| Tujia Bizika |
|---|
| Total population |
|
approx. 8 million |
| Regions with significant populations |
  China(Hunan · Hebei · Guizhou · Chongqing) |
| Languages |
| Tujia (traditional), Southwestern Mandarin Chinese |
| Religions |
| Animism, Buddhism, Taoism |
The Tujia (土家族; pinyin:Tǔjiāzú; endonym:Bizika 毕兹卡), with a total population of over 8 million, is the 6th largest ethnic minority in People's Republic of China. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ( is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning ( Postal map spelling: Hopeh) is a northern province of the People's Republic of China. ( also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country Chongqing ( Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China The Tujia (土家族 Pinyin:Tǔjiāzú Endonym: Bizika 毕兹卡 with a total Population of over 8 million is the 6th largest ethnic Southwestern Mandarin ( also known as Huguang (湖广 is a Dialect of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken south of the Yangtze River, and Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Ethnic minorities in China refer to the non- Han Chinese population in Mainland China and Taiwan. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES They live in Wuling Range, straddling the common borders of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou Provinces, and Chongqing Municipality. The Wuling Range (武陵山脉 is located in Central China, running from Chongqing City and East Guizhou to West Hunan. ( is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning ( Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a central province of the People's Republic of China. ( also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng ( which is an administrative division Chongqing ( Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China Direct-controlled municipality (直辖市 zhíxiáshì) is the highest level classificiation for Cities used by Chinese governments with status equal to
Their endonym Bizika means "native dwellers" in the Tujia language. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local The Tujia (土家族 Pinyin:Tǔjiāzú Endonym: Bizika 毕兹卡 with a total Population of over 8 million is the 6th largest ethnic
Contents |
The Origins of the Tujia
Although there are different accounts of their origins, the Tujia may trace their history back over twelve centuries, and possibly beyond, to the ancient Ba people who occupied the area around modern-day Chongqing some 2,500 years ago. Ba (巴 was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Zhi ( Fuling) Chongqing. Chongqing ( Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China The Ba Kingdom reached the zenith of its power between 600 BC and 400 BC but was destroyed by the Qin in 316 BC. Ba (巴 was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Zhi ( Fuling) Chongqing. Qín or Ch'in ( Wade-Giles) (秦 ( 778 BC - 207 BC) was a State during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods After being referred to by a long succession of different names in ancient documents, they appear in historical records as the Tujia from about 1300s onwards.
The Tujia under the Ming and Qing Dynasties
The Tujia tusi chieftains reached the zenith of their power under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when they were accorded comparatively high status by the imperial court. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led They achieved this through their reputation as providers of fierce, highly-disciplined fighting men, who were employed by the emperor to suppress revolts by other minorities. On numerous occasions, they also helped defend China against outside invaders, such as Japanese pirates who ravaged the coast during the 16th century.
The Manchus conquered China in 1644 and established the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu people ( Manchu: Manju;, Mongolian: Манж Russian: Маньчжуры are a Tungusic people who originated in Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China Ever suspicious of local rulers, the Qing emperors always tried to replace Chinese officials with Manchu officials wherever they could. The Manchu people ( Manchu: Manju;, Mongolian: Манж Russian: Маньчжуры are a Tungusic people who originated in In the early 1700s, the Qing court finally felt secure enough to establish direct control over minority areas as well. This process, known as gaituguiliu (literally 'replace the local [ruler], return to mainstream [central rule]'), was carried out throughout south-west China gradually and, in general, peacefully. The court adopted a carrot-and-stick approach of lavish pensions for compliant chieftains, coupled with a huge show of military force on the borders of their territories. Carrot and stick (also spelled "carrot-and-stick" is an Idiom that refers to a policy of offering a reward for making progress towards benchmarks or goals but
Most of the Tujia areas returned to central control during the period 1728-1735. Whilst the Tujia peasantry probably preferred the measured rule of Qing officials to the arbitrary despotism of the Tujia chieftains whom they had replaced, many resented the attempts of the Qing court to impose Chinese culture and customs on them. With the weakening of central Qing rule, numerous large-scale uprisings occurred. The Taiping Rebellion affected the area badly, and western imperialist aggression caused great economic hardship as cheap foreign goods flooded the region, with local products being bought up at rock-bottom prices. The Taiping Rebellion or Rebellion of Great Peace was a large-scale Revolt against the authority and forces of the Qing Government in China
Recent History
Following the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the Tujia found themselves caught between various competing warlords. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China A warlord is a person with power who has military control over a subnational area due to Armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority More and more land was given over to the cultivation of high-earning opium at the insistence of wealthy landlords, and banditry was rife. Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( An outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the Law " by folk-etymology from the original After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Tujia areas came under Communist control, and banditry was rapidly eradicated. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based An outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the Law " by folk-etymology from the original Subsequent land reform meant that the spectre of starvation ceased to be the ever-present companion of the peasant farmer. Land reforms (also Agrarian reform, though that can have a broader meaning is an often- controversial alteration in the societal arrangements whereby government
The Tujia were officially recognised as one of the 55 ethnic minorities in January 1957, and a number of autonomous prefectures and counties were subsequently established. Ethnic minorities in China refer to the non- Han Chinese population in Mainland China and Taiwan. Autonomous prefectures are one type of Autonomous areas of China, existing at the prefecture level. Autonomous counties and autonomous banners are one kind of Autonomous areas of China.
Culture
Today, traditional Tujia customs can only be found in the most remote areas.
The Tujia are renowned for their singing and song composing abilities and for their tradition of the Baishou Dance (摆手舞), a 500 year old collective dance which uses 70 ritual gestures to represent war, farming, hunting, courtship and other aspects of traditional life. The Baishou Dance or baishouwu (摆手舞 literally 'hand-waving dance' is a 500 year old historic collective dance form from which is distinctively Tujia, one of They are also famous for their richly-patterned brocade, known as xilankapu, a product that in earlier days regularly figured in their tribute payments to the Chinese court. Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven Fabrics often made in colored Silks and with or without Gold and Silver threads
Language
Tujia is a Tibeto-Burman language and is usually considered an isolate within this group, although it has grammatical and phonological similarities with Yi (though its vocabulary is very different). The Tibeto-Burman family of languages (often considered a sub-group of the Sino-Tibetan Language family) is spoken in various central and south Asian countries including Yi (also Moso Lolo Noso etc) is a family of closely related tonal Tibeto-Burman languages spoken by the Yi people. [1]
Today there are at most 70 thousand speakers of the Tujia language, most of whom live in the northern parts Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in north-western Hunan Province and in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in south Hubei Province. ( is a province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture ( Simplified Chinese: 恩施土家族苗族自治州 Pinyin: Ēnshī Tǔjiāzú Miáozú Zìzhìzhōu Enshi Autonomous ( Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a central province of the People's Republic of China. Tujia is a member of the Sino-Tibetan language group; many consider it an isolate within this group. A language isolate, in the absolute sense is a Natural language with no demonstrable genealogical (or "genetic" relationship with other living languages that is
The vast majority of the Tujia use a dialect of Chinese; a few speak Miao. Hmong ( RPA: Hmoob) or Mong ( RPA: Moob) is the common name for a group of dialects of the West Hmongic (Chuanqiandian branch Few monolingual Tujia speakers remain; nearly all are bilingual in some dialect of Chinese. Children now learn Chinese from childhood and many young Tujia prefer to use Chinese when communicating among themselves. Among fluent Tujia speakers, Chinese borrowings, and even sentence structures, are common.
Autonomous Areas Designated for Tujia
| Province-level Division | Name |
|---|---|
| Hunan | Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture |
| Hubei | Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture |
| Changyang Tujia Autonomous County | |
| Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County | |
| Chongqing | Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County |
| Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County | |
| Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County | |
| Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County | |
| Qianjiang District (former Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County) | |
| Guizhou | Yanhe Tujia and Miao Autonomous County |
| Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County |
External links
- Tujia Language and Culture Website
- Introduction to Tujia at People's Daily
- China Daily article mentioning Tujia marriage custom
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