A Myth Become Reality. History and Development of the Miao Written Language [2] 9171534237

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Joakim Enwall

A Myth Become Reality History and Development of the Miao Written Language Volume 2

Joakim Enwall

A Myth Become Reality History and Development of the Miao Written Language Volume 2

Stockholm East Asian Monographs no. 6

Abstract This book, volume two of the study A Myth Become Reality - History and Development of the Miao Written Language, contains historical descriptions and graphonomic analyses of the Miao writing systems devised in China after 1949 and a discussion about the mythologization of one of the missionary writing systems for Miao - the Pollard script. The first volume contains an introduction and parts I and II out of four parts. In the introduction the author discusses the notion ‘Miao’, the Miao dialects and presents their phonological systems. Part I deals with the Miao myth about a prehistoric writing system and part II is concerned with the efforts of various missionaries, mainly British and American, to devise writing systems for Miao. The present volume deals with the Miao writing systems devised within the language programs sponsored by the Chinese state, particularly in the 1950s and how these writing systems have subsequendy been propagated. There are substantial differences in the success of propagating Miao writing in different Miao groups and the reasons for this are to be sought both in the reinterpretation of the writing systems in accordance with the myth about the loss of writing, and in the differences in bilingual competence, economic development etc. In the last part the author describes how the Pollard script has been reinterpreted within the framework of the Miao myth about a lost writing system, and how it has subsequently also been integrated into the state efforts to create a Miao writing which represents the Miao language both on a phonemic level and on an etymological level, especially regarding the tone marking system. Finally, the author discusses the importance of dissimilarity in connection with the strikingly different degrees of success for the various writing systems.

Published by the Institute of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University The publication of this volume was financed by the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences ©Joakim Enwall Layout and cover design by Susanna & Thomas Hellsing Cover illustration: Pollard script ‘Oh, Closer God, to Thee’ in A-Hmao and one of Lu Ciyun’s Miao characters Printed by Graphic Systems, Stockholm, 1995 ISBN 91-7153-423-7 ISSN 1101-5993

From the nineteenth century onwards the imperialists propagated Christianity in northwest Guizhou and in other Miao areas. They used an invented ‘frame-formed’ ‘Miao script’ and printed the ‘Bible’ in order to poison and deceive the masses in the area in question. Furthermore they sowed dissension and discord, spied, exploited, pillaged etc. Zhongyang minzu xueyuan yanjiushi [The Research Office of the Central Institute of Nationalities], Zhongguo shaoshu minzu jiankuang tniaozu yaozu tujiazugelaozu [Brief account of the conditions of the minorities in China - Miao, Yao, Tujia, Gelao], Peking, s.a., p. 5.

When he taught Miao writing at school, the teacher of Chinese and mathematics of the class told the students without any kind of authorization that: “You shouldn’t study Miao writing, it’s just bullshit”. Therefore, there were not many students in that class who wanted to study Miao writing; [...]. Long Zhiguang, ‘Zhongshi fazhan shaoshu minzu wenzi’ [Pay attention to the development of minority writing systems], Guiyang, 1986—7, pp. 404-5.

The creator of the original Miao writing was not an Englishman, nor a Chinese, but a Miao scholar, Mr Zhang Yuehan. [...] He said: [...] ‘In the past Christianity came into our Miao area and the English pastor Pollard and the Chinese Mr Li Wu came to our place to preach. I then asked them to teach me the structure and the way of reading Chinese and English. Li Wu and Pollard gladly taught me. They said: English writing is an alphabetic writing; Chinese writing has developed from an originally pictographic writing. After I had heard this I incessantly investigated Miao writing. Thereupon I took the ancient Miao pictographic characters, added sounds and imitated the alphabetic structure of English writing. Then I invited the intellectuals of our Miao people, like Yang Yage, Wang Shengmo and Yang Zhi and investigated and created it together with all these gentlemen.’ Wang Jianguang, ‘Miaomin de wenzi’ [Miao writing], Biansheng yuekan [Sounds from the borderlands monthly magazine], vol. 1, no. 3 (1940), p. 49.

List

of

Contents

Acknowledgements Preface Abbreviations

7 7 8

Part III. Chinese Approach to Miao Writing Minority Policies of the Kuomintang

9

The 1941 Ghao-Xong Writing

11

Kuomintang Policies in the 1940s

12

Shi Qigui’s Writing Systems for Ghao-Xong

15

Early Minority Language Policies of the CCP

16

The 1949-50 reform of the Pollard Script

20

CCP Minority Language Policies 1949-1951

18

Early Proposals of Miao Writing

19

The 1949—50 Reform of the Pollard Script

19

Early Writing Systems at the CIN

24

CCP Minority Policies 1952-55

29

The First Conference on Nationality Languages

32

Pollard Script 1949—1955

36

Academia Sinica Research at Stone Gateway

37

CCP Minority Policies and Field Research in 1956

39

The Conference on Miao Writing

44

Reform of the Pollard Script

53

Preliminary Writing Proposals for the Conference

58

The Miao Writing Reforms of 1957

63

The Reformed Writing Systems 1957

66

The Adaptation of Miao Writing to Chinese Pinyin Implementation of the Language Policies 1958-1966

81

The Second Conference on Nationality Languages

81

Miao Writing at the CIN 1957—1966

90

Loanwords in Miao: Categories and Spelling

90

The Cultural Revolution

93

A Private Initiative in Baojing (West Hunan)

95

The Pollard Script during the Great Leap

95

Church Life after 1979

97

The Revival of Miao Writing

101

After the Cultural Revolution

101

The Third Conference on Nationality Languages

101

Ghao-Xong

103

Hmu

117

Hme

123

Hmong

125

A-Hmao

126

The Fourth Work Meeting

127

The Future of the New Writing Systems

129

Problems in the Latin-based writing systems

131

Part IV. Mythologization Reinterpretation of the Pollard Script before 1949

133

Creation of a Predecessor to the Pollard script

138

The Origin of the Pollard Script in the 1980s

143

The Chuxiong Reformed Pollard script

148

The Future of the Pollard script

158

Mythological Writing Systems for Hmong

185

The Desire to be Unique

162

Appendices

169

Bibliographies Miao Bibliography

190

Miao Books and Periodicals after 1979

197

Unpublished Sources for Vol. 2

212

Bibliography toVoll&2

215

Errata to Vol. 1

242

Acknowledgements Apart from those colleagues and friends mentioned in vol. 1, I also wish to thank Miss Mirja Juntunen, Stockholm, Miss Maria Edin, Uppsala, and Miss Anna Lapira, Venice, for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Preface The present volume presents the Miao writing systems in the People’s Republic of China from 1949 until the early 1990s with particular emphasis on how these various writing systems were devised and subsequently propagated. Much has been said about these topics in more or less scholarly media, but most studies are of a general nature, and rarely delve into the practicalities of devising writing systems. The author has tried to present the whole process so that the reader can also form an opinion of his own, on the basis of the empirical facts made available. The Miao - seven million people in southwest China - present a typical picture of how the actual minority language work has been carried out and what results it has yielded. Hopefully, the present volume will inspire to further in-depth studies of China’s minority language policies.

Abbreviations AC Autonomous County AP Autonomous Prefecture fil îh'J'I'I BCV CIM Archives, Bible College of Victoria, Melbourne. BEFEO Bulletin de l’Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient BFBS British & Foreign Bible Society BSL Bible Society Library, Cambridge CASS Chinese Academy of Social Sciences TiSîilïPi'Iâürc CCP Chinese Communist Party 'PiSJfiÜÄ CIM China Inland Mission CIN Central Institute of Nationalities, Peking CM China’s Millions CMA China’s Millions (Australasian edition) GMY Guizhou mmzu yanjiu CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union CUN Library of the Central University of Nationalities, Peking IPA International Phonetic Alphabet JE Copy in the author’s possession KMT Kuomintang Party (Guomindang) HKÄ LTBA Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area MY Minzu yuwen [Nationality linguistics] NAC Nationalities Affairs Commission NBSS National Bible Society of Scotland NPH Nationalities Publishing Flouse NPS National Phonetic Script Üïf NT New Testament OMF Overseas Missionary Fellowship OT Old Testament PKP Rev P Kenneth Parsons, private copy PRC People’s Republic of China RKP Rev R Keith Parsons, private copy RPA Romanized Popular Alphabet (for Hmong and Mong in Laos etc.) UMM United Methodist Mission WDG Wang Deguang, private copy

Chinese Approach to Miao Writing Minority Policies of the Kuomintang After the fall of the Qmg dynasty there was a change in attitude towards the minority peoples inhabiting China’s borderlands. The parts of Tibet earlier occupied by the Qing, mainly Lhasa, quickly got rid of the Chinese invaders, and Yunnan was only formally subject to central rule. The focus of the policies for the minority areas was no longer on pure control. The leading Chinese intellectuals, among them Sun Yat-sen, had been strongly influenced by the Western concept of nationalism. During the 19th century several European states had been unified and the nationalism was stronger than ever before. Assimilationist policies for ethnic minorities were implemented in almost all European countries, for the Welsh and the Scots in the United Kingdom, the Basque in Spain and France, the Saarni of Sweden etc., in order to achieve national unity. Such were the sentiments which were adopted by those who had thrown over the Qing dynasty. Formally the Chinese Republic consisted of five nationalities: Han, Mongols, Manchu, Tibetans and Tatars (i.e. the Turkic Muslims), but Sun Yat-sen explained this in the following way: The name “Republic of Five Nationalities” exists only because there exists a certain racial distinction which distorts the meaning of a single republic. We must facilitate the dying out of all the names of individual peoples inhabiting China.'

This assimilationist policy implied legal equality between the various peoples in China. The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China stated that: ‘The people of the Republic of China are all equal in the face of the law, without distinction in terms of race, class, or religion.’12 *At the same time there were decrees forbidding the use of derogatory terms for the national minorities. As the Soviet Union exerted a certain influence on the Kuomintang policies, a new policy was officially stated at the First National Congress of the Kuomintang in 1924: The government should help and guide the weak and small racial groups within its national boundaries toward self determination and self government. '

1 Sun Yat-sen, Mémoires of a Chinese Revolutionary, Taipei: China Cultural Service, 1953. Quoted from J T Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976. 2 C T Hu, The Education of National Minorities in Communist China, 1970. 1 China Handbook, 1937-1945, New York: Macmillan, 1947. Quoted fromj T Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976.

This dual view of both encouraging the minorities to self-government and to assimilate them is still very much the essence of Chinese minority policies. Chiang Kai-shek went a bit farther than Sun Yat-sen and said that the various peoples inhabiting China actually belonged to the same race and that the present differences were due only to differences in religion and geographical conditions. Because of the generally weak position of the central government during the Republic, however, other factors than central decrees played an important role. From 1911—1928 Yunnan was ruled by Tangjiyao, who had tenuous connections with the central government. In 1928 he was succeeded by a Yi, Long Yun, who had been educated in the Methodist Mission school in northern Yunnan. He ruled until 1942, when he was tricked out of power by Chiang Kai-shek. In Guizhou and in other mountainous areas the Miao lived in isolated villages, ruled by native officials. The central government wanted to bring the southern minorities under regular administration, but when this policy was implemented, in many areas the earlier native officials received the new posts, and very little was changed in essence. The minorities were still exploited by Han Chinese absentee landlords and lived in misery.4 Thus, due to the unsettled conditions, the main result of the minority policies in the Republic of China had been that the larger minorities were virtually autonomous, while the small minority groups remained outside the mainstream of national life.5 During the Republican time, i.e. 1911—49, quite a few articles on the Miao people and language were published in various more or less scholarly journals. A collection of 59 articles (altogether 382 pages) was published in 1982, but it is far from complete.6 Rui Yifu and Ling Chunsheng of the Academia Sinica carried out anthropological research in west Hunan and south Sichuan. Later, research reports were published in Nanking. In Guizhou some activities were carried out in order to counteract the foreign dominance among the minorities. In 1938 the provincial government of Guizhou established the Institute for local dialects of the Guizhou province. During the first year some 50 students took part in a six-month course. The qualification needed to enroll was middle school education. The goal was to train personnel for research in minority language and for propagation of hygiene in the villages. Each student should study one or two minority 4

J E Spencer, ‘K’ueichou, an Internal Chinese Colony’, (1940), pp. 162-9. C T Hu, The Education of National Minorities in Communist China, 1970. Zhang Yongguo et al. (eds), Minguo nianjian miaozu lunwenji, 1983.

languages. However, because of manifold problems no new students were accepted the second term.7 Later, work was resumed and this is described in the preface of a textbook in Ghao-Xong, published in 1941: This is a tool for recording dialects in a scientific way while learning to speak them and it is not a writing system devised for the Miao compatriots. Chairman Wu has told us: “Except for teaching standard Chinese to the aboriginal compatriots, in order to let them share the same kinds of opportunities for studies, there are two further important intentions: (1) to spread orders (2) to implement government decrees.” “Moreover, to destroy the prejudice that it is a shame to study aboriginal dialects.” [...] In February 1939, when the school for regional dialects was established in Qingyan Wë, it was created very hastily, and there were no established practices to follow. It was only possible to use oral teaching, and parallel to that similar Chinese characters [Chinese characters with similar pronunciation] or the Chinese zhuyin zimu to record the pronunciation. Afterwards we really felt that this method was no good, and changed to Latin letters and Romatzyh, but we still felt it was irrational. When the school term had almost come to the end, the linguist Zhang Weigang was invited to teach the International Phonetic Alphabet. [...] In view of the failure of the first term, as a text book was lacking, it was decided that the work be focused on compiling and translating a text book. [...] In this province there are many foreign missionaries who have first studied the aboriginal languages and then started to do missionary work. Therefore their success has been rapid and the effects have been big. [...] In our experience from teaching we have not only used guoyin zimu [zhuyin zimu], but also Latin letters and Romatzyh, and even Miao writing [Pollard script?], but each time it has been a failure. When we use this recording method to explain Chinese writing, and to teach Chinese to the Miao compatriots, we have not at all devised a writing system for the Miao!!! Nor have we taught these letters to the Miao compatriots, for them to use independently! !!8

The 1941 Ghao-Xong Writing This writing was used for teaching Miao to Chinese Kuomintang cadres in the minority areas in the beginning of the 1940s and was never intended to become a writing system used among the Miao. The main editor of the textbook was Wu Xiuqin and it was translated into at least two Miao dialects, into A-Hmao by Yang Hanxian WM9c, and into Ghao-Xong by Long Shaohua According to the Miaozu jianshi, Long Shaohua was a teacher from Songtao.9 Furthermore this textbook was translated into the Yi and Dong languages. Only Long Shaohua’s translation has been found. The Ghao Xong sub-dialect used as a standard was that of Songtao in Guizhou, and the texts were written in IPA with Zhao Yuanren’s tone 7 8 9

Qiu Jifeng, ‘Dian-Qian bianjing miaobao zhi yanjiu’, (1945), p. 75. Wu Xiuqin (ed.) & Long Shaohua (transi.), Hong miaoyu heben, 1941. Miaozu jianshi bianxiezu, Miaozu jianshi, 1985, p. 4.

marking system. All six tones were marked. Chinese loanwords were written with Chinese characters, a practice that we have not encountered elsewhere. It is not known how many persons learnt this writing or when it was used in practice.

Kuomintang Policies in the 1940s In 1945, Jiang Yingliang tUHfü wrote an article on the special writing systems used in southwest China. After describing them he concluded with a passage on the future of these writing systems from the Kuomintang point of view: Seen from the theory that all languages of this country have to be unified, the many different special writing systems used in the border regions, admittedly, have to be abolished completely, but in connection with this there are two questions which we have to examine and consider. These kinds of writing are in use in the southwestern areas, and the area of diffusion cannot be considered small, the groups of people who know them cannot be considered insignificant, and the influence that they have had on the development of the life and culture of the border peoples cannot be called unimportant. Foreign missionaries have made clever use of them in order to achieve the goals of their missionary work, but very few of our compatriots know that these kinds of writing are prevalent in this territory of our country. The books, dictionaries, even journals and newspapers in this writing, have all been published by foreigners. This is unknown to our compatriots, who take no active part. For the time being, no matter if these things have to be done in this way or not, we nevertheless have to feel ashamed and be vigilant, because we allow the foreigners to do them. In the end these writing systems have to be abandoned, that is no doubt necessary, but education has not yet been spread to the border areas, and the country has just started to civilize the border peoples. In this initial period, is it not possible to employ this tool for a rational use, to build a bridge for the border culture? These questions seem really to merit a discussion.111

Similar thoughts were taken up in Qiu Jifeng’s article on the education of Miao, and he stated: [...] the Miao had western style education there [at Stone Gateway] already by the end of the Qing dynasty. The whole education is controlled by the church and this is a result of the government of our country always having neglected them. As the education in this area developed earlier than in other areas, it has an important position in Miao education, [...] of the Miao of this area, more than 50—60% have been civilized by the English and this is indeed a big obstruction for the unity of our nationalities. The Stone Gateway church [...] has more than forty churches, 40-50,000 believers, [...] most of the believers are Miao. They all get preferential treatment from the

10

Jiang Yingliang, ‘Xinan bianqu tezhong wenzi’, (1945).

church like school and medical care free of charge, and board and lodging for those who come from far away to attend service, [...] the best students are sent to middle schools, universities or abroad to continue their studies, [...] but they have to serve in church for twenty or thirty years after graduating. [...] according to the most recent figures there are fifty-two schools in the Stone Gateway area, most of them elementary schools, there are more than seventy teachers and approximately 2,000 students."

Qiu Jifeng furthermore emphasized that all the costs for the education were covered by the church and commented on this: The teachers and headmasters all come from the outstanding elements of the Miao people, thus the church has already achieved the goal of “Miao teaching Miao”. Furthermore some outstanding Miao children have early on unknowingly become the tools of the missionaries. From the statements above, we know of the success of the Miao education and church in Stone Gateway, is all due to the fact that the church took the life of the Miao as a point of departure and everywhere gave what was needed. For example, among the Miao around 90 per cent are poor. In this difficult situation the parents cannot take the risk to use money for sending their children to school, but the church realized this difficulty and gave them the preferential treatment of studies free of charge, and after graduating there is always some work to do. Nobody will remain unemployed, and the Miao look forward to this. But the education is meant for the church, it is not education for education itself. We really have to guard against this kind of foreign cultural invasion [...].u

In 1939 the teachers college of southwest China established the Kuixiang H U experimental elementary school in the Daguan Area in Yiliang County HiäUA^lÜlaL Probably this was done partly in order to counteract the missionary influence. Qiu Jifeng was the leader of the project and to solve the language question he proposed the following method: Chinese writing and Miao writing should be used in parallel. Later Mandarin shall be promoted; the first two years of elementary school can be taught with a textbook with Chinese and Miao parallel texts, after the third or fourth year, Miao writing should be removed and Mandarin taught. The choice should be made according to the needs. One should not just brush it aside as this easily can engender aversion. [...] The reason why the barrier that has existed between the Chinese and the Miao for hundreds of years has not yet been opened up - and that is a very important problem — is the language difference.13

Finally the author came up with a proposal about a new Miao writing, which is especially interesting in view of the developments in the 1950s:

Qiu Jifeng, ‘Dian-Qian bianjing miaobao zhi yanjiu’, (1945), pp. 76-7. Qiu Jifeng, ‘Dian-Qian bianjing miaobao zhi yanjiu’, (1945), p. 77. Qiu Jifeng, ‘Dian-Qian bianjing miaobao zhi yanjiu’, (1945), pp. 81-2.

O

1. An alphabetic writing should be used for writing Chinese. 2. Alphabetic writing should be used for writing Miao, and it should be the same as the one used for Chinese. As to what kind of alphabetic writing should be used, it is a difficult question. It is best to use the officially promulgated phonetic letters [NPS], although there are many sounds in Miao which cannot be spelt with phonetic letters. It could, however, be expanded. Today the phonetic letters are used in the whole country, so this is really no problem. [...] As to the question whether a unified alphabetic writing can be used for linking the Chinese and the Miao, this is a thing that actually can be proved. In 1939 I was studying at the state-run Southwest Teachers’ College. During the vacation the Miao service group went to Stone Gateway to do research. On the doors of the Stone Gateway church, relief yuan and hospital, there are [texts] in English. Those Miao who have been baptised, even those who have not studied English, can anyway recognize it. [...] the reason is that the English writing is spelt in a similar way to the now used artificial Miao writing. Thus, the author advocates that a unified alphabetic writing should necessarily be used for writing Miao and Chinese. As can be seen from this, it is an easy thing to link up the Chinese and the Miao writing.14

More negative policies of the Kuomintang regime, were however reported in the 1950s. A few of the delegates at the Conference on Miao Writing in 1956 mentioned the prohibition of the Miao language by the Kuomintang authorities,15 and Gutorm Gjessing, who participated in a Norwegian delegation to China, and received information from the Chinese hosts, wrote: It [the Kuomintang] was more interested in the status quo, consequently it sought support among the traditional ruling classes in the minorities too, but started at the same time a hard-handed policy of cultural assimilation. In 1941-43 the provincial government of Kweichow, thus, forbade the Miao to use their own language, their traditions, costumes and old Miao -customs.16

In the writings of the missionaries nothing is mentioned about special problems in connection with printing materials in the Miao language, but assimilationist tendencies are alluded to in Cyril G Edwards’s Journal B of Tribal Survey trips in Guizhou, China. He travelled in the Hmu area and in connection with a visit to a local festival he wrote: In the official notices put up about this last [a 3-days Sport Meeting], it was specified that Chinese dress was to be worn, but quite a lot of colourful Miao costumes were to be seen, & silver ornaments.17 14 Qiu Jifeng, ‘Dian-Qian bianjing miaobao zhi yanjiu’, (1945), p. 83. 15 Yang Zongde, ‘Yang Zongde daibiao fayan’, 1957, p. 273. 16 G Gjessing, ‘Chinese Anthropology and New China’s Policy toward her Minorities’, (1956), p. 47. 17 CG Edwards, Journal B oj Tribal Survey trips in Kweichow province, China, (1947), p. 75.

H

Nevertheless, a few systems for writing Miao were devised during the Republican time, apart from those created by various foreign missionaries. The various indigenous systems, devised either by Chinese or Miao will be discussed below.

Shi Qigui’s Writing Systems for Ghao-Xong Shi Qigui EÜSfÄ was born in the village Xianziying {[ij-pit in Qianzhou 'j'H (now Jishou City pfifrb) in west Hunan in 1896. He went to Chinese schools and finally to a university in Changsha, the capital of the Hunan Province. Back in west Hunan he worked for the improvement of cultural and economic conditions in the Ghao-Xong areas. In 1933 Rui Yifu and Ling Chunsheng ÜcMiSfc of the Academia Sinica went to west Hunan for anthropological field work. Shi Qigui acted as their interpreter as he had acquired a good level of Chinese dunng his studies, and because he was well versed in traditional Ghao-Xong culture. After three months of field work in Qiancheng (now Jishou cftf), Fenghuang SJU and Yongsui (now Huayuan), Rui Yifu and Ling Chunsheng left west Hunan. Later in the same year Shi Qigui was appointed research fellow of the Academia Sinica for west Hunan. Afterwards he regularly sent research notes and photographs to the Academia Sinica. He partook in many cultural and political activities, and in 1946 he was a delegate for the west Hunan area at the National Congress in Nanking. After 1949 he was a consultant for the local authorities on questions of Ghao-Xong culture. Between 1949 and 1959 he wrote several works on the Ghao-Xong dialect, but they were never published, and most probably they have all been lost. According to a list kept in the archives of Jishou he wrote the following seven works, the length and depth of which are difficult to evaluate: Miaowen qieyin eeL^FUeT Miaozu sujixue Suji jiangyi jingxiang sSoBtllififj#, Miaoyu chuxi iSsnlUJ/f, Miaoyu wenfa jie Iff fife $¥, Miaowen caochuang Miaoyu shengyunxue Shi Qigui appears first to have used Shi Bantang’s method for writing down texts in Ghao-Xong (cf. vol. 1, p. 83ff), but the problem was that people had to know Chinese quite well in order to learn this Chinese character-based writing. Thereafter he devised a kind offanqiewriting, but probably nothing was written in it.18 One writing system devised by Shi Qigui was described in a posthumous collection of his articles on Ghao-Xong culture.u It is a kind of shorthand for recording Ghao-Xong songs, but there seem to be no texts preserved in this writing. 1H 19

Liu Ziqi, personal communication, Jishou, 19 Oct., 1990. Shi Qigui, Xiangxi miaozu shidi diaocha baogao, 1986.

In a scheme of these shorthand symbols, he stated: ‘When you write a new literary work in shorthand, the initials and the finals are arranged accurately. When you can read all these signs, all the innumerous sounds are included.’2" According to the editor of Shi Qigui’s collected works (Xiangxi miaozu shidi diaocha baogao) nobody learnt this shorthand system from him.

Early Minority Language Policies of the CCP The Chinese Communist Party adopted the traditional Marxist minority policies, which state that all nationalities have the right to their own culture and language. Much work had been devoted to the devising of writing systems for peoples without writing in the Soviet Union, and the same basic policy was taken over by the CCP. This also included the right for selfdetermination, which appeared in the 1931 Constitution of the Jiangxi Soviet: [...] the right of self-determination of the national minorities in China, right to complete separation from China, and to the formation of an independent state for each minority nationality. All Mongolians, Tibetans, Miao, Yao, Koreans and others living on the territory of China shall enjoy full right to self determination, i.e. they may either join the Union of Chinese Soviets or secede from it and form their own state as they may prefer. The Soviet regime of China will do its utmost to assist the national minorities in liberating themselves from the yoke of imperialists, the KMT militarist, t’u-ssu [native officials], the princes, lamas and others, and in achieving complete freedom and autonomy. The Soviet regime must encourage the development of the national cultures and the national languages of these peoples.21

June Dreyer supposed that Mao began to doubt the willingness of China’s minorities to join the People’s Republic spontaneously during the Long March. The Communists had, for example, been severely attacked in the Yi area of Daliangshan ^'igfiil. This was also mentioned by an Australian missionary who had been in Yunnan in the 1940s: ‘As far as prior to 1949 is concerned, the effect of such things as the long march did not endear the red army to those in Tribal country through which one section of it passed’.22 A short discussion on the Communists’ attitude toward the missionaries is to be found in vol. 1, pp. 154—5. The Communists’ interest in reforming the Chinese writing, and especially their interest in replacing the characters with phonetic writing, was also to become an impetus for devising phonetic writing systems for the minority 21 Shi Qigui, Xiangxi miaozu shidi diaocha baogao, 1986, p. 574. 21 Brandt, Schwarz and Fairbank, A Documentary History of Chinese Communism, New York: Atheneum, 1966, p. 217. Quoted from | T Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976. 22 H Bailey, letter of 25 July 1992.

languages in China. Already during the Qing dynasty several intellectuals had proposed phonetic spelling systems for Chinese, and the first system officially promoted was the National Phonetic Script (zhuyin zimu later called zhuyin fuhao ÔÎEffïÜc), adopted at the Conference for a Unified Pronunciation in 1913, and officially promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1918. There were also proposals based on the Latin alphabet. Gwoyeu Romatzyh was devised by a group of Chinese linguists, headed by Y R Chao (Zhao Yuanren), in 1926, and this system was supported by the Kuomintang government tor some time, as it was seen as a was of propagating the Peking dialect. The Gwoyeu Romatzyh was used only for that dialect, and used tonal spelling to indicate the four tones.23 Another system was developed by emigrant intellectuals during the 1931 in the Soviet Union.24 25 This * system was called the Latinized New Writing Latinxua sinwenz. This system lacked tone markers and could be used for all dialects. It is not known if this system at that time also was intended for use in writing minority languages. When the system started to be used in China in 1934 it was criticized by the supporters of Gwoyeu Romatzyh, because it was seen as a threat against national unity.23 The Communists started to use this writing in 1936, and later it came to be used, in a modified version, for several minority languages. The first Institute of Nationalities was set up in Yan’an in 1941. The purpose was to train minority cadres in party policies. Han students, later to work in minority areas, were also to be trained at this institute. There were students from eight nationalities, including Miao, who studied in a six-year programme. The basic material was Stalin’s Marxism and the National Question, and later Marxist-Leninist theory. Some research was also conducted at the institute; there were three main topics: history, economy and sociopolitical situation of the minorities. We have found no indication that minority languages were studied at the institute. In 1947, the institute was destroyed when Chiang Kai-shek’s troops captured Yan’an.

23 J DeFrancis, The Chinese Language, 1984. 24 F Coulmas, ‘Writing and Literacy in China’, 1983, p. 245. Also discussed in G Serdyuchenko, ‘Sulian chuangli wenzi he jianli biaozhunyu de jingyan’, (1956), pp. 129-67 25 J DeFrancis, The Chinese Language, 1984. 23 J T Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976.

CCP Minority Language Policies 1949—195127 In 1949 the right to secession was no longer mentioned, nor was self determination. The article 53 of the Common Programme adopted in 1949, however, guaranteed the right of the minorities to use and develop their languages. In connection with this the government recognized three principal tasks: 1. to create and reform the written languages of several national minorities. 2. to carry out scientific research in spoken languages. 3. to train language cadres.28 In 1950 the Language Research Institute of the Academia Sinica sent out teams to investigate some minority languages, and research projects were started at Peking University and the Academia Sinica. In November, 1950, the Government Administration Council adopted trial programmes for training minority nationality cadres and for Chinese students with high middle-school or higher exam to study minority languages on a voluntary basis. In May 1951 the Guizhou Institute of Nationalities was founded, and in June the Central Institute of Nationalities (CIN) in Peking followed. Subsequently several more institutes of the same kind were established in various parts of China. The institutes of nationalities were politically orientated institutions. The major task of the Central Institute of Nationalities was to train minority activists, intended to work above county level and to train teachers in minority languages, history, minority art etc., who were to work at the regional institutes of nationalities. The regional institutes were meant to train activists below county level and offered more practical and professional training.29 All institutes accepted Han Chinese students who studied minority languages and culture, in order to promote research and to develop the minority areas. Minority language research was at first concentrated to the CIN in Peking. In October 1951 the Institute of Linguistics of the Academia Sinica convened a Conference on the Minority Languages of the South and Southwest and on October 12, a Steering Committee for Research on Nationality Languages was established within the Committee of Cultural and Educational Affairs of the Central Government’s State Council. In November the 27 A good chronology of the work on minority languages in the PRC is given in Kun Chang, ‘National Languages’, 1967, p. 151 fF. * H G Schwarz, ‘Communist Language Policies for China’s Ethnic Minorities: The First Decade’, (1962). 27 C T Hu, The Education of National Minorities in Communist China, 1970.

Association for Reform of the Chinese Writing System and the Institute of Linguistics convened a conference on the alphabetization of Chinese and nationality languages.

Early Proposals of Miao Writing Just after the revolution, when no state structures had yet been founded for concrete minority language work, a few individuals seem to have tried to devise Miao writing systems, probably inspired by the minority policies of the Communist Party. In 1950 the linguist Wu Yuzhang and his Miao students devised a Latin based Miao writing at Bianbao University 1# JSAcJpL Wu Yuzhang was one of the creators of the Latinxua Sinwenz, and took an active part in the reform of the Chinese characters, but it has proven impossible to find out the principles of this Miao writing and even for which Miao dialect it was intended.31 Somewhat later, in western Hunan, a Ghao-Xong man named Shi Xingzheng 5HIE devised a Latin-based writing system for the Ghao-Xong dialect and sent his proposal to Peking, but at the same time the linguists in Peking were already working on other systems and rejected Shi’s proposal.31

The 1949-50 Reform of the Pollard Script In 1949-50 some teachers from the Stone Gateway school, Zhang Youlun IzSWfÉ, Yang Zhongde JlÆfê, Yang Rongxin Jllftilf, Wang Peicheng ZEZE zp: (also called Wang Mingji Zhu Huanzhang £fUH3|c (headmaster of the middle school) and Han Shaogang WSBM (headmaster of the elementary school), reformed the Pollard script. Instead of placing the finals in various positions in relation to the initial to indicate tone, special tone markers were added afterwards. The final could thus remain in the same position and it should be easier to print than the traditional Pollard script. Seven tones were indicated. In 1951 Zhang Youlun went to Chongqing to translate some Communist works into A-Hmao. The Military Committee at Chongqing published three books in the reformed Pollard script, of which one bore the title ‘What one ought to know about Catholicism and Protestantism’.32 One contained articles about the theory of socialism, and one was the Zhengxie11 * * * * 11 Jiang Yongxing, ‘Miaowen tanjiu’, (1989), pp. 112-6; and Li Bingze, ‘Miaozu de wenzi’, (1985), pp. 23-4; and Li Bingze, personal communication, Peking, May 1990. 11 Shi Rujin, personal communication, Peking, 6 March 1990. s This was a translation from a Chinese article: ‘Duiyu tianzhujiao jidujiao ying you de renshi’, 1950?, pp. 36-40.

gangling [The Common Programme].11 The books were transported to Stone Gateway, where they were disseminated and later read.33 34 The Pollard script thus came to be used even in propaganda against Christianity.

Analysis of Reformed Pollard Script As related above this reform was carried out by A-Hmao teachers at Stone Gateway, but it was not very radical, except for the change of the position system for tone marking. A further clarification was the introduction of a voice marker for the initials. A dot after the initials indicated voice or voiced aspiration. This system of voice marking had been used before by some A-Hmao teachers, like Wang Mingji in his 1946 A-Hmao dictionary, but in the form of an inverted comma, e.g. [g]. A system with both these markers can have existed at one time, thus making possible the distinction of all four varieties, (-voice,-asp.), (-voice,+ asp.), (+voice,-asp.), (+voice,+asp.). A comma indicated (+asp.) as in the earlier stages of the Pollard script, a dot indicated +voice and an inverted comma indicated +voice+asp.35 The initials remained basically the same as in the 1936 NT The additions were: X

[tç] (also together with prenasalization and aspiration; frornC [t§] with an extra

stroke)36 £ Ml (felill turned upside down) cr] [yl (in Chinese loanwords;-] [h] with extra marker)

The aspiration was always marked after the initial, resulting in combination such as: 3)

[m|

C, Y>

fn] IM

33 The Zhengxie gangling was printed twice in altogether several thousand copies. Zhang Youlun, personal communication, Weining, 20 Nov. 1990. 34 Zhang Youlun, personal communication, Weining, 20 Nov. 1990. " Yang Zhongd, personal communication, Weining, 19 Nov. 1990.

A few finals used to spell Chinese loanwords were eliminated: £

[an]

É

[ai] 1

A

[an]

The tones were marked with letters after the finals, viz.: Category I 11 III IV V Via VIb VII=IV VIII=VI

Symbol ru CO zero * e f lO

Value

Chinese loanword category

Pollard position

55 24 55 22 33 21 53

shang qu ping

2 3 1 4 2 4 2

ru

This system seems to be based on the standard Pollard script, but some new distinctions have been added. In the early 1940s Wang Mingji analysed the A-Hmao language of Stone Gateway as having seven tones.37 In brackets we give our own interpretation of these categories on the five tone scale and the corresponding tone marker in the reformed Pollard script: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

.17

High rising High even High falling Medium even Low rising Low even Low falling

(55 or 45) (55) (53) (44) (24) (22) (21)

[ 1 [ro] [u>] [e] [on] 141 m

R K Parsons, personal communication, Torquay, 22 May 1991.

P J

mp J-

mph

m D

m

f

r

S

S

z

i

U

i L

5

i

tø

\J

ts +

tsh f,

nts CT

ntsh

t T

th

nt CT

nth

il A

tlh

ntl CA

ntlh

th

•U

Plhcx,

15 X

t§h

pt?

ptgh

P (o

te

X

tch

n%

nJtch

n* £

ni

ç

J/\

z

k

1

k*1

pk

pkh

o

ip

D

X

T >

Y

q J

cf

Nq

Nqh

t

X

Cl

n

C

n

C>

w

K

X °1 h

0 [?]

y,

Finals

i

n

fwl r

e

u

0

o

(ei)

o

(ia)

(iaui)

(iau)

(uai)

(uaiu)

(uo)

(ian)

(uan)

y 31 1

uo

] 3

9 ?

aixi

œy S

ai

(iu) (V

(io)

(uei)

(in)

(en)

(an)

b 1

T> Ob

a -

LU

au

ie

il

(ua) u* (op)

0 mpj1’ mphl mi ml ntsh nts nn nth nth q[h nthr H. nr nJtch nchi nJ gn

Jic

JlCh

qk nk

qk'1

kh+uq'1 qh

qkw

qkwh

qwh

Nqw

kwh

kw

qq qw q+u-

mph mph

mp mp

P” Ph pi'1 pjh phi tsh ts th th th thr tch chi ch kh kh

Nq

nq n?w

mh hm

w (u)

n*1 hn

1 1 z zh z zhi 1) l+i-

lj>l q+i

nkh

ss P hlx § sh c shi ]jh

q ng qw

nqh Nqwh

hh hw [f] f

Nqh

[pi] etc. were phonetically referred to as [pi] etc. The palatals and the labialized velars and uvulars were expressed by means of finals with -i- and -u- respectively as their first parts. Finals

ii

ee

oo

o

ëae ei ei

a ai (in) in

uiw en en

eu ai] ang y

aa op ung

uu &

The distinction between [o] and [o] was most probably absent in the dialect used as the basis for this textbook. In the light of later publications it is possible to assume that this distinction is absent or at least very blurred in the Ghao-Xong spoken in Guizhou.41

41

Tai Changhou, ‘Tai Changhou daibiao fayan’, 1957, p. 285.

Furthermore there was a final [usn], which was written . In fact this is the same final as [ê], in the 1952 textbook referred to as [an]. It was used after labialized initials, e.g. [te qw5] ‘eagle’. Some words lack finals and are pronounced with a syllabic nasal, e.g. [m22]. Tones I Ha lib III IV V VI

35 31 or 42 13 44 22 54 42 or 31

f r X

h b y

d

Tone lib is a sandhi variety of tone category II. For tone categories I la and VI alternative tone values are given. For Songtao IIa=31 and VI=42 and for Yongsui 7ld§c (now Huayuan) the opposite values.41 The loanwords were spelt according to the local pronunciation in Miao, e.g. for gongchandang (Communist Party).

Hmu

The sub-dialect used as a norm was that of Zhouqi in Kaili City. Initials

pp ts

tz

ph ph

th

f ti

Ph

te

ci

mh hm

ts

tsh

11

mm

th

teh

kh kh

qg

qh

f' fx

V V

s s

S1’ SX

Z

n n

nh hn

1 hi

lh hlx

1

nj n+i

nih hn+i

P hl+i

Ph hlx+i

|j l+i

c shi

Gh shxi

z zhi

Xh X

Y xg

chi

k k

f

f

i] ng

1

gh h h

41 For details of the various local pronunciations of Ghao-Xong tones, cf. ‘Introduction’, vol. 1, p. 26.

i i

(e) e

e ae

s eu

a a

uu

oo

ei ei

au au

(ie)

(io) io

(uei)

(ue)

(ua)

en eng

ai] ang

oi] ung

(ien) in

(uen)

(uarj)

Tones Category

II III IV V VI VII VIII

33 55 35 11 44 13 53 31

Symbol

h g t 1 f d b r

Value in the Textbook 32 53 45 22 34 213 13 21

A-Hmao Probably as a reaction against the Pollard script a phonetic approach was adopted for the representation of the initials, at least for most of them. All tone determined allophones have been put in brackets in the phonetic system. For some reason a few phones are lacking, most probably because they are very rare. The dialect used is that of Stone Gateway.

P p rn hm ts tz s s 11 n hn tl tl 1 hi t tr ts c T=i] te ci nJ hn i k k 0 hng

qq

ph ph mm tsh ts zz th th n n tlh tlh 1 1 th trh tsh ch [qfi] tch chi ni n i kh kh P ng qh qh

[b] b [mfi]=m I dz] dz 1 zfi ]=z |d] d [nfi]=n |dl$] dl [lfi] Ih [4] dr [dz] j 5 sh [dz] ji [nJfi]=nJ Ig] g |i]fi]=t) [o]=q

??

[bfi] bh mp mp ff V V ]dzfi] ds nts ntz

mph mph |mb]=mp [mbfi]=mp w |vfi]=v ntsh nts Indz] nds [ndzfi]=ndz

[dfi] dh

nth nth

[nd] nd

|dl$fi] dlh ntl ntl

ntl1' ntlh

[nd[3] ndl [ndtøfi] ndlh

[cjfi] drh 1dzfi]jh z; zh 1 dzfi ] jhi c shi Igfi] gh

q[h ntrh qtsh nch

lq.4 I ndr ln.4fi] ndrh Iqdz] nj [qdzfij njh

nt nt

[ofi]=qh

q] ntr qts nc [Z.fi]=z.h nJtc nci z zhi qk nk IyJ xg Nq nq

X=x [h'l

m

X X

[ndfi] ndh

nJtGh nchi [ n'dz ] nji [ nJdzfi ] njhi |zfi]=z qkh nkh Iqg] ngg Iqgfi] nggh lYfi,]=Y Nq1’ nqh [NG]=Nq [NGfi]=Nqh h

h

|fi]=h

Most of the possible phonetic distinctions were indicated graphically, and in this way a couple of homophones were avoided, as in the Pollard script the tone categories with +voice were not kept apart from the tone categories -voice, except in the sibilants. A middle vowel —i— is used even after the palatals, which is not phonetically correct. The system of finals contains all those necessary for A-Hmao. Finals e 1 1 (ei) ae œy ey (iau) iau (iu) iu (in) in (en) en

ai ai

3e am aw

(ye)

(uei)

(an) an

(oi])

y y

aa au au (ua) ua (ian)

mw ie ie (uai) (uan)

u u (ia) ia (uaui)

0

0

(iaut) iaw (uo) uo

(a-)

The allophones of /i/ and /y/ are indicated in a special way, viz. zero li

[z,r] (/i/ after affricates) [z,j ] (/y/ after affricates)

This led to a rather strange visual aspect of certain Chinese loanwords like for tongzhi |n]àë ‘comrade’ and for ziyou ||J È ‘freedom’. This is, however, the way these words are written in the Chinese transcription system Latinxua sinwenz.

In the 1953 textbook for A-Hmao Wang Fushi and Zhang Feiran indicate 6 tones with final letters. The categories are represented in the following way: Tones Category

Symbol

Value in the Textbook

I II III IV V Via VIb

t,k

55,44 24 55 44,33 44 21 53

54 24 55 44,22 44 21 53

g t k,l k r d

I think this proves that the tone cat. 1 had split into (55) and (44), thus merging with cat. Ill and V respectively in the variety of A-Hmao used in this textbook. As indicated in the Introduction of the description of the tone system, cat. IV has two values in Stone Gateway, (22) and (44). As seen above this writing system shows a similar split. The Chinese loanwords are treated in a different way as they are not adapted to Miao finals or tones, e.g. for wenhua jç-lk, ‘culture’, for gongchandang ‘Communist Party’ and for gongren jieji XAßüift ‘working class’.

CCP Minority Policies 1952-1955 In 1952 Zhongguo yuwen cPSSøn3£ [Chinese linguistics], a monthly journal on the languages of China, was founded in Peking. In 1952 the General Programme for the Implementation of Regional Autonomy was promulgated, but in the Miao areas this did not influence the propagation of writing to any greater extent. It did, however, facilitate a special treatment of the minorities. This difference in treatment of Han and of minorities is discussed by Moseley, who interprets the regional autonomy, not as a way of giving the minorities some kind of self-determination, but as a method for control:

Regional autonomy for the non-Han peoples was instituted precisely in order to permit the CCP to pursue a differentiated policy in the border regions as compared with China proper; it was not the objective of regional autonomy indefinitely to guarantee to the minorities a special status within the CPR (Chinese People’s Republic). The establishment of autonomous areas was an essential device in the hands of the United Front Work Department of the CCP in its task of fostering a sense of identification with the new régime in Peking on the part of the national minorities, and especially their traditional leaders.42

The United Front Work Department was the party organization most concerned with minority work. It was originally set up in Yan’an in 1944 and was in charge of shaping the policy in the minority areas according to the party line and of implementing the people’s democratic dictatorship.43 In 1953 several articles demanded that Han cadres learn minority languages while working in minority areas. In Hunan Tian Qinglong wrote that the Chinese teachers have to learn to speak Miao when they work in a Miao area. In this way they will be able to explain the meaning of new words and constructions and will avoid many misunderstandings. According to him, the Miao were very helpful in teaching Miao if the Chinese wanted to learn. Many teachers were just waiting for the government to start training classes instead of making their own efforts to learn.44 The use of Miao at school was also discussed. The main difficulty for Miao children at school was that they did not know Chinese. Therefore they could not learn other subjects either. Before starting to teach a Chinese text the teacher has to know the translation of the words and phrases into Miao, in order to make the pupils understand the contents. However, the contents of the texts are not to be changed, for example into the form of traditional folk songs, as the teaching materials have been approved by the state.45 The same demand was raised for Han cadres working in Guizhou. Most of the minority people do not know Chinese. When Chinese cadres go to minority areas they have to learn the local language in order to be able to carry out their work projects. This is necessary in order to carry out the party’s minority policies. It is also necessary to respect the religion and the customs of the minorities and to establish good personal relations with the minority people.46 In 1953 the Institute of Linguistics held extensive meetings on nationality 42 G Moseley, ‘China’s Fresh Approach to the National Minority Question’, (1965), p. 16. 43 J T Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976. 44 Tian Qinglong, ‘Xuehui miaozu yuyan - gaohao jiaoxue gongzuo’, (1953), p. 3. 45 Wang Cunqing et ah, ‘Dui miaozu diqu yunyong miaoyu jiaoxue de jidian yijian’, (1953), p. 3. 46 Anon, ‘Zai shaoshu minzu diqu gongzuo de hanzu ganbu ying renzhen xuexi minzu yuyan’, (1953).

languages from September to October. In addition to the section meetings, two general meetings were held, on September 26 and 27. In November the Department of Information of the Central Communist Party convened a meeting to discuss the problems of designing writing systems for the minority languages. Before the elections in 1954 the voters were asked to state their nationality, and the authorities received several hundred nationality names.47 This gives an indication of the complexity of the minority question faced by the researchers. In 1950 the anthropologist Fei Xiaotong had stated that China possibly had more than a hundred nationality groups. In 1952 the party journal Xuexi stated that the number sixty was more probable. In 1956 forty-five nationalities were listed and in 1965 sixty-three.* On May 20, 1954 the State Council resolved that governmental help be given the minorities in developing their writing systems, but in the summer the Steering Committee for Research on Nationality Languages was abolished, its tasks apparently accomplished.47 49 The linguists Ma Xueliang, Wang Fushi and Yu Shichang published an article on the minorities in Guizhou in the journal Xin jianshe. They divided the Miao language into the Zhenyuan and Duyun variety (=Hmu), Tongren (=Ghao-Xong), Weining (=A-Hmao) and furthermore three kinds spoken in Guiding, Anshun and parts of Bijie (=Hmong): 1. White Miao (bai miao Sffij, from eastern Yunnan, through western Guizhou to southern Sichuan, with phonetical correspondences with the Miao of Weining; 2. Flowery Miao (hua miao ?bE§0 which has some connection with White Miao, but not a very close one; 3. Green Miao (qing miao Weh) which was characterized as ‘not yet profoundly investigated’.50 51 In October 1954 the Soviet Linguist Georgi Petrovich Serdyuchenko came to the Institute of Linguistics and the Central Institute of Nationalities as a consultant. He had earlier worked on the unwritten languages in northern Caucasus and had prepared Cyrillic-based writing systems and textbooks for several languages. He had also published theoretical works on translation and bilingual education.5' He stayed in China until July, 1957, and played an important role in the devising of writing systems for several minorities. From 1955 to 1956 he played an active part in the preparation, organization, training, and dispatching of teams of field workers. He himself also visited 47 June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976. * June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions, 1976, p. 145. 49 H G Schwarz, ‘Communist Language Policies for China’s Ethnic Minorities: The First Decade’, (1962). 50 Ma Xueliang, Wang Fushi & Yu Shichang, ‘Guizhousheng shaoshu minzu gaikuang he chuangzhi wenzi wenti’, 1957, pp. 324-31. 51 JazykiJugo-vostocnojAzii, 1967, pp. 8-12.

the Miao areas. The basic principles had been taken over from the Soviet minority language program. A few Chinese researchers also published articles about the Soviet experience, partly adapting the theories to Chinese circumstances. In 1955 Serdyuchenko published a book in the form of questions and answers on the devising of writing systems in the Soviet Union.52 *In54December 1956 the journal Yuyan yanjiu published a Chinese translation of Serdyuchenko’s ‘The Soviet experience in designing alphabets and establishing standard languages’.5' In May 1955 the Academy of Sciences and the CIN sent out groups to investigate the Miao language in Guizhou (20 counties), Yunnan (10 counties), Guangxi (3 counties) and also en passant three varieties spoken in the Lao Cai area in Vietnam.'5' The results of this field research was presented at the First Conference on Nationality Languages in December 1955. On June 6, 1955 the Institute of Linguistics convened a conference on the creation and revision of writing systems for the nationality languages in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Xikang (a province later to be integrated into Sichuan).

The First Conference on Nationality Languages On December 6-15 the Institute of Linguistics and the Central Institute of Nationalities organized the First Conference on Nationality Languages in Peking. The more than hundred and sixty participants included linguists, publishers, educators, and officials in charge of the affairs of nationalities. The conference approved a long-range plan for research on nationality languages, to extend from 1956 to 1967. One of the most important reports presented at the conference was that of Fu Maoji, in the name of the Nationalities Research Department of the Institute of Linguistics of the Academia Sinica.55 He initially presented the research which has to be carried out, in order to solve the problem of minority writing systems. First a general research in all varieties of the minority languages was to be carried out; it was to include phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Later the material 52 G Serdyuchenko, Youguan Suliange minzu wenzi chuangzhi shi de wenti, 1955. 55 G Serdyuchenko, ‘Sulian chuangli wenzi he jianli biaozhunyu de jingyan’, (1956), pp. 129-67. 54 Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’, 1957, p. 13. The Miao variety spoken in the Sapa district of Lao Cai province became the basis for the romanized Miao writing devised in Vietnam in 1957, cf. J Enwall, Hmong Writing Systems in Vietnam, 1995, p. 15. 55 Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955; also published (slightly revised) as ‘Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti’, (1956).

should be analysed and dialects and sub-dialects should be defined. Dialects were to be distinguished mainly on the basis of differences in vocabulary and grammar, sub-dialects on the basis of phonetic differences. After this kind of thorough analysis a standard for the written language was to be selected. [...] we have to choose a dialect which phonetically is rather generally spread and which is spoken in an area which is rather developed in the fields of economy, politics and culture. The speech variety of a place which is an economic and political centre and which is culturally developed is to be chosen as the standard pronunciation. If the speech of one place already has high prestige among the masses, it is important that this be taken into account as well.*’

Afterwards he gave some principles for the writing systems: 1. All minority writing systems have to be alphabetic, because this is the general trend among writing systems in the world, and because the Chinese writing is also going to be changed to an alphabetic writing. 2. The alphabetic writing systems shall be as similar as possible, especially if one people has to use more than one writing system. As to the new writing systems of for example Miao, he wrote: When the alphabetic writing for Chinese (Pinyin) has been worked out, it is best for the nationalities in southern and southwestern China to use the same form of letters as the Chinese Pinyin when new writing systems are created, because the languages of these nationalities have generally been rather influenced by the Chinese language. Before the Chinese Pinyin has been promulgated, they could temporarily use Latin letters [i.e. some other kind of Latin-based orthography].56 57

The similarity between writing systems referred to was important for facilitating the necessary historical process of language merger. In the beginning of the paper, Fu Maoji pointed out that:

56 Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955, p. 9. 57 Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955.

Society always develops and in a rather distant future it will reach a new stage, that is the time when socialism has won the victory in the whole world. Stalin has pointed out that at that time the barriers and the distrust between the peoples of the world will be replaced by trust and proximity. The long-time cooperation in economy, politics and culture will lead to the selection of the most versatile language in every [geographic] area, and later the areal languages will merge into a common international language.58

3. Writing systems should be devised on the basis of linguistic differences and not according to the name of the nationality: [...] when [various groups] have the same nationality but the dialect differences are big, and when they therefore cannot use one kind of writing, it is also possible to draw up more than one writing scheme and to use different writing systems. However, the form of the letters and the orthographic rules must be as unified as possible, in order to facilitate mutual study. After a time of parallel use of several writing systems it is possible to proceed into a stage of using a unified writing system. For example: in the past two writing systems were devised for the Ossetian language in the Soviet Union, now a unified writing system is already in use.59

He also defined what a writing scheme should contain: 1. 2. 3. 4. (a) (b) (c) 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Population figures and language use. The dialect situation. The selection of a basic dialect and a standard pronunciation. The phonemic system of the standard pronunciation must contain: descriptions and examples of the phonemes. syllable stmcture. a comparison of the standard pronunciation and the other dialects and sub-dialects. List of letters (and their corresponding phonemes). Rules for polysyllabic words. Orthographic mies. Interpunctation. A specimen text.

If it is an improvement of an earlier writing, point 2 of the scheme should also contain a description of the stmcture of the original writing system and its use, and point 5 should contain a description of the deficiencies of the original system and the way of improving the writing system. Fu Maoji further describes the role of the Chinese language in connection 58 Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955. * Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955, p. 11.

with the minority languages. It should play a role similar to that of Russian in the Soviet Union, an ‘inter-nationality language’ (jazyk meznacional'nogo obsceniya). As to the treatment of Chinese loanwords in minority language translation work there had earlier been two erroneous tendencies. One was to create words on the basis of language-internal material even when a Chinese loanword was already in use, the other was to use Chinese loanwords even when the language already possessed a suitable equivalent. However, in the case of political terms, attention should be paid to avoid the use of too far-fetched equivalents, like ‘scuffle’ for ‘(political) struggle’. Minority writing was also important for improving the results of the study of Chinese by minority students. If people understand the structure of their own language, they will easier grasp the structure of another language. Minority writing also makes it easier for Chinese to study minority languages. However, Fu Maoji emphasized that the study of Chinese depended on the desire on part of the minorities themselves: This kind of study [of Chinese] is of course completely on a voluntary basis. If the people wants to study [Chinese], the government will certainly give energetic support. When the minority language workers help a minority to establish, improve or reform a writing system, they cannot only compile textbooks in the minority language, but they also have to use a bilingual method to compile suitable textbooks in Chinese for the minority, in order to improve the results of the study of Chinese in minority schools.60

Apart from the general discussion on the future of minority languages, there were also specific reports on various languages. Ma Xueliang, Yu Shichang and Wang Fushi presented a report on the Miao dialects. Three major dialects were distinguished and compared: eastern, central and western. However, they claimed that the question of how many writing systems were to be devised could not be solved until further investigations had been made. It was, nevertheless, clear that more than one writing system had to be used, because of the great diversity within the Miao language. The negative consequences of forcing a unified writing system onto such a language, was pointed out in the form of the Khanty language in the Soviet Union (also called Ostyak, in Chinese called kandi ifrig-, i.e. from Russian xantyjskij jazyk).6' In conclusion they stated:

81 Fu Maoji, Bangzhu shaoshu minzu chuangli, gaijin he gaige wenzi gongzuo de qingkuang he wenti, 1955, p. 14. 61 In 1931-2 textbooks started to be published in Khanty. The orthography was based on one of the five dialects, and this led to manifold difficulties. Later orthographies were devised for the other four varieties as well, although the number of speakers of the five dialects amounts only to 14,900 (1970). Cf. M I Isaev, Sto tridcat' ravnopravnyx (ojazykax narodov SSSR), 1970.

Here we once more have to point out the basic spirit, i.e. when we survey the linguistic facts, we cannot fix the yardstick for dividing the dialects too tightly. If we do that, we might arrive at the conclusion that the Miao language has got even more dialects, and the opinion that more kinds of writing have to be devised might be put forward.62

Pollard Script 1949-1955“ In the hectographed collections of traditional songs which were published at Stone Gateway from 1949 to 1952, the compilers, Yang Rongxin and Wang Peicheng, used the older version of the Pollard script, which had been codified in the 1936 NT. At the same time as these collections of A-Hmao songs were published there were forces striving to abolish the Pollard script. In a research report from the United Front Department of the Party Committee of the Guizhou province from 1952, Stone Gateway is called ‘a second Hong Kong’, and several teachers and pastors were imprisoned, probably as a result of the Three Antis and Five Antis Campaigns.“ The incident with the army radio in 1950 can also have contributed to the Chinese negative opinion about Stone Gateway (cf. vol. 1, p. 136). In 1952 the government sent teachers to Stone Gateway in order to change the contents of the teaching and there was also material support in the form of food and clothes, the latter seemingly to regain confidence from the Miao population. In 1955 party activists came to Stone Gateway and burnt all the books in Pollard script, because they were ‘foreign’. Several of the middle school teachers were imprisoned and Zhu Huanzhang committed suicide, after being attacked in the ‘Campaign to root out counter­ revolutionaries’.“ The teacher Yang Rongxin, who had been a member of the KMT, was also attacked in the same campaign, but survived. Similar events are recorded in the A-Hmao areas in Yunnan, where books in Pollard script were also destroyed: Most of the original copies were confiscated and burnt, but a few copies miraculously survived to serve as a master copy for the present publications [in 1989], The Bibles and hymnals that escaped confiscation often were hidden by the people in mud Ma Xueliang, Yu Shichang & Wang Fushi, Miaoyu fangyan diaocha baogao, 1955. ® For the 1949-50 reform of the Pollard script at Stone Gateway, cf. above, pp. 19-23. M The United Front Department report is quoted from Zong Wen, ‘Jidujiao Xundao gonghui zai Weining Shimenkan xingban de jiaoyu shiye’, (1987), p. 37. He had worked as headmaster of the Stone Gateway school in 1934-5, and had taken charge of the Miao work in the Methodist church after the missionaries left in 1950. Cf. Wang Xingzhong & Ming Guang, ‘Weining Shimenkan Guanghua xiaoxue xiaoshi genggai’, 1987, p. 34; and P K Parsons, personal communication, Isle of Wight, 13 Oct. 1992.

walls, in unused kitchen stoves smeared with mud and hidden behind firewood (each family used to have two stoves in the kitchen), in thatched roofs, or in hollow logs/"

Church activities were stopped: Sayingpan [ISHIS] lies about 80 km. north of the county seat of Luquan and is the township where Salaowu [jS^Lfe], the former headquarters of the Yi, is located. Salaowu is about 2 km. from the present site of the church in Sayingpan. In 1947, the China Inland Mission set up the Southwest Seminary there. This seminary was geared to the needs of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. It was closed during the land reform movement in 1951, and the rest of the church work at Salaowu was halted the following year.67

After a few years the anti-Christian policies were changed to a control policy. The church was reorganized according to official Chinese patterns: When foreign missionaries were forced to leave China in 1944 (sic!) [i.e. the year when Nicholls left Sapushan], Brother Wang Zhiming [zESiBfl] was elected president of the Miao Christians; his task was to look after their spiritual needs in Wuding [38; 3?], Luquan, Fumin [UK], Yuanmou [TcSÄ], and Lufeng [fåM] [in Yunnan]. Brother Wang was born in Changchong in 1908 and ordained in Kunming in 1951. [...] In the first years of the 1950s the religious situation in Yunnan grew increasingly tense. [...] He was invited to Beijing in 1955 and was received by Chairman Mao. When he returned to Wuding, he helped establish the Wuding 3-Self Patriotic Committee.m

Academia Sinica Research at Stone Gateway From October 1952 until June 1953 a group of scholars from the Academia Sinica in Peking, led by Wang Fushi, conducted field research in Stone Gateway and later Wang Fushi and the A-Hmao Zhang Feiran wrote a textbook in this dialect for the use of Chinese cadres who were to learn A-Hmao before going to the area to help in building socialism.“ The basic writing was a Latin system, adapted for A-Hmao by Ma Xueliang. In an appendix all texts were also given in the reformed Pollard script, and in the introductory chapter on A-Hmao pronunciation equivalents were given in Pollard script. Presumably knowledge of the Pollard script was considered useful for the Chinese cadres in the A-Hmao area, and in the preface Wang “ 67 68 14. * ms.

‘Minority Churches in Yunnan’, (1987), p. 10. ‘Minority Churches in Yunnan’, (1987), p. 10. Kwok Sheng, “‘Big Stream” and “Small Stream” Churches in Wuding’, (1987), p. [Wang Fushi, Zhang Feiran & Wang Deguang], [Diandongbei miaoyu duben], [1951-3?],

Fushi wrote that the texts in Pollard script would make it easier for A-Hmao teachers to teach the Chinese students. It seems that the Latin script was necessary for the Chinese, as it was phonetically more exact, but that the Pollard script was quite sufficient for the native speakers. Therefore the Latin orthography adopted may be considered as a transcription method rather than an independent writing system. It did, however, influence the 1956 official Latin writing and it will be discussed in connection therewith. Zhang Feiran, a former student of the school at Stone Gateway, and from 1943 a teacher at the same school, had been sent to the CIN, and after a period of study he became a teacher of A-Hmao. In 1956 he took part in the Miao field research programme and also translated old A-Hmao songs into Chinese together with Yang Zhi Yang Rongxin and others. In 1957 he was attacked in the Anti-Rightist Campaign, but later rehabilitated. He was assigned a job as a teacher in Bijie. In the beginning of the 1950s a debate about the future of the Pollard script started and Wang Fushi71' wrote an article about reforming the Pollard script: Pollard and others were very content with their invention and boasted about it. ‘This invention is very successful. More than twenty horses laden with Bibles written in our script came to Kunming and within two hours the books were all sold out’. We must understand that this is not a question of whether the script was well devised or not, but rather showed the intense need for writing among the Miao.71

Of course, the book referred to above was not a Bible, as it was not published until two years after Pollard’s death, but one of the Gospels, published earlier. Wang Fushi analyses the deficiencies of the Pollard script, such as insufficient means for indicating the tones, lack of different signs for voiced and unvoiced consonants in most cases, and the lack of a marker for voiced aspiration, and writes: We are convinced that these deficiencies must be surmounted and that they also can be surmounted [...] As to the question of writing reform [...] there are two possible approaches. One is to make partial changes to the old writing, or to add letters and signs, so that it becomes a more perfect writing; another is to abolish the old writing and replace it with Latin or Cyrillic letters. [...] Although the Pollard script does have some advantages, it is rather difficult to write and to print. [...] there is no cursive script. [...] it thus has some deficiencies apart from purely phonetic ones. [...] A writing reform is an important event for a people and we do certainly not assert that the Miao writing needs to be changed into Latin writing J2 7,1 Han Chinese Miao Researcher at the Academia Sinica, deputy head of the Miao writing group at the conference in Guiyang in 1956. 71 Wang Fushi, ‘Miaozu wenzi gaige wenti’, 1954. Reprinted in Hu Qiwang & Li Tinggui (eds), Miaozu yanjiu luncong, 1988, pp. 467—71. 72 Wang Fushi, ‘Miaozu wenzi gaige wenti’, 1954. Reprinted in Hu Qiwang & Li

Wang Fushi seems to take into account that the writing already exists and that it is rather widely spread. In 1954, however, Ma Xueliang, who was to become the leader of the group later to devise the official Latin-based Miao writing, had already made up his mind. He wrote: [the Pollard script was] devised by the British missionary S Pollard during the Ching dynasty. It is impractical because it fails to give a correct representation of the Miao spoken language. In addition it is difficult both to write and print.73

CCP Minority Policies and the Field Research in 1956 In accordance with the decisions from the First Conference on Nationality Languages in 1955 an extensive field work programme started in 1956. The field programme was initiated by the Institute of Linguistics and the CIN on February 20 as a joint training programme for field workers on nationality languages and continued through June. From April to June in a gigantic project organized by the Institute of Linguistics and the State NAC, seven teams of field workers were sent to various areas to study minority languages. The team number two was to study the Miao language. The altogether more than seven hundred field workers were drawn from the membership of the Institute of Linguistics (of Academia Sinica), the CIN, and various local organizations interested in minority languages. Of these, around 120 were allocated to the second team. Those not already trained as linguists were first sent to one of two training programs, either to the joint programme of the Institute of Linguistics and the Central Institute of Nationalities in Peking, or to one held in Chengdu. From May 21 the members of the Second Work Team were divided into three groups, the eastern, the central and the western, and were sent out to investigate the Miao varieties spoken in seven provinces: Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangdong (actually only the island Hainan, now a separate province). From June to August the following areas were investigated by the different groups: Eastern

Flunan

Fenghuang J®,M, Jishou Sf, Guzhang A'J, Baojing fSrSS, Huayuan It-fri, Luxi Longshan U[i|

Guizhou

Songtao

Sichuan

Xiushan ^|i|, Nanchuan fåilll

Tongren SC, Jiangkou CD

Tinggui (eds), Miaozu yanjiu luncong, 1988, pp. 467-71. 73 Ma Hsueh-liang, ‘Minority Languages of China’, (1954).

Central

Western

Guizhou

Danzhai fl-îü, Sandu Hlli, Rongjiang f§il, Congjiang C, Liping Lushan Älli, Leishan H|i|, Taijiang off,Jianhe $M, Jinping ÜT, Fuquan US, Huangping ÄT, Shibing MM, Zhenyuan SIS, Sansui H18, Majiang ÄÜ, Dushan 3Sli|, Lipo Mÿk, Duyun

Guangxi

Damiaoshan Xf&lil, Longiin |Stff

Hunan

Chengbu 1®#, Tongdao ISH

Sichuan

Changning Gaoxian fëjM, Xuyong i£zK, Gongxian ïftH, Gulin Æ'M, Junlian S/Ü, Xingwen ÄX, Gusong

Guizhou

Hezhang ij$M, Weining Jinsha Renhuai CtH

Zhijin

Puding HHË,

From July to September one group investigated the so-called Miao speech in Hainan, which is actually a kind of Yao. However, both at the Conference on Miao Writing in 1956 and at the Conference on Nationality Languages in 1958 it was considered as a kind of Miao, and comparisons were made between the ‘Miao’ speech of Hainan and the other Miao dialects. In August, 14 additional groups were sent out to investigate the Miao varieties spoken in south central Guizhou. They investigated: Guiyang jtH§, Guizhu JtïSÏ, Longli fill, Huishui JÎ7.K, Changshun HIM, Ziyun $?!!, Pingba W-M, Luodian HHü, Qingzhen Anshun $11, Puding Zhenning and Langdai ßßffi. They also made field research on the Gedou speech ¥4- (often with man-radicals, the second character sometimes written %) in Huangping HIT- and the Xijia Dongjia and Mulao 7speech varieties in Lushan Mill and Majiang Jiffi'/I. From August 27 to September 2 a preparatory meeting for the Conference on Miao Writing was held in Guiyang. In accordance with the proposed standard pronunciations for the major dialects, further research groups were sent out to make detailed investigations. Three groups went to the Bijie area to find a suitable standard for the western dialect. They visited Zhijin lUffe, Shuicheng 7jd$, Bijie IpSti, Qianxi and Dading X/Ë (=Dafang $77). Another group was sent to Kaili 1111! in Lushan ffilll. Furthermore, investigations were made in some A-Hmao areas in Yunnan: ZhaotongBSS, Wuding ÄäE, Yongshan zk# and Yiliang ÄÜ..

Afterwards the results were evaluated and the following scheme of dialects and sub-dialects was set up (standard pronunciation varieties marked in bold): Dialect

Sub-dialect

Vernacular

No. of speakers in 1956

Eastern

Eastern

Southern Central Northern

‘only few’ 30,000 4-5,000

Western

Eastern

80,000 320,000

Western

Central

Northern

Northern

Central Southern Eastern Southern Western

First

< 9,000 First

Second Second

510-520,000 150,000 3-4,000 100,000

Northeast Yunnan South Central Guizhou

500,000 100,000 200,000 > 100,000

‘Kaisa’74 ‘Gaopo’ ‘Zongdi’ ‘Ximahe’

40,000 80,000 60,000 30,000

For the three major dialects, the percentage speaking the standard would be 90% for the eastern (i.e. the whole western sub-dialect), 55% for the central (northern vernacular) and around 74% for the western (first vernacular). Furthermore the vocabulary of the various dialects was compared, and the percentage of words of common origin was calculated. The total number of words varied from dialect to dialect, but generally it ranged between 1,300 and 1,600. The various sub-dialects were compared and the results were the following:

74 For a further discussion about the south central Guizhou dialect, cf. below p. 42, pp. 48—51, p. 63 and pp. 84-5.

The central dialect (Hmu): northern and southern sub-dialect: 60.89% The western dialect (Hmong): first and second sub-dialect: 63.26% The northeast Yunnan dialect (A-Hmao) has no greater sub-dialect differences.75

The south central Guizhou dialect had not been thoroughly investigated in time for the conference and its internal dialect differences were not presented until later. The four major dialects were compared and for them percentages were also given for the number of words with common origin. The group of words with common origin included three sub-groups: identical, similar (including loanwords) and words which were not superficially similar, but the relation of which could be proven through phonetical correspondences. The number of words compared was somewhat larger than above, around 2,000 words. Percentage of words with common origin Ghao-Xong and Hmu: 41.82% Ghao-Xong and Hmong: 28.60% Ghao-Xong and A-Hmao: 23.91% Hmong and A-Hmao: 54.91% Hmong and Hmu: 34.79% A-Hmao and Hmu: 30.11%

A comparison was also made of the ‘Miao’ spoken at Hainan (actually a variety of Yao) and Hmu (of Dongmen in Kaili ÜIMÄPI) and the percentage arrived at was 16.77%, which seems reasonable, as the Miao and Yao languages are related. Ma Xueliang made some preliminary remarks on the enormous future work necessary for the Miao writing, in a newspaper article in June 1956:

75 Only few differences between various A-Hmao areas are mentioned in the 1957 Collection of Papers from the Conference, the major ones being the palatalization of some velars in Yiliang: Stone-Gateway [ki] and [goey] -> Yiliang (Yunnan) [tci] and [dzœy] and the pronunciation of the final [aui] as [arj] in Wuding (Yunnan). The last example was, however, refuted at Sapushan, cf. Zhang Zhihong, personal communication, Sapushan, 6 Aug. 1993.

Since 1952 there have been research teams in the Miao areas five times. [...] Lastly, we further have to explain, if the research work already has been finished, even if the writing scheme has been determined, we can only consider that one part of the whole work has been done. We can definitely not think that everything is just fine with that. Because, when the writing is ready it still has to be propagated, textbooks have to be compiled, reading matter has to be published, new terminology has to be coined, dictionaries and grammars have to be compiled, newspapers and journals have to be established etc. Compared to the work already done this will be much more strenuous; the work force needed will exceed the present language research work group several or several tens of times.*

In July the research group for Ghao-Xong convened a meeting in Jishou, where representatives from the various Ghao-Xong areas agreed on basing the writing on the speech ofjiwei pfüj.76 77 On October 5 a Steering Committee on Nationality Languages was established in the Guizhou province. On October 19-20 at a Conference on the Alphabetization of the Nationality Languages held in the city of Guiyang in Guizhou, it was recommended that the same principles of alphabetization be used for the minority languages as for Chinese. That probably refers to the first draft of the Hanyu Pinyin Scheme, published in February 1956. In this scheme 6 non-Latin letters were used.

76 77

Ma Xueliang, ‘Jinkuai de ba shaoshu minzu wenzi chuangzao-chulai’, (1956), p. 3. Shi Rujin, personal communication, Peking, 31 Dec. 1989.

The Conference on Miao Writing7” From October 31 to November 7, 1956 a conference on the Miao language and writing held in Guiyang approved four tentative alphabets for different Miao dialects.T> Some 285 Miao delegates participated together with the linguists of the Second Work Team and other representatives of minority language work. The most important linguists were Fu Maoji, Ma Xueliang, Wang Fushi and Georgi Petrovich Serdyuchenko. During the conference many delegates emphasized the need for writing in several fields of life, especially in the more advanced structures of organization that had come about after 1949. One example was the Mutual Aid Teams and the Agricultural Cooperatives, rapidly set up in the whole of China, in the minority areas especially from mid-1955 until 1956. In the cooperatives the Miao had difficulties in book-keeping and in keeping records of work points. Some gave soybeans or grains of maize as tokens. Sometimes these were eaten by rats. In some places the peasants marked their work points on the walls with ash, but these were wiped out by some child who did not understand its importance, or washed away by the rain.”" The campaign for intellectual discussion ‘Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend’, launched by Mao Zedong on May 2, 1956, had a strong influence on the conference and in the articles covering various 78 The reports by the Second Work Team, the proposals of Miao writing (slightly revised) and also some of the speeches of the Miao delegates were published in 1957 in the form of a book: Guizhousheng minzu yuwen zhidao weiyuanhui (ed.), Miaozu yuyan wenzi wenti kexue taolunhui huikan, 1957. Most of these materials were printed in preliminary versions for the conference: Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu diaocha di’er gongzuodui, Miaoyu fangyan de huafen he chuanli miaowen de wenti, 1956; Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu diaocha di’er gongzuodui, Miaoyu wenzi fang’an (caoan), 1956 (significantly different from the writing scheme published in the 1957 collection of papers from the conference]. There was also a lengthy research report, which has not been printed subsequently, but which has served as the basis for later publications at the Academia Sinica and the CASS: Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu diaocha di’er gongzuodui, Miaoyu fangyan diaocha baogao (caogao), 1956. According to the preface it was prepared very hastily in order that every delegate should get a copy when the conference started. 71 First presented in Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu diaocha di’er gongzuodui, Miaoyu wenzi fang’an (caoan), 1956. In 1957 the revised drafts and an explanation of the actual changes were published: ‘Miaoyu wenzi fang’an xiuzheng cao’an shuoming’, in Guizhousheng minzu yuwen zhidao weiyuanhui, 1957, pp. 74-80; ‘Miaoyu zhongbu fangyan wenzi fang’an (cao’an)’, 1957, pp. 81-100; ‘Miaoyu dongbu fangyan wenzi fang’an (cao’an)’, 1957, pp. 101-130; ‘Miaoyu xibu fangyan wenzi fang’an (cao’an)’, 1957, pp. 131-49; ‘Miaoyu beibu fangyan wenzi gaige fang’an (cao’an)’, 1957, pp. 150-213. The preliminary proposals of 1956 have also been published in R S Gilyarevskij & V S Grivnin, Opredelitel' jazykov mira, 1961, pp. 136-8. The sample of Pollard text in the 1956 draft scheme was also included in Giljarevskij & Grivnin, and later in Jan-Olof Svantesson, Språk och skrift i Ost- och Sydostasien, 1991, p. 120. ai Zhang Tianlai, ‘Miaozu wenzi de dansheng, 1’, (1956), p. 1.

aspects of the conference a lively discussion on several important aspects of Miao writing were presented. This gives an interesting picture of the Miao desire for a unified writing system for all dialects and the linguists’ persuasion of the Miao delegates to accept the fact that such a writing system was completely impossible. There were also discussions about questions like the pronunciation norms for the four dialects and on what letters to use. At the First Conference on Nationality Languages in December 1955 the linguists Ma Xueliang, Yu Shichang and Wang Fushi presented a findings report, in which they divided the Miao language into three major dialects. They pointed out the large differences, and indirectly stated that more than one writing system would have to be devised for the Miao language.81 Evidently, many people thought otherwise, and in October 1956, just before the Conference on Miao Writing Ma Xueliang, Wang Fushi and Zhang Jimin published an article in Guangming ribao, defending the principle of devising more than one writing system for Miao.82 Later this article was published in the local newspaper Xin Qian ribao. The contents were also included in the report presented by Ma Xueliang.83 Fie said that some people think that as the Miao is a unified people, one kind of writing should be devised, only then would it be possible better to develop the folk culture and to promote the unity of nationalities. He further stated that this thinking was very good, and that the linguists also thought like that in the beginning, but that it was difficult to realize this idea. The [unspecified] proponents of a unified writing said that the dialect differences in Chinese are very large, and that it is still possible to use one kind of writing. Ma Xueliang pointed out that the Chinese writing is different from an alphabetic writing, and that the Chinese Pinyin is only a transcription of the standard, as it is spoken by the majority, i.e. northern Mandarin, a dialect which has enjoyed more prestige than the other dialects for a long time. Furthermore, the Chinese dialects differ mainly in pronunciation, whereas the Miao dialects have significant differences both in pronunciation and vocabulary (and even grammar, considering the differences between A-Hmao and the other dialects). Even when the words are of common origin this is not evident to the ordinary student of the writing, for example (numbers after IPA indicate tone category):

81 Ma Xueliang, Yu Shichang & Wang Fushi, Miaoyu fangyan diaocha baogao, 1955, p. 98. æ Ma Xueliang, Wang Fushi & Zhang Jimin, ‘Weishenme yao gei miaozu chuangli yizhong yishang de wenzi’, (1956), p. 3.

Western dialect [nt§e3] and central dialect [çi3] ‘salt’ Eastern dialect [rruei8] and central dialect [na*] ‘pepper’ Western dialect [tie3] and eastern dialect [qwui3] ‘dog’

Altogether, out of some 2,049 basic words, only 491 are used in all three dialects, i.e. 23.96%.84 Furthermore, there is no one standard which enjoys more prestige than the other varieties, and no standard pronunciation. On the claim that auxiliary teaching aids could be devised for facilitating the teaching of a unified writing Ma Xueliang responded that the dialect differences are too large and the difficulties for the speakers of non-standard varieties would be insurmountable. Similar experiments had earlier failed, for example when only one kind of writing was devised for the Khanty [Ostyak] language in the Soviet Union. As there had been proposals to devise a ‘mixed writing’ with some characteristics from each dialect, Ma Xueliang responded: ‘Languages live their own lives, they have rules for their internal development, dialects, similarly, have their own lives’.® As to the fear that the devising of more than one writing system would have a negative influence on the unity of the Miao people, Ma Xueliang stated that if more than one writing system is created, then the cultural level will rise more quickly; people will study Marxist theory and advanced science and technology. On the other hand, if only one writing system is devised, it will be very easy to study for those speaking the standard variety, but very difficult for the other, and this may even create aversion. On the question of a possible future unification of the Miao writing is impossible, because several writing systems have been devised, Ma Xueliang wrote: That is also an exaggerated anxiety. For the form of the writing systems, we will as far as possible use the same letters, and in the writing as far as possible reflect the characteristics of each dialect. We are about to enter the socialist society, and from now on economy and transport will develop more and more every day, and the contacts between the people of different dialect areas will certainly also be more frequent by every day. The Party and the government have created all favourable conditions and after a relatively long period of time, the several writing systems can be unified. After the people of each dialect area has got writing, naturally literary works may come about and they can be studied mutually. At the same time, films, theatre and broadcasting can also promote mutual studies. Thus all the dialects can gradually merge and become the common language for the whole of the Miao people. After the language is unified, the writing will naturally be unified as well.®

M This was mentioned in connection with the devising of writing system, and therefore the A-Hmao dialect, which would be subject to a reform, was not included. 16 Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’, 1957, p. 64.

He also pointed out that such a change has already happened in the Soviet Union, where different writing systems were first devised for various dialects of Ossetian and Chuvash, but later the writing systems were unified. The case of Ossetian was also discussed by Serdyuchenko, who explained that the Ossetian language has two main dialects, Digor (the minority) and Iron (the majority). At first writing systems were devised for both dialects, but after some time in the socialist society the Digor adopted traits from the Iron and gave up their own writing.87 The big differences between the Miao dialects was pointed out by Serdyuchenko, who compared the Miao language to the Slavic and the Romance language groups.88 Fu Maoji stated the basic principle for the four Miao orthographies, a kind of etymological spelling: [...] when one nationality uses several kinds of writing, it is even more necessary to obtain consistency, as far as possible, in the form of the letters. When this question is dealt with, not only the phonetical similarity or identity has to be considered, but attention must also be paid to the correspondences between phonemes. While the phonemic correspondences are considered, one shall as far as possible avoid counteracting principles which are consistent with the Pinyin Scheme for Chinese and [also] the integrity of the sound system of the language itself. [...]. Although there are rather few words which are written exactly the same in the four orthographies, because the language differences are too big, this way of doing it, however, has got very large advantages for mutual study, mutual enrichment and the future transition to a unified writing.*

It is interesting to note that Hutton’s Hmu writing was not considered as a base for a writing reform, like the Pollard script. It had been mentioned in Chinese linguistic reports, but was not discussed at any length at the Conference on Miao Writing. In 1954 Luo Changpei and Fu Maoji had written that: ‘In southeast Guizhou there was a missionary who used zhuyin zimu spelling to translate the Christian New Testament, but nobody recognizes this as *

Actually, this is not exactly the case. Ossetian writing has existed at least since 941 (in Greek script), and it has developed parallelly in the two dialects. The old writing was, however, forgotten, and in the 19th century a new Russian-based writing was devised. From 1923 to 1938 Latin writing was used, but in 1938 the Ossetians in south Ossetia in Georgia started to use the Georgian script, while those in north Ossetia in Russia, turned to Cyrillic, as did all the other nationality writing systems in the Soviet Union (except Georgian and Armenian). In 1954 the Georgian-based orthography was abolished, but it is important to note that this has nothing to do with dialects, as the major dialect, Iron (ironskij), is dominant both in south and north Ossetia. The minorty dialect, Digor (digorskij), is spoken only in north Ossetia, and in the ’60s books and newspapers were still published in that dialect as well. Cf. M I Isaev, 1970, pp. 57-58. * G Serdyuchenko, ‘Lun miaozu de yuyan wenzi’, 1957, pp. 239-40. * Fu Maoji, ‘Minzu wenzi chuangzhi he gaige yanjiu gongzuo zhong de jige wenti’, 1957, pp. 229-30. ad

Miao writing.’*' In an article by Ma Xueliang and Tai Changhou from 1956 Hutton’s writing had been discarded as unsuitable: The church in the Panghai area in Lushan (eastern Guizhou) devised a zhuyin zimu writing based on the local Miao speech and published a Bible. As this ‘writing’ could not correctly represent the Miao language only a few people learnt it and it was not adopted by the vast groups of the Miao people.91

In his report at the conference, Fu Maoji stated à propos Hutton’s writing: But there are just a few people who know this writing; it has not become a means of communication for the masses. Thus we can say that this area has got no writing. Therefore, when the writing scheme for the central dialect is designed, that is to devise a writing system [and not to reform].92

At the conference there was no debate about the standard for the central dialect, but in the preparatory work some materials from Dongmenkou in Kaili had been used. Fu Maoji stated that sometimes the more complicated variety has to be chosen as the standard if it is more widely used. In the central dialect a few places have only seven tones, like Dongmenkou in Kaili Qm, but about 90% of the area has 8 tones, including the chosen standard, Yanghao Village in Guading (Kaili). The Second Work Team presented a writing for the western dialect, based on the speech of Minzhu Xiang in Gusong County in southern Sichuan. However, by the time of the conference it had already been decided to choose a new standard, preferably somewhere in Bijie in Guizhou, which would be intermediary between Sichuan and Yunnan. Criteria had also been set up for choosing a standard, in order to find a variety which would be as representative as possible. The four criteria were: 1. Retroflex stops and retroflex affricates shall be differentiated, i.e. ‘table’ shall be called [ foi]21. 2. There shall be stop-laterals and not glottal stops, i.e. ‘water’ shall be called [tie2]. 3. Voiceless nasals shall be differentiated from voiced nasals, i.e. ‘Miao’ shall be called

ImoqT 4. Dentals shall be differentiated from retroflexes, i.e. ‘house’ shall be called [tge1].9* 91 Luo Changpei & Fu Maoji, ‘Guonei shaoshu minzu yuyan wenzi de gaikuang’, (1954), pp. 21-6. 91 Ma Xueliang & Tai Changhou, ‘Guizhou qiandongnanbu miaoyu yuyin de chubu bijiao’, (1956), pp. 265-82. 92 Fu Maoji, ‘Minzu wenzi chuangzhi he gaige yanjiu gongzuo zhong de jige wend’, 1957, pp. 221-31. * Fu Maoji, ‘Minzu wenzi chuangzhi he gaige yanjiu gongzuo zhong de jige wenti’, 1957, p. 225. 'H Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu

At the conference there was a lively discussion about these matters. From the western dialect area some delegates thought that the seventh district in Bijie should be the standard for pronunciation, some delegates said the most suitable for the western dialect would be to have Wenshan county in Yunnan as standard. There were also some who put forward Dading [=Dafang], During this discussion they checked and compared the differences in pronunciation. They checked the difference in pronunciation from place to place, but it did not help. In the middle of the discussion there was one delegate who said that if it was approximate that would do. Another delegate opposed that and said that to devise writing for the Miao is a very big event and in no way can it be allowed to treat it carelessly.95 After the conference Xianjin Xiang in Bijie was chosen as the standard for the revised writing published in October 1957. The south central Guizhou area had been investigated in August 1956 for the first time, and the results from the research were presented at the conference (both in the original report and in the collection of papers from the conference, published in October 1957), although they were considered as insufficient for a decision on writing systems for it. The possibilities presented were to devise one writing system or more than one, or either to use the writing systems already devised for the four large dialects.95 At the conference the Miao speech of this area was divided into four groups of dialects. Four areas were chosen to represent these four varieties: Kaisa in Pingba Gaopo in Huishui Zongdi in Ziyun and Ximahe in Longli tÜËÎ&HM-97 In a material of some 1,700 words the percentage of words with common origin in the four dialect groups was the following: Kaisa and Gaopo: 48.51% Kaisa and Zongdi: 46.03% Kaisa and Ximahe: 39.01% Zongdi and Ximahe: 43.91% Zongdi and Gaopo: 44.24% Ximahe and Gaopo: 41.56%

Furthermore these dialects were compared to the western dialect, the closest of the four major dialects: fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’, Ge Zhi, ‘Miaozu wenzi danshengle’, (1956). 'x' Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’, 77 Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’,

1957, p. 67. diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu 1957, p. 62. diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu 1957, p. 35.

Western and Kaisa: 50.35% Western and Gaopo: 47.25% Western and Zongdi: 38.95% Western and Ximahe: 48.24%

Apart from those four dialect groups there were some Miao varieties spoken in the Hmu area, but evidently not closely related to Hmu. Two of them, the Gedou in Huangping ^T-,* the Dongjia %% in Lushan Mill were said to have points in common with all the south central Guizhou dialects, but with large differences in vocabulary. The Xijia in Lushan was said to be very similar to the speech of Ximahe, but with some differences in tone mergers. The speech of the Raojia in Majiang was considered as close to the central dialect [i.e. Hmu]. Some of the speech varieties included in the field research in the summer of 1956 proved not to be Miao at all, but peculiar dialects of Chinese. The Miao in Chengbu (Hunan) and Longsheng HI# (Guangxi) claimed that they spoke Miao, because their speech was very different from that of the surrounding Chinese population, and because they wore Miao clothes instead of Chinese clothes. The Second Work Team stated: The speech of the Miao in Hunan and in Longsheng in Guangxi is different from the Miao language in the other areas (like Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan). In pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar it is close to Chinese.100

The delegates from Guangxi evidently thought otherwise, and Yang Liang f§i§. from Longsheng said in his speech:

® Cf. vol. 1, pp. 158-60. See also J Enwall, ‘Introductory Remarks on M.H. Hutton’s Keh Deo Writing’, (1995), forthcoming. 99 Raojia is an old name for the Buyi people (earlier also called zhongjia föW.), but here this term evidently refers to a particular Miao group.

In the report it was stated that the question of writing for the more than 20[0.000] Miao speaking the south central Guizhou dialect would be solved next year, but as for solving the question of a writing reflecting the language of the 80,000 people in Longsheng and Ziyuan if® in Guangxi and Chengbu in Hunan etc., no clear and definite solution has been pointed out. The Miao speech of this area is different from the other dialects. During the Conference we compared more than thirty words with a delegate from Sanjiang speaking the central dialect [HmuJ: only one was identical. When we compared more than forty words with a delegate from Xiangxi speaking the eastern dialect [Ghao-Xong], not one word was the same. In a group with delegates from south central Guizhou we compared words for two days before we could find just a little more than thirty similar ones. According to what professor Ma Xueliang said in his report ‘The Division of the Miao language into Dialects and the Question of Miao Writing’ the Miao language spoken in our area is similar to Chinese in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, but exactly to what extent? In the report this has not been pointed out in a concrete way. This is a question of science, which we do not understand, but judging from the appearance of how we speak in the villages at ordinary times, apart from a few words similar to Chinese, the rest of the words in our language are completely different from Chinese. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of the local Miao masses do not understand Chinese; only a few cadres and young people can speak Chinese. [...] Therefore, we now, to the general meeting put forward a demand, that is: we propose that the language research team of the Academy from now on should spare no effort and organize for a work force to go to Longsheng and Ziyuan in Guangxi, Chengbu in Hunan etc. in order to make a profound and meticulous investigation. Furthermore we hope that during the research attention will be paid to the complexity of the Miao language in this area, [...] after the investigation, if it is considered as necessary to devise one more kind of writing or [for us] to study the writing of another dialect, we hope to get a concrete answer.101 102

For the solution of this question, cf. below, p. 85. In the press reports there were also indications that not everyone was pleased with the new Miao writing. Wang Yaolun wrote à propos some Miao cadres who had already become literate in Chinese: Finally, I think that there is one more question which has to get more attention: there are some cadres of various nationality in the Miao area who have learnt Chinese and therefore consider that to learn the Miao writing is an added burden. This way of thinking is not correct. These cadres have to understand the importance of learning Miao writing and grasp this absolutely necessary tool in the Miao area and set an example by learning it, in order to serve the Miao people better.1112

The necessity ol condnuing to study Chinese was also pointed out:

101 Yang Liang, ‘Yang Liang daibiao fayan’, 1957, pp. 272-3. 102 Wang Yaolun, ‘Yingjie miaojia da xishi - miaowen dansheng’, (1956).

Moreover, we completely lack foresight and experience in the work of propagating and studying the new writing. Before the new writing has been generally spread, and after using the new writing, we unremittingly have to study Chinese characters. That is of utmost importance tor studying our own writing, for gaining more profound knowledge of science and for enriching the cultural life of our people.103

The Second Work Team concluded with an outline of the future work in the field of Miao writing: I

(1) Continued research (in order to present a proposal for south central Guizhou before June 1957). (2) More research where dialect islands are found, for example the group of speakers of the central dialect in Fuquan (otherwise south central Guizhou ‘Ximahe’. Later referred to as Luobohe sub-dialect). (3) Profound research in the vocabulary and grammar of the standard varieties for the three major dialects (eastern, central and western).

n Publishing work: (1) Tables of orthography and orthoepy (correct pronunciation). (2) Concise Miao-Chinese dictionaries. (3) Auxiliary teaching aids (for the speakers of non-standard varieties of the major dialects). (4) Peasants’ textbooks for literacy campaigns. (5) Elementary school textbooks (first and second year). (6) Translations of some urgently needed documents and complementary reading matter. (7) Textbooks for middle school and teachers’ colleges. (8) One or two kinds of Miao-Chinese bilingual small-scale newspapers in collaboration with the propaganda department. Ill

Experiments with Miao writing shall be initiated in the autumn of 1957 in a few places, and propagation on a large scale shall start in 1958.104

Long Zaiyu, ‘Yingjie miaowen chuangli yihou de fanzhong renwu’, (1956).

Reform of the Pollard Script It is interesting to note that the Pollard script for A-Hmao was the only writing considered as possible to reform. The other already existing Miao writing systems, Hutton’s Hmu writing and the Pollard script adapted for Sichuan Hmong were mentioned in Chinese linguistic reports, but were not much discussed at the Conference on Miao Writing. Just before the conference the national newspaper Guangming ribao published an article about reform of the Pollard script. The author, Lugufu’er, himself a A-Hmao, wrote that if a Latin A-Hmao writing were to be used this would be practical for typing and printing, but as the A-Hmao language has many phonemes one either has to use several letters to indicate one phoneme or add diacritic signs. Lugufu’er preferred the latter alternative. He pointed out that the old writing had certain advantages, because it is simple and had proved itself over several decades. ‘Even ordinary women can both read and write it.’ He stated that although the writing reform work was mainly the government’s business, those A-Hmao who have taken interest in the question should be allowed to express their opinions.1115 Like Wang Fushi, Lugufu’er wanted to take into account the fact that the writing was already widely spread. At the conference the Second Work Team presented its report and the following deficiencies of the Pollard script were pointed out: *the initials are inexact *the tone indications are not correct *there is no cursive script *the initials have to be pnnted very large in order to enable the readers to distinguish the position of the final=tone (which leads to waste of paper) *it is difficult to print

The research group stated that if 100,000 of the 2,500,000 Miao in China use a writing with different letters, this is a disadvantage for communication between various Miao groups. During the conference four writing systems, or orthographies, were passed for the Miao language, because of the large dialect differences, but the possible future merger of these orthographies was stressed. Seen from that perspective, the strongly divergent Pollard script would be a disadvantage. Fu Maoji presented the basic principles for devising writing systems, much in the same way as he had done at the First Conference on Nationality Languages in 1955 (cf. above pp. 32—5). Furthermore, he pointed out additional principles for writing reforms:

1(15 Lugefu’er, ‘Dui miaoyu diandongbei fangyan wenzi gaige de yijian’, (1956), p. 3.

(1) Investigations in the original writing. (2) Investigations in the norm for the original literary language, and inclusion of the useful parts into the new writing. (3) If the original writing is widely used, and if there is quite a lot of literature, then it is possible to compile dictionaries with both the new and the old writing, in order to facilitate people who already know the old writing to study the new writing, and those who know the new writing to study the old writing.107 108

In a sixty-three-page writing scheme the new writing was presented. It contained twenty-six Latin letters, five Cyrillic letters and one new letter. As the other three orthographies, it was based on the principles decided upon at the Conference on the Form of Letters in Minority Writing Systems, in Guiyang, Oct. 20, 1956, and considering the special characteristics of the Miao language.1118 The pronunciation of Stone Gateway remained the norm for the Latin script used for A-Hmao.109 In Xin Qian ribao Zhang Feiran defended the new writing for A-Hmao. He first made a critical analysis of the Pollard script: This kind of writing had deficiencies already when it started to be used. Therefore many old Miao people made numerous changes in the process of using it. In 1949 some people added tone markers and signs for voice and voiced aspiration, thus improving it a little. Although this writing has been reformed many times it still retains many deficiencies. First of all this writing cannot indicate all phonemes in the northeast Yunnan dialect [A-Hmao]. The northeast Yunnan Miao language has initials which are unvoiced, unvoiced aspirated, voiced and voiced aspirated and furthermore there are nine tones. The Pollard letters, however, have only unvoiced and unvoiced aspirated and only four tones can be indicated when finals and initials are written together as syllables. Therefore many speech sounds cannot be written. Thus, as this writing does not reflect all phonemes, it is very inconvenient to use it. Some letters have many pronunciations, and also several meanings. When one encounters such a letter one often has to consider the context and guess several times before one can understand the meaning.110

He also considered the reform movement of 1950 a failure:

107 Fu Maoji, ‘Minzu wenzi chuangzhi he gaige yanjiu gongzuo zhong de jige wenti’, 1957, p. 223. 108 Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu yuyan diaocha di’er gongzuodui, ‘Miaoyu fangyan de huafen he chuangli miaowen de wenti’, 1957, p. 62. 109 Ou Baichuan, ‘Guanyu miaozu de wenzi wend’, 1957, p. 218. 110 Zhang Feiran, ‘Yonghu dui Diandongbei miaowen jinxing gaige’, (1956), p. 2.

In 1951 some comrades went to the former Military Committee of Chongqing to translate documents about minority policies. As the small letters were too small it was printed by a photographic process, but it was still blurred and unclear. Moreover, with this kind a letters it is impossible to write words together, therefore, in the texts, words and syllables are often confused. Because of the above-mentioned deficiencies the Miao masses voiced a claim that the writing be reformed.111

I suppose the terms ‘words’ and ‘syllables’ refer to the fact that several syllables (i.e. morphemes) are combined to make up one word, a process common both in Miao and Chinese. For some reason Zhang Feiran did not seem to realize that the Chinese writing in which he wrote the article also failed to make this distinction. Zhang claimed that in 1953, the people in the A-Flmao area asked for a writing reform. In letters to the Academia Sinica and to the CIN the A-Hmao in Weining, Yiliang and Yongshan counties called for a writing reform, but that there was no basis for one at that time. In 1956 the Second Work Team on Minority Languages from the Academia Sinica went to all provinces where the Miao people live. In Hezhang and Weining in Guizhou and in Yongshan, Yiliang in Yunnan the Work Team convened altogether eleven writing symposia during the course of the field work in this area. The A-Hmao delegates participating in these symposia included ‘natural leaders, work cadres, teachers from elementary schools and middle schools, peasants, women etc.’ In the symposia everybody demanded a writing reform. They also put forward that Latin letters should be used as its base. Zhang also quoted an old A-Hmao gentleman on this issue: Old Mr. An Tianfu from the nineth district of Weining said: ‘The Miao writing has gone through a number of smaller and greater reforms; first the Pollard script replaced the Latin writing [in the Gebu area around 1919], then signs for tones, voiced consonants and voiced aspiration were added [around 1950 at Stone Gateway]. Furthermore minor changes have been made several times; they have changed hither and thither, but the result has not been good. As a consequence people do not want to read books any longer. Therefore I hope that this reform will be radical. We shall not get entangled in the old writing again.’112

Zhang concluded the article by claiming that ‘the writing reform which is now being implemented for the A-Hmao fully matches the requirements of objective reality.’"3 In connection with this it is interesting to note that all parties claim that a script for the Miao must represent the language with complete phonetic accuracy. This axiom appears in all debates on Miao writing and especially

113 113

Zhang Feiran, ‘Yonghu dui Diandongbei miaowen jinxing gaige’, (1956), p. 2. Zhang Feiran, ‘Yonghu dui Diandongbei miaowen jinxinggaige’, (1956), p. 2. Zhang Feiran, ‘Yonghu dui Diandongbei miaowen jinxinggaige’, (1956), p. 2.

clearly in articles written by Han Chinese. This seems ironic, considering the fact that Chinese characters indicate neither tones, nor initials or finals, while the Pollard script indicates both initials and finals, as well as four tones out of seven.114 In 1957 the writing reform was presented to foreign readers in China Reconstructs. In the article, Ma Xueliang recounted a meeting with an old Miao minister: At the Kweiyang conference I met a 60-year-old Miao Christian minister, the Rev. Wang Pei-cheng [=Wang Mingji], Familiar with the Pollard system and reluctant to change, he was convinced when he found that he could learn a new script in only a few days. He said: “In the past we Miao people lived the life of the blind. The script the missionaries devised was like the bamboo stick with which a blind man feels his way. But the new writing has opened our eyes to see the way ahead.”115

This statement has to be seen against the background that this same Wang Peicheng, as late as 1952, four years before the conference, was the coeditor of a collection of traditional songs, published in unreformed Pollard script. Much was reported in the newspapers about the debate about the Pollard script, both locally and nationally. In a series of articles in Guangming ribao Zhang Tianlai described the discussion at the conference. It is interesting to note how openly he reported even on diverging opinions, but this was in the heyday of the ‘Hundred Flowers’ campaign when criticism and discussion was encouraged: As to the writing scheme, one A-Hmao delegate put forward his opinion. He considered that the thirty-nine letters used by the working group for the A-Hmao dialect were too many. It would be difficult to learn. He proposed that only 24 letters be used and that ‘ ’ and other signs be used to indicate tones. This question was also discussed for a long time. If it were possible to carry out, it would be much easier to learn twenty-five letters than thirty-nine. But, some delegates said: This is impossible, because if we put a sign above every letter, when people who start to learn it will soon be fed up. It would be difficult to write, and it could be written only very slowly. Furthermore it would be very inconvenient to print. Everybody said: This is almost the same as the old writing. The writing devised by the work group is better. The comrades of the work group also explained that although thirty-nine letters are a lot, this is necessary because the sound system of the A-Hmao dialect is particularly complicated. Many letters have to be used in order to write all sounds, and these thirty-nine letters are not at all difficult to study as they belong to one system. 114 It is difficult to count the tones in A-Hmao, but we think seven is a reasonable number for the tonemes used by Pollard’s informants. This was also the number arrived at by Wang Mingji, when he analysed A-Hmao in 1946, without knowing anything about the etymological tone categories, which have later complicated the picture. Cf. ‘Introduction’, vol. 1, p. 33f. 114 Ma Hsueh-liang, ‘A Script for the Miao people’, (1957), p. 28.

One group discussed the letter ? for a long time. Some delegates said that it was ugly, it was like a question mark. Some delegates said that it was not like a question mark at all, because the lower part is a line and not a dot. It was very beautiful. Because it was a new letter, everybody was not yet used to it, but after getting accustomed to it, it would look nice. Many delegates had negative opinions about 51Ç (cursive script), as they thought it was too difficult to write. They hoped that the work group would devise another letter.116

In another newspaper report on the conference appeared the following moving account by an old Miao, probably Rev. Wang Mingji: We Miao do not have writing. For thousands of years we have been like the blind, it has been very bitter. Everybody knows that there is nothing worse in the world than to be blind, however shimmering is the sun in the sky, however shining is the moon in the sky, however clear are the rivers and mountains on the earth, however beautiful are the flowers in the wilderness, the blind cannot see them anyway.117 * 119

There was also concrete criticism of the Pollard script: When the delegates from the northeast Yunnan area discussed the reform of the old writing, they had the same opinion. They put forward many facts proving that the old writing could not correctly express the Miao people’s pronunciation, thoughts and feelings. They put forward one example: If two people ‘make a row’ or ‘kick each other’ that was written in the same way in the old writing. Comrade Zhang Feiran also told a story from Wuding County in Yunnan. The bridegroom’s side appointed the wedding date in a letter to the bride’s side. The bridegroom’s side wrote that the wedding was to take place on the ‘ox day’ (niu ri TH). The bride’s side, however, understood that it was to take place on the ‘horse day’ (ma ri HB),118 as the words ‘ox’ and ‘horse’ are written almost in the same way in the old writing. When the bridegroom’s side came to fetch the bride on the ‘ox day’ the bride’s side did not agree. As a result the bridegroom’s side went to court."9

At a first glance this kind ol criticism may seem reasonable, but if we check the actual examples used by the delegates for criticizing the Pollard script, we come to a somewhat unexpected conclusion. In the collection of papers from the conference, published in 1957, the speeches of the delegates were included and two of the delegates gave concrete examples of deficiencies in the Pollard script. Lu Xinfeng claimed that the word could be read in two ways: ‘dfia/l’, i.e. [dfia24] and ‘dad’, i.e. [ta44], the first meaning ‘to come’ and the second ‘to kill’, and people could mistake ‘You come here’ 116 Zhang Tianlai, ‘Miaozu wenzi de dansheng, 3’, (1956), p. 1. 117 Ge Zhi, ‘Miaozu wenzi danshengle’, (1956), p. 3. The A-Hmao text was subsequently published in Ad Hmaob Ganbu Ndeud, ib nangs, 1958, p. 25. 1,8 These words were actually written:("'’(.“[nki24 nu74] andO’’C4[niu'M nu7*]. 119 Ge Zhi, ‘Miaozu wenzi danshengle’, (1956), p. 3.

for ‘You kill here’.'20 These words were, however, distinguished both in the 1917 and the 1936 NT, e.g. ‘to come’ (Luke 15:1), and ‘to slaughter’ (Luke 15:30). Another example was mentioned by delegate Zhang Wende, who said that the words ‘kul’, i.e. [ku55] T and ‘kul’, i.e. [ku54] (at Stone Gateway pronounced fku55]) ‘gold’ were both written in the same way, viz. < J >. This example is particularly intriguing as you would rarely expect words pronounced in exactly the same way to be spelt differently in a writing system which is said to be phonemic. Due to the etymological tone spelling principle the words were spelt ‘I’ and ‘gold’ in the 1956 orthography. In the Yunnan varieties of A-Hmao they are actually distinguished, [ku55] and [kuH] respectively, which is also the case for the 1936 Pollard script, e.g. < 3 > ‘I’ (Luke 15:18) and ‘gold’ (Matthew 2:11). The criticism is thus completely beside the mark, which suggests that the delegates who voiced these complaints were not very familiar with the Pollard script, and had perhaps been asked to criticize by somebody else. There was also limited criticism of the new writing, though the article concluded on a hopeful note: The delegates had some opinions about the form of the letters. The delegates thought that the letters æ, X and R were difficult to write and also ugly. The specialists promised to investigate these opinions. Wang Peicheng [=Wang Mingji] said: We plan to learn this writing on the way back. When we get home, we will tell the good news from this conference and we will also, within one or two months among the peasants, teach all the Miao in the area these letters and the spelling.’120 121

Preliminary Writing Proposals at the Conference Before the 1956 Conference on Miao Writing a draft proposal was prepared. In the A-Hmao dialect the voiced aspirated initials were no longer distinguished from the voiced. Several Cyrillic letters were used, probably as a result of Prof G P Serdyuchenko’s important role in the work on writing systems at the Academia Sinica and at the CIN. Serdyuchenko was also one of the main speakers at the conference.

120 Lu Xinfeng, ‘Lu Xinfeng daibiao fayan’,1957, p. 280. 121 Ge Zhi, ‘Miaozu wenzi danshengle’, (1956), p. 3.

Ghao-Xong'22 The pronunciation of Jiwei was and still is the norm for Ghao-Xong. Jiwei has less tones, than the other sub-dialects; 6 tones, as opposed to 7 or 8 tones in other places in Xiangxi AP. The principle for choosing a norm was thus the opposite to the principle used for Hmu. The graphemes are printed in bold. Initials P b

ph p pjh pjh pi tsh c th t th M tch c-i ch k-i kh k kwh

P* pj bl ts z td tj tc z-i c g-i k g kw

qh q

q? qw

qwh

mp mb

mph mp

*mpj nbl nts nz nt nd

mpjh npl ntsh nc nth nt

n't

nl nj

q[h

njtc PC i]k ng r)kw ngw

nJtch nc-i

Nq

n? n?w

Nqw

pch qkh nk qkwh Nqh

m m

mh hm

w

s s nh hn

1 I

lh hi

\r

si c s-i Jjh

mj mi ml n n P. nr ni n-i

\> l-i

*p q-i

qq qw

h 1x1 h hw

nq

Nqwh

The spelling of for [mp] and for [mph] are probably mistakes, as the prenasalization is spelt in all other cases. The explanation to the orthography says that the letters become alveopalatals when followed by an and become palatals. is said to become palatalized when followed by an . Finals i

i

ai]

in

at)

o

e

o

o

e e

ei u

ei u

en oq

et) ut)

e

æ122 123

øj

a ui

h

aa

ui

Some words lack finals and are pronounced with a syllabic nasal, e.g. [m22] ‘to go’ and [m35] ‘you’.

122 Zhongguo kexueyuan shaoshu minzu diaocha di'er gongzuodui, Miaoyu wenzifang’an (caoan), 1956, pp. 5-11. 111 could also be written according to the explanations to the writing scheme.

Tones

Value

Indicated as

Symbol

1 II III IV V VI

35 42 44 22 54 31

45 21 44 22 54 42

b c

d h k 1

The loanwords were written according to local pronunciation, e.g. for Gongchandang QMM ‘Communist Party’ and for Mao zhuxi ‘Chairman Mao’.

Hmu Initials

P b z

ts t

d

ph p

m1’ hm

c

tsh th

m m

t

tJ

d+i

Ph t+i

tc

z+i

tçh

c+i

k g

kh

k

q?

qh

q

f

f

f11 fh

vv

s

s

sh

sh

z z.

n n

nh hn

1 hl

ih Ih

11

ni n+i

nih hn+i

P hl+i

Ph lh+i

1J I+i

sh+i

z z+i

c

s+i

çh

xh X

qq

y Y

h h Finals i i

(e)

e æ, ae

33

a a

u u, 3

oo

ei e

au

(ie)

(io)

(uei)

(ue)

(ua)

en er)

ai] ai)

or) urj

(ien)

(uen)

(tl CU])

Category I II III IV V VI VII VIII

Symbol

33 55 35 11 44 13 53 31

b c d h k I r s

Hmong Initials P b

ph p

mp nb

mph np

pl bl

phi pi

mpl nbl

mphl npl

ts z

tsh c

nts nz

ntsh nc

d

th t

nt nd

nth nt

t

m hm

v v

n

t dr

th tr

pj ndr

rqth ntr

t§ j

tgh 'i

qts nj

qtgh n>i

tc ji

tch 'ii

n4c *

nJtch *

1 1

g

kh

k

qk

ng

qkh

nk

q?

qh

q

Nq n?

Nq1'

nq

f

w

*

n hn

tl

tlh

f

s s n

tl dl

k

m m

1,1]

21 r nJ

ni

z ri

ni *

n0

i hl

*

§

c Ji, gi X X

h h

Finals

e

i i

e

9U OU

ai

(uei)

(uai)

ai

a n au

u

[yl

0

(ie)

bu

(iau)

ua /[o]

aq ai)

og

(ien)

(uen)

u

au

en eg

og

0

(ei) *

eui i

a

(ue) (uai]

I II III IV V VI VII VIII

43 31 55 21 44 13 33 24

b c, X

d h k 1 r s

A-Hmao' 4 Initials

b m hm ts z

mm tsh c

d n hn ti dl

th t n n tlh ti

P

t

(bfi)=b (b) 6 (mfi)=m f f (dzfi)=dz (dz) 3 s s (dfi)=d Id] d (nfi)=n m

mp nb

(mb) n6 w w (ndz) n3

(mbfi)=mb

nts nz z% nt nd

mph np (vfi)=v ntsh nc (zfi)=z nth nt

[nd] nd

(ndfi)=nd

(nd]5)

(ndfefi)

nlh

(n.4)

(n4fi)

(qdz) n>K

(tldzfi)=r|dz

(4dz)

(n>dzfi)

(qg) nr

(qgfi)=qg

(ng)

(NGfi)

V V

(dfefi)

nd

ntlh

1

11

(lfi)

tr tgh q P nr tçh reyerj ‘China’s Minority Nationalities in the Cultural Revolution’, (1968), p. 101. 185 Ma Yin (ed.) China’s Minority Nationalities, 1989, p. 345. 186 Hu Guisheng, Miaomin lei, s.a. 187 WP Lehmann (ed.), Language and Linguistics in the People’s Republic of China, 1975.

Smalley also noted a negligent attitude towards written Hmong: Although the system is official, the government has neglected teaching it to the Hmong. It has been used more by Chinese researchers. On a visit to the Institute for Chinese Nationalities in Peking in 1975, however, Dr. Yang Dao [...], a Hmong scholar, found no trace or knowledge of the system.188 189

A Private Initiative in Baojing (West Hunan) During the Cultural Revolution, in Baojing county in the Xiangxi AP in Hunan, a Chinese teacher of English started to work on the Ghao-Xong dialect. Mr Fang Yunzang j)'born in Taijiang County in the Qiandongnan AP in Guizhou, worked as a bank clerk in Baojing from 1951 to 1960, and later, from 1960 to 1980, as a teacher of Russian and English in the Baojing Nationalities Middle School. From 1959-69 he studied GhaoXong, and in 1969 he compiled a Chinese-Ghao-Xong dictionary with 1500 words, which was duplicated by hectograph at the Baojing Nationalities Middle School. The spelling was in accordance with the 1958 Ghao-Xong orthography. He furthermore wrote a textbook in a Pinyin-based orthography of his own invention, without tone markers, and collected materials during field studies in several townships and villages in order to compile ChineseGhao-Xong-English vocabularies, because his Ghao-Xong students had big difficulties in understanding his Chinese explanations of English words and sentences.1X9 Several books were hectographed in Baojing, both textbooks and minor theoretical works, like a comparison of Ghao-Xong and English phonetics.

The Pollard Script during the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution In Academia Sinica’s Miaozu jianshi jianzhi hehian (chugao) (Draft history of the Miao people), published in 1963, the Pollard script was not mentioned at ah, and the following was said about the Latin-based writing: The Miao did not have any writing. After the Liberation, in 1956, Miao writing was devised for the above-mentioned Miao dialects through the agency of the Party.190 188 W A Smalley, Chia Koua Vang & Gnia Yee Yang, Mother of Writing - The Origin 1990, p. 155. 189 Fang Yunzang, personal communication, Canton, 29 March 1991. 190 Zhongguo kexueyuan minzu yanjiusuo & Guizhou shaoshu minzu shehui lishi diaochazu, Miaozu jianshi jianzhi hebian (chugao), 1963, p. 3. and Development of a Hmong Messianic Script,

In this text three dialects had been mentioned, but not the A-Hmao dialect. Thus even the existence of a post-1949 script for A-Hmao was denied, although its new writing, like the others, was Latin-based. Probably it was considered as a politically unsafe region, as the area was famous for missionary activities. In the beginning of the 1960s some A-Hmao in Weining favoured a return to the Pollard script, and Zhang Youlun contacted various people in the province administration of Guizhou, but to no avail.191 In spite of the Great Leap Forward some work on Miao writing continued, but it was not very warmly welcomed, especially as Pinyin was seen as a Han Chinese invention, unlike the Pollard script. As mentioned above, a dictionary was published in 1965, in the Latin-based writing, but only in 350 copies. After 1967 the difficulties increased for the Miao Christians in Guizhou and Yunnan. Typical Cultural Revolution methods were used, viz.: They [Christians in Guizhou] saw their Bibles and hymn books burned before their eyes. They were forced to carry their Bibles on their backs and to walk through the streets and be insulted by others.192

Although the church had been organized according to a Chinese control pattem, the church leader, Rev Wang, was condemned as an anti-revolutionary in 1969 and executed in 1973. Kwok Sheng writes: The execution of Rev. Wang [Zhiming 3E;feBJ]] filled all the Miao Christians with fear. The other leaders of the Miao churches, 34 in all, were also arrested and sentenced to reform through labor. Bibles and hymnals were confiscated, and no one dared to worship openly. Lost in hopelessness, some Christians turned to the Book of Revelation and began to preach about the end of the world and imminent coming of the Kingdom of God.193

At some time during the 1970s the Research Office at the CIN published a series of introductions to the minority peoples of China. In the one dealing with the Miao we learn the following about the Pollard script:

191 Wang Deguang, personal communication, Peking, 16 April 1992. 192 Wong Tak Hing, ‘A Pilgrimage to the Mountains: A Visit to Miao Churches in Guizhou Province’, (1987). 193 Kwok Sheng, ‘“Big Stream” and “Small Stream” Churches in Wuding’, (1987), p. 14.

From the nineteenth century onwards the imperialists propagated Christianity in northwest Guizhou and in other Miao areas. They used an invented ‘frame-formed’ ‘Miao script’ and printed the ‘Bible’ in order to poison and deceive the masses in the area in question. Furthermore they sowed dissension and discord, spied, exploited, pillaged etc.194

Church Life after 1979 Guizhou Province195 On September 23, 1950, the Chinese three-self principle for the churches was launched by the authorities, which in this case meant a complete break with the foreign churches, which had initiated the Christian movement in China. In the beginning of 1951 almost all the foreigners had left. In the Guizhou province there are now active Miao churches in Anshun and in the Bijie area Ufffl?® (including Weining, Hezhang, Nayong, Bijie and Dafang counties). In the Bijie area the number of Christian was about 70,000 in 1987, most of them Miao and Yi. There are also some churches in the Hmu area. The Anshun church was reopened in 1983, in 1987 the church work was carried out by Luo Yingzhong UHL'S, a 1986 graduate of the Sichuan Theological College. In Weining county there are active churches in Dasongshu Afôlsî (near Dajie f\'øs) and Qiaodingshan, as well as in Weining itself. At Dasongshu and at Qiaodingshan the average Sunday attendance is over 1,000. Before the Cultural Revolution there were five churches in this area. The Dasongshu church was reopened in 1982, and the service is conducted both in A-Hmao and Chinese. In Hezhang county the Gebu church has set up a 3-self committee, thus accepting the official Christian organization of the PRC. In Bijie there were about 300 Christians in 1987, including Miao, Yi and Chinese. During the Long March in 1935 the church was confiscated by Marshall He Long, and later it became the office of the SichuanYunnan-Guizhou Soviet and it has therefore become a revolutionary museum. In Weixin district in Nayong county there is a church at Banpo led by Rev Ma Xianwen MUL&b In Nayong there the number of Christians was estimated to 3,500. The Miao in this area mainly belong to the Small Flowery Miao group, i.e. a Hmong sub-group. It was reopened in 1982. 194 Zhongyang minzu xueyuan yanjiushi (ed.), Zhongguo shaoshu minzu jiankuang miaozu s.a., p. 5. 195 This chapter is mainly based on the articles in Bridge - Church Life in China Today, no. 24 (Jul.-Aug. 1987) and the Chinese version (slightly more detailed) of the same journal Qiao - Zhongguo jiaohui dongtai, no. 24 (Jul.-Aug. 1987). yaozu tujiazu gelaozu (zhengqiu yijian gao),

Present vestiges of the Panghai mission When Panghai was visited by research groups from the CIN in 1950 the church and the church library were still there, in the village Houchangcun in Panghai, but some people had started taking the books in order to use them as holders for embroidery yarn. Others simply used the paper for rolling cigarettes.196 According to Mr Yang Congzhen Wi’itM, born in 1912, the church and the library were burnt by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution by the end of the 1960s.197 He and Mrs Huang Wenying born in 1907, were the only ones to know Hutton’s writing in Panghai in the autumn of 1990. Until 1989 there had been some more Christian activity, led by Mr Yang Guangcheng (#7Most of Mr Yang’s books in Hutton’s script were burnt during the Cultural Revolution, but after 1979 he used to go to Chong’an to celebrate Christian festivals. According to Rev Pan Wenguang MJCJä, born in 1907, Hutton’s Hmu writing was never used at Chong’an, which seems odd, as there are no dialect differences between Hutton’s Hmu and the Hmu dialect of Chong’an. Rev Pan, who became a Christian in the beginning of the 1930s, worked together with an Australian missionary, probably Arnolis Hayman, at Jiuzhou If'J'H (then called Laohuangping This missionary and Mr Bosshardt, a Swiss missionary, were captured by the communists when they passed the Hmu area during The Long March in October 1934.198 Rev Pan Wenguang furthermore stated that together with Hutton there was a missionary called Li Ganyuan 'JC, and that he, Hutton and their respective wives all spoke good Hmu, when they visited him in the 1930s. Now the church has 70—80 members, almost all of them Hmu without any kind of education. The service is held in Chinese, with occasional explanations in Hmu. In Kaihuai village Hutton’s script is still in use. Already in 1920 the villagers themselves paid for the building of the chapel and in 1948 C G Edwards referred to Kaihuai as ‘the live centre of the Panghai work’.199 This village was established as an out-station before 1920 and in 1920 the chapel was built. In 1990 there were approximately 100 Christians, of whom some 40—50 had become Christians in the 1930s. This accounts for approximately 20% of the village population. The present village church was built in 1987 with money offered from the NAC of the Qiandongnan AP (6000¥) and 196 Zhang Yongxiang, personal communication, Peking, 8 March 1991. 197 Yang Congzhen, personal communication, Panghai, 27 Oct. 1990. 198 Cf. vol. 1, pp. 154-5. 199 C G Edwards, Journal B of Tribal Survey trips in Kweichow province, China, From Is1 dec. 1947, p. 75.

free labour of the Christians in the village. They also added some money. Usually the service, which is held Wednesday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon is attended by 100 persons, all of them Hmu. The leader of the church is Mr Gu Guangxian The Hmu Christians use both a Chinese Bible and a Hmu Bible in Hutton’s script. Hymns from the 1928 Hymn Book are sung, and are written on a blackboard behind the altar for those who have no books of their own, which is probably almost always the 200 case. The general picture was that when I visited the area in the autumn of 1990 there were still Christians in three locations in Kaili City, viz. Panghai Township Kaihuai Xiang |§1fi$|5 and Danghan Village Some Christians also live in Huangping County; in Chong’an Township and in Gulong Area UUflE.

The Stone Gateway Area In this area are included districts both in Guizhou and Yunnan. In 1987 Yang Mingguang described the situation: Just after the Liberation there were still people who were believers and attended service at the Stone Gateway church; later the believers have become fewer and fewer. [...]. The reasons are: 1. The old priests had already died; 2. Some of the persons in the middle and upper strata of the church had been members of the Kuomintang - when the influence of imperialist thinking and the power of the Kuomintang reactionaries were rooted out in the 1950s this discouraged some people; 3. A lot of young people participated in the revolutionary work after the Liberation. Therefore there are basically no more believers in this church. The Dapingzi Circuit VYVKK in Yongshan 7k# and the Mi’ergou Circuit in Yiliang HJE (in Yunnan), including the out-stations, are both the same. Though there are groups of Christians in some of the villages in the Niupeng District AWE; in Tuanjie Village in Shimen Xiang fil'l in Nianfeng Village in Yunlu Xiang and in some Han areas in Heitu Xiang (Zhongshui District T/jcE) and in some villages in Mata Yungui sf, Xinmin DrS, Tianqiao and Longjie Xiang (Longjie District ÆffiK), they all believe in the Christianity of the China Inland Mission.200 201 202

Nevertheless, some activities are still going on, among them the church and hospital in Zhaotong.2"2 Furthermore, Mr Yangjiankang in Yiliang is engaged in translating the OT into A-Hmao.

200 Gu Caizhi, personal communication, Kaihuai, 1 Nov. 1990. 201 Yang Mingguang, ‘Jidujiao Xundao gonghui chuanru Weining diqu shiliie’, 1987, p. 14. 202 For a detailed account, cf. J Enwall, ‘Shimenkan - the Miao Jerusalem’, forthcoming.

Yunnan Province The situation in Yunnan was described in Bridge, no. 23, in 1987.203 Apart from the three churches in Kunming, often frequented by visiting Miao, there are also several churches in the Miao areas. In Wuding county in the Chuxiong Yi AP there are altogether some 40 churches, with 17,000 believers. Twenty of the churches are Miao. The Wuding church is located in Wuding north street, and is no longer housed in the old church, which is used for other purposes. Luquan is located nine kilometers from the town of Wuding. There are altogether some 30, 000 Christians in Luquan county. In 1981 the 3-Self Committee was established and the church was led in 1987 led by an Yi, Rev Li Faxian Sapushan is located about ten kilometers from Wuding. It consists of four villages with some 400 inhabitants altogether. After Arthur G Nicholls left in 1944 Wang Zhiming took charge of the church work in Wuding, Luquan, Fumin SK, Yuanmou 7LIS and Lufeng lâfi. In 1958 all church activities ceased and during the Cultural Revolution Sapushan was renamed Fandicun K'SrTl ‘Anti-Imperialism Village’ and Rev Wang was executed. In 1981 the 3-Self Committee was established and in 1985 the church, formerly used as a storehouse, was returned to the Christians.

203 Where to go to church in Yunnan’, (1987), pp. 7-9; ‘Minority churches in Yunnan’, (1987), pp. 10-12; Xunqian, ‘A Visit to Miao Villages’, (1987), pp. 12-13; Kwok Sheng, “‘Big Stream” and “Small Stream” Churches in Wuding’, (1987), pp. 14-15. Also published in Chinese: ‘Guankui Yunnan jiaohui’, (1987), pp. 4-7; ‘Rang fuyin chuanpian tianxia’, (1987), pp. 8-10; Xunqian, ‘Yuan nimen piang’an! — chunpu de miaozu xintu’, (1987), pp. 12-13; ‘“Dazhonghui” he “xiaozhonghui”’ (1987), pp. 14—15.

The Revival of Miao Writing

4

After the Cultural Revolution (1971-1979) After the Cultural Revolution some minority language work was taken up again. In the spring of 1971, at the National Publication Work Conference, Premier Zhou Enlai supported the publication of Marxist-Leninist works and Mao Zedong’s works in Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Kazak and Korean, a policy reminding of Sun Yat-sen’s five nationalities of China. Radio broadcasts in the same languages also started. The languages and writing systems of the southern minorities were, however, no longer considered as necessary. A few years later, this attitude was somewhat softened, and in 1974 Zhou Enlai endorsed the establishment of a State Nationality Language Translation Bureau. After Mao’s death in 1976, and especially after the fall of the ‘Gang of Four’, minority language work in the south became easier. In 1978 the provincial radio of Yunnan and local radio stations in Yunnan started broadcasting in several languages, e.g. in Miao in Wenshan county. After the Cultural Revolution the work of translating films into minority languages had also been taken up again.205

The Third Conference on Nationality Languages The turning point of the minority policies was the third plenary session of the Fifth People’s Congress, which convened on August 28, 1979. Soon afterwards, at the Third Conference on Nationality Languages in January 1980, Yang Zhengwang presented a paper on the minority work of the PRC from 1949 until 1979. He strongly condemned the practices of the ’60s and ’70s: There were some comrades who, due to a lack of experience, had a one-sided understanding [of the future amalgamation of all peoples into one people] and too early used the slogans “nationality amalgamation” (minzu ronghe SStffla") and “direct transition” [to the use of Chinese writing by the minorities] in connection with questions of writing systems, and by way of administrative orders interfered in the trial propagation of the newly devised writing systems. Some local radio stations had minority language programmes, and although there was a newly created writing system for the minority language, the leaders of the radio stations openly denied the broadcasters the right to study the minority writing in order to be able to examine

204 The revival of the the Pollard script (for A-Hmao) will be discussed in part IV. 205 Yang Zhengwang, Xin shiqi de minzu yuwen gongzuo, 1979.IOI IOI

the translations for broadcasting. The minority writing was in some areas called “elementary school study”, but strangely enough, the teaching in the first three years of elementary school was conducted strictly in Chinese; only after that it was permitted to study the minority writing. The reason was that if the students first studied the minority writing, they would learn it very quickly, and would be able to keep accounts and to write letters. Afterwards they would not [want to] study Chinese. [...] Later there was also Lin Biao and the Gang of Four who said nonsense like that the minority writing systems are “artificial”, and completely refuted the minority language policies of the Party. Three years have already passed since the Gang of Four was crushed, but people still have a lingering fear and the minority writing policies have not yet been brought in order. Very many comrades think that the newly devised writing systems is a restricted zone, which is not to be talked about or probed into.206

Yang commented on the extreme attitudes adopted concerning loanwords, i.e. the theory that by way of an enormous influx of Chinese loanwords in the minority languages, these languages would automatically merge with Chinese. He furthermore mentioned the tendency of replacing original words with Chinese loanwords for political terms, like zuguo ‘motherland’ and gongchandang ‘Communist Party’, in Mongolian as late as 1972. The question of Han Chinese learning minority languages was also discussed in the article, and it seems that Zhou Enlai as late as 1965 considered it necessary for Han Chinese cadres working in minority areas to learn the local languages. Wang writes that Hua Guofeng in his government work report at the Fifth People’s Congress (18 June 1979) said that ‘the Han comrades working in minority areas shall study the minority languages and writing’. In the Miao areas I have found no traces whatsoever that this has been the case, except for a few Han agriculture workers, who learnt some spoken Miao while participating in work teams in which most members were monolingual in Miao. The demand for Han Chinese cadres to learn Miao had, however, been raised in several articles already in 1953. Finally Yang emphasized the importance of minority languages in carrying out the Four Modernizations, an argument which has subsequently been used in a great number of articles criticizing the slowness of propagating the Miao writing in the ’80s. The Four Modernizations had been launched by Premier Zhou Enlai already in 1964, and had been taken up again after the Cultural Revolution, at the Fourth Party Congress in 1975. The fields to be modernized were agriculture, industry, national defence and science and technology. Robert Ramsey described the revival of minority language studies in The Languages of China :

206 Yang Zhengwang, Xin shiqi de minzu yuwen gongzuo, 1979.

Quite recently-with the advent of the Eighties - interest in minority languages has suddenly revived in China. The center of activity is the Department of Minority Languages in the Central Institute of National Minorities. For a period of more than twenty years — from 1966 to 1978 - none of the work of that department was allowed into print; now, in a different political atmosphere, the Institute has begun publishing as never before. Data and information from projects held in abeyance since the Fifties, as well as accounts of fresh research, have recently started to appear. Most linguistic papers and articles are published in M'inzü Yüwén (Nationality Language and Literature), but there are also other outlets. The Institute even publishes some language monographs. Many of these works are of good quality. Less innovative or analytic than descriptive, they usually contains accurate phonetic transcriptions of a small but representative vocabulary, an analysis of the sound system, and a brief sketch of the grammar.21,7

The development of the Miao writing systems has been fairly similar in three of the areas, the Ghao-Xong, Hmu and Hmong, whereas it has been quite different among the A-Hmao. Below, the Ghao-Xong area will serve as an example of the general trends, and the information about the Hmu and Hmong areas respectively will be more sparse.

Ghao-Xong In the west Hunan area, the Miao area where Chinese is probably more widespread than anywhere in Miaoland, more than 40% of the Ghao-Xong over 12 years of age were illiterate (i.e. in Chinese) according to the third census (1983). The differences between men and women and between young and old in the knowledge of Chinese are obvious. Many women and old people know little or no Chinese, and in remote villages the illiteracy rate among them is often around 90%.208 Young men, however, usually have quite a good command of Chinese, at least the spoken language. In July 1980 the United Front Department ofXiangxi AP convened the first conference nationalities history, and during this meeting there were discussions on the revival of minority writing systems. One of the participants, Fang Yunzang (cf. above, p. 95), proposed a new writing system for GhaoXong in a pamphlet entitled Xiangxi miaoyu jiyin fang’an (caoan) jysg , a Pinyin-based orthography without tone-markers. In 1980 the Education Bureau of the Xiangxi prefecture set up a group which was to investigate how the Ghao-Xong students learn Chinese and to publish a _ 209 report. In 1983 the Education Office of the People’s Government ofXiangxi

207 S R Ramsey, The Languages of China, 1987, p. 169. 208 Xiangxi tujiazu miaozu zizhizhou minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, jiaoyu weiyuanhui, Jianchi keyan yin lu - gaohao shuangyu jiaoyu, 1991, p. 11. m3

invited four persons who had worked with Ghao-Xong writing in the ’50s to set up a Miao Writing Experiment Office 'ffiTtMfrtSÄjS: together with four assistants. After discussions with representatives from Songtao in Guizhou in 1982 some orthographic changes were carried out. The changes were the same as those made in the Hmu orthography in 1982. For example the palatal initials were no longer spelt with an extra -i- and loanwords were to be spelt according to their local pronunciation. In Songtao, however, some further changes were made and this orthography has been used in the publications by the Guizhou Nationalities Publishing House. In April 1983 there was an experimental course in the elementary school ofjiwei ïÉfISr (Jisi Village $$5]få", Huayuan County in Xiangxi AP). After three months the experiment was considered successful and in the autumn courses started in several places. From September 1983 until July 1986 122 literacy classes were held in four counties (Huayuan, Jishou, Fenghuang and Baojing), and 2,121 persons were considered to have become literate, and received certificates of literacy. Altogether some 4,200 people had participated in the courses. The standard length of the courses was 4 months, 21 evenings a month, 2 lessons every evening, i.e. around 160 lessons. After that people were said to be able to collect folk stories, write down folk songs and write letters. However, after this stage there were one-year classes for improvement -BerftiHE with more advanced text books and translated articles from Chinese journals.21" Between 1983 and 1987 five training courses for teachers were held and altogether 285 teachers were trained. Of these 72 were school teachers (including 6 persons trained for the Guizhou province) and 213 village educators ÜfjfîfÊrfî.209 211 210 In 1984 the Miao Peasants’ Textbook was revised and 20,000 copies were printed. Furthermore elementary school textbooks for language and mathematics (vols 1-10) were compiled and printed.212 In 1983 small-scale experiments started with Ghao-Xong writing in elementary school education in Jiwei elementary school in Huayuan and in Tangqiao iSM elementary school in Luochaojing Xiang Hr'fålTW in Fenghuang County. Of the pupils in Jiwei some 80.4% were Ghao-Xong, as well as 70% of the teachers. The text book used was the Miaowen nongmin shizi keben (vol. I).21' In 1986 the

209 The report, entitled Miaozu xuesheng xue hanyu jiaoxue cankao ziliao [Reference materials on education of Miao students in Chinese], [Xiangxi, 1980], probably published by the Xiangxi AP, was referred to by Fang Yunzang in his (unpublished) propsal to the authorities in Xiangxi: Fang Yunzang, Guanyu bianxie hanyu-minzu yu bijiao jiaoxue cankaoshu de jianyi, 1980. 210 Wu Genjin, personal communication, Fenghuang, 17 Oct. 1990. 211 Long Tingguang, ‘Peiyang minzu rencai de yi tiao youxiao jiejing’, [1987], p. 20. 2,2 Hunansheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, Guanyu wo sheng shaoshu minzu yuyan wenzi gongzuo qingkuang de huibao, 1991, p. 7.

education authorities of Xiangxi introduced a four-step bilingual switch program for elementary schools:213 214 * The first year is only in Miao. In the second year the pupils start to study Chinese with the help of Chinese Pinyin, and the two languages are studied in parallel for five years. During the first year the pupils learn the Latin letters and the Miao orthography and in the second year the main focus is composition writing. From the third year on the focus is on translation.213

This switch program was intended to promote both Ghao-Xong writing and Chinese, but quite a few people, mainly Chinese, have accepted GhaoXong writing only as a means of facilitating the teaching of Chinese in the Ghao-Xong areas. This tendency was criticized by the Chinese researcher Wangjun in 1985: That is to say that the Miao writing is not a “goal” in itself, but a “method” for learning Chinese. According to the nationality policies this is not very appropriate. Because of the equality of nationalities and languages it is not possible to use the minority writing as a “walking stick” when learning Chinese.216

From September 1986 Ghao-Xong writing was used in 24 elementary schools in three education areas Ip IS in two counties, Huayuan and Fenghuang. By 1991 62 Ghao-Xong writing and bilingual education classes had been held with altogether 1,670 pupils in the 24 elementary schools.217 The school statistics prove that the results are better for Ghao-Xong students in schools where bilingual education is used than in the schools where all the teaching is in Chinese, both for percentage rates in exams and in entrance exams to middle school. No thorough evaluation has, however, been made, and the statistics published are based on a very limited material. In 1985 a group of researchers from the State Council of Education visited Xiangxi and pointed out that the Ghao-Xong writing should be an obligatory course in basic education, to be made a part of the exams for higher stages of education and to have a position at least equal to that of a foreign language in middle school.218 This was taken up by the local authorities Miaowen nongmin shizi kehen [Peasants’ textbook in Miao writing]. This text book is mentioned in an article written in 1984, but the actual book has not been found. Cf. Zhou Chunlu, ‘Miaowen jin xuexiao de qishi’, 1987, p. 97 and p. 104. 214 Hunansheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, Guanyu wo sheng shaoshu minzu yuyan wenzi gongzuo qingkuang de huibao, 1991, p. 6. 2,5 Long Guangjia, personal communication, Luochaojing (Fenghuang), 18 Oct. 1990. 216 Wangjun, ‘Wangjun tongzhi guanyu miaowen gongzuo de tongxun’, 1987, p. 4. 217 Xiangxi tujiazu miaozu zizhizhou minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, jiaoyu weiyuanhui, Jianchi keyan yin lu — gaohao shuangyu jiaoyu, 1991, p. 4. 218 Wu Jikang & Zhou Chunlu, ‘Tuixing miaowen wei shenhua miaoqu jiaoyu gaige suo ji xu’, 1988, p. 145.

213

and in November 1986 they presented a scheme for trying out Miao writing in the elementary schools of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao AP (revised draft). It stated that: In accordance with the Constitution, the Law of Compulsory Education, the Law of Minority Area Autonomy and the actual conditions in this prefecture, we have decided that Miao writing shall be a basic course, to be entered into the plan for education in the elementary schools in the Miao area, in order to develop the basic education in the Miao area and to promote the material and spiritual civilization of socialism in our prefecture.219

In the first year Ghao-Xong writing should be taught 11 hours a week, in the second year 4 hours, in the third and fourth years 3 hours and 2 hours in the fifth and sixth years. Altogether, during the six years of elementary school Chinese and Ghao-Xong should be taught for 2,278 hours, of which 1,496 were used for Chinese and 782 hours for Ghao-Xong. During these 782 hours the students should acquire the abilities listed below: 1. The student shall skilfully grasp the spelling rules of Miao writing. Ordinary Miao books and journals shall be read with immediate recognition of the words. The reading speed shall be over 120 syllables per minute, “the mouth and the hands shall be one”, and the student shall be able to write all the words he can say. 2. The student shall be able to grasp the basic meaning when somebody speaks and understand Miao songs and riddles. He shall be able to express himself in public and dare to speak impromptu. 3. The student shall grasp some 8,000 everyday words and be able to distinguish between the words in the mother tongue and loanwords from outside. He shall tentatively grasp the Miao grammar from practice, be able to use “four-syllablestructures” and other everyday rhetorical techniques both in talking and writing. 4. The student shall understand Miao books and journals which are suitable for children, comprehend the main contents and have an initial analyzing ability. 5. The student shall be able to use Miao writing to write brief narratives and everyday practical writing, and also to record and collate stories and Miao songs. This shall be done with healthy thinking, a clear and definite centre, concrete contents, proper arrangement, smooth-reading sentences, correct writing, attention to the beauty of the cover and with correct use of everyday punctuation marks. 6. The student shall from practice gain initial understanding of the difference and relation between Miao and Chinese phonetics, vocabulary and grammar and shall be able to read Miao-Chinese (Pinyin) and Miao-Chinese (character) interlinear texts without hesitating, be able to draw support from the Miao writing in order to 219

Xiangxi tujiazu miaozu zizhizhou xiaoxue miaowen jiaoxue shixingfang’an (xiudinggao),

1987, p. 69.

understand the corresponding Chinese and also be able to translate Chinese materials which he understands into Miao writing, and Miao materials which he understands into Chinese. In the bilingual study the bilingual thinking shall be developed and in the process of training bilingual thinking, the breadth, the depth and the agility of thinking shall be improved.22'1

In 1988 the Hunan Nationalities Committee and the Hunan Education Committee decided that Ghao-Xong writing should be considered a basic subject to be included in the education plan for the elementary schools in the Ghao-Xong areas where Chinese is not spoken.220 221 In west Hunan, since 1988 seven one-year experimental courses in science and technology have been held in villages in Fenghuang and Huayuan County with 143 students. In Fenghuang the courses were held in Banjing Village, La’ershan Area faff lillsïïxJFTi', Dongjiu Village, Shanjiang, liltESftH and in Jiantang Village HHTE Special bilingual textbooks on cultivation of crops and on veterinary medicine have been compiled and hectographed by the Xiangxi NAC. These textbooks each covers a special field and is used only in the villages where the specific knowledge is needed. Furthermore the teachers of these courses have contributed with auxiliary materials relevant for the specific conditions in the villages where the courses are held. In Jiantang, for example, a course on raising pigs quickly was held in 1988 with 21 participants. In the following year the theme was how to raise chickens in a scientific way and in that course 15 people participated. In 1990 the focus was on rice cultivation and 12 people took part. The textbook used was Ntet Dibmol Zhaot Beudreud Jibshub. Wu Zaiqin, the teacher of the Jiantang course, learnt Ghao-Xong writing during the literacy campaign in 1985 (he had graduated from the Fenghuang Nationalities Middle School in 1978). According to him there are lessons 20 evenings every month, two hours each time, nine months a year. If there is no wedding or film all people come to the lesson.222 The students of these courses have been used in various campaigns for inoculation of pigs against swine fever etc., and this has also increased the respect for Ghao-Xong writing in the areas where this has been done. In the autumn of 1992 there was also a Ghao-Xong language class at the Jishou University.

220

Xiangxi tujiazu miaozu zizhizhou xiaoxue miaowen jiaoxue shixingfang’an (xiudinggao),

1987, p. 70. 221 Hunansheng minwei & Hunansheng jiaowei, Wo sheng miao, dongzu jujuqu miaowen dongwen jiaoxue shiyan fang’an, 1988. 222 Wu Zaiqing, personal communication, Jiantang (Fenghuang), 18 Oct. 1990.

xiaoxue

Ghao-Xong Writing Activities in Songtao County Songtao Miao AC in northeastern Guizhou has a Ghao-Xong population of 173,742 persons according to a report published in 1985. Ghao-Xong writing activities were revived in 1982 and between 1982 and 1985 courses were held in 132 villages. Altogether some 7,275 persons have started to study Ghao-Xong, and of these 5,402 stayed on during the whole course. After the courses exams were arranged, and of the 4,537 participants 3,960 succeeded in the exam and were considered fully literate in Ghao-Xong. However, even if the total number of participants in courses is calculated, i.e. 5,402, this means that only 3.1% of the Ghao-Xong population in the area has studied Ghao-Xong writing. There have been manifold problems in connection with the Ghao-Xong writing activities, both because of‘extreme leftist thinking’, lingering from the Cultural Revolution, and because of traditional negative views on the Miao language. In the beginning the Ghao-Xong writing work was considered as purely experimental and two old Ghao-Xong teachers were recruited to take care of it. In spite of the lack of organization the Ghao-Xong writing activities developed and in November 1984 the county government convened a minority language conference. Subsequently a Group for the Propagation of Minority Writing was set up and corresponding groups were established at the Ghao-Xong writing experiment points. From 1982 to 1985 five training courses for teachers have been held, with altogether 128 participants. Of these some 78 still worked as teachers of Ghao-Xong writing in the autumn of 1985. In a report from the Minority Language Office of Songtao in 1985 the goal of the teaching of Ghao-Xong writing was stated. By the year 1990 the writing should have been propagated everywhere in the county. The Miao Writing Office furthermore presented the following five proposals to higher authorities: 1. The Ghao-Xong writing has been on an experimental basis for 30 years: We demand that the departments concerned quickly discuss amendments, and, after reexamining the norm [for the Ghao-Xong writing], they shall submit it to the People’s Congress for approval, in order to make it a legally official writing system. If we go on using it on an experimental basis for a long time, and if it gets no legal status, this will certainly influence the enthusiasm on part of the masses for studying and using the minority writing, even to such an extent that they loose confidence in it. Then the legacy of a de facto inequality between nationalities cannot be completely eliminated.223 221

221 Songtao tniaozu zizhixian Yinyan minzu xiaoxue, ‘Yinyan minzu xiaoxue shuangyuwenjiaoxue’, [1986-7], p. 111.

2. As stated in the Constitution the minority writing shall be used both in literacy campaigns and in schools, as an obligatory course. 3. Funds shall be allocated for minority writing activities. This is especially important because of the general poverty of the minority areas. 4. Apart from the training of specialists at the Guizhou Institute of Nationalities, short-term courses shall be held for teachers of minority writing. 5. As more people learn Ghao-Xong writing the demand for reading matter gets stronger. The Nationalities Publishing House of Guizhou should publish both literary works with nationality characteristics and reading matters in the field of science and technology in connection with the Four Modernizations.224 225 In one village in Songtao, Yinyan Xiang an experiment with bilingual education was initiated in the autumn of 1984. One class in the second form was made the experiment group, and another class made a reference group. The class with bilingual teaching had three hours of Ghao-Xong writing every week. After that they could read the journal published in Ghao-Xong (,Songtao miaowen bao jtlfi), write down folk stories and translate simple songs from Chinese into Ghao-Xong. The bilingual education had a marked positive influence on the results of the children in the experiment group. Below are the average results (out of a maximum of 100) achieved in the two groups in the exams of the first and the second years, for language and for mathematics. During the first year both groups had received teaching only in Chinese. Year

Subject

Bilingual

Chinese only

1

Language Mathematics

39 38

50.4 50.6

2

Language Mathematics

74.87 54.4

60.01 52.5

As seen from the results above, the use of the mother tongue influenced not only the achievements in language, but also in mathematics.2 5 This might seem obvious to anyone familiar with the western debate on the importance 224 Songtao miaozu zizhixian shuangyuwen jiaoxue’, [1986—7], 225 Songtao miaozu zizhixian shuangyuwen jiaoxue’, [1986-7],

Yinyan minzu xiaoxue, ‘Yinyan minzu xiaoxue pp. 106-112. Yinyan minzu xiaoxue, ‘Yinyan minzu xiaoxue pp. 113-116.

of primary education in the mother tongue, but this is constantly stressed in Chinese publications on the promotion of Miao writing, as it is apparently not obvious to the Chinese decision-makers. According to Long Zhengxue a few thousand people in the Songtao area have learnt the Ghao-Xong writing, which tallies well with the figures above, and ajournai in Ghao-Xong writing was published, perhaps until 1987. This journal was also mentioned in the report from the Yinyn Xiang elementary school, i.e. in 1985. Afterwards, most activities have been ceased as funds are lacking.226

The Present Situation for Ghao-Xong Writing There are, however, some major problems in the writing activities. According to Shi Shaozong the local leaders do not support the Ghao-Xong writing; they think that it is useless. It is an unnecessary expense, as they think all people know Chinese. Although it is supported by the State NAC, its future is not very clear.227 Some materials on Ghao-Xong culture have been printed in editions with texts both in Ghao-Xong and Chinese, a collection of riddles published in Guiyang, texts for marriage rituals and a collection of stories, published in Changsha.228 Furthermore a collection of traditional stories was to be published by the Guizhou NPH in 1991, but has not been printed yet.229 A major difficulty in the Ghao-Xong work is that a dictionary has been lacking until just recently. In the ’50s Long Zhengxue compiled a dictionary which was not published, and from 1978 to 1988 Shi Rujin at the CIN worked on a Ghao-Xong—Chinese dictionary of 18,000 words, but it has been considered as too big by the Xiangxi NAC, as it would be very expensive to have it printed. They have proposed to publish a shorter version, but Shi Rujin has not been willing to accept that. At the same time Mrs Xiang Rizheng of the Nationalities Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has compiled a Chinese - Ghao-Xong dictionary with some 11,300 entries, and it was published in 1992 by the Nationalities Publishing House of Sichuan.23" From the revival of Ghao-Xong writing in 1983 until 1991 probably some 4,000 persons have learnt the Ghao-Xong orthography in Xiangxi AP 226 Long Zhengxue, personal communication, Chengdu, 4 April 1991. 227 Shi Shaozong, personal communication, Jishou, 14 Oct. 1990. 228 Tian Fengchun (ed.), Mib Zit (Xangd xid dut xongb), 1983; Hunansheng shaoshu minzu guji bangongshi (ed.), Zhang Yinghe & Peng Rongde (compilers and translators), Ghob Xongb Dut Qub Dut Lanl, 1987; and Long Tingguang & Zhang Zongquan (eds), Ghob Xongb MiniJand Gut Gind, 1989. 229 Long Zhengxue, Miaozu chuangshi ji, vols 1-3, 1986, ms. 230 Xiang Rizheng, Han-Miao cidian, 1992. no

and in Songtao at least some 4,000 persons have learnt the orthography used in that area.

Questions of Orthography (Ghao-Xong) The main difference between the spelling used in the books published in 1958-59 and the spelling used after 1979 is that all loanwords are spelt according to the local pronunciation in the latter. This reform has not been altogether easy to implement, as there might be several different local pronunciations for a Chinese word. In Ying Lin’s article from 1962 the pronunciation of Chinese words in the local variety of Chinese, spoken in Jiwei, is given, but not the spelling in Ghao-Xong, as the Chinese loanwords were to be spelt completely in accordance with Chinese Pinyin in the 1958 orthography. Below I give her list (somewhat modified) followed by the spelling (or spellings) used in Ghao-Xong after 1979. First there is a sample character (corresponding to the example found in Ghao-Xong and not Ying Lin’s example) and its pronunciation in standard Mandarin of Peking. After that the local Chinese pronunciation of the initial and the Miao pronunciation of the initial. The next column is the spelling used in post-1979 Ghao-Xong (the initial and the whole word). The last one is the Pinyin spelling for the initial in Chinese. Almost all the examples are from Xangd Xid Ndeud Xongb Baoh. The other examples are from the primer Ndeud Xongb, Xiangxi, 1984. The examples lacking Chinese character and Ghao-Xong spelling are local pronunciations indicated by Ying Lin, but not found in the material. Initials Initial Pp-iPhph-iPhph-imm-iftt-i-

Char. It

hr

.

*

m m m «

IPA

Local

Miao pron.

Miao spell.

Pinyin

pei piao phu phien

P P Ph P> b b m m f f t t

P P'

b- bi- p- pi-

b- b- p p-

m mi- f- hu- d- j- d-i-

PPm- m- f- f- d- d- d-

phi mai] mien fit fan tai tien

pih mp [b] mpi [h] m mJf/hw f/hw t tc/t

thth-ithth-in-in-

± m. H * m m

11-i1-ikk-ukhkh-ukh-uhh-utctch-

c-

t§-

tgh-

«

m X m m u m ® m ft s m m » Ä Bg 3Ë Ü fig

n g-

Zr ts-

u * « m i¥ m

tshS-

m m m

thu thie thu thi niau n nan lurj lin kui] kwan

th th d d n 1

kh g h h

th toh/th nt [d] nto |dz|/d nJ 1 ?1 1 li nJ k kw k11 kwh 0kw [gw] h hw

to

to

k

k toh k11 njto [dz]

?

1

1 1 n k k kh

khwai] khw han hwei tcirj tçie tchii] tchi tchyn eye Q Q tgi tsau t§hUl] t§hau t§h3I] t§hi §i §i gu 7,pn A tso tsu ts tsu tsBa tsh si

toh

kh dz e h dz ts ts tsh

G

h njto [dz] ts t As tsh

tsh

th

dz dz

ni 141

s s s

s s/ç

nts [dz]

dz

g Z z ts t As tsh thAsh tsh nts [dz]

s

s

z z ts ts tsh Lsh tsh

t- q- nd- nd- ni-

c- c-

t- t- t- t- n- nn- 1- 1- 1g- g- k- k- kh- h- j- j- q- q- X- x-iXzh- zh- ch- ch- ch- ch- sh- sh- < sh1> sh- r- rz z- zz- c-

s-

c s-

n- 1- 1- g- gu- k- ku- h- hu- j- g- q- k- nj- X- z- zh- c- ch- nzh- nz- s- X- sh- r- z- z

§ w m m n

vvei u y i yen an 3n

w w z z n>

w w z z n1

q Y/i]

0 0

w- w- y- y- ni- ng- ng-





The seven last Chinese words have no initials in standard Mandarin, but do have initials in south-western Mandarin. In Pinyin is the spelling for the final when appearing independently (otherwise spelt ). is the independent form for the final , for and for . The last two are pronounced [qei] and [yo] respectively in the local Chinese dialect. Another problem is the initial /hw/, which was spelt in the 1958 orthography. This initial is both an original Ghao-Xong initial /hw/ and the initial used for Chinese loanwords with initial /f/. In Ghao-Xong the initial /f/ does not exist. However, after 1979 the initial has been introduced, both for spelling the Ghao-Xong initial /hw/ and the Chinese initial /h/ + final with [-u-J as onset. Thus the new spelling principle was planned to be for Chinese loanwords with /f/, e.g. for fen ft ‘inch’, and for the others. This principle has not been followed, and is sometimes used for Ghao-Xong /hw/ in order to economize on space, e.g. instead of ‘to go’. Furthermore the is not only used for Chinese words like hua IS , spelt in Ghao-Xong, but also for fa f£ , spelt in Ghao-Xong. The county of Fenghuang (i.e. its Chinese name) is sometimes spelt and sometimes . More often than not, however, the spelling used in Chinese Pinyin is also used in the Ghao-Xong orthography, i.e. f=f, hu=hu. It has thus proven difficult to imply a principle, which in reality means the introduction of new contrasts. Richard Venezky writes abut this: Regardless of the importance attributed to transfer, it should not be invoked to justify the marking of nonphonemic contrasts in a writing system simply because such contrasts are phonemic in the target language. On purely psychological grounds such a procedure is indefensible, in that it has a negative effect upon the most difficult of the two reading tasks, that of the initial acquisition of literacy.231

231

R L Venezky, ‘Principles for the Design of Practical Writing Systems’, (1970).

Finals Final -a -0

-ai

-ei

-au

Char.

IPA

Local

Miao pron.

Miao spell.

X &

ta t3

a e

a e

Ä-

ho

0

0

if IX $5 IE M

nai tai kai fei hei -ei ?au lau teu an zpn zpn hai]

ei ei e ei ?wei i au ?

e e/a e ei ei i 0

-a -e -0 -an -ea -e -ei -e

aui ê

UI

S «

-9U

-an -on

m m

-ai]

fr « i£

■«i -UI]

#1

3D

mai] kui]

OI]

-UI]

yoq

ö ö

&■

3"

&

H

-i

IS

gi

ft

thi tçia Cçie thie tçie teie teie pjau Hau Hau tien lin çin mil] tchii] Ijai] thu

g? fl­ at «

-iau

II s

-iu -ien -in

ät li

#

m -iq

m

m -iai] -u

m

±

aq

ê el el ä el ö

sai]

-01-

-ia -ie

3D 3D

Y

OI]

i ei ia ie ie ie ei ei iau io iaui

i ei a e e/ie e/ie e/e e/a 0

0 UI

ie

t

'1

1

1

1

iq

1

yn

1

IBS]

ö u

U

Pinyin

-a -e -e -ai -ai -ai -ei -ei -ei -ao -ao -eu -ao -ou -ou -an -an -en -en -ei -en -ang -ang -en -eng -ong -eng -ong -ong -ong -er

-i -i ü- It was held in Peking 3—7 December 1991. Only a few specialists of minority languages were invited, and this work meeting was dedicated mainly to the political aspects of minority languages and writing. Earlier in 1991 the People’s Congress had requested a report on the nationalities writing work from the State NAC, and subsequently evaluation meetings had been held, for example in Hunan, 14—16 August 1991.266 263 Ma Yonglan, personal communication, Weining, 19 Nov. 1990. 264 Yang Zhongde (ed.) , Ad Hmaob Ndeud, ab nangk, 1990. 265 Huang Xing, ‘On writing systems for China’s minorities created by foreign missionaries’, (1992), p. 83.

The Hunan NAC argued for the use of Ghao-Xong writing: During the nine years since our province revived the Miao and Dong writing, all the experience gives ample evidence that the Miao and Dong languages are the primary languages for the Miao and Dong peoples and that the writing systems used to record these languages are the most effective tools for conducting education, developing mental capacities, fostering abilities, inspiring the national spirit, improving national self-confidence and the quality of science and culture, promoting national unity and the flourishing of the nationalities among the Miao and Dong peoples. It has demonstrated an exceptional and irreplaceable effect on the Chinese language and writing in the areas with a concentrated Miao and Dong population, where Chinese is not understood.267

The importance of Ghao-Xong writing in the political sphere was emphasized: Now, when the national writing has already been grasped by the masses, it is used for letter-writing and for taking down songs, and it has become a means of communication for people in their everyday life. Thanks to the use of national writing systems, antiphonal singing, plays and other recreational activities have been developed and the extensive education of the masses both in the general and specific policies of the Party, and in current politics and law and discipline, has got twice the result with half the effort.2“

Three mam difficulties were pointed out: 1. Some cadres who have traditional views on the nationalities question lack understanding for the importance of the work of propagating national writing systems. 2. The experimental period of propagating the Miao and the Dong writing has been too long, and no documents have been issued on the definite future of the writing. 3. There is no administrative structure linking the provincial and the local level of writing activities.

They also referred to the somewhat strange method of teaching Chinese in the minority areas, and wrote: It [the Ghao-Xong writing] is good for eliminating illiteracy. The illiterate [GhaoXong], who live in concentrated minority areas where Chinese is not understood,

2“ Hunansheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, 1991, p. 1. 267 Hunansheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui, gongzuo qingkuang de huibao, 1991, p. 9. 2