tourism, this structure was given a very nice name, called beauty leaning. This is actually an extension of the window of the living room. There are also examples of the sky corridor. Because the terrain is too steep, each house overhangs on the top of the other, so there is no space to move. The Hmong made a corridor next to the wall of the house for people to walk around. In other cases, because of the poor location of the main house, there is no space to build a kitchen, so a small side room is often built asymmetrically next to the main house to serve as a kitchen. There are many unique structures in Hmong architecture. Symmetrical structures, asymmetrical structures, structures outside the house, and so on. "
8
说起苗族，很多人对于这个少数民族的印象是“蛊术”，那么“蛊术”究竟存不存在？
When it comes to the Hmong people, many people's impression of this ethnic minority group is the "Gu" (poisonous witchcraft). Does "Gu" really exist or is it simply a myth?
"如果你真正地深入到苗族很深层次当中，“蛊”是存在的。如果生活在比较封闭、比较原始的这么一个状态下，它确实存在。但是也有人借这个‘蛊’之名来诽谤人。真正的‘蛊女‘存不存在？在我这么多年的田野当中，它是存在的。但是假蛊女确实也存在，比如某家有个非常漂亮的女孩，很多人都来追求，但这个女孩拒绝了这些人，这些人就‘吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸’，说这个女孩有蛊，很多人都不愿意向她求亲了，这就是一种诽谤。但真的‘蛊’我们是遇到过的，肉眼是看不见的，因为这些都是秘传的。随着受现代文明的影响越来越大，跟外面交流越来越多，‘蛊’的传承者越来越少，所以‘蛊’现在很少很少能遇到。
"If you really go deep into the Hmong people, "Gu" exists. If you live in a more closed, more primitive state, it does exist. But there are people who use the name of 'Gu' to slander people. Does the real 'Gu witch' exist? In all my years of fieldwork, yes, it does. But false Gu witches also exist. For example, a family has a very beautiful girl and many people come to pursue her, but the girl refused all these people. These people would say that the girl has Gu. Thus, many people will not ask her for marriage. This is a kind of slander. But we did encounter real 'Gu'. It is invisible to the naked eye, because they are secretly passed down. With the increasing influence of modern civilization, and more and more outside communication, there are fewer and fewer inheritors of 'Gu'. One can rarely encounter Gu nowadays."
9
传统而言，苗族女性地位如何？
Traditionally, what is the status of Hmong women?
“苗族女性在不同的区域，社会地位不一样。比如在雷公山区，会以女性为中心，嫁男娶女，这个习俗一直延续到清中后期。它带有母系社会的色彩，但不是完全的母系社会。在台拱这一个支系，在生小孩之前，女方的社会地位是很高的，可以在四五个对象当中任选。但当她有了身孕，她在这家居住下来以后，就成为了他家的家庭主妇，她的话语权就略少了一些。”
"Hmong women have different social status in different regions. For example, in the Leigong Mountain area, it would be female-centered. The custom of marrying men out continued until the middle and late Qing Dynasty. It has the color of a matrilineal society, but is not a fully matrilineal society. In the branch of the Taigong, before having a child, the woman had a high social status and could choose among four or five men. But when she becomes pregnant and takes up residence in the family, she becomes the housewife of the man's family and she has less say in the family."
10
我们在九秋村时发现，那里的女性普遍非常开放、自信，这样的性格是否是苗族女性的共性？
zWhen we were in Jiuqiu village, we found that the women there were generally very open and confident. Is such a character common to Hmong women?
“这个也是要看区域。我们遇到很腼腆、不开放的也多，遇到开放的也多。但是相对来说，苗族的男孩稳重，女孩开放，这是肯定的。”
"This also depends on different regions. We meet a lot of very shy and non-open ones, and we meet a lot of open ones. But relatively speaking, Hmong boys are steady and girls are open, that's for sure."