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The Zhuang, Nùng, and Tày people are a cluster of Tai peoples with very similar customs and dress known as the Rau peoples. In China, the Zhuang are today the largest non- Han Chinese minority with around 14.5 million population in Guangxi Province alone.
Zhuang, largest ethnic minority of South China, chiefly occupying the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi (created 1958) and Wenshan in Yunnan province. They numbered some 16 million in the early 21st century. The Zhuang speak two closely related Tai dialects, one classified as Northern and the other as Central Tai, with Chinese as their second ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Where The Zhuang Live in China
- Zhuang Languages
- Zhuang History
- Zhuang Religion
- Zhuang Diet
- Zhuang Clothing
- Zhuang Handicrafts and Products
- Customs and Traditions
- Zhuang Architecture
- Zhuang Festivals and Celebrations
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Most Zhuang live in Guangxi, and more than a million live in adjacent areas of Yunnan Province, both of which border Vietnam. Some live in neighboring Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces. The 18 million Zhuang live among other ethnic groups such as the Dong and the Yao.
Most Zhuang speak Mandarin Chinese, but they have their own spoken languages that are related to Thai. They have two main dialect divisions: northern dialects and southern dialects, and there numerous local dialects. Ethnologists count the Zhuang as several people groups due to their mutually unintelligible dialects (and localized cultures). They a...
The Zhuang people originated in Sichuan and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin. When the Qin Dynasty(221–206 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) empires invaded southwards, they moved southwards and westwards to Guangxi, Yunnan, Laos, Burma, and Thailand. The ones who lived around Guangxi and Yunnan sometimes made alliances to defend th...
The Zhuang were originally animistic and practiced sorcery and ancestor worship, but during the Song Dynasty, both Buddhism and Taoismwere introduced and temples of these religions were built. Protestantism was introduced later. They largely follow their ancient religion nowadays.
Grains:Like the Thais to the south, the Zhuang are traditionally rice farmers and lived valleys where they could create rice paddies. When corn was introduced after 1500, they adapted that as a staple grain too. Dishes:Zhuang people eat all kinds of meat. Meat and vegetables are cooked medium well in order to retain the fresh taste. Home-made pickl...
Traditional costumesare worn in ethnic areas or for special occasions. Dexterous Zhuang women use hand-woven fabric to make clothes of various styles. Usually, girls wear a blue-and-black collarless jacket and baggy trousers or batik skirts. A delicately embroidered apron is fastened on the waist. Boys dressed in black front-opening coats with clot...
Xiuqiu(embroidery ball) making is a traditional handicraft. These are symbols of love and happiness. The balls are made of silk cloth and have twelve connected petals. Each petal represents a month and has an image of flowers, plants, or birds on it. The balls are typically red, yellow or green. Originally, xiuqius were a romantic gift. Zhuang girl...
Singing
Zhuang people are fond of singing, and Zhuang areas are also famedas 'the ocean of songs.' During slack farming seasons, holidays, festivals, or at weddings and funerals, Zhuang people will hold Gexu (singing fairs). On these occasions, young people from nearby villages will wear their finest costumes and come together at Gexu to sing songs and meet their possible lover.
Marriage
Zhuang people are monogamous.There are two forms of marriages. One is free love, and the other is arranged marriage by parents. Normally, the young men and women have enough freedom to choose whom they love. However, interference from parents is often seen. Both men and women are the labor force of the family, but only men have the right to inherit the family's property. There is one strange marriage custom among the Zhuang people – the wife stays away from her husband's house after marriage....
Zhuang people like to inhabit and farm valley floorssurrounded by mountains and waters, as they do around the spiky hills of Guilin. The houses there are traditionally mud brick with wooden trusses and tiles, located by a hill (to the south if possible), facing the farmland. They also make mountainside rice terraces. Their mountainside housesare bu...
Besides sharing many festivals with the Han people, Zhuang people also have their own festivals and celebrations. Among them, the Ghost Festival and Singing Festival are the most important ones. The Ghost Festivalis on the 14th or 15th day of the 7th lunar month (around August), and is considered the most important festival after the Spring Festiva...
Learn about the Zhuang, the largest of China's 55 official minorities, who live mainly in Guangxi and Yunnan. Discover their history, language, culture, religion, diet, clothing, handicrafts and customs.
Apr 8, 2021 · Learn about the Zhuang people, the largest ethnic group in China, who have a long history and rich culture. Discover their origins, distribution, customs, and relics from ancient times to the present.
Apr 25, 2018 · Learn about the Zhuang, China's largest ethnic minority, who live mainly in Guangxi and have a rich and ancient heritage. Discover their unique language, agricultural practices, animist beliefs and cultural shows.
- Rachel Deason
Learn about the Zhuang, the largest minority group in China, with a long history and glorious culture. Discover their language, belief, food, clothes, crafts, festivals and more.
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The Standard Zhuang language is based on a northern dialect but few people learn it, therefore Zhuang people from different dialect areas use one of a number of Chinese varieties to communicate with each other. According to a 1980s survey, 42% of Zhuang people are monolingual in Zhuang, while 55% are bilingual in Zhuang and Chinese.
