China News Service, Duyun, Guizhou, February 16th: How do Guizhou Shuishu literature confirm the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization?
——Exclusive interview with Ge Mingyi, a special researcher at Guizhou Provincial Research Institute of Literature and History
Author Liu Meiling
As a relic of early human civilization, the water-scripted documents of Guizhou Province in China preserve rich and ancient cultural information. In January 2024, the phased results of Guizhou Province's water calligraphy literature research were released: Chinese water calligraphy characters have the same symbols as those of cultural relics unearthed in many places in China. What unique value and significance does Guizhou Province's Shuishi Shu literature have for studying the origin and form of early human civilization? How does it confirm the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization? Recently, Ge Mingyi, director of the Qiannan Prefecture Archives in Guizhou Province and a special researcher at the Guizhou Provincial Institute of Literature and History, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" on this issue.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: Why is it said that Guizhou Province's water-related documents are proof of the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization?
Ge Mingyi:
As one of the ethnic minorities in China, the Shui people have a long cultural heritage and have their own writing - Shuishi script. Shui Shu documents are actually composed of historical documents written in Shui Shu characters, Mr. Shui Shu's text interpretation, oral recitations extended from Shui Shu documents, and related folk activities.
As one of the few hieroglyphics still in use in the world, Shuishi script has a long history. Mo Youzhi, a famous epigrapher in the Qing Dynasty, in "Preface to the Ancient Carved Songs of Hongya", based on the pronunciation and structure of the Shuishi script, suspected that it was the most concise and ancient script in the pre-Qin period.
In the 1940s, ethnologist Cen Jiawu and linguist Zhang Weigang believed that "the pictographic principle of Shuishi script is similar to that of oracle bone inscriptions, and there should be a marriage relationship with oracle bone inscriptions." Cen Jiawu also discovered that the writing style of Shui calligraphy is similar to that of oracle bone inscriptions, and "it is suspected that it is related to the Yin people."
In Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, visitors listen to the guide introducing the "Water Book" at the "Water Culture Museum". Photo by China News Service reporter Qu Honglun
According to the latest research, the Shuishi script is the same as 24 graphical symbols unearthed from the Erlitou Xiadu Site in Henan Province, 104 of the more than 700 graphical symbols unearthed from the Liangzhu Cultural Site in Zhejiang Province, and the Shuangdun Site in Anhui Province. 73 of the more than 600 glyphs unearthed are the same, and 16 of the 19 glyphs unearthed from the Jiahu site in Henan Province are the same. The correlation between these symbolic forms is an important clue for exploring the origin of Chinese civilization, and has attracted great attention from the academic community.
In addition, there are many factors of early Chinese civilization hidden in the Shui culture. For example, the method of worshiping ancestors with fish and leeks evolved from the "sacrifice of lambs and leeks" in "The Book of Songs·Binfeng·July", and Binfeng It is also a folk song of the Chinese people, so it can be considered that the "fish sacrifice and leek sacrifice" of the Shui people is a Chinese legacy; the pronunciation of some words in the Shuishi script is exactly the same as the pronunciation of the corresponding ancient Chinese words. Linguist Li Fanggui believes that in terms of language and culture, the Shui people "all have the same origin as the Han people", but "the differences have increased over time."
Comparison table between the Chinese water script characters and the engraved symbols on the Erlitou site 3800 years ago. Photo courtesy of Qiannan Prefecture Archives
Comparison table between Chinese water calligraphy characters and the engraved symbols on the Jiahu site 8,300 years ago. Photo courtesy of Qiannan Prefecture Archives
China News Service reporter: How does UNESCO evaluate the historical and cultural value of Guizhou Province’s water calligraphy documents?
Ge Mingyi:
On November 26, 2022, at the ninth meeting of the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Project, the "Guizhou Province Water Script Documents" selected by the State Archives Administration of China were successfully selected into the "Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Directory". It fills the gap of Guizhou Province in this list.
The review conclusion mentioned that this batch of Shui calligraphy documents were written in hieroglyphics and graphic symbols by the Shui people in the mountainous areas of southern Guizhou Province, China, and were interpreted in the language and songs of the Shui people. They were mastered and used by the Shui calligraphy master (Mr. Shui Shu). original religious texts. These documents are unique, have a very valuable content and are a rich cultural treasure trove. This nomination is particularly important for the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
On November 27, 2023, at the invitation of UNESCO, Qiannan Prefecture's water calligraphy documents came to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France for publicity. Its historical and cultural value has been highly recognized by experts and foreign friends. After visiting the exhibition, Ms. Mahda, president of the UNESCO Association, said: "This is the first time I have seen information about the Shui people. I have seen Chinese characters, but I was still shocked by the thousands of years of Shui people's language and culture. The Shui people retain I am deeply impressed by the writings and culture so far." Another senior UNESCO official emphasized: "I visited the exhibition about the Shui people's inheritance of their long history and traditions, which is very meaningful. For today's generation He said that preserving such a rich cultural heritage is both a moral obligation and the goal of UNESCO. In an era of rapid globalization, protecting the cultural heritage of different ethnic groups remains a top priority."
Through the exhibition, cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries have been further strengthened, which has played a role in opening up channels for international cooperation and raising awareness of Shuishi culture.
Compatriots of the Shui ethnic group in Sandu Shui Autonomous County showed people the ancient writing of the Shui ethnic group: Shui Shu. Photo by Wu Dongjun
Reporter from China News Service: Why is it said that Guizhou Province’s water literature shows the harmonious coexistence of man and nature?
Ge Mingyi:
The core content of Shuishi literature is the astronomical calendar. The ancestors of the Shui nationality created their own calendar, the Shui Shu Calendar, based on the movement of celestial bodies and "observation of phenomena and timing" to grasp the rhythm of nature and guide production and life. Like the twenty-four solar terms, the Shui Shu calendar also conforms to the natural phenology.
The ancestors of the Shui people believed that all things had animism, and formed a folk custom of offering sacrifices when necessary. In all sacrificial rituals, Mr. Shuishu, who has been passed down from generation to generation and is familiar with Shuishu literature, must determine the date and time according to Shuishu calendar, determine the content and method of sacrifice according to the provisions in Shuishu literature, chant scriptures, and pray Good weather, good harvests, prosperous people, peace and auspiciousness. This also shows that the ancestors of the Shui people respect and revere nature, objectively forming a benign symbiosis with nature.
These sacrifices and auspicious selection activities preserve the thinking and cognition of early human civilization that all things are animistic and that all spirits are connected, and embody the philosophy and ecological civilization concept of human beings understanding nature, transforming nature, and harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
"Lucky Stars and Astrology Chart" from the Shui Shu Document of Guizhou Province, China. (Photo courtesy of Qiannan Prefecture Archives, Guizhou Province)
Reporter from China News Service: As a relic of early human civilization, what unique value and significance does Guizhou Province's Shuishi literature have for studying the origin and form of early human civilization?
Ge Mingyi:
The contents of Guizhou Province's water books cover various aspects of social life such as Shui people's astronomy and calendar, seasonal sacrifices, and agricultural production.
The ancestors of the Shui people looked up at astronomy and geography, and formed their own unique view of the universe. The word "shi" in the Rushui calligraphy was transformed from the ancient watch that measured the sun's shadow. The world's earliest physical data of the watch instrument was unearthed from the Taosi site in Shanxi about 4,200 years ago. This shows that the ancestors of the Shui people knew how to measure time by measuring poles very early and already had the concept of time.
The character "中" in the Shuishi script is the same as the octagonal symbol in the Liangzhu Cultural Site 5,300 years ago, which has a four-sided and eight-pole space concept. The Shui Shu "Eight Mountains" can perfectly decipher the content of the Hanshan jade plate unearthed at the Lingjiatan site in Anhui 5,600 years ago, and reproduce the connotation of the Eight Mountains and the Twenty-Four Directions.
Audiences view the "Shui Shu Long Scroll" exhibit in the exhibition hall of Guizhou University for Nationalities. Photo by Wang Bingzhen
Shui Shu literature is a concentrated expression of the ideology, moral norms, behavioral norms and spiritual sustenance of the entire Shui people social group. To this day, Mr. Shuishu still uses Shuishu literature to guide the Shui social group in various activities such as sacrifices, festivals, weddings, house building, and agricultural production, as well as in the social governance and culture of neighboring Buyi, Miao, Yao and other social groups. Inheritance has an impact, showing the mutual integration of various Chinese ethnic groups in exchanges and exchanges.
The language, characters, thoughts, and customs inherent in Shuishi literature constitute a vivid cultural ecological pattern. Shuishi literature and the cultural and ecological styles derived from it are living samples for us to observe early human civilization.
Exploring the connection between Shuishi literature and early Chinese civilization is of extremely important value and significance, whether it is to confirm or interpret the consciousness of the Chinese nation's community, or to study the origin and form of early human civilization. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Ge Mingyi attended the 9th meeting of UNESCO held in Andong City, South Korea online from Duyun City, Guizhou Province. Photo courtesy of Qiannan Prefecture Archives
Ge Mingyi, Director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Application of Shuishu in Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou Province, to the Memory of the World Heritage List, Director of the Qiannan Prefecture Archives, and Special Researcher of the Guizhou Provincial Literature and History Research Center. Mainly engaged in local cultural and historical research, ethnic and folk culture research, cultural relics museum research, etc. He has edited and published books such as "Research Documents on Mo Youzhi" and "Ten Collections of Folk Literature and Art in Qiannan Prefecture". In recent years, we have focused on the application of water documents in Guizhou Province for the Memory of the World Heritage List. A team of academic experts at the Chinese national level and a team of local experts in Qiannan Prefecture were formed to study water records, organize and carry out a series of work, and promote Guizhou Province's water call documents to apply for the Memory of the World Register. In 2022, we organized the video shooting of "Guizhou Province Water Calligraphy Documents·Memory Heritage" to promote Guizhou Province Water Calligraphy Documents to be approved at the ninth meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Committee and successfully selected into the "Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Directory" 》.