A Brief Introduction of the TU-mien(土瑶)

Li  Xiao  Ming

(Hezhou College ,   Guangxi,  China,  542800)

TU-mien(土瑶) is in Yao nationality collateral series, only has Babu town, He Zhou City ,Guangxi, in China , only there to have the TU-mien(土瑶) collateral series. The existing population 1,471 households, 6196 people, mainly distribute in Babu District of areas E-tang town , Ming Mei, Chaodui, DaMing and in Sidong, Jin Zhu, Ximing of the Shatian town, in all the new six villages commissions', 59 villagers group. These six villages commission is located in the great cassia bark tree sierra the outlying mountainous area of He Zhou. The total area is 408.05 square kilometers, approximately composes two towns area 61%. Existing cultivated area 8,915 Chinese acres, paddy field 616 Chinese acre, mountainous region 8,355 Chinese acre, forest land area 56,879 Chinese acres.

(1) The economical condition

 TU-mien(土瑶) populace live in the remote mountainous area, the survival environment are extremely bad, many disadvantage factors are restricting the agricultural development. Statistics have indicated, some 47.5% TU-mien(土瑶) populace do not have the paddy field, only can depend upon the primitive cultivation production method, the output of the planter, dryland rice, the corn, is very low since the ancient times. Miscellaneous grains and so on cassava, sweet potato take main role in the supplement. They produce the grain only suffices for half year to eat, some lacks the grain six to seven months, insufficient are partial must arrive the dike town purchase. Front the grain price lets loose, the country has the fair price state monopoly for marketing grain to assign every year gives them. After the grain price lets loose, state monopoly for marketing grain not, but the market grain price and the grain department's grain price is all quite high, this purchased the grain for them to bring the very major difficulty. Their income mainly comes from the bamboo processing, the ginger planter, to betray the few lumbers. Receives obtained, the most TU-mien(土瑶) populace only suffices to buy the grain expenditure. After the investigation, in 2003 six villages commissions' agricultural gross income is 5.5361 million Yuan, the grain ultimate output is 968900 kilograms. The average per person net income is below 800 Yuan. The local two towns average per person net incomes are approximately less than 1,800 Yuan above.

(2)The living conditions

According to the investigation, before 2003, 60% of the TU-mien(土瑶) populace sleep without the mosquito net, 70% above TU-mien(土瑶) populace lack the cold-resistant clothing. The food primarily by the rice(most depends on purchase), miscellaneous grains and so on sweet potato, sweet potato, corn, cassava are the supplementary food. After the statistics, in 2003 six villages commissions lack the grain household to have 1,234 households, occupies the total household number 98.6%; On first the three meals a day eat the gruel and the miscellaneous grains have 126 households, occupies the total household number 10%. The TU-mien(土瑶) populace's housing are many for earth walls, some of the houses are covered with tree bark. The minority housing is built by the bamboo, bark and the bushes screen. Compared with the past, the TU-mien(土瑶) populace's life change mainly had the electricity to use. Starts from the 80's of last century, under department concerned support by the government, has erected the partial high-pressured line, solved seven villagers groups approximately 1,700 person has used electricity for their production and life. Along with the living condition gradually improved, the TU-mien(土瑶) populace use the water resources in the mountainous area, builds up the miniature small water electricity, basically finished the resin illuminated history since the ancient times.

(3)Transportation Conditions

Recent years, the TU-mien(土瑶) people spontaneously constructed the simple village said, the transportation condition although had the preliminary improvement, but because the mountain steep slope was steep, leaves the gate of the house having to climb a mountain or descend a mountain, the nearest village had more than 20 kilometers mountain roads to the dike town, farthest had more than 60 kilometers. When the TU-mien(土瑶) people go to the market, they must ahead of time one day or embarks in the same day before dawn, hold a torch to hurry along. To sell out the most agricultural products or to buy in any productions, the subsistence means is only the shoulders, or carry on the back. It may really be said  “the TU-mien(土瑶) people travel difficultly, just as to travel to the blue sky".

(4) Cultural

The culture aspect. Yao nationality culture of China is richly colorful and characteristic. Yao nationality moves requently. They have absorbed in different local or different nationality's culture. Therefore, every different collateral series' of Yao nationality respectively has its cultural characteristic. The difference is very big. The language uses by Chinese Yao nationality is an example, belongs to mien brunch of miao-yao language family. Each kind of mien language also has the different dialect. Many Yao nationality person also can speak Chinese, the strong language, the seedling language, even the Hainan Yao and the Yunnan Yao nationality language is interlinked. In overseas mien nationality has a part of person to be able to speak the country official language.

Because the TU-mien(土瑶) populace live disperse, a mountain or a natural village only has one to several household others. Six village commissions do not have the collective economy income, does not have the cultural room, without any library and recreation area, even without any recreational activity, but they have some folk songs all the year round as self-entertainment. Since manages after the miniature small water electricity, the most peasant households used the electricity, for developed the TU-mien(土瑶) mountain populace's culture to create the advantage. Now some TU-mien(土瑶) populace used the radio cassette player, the television, the video compact disk machine. This has enriched the cultural life in the certain degree, after the reform and openning policy the TU-mien(土瑶) populace culture life have been made a great progress.

(5) Education

Education aspect. In 2003, six TU-mien(土瑶or Yao) nationality village has six small elementary schools and 20 teaching spots. The school building total area 3075.3 square meters. There are 69 teachers, in which handles fairly teachers are 25, serves as a substitute teacher are 44. The elementary school enrolled students 1,032 people, the matriculation rate 93%. The junior middle school enrolled students 113 people, the matriculation rate 73% and the graduation rate 53%. The proportion of students entering schools of a higher grade 8.6%, and has the illiterate person 155 people, completely concentrates in three TU-mien(土瑶) villages of the E-tang town. Handles fairly teachers majority are graduated from the Guilin nationality normal school in the 70's, and the teachers serve as substitute teacher are all the local elementary school, the junior middle school graduates. Their culture quality are relatively low and some normal teaching duties are unable to complete, because the populace live difficultly add on the teaching condition badly. There are many children of school age not to be able on time to accept the education. The phenomenon of out of school is serious. As statistics have indicated, the liberation has ended to 2002, in more than 6,000 TU-mien(土瑶) populace, only some 14 persons of on high schools, but have not graduated. The junior middle school graduation records 7 people. The specialized middle school record have only 2 people. In 2001, the municipal party committee and the municipal government recommended a youth to study at the agricultural department of Guangxi University. The TU-mien(土瑶) had the first college student in their history, and had realized the zero breakthrough.

(6) Hygiene condition

Hygienic aspect.  Firstly, the housing environment is bad. The most housing are continually all with the pig, the cowshed, the hen house in the same place, dirty and not healthy. The medicine condition is not so good. When the TU-mien(土瑶) populace are sick , they basically depend on the traditional indigenous method treatment. The curing rate is lower. Diseases such as digestive tract disease, respiratory tract disease, skin disease, gynopathy, parasitic disease, anemia sometimes occurs. The phenomenon of lacking medicine and doctor is quite serious. The usual guard work is responsible by the town public health center or the village doctor, but every year there are only 4 or 6 times of tours diagnosis. The village doctor has a lower culture and technology, only one doctor has middle school graduation, the others are the elementary school graduation, and only received several months of short-terms medical training. Therefore, medical skill level are very low,  the guard work quality are bad. Because many villages do not have the midwife, the mother and baby care work is poor. The pregnant woman management is nearly blank. The hospitalized childbirth rate is low. It seriously threatens the pregnant woman’s safety. The TU-mien(土瑶) populace's average life span are generally lower. Compared to the Han Nationality average life span, their average life span is about 10 years old lower, In addition, because of the close relative marriage, the TU-mien(土瑶) people’s human quality universal is low.

(7)

The TU-mien(土瑶) not only has richly transmits orally the historical data, but also has remote spreads "the Mountain Announcement"（《过山榜》）. "The Mountain Announcement" has appeared the time probably in first year of KaiHuang in the Sui Dynasty (the A.D. 581-582 year). It has discovered in mainland China and in Southeast Asia of Yao nationality, and about 100 kinds of. "The Mountain Announcement" has narrated the Yao nationality’s origin, the surname origin, the ancestor moved and has concerned the mountain cultivation content. "The Mountain Announcement" in the Yao nationality culture has provided many important ancient times clues for the research.It is a key to unlock Yao nationality riddle of culture in the ancient times. "The Mountain Announcement" has collected since the ancient times for Yao nationality, and is the Yao nationality culture treasure.

The Iu-mien’s ancient moral standards continuously inherits until now. Chinese Iu-mien still retain the majority of traditional morals standard, in traditional morals many ideas always had the very tremendous influence to Iu-mien. The Iu-mien’s primitive equal idea, mutually cooperating idea, the unselfish idea, speaks the credit idea and so on, has satisfied the good function to maintain the social order and the impetus society progresses, until now it still has the certain practical significance.