Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Asian Ethnicities"
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| [a] Watery RF |
Cultural Life
Bai connotes “white” in most Chinese dialects, and among the Bai people there is reverence for white as an honored color symbolizing virtue and clarity. Among men, traditional apparel has white jackets combined with long black gowns with collars. Among women, apparel is more various and influenced by the areas from which they come, depending on marital status and regional differences. The terrain itself plays into the cultural practices of the Bai people. In the mountainous areas, wooden structures dominate, and many have intricate bamboo ornamentation. In other areas, wooden tiles are the mainstay of house buildings.
In addition, wood figures prominently in statuary, with carved renderings playing a large part in the artistic life of the region. Stone statuary is also an age-old tradition in this area, as is epigraphy—particularly stone etchings of literary phrases on scenic landscapes (a practice known throughout the Chinese world since early times).
Architectural innovations have also marked the history of the Bai peoples, the most distinctive of which are three Tang dynasty pagodas at the Chongsheng Temple in Dali city. Architectural skills can also be seen in various temples and houses in the area, which show innovative crossbeam and column styles, as well as building adornments of carved flora and fauna.
The Bai peoples have, throughout their history, contributed an ample array of literary works to Chinese culture. An early epic on origins traces the course of early Bai society, while poets recognized by this ethnic group have contributed to the Complete Tang Poems (全唐詩) and various historical works surrounding the Tang dynasty and the Nanzhao kingdoms of southwestern China.
The distinctive style of dyed cotton cloth known as zaran (扎染) is associated with the Bai ethnic minority. The dye is abstracted from plants, and is used on a wide array of cloth sold in regional (and increasingly “national”) markets. It has gained a foothold in global marketplaces, as well, and is currently one of the Bai group’s most important exports.
Finally, the tea ceremony (“Three Ways of Tea”三道茶) is known widely today through the power of the tourism industry and guidebooks explaining the lives of China’s ethnic minorities. A significant indigenous ceremony often performed as a way of welcoming guests, it has been replicated and modified somewhat for tourism. The three steps create something of a microcosm of Bai history and culture. The first pot is known as “bitter.”
Leaves are baked over a flame in a pot, after which—at precisely the right moment—water is poured in and the bitter concoction is served. The second step is “sweet.” Dairy, walnut, and brown sugar are mixed in a way that gives a sweet and nutty flavor. Finally, the last step mixes honey, hot peppers, ginger, and local green tea to create a taste that is said to promote tasting (and thinking) again. This “redoubled taste tea” (回未茶) creates an appropriately full circle for the ceremony. Following a time-honored numerological symbolism, the tea ceremony is said to have eighteen steps. Although the procedures have become fairly widely known, the specifics are said to be strictly guarded ritual secrets.
Although the projected image of the Bai people to Chinese
domestic tourists tends to be one of woodworking, fishing, and hunting, the
reality of life even in China’s rugged southwest has been quite different for
well over a thousand years. The group we know today as the Bai people established
agriculture very early in their history, and played a significant role in
historical events throughout China’s past—from the establishment of the first
dynastic empire through its historical glory days as part of the southwestern
Nanzhao Kingdom. Indeed, these parallels can be seen in almost all aspects of
Bai life, including the arts, literature, and architecture, marriage practices,
and ritual life. The history of the Bai is certainly the history of China.
It is important not to miss the local distinctiveness of Bai life and social practice, though. The southwestern regional setting has provided distinctiveness and difference to Bai life for millennia, and the combination of lakes and mountains figure in a great deal of local poetry, commerce, and festivities. These features, too, can be seen in such things as the tea ceremony, local buildings, and the elegantly dyed fabrics that are the result of both centuries-old skills and the fuel of tourist spending.
China’s southwest is both of a piece and worlds apart from life in more eastern and northern provinces of China. It has always been a rich hub of resources, and has been a part of almost every tumultuous period of Chinese history. In other ways, however, Yunnan strikes many Chinese as far distant from the more populated and bustling areas of China. This combination of seeming familiarity and striking difference has always been—and seems always to be—one of the hallmarks of the southwest and the people, such as the Bai, who live there.
This is a two part post on the Bai ethnic group in China. Click below for the other part:
Bai connotes “white” in most Chinese dialects, and among the Bai people there is reverence for white as an honored color symbolizing virtue and clarity. Among men, traditional apparel has white jackets combined with long black gowns with collars. Among women, apparel is more various and influenced by the areas from which they come, depending on marital status and regional differences. The terrain itself plays into the cultural practices of the Bai people. In the mountainous areas, wooden structures dominate, and many have intricate bamboo ornamentation. In other areas, wooden tiles are the mainstay of house buildings.
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| [b] Labor RF |
In addition, wood figures prominently in statuary, with carved renderings playing a large part in the artistic life of the region. Stone statuary is also an age-old tradition in this area, as is epigraphy—particularly stone etchings of literary phrases on scenic landscapes (a practice known throughout the Chinese world since early times).
Architectural innovations have also marked the history of the Bai peoples, the most distinctive of which are three Tang dynasty pagodas at the Chongsheng Temple in Dali city. Architectural skills can also be seen in various temples and houses in the area, which show innovative crossbeam and column styles, as well as building adornments of carved flora and fauna.
The Bai peoples have, throughout their history, contributed an ample array of literary works to Chinese culture. An early epic on origins traces the course of early Bai society, while poets recognized by this ethnic group have contributed to the Complete Tang Poems (全唐詩) and various historical works surrounding the Tang dynasty and the Nanzhao kingdoms of southwestern China.
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| [c] Tea way RF |
The distinctive style of dyed cotton cloth known as zaran (扎染) is associated with the Bai ethnic minority. The dye is abstracted from plants, and is used on a wide array of cloth sold in regional (and increasingly “national”) markets. It has gained a foothold in global marketplaces, as well, and is currently one of the Bai group’s most important exports.
Finally, the tea ceremony (“Three Ways of Tea”三道茶) is known widely today through the power of the tourism industry and guidebooks explaining the lives of China’s ethnic minorities. A significant indigenous ceremony often performed as a way of welcoming guests, it has been replicated and modified somewhat for tourism. The three steps create something of a microcosm of Bai history and culture. The first pot is known as “bitter.”
Leaves are baked over a flame in a pot, after which—at precisely the right moment—water is poured in and the bitter concoction is served. The second step is “sweet.” Dairy, walnut, and brown sugar are mixed in a way that gives a sweet and nutty flavor. Finally, the last step mixes honey, hot peppers, ginger, and local green tea to create a taste that is said to promote tasting (and thinking) again. This “redoubled taste tea” (回未茶) creates an appropriately full circle for the ceremony. Following a time-honored numerological symbolism, the tea ceremony is said to have eighteen steps. Although the procedures have become fairly widely known, the specifics are said to be strictly guarded ritual secrets.
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| [d] Peppered RF |
It is important not to miss the local distinctiveness of Bai life and social practice, though. The southwestern regional setting has provided distinctiveness and difference to Bai life for millennia, and the combination of lakes and mountains figure in a great deal of local poetry, commerce, and festivities. These features, too, can be seen in such things as the tea ceremony, local buildings, and the elegantly dyed fabrics that are the result of both centuries-old skills and the fuel of tourist spending.
China’s southwest is both of a piece and worlds apart from life in more eastern and northern provinces of China. It has always been a rich hub of resources, and has been a part of almost every tumultuous period of Chinese history. In other ways, however, Yunnan strikes many Chinese as far distant from the more populated and bustling areas of China. This combination of seeming familiarity and striking difference has always been—and seems always to be—one of the hallmarks of the southwest and the people, such as the Bai, who live there.
This is a two part post on the Bai ethnic group in China. Click below for the other part:
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| [e] Striking RF |
