南方丝绸之路上的民族迁徙、文化交流和节庆共享——中华民族共同体形成与发展的一个典型案例

Ethnic Migration,Cultural Exchange and Festival Sharing along the Southern Silk Road——A Typical Case on the Generation and Development of the “Chinese Nation Community”

南方丝绸之路不仅是一条民族流动的通道,而且是一条文化交流的通道。作为许多古老民族生活和迁徙的通道,沿线不同民族在移动的过程中,文化交流交融不断深入和加强,形成了虽然各具特色但又多民族共享的节庆文化。本文主要介绍南方丝绸之路上民族的流动和文化的互动、交融的历史,以及由此所生成的文化共享,为"中华民族共同体"形成与发展提供一个典型案例,为理解"一带一路"倡议、筑牢"中华民族共同体"意识乃至推动"人类命运共同体"建设提供一定的理论思考。

The "One Belt And One Road"initiative draws the world’s attention to the "Silk Road",which originated in the pre-Qin period,formed during the Qin and Han dynasties,developed in the Wei,Jin and the Southern and Northern dynasties,and flourished during the Tang and Song dynasties,once again. The areas along the Southern Silk Road overlap with the "ethnic corridors ", such as the "Tibetan-Yi corridor " and"Nanling corridor"proposed by ethnologist Fei Xiaotong. As a channel for people,materials and cultural exchanges,the southern Silk Road not only played an important role in building the Chinese national community,but it also provided the historical experience needed for building "the community of shared future for mankind". This article proposes three main points as follows:I. ethnic migration formed the background for cultural exchanges along the Southern Silk Road.Cultural exchanges along the Southern Silk Road began with peoples’ migration along the ancient road. At present,the main ethnic groups distributed in areas along the Southern Silk Road belong to Tibeto-Burman groups of the Sino-Tibetan language family,the Zhuang-Dong and the Miao-Yao language groups and many ethnic groups belonging to the Mon-Khmer language group of the Austroasiatic language family. The ancestors of these ethnic groups include the "Di-Qiang ","Baiyue","Sanmiao"and "Baipu"mentioned inancient Chinese literature. The ethnic groups belonging to the Di-Qiang branch started to migrate during the Neolithic period,experiencing a swell in the tide of migration during the Warring States period. These migrating ethnic groups not only reached the area of the xinan yi( Southwestern Yi ethic minority groups), some even entered the eastern part of today’s Southeast Asia and South Asia. Fei Xiaotong calls the passage through which they migrated the"Tibetan-Yi corridor"which fundamentally overlaps with the" Lingguan Path"and"Wuchi Path"of the Southern Silk Road. Since the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern dynasties,members of the ethnic groups belonging to the Baiyue migrated towards the southwest,basically moving from east to west. This path essentially coincided with the "Nanling corridor"proposed by Fei Xiaotong. Since the Western Zhou dynasty,the ethnic groups belonging to the Baipu group continually migrated to the south,west and southwest,before finally entering,in large numbers,the area of present-day Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. Their migration took them through the"Yongchang pass"of the Southern Silk Road. The ethnic groups linked with the Sanmiao ethnic group migrated towards the southwest in large numbers during the Qin and Han dynasties. Some of them went north along the "Wuchi Path",and the Miao people living in present-day southern Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan are regarded as their de-scendants. The composition of the ethnic groups along the "Yongchang path"is more complex. In addition to the Achang,Jingpo,Lahu and Jinuo who are associated with the Di-Qiang branch and who migrated to present-day southwestern Yunnan along the Yongchang path, the Dai, who are linked with the Baiyue,also moved to the north along this ancient path. The areas along the Southern Silk Road were areas of some of the most frequent ethnic mobility in ancient China,which in turn,provided the possibility for cultural exchanges in this region.II. cultural interaction is the historical fact of the cultural exchanges along the Southern Silk Road.The ethnic migration along the Southern Silk Road not only formed the distribution pattern in which multiple ethnic groups live together and multiple cultures and multiple languages intermingled with each other in southwestern China,but it also brought about cultural exchanges. The inter-ethnic cultural interaction caused by the ethnic migration is very prominent in Southwest China. The cultural elements of the populations linked with the DiQiang group can be found in the cultures of ethnic groups belonging to the Zhuang-Dong language branch. Likewise,cultural elements of the Baiyue ethnic group can be found in the ethnic groups belonging to the Tibeto-Burman language branch. Even in the ethnic groups belonging to the MonKhmer language branch,the influence of the DiQiang and Baiyue cultures can be found. Such cross-border cultural exchanges had already taken place before Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty developed the frontier. After Emperor Wu,cultural exchanges became more frequent and exhibited a two-way interaction. In addition to exchanges of material cultural,there were increasingly in-depth spiritual cultural exchanges. Buddhism originated in ancient India and was introduced through the ancient Silk Road. Through this ancient road,the extensive economic and political ties,as well as extensive cultural exchanges between Southwest China and Southeast Asia,South Asia and West A-sia were established and developed.III. Shared festivals is a real indicator of cultural fusion along the Southern Silk Road.Cultural interaction along the Southern Silk Road experienced a long history. From then until now,it has resulted in ethnic groups living intermingled with each other and a fusion of different cultures. This kind of cultural interaction continues to this day,and is especially found in the ethnic festivals held along the Southern Silk Road. Firstly,it is presented in festivals shared by ethnic groups with the same origin. For example,most of the Di-Qiang ethnic groups live in the mountains and worship the mountain deities. Their descendants,such as the Tibetan,Qiang,Naxi and Lisu ethnic groups,all have beliefs and sacrificial ceremonies related to "mountain gods". Because it is cold in the high mountains and deep valleys where they live,they worship fire,and there are all kinds of sacrificial rituals related to fire,among which the Torch Festival is representative. The descendants of Baiyue branch generally worship water,flowers,frogs and other natural objects. Secondly,it is represented in festivals shared by ethnic groups with different origins. The coexistence of ethnic groups after migration created a situation in which different cultures influenced each other,borrowed from each other and absorbed aspects from each other’s culture. Thus,festivals which were shared by all ethnic groups formed. For example,the "Climbing the Pole of Knives " is shared by both the Lisu and Han in Tengchong county of Baoshan. The Tibeto-Burman language groups’ Torch Festival has influenced the MonKhmer language groups living in the same area.The "Bianke"festival held annually on 24 th of the sixth lunar month by the Wa ethnic group is similar to the Torch Festival of other ethnic groups. The belief in the Panhu myth of the Sanmiao branch ethnic groups also influenced the Zhuang and Li of the Zhuang-Dong language group. Thirdly,it is represented in the festivals shared by trans-national ethnic groups. There are eighteen trans-nationalethnic groups living along the Silk Road. They celebrates the same festivals,such as the Torch festival of the Yi,the Munao Song Festival of the Jingpo,the Zaza Festival of the Hani,the Water-sprinkling Festival of the Dai,the Third Day of Third Lunar Month Festival of the Zhuang,the Huashan Festival of the Miao, the Climbing the Pole of Knives Festival of the Lisu,the Hulu Festival of the Lahu,the Wood Drum Festival of the Wa,the Panwang Festival the Yao,the Alu Woluo Festival of the Achang,etc.In a word, the ethnic migration along the Southern Silk Road has brought about the coexistence of ethnic groups from different areas. Their descendants,namely the ethnic groups belonging to the Tibeto-Burman,the Zhuang-Dong,the Miao-Yao and the Mon-Khmer language families,have continuously communicated,interacted,acculturated with each other and syncretized along the road,making Southwest China a place with diverse cultures. Owing to the sharing of culture,the ethnic groups living here have crossed ethnic boundaries,forming a state of coexistence of different cultures,and a "regional identity"which crosses historical ethnic boundaries. This kind of "regional identity " has constantly expanded and formed a broader "national identity ",on which basis,the "community of the Chinese nation"has been generalized and developed. At the same time,the interaction and exchange between Chinese culture and Southeast Asian culture,South Asian culture,especially West Asian culture,along the Southern Silk Road is a typical case which"transcends the barriers of civilizations through cultural exchanges,transcends the conflicts of civilizations through mutual learning,and transcends the superiority of civilizations through coexistence of civilizations".