壮族

　　壮族在中国少数民族中是人口最多的一个少数民族，主要居住在广西壮族自治区，少数分布在云南、广东、湖南、贵州等省份。 壮族居住的地区，草木常青，百花盛开，风景美丽如画。名扬天下的桂林山水，更是山峰秀丽，河水清澈。那迷人的美景，吸引了来自世界各地的游客。 壮族在历史发展的过程中，创造了瑰丽多彩的文化艺术。分布在左江两岸峭壁上的花山崖壁画，长100多米，高40多米，反映了2,000多年前壮族先民的生活情况。早在战国时期，壮族人就能制造铜鼓，铜鼓既是乐器，也是权力和财富的象征。久负盛名的壮锦，是壮族妇女独创的手工艺品，壮锦用色彩鲜艳的棉、丝、绒线织成，图案非常美丽、别致。壮族人家里的被面、台布、门帘、坐垫、手提袋等用品，都是用壮锦做成的。 壮族人特别喜欢唱山歌。传说唐代有个被称为歌仙的女歌手刘三姐，创造了壮族歌谣，至今仍在各族人民中传唱。“歌墟”(xu)是壮族人传统的歌节。每到节日，青年男女都要穿上节日盛装，聚集到山坡上，对唱山歌。人们用唱歌来表达爱情，结交朋友，祈求风调雨顺，五谷丰登。 壮族人崇拜巨石、老树、高山、土地、龙蛇和祖先等。中元节、牛魂节是壮族特有的节日。中元节又称鬼节，在每年的农历七月十四日举行，是祭祀祖先和野鬼的节日。牛魂节在春耕以后举行，人们给牛吃五色糯米饭和鲜草，为耕牛招魂。

　　The Zhuang

　　The Zhuang, the most populous among the minority groups, mainly live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with a small number distributed in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hunan and Guizhou provinces. The area where the Zhuang people live has evergreen grass and trees, blossoming flowers and a picturesque landscape, especially that in Guilin, which attracts tourists from all over the world. Among the man-made attractions are the Huashan Cliff Murals along the Zuojiang River, which are more than 100 m long and over 40 m high, reflecting the life of the inhabitants over 2,000 years ago. As early as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the Zhuang people could make a bronze drum, which was not only a musical instrument but also a symbol of power and wealth. Zhuang brocade, which has long enjoyed a great reputation, is woven with cotton, silk and floss threads of bright color in exquisite patterns. Quilt covers, tablecloths, door curtains, cushions, handbags and the like in this region are all made of Zhuang brocade. The Zhuang people like to sing folk songs. According to legend, a female singer Liu Sanjie, who was called the Immortal Singer in the Tang Dynasty, invented Zhuang ballads that still circulate and are sung by various ethnic groups. The Antiphonal Song Day is a traditional Zhuang singing festival, when young men and women dressed in their most splendid attire gather on the hills to sing in antiphonal style. Through these songs, people express love, make friends and pray for good weather and a good harvest. The Zhuang people worship big stones, old trees, lofty mountains, land, dragons, snakes, and their ancestors. The Festival of the Dead Spirits and the Festival of the Ox Souls are peculiar to them. The Festival of the Dead Spirits, also called the Ghosts' Festival, is held on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, when sacrifices are offered to the ancestors and to wild ghosts. The Festival of the Ox Souls is held after the spring plowing when people feed their ox with cooked glutinous rice in five colors and fresh grass to recall the spirit of the dead plowing ox.