Fantastic Folk and Fairy Tales of Ethnic Chinese Peoples - Book Three

By Mei Zihan and TBD

(From the pen of the chief editor Mei Zihan) Although I am Chinese, as a child I seldom heard adults tell stories of Chinese ancestry or tradition. Stories of our heritage, are important us. Folk tales teach and give children identity – yet, there were barely any stories in my heart.
 

Later, even after becoming a writer,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heartspace Publications
• Release date: Apr 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9780648488972

TBD

Patsy Stanley is an artist, illustrator and author and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She has authored both nonfiction and fiction books including novels, children's books, energy books, art books, and more. She can reached at:[e-mail] for questions and comments.

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The Monguor Nationality

The Monguor language derived from the Mongolian language of the Altaic family. The population is roughly 240,000 and has a unique minority in Qinghai province.

Spiritual Practices

They worship the Yellow Sect (Tibetan Buddhism) but a lot of them believe in numerous gods (polytheism) and it is still prevalent today.

Festivals

The most popular festivals are: the Spring Festival, Nadun Festival, Scripture Fair (at Youning Temple), Bangbang Fair, Contest Fair in Weiyuan (traditional singing contest), Temple Fair (sacrifices and socializing) and Danma Opera Fair.

Their most important event is the Flower Contest. On this day, people dress up and view the flowers. They form dozens of random singing duos composed of a male and a female. When they finish singing, another group continues. For those that sing well, they are surrounded by more and more cheering people. Whistles blow and there is a lot of shouting. This goes on till late at night.

The Huzhu Danma Opera in June also attracts well-dressed people from afar to come and enjoy the shows. They also express their aspiration and joy to the performers. It also has special significance as young adults come looking for their Miss Right and Mr. Right.

The Nadun Festival is celebrated from July to September. Its purpose is for play, fun and entertainment. It is the most important festival for the harvest and is also the longest carnival.

Traditional swinging activity for Monguor Nationality

Traditional Clothing

Males wear embroidered high-collared white short waistcoats, covered with small-collared dark robes. Their waists are wrapped in embroidered belts – their loose and big pants are tightened with two embroidered belts. They wear leggings, cloth shoes and felt caps.

Females wear tiny-collared shirts with the side open and colourful shirts. The sleeves are made of red, yellow, green, purple and blue colours. They wear an outer vest or shirt without sleeves, which are usually embroidered in black, blue and purple. Their belts are vibrant silks or colourful patterns with embroidered flowers, birds, insects and clouds. The belts also are used to hang small accessories like handkerchiefs and bags, etc. They wear embroidered high boots and head ornaments.

Diet

Their staple food is highland barley, supplemented with wheat and potatoes. They do not have many fresh vegetables and prefer preserved vegetables supplemented with pork, beef, mutton and fried noodles. During festivals, boiled lamb and fried foods are indispensable. They like milk tea and highland barley wine.

Traditional Dwellings

Most of their villages are at the foot of a mountain with rivers close by. Each house is usually composed of three parts: a central room, a bedroom and a room for worshipping the Buddha, with a shrine on the left and right. Their pillars, doors and windows are carved with flower patterns. They have a courtyard in each house.

Their ancient buildings are the Youning Temple, Bell and Drum Building in Huzhu County and Five Peaks Temple, etc. The Youning Temple is especially prominent. It is a complete architectural group consisting of multiple temples, scripture halls and monk rooms.

The Mongour Nationality

A Legend of Ox Farming

In a distant time, there was no knowledge of crop cultivation. There were only thick forests on the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there were desolate marshes here and there. People hunted animals for food and made clothes with their skins. Later, they gradually learnt that the fallen seeds of the flowers and grass could root and sprout, so why not grow them? Then, they would select a piece of land, light a fire to burn off the shrubs and weeds, dig the soil with wooden sticks and bury the seeds… In this way, without much work, grains could be harvested in autumn. After this, they invented the plough, a frame shaped like a teacher’s tick mark made of two thick wooden bars tied to a rope and dragged by the people. Pulling a plough though, was extremely hard work and many broke down from having to do so.

Later, a boy named Ga Wa appeared who was clever. Observing the people pulling their ploughs, up and down all day, he thought, what is the strongest animal in the world? Surely this could easily pull a plough? He pondered this question for some time and held the view that the blue dragon in the sky was the most powerful. The whole land would tremble if it roared; it could pull up a thousand-year-old pine tree, break off a giant rock on the cliff off the peak; its fiery golden eyes could light up the land and the water it spits out could merge into rivers, lakes and seas. He wondered if it could be caught and used to cultivate the land by pulling the