The Bai in Early Chinese Minority Film
After Liberation in 1949 Chinese cinema became a propaganda medium for the New China. The 1950 saw cinemas spreading to all towns, showing movies meant to increase the socialist spirit and fostering national unit. China's ethnic minorities often featured in these films before the Cultural Revolution. Only after its end played ethnic minority themes a role again. Here we look at films from before 2000 that feature the Bai minority.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
C. Patterson Giersch: Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing China's Yunnan Frontier
Yunnan was not always China: indeed not so long ago large parts of Yunnan were only nominally part of the empire. To make Yunnan, outside the main Han cities, a Chinese province required significant effort. Here Giersch's study on Yunnan's hinterland makes an interesting if academic read.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Benzhu is the native believe system of the Bai peole.
A history trading post on the upper reaches of the Yangzi.
Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan
Fei is the father of modern sociology in China: western-trained, he came to Yunnan at the end of the 1930s when China's eastern universities relocated west. In "Earthbound China" he applied modern empirical techniques that he had pioneered around Shanghai to the Chinese hinterland. The economical development, and subsequent societal changes, of three un-named, but typical villages in Yunnan is analyzed in great detail in this fascinating study.
Traditional toys in Jianchuan county.
Once an important salt-mining town, now the second largest town along the Heihui River north of Yangbi.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 11 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 13 May |
| Master Earth | 14 May |
| Donghuangdadi Birthday | 14 May |
| Baimakou Village Festival | 14 May |
| Yi Costume Festival | 14 May |
| Mouding March Fair | 14 May |
| Beggars' Convention | 14 May |
| Rice Transplanting | 15 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 15 May |
| New Moon Ritual | 17 May |
Markets this Tuesday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Jiulong | 九龙乡 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Zhongsuo | 中所 |
| Fuheng | 富恒 |
| Liandong | 炼洞 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Fengyu | 风羽 |
| Wanqiao | 湾桥 |
| Haidong | 海东 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Guanping | 关平 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Baofeng | 宝丰乡 |
| Madeng | 马镫 |
| Binju | 宾居 |
| Shuijing | 水井 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Beiya | 北衙 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shunzhou | 顺州 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Caoba | 草坝镇 |
| Wantang | 湾塘乡 |
| Mingjiu | 鸣鹫镇 |
| Longwu | 龙武镇 |
| Sankeshu | 三棵树 |
| Dayangjie | 大羊街 |
| Dixibei | 地西北 |
| Nujiang | 怒江 |
|---|---|
| Gudeng | 古登 |
| Bingzhongluo | 丙中洛 |
| Lishadi | 利沙底乡 |