56 Ethnic groups of China (2)

THESE SERIES OF DIGITAL ETHNIC ARTWORKS ARE NOT CREATED BY ME, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, ALL BELONGS TO THE ORIGINAL ARTIST.

The reason I decided to post this artwork up is for educational purposes. I am sick of people attempting to put Chinese people under one stereotype for their entertainment or ignorant definitions, and also because of the truth that many people forget China is a big country made up of a very diverse mix of ethnic groups with different, even contrasting beliefs, habits and religion. The country is made up of primarily the 'ethnic majorities' which is the ethnic Han people, so it is safe to say over 95% Chinese people you meet outside China would be a Han. The Han culture made up the basis of Chinese society since five thousand years ago, where we see that the official Chinese language is called Hanyu, which translates to 'the Han language'. The other 55 groups have much smaller populations and managed to preserved their unique culture alongside the Hans.

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Ethnic Uyghur: 0.76%

The Uygur ethnic minority, with a population of 8,399,393 according to the national census in 2000, lives mainly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions, especially to the south of Mt. Tianshan. They have their own language and alphabet which belongs to the Turkic group of the Altaic phylum. They have a profound history of more than two thousand years. Historical records indicate that Uygur people had strong trade and communication links with a variety of middle Asian countries and other ethnic groups of China. They particularly enjoy dancing and singing. Festivities such as wedding ceremonies are celebrated with all guests, joining in their traditional folk dance. The Uygur culture reflects its wisdom, literary and artistic talents. Poems and oral legends are always popular. The story of Afanti is a popular tale amongst Uygur children.

Ethnic Miao: 0.71%

This minority has a population of 8,940,116 which is larger than most of minority groups in China. After immigration in a long history, today they live mainly in Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture. They are divided into several branches, such as Black Hmong, White Hmong, Striped Hmong, etc. They are very skilled at handicrafts, such as embroidering, weaving, paper-cutting, batik, and jewelry casting. The Miao embroidery and silver jewelry are delicate and beautiful. From hats, collars, and cuffs to skirts and baby carriers, the patterns on their clothes are extremely colorful, complicated but with clean lines. Girls of around seven will learn embroidering from mothers and sisters, and when they become teenagers, they are quite deft.

Ethnic Yi: 0.65%

Living mainly in the hillside and basin areas in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou Provinces together with the northwestern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture, this minority is reputed as a nation with a long history and splendid culture within South Western China. Traditional festivals include the Torch and Chahua festivals. Among them, the Torch Festival is the grandest traditional festival, held on the 24th day of the lunar month of June. It is held to celebrate the victory of a rebellion against a tyrannical landlord. It lasts for three days, where families assemble together and hold rich and colourful activities. Wearing the traditional Yi clothes, they enjoy themselves with wrestling, horse racing, bull fighting, tug-of-wars and so on. When night comes, large bonfires are lit, with people sitting around, singing and dancing for the whole night.

Ethnic Tujia: 0.63%

The Tujia ethnic group possesses its own language, but most can speak Mandarin Chinese. At present the Tujia’s language is used only in a few areas; it lacks written characters, so Chinese characters are used instead.
Tujia people mostly engage in agriculture. The women are master the art of weaving and embroidering. The other traditional handcrafts of Tujia people are carving, drawing, paper-cutting, and wax printing. The Tujia brocade is called Xi Lan Ka Pu and is one of the three most famous in China . Tujia girls will cry to welcome their marriage day. The brides usually start to cry half a month previous to the marriage day; some brides even will cry about one month. The shortest days brides might cry is about 3 or 5 days. Tujia people judge a girl's intelligence and virtue by how well she can sing crying songs in the wedding.