 Tunpu women, 1920s | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| about 300,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Anshun,Guizhou,China | |
| Languages | |
| Southwestern Mandarin | |
| Religion | |
| Chinese folk religion,Buddhism,Daoism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chuanqing people,Han Chinese (especiallyHakkas) |
TheTunbao orTunpu (Chinese:屯堡) are an ethnic subgroup of theHan, located inGuizhou andYunnan provinces, China. The Tunbao are descended from ethnic Han who were part of an army sent on an expedition to Guizhou during the reign of theMing dynasty'sHongwu Emperor.[1] Long thought to have been a non-Han ethnic minority, their Han origins were proven by Japanese anthropologistTorii Ryuzo in 1896. The Tunbao have preserved much of their culture, costumes, and language from the Ming era.[2]
TheTianlong Tunbao town, located nearAnshun[3] is a historic site where Tunbao homes and customs have been preserved, including the traditional Dixi opera or "ground opera" performances.[4]
In the vicinity of Anshun, Guizhou Province in southwest China, are dozens of mystic villages where the Tunbao people still preserve China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) folklore.
Also found in the area are some three hundred Tunbao communities, literally the garrison fortress villages, with a population of approximately 300,000. The Tunbao inhabitants live in fortlike stone-and-wood houses on ...