#Miao ethnicity

[moononmyfloor]

New Life Begins: Li family costume appreciation

DISCLAIMER:

I am not Chinese by nationality nor ethnicity, nor have I received any formal education on Chinese culture and history. Therefore my observations may be erroneous and I'd be grateful for any correction offered by a more knowledgeable party!

Period dramas are not meant to be 100% accurate representation of historical details. Some dramas may attempt to have some semblance of reenactment, in which case it would simply be a bonus. Especially ahistorical fusion dramas will attempt more modified takes on historical wardrobes, sometimes mish-mash pieces with elements from multiple dynasties. So take everything here with a grain of salt.

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The wardrobe of New Life Begins, for the most part gave me a vague Song Dynasty inspired aesthetic. If you followed this drama faithfully you may have noticed that it had gone an extra mile with its worldbuilding details, where there are 9 provinces that would remind you of real provinces of China due to their placements and unique characteristics. I did a post about that here.

There I said, the FL Li Wei's home province Jichuan, makes me think of Yunnan- adjacent area because it is described as mountainous and well-suited for farming, atop other reasons such as its placement on the map..

AND how the styling of the Li family stood out among the other characters! Some details, reminded me slightly of Miao ethnicity, who are especially noted for their silver jewellery.

Here are the similarities I noticed:

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The hairpins and combs

(Left: Miao combs, Right: Li mama's combs)

Additionally notice Li baby brother's thick silver necklace.

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Irregular front lapels of the jacket and bead tassels on hemlines

I don't think I have ever seen something like this on Han Chinese hanfu jackets.

(Left: Miao dress, Right: Li Wei's dress when she first arrived)

Later, when she marries as the Legal Main wife, her wedding dress also improves in details to honor her background, compared to when she first married in as a concubine where she wore a regular red wedding hanfu like everyone else. At first I wondered if it's an alternate version of Xiuhefu but then felt like the finer details resemble the Miao dress more. It wouldn't be far-fetch of an estimation considering how the rest of details I mentioned above also direct to the same conclusion.

Notice the elaborate headdress quite different from the Han wedding jewellery we usually see, the dress itself being a jacket-skirt combo and not a one-piece outer robe etc hanfu.

And of course, the beaded tassel details continue. See the dress in motion here.

I really like that during Yin Zheng's visit to Li Wei's hometown, they incorporated some silver ornament details to his dresses as well.🥰

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Overall I think it's not a stretch for me to say that New Life Begins did care for its visual storytelling a lot, that it attempted to do something layered with its character and costume designs. It is so delightful to see the merging of different elements of different heritages like this, and it is very much fun to go treasure hunting for those details!

I hope you enjoyed this AND, once again, do correct me if I got this wrong!

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More posts by me

[baiwu-jinji]

Came across this very informative video about the Hmong/Miao people (for people who like TGCF, this is the culture that Hua Cheng's mother comes from, and that's why Hua Cheng is perceived as this somewhat "exotic" figure in the novel since Miao is an ethnic minority in China). I recommend this video if you're interested in their culture and history :)

[sheltiechicago]

Amazing Pics That Prove China Is A Place Like No Other

The 88-Metre-High Statue Depicts Yang’asha, A Deity Worshipped By The Miao, A Local Ethnic Group In Guizhou, China

w.n__t

[rrotostap]

Have you seen anyone make a Zhuang miku so far?

I've yet to see anyone do that unfortunately

[thirrith]

lots of interesting things going on with this… feeling all sorts of ways about this…

苗疆miaojiang style fashion designed by hanfu stores

[gh0st-t0wn3]

I finally had time to make proper designs for the Trio!

Redson: Ver 1

Ver 2

I couldn't decide on if I liked it better with the braids or not so I just posted both, but anyways!

I gotta admit, I used to not like the idea of redson having Bull features (except for a small pair of horn maybe) but the concept really grew on me and now I really love it and wanted to try making my own design and I'm really proud with how it turned out.

I would've added more scars, since Guanyins throne pierced his entire body, but there came a point where it just looked like there was too much going on so I had to get rid of a few scars to tone it down, so we're just gonna say they faded over time, okay? Okay.

I also made him Miao (one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China) on PIF's side, and Mongolian on DBK's.

The Miao ethnicity of China has a long history, rich culture, and an ancient folk religion. Adorned in beautiful traditional clothes, possessing natural talent for singing and dancing, they live in uniquely designed indigenous architecture, which I think fits perfectly with how I imagined Princess Iron Fan and with her; Redson.

As for DBK being Mongolian, I saw someone else talking about this headcanon and I just liked it so I decided to use it, I don't really have a specific reason for it, I just thought it fit, not sure why though, it's just one of those things that makes sense even if you don't know why, you know?

Mei:

I made her taller and gave her a long dragon tail (like really long, it drags along the floor if she's not holding it up), though her scales are pretty much everywhere across her body they're most noticeable on her shoulders, thighs, and face (they're a bit hard to see in this photo because they're kinda hidden behind her hair, but I did give her scales beside her eyes)

I also gave her horns these little spiral designs around them, gave her sharper nails, and designed her ears to look like coral, since she's a water dragon and I thought they looked cool.

Honestly idk what else to say about her design, I didn't have anything specific in mind when designing her, I kinda just had to wing it, but I'm happy with how it turned out :)

(I also made her Bengali, on her dad's side, but it's not really important or has any reason behind it, just a headcanon I've had for a while, don't know where it came from though)

MK:

Alot of people have speculated that the monkey form we see during the fight against Azure in season 4 isn't MK's full form yet, that we're just seeing a fraction of what he's yet to become, based on the fact that while he has the weird side burns, the tail and the face marking, he also lacks a natural skin tone, they didn't give him a proper nose etc, so I wanted to play with the idea.

I decided to make him this strange mix between human and monkey, leaving him pretty much human with the addition of his tail(s), and weird li'l monkey feet.

(I was also gonna give MK more arm/leg hair, it was in my first sketch, but I forgot to add them when I was doing the line art and didn't realize until after I saved it as a jpeg, so that's my bad, but I'm gonna add it in to any other art I make)

It's also a bit hard to see in this, but I designed his staff with more details, specifically adding dragon-esque imagery to the Golden ends, this is because (for anyone who's new to the fandom/hasn't read JTTW) Wukong's staff was originally one of the several pillars that held up the sea in the dragon palace, until he stole it and shrunk it down to use as his weapon.

I also did MK's clones :)

Porty MK:

I gave him stripes of coloured hair and gave his tails all different colours, though I don't think he would actually dye it, instead I like to think that he would use that really crappy dollar store spray in hair dye (or hair chalk). I kept the fishnet clothes that I added in my originally design of him for my headcanons post, and decided to give him striped elbow length fingerless gloves.

I also gave him a cropped shirt, ripped shorts and these weird fingerless glove-esque shoes for convenience, since regular shows seem like they would be uncomfortable.

Edit: my dumbass forgot Porty's stupid print jacket 😭

Artist MK:

For Artist MK I gave him overalls and a jacket over it, which he wears specifically for when he's doing paintings so he doesn't ruin too many of his actual clothes (I know I said that this was inspod by Circusapple, which it still is, but this is almost exactly what I wear when I'm painting too, just in different colours).

I also gave him those gloves that digital artists wear so they're hands don't accidently trigger something on the screen because everyone knows that every artist just walks around with their art glove on even when it's not necessary.

Delivery MK:

I have to admit, I was never a big fan of MK's work uniform just being his regular clothes with a work jacket thrown over it so I wanted to try and make him look a little more professional and decided to instead give him a chef coat (similar to the one Pigsy wears on the show as well), with a logo for the restaurant on the chest, along with it I gave him plain black pants, since casual red jeans didn't seem very professional (I know he's just a delivery person, but if you were to look at pretty much any food corporation, even people who do deliveries have to wear uniform, so it's always been kinda strange to me that he's just in regular clothes). 

The shoes were harder to make professional given the whole "half-monkey" thing so I opted to give him the same strange fingerless glove-esque shoes for comfort and convenience, but made them plain black as well.

[city-of-ladies]

Women warriors in Chinese history - Part 1

“In the nomadic tribes of the foreign princesses from the Steppes northwest to the northeast of the Chinese borders, women habitually rode horses and were frequently also skilled militarily. They had to be able to survive on their own and defend themselves when their men left camp to herd animals for months on end. Thus, unsurprisingly, many daughters of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribal chiefs were also capable fighters. Madam Pan 潘夫人 of “barbarian origins” during the Wei dynasty, the semi-barbarian Princess Pingyang 平陽公主 who helped establish the Tang dynasty, and the “barbarian queen,” Empress Dowager Xiao, are historical examples of this category of female generals.

While the barbarians to the north were known as fan 番, those belonging to peripheral areas from the southwest to the southeast were known as man 蠻. Like the nomadic princesses, these women of non-Chinese or Chinese ethnic minority groups did not bind their feet and could thus become formidable opponents. Indeed, the female battle units within the Taiping 太平 rebel forces that actually entered combat – rather than merely providing labour as most of the female units did –were reportedly made up in the main of women from the Miao 苗 tribes, aside from the Hakka (Kejia 客家) women of Guangxi. 

Female bandit leaders or daughters and sisters of bandit leaders who occupied mountains or established strongholds in marginal lands are almost indistinguishable from the man barbarian princesses of tribal chieftains in novels and shadow plays. Such barbarian women generals and female bandit leaders were rarely privileged enough to be recorded by the historians. The three found most frequently, Madam Xi 洗夫人 (502– 557), Madam Washi 瓦���夫人 (1498–1557),95 and Madam Xu 許夫人 (1271–1368), were all pro-Chinese. While the first two cooperated with the Chinese government, the third joined Chinese forces against the Mongols. A certain Zhejie 折節 or Shejie 蛇節, a female leader of the Miao tribe, also led a rebellion against Mongol troupes, but she eventually surrendered to them and was subsequently executed. 

Real enemies of the Chinese empire, such as the Trv’vy sisters of Vietnam, are hardly ever mentioned by the Chinese, even though they are first recorded in the Han dynastic history. Even under such circumstances, of the women commanders in Chinese history studied by Xiaolin Li, a hefty per cent were from “minor nationalities.”

Female rebel leaders and women warriors in rebel forces tended to rise from peasantry and marginal groups such as families of itinerant performers, robbers, boatmen, and hunters. Many of them are beautiful and charismatic. Most of the rebel groups were basically bandits (known as haohan 好漢, “bravos” euphemistically) – how else could they have survived without a continuous source of income? Many of the bandit groups, like the sworn brothers of the Water Margin, lived in mountains and marshlands, awaiting a chance to start or join in an uprising with the hope of gaining power and legitimacy through either pardon (when they posed too great a threat to the state) or founding a new dynasty. Many had sisters, wives, or daughters who were also capable of leading armies.”

Chinese shadow theatre: history, popular religion, and women warriors, Fan Pen Li Chen

[asksythe]

Hua Cheng’s Design

Source: 孤世中逢影 Gu Shi Zhong Feng Ying (weibo) on Hua Cheng’s design as based on Miao ethnic group culture - with snippets from a Chinese Documentary on Miao Ethnic People and an interview with Shi sifu, one of the last traditional Miao silversmiths - Sina TV.

 Translator: Sythe / NPD Khanh

Hua Cheng’s character design. As we all know, the image of Hua Cheng was established based on the Miao ethnic group, so let's see the specific origin of things on Hua Cheng’s person.

1. Red umbrella:

The red umbrella in Miao culture is one of the indispensable props at marriage and celebrations. The red umbrella symbolizes great auspiciousness as one’s desires, numerous children and grandchildren, sheltering from the wind and rain, exorcising evil spirits, and shielding people from disasters. All of these together are a perfect fit to represent the blessings of the heavens (Tian Guan Ci Fu, the name of the novel) with no taboos or misfortunes.

At the same time, in the opening episode of Tian Guan Ci Fu, Xie Lian mistook Hua Cheng for a bridegroom ghost. The situation fits perfectly like a miracle as a red umbrella is required for a wedding. 

2. Silver butterfly, maple leaves.

The Miao people have long had an ancient song, "Feng Mu Ge" (Song of the Maple Tree), to praise the beauty of life. The Miao people also consider butterflies as the ancestral mother, who can bless the village to be peaceful, the children to thrive, and the nation to flourish.

Maple leaves and butterflies represent rebirth, and reincarnation. These motifs can be seen in the culture of the Miao people everywhere, from clothes to jewelry to household decorations. The most famous is the Hong He area, located in an autonomous district of the Miao ethnic group in Yunnan. Whether it is nature or people, maple leaves and butterflies are popular, cherished symbols.

ps. The butterfly decoration that the author saw while traveling in Yunnan is also an inspiration.

"When I was traveling in Yunnan, there was a butterfly decoration in front of the hotel elevator,” Mo Xiang looked at it and thought. After a while, she said proudly, "He will raise a kaleidoscope of butterflies." (From MXTX Author’s Notes and Interview) 

3. Silver Jewelry

This goes without saying much, silverware is an important component of Miao culture, "the more beautiful, the better;” "Miao people’s iconic silver jewelry is used to pray for peace and as a token of love or a proposal of marriage.” Speaking of which, Hua Cheng’s character design is based on ethnic Miao people. Of course, the same jewelry is used. The inheritor of the art of Miao silversmithing, Shi sifu, also said, Hua Cheng is steeped in Miao Guang symbolism and aesthetics.

4. Other

If you read the novel, it’s not difficult to figure out:

Huacheng used a red umbrella because when he was young and weak and had nothing. Xie Lian gave him a red umbrella to shield him from the wind and rain.

Hua Cheng uses corral beads because this is one of Xie Lien's lost earrings. In Taoism, coral represents the heart. Taking this into account, Xie Lian in the book had two corral earrings. The implication of this symbolism then becomes quite enticing. 

Hua Cheng strung the red string of fated love because, during the Gentle Fragrance part of the book, Xie Lian gently cut a hair strand and gifted it to him. In our country's traditional culture, tying your hair together represents binding marriage. The red line represents your destined intertwined path.

From the beginning to the end, the author demonstrated the changes in Hua Cheng. "Become a better, stronger person because of him, for him". All of Hua Cheng’s character progressions developed according to the plot, gradually revealing layers of meaning, and not built by forced intention. Therefore, in successfully portraying such a character, the author moved the reader’s heart and created a miracle. 

A Love that is unchanged even in the face of death. 

[quirkylilcumlord]

i’m reading through the wikipedia pages (sorry) of different ethnic groups in china for reference, and i can see how hua cheng’s silver jewelry and clothing is heavily inspired by miao culture and fashion, it’s pretty neat

[zaobitouguang]

Chinese Ethnic Minority Literature

I just finished taking an incredibly eye-opening class about Chinese ethnic minority literature. China has a thriving minority literature scene, and it's absolutely fascinating and full of interesting works, so I wanted to share some of the authors that I learned about this semester! This is, obviously, an incomplete list-- it's pretty heavily biased towards what we read about in class, and there's probably a lot I've missed!

For any authors with full works that have been translated into English, I've listed it under their names. Some other authors may also have poems or short stories published in translation online or in anthologies.

Hani 哈尼

Mo Du 莫獨 (b. 1963) - poems

Hui 回族

Huo Da 霍達 (b. 1945) - novels

The Jade King: History of a Chinese Muslim Family (1992)

Zhang Chengzhi 張承志 (b. 1948) -novels, short stories

The Black Steed (1990)

Korean 朝鮮族

Jin Renshun 金仁順 (b. 1970) - novels, short stories

Jin Wenxue 金文學 (b. 1962) - novels

Manchu 滿族

Duanmu Hongliang 端木蕻良 (1912-1996)

Lao She 老舍 (1899-1966) - novels, short stories, plays

Rickshaw Boy (1945, 2010)

Miao (Hmong) 苗族

He Xiaozhu 何小竹 (b. 1963) - poems, novels

Shen Congwen* 沈從文 (1902-1988) - novels, short stories

Imperfect Paradise (1995)

Border Town (2009)

Mongolian 蒙古族

Altai 阿爾泰 (b. 1949) - poems

Bao Liying 包麗英 (b. 1968) - novels

Baoyinhexige 寶音賀希格 - poems

Chen Ganglong 陳崗龍 (b. 1970) - poems

Guo Xuebo 郭雪波 (b. 1948) - novels, short stories

The Desert Wolf (1996)

Malaqinfu 瑪拉沁夫 (b. 1930)- novels

Naxi 納西族

Sha Li 沙蠡 (1953-2008) - novels

Yang Zhengwen 楊正文 (b. 1943) - novels

Qiang 羌族

Qiang Renliu 羌人六 (b. 1987) - poems

Yangzi/Yang Guoqing 羊子/楊國慶 - poems

Tibetan 藏族

Alai 阿來 (b. 1959) - novels, short stories

Red Poppies (2003)

The Song of King Gesar (2013)

Tashi Dawa 扎西達娃 (b. 1959) - novels, short stories

A Soul in Bondage: Stories from Tibet (1992)

Yangdron 央珍 (b. 1963) - novels

Uyghur 維吾爾族

Alat Asem 阿拉提·阿斯木 (b. 1958) - novels, short stories

Confessions of a Jade Lord (2019)

Wa/Va 佤族

Burao Yilu 布饒依露 - poems

Yi 彝族

Aku Wuwu 阿庫烏霧 (b. 1964) - poems, essays

Tiger Traces: Selected Nuosu and Chinese Poetry of Aku Wuwu (2006)

Coyote Traces: Aku Wuwu's Poetic Sojourn in America (2015)

Bamo Qubumo 巴莫曲佈嫫 (b. 1964) - poems, academic articles

Eni Mushasijia 俄尼·牧莎斯加 (b. 1970) - poems

Jidi Majia 吉狄馬加 (b. 1961) - poems

I, Snow Leopard (2016)

Words from the Fire: Poems by Jidi Majia (2018)

Jimu Langge 吉木狼格 (b. 1963) - poems

Lu Juan 魯娟 (b. 1982) - poems

Ma Deqing 馬德清 (1952-2013) - poems, novels

Na Zhangyuan 納張元 (b. 1966) - essays

*Shen has both Miao and Tujia ancestry, as well as Han. However, I see him listed most frequently as Miao.

More Resources on Ethnic Minority Literature:

Altaic Storytelling: The blog of translator Bruce Humes (translator of Confessions of a Jade Lord, among other works). Has a fairly broad focus, but he's written a lot about ethnic minorities.

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Ethnic Literature: China has a thriving infrastructure to support the writing of and research into ethnic minority literature, and this is one of the larger institutions. I believe their research focuses more on oral traditions, but they have some information about contemporary writers as well.

Chinese Women Writers on the Environment: An anthology of eco-fiction by female ethnic minority writers.

Golden Horse Award 駿馬獎: This is an annual award for ethnic minority literature. The wikipedia link lists all the previous winners.

The Leeds Center for New Chinese Writing: Again not specific to ethnic minorities, but features several ethnic minority authors.

Paper Republic: This organization is devoted to translated Chinese writing and isn't specific to ethnic minority literature but has information about and translations of some of the writers on this list.

Poetry International: This website isn't specific to ethnic minorities or even to China, but many of the poets on this list have pages there with a few poems translated into English.

[yourdailyqueer]

Miao Poya

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 2 October 1987

Ethnicity: Taiwanese (Waisheng)

Occupation: Politician (Social Democratic Party), activist

[kungfuwushuworld]

The miaodao (苗刀) is a Chinese two-handed dao or saber of the Republican Era, with a narrow blade, long hilt, and an overall length of 1.2 metres (47 in) or more. The name means "sprout saber", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a newly sprouted plant. An early reference, in Jin Yiming’s Single Defense-Saber, makes a connection between the miaodao and the Qing-era wodao, as well as mentioning both single and two-handed versions of the ‘’miaodao’’, suggesting that the name originally described the shape only, without any connotations of size. While the miaodao is a recent weapon, the name has come to be applied to a variety of earlier Chinese long sabers, such as the zhanmadao and changdao. Along with the dadao, miaodao were used by some Chinese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

While the miaodao is rarely practiced in modern Chinese martial arts, some schools of piguaquan and tongbeiquan (in the Guo Changsheng lineage) and xingyiquan train with the weapon. The miaodao is also often mistakenly claimed to have been one of the weapons taught at the Central Military Academy in Nanjing; the weapon in question was actually a European-style officer's saber, though some later schools may have based miaodao techniques on this form.

The "miao" of miaodao should not be confused with the Miao ethnic group, who are not associated with this weapon.

[arabella-77]

MLQC CN Event - The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style Theme.

The new Qixi (Chinese Valentine's Day) event on Love and Producer China Server is coming. And this time they give us amazing arts, base on the Chinese Minority Ethnic Style patterns, legends, art symbols and motifs. The details are also amazing.

Gavin's art, costumes, embroidery patterns and mask refer to Tujia Ethnic culture.

The brocade on Mc clothes is also like the Tujia brocade "Xilankapu". Another legend says that Xilan is a person's name, and Kapu is the flower she wove. Her story is also related to ginkgo flower.

Even Gavin's Little White Tiger is a totem that is worshipped by minority ethnic people in Southwest China.

Kiro's art is Mongolian style.

Mongolian people live in grassland and are famous for their horse riding skills.

And Shaw's outfit is look like Miao Minority.

The Miao people's festive attractions are also include horse racing and bullfights.

This is why Shaw's pet is little bull.

Victor and Lucien in another post.

[sylvia-forest]

[CN] Shaw's Field Date (Part 1)

⚡Warning: This post contains detailed spoiler's for a Date which hasn't been released in EN yet!⚡

[This date was translated with the help of Google translate!]

✧[Section 1]✧

Shaw's message: "If the old man doesn't grant me leave, I won't be able to come back to celebrate the Qixi Festival." MC: Hm…

Looking at the text on the phone, I let out a long sigh.

During this period, I will be filming a cultural and tourism promotional program about ethnic fashion. Shaw will be accompanying the professor for field research, and both of us was away from Loveland City.

As a result, what should have been a joyous "couples' summer vacation" has now turned into being apart from each other.

We had previously planned to set aside at least two days for Qixi Festival to find a place and have some fun together. However, upon seeing this message…

MC: "It's okay, let's forget about it... Um, will he think I'm being stubborn?" MC: "It's okay, I can't take time off either... Wait, this sentence sounds a bit strange, let's delete it…"

Characters are jumping on the screen, and I keep withdrawing them.

Just as I was considering how to reply, the director nearby called me.

Director: MC, it's possible that we won't be able to film the scenes about Miao Village the day after tomorrow. MC: Huh? Why? Director: We didn't notice before, but just now we sent a drone out, and we realized that on the other side of the mountain, at Cuisong Slope, it seems like some archaeological excavation is taking place. Director: The entire area is full of pits and uneven terrain, it's impossible to capture on camera! MC: How about letting the drone shoot from a different angle? Director: We just tried it, and the results were just okay. The main issue is that Cuisong Slope is right between the bamboo forest and the Miao village, and it's difficult to frame the shot properly…

The director paused, as if he had an idea.

Director: Wait a moment, maybe we should talk to them. It might be possible to ask them to stop work for two days, move the excavators and such away, and then we could manage with the visuals? MC: That could work... I'll try talking to them and see if we can find a compromise.

After making up my mind, I asked the production team to contact the local cultural and tourism bureau. Meanwhile, I set off to meet the archaeological team in person and have a face-to-face discussion.

As soon as I got in the car, my cell phone rang.

MC: Oh, shit!

With this unexpected turn of events, I haven't had a chance to reply to Shaw's message yet!

I hastily pressed the call button, and a low-octave voice came over immediately.

Shaw [on the phone]: I saw you typing for almost two minutes, and then you disappeared. What happened? Shaw: ...you're not mad at my message, are you?

Even though his voice sounded confident, his sentences were subtly probing. I found it amusing and couldn't help but curl my lips into a smile.

MC: I'm not upset at all. I just got caught up with work and couldn't reply to your message right away. Coincidentally, you called just as I was about to respond. Shaw: Fine.

Shaw hummed twice, which could be considered him acknowledging my explanation. At that moment, I heard a burst of noise on his end, as if he was arguing about something.

MC: What happened to you guys? Shaw: Oh nothing, just now a program team called and wanted us to stop work so they could shoot. MC: …..? Shaw: Now the program producer over there says they want to talk face-to-face with us. Tsk tsk, quite arrogant. Your company shouldn't learn from them. Shaw: Old Man Shen wants to take me along. He said we must show that arrogant producer who's in charge when the time comes. Shaw: But if they do stop work, it seems like I might be able to fight for some time off again… MC: ….. MC: …Shaw.

I interrupted Shaw's muttering.

Shaw: What's wrong? MC: I never asked before, where is your field research site? Shaw: Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't know. It's called Cuisong Slope, right next to a Miao village, extremely remote... Why suddenly ask about this? MC: ….

I took a deep breath, signaled the driver to increase the accelerator, and spoke with a smile.

MC: The producer of the program you're about to dismantle… should be me.

✧[Section 2]✧

Shaw: ….. MC: …… Professor Shen: …..

In the afternoon at the archaeological site, there was complete silence. Professor Shen wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead and gave a slight cough.

Professor Shen: We originally thought that we encountered some unreasonable program group, but we didn't expect it to be...... MC: It's okay. It might have been a little misunderstanding from the start of our phone conversation, which led to the confusion on your part as well. Professor Shen: Hahaha it's okay.

…There was silence again.

I turned my gaze to Shaw, desperately sending him a "help" signal. He subtly glanced at me and then spoke up.

Shaw: What's so awkward about it? Worst case, you two can pretend not to know each other, and I'll just introduce you again, right?

He gestured with four fingers close together, pointing at Professor Shen, and then pointed at me.

Shaw: This person— is Professor Shen, in charge of the Cuisong Slope archaeological excavation work, and this person is Miss MC, the producer from [MC Company's Name]. Shaw: Is this formal enough?

Professor Shen shook hands with me, and the atmosphere relaxed.

I formally expressed the needs of our program to Professor Shen, and he nodded happily.

Professor Shen: Since you also want to promote the customs and culture here, of course we can cooperate. Professor Shen: You don't need to worry about the duration of the work stoppage. I'll communicate with the team here. Besides…

The old gentleman glanced at Shaw who was at the side, and lowered his voice.

Professor Shen: Some people have asked me for time off multiple times, eager to spend the Qixi Festival with their girlfriends. Now they're finally getting their wish fulfilled.

Shaw: Hello, you two don't think I can't hear you. Shaw: Moreover, when have I taken time off multiple times? Am I the kind of person who can't separate work and personal matters? Among the whole archaeological team, I'm the most dedicated person…

Professor Shen: So, starting from today, the archaeological team is taking a break, and you can continue working. Go be a tour guide for your girlfriend. How about showing some "dedication to the job"?

Professor Shen waved his hand generously, and blocked all Shaw's stubborn words.

I chuckled, took Shaw's hand, and waved towards Professor Shen.

MC: Thank you, Professor Shen, for cooperating with our work and letting us borrow your star student!

Back in the car of the production team, Shaw and I sat side by side in the back seat. He had his arm propped up, looking out the window, but suddenly he turned his head…

Shaw: Why are you staring at me? MC: ...Is my gaze really that noticeable? Shaw: It's obvious from before even getting in the car.

My face flushed, not wanting him to catch on to the uncontainable longing. I coughed awkwardly.

MC [blushes]: It's nothing, I'm just surprised to see you dressed so casually for once, it's a bit unexpected~

The Shaw in front of me now feels completely different from the Shaw in Loveland City.

The Shaw I usually see is always the most conspicuous one in the crowd, but today he's just wearing a simple vest covered with work overall.

The fabric was stained with dirt and mud spots, clearly indicating that he had spent this time in the dirt pits.

I reached out and poked the small cluster of hair tied up with an elastic band at the back of his head. It was a little prickly and a little itchy.

MC: Your hair has gotten longer.

Shaw: I've been so busy, and I didn't want Tony, the local hair stylist, to touch my hair, so I just let it grow.

Shaw shrugged nonchalantly, and my fingers shifted along the tips of his hair. I poked the slightly reddened sunburn on his cheek.

MC: You've gotten tanned as well. Shaw: Yeah, digging in the soil during the peak of summer, it'd be strange if I didn't get tanned.

He paused, and suddenly looked at me suspiciously.

Shaw: Are you…? MC: What? Shaw: …nothing. MC: What "nothing," why stop in the middle of your sentence?!

But no matter how much I pestered him, Shaw refused to speak, and even put on his earphones.

Hmph!

After the car returned to the shooting location, there was still a lot of work that I needed to continue to participate in.

I gave Shaw an apologetic look and then turned to coordinate with my colleagues to wrap up the remaining tasks.

MC: I'm off work, do you want to go to a nearby town to have a good meal tonight?

Shaw [someone feeling jealous]: Who were those guys wearing ethnic clothing just now? MC: Just now?

I froze for a moment before realizing that Shaw was referring to the male models who came to ask me about the filming of the Qixi Festival at the end.

MC: They are the models we hired for the Qixi Festival. Since we are filming an ethnic-themed program, they naturally need to wear ethnic clothing.

Shaw: …..Do you still want to shoot during the festival? MC: Exactly, these are the hardworking laborers. MC: Speaking of which, why did you suddenly ask about them?

Shaw: Nothing much, just... they were dressed so flamboyantly in ethnic attire, and their appearances seemed so mature for their age, it felt a bit strange. MC: ?? Mature? My eye for choosing models shouldn't be that bad, and besides, their ages are similar to yours.

As soon as I said that, Shaw seemed to have been poked by something, and his expression subtly changed.

Shaw: …… Shaw: ……

He opened his mouth, then closed it, and tugged at his dusty work overall.

Shaw: I'm hungry. How about having some local specialty sour soup fish for dinner? MC: - That's a great idea! - Wait, why did you change the subject again?

Seeing Shaw about to walk away, I quickly grabbed his arm and took the opportunity to express my confusion.

MC: Shaw, I have a serious question for you.

MC: Did you got jealous when you saw me talking to the male models? 

—

⚡ Part 2

[bl-supremacy]

Ok so you guys probably remember how it was said that Hua Cheng is half from the Miao ethnic group, yes? So I went on this website where they sell traditional clothing, that I like to use as a reference and I checked if they have any jewelry from the Miao nationality. And oh boy they do. They're gorgeous. Like these are some pictures of Hua Cheng (pay specific attention to his necklace):

Yes the second one is a meme hush I download every picture I like.

And these are some official necklaces for the Miao nationality:

It's just gorgeous. And as I looked up more pictures, the women specifically really love to deck themselves in jingling jewelry (can anyone blame them, really?) and it's so beautiful.

And then we also know Hua Cheng has silver vambraces. Well I found a silver bracelet on the website too, again, from the Miao nationality:

I'm just. Obsessed. The details. The beauty.

Man I love that by reading about these characters, I learn so much about other cultures. I get to actually understand their characters more. But I learn. As these are actual real people that the author (MXTX in this case specifically) took inspiration from. Then the artists who drew the arts also did their research about it and drew jewelry according to their culture.

I'm really loving all this.

Is this something mind-blowing in general? Probably not. But I like learning new things, I find cultures just interesting as they are. And learning about them and being able to connect my favorite characters to them makes the learning so much more fun.

Btw all of these are available on the Asian Culture Shop website, you can buy them, but they're expensive. Even so I recommend you go there and just look at all the different clothings, they're all so gorgeous.

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

This year Qixi event theme seems interesting! Hopefully PG will do the culture justice. Can I ask what ethnic each boy represent? I want to learn more about them 🥰

ahhh i’m very thrilled about this minzu themed event! and especially since it’s set in the canon dating verse (the wheeze i got out of this tho since i was talking about this on twitter long before the event announcement lol 😂), i’m even more excited to see how the writers handled the lores and the cultural aspects! weekend can you come any sooner so that i can read them all properly ugghh >.<

as for the ethnic groups each boy represents (hope you don’t mind me using their CN names cause it only feels right this way AHHH)—

✦ Zhou Qiluo - (蒙古族) Mongol ethnic group of north China and Inner Mongolia

✦ Bai Qi - (土家族) Tujia ethnic group of Hunan

✦ Xu Mo - (藏族) Tibetan ethnic group

✦ Li Zeyan - his is slightly different (which is evident in the CGs too). the location Li Zeyan and MC are traveling to is Luolan (楼兰), currently a desert and ruins, once was an ancient kingdom and it was inhabited by various ethnic groups since the dawn of times. The ethnic group Li Zeyan and MC are representing is supposedly the Tocharians (吐火罗人), who were the originators that established the Luolan Kingdom and they were actually Indo-Europeans from the West. To be more specific, Li Zeyan is embodying the last generation of royalty of the Luolan Kingdom.

✦ Ling Xiao - (苗族) Miao ethnic group of southwest China.

hope this helps! (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.💕

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