Guiyang, China News Service, October 10 (Xinhua) -- How can Tunpu culture witness the pluralistic and integrated pattern of the Chinese nation?

——Interview with Zhang Jinkui, researcher of the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and vice president of the Chinese Society of Ming History

Written by Deng Wanli

In Anshun, Guizhou, China, there is a unique group of people who have formed a unique "Tunpu culture" in terms of architecture, language, clothing, and customs. How was Tunpu culture formed, and what is its historical value and practical significance? Are there any similar cultural phenomena overseas? Zhang Jinkui, a researcher at the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and vice president of the Chinese Society of Ming History, recently gave an exclusive interview to China News Service's "East-West Question" on this issue.

The transcript of the interview is summarized below:

China News Service: What is the historical background and social function of the formation of Tunpu in ancient China?

Zhang Jinkui: The emergence of Tunpu is directly related to the ancient Chinese soldier Tuntian. The use of soldiers' tuntian to provide part of the army's provisions has a long history in China.

From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, Tuntian was mainly carried out in the border areas, and the Tuntian system was extended to the interior during the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty inherited the institutional heritage of the Yuan Dynasty, not only implementing the system of guards on a large scale, but also vigorously promoting the soldiers to be stationed in the fields, and to raise soldiers in the fields.

The guard system of the Ming Dynasty was a military system designed to secure the country's borders and maintain internal stability. According to the actual situation in different regions, the imperial court determined that the sergeants of the guard post were relatively full-time tuntian troops according to different proportions, and cultivated barren land near or around the garrison as military tuntian.

The security situation faced by each health center is different. In places where there are still military conflicts or where there is a need for potential military struggles, the Tuntian Army must not only engage in daily agricultural production, but also be ready to take up arms again and participate in the war, and be in a state of "being both an army and a farmer." This led to the emergence of the Tunpu, a by-product of the military tun.

Tunpu is the place where the Tun army lives. During the Ming Dynasty, not only in Guizhou, but also in many areas, such tunbao existed. The specific form and function of the fort are also different in different places, but there are two major functions that are common: one is the military defense function, that is, when the enemy attacks, the sergeants of the tuntian and the family members who assist them in production can quickly withdraw into the castle to avoid serious losses; Another function is that in peacetime, it can be used as a storage place for grain and a living place for soldiers and military households, which is equivalent to a militarized small town.

The picture shows Baojiatun Village, Anshun, Guizhou. Photo by Li Lihong

China News Service: What is unique about the iconic Anshun Tunbao in Guizhou Province, and why is it called a "living fossil" of the history of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhang Jinkui: During the Qing Dynasty, most of the guards were abolished, and the original guards gradually integrated into the local population. Like Anshun Tunbao, which still largely retains the original structure of the Ming Dynasty, it is difficult to see it in other parts of China.

Anshun Tunbao originated from the military action of "transferring the north to conquer the south" implemented in the early years of the Ming Dynasty and the subsequent policy of "transferring the north to fill the south", mainly as an auxiliary facility of the military tun, and the functions of storage and life were more played. Therefore, most of them are distributed near the relatively concentrated traffic arteries in the military cantonments, and at the same time, they are as close as possible to the mountains or water sources, so as to facilitate the use of the mountains to build defense facilities or collect domestic water.

The biggest feature of Anshun Tunpu is that it is distributed in a concentrated and contiguous area, which basically maintains the original appearance, and retains a Han sub-population with the descendants of the military households of the Ming Dynasty and the descendants of the people attached to the guard, which is called "Tunpu people".

More than 600 years later, people can still see women wearing blue, blue and green cardigans with wide brimming, ribbons tied around their waists, crested hairpins on their heads, hostas and silverware, and shoes with upturned toes. They were dressed with obvious elements of Ming Dynasty clothing. Not only the clothing, but also the cultural personality of the ancestors of the Tunpu people, their language and Jianghuai accent have many similarities, the interpretation of the lantern tune with the charm of Jiangnan song; Their customs are distinctively based on traditional Han culture.

The picture shows women in Anshun Tunpu, Guizhou Province exchanging weaving techniques. Photo by Li Lihong

These valuable cultural heritages provide fresh materials for people to understand, feel and study the history of the Ming Dynasty. For example, the study of the actual form of production and life of military households is an important topic studied by the Ming Dynasty Wei Institute, and Anshun Tunbao has left a large number of precious genealogies, inscriptions, documents and other materials, which are very helpful for case studies of military families.

From this point of view, Anshun Tunpu culture is not only a "living fossil" studied by the Ming Dynasty Wei, but also a "living fossil" of the history of the Ming Dynasty.

China News Service: Some scholars have suggested that the Tunpu culture has witnessed the historical process of the pluralism and integration of the Chinese nation.

Zhang Jinkui: The harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups is the foundation for the consolidation of the frontier. At that time, the military households of the Weisu were the concrete implementers of the effective governance of the central government in the border areas, and they were willing to spread the relatively advanced agricultural technology and cultural knowledge they brought from the Central Plains to the local ethnic minorities, effectively promoting the development of the border areas.

The picture shows Benzhai Village, Anshun, Guizhou. Photo by Li Lihong

After the military households of the guard station entered the southwest region, there were not many armed conflicts in the real sense, and they did not last long. Both the guards and their descendants have conducted their dealings with the local ethnic minorities in a peaceful manner.

Tunpu culture is also the embodiment of the Chinese nation's endless and tenacious national character. At that time, the soldiers were ordered to stay away from their homeland, paid great sacrifices, and had a strong sense of responsibility and dedication to their family and country. In this completely unfamiliar land, they overcame many difficulties, took root, and gradually became one with the local ethnic minorities, and jointly contributed to the prosperity and development of this land.

For more than 600 years, Tunpu culture has not only complemented and harmoniously coexisted with different local cultures, but also preserved its own characteristics, showing the spirit of pluralistic unity and harmonious coexistence of the Chinese nation.

The picture shows the performance of the Tunpu local opera. Photo by Li Lihong

China News Service: Is there a similar culture overseas, especially in the West, and what are the similarities and differences between it and China's Tunpu culture?

Zhang Jinkui: In recent years, Tunpu culture has attracted wide attention from academic circles at home and abroad due to its rich historical heritage and unique regional characteristics, and relevant academic research has involved many disciplines such as history, ethnology, sociology, and architecture.

In Western countries, of course, there are also villages and towns that evolved from military immigrants and military castles, but they are different from the Chinese Tunpu culture. The towns developed from military castles in Western countries are only a type of urbanization, and there is basically no national cultural exchange and mutual learning, national integration and development, and there is no phenomenon of "tenacious reservation" of the way of life hundreds of years ago. (ENDS)

Brief introduction of the interviewed experts:

Zhang Jinkui, researcher of the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, professor of the School of History of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and vice president of the Chinese Ming History Society, the main research direction is the military history of the Ming Dynasty, military social history, political history, etc., and he is the author of "Research on the Military Household of the Ming Dynasty Guard", "Research on the Jinyi Guard System in the Ming Dynasty", "Social Changes in the Late Ming Dynasty: Problems and Research", "Macro Chinese History: Shengshi Volume" and other research works on the history of the Ming Dynasty.