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Abstract
This essay describes elements of Xiangxi Miao marriage practices such as courtship, wedding ceremonies, and marriages between the Miao and Han, exploring how Xiangxi Miao marriage practices changed at the turn of this century, and disclosing social influences on the changes in marriage practices. The author uses a Miao village of Zalun as a case study. Through participant observation and intensive interviews, it was found that, before 2000, Xiangxi Miaos’ courtship practices and wedding ceremonies had strict processes and reflected agricultural rhythm. In addition, there were few marriages between the Miao and Han. Since the beginning of this century, Xiangxi Miao marriage practices have changed due to socioeconomic development, population mobility, and diverse communication between Miao young women and men. Dramatic shifts in marriage practices have produced social influences among Xiangxi Miao communities. The changes in marriage practices have promoted Xiangxi Miao free marriages, advancing social cohesion and acculturation. However, these changes have also increased numbers of criminals and problems of healthy growth and education of the stay-at-home children.
Notes
1. Shi Qunyong,
[Cultural Self-Consciousness and Cultural Ecological Protection], 231.
2. Liu,
[Miao Marriage System], 38.
3. Wu, “Crossing the River,” 3.
4. Lewis, Ethnologue, 2009.
5. Wu, “Crossing the River: Xiangxi Miao Spirit Mediumship,” 5.
6. The total population of the Miao in China according to the census 2010 has not been released by the State Statistical Bureau of China. The author had to cite the data according to the census 2000.
7. Wu, “Crossing the River.”
8. Schein, Minority Rules, 84–5.
9. Wu, “Crossing the River.”
10. The village of Zalun is the author's hometown.
11. Ganguly-Scrase and Julian, Minority Women and the Experiences of Migration, 636.
12. Davis and Harrell, Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era, 36.
13. Cui,
[The Changes of Xiangxi Miao Marriage Culture], 61–6; Long Songjiang,
[Walking in Xiangxi], 89; Ling and Rui,
[A Research Report on Xiangxi Miao Nationality], 66; Shi Qigui,
[Investigating on the Spot], 77.
14. Cui,
[The Changes of Xiangxi Miao Marriage Culture], 61–6; Ling and Rui,
[A Research Report on Xiangxi Miao Nationality], 47; Shi Qigui,
[Investigating on the Spot], 86; Shi and Long,
[Xiangxi Miao Marriage Customs], 106–16.
15. The song was sung by Ms Jinhua Long and Mr Yuanzhang Wu in Zalun village, February 6, 2011.
16. Foo, Asian American Women, 26; Hune and Nomura, Asian \ Pacific Islander American Women, 46; Lee et al., “Explaining Early Marriage in the Hmong American Community,” 78; Teng, “The Hmong Culture.”
17. Liu,
[Miao Marriage system], 40.
18. Mr Guozhuang Wu and Anhui Long have been working as migrant workers in Wenzhou 
, Zhejiang Province for five years.
19. Liu,
[Miao Marriage system], 39.
20. Long Mingji,
[Miao Marriage And Family], 146
21. Davis and Harrell, Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era, 45.
22. Lv,
[Marriages Between the Miao and Han in Xiangxi],154; Zhang,
[Exploring the Miao], 167.
23. Liu,
[Miao Marriage system], 41.
24. Lv,
[Marriages Between the Miao and Han in Xiangxi], 150.
25. Yao,
[The Relativity of Free Miao Marriage in Xiangxi], 95–7.
26. Wu Xinfu,
[Miao Ethnic Minority Marriages], 50.
27. Ibid., 51.
28. Lv,
[Marriages Between the Miao and Han in Xiangxi], 150–52; Wang, “The Marriage Law,” 54–61.
29. Mr Hentu Wu has a daughter who married a Han man in Zhejiang Province in 2005.