Knowing
specific, verifiable history about Shē (pronounced “shuh”) ancestry and
origin is not possible. Knowledge is constructed by piecing
together fragments of information.
Records seem to indicate
that the Shē nationality had a larger settlement in Guǎngdōng province
during the 13th and 14th centuries. Later, they started moving
north into the mountainous areas of northern Fújiàn and southern Zhèjiāng
provinces.
Character Study Today's Chinese character used to represent the Shē is 畲.
The character is formed by combining three characters, placed on top of
each other. The top two characters form the character's sound,
and the bottom character embodies or defines the people.
示 is
pronounced "shì" 人 is pronounced "rén" 示 and 人 are intended to be one unit.
When these two characters become one, the pronunciation sounds like “shē” or “shuh.”
田 is pronounced "tián." This character means “field.” Shē people are known for their agricultural expertise.
In their own language, the Shē people call themselves 山哈
(shān hà), which means “guests of the mountain.”
History – Population Distribution China's population is at least 1.3 billion people.
China
officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the
Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population.
According to domestic information, the current Shē population is 709,592.
About
half of the Shē population live in Fújiàn province, with the highest
concentration living in northern Fújiàn, numbering almost
200,000. The second highest amount are found in southern
Zhèjiāng. Guǎngdōng, Jiāngxī, and Ānhuī provinces have relatively
few Shē living there.
Northern Fújiàn province is covered with mountains, and the Shē
have traditionally lived in villages scattered throughout the numerous
valleys. As China's economy and society develops, the mountain
population is rapidly changing. Each year finds more families and
younger people moving into neighboring cities, while the older
generation remain in ancestral villages.
Beliefs A
defining characteristic of southeastern China's belief system is that
it combines Buddhism, Taoism, ancestor veneration, and agnosticism in
various ways. In the last ten years, more outward religious
display can be seen, and more temples have been repaired and
constructed as the economy has brought more money to people living in
southeastern China.
While the Shē
are often said to venerate ancestors, they sometimes first claim to be
Buddhist. However, in practice they combine elements of Buddhism,
Taoism, ancestor veneration, and atheism. People history stresses
venerating ancestors. The larger, local culture stresses a mix of
Buddhism and atheism. And the current education and political
system stresses science and atheism as the way to be free from
superstition.
Ancestor Veneration Ancestor veneration in China has often been viewed as paying respect or a form of worship.
Three
times a year the Shē pay special respects to their ancestors. The Shē believe
that when family members die, they join the spirit world and possess the ability to help or harm people in the living world. The
living relatives return to their home village to make the
offering. They prepare some food and drink, arrange items on
a table, and burn incense.
Meeting
their dead ancestors' needs is important because many of the Shē
believe that an unsatisfied spirit could bring physical harm, business
problems, and other bad events into their lives. For these
reasons, ancestral spirits are viewed with a mixture of fear, awe, and
respect.
Buddhism The
common form of Buddhism found in the Shē and local Han areas is
Mahayana Buddhism. This school of Buddhism teaches that right
thinking, ritual sacrifices to various gods, and self-denial will
enable the soul to reach nirvana (a state of eternal bliss) at
death.
Mahayana
Buddhists emphasize the existence of many buddhas or “enlightened
ones.” Adherents will focus their attention on the buddhas in heaven
and on those who will become buddhas in the future. These buddhas will
save people through mercy and compassion. In
addition to ancestral spirits, the Shē also believe in other ghosts and
gods, whom they worship regularly. They rely on shamans (medicine men
or witch doctors) to communicate with the spirits and cure diseases.
Tàoism Tàoism is a philosophy of life founded by Lǎo Zǐ. It has also incorporated Confucianism and folk religious customs.
The
core of Tàoism is known as “The Tào" or “The Way,” which is the source
of the universe, the existence of all things. When the Tào
expresses itself in reality, this expression is called Virtue.
A Tàoist believer follows teachings based on the Tào and Virtue to
achieve immortality. On this path to immortality or the land of the
immortals, believers must also factor in the multitude of gods,
immortals, 36 heavens, and 36 hells.
Much of Tàoism has been
founded in and helped develop Chinese culture in the areas of medicine,
art, and architecture, to name a few.
Customs – Marriage and the “Phoenix Bride” Shē wedding
ceremonies are another good example of the continuing traditions of
totem worship. The legend tells that the Third Princess, a lady of high
rank, married Pánhǔ, who was considered below her, and later her
three sons all married princesses. Naturally, in view of this, women are
held in great esteem, and have come to be known as "phoenixes". Perhaps because of this, a bride is given the honorable title of "phoenix" on her wedding day.
Early
in the morning of that day, the bride's mother helps her to dress. The
"phoenix dress" and "phoenix hairstyle" mark the end of her girlhood.
She also has to wear a "phoenix crown", which is delicately made of
more than a dozen ounces of fine silver. In front of the crown hangs a
veil of small silver plaques, each with a different picture on it.
Once
the sedan-chair bearing the bride has been carried out, the mother
firmly closes all the doors to indicate that her daughter will have no
need to return to her, as everything will go well with the girl in
future.
bride's sedan chair
bride entering the sedan chair
bride fake cries as parents say
goodbye men begin the trek down the mountain
down the
mountain...
to the
pickup truck to go to town
almost ready
to travel to town
just arrived in town
bride about to leave her sedan
chair
the couple during the
ceremony
Festivals The
Shē people celebrate the national holidays and observe the special days
found in local ancestor, Buddhist, and Tàoist circles.
Additionally, the Shē are known for celebrating 3/3 and 9/9 in their
own ways.
Celebrating 3/3 3/3,
known as Sān Yuè Sān Wū Fàn Jié, occurs on March 3 of the lunar
calendar. Traditionally, the Shē people cook and eat dark rice,
give it as a gift to others, and offer the dark rice to their
ancestors.
The
day before, the Shē will go into the mountains to gather “wū yè,”
which
are leaves from a certain shrub. They squeeze the
blackish-colored juice out of the leaves and use it to prepare standard
white rice. The
rice soaks overnight, and when they open up the rice bucket on the
morning of 3/3, the rice is black. People often add nuts, sesame,
and
sugar to sweeten the rice. The afternoon might be filled with
singing and conversation. During the past 4 years,
local culture bureaus have worked with Shē leaders to
host public 3/3 events in local villages. Shē from surrounding
villages come
together and celebrate this holiday by seeing local Shē and others
perform dances and songs.
The origin of Wū Fàn Jié goes back to the Táng dynasty. There was a Shē hero named Léi Wàn
Xīng who had escaped to the mountain with his men, but they were soon
besieged. They had to depend on "wū guǒ" (the fruit) for food. Finally
on the third day of the third month, he successfully led his people on a victorious counter-attack.
Celebrating 9/9 9/9
is a traditional Chinese holiday that many people in China celebrate to a
certain degree. Rooted in Tàoist philosophy of
feminine-masculine, negative-positive, the holiday's name is called
重九 "Chóngjiǔ," which means “double nine.”
Held on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, the holiday's nickname is 九九 "jiǔjiǔ"
which can signify 久久“forever.” Ancient Chinese believed that by
climbing to high places, trouble and evil could be avoided. When
traveling, they would come across chrysanthemum flowers, which bloom in autumn and can be
turned into a special wine.
People today still enjoy climbing mountains or walking outdoors on this auspicious day. Furthermore, the 9/9
holiday is generally designated for honoring senior citizens in celebration of long-lasting friendships.
For the Shē, they again gather at certain villages to hold singing festivals.
Ancestor Holidays The
Shē people believe in ghosts and gods. Every 15th day of the lunar
months February, July and August, the Shē people (or a family
representative) return to their home village and offer sacrifices to their
ancestors. For various reasons, Shē with the same last name gather as a
larger group to hold a memorial ceremony in the local temple.
Other Holidays The Shē also celebrate the following festivals:
Clothing The
Shē people have long had economic and cultural exchanges with local
Hàn. Therefore, the Shē wear clothes that look like the rest of
the rural and urban Hàn population. Only during special events do
the Shē distinguish themselves through clothing. Due to a long
period of cultural and economic exchange, many customs of the Shē
people have become almost the same with those of the Hàn ethnic group.
Men Today's special clothing for men includes a cloth jacket or vest held together
by knots and loops. The jacket and vest are usually blue or black
and have a complimentary blue color-based, embroidery strip.
Women For
generations, a story has been handed down that the clothes worn by the
Shē women are related to the phoenix. The story begins when the
princess of their earliest ancestors was married. Her father gave her a
dress made from phoenix feathers as his blessing, wishing the newlyweds
a colorful life, like the feathers of the bird itself. Ever since,
dresses with phoenix designs have been very popular among the Shē women.
The
dresses are trimmed at the collar, sleeves, and side front.
There is a colorful short apron wrapped around the waist, on which intricate
phoenix designs might be embroidered.
In
northern Fújiàn, Shē women often wear black cloth jackets decorated
with varying widths of embroidery. In other areas, the
traditional female outfit includes shorts.
Language The
Shē language operates within a specific circle found in both local
languages/dialects and the national language, Mandarin Chinese.
National level Mandarin
Chinese became the national language designed, in part, to bring a
common language to help unite the vast and diverse country of
China. As students began attending school, speaking Mandarin (普通话
pǔtōnghuà) gradually increased to affect generations. At the
same time, local languages and dialects have not disappeared.
Local level Each
region has its own language. In Fújiàn province, there is a
southern Mǐn language and an northern Mǐn language. Within these
languages, there are dialects and even subdialects. The
mountainous terrain and limited access have kept the various local
languages and dialects alive and well even to today.
It
is not uncommon to enter a town in northern Fújiàn and hear people
speaking the local dialect as well as Mandarin Chinese. Even
those coming from
a town or village as near as 10 miles away could possibly fail to
understand the local language, and would have to resort to Mandarin as
a common communication bridge.
Shē level In its basic form, the
Shē language is entirely different from both the local and Mandarin
languages. Generally, the Shē speak their own language,
plus any local town language(s) and Mandarin Chinese. How much of
each
language a person speaks depends on age, education level,
occupation, and life experiences.
As
new words are needed, the local and Shē languages (and sometimes even Mandarin) converge to
use the same word with only a subtle pronunciation difference.
Writing Chinese
language in its largest meaning is communicated in writing through
characters. The pronunciation of each word can sound different
depending on where it is said.
The
Shē, however, have no writing system that embodies its speech. In
order to write anything down from the Shē language, equivalent Chinese
characters need to be found and used. Inevitably, 100% transfer
of meaning cannot be achieved.
Oral The
Shē have and operate in an oral culture. They transmit and
communicate information by oral means, not unlike many other cultures
around the world.
The
Shē have traditionally relied on song as a way to communicate culture.
Spoken She language 畲话 "Shē huà" itself has a strong musical
quality. To local Hàn people, the musicality of the Shē speech is
very
noticeable.
Additionally, the
Shē are called an oral culture because they do not having a writing
system. The Shē transmit and communicate all kinds of information in an
oral manner.
Housing in the Countryside Shē have
traditionally lived in mountain villages whose families share the same
last name. It is common for a village to have existed in one
location for 400 years.
Their
houses are most often built from earth, mud, and bamboo, with tiled
roofing. As some economic improvement has entered the
countryside, more are using concrete and other modern building
materials.
Housing in the City For
economic and educational opportunities, more Shē are leaving the villages and
entering local towns and cities. They leave behind elderly
parents but visit to manage filial responsibilities and to relax in their family homes.
Jobs The
Shē people are known for being hard workers. This quality has
helped them with their traditional and primary occupation –
farming.
In the mountainous areas where they live, farmers have built terraced fields on mountain slopes. Typical crops include:
grains
vegetables
grapes
tea
peaches and other fruits
bamboo
Other important commercial commodities:
timber
bamboo
stone
The
Shē are especially noted for their embroidery. Women adorn their
clothing with colorful silks and cottons threaded into geometric
patterns as well as plant and animal designs.
Today,
more Shē are moving to cities, near and far, looking for labor
as a way to increase their economic base. The Shē are also
starting to enjoy further formal education and the opportunities associated with
more schooling.
Classic Education China supplies supplemental teaching resources for teachers of
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and idea sheets for classroom, home, and individual practice. Classic Education China
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Buddhism
Tàoism
Celebrating 9/9
Jobs
