The Miao people are one of the oldest ethnic groups in China, with a long history and a long history. They are mainly distributed in eight provinces and cities including Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, and Hainan. In addition, some Miao people have migrated to Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States in history. According to statistics from the fifth census in 2000, there are 8.94 million Miao people in the country, ranking fifth in the country's population. At the end of 2006, there were 890,000 Miao people in Xiangxi Prefecture, accounting for 33% of the total population of the prefecture. The Miao people in western Hunan call themselves "Guoxiong." Historical records generally refer to them as "Hongmiao". According to relevant historical records and archaeological excavations in recent years, the ancestor of the Miao people is Chi You. They are one of the three major tribal groups of Huang, Yan and Chi in ancient China, and they jointly developed the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Due to the defeat in the war, they moved southward to the Huaihe River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to expand their territory, which is known as the "Sanmiao" and "Jiuli" eras in history. After that, they migrated many times to western Hunan and southwestern provinces. The Miao people in western Hunan are one of the Miao people in China. It has a long history, rich culture, simple folk customs, rich customs, exquisite craftsmanship, and intoxicating Miao songs... The various Miao cultures constitute the main elements of the mysterious Xiangxi. Mainly manifested in: Unique habitat. The Miao District in western Hunan is dominated by mountainous areas. Most of them are mountainous, with rolling mountains, crisscrossing streams and springs, which are strange and beautiful. The large and small karst caves distributed in the mountains and ridges form a gorgeous picture of ingenuity; the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the scenery is beautiful everywhere, providing natural resources for the development of tourism. Rich history. For thousands of years, the hard-working and brave Miao people have used their own hands and ingenuity to carve deep footprints of struggle on the land of western Hunan. The magnificent development history is described in detail in the "Miao Ancient Songs" that are being sung widely. According to historical research, the Miao people were one of the first ethnic groups to discover the cultivation of rice. They successively invented the iron plow, iron rake, water diversion for irrigation, etc. Rich language. The Miao language in western Hunan belongs to the eastern dialect of the Miao language of the Miao-Yao branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Miao syllables are composed of three parts: initial consonants, finals and tones. There are 48 initial consonants, 35 finals, and 6 tones. Historically, there are four types of Miao script: Bantang Miao script, Guzhang Miao script, Miao sketch symbols and Laozhai Miao script. In the 1950s, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences created a Miao script for the Miao people in western Hunan, and the State Council authorized the National Ethnic Affairs Commission to implement a pilot project; in the 1980s and 1990s, the "Miao-Han bilingual and biliterate experiment" was carried out in the eastern dialect area and achieved great success. Colorful costumes. It is the nature of the Miao family to love beauty. The beautiful Miao costumes are called "cultural epics" by the world and are also one of the world's classic national costumes; they have become a beautiful scenery in the life of the Miao family. Before the Qing Dynasty, both men and women of the Miao ethnic group wore embroidered clothes and pleated skirts, and grand festivals were even more solemn. The upper body is worn with a longer placket, a loquat-front right hem, with embroidery all over the back and down the back. The front and back garments are knurled along the corners, with at least 2 layers and as many as 4-6 layers, inlaid with different tones. There is a small border, the layers of flowers are extremely clear, and there is a cloud hook flower draped over the back, which is exquisite in craftsmanship, bright in color, and extremely beautiful; wearing a pleated floral skirt, it walks gracefully and gracefully, and is beautiful. The cuffs are also inlaid with many laces, and laces of different sizes are rolled on the edges of the trouser cuffs; the headband is wrapped with a silk handkerchief, a white handkerchief, a black handkerchief or a checkered cloth handkerchief, depending on the region. There are La'er Mountain and Yayou high cylindrical shapes, Huayuan and some parts of Jishou with a low front and a high back step; there are Guzhang and Luxi sheep's horn shapes; there are mountain and river spiral shapes, with various forms and unique characteristics. The Miao people dress up in various silver ornaments, such as solitaire hats, silver hairpins, necklaces, bracelets, robes, buckles, earrings, bracelets, anklets, chest chains, longevity locks, etc. Miao embroidery is famous for its "freshness, freshness and novelty". Flat embroidery, pick embroidery and patch embroidery each have their own characteristics. Miao brocade is an art treasure. The Miao people collect animals and plants from nature. After conception, processing and refining, they creatively use fantasy art and perspective art to decorate their lives, forming Miao costumes that reflect the inner world of the Miao people. Art. Beautiful architecture. Miao villages are mostly built near mountains and rivers, with unique styles.

There are 5 columns with 7 hangings, 5 columns with 8 hangings, and 5 columns with 9 hangings; there are 1 building with 3, 4, and 8 rooms; there are "Siheyuan", "Small Patio", "Container Corner Tower", and "Hanging Tower". "Corner Tower", "Hundred Corner Tower", etc.; with excellent craftsmanship and unique shapes, they form a unified pattern. A house seems to be an exquisite handicraft, and a Miao village is a masterpiece. Classic literature and art. The Miao people have created their own rich and colorful national literature in their long-term production and life. The most famous among them is the Miao folk literature. It is rich in content and diverse in form. Genres include myths, legends, stories, epics, folk songs, proverbs and riddles. The material is extremely extensive, the theme is clear, the performance is vivid, the spread is far-reaching, and it has multi-disciplinary value. The Miao people in western Hunan are good at singing and dancing. They use songs to sing about things, convey feelings and express aspirations through songs. Miao songs from various parts of western Hunan have eight fixed modes, including figurative music and polyphonic music, which are highly infectious and rich in emotional color. The traditional dances of the Miao people include "Drum Dance", "Jilong Dance", "Turban Dance", etc. Folk instrumental music includes wood, bamboo leaves, Lusheng, Suona, etc. Rich festival. Miao people have colorful festivals. There are Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Spring Society, February 2, Tomb Sweeping Festival, March 3, Dragon Boat Festival, June 6, July 15, April 8, Cherry Festival, Eating New Things, Catching Autumn, Double Ninth Festival, Sun Festival, etc. These activities are all spontaneous mass festival activities, showing the Miao folk culture accumulated in life. The wedding and funeral ceremonies of the Miao people are extremely elegant, simple, grand, lively and rich in content. Rich cuisine. The Miao food culture is very rich. There are mainly dozens of sour food series such as sour fish and sour meat, and hundreds of spicy product series. It is simple to make, easy to preserve, and extremely delicious; it is both an ecological health product and a nutritious product; it has broad market prospects. Fun competition. The Miao people in western Hunan have many folk sports activities, which are interesting and active. Mainly include martial arts, dragon boat, swing, eight-person autumn, stunts, guns and fireworks, high horse riding, playing dragon lanterns, lion dance, drumming, three chess, cricket fighting, cockfighting, etc.; there are intense sports, star skills; and more There are leisure games and endless entertainment. Deeply religious. The religion of the Miao people in western Hunan is mainly a natural religion, which is called natural primitive religion. One is ancestor worship, that is, Panhu worship. The second is superstitious belief in ghosts and gods, that is, "sacrifice to witches and worship ghosts." The third is wizards and Taoist skills, also known as "Miao Laosi". They do not have a fixed place or a fixed time to teach, they just do it on the side, and they are versatile in Taoism and Qigong. It has the effect of exorcising ghosts and curing diseases. Witch practitioners often recite witchcraft words, which are about welcoming gods and sending gifts. Some are sung in Chinese, and most of them are sung in Miao language. The singer's words are pious and sincere, the listener's voice is solemn and quiet, and it is full of artistic charm. It reminds people of the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan who traveled to western Hunan more than 2,000 years ago to collect folk songs. Isn’t his famous "Nine Songs" derived from this sacred song? The Miao people in western Hunan are still preserved intact in folk witchcraft. ... The Miao culture in western Hunan is extensive and profound, has a long history, is colorful, unique, and is rich in national characteristics. Due to the rich culture of the Miao people in western Hunan, there are many areas that have not yet been explored and researched. To solve the mysteries of the ancient and strange national culture, we are looking forward to more talented people with lofty ideals to devote themselves to deciphering the ancient mysteries.