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Creativity trait of 2nd-largest group
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The Zhuang people, who live mostly in southern China, are the second-largest ethnic group in the country. They are widely known for creativity in agriculture and handicrafts as well as having beautiful voices and a positive attitude toward life.
Most of the Zhuang ethnic group, with a population of about 16 million, live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There also are quite a few Zhuang people living in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces. They have their own language, which is generally divided into northern and southern dialects.
Different names are used to identify the group in Chinese history, and it was not until 1956 that they were designated as the “Zhuang” ethnic group. The record of the Zhuang people can be traced back to the Pre-Qin Period (before 221 BC) when they were called the luo yue or bai yue people, with their own kingdom and culture. Historically, they lived in the Lingnan region which covers all of Guangxi and Guangdong provinces and parts of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.
The region’s unbroken chain of forests didn’t keep the Zhuang separate from the cultural center of ancient China for too long. Qin Shihuang (259-210 BC), the first emperor of a unified China, conquered the Zhuang and included the region in his map soon after founding a unified empire about 2,200 years ago.
The ancestors of the Zhuangs made great contributions to Chinese civilization. They were the earliest rice planters and pottery makers in China and probably the earliest cloth weavers in the world, based on discovery of a 15,000-year-old piece of cloth made of plant fibers. Stone pestles and millstones used for grain 10,000 years ago discovered by archeologists also proves their creativity.
The Zhuangs usually inhabited valleys surrounded by mountains and water. Their houses are usually called diaojiaolou — a two-story wooden dwelling constructed on pilings rather than entirely on the ground.
Rice and corn have long been staple foods for the Zhuangs, accompanied by vegetables and meat. Home-made rice wine is served for festivals and guests. Steamed, five-colored glutinous rice is a traditional food on Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Singing Festival. Saps of five different plants are used to soak and color the glutinous rice in black, red, yellow, purple and white.
Traditionally, Zhuang girls wore blue and black collarless jackets, baggy trousers or batik skirts, an embroidered apron and huge, fan-like traditional hats. Boys traditionally wore black, front-open coats with a belt at the waist.
Zhuang also are famous for delicate brocades. They are woven with cotton, silk or flax thread into colorful patterns. Flowers, plants and animals are common patterns.
Xiuqiu, an embroidery ball made of silk cloth with 12 connected petals, is also a splendid handicraft of the Zhuang people. The traditional embroidery balls are typically red, yellow or green; each petal represents a month with an image of flowers, plants or birds on. It is used as a love gift. A Zhuang girl will throw it to the one she admires if she wants to be pursued.
Zhuang people are known for their love of singing. All their happiness and suffering is turned into melodious songs. This deep attachment to singing is represented by the tradition of ge wei — the Song Fair.
There are song fairs going on during slack farming seasons, holidays, festivals, weddings and funerals. On these occasions, people, especially the young, will gather to sing songs and meet possible lovers. The song fair held on the third day of the third month of the traditional Chinese calendar is usually the biggest, with thousands of participants or more. It is said to be a festival commemorating Liu Sanjie, a legendary Zhuang singer in Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), not only for her beautiful voice, but also her courage in confronting local tyrants.
Zhuang traditionally worship nature and their ancestors. Buddhism and Taoism are accepted by some, while Catholicism and Protestantism have a very limited influence.
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