Tibetan handwritten newspaper materials

Tibetans are one of the ethnic minorities in China, mainly distributed in Xizang Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces [1]. China has a population of about 6.4 million. In addition, there are Tibetans in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bhutan and other countries.

Tibetan history is an inseparable part of China history and one of the oldest ethnic groups in China. After the establishment of the Tubo government in the early 7th century, the contact between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty became more and more frequent. From 10 century to 16 century, ancient Tibetan culture flourished. 195 1 year, Tibet was peacefully liberated.

Tibetans have their own language and writing. Tibetan language belongs to the Tibetan branch of Sino-Tibetan language family of Tibeto-Burman language family, which is divided into three dialects: Weizang, Kangfang and Amdo. The present Tibetan language is phonography based on ancient Sanskrit and western languages in the early 7th century.

Tibetans believe in Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from India in the 7th century, with a history of 1300 years [2]. People in Xizang has created excellent national culture and has rich cultural heritage in literature, music, dance, painting, sculpture, architectural art and so on. Tibetan carving skills are superb. Besides, Tibetan opera is unique, and Tibetan medicine is an important part of China medicine.

National origin

Tibetans originated from an agricultural tribe in the middle of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. According to archaeological findings, as early as 4000 years ago, Tibetan ancestors lived and multiplied in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. According to historical records in China, Tibetans belonged to a branch of the Western Qiang nationality in the Han Dynasty. Tibetan ancestors, like many ancestors who experienced the Stone Age, first went through the stages of social living and hunting, and gradually learned to raise and cultivate. Tibetan ancestors in Yalong River area on the south bank of Yarlung Zangbo River were later divided into six tribes, namely six yak tribes. In the 6th century A.D., the leader of the Yalong River tribe became the leader of the tribal alliance, and was called the king ("Zanpu" in Tibetan). At this time, it has entered the slave society.

According to Tibetan historical records, the ancestors of the Tubo royal family rose in the Yalong River Valley in the southern part of Tibet, and were the leaders of the "Six Yaks" department, which had been passed down for more than 20 generations before Songzan Gambu. When we enter the patriarchal clan society, we can also see the traces of the matriarchal clan stage from the mother and son names of the first few generations of leaders.

In the 6th century AD, the leader of Shannan Province, known as "learning to make up for the wild", allied with neighboring countries and was honored as the leader. At that time, there were 10 ethnic groups in Tibet, including "Toarey Yang", "Pengbu", "Supi" and "Kampot", all of which had entered the slave society. The leader of the Yalong River tribe became the leader of the tribal alliance, known as "Zanpu" (King), and established a slave dynasty calling itself "Bo".

well-behaved

Tibetans pay great attention to etiquette. In daily life, they bow to their elders and peers in different ways. When you meet an elder or a respected person, you should take off your hat, bend over 45 degrees, hold your hat in your hand and get close to the ground. When you meet your peers, all you have to do is lower your head and put your hat on your chest. At this time, bowing is just a courtesy. In some areas, crossing hands and bowing are used at the same time. Cross your hands above your head as a sign of respect. This kind of gift is mostly used to meet old people or respected people.

Offering Hada is the highest etiquette for Tibetan guests, expressing warm welcome and sincere respect to the guests. Hada is Tibetan, that is, scarf or silk scarf. Mainly white, but also light blue or light yellow, generally about 1.5 meters to 2 meters long and about 20 centimeters wide. The best is the colorful Hada in blue, yellow, white, green and red. Multicolored hada is used for the highest and most solemn ceremonies, such as Buddhism.

Tibetans kowtow to Buddha statues, pagodas, living buddhas and old people. Kowtowing is usually done in temples with religious activities. Put your hands together, hold your head high, bow three times from top to forehead to chest arch, then crawl to the ground, mark the ground with your hands straight, and so on. Kowtowing is also performed in temples. Cross your hands and arch three times, then arch your waist to the foot of the Buddha statue and pat your head gently to show your sincere repentance. When paying homage to the elderly, you should kowtow to show your respect and blessing.

In Tibetan, "bian" means "dirty", "color" means "clear" and "bian" refers to an activity to remove bad luck. On the third or fourth day of the child's birth, relatives and friends will bring highland barley wine, butter tea, clothes and hats to congratulate the child. When the guests arrive, first present Hada to the mother and baby, then propose a toast to the mother and pour tea. Finally, they looked at the baby and praised the child's good luck and facial features. Then they hold a rake with their thumb and forefinger and put it on the baby's forehead, wishing him good luck and progress.

marriage customs

Marriage customs vary from place to place in Tibet, but the basic steps are similar. If a young man and a young woman are interested in each other, we must first ask the Lama to be a Buddha to see if their future marriage is auspicious and their family can be happy. If it is "lucky", then the man or woman will ask their relatives or matchmakers to bring Hada and gifts to each other's home to propose marriage. If the other party agrees to this marriage, they will accept Hada and a gift, and immediately present a Hada as a gift. Subsequently, the two sides negotiated the date of the engagement ceremony. At the engagement ceremony, the man or woman presents gifts to the other family, makes an engagement, holds a banquet to celebrate, and finally invites the living Buddha to sign the divination and choose the wedding date. On the wedding day, either the bride marries the man's family or the groom is adopted by the woman's family. Relatives took horses to each other's house to pick up new people, and the greeted party took his dowry and rushed to the other's house to get married. After welcoming the couple, we arranged to sit down on a special mat and began to offer them hada and wine. In the evening, when the couple entered the bridal chamber, their relatives toasted them and sang blessing song. May they grow old together and have good luck. Within half a year after marriage, both husband and wife will go back to each other's house for a few days. At this point, the whole wedding is over.