With a recorded history dating back more than 5000 years, the Qiang minority race, often called the “anthropological fossil” among the 56 component races in China, was the only race ever mentioned in the ancient oracle inscriptions. Its forefather could be traced to Emperor Yan, also known as “Shengnong”, who together with Emperor Huang, established the mainstay of the present Chinese race. Some of the well-known descendents of Emperor Yan were Da Yu, who tamed torrential rivers with his irrigation feats; Zhou Wen Wang who founded the influential Zhou kingdom at Qishan, and no less, Jiang Zi Ya who assisted the former eruditely in his administration.
Presently, the Qiang population is mainly scattered in counties, such as Mao, Wen Chuan, Li,Hei Shui, Song Pan and Bei Chuan in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Region of the Sichuan Province. The Qiang people, who prefer to address themselves as “Erma”, have a language and a rich cultural heritage of their own. They are very apt at dancing and singing, the epitome of which is their ancient and unique multiple-voiced chorus, which is famed throughout the world. Furthermore, the Qiang flute, the Salang Dance, the Sheep-skinned Drum Dance, the Kastawen Dance and the Shibi Dance are all part and parcel of their enigmatic artistic inheritance.
It is noteworthy that from the Qiang race arose King Da Yu; Shi Huangdi, the first emperor in China; the great military strategist, Qiang Shang, the great detective, Di Renjie; the great peasant revolutionary, Li Zicheng, and also Zhuang Qiang, the first recorded female poet in the literary history of China. Besides producing great personalities, the resilient Qiang ancestors throughout their tortuous and glorious history, left behind for humanity their marvelous cultural monuments and artifacts, such as the Qiang fortresses, the sliding rope bridge, the wooden latch, the single-pole ladder, let alone the Qiang flute. All these bear testimony to the intelligence and skillfulness of the Qiang people. It is more remarkable to note that the thousand-year old Taoping and Heihu Qiang fortresses could withstand the rattles of May 12 Quake and remain relatively intact. They now prove to be architectural marvels and are specimens for anti-shock research.
The Qiang race is also romantically called “the race on the clouds”, who is imbued with rich cultural heritage and surrounded by abundance of beautiful scenery that forms famous tourist destinations, such as Ju Zhai Gou, Huang Long, Si Gu Niang Mountain, Yuan Wang Cave , and Wolong, recognized for its panda and golden-haired monkey preservatories. The Qiang mountains were once dotted with majestic fortresses with their stoned-carved walls decorated with intricate Qiang embroidery, as well as filled with people singing, dancing and drinking merrily and joyfully. But tragically, with the impact of the 8-Richter magnitude May 12 Quake, all these came to an abrupt end, causing tens of thousands of Qiang people losing their lives, tens of thousands of their homes demolished and their culture practically devastated. The only Qiang county in the country, Beichuan, and the high antiquated Luobo fortress were leveled to the ground. More than ten thousand of Qiang students were buried under debris and many children left orphaned. Such is the state of destruction the Qiang people face after the quake. So, it has now become the mission of the whole Chinese race to rescue the Qiang and its culture. The Qiang mountains need preservation; the Qiang fortresses need reconstruction, the Qiang people need warmth and the Qiang children need love.
“The Wedding of Ermayina”, is the first ever Qiang film in a modern setting and is recorded solely in the Qiang language. 90% of the actors and actresses are native Qiang who presented their original songs and dances. It faithfully captured the scenes at the Qiang fortresses before their collapse, thus, it has a very special meaning in the preservation and propagation of the Qiang culture. In this film, the leading actress, Ermayina, a student of The Central Academy Of Drama and well-known internet icon, “Angel Girl”, spoke fluent Qiang language, sang melodious Qiang songs and acted very skillfully and naturally. These coupled with myriad Qiang elements embedded in it, would surely make it a film viewers both local and overseas will eagerly look forward to. Today, we humbly present this film to you to enable us to jointly recall the beauty of the Qiang fortresses and the exclusiveness of the Qiang people and to be astonished by their customs and traditions.
The May 12 Quake could blemish the beauty of what Qiang people have, but this disaster could never squash the Qiang people. Under the delicate care of the party, the government and the whole nation, the Qiang people will rally together and rebuild their homes. Soon, there will be new mountains with old Qiang fortresses again. We welcome you then. Najinaru!
尔玛的婚礼故事概要:
“The Wedding of Ermayina” was produced by 潇湘电影制片厂 in conjuction with 四川羌学会。It is about the story of a Qiang girl, “Ermayina” who falls in love with a school teacher of Han ethnicity, Liu Da Chuan. With the blessings of their parents, they soon start preparing for the wedding scheduled on October 1. But things take a turn, one aunt of Liu Da Chuan, who is the county’s education office deputy director, wishes to give them a grand wedding ceremony in the downtown. However, the family members of Ermayina insist that the wedding should be held according to the Qiang tradition in their home village. Thus begins the conflict. Then come waves of well-wishers who try to talk Ermayina’s parents round and finally under the pressure of many, they concede. But to the shock of everyone, Ermayina disappears from sight at this point in time. Searching in vain and coming to a foothill, the desperate Liu Da Chuan cries in anger, “I want to break off with you!”………The film makes no conclusion about the ending. It just leaves it to the imagination of the audience.
简述:
This film presents the real life recording of the Qiang’s costumes, language, musical instruments, music, dances, their manual labor and wedding ceremony。The leading actress, Ermayina and mass supporting actors and actresses are themselves non-professional and thus are able to reveal the originality and depth of their talents. Besides, the Qiang folk songs also reverberate prominently in this film which was shot mainly at the scenic age-old Taoping fortress, which is famous for its natural and humanistic beauty. It is in the aftermath of May 12 Quake that this film seems all the more valuable and nostalgic. |