Hmong: Appreciation

Come to Lively Guizhou and Immerse Yourself in a Day at the Sisters Festival!

Follow the Excitement on the Qingshui River and Enjoy the Thrill of “Dragon-Hunting”.

The Hmong have lived in mountainous terrain since time immemorial, and they have accordingly constructed stilt houses, structures that are well-adapted to the surrounding environment. The craft involved in constructing these buildings has been passed down for millenia, and it is what allows Hmong buildings to stand firm on steep slopes.

The beautiful costumes that we saw at the Sisters Festival stunned us, and they also made us wonder about the Hmong pursuit of beauty in life. We thus turned to investigate the embroidery that was so integral to Hmong attire. Embroidery served as a gateway for exploring and understanding Hmong mythology, the roles that women play in Hmong society, and the history of the Hmong. Thus was the documentary “Hua’s Hmong Embroidery” born.

As one of the most important festivals for the Hmong, the Sisters Festival is also the origin of many Hmong marriages. On that day, both Hmong male and female dress up and gather together to eat the colorful Sisters rice, and love beings to descend.

Split-thread stitching in the Qingshui River area of Shidong, Taijiang County, Guizhou Province, is a national intangible cultural heritage. Through artistic imagination and mythological thinking, Hmong women artists create exaggerated and formalized patterns, presenting a harmonious coexistence of human and all living creatures in nature, providing a unique aesthetic experience for the viewers.

Hongjiang in Hunan was a busy regional port on the Yuan River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Both Qingshui River and Wuyang River in Qiandongnan flow into the Yuan at Hongjiang. Before the 1940s, the common local saying of “going to Hongjiang” referred to conducting riverine trade.

As the sacred classics through which Hmong ancestors narrate and express their perspectives on Hmong philosophy, Hmong song poetry (Kwv Txhiaj) embodies the essence of the Hmong people’s life, beliefs, and culture. Just like the Torah for Jewish people, Hmong song poetry holds the same importance for the Hmong people and can be regarded as their equivalent of the Torah.