The She Nationality

The Shes, numbering 630378, live mainly in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and live scattered in Jiangxi, Guangdong and Anhui provinces. Engaged in agriculture, the She people have long lived side by side with the Han people. They have their own language but no written form. Except for the Shes in Guangdong province, the majority speak the Han language. Their oral literature is notable for such great stories as the Song of Gaohuang, a famous epic, which remains popular today.

In Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, the coast areas of southeast China, there has lived a nationality from ancient times, the She people. Wherever you can see mountains in these regions you will find more She villages. The She people live at the foot of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian province and Siming Mountain in Zhejiang province.

With a long history, the ancestors of the She people reach back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), they later migrated southwards and settled down around the border areas of Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. During the 13th and 14th century, the Shes moved again this time from the south northward, and began to live in the mountainous areas of north Fujian and south Zhejiang. The Shes call themselves "Shanha" meaning "dwellers in mountain."

The song of Gaohuang, a household epic of the She nationality, gives an account of the origin of the She people and their migrations. According to the epic, the Shes originated from Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong, with Pankua as the first ancestor. The legend has it that Pankua married a princess and later had three sons and one daughter. The father gave Pan, Lan, Lei and Zhong as surnames to his sons and sonª²inª²law, and they became the ancestors of the present She nationality. In fact, the majority of the Shes still have the surnames of Pan, Lan, Lei and Zhong today.

The She people have been living alongside the Hans for a long while. The She men wear the same type of clothes as Han men, but the women's dress remains traditional. The Phoenix Dress is the typical costume for women. It is distinctive for the hair tied in a bun on top of the head and decorated with strands of red knitting wool. The She women's costumes are also typified by the lace trimming on the collar, the cuffs and down the side of the jacket. Geometrical patterns and designs of flowers and birds are usually embroidered on their aprons and jackets.

The She people are mainly involved in agriculture. In the mountainous areas where they live, they have built terraced fields on mountain slopes growing grains, tea trees and bamboo trees. The wideª²spreading bamboo trees and tea trees are their cashª²crop. Various kinds of teas produced in these She villages are renowned for their natural flavour and good quality both at home and abroad.

Most She people live in a threeª²room bungalow built of earth, mud, adobe, wood and tiles. When they build the house, they always start by erecting pillars, building the roof and covering the roof with tiles before they start building the wall.

The She people are skilled in weaving and embroidery. Their cleverly woven products are for everyday use, but they have aesthetic value as well. Waistbands are typified by their variety of pattern, colour blend of and distinctive national features. The bamboo hats are exquisitely made as part of the She women's decoration as well as protecting them against rain and wind.

Traditional festivals survive. Two major ones are observed on the third of March and the second of February according to lunar calendar. To celebrate the Third of March Festival, the She people cook dark rice - rice cooked with the dark leaves of a wild local plant. Each family eats dark rice, gives it as a gift and offers it to worship the ancestors. The Second of February is the day when friends and relatives of the She people meet. The festival, with a history of more than 2oo years, is a joyful occasion for family gathering and reunion.

The She people believe in ghosts and gods. Every 15th day of the lunar month in February, July and August, the She people offer sacrifices to their ancestors. In addition to worshipping the ancestors of their particular families, they worship the ancestors of the She nationality. Usually family members with the same surname gather to hold the memorial ceremony in a local temple. What goes on in the temple is mostly hidden from outsiders.

The She people are fond of singing and dancing and are especially good at folk-singing. Their folk songs are rich in melody and rhythm and are quite distinct from other nationalities. If you go to look at the She girls working among the beautiful tea trees and to listen to their songs echoing in the mountain, you will have a feeling that nature has surely turned their hardª²labour into an artist's picture!