Description of the “Barbarians” in the Qing Dynasty Album “Pictures of Miao from the Entire Guizhou” (“Quanqian Miaotu”)

Abstract

The article examines the album “Pictures of Miao from the Entire Guizhou” (全黔苗圖 Quanqian miaotu, Xyl. F-27), stored in the St. Petersburg State University Academic Library. The key objectives of the article are to determine the place of the album in the Chinese tradition of describing foreigners; description of the source structure; as well as highlighting ethnographic and folklore information in the album about foreigners. The relevance of the study is seen in the timeliness of a comparative analysis of this album with similar copies stored in research centers around the world and studied over the past few decades. The author sets himself the task of studying this album and identifying its key features. The methodology uses historical comparative studies, which allows to come to general conclusions based on the material of several similar albums. The Album contains valuable ethnographic information about ethnic groups of Guizhou. Descriptions together with hand-written illustrations contain information about the location of particular ethnic groups, their traditional activities, household items, agriculture, clothing. Details concerning the religious activities and rituals reveal the specifics of different ethnicities. This paper discusses various funeral rites making it possible to look at the albums as a source for further research on these groups. Speaking of folklore, it reflects the realities of daily life; for example weaving, drums, birds, tigers are mentioned in the descriptions. Nevertheless, the similarity in linguistic and cultural forms in the Qing Albums and the folklore of the peoples of Southeast Asia can indicate the possibility of relationship and cross-borrowing between administrative documents (such as Albums) and folk narratives. The article is supplied with a table and illustrative material.