Ancient Songs of the Miao Ethnic Minority
Ancient Folk Songs of Miao Ethnic Group (Miao Zu Gu Ge in Chinese) is the most complete epic of the Miao ethnic group which is transmitted for the longest time.
The epic is divided into four parts:Creation of the World (Kai Tian Pi Di in Chinese),Songs of Maples (Feng Mu Ge in Chinese),Devastating Deluge (Hong Shui Tao Tian in Chinese),and Ardulous Journey (Ba Shan She Shui in Chinese).It has all-inclusive contents:the formation of the universe,the origin of human beings and species,the creation of the world,the devastating deluge in remote times,the imigration of the Miao ethnic group,and the ancient social systems and the production and living of the Miao ethnic group.It is really the aggregate of the ancient myths of the Miao ethnic group.The ancient folk songs and myths of the Miao ethnic group are often performed on the occasions of sacrifices to God of Earth,weddings and funerals,gathering of friends and kinsfolks,and festivals.Most of the performers are men of middle or old age,sorcerers,and singers.
Ancient Folk Songs of Miao Ethnic Group are transmitted orally.The epics adopts the structure of five-character lines with rhymes in the Miao language.The whole epic covers more than 15,000 lines,in which over 100 figures who really exist with established identity are described.It is full of romanticism and idealism.Many figures of speech are employed such as metaphors,hyperboles,parallelisms,personifications,and rhetorical questions.The songs vividly presents the explanation by ancestors of the Miao ethnic group of how the world and creatures in the world,and human beings come into being.Besides,the feats of human beings struggling to start human histoy are also presented.
Ancient Folk Songs of Miao Ethnic Group is the only non-religious epic on creation handed down in China.It is the encyclopedia on history,moralities,customs,clothes,buildings and climates of the Miao ethnic group.
An excerption of“Shooting at the sun and moon”is as the following.
Nowadays,one sun is on the cloud slope,
And one moon is on the cloud slope.
How do people live?
People work day and night around,(https://www.daowen.com)
And have a harvest to feed their parents.
Long time ago,there were twelve suns and twelve moons in the sky,
How did people live?
To feed their parents?
To feed their children?
People looked for a shade during the day,
Plowed the field at night,
To feed their parents,
To feed their children.