Chinese Regional Minority Costumes

There are over 40 Chinese Regional Minority Costumes available from CTAC for educational use. These costumes are wonderful, colorful, and can add an exciting presentation to your chapter or region. What you will see here are a number of them that can be used for your activities. At the end of the list, you will see an order form and information on how to contact CTAC to get these. This is a long document with over 40 pictures so it will take a while to load.

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CONTACT PERSON:

Kitty Trescott

C-TAC

Center for Teaching about China

Center for Teaching About China
Kathleen Trescott
1214 W. Schwartz
Carbondale, IL 62901

Phone: 618-549-1555

Fax: 618-549-9766

E-mail: ctac@uscpfa.org

#1-Yao (male)

1. red circular hat
2. waistband - wine colored
3. white trousers
4. brown shirt with colorful trim

The Yao Nationality has a population of about 1.4 million. They live mainly in the mountainous regions of western China, scattered throughout. Many of the smaller communities of Yao people have their own customs. They are mainly farmers. They have strong family ties. The Yao people have retained their customs and unique characteristics for centuries. The Yao women are known for their fine embroidery and sewing skills.

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1. red pants, silk
2. red vest, red velvet with colorful trim
3. dress, peach colored with gold sequins
4. hat, red velvet with gold sequins and long white feathers on the top
5. (the pair of black cotton shoes are missing)
6. pair of earrings

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1. skirt, 2. blouse
3. shoes, 4. leggings
5. belt, 6. hat
7. bracelets (2), 8. necklace

There are more than one million Hani people. Most of them live in the Honhe Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture. There are eleven subgroups of Hani people, speaking one of three different dialects. Their basic language belongs to the Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burmese group of the Han-Tibetan language family. Their language did not have a written form. A system of recording history was developed via a series of knotted cords. Now they use Mandarin characters and pinyin, though. Most Hani people are farmers. One of their main products is the Chinese pu-er tea. They traditionally celebrate the Torch Festival and the tenth month (lunar) Festival. The Hani are well known for their hospitality.

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1. skirt- white, silk
2. jacket- silk, black with colorful trim
3. apron- gray silk, with colorful trim and sashes
4. hat- large, pink with black trim
5. chaps-a pair of leg coverings, black
6. earrings
7. ankle bracelets

The Miao Nationality live in Yunan Province. There are about 750,000 Miao people living there, scattered throughout 87 counties and communities of Yunan. The largest group lived in the mountainous area of the Wenshan Zhuang-Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Their language is unique, being derived from the Miao-Yao language base. They did not have a written langauge for many centuries. The Miao grow rice, millet, and buckwheat. The women are expert at weaving, batik, and embroidery. The Miao Brocade is rich in colores with exquisite design.

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The Tujie Minority nationality now number nearly one million people. They live in the north-central area of China. They are farmers, growing rice, corn, fruit, and beans. They cut timber for lumber and make a unique tea oil. They are known for their wonderful handicrafts. This costume is designed to be comfortable in their cool climate.

1. skirt - long with slits on both sides, light green, silk
2. blouse - pink, long-sleeved, stripes on end of sleeve
3. overblouse/vest - orangish-red, silk, white collar and trim
4. belt - black velvet with gold trim
5. large round hat - black velvet, white center
6. 1 pair of shoes - black silk with embroider toes
7. necklace - black beads

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1. white jacket with red & brown trim
2. brown trousers
3. white headpiece with red fluff balls

The Jinou nationality has a population of 12,000. Most of the Jinou people live in the Jinou Administrative district in Jinghong county in Xu-shuang-banna Province, in the southeast sector of China. Their language belongs to the Tibet-Burma group of the Han-Tibetan language family. Linguists have been unable to determine which branch their language originated from. The "zhuoba" (a patriarch) and a "zhuosheng" (a matriarch) take charge of affairs of every village. The Jinou mountains are one of the six sources which provide the raw materials for China's Pu-er tea. Their traditional festivals include the Torch Festival and the Rice Offering Festival.

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The Oroqen people live in Xinjiang Province near the Russian border, in northwest China. Other Oroqen live in northeast China, in Heilong-jiang Province. The Oroqen are one of the smaller minority groups in China, with a population of 3000 or less. Originally, they were nomads, living in tents, following their herds of sheep as they searched for good grasslands. Today, many of the Oroqen live in permanent housing, from which they tend to their flocks and farm the land.

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1. trousers- red cotton, knee length
2. blouse- red cotton with red trim
3. apron- black velvet with sequin design
4. white necklace
5. straw hat

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There is no blouse for this costume. The blue dickie is designed to be pinned in place inside the jacket. A blouse might work better though, or be a nice addition. Let the wearer decide which is more comfortable and looks better.

The Yao Nationality has a population of about 1.4 million. They live mainly in the mountainous regions of western China, scattered throughout. Many of the smaller communities of Yao people have their own customs. They are mainly farmers. They have strong family ties. The Yao people have retained their customs and unique characteristics for centuries. The Yao women are known for their fine embroidery and sewing skills.

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This costume is worn by the Bai women.

Most of the Bai people are rice farmers living in the high plains of Yunan Province, in southwest China, near the country of Burma. Dali is the capitol of this autonomous prefecture, one of the earliest birthplaces of the Yunan culture. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Kingdom of Nanzhao and Dali were established in this area. Yunan is famous for its beautiful scenery and its many historical sites. The level of culture and production is higher among the Bai people than other minority nationalities. There are about one million Bai people living in China. Their language is unique, part of the Bai branch of the Tibeto-Burma group of the Han-Tibetan languages. They share the same written language as the Chinese Han nationality. On festival days or special celebrations, boys and girls make friends with each other by singing to one another. First one will sing; then the other will return with a song. Courtship develops through this exchange of songs. An embroidered purse or belt is made by the girl and given to her favored beau. It he accepts the purse, the two are considered betrothed. The Bai have many of their own unique festivals: Rao San Ling, Yu Tan Hui, and the Third Month Fair.

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