Jiarong, Situ May 18 Location: A 1993 study the five Jiarong languages of the Situ Jiarong have GANSU listed a total of 139,000 are great. Situ Jiarong has adopted the polytheistic •Songpan Heishui Situ Jiarong people in only 55% lexical similarity practices of the Qiang. Barkam• 1 •Maoxian •Wenchuan Sichuan Province. They are with Sidabao Jiarong and •Chengdu 5 •Litang the dominant Jiarong group 75% with Chabao Jiarong. Christianity: The Jiarong •Kangding SICHUAN TIBET •Ya’an in China. The Situ, also were first targeted in the known as the Eastern History: Until 1949 the early 1900s by the Scale •Xichang 0 KM 160 Jiarong, inhabit parts of Li, Jiarong were divided into 18 American Baptists — who Population in China: Wenchuan, and Xiaojin small kingdoms. They kept had a mission base at Ya’an 139,000 (1993) counties in central Sichuan, the Chinese military at bay — and by the Border 161,550 (2000) as well as sections of for ten years during the Mission of the Church of 199,050 (2010) Location: Sichuan Barkam (Ma’erkang) and eighteenth century. The Christ in China in the Religion: Tibetan Buddhism Jinchuan counties. Many Jiarong languages suggest 1910s. One writer Christians: None Known Situ Jiarong live in a V- that they may have originally summarized their efforts: shaped valley between the been part of the Qiang “In the early half of this Overview of the Zagunao River — which group who, after many century some missionaries Situ Jiarong originates in the Zhegu generations of contact with stationed in areas relatively Mountains — and the upper Tibetans, became a distinct close to the Jiarong took Countries: China section of the Min River. people.6 some trips into Jiarong Pronunciation: “See-too-Gee-ah-rong” territory. This led to the Other Names: Eastern Jyarung, Identity: The name Situ Customs: The majority of translation of some tracts. It Gyarong, Gyarung, Rgyarong, “refers to the traditional Situ Jiarong are farmers, was not until the 1930s that Chiarong, Jarong, Chia-jung, Situ, territory of the four herding livestock and an effort to specifically Eastern Jiarong chieftaincies of Zhuokeji, growing crops along the river learn and analyze the Population Source: 139,000 (1993 Lin Xiangron); Suomo, Songgang and basins in central Sichuan. A Jiarong language got Out of a total Tibetan population Dangba in the heartland of number of urban Jiarong are underway. A draft translation of 4,593,330 (1990 census) Jiarong country. The term is merchants and shop of the book of Jonah was in Location: Sichuan: Lixian, adopted since it is now a owners. progress when the invasion Wenchuan, Xiaojin, Barkam, and Jinchuan counties widely used local label for of the Red Army in 1936 2 Status: this language.” The several Religion: Almost all Jiarong made work impossible. All Officially included under Tibetan Jiarong groups in China farther to the west are materials were lost in the Language: Sino-Tibetan, have been officially counted Tibetan Buddhists, but many war.”7 Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic, Jiarong under the Tibetan nationality Dialects (4): Lixian, Jinchuan, Xiaojin, Barkam by the Chinese authorities. The Jiarong, however, speak Religion: Tibetan Buddhism, Polytheism their own distinct languages Christians: None known and believe they are Scripture: None ethnically and historically Jesus film: None different from the Tibetans. Gospel Recordings: None They have been listed as Christian Broadcasting: None one of the people groups in ROPAL code: JIR00 China that “need further investigation.”3 Status of Evangelization 96% Language: The classification of Jiarong has baffled Chinese scholars. “The languages of the Jiarong who live in Aba and Garze 4% 0% areas of Sichuan are a puzzle. Their language is A B C different from Tibetan in A = Have never heard the gospel terms of grammar, and akin B = Were evangelized but did not become Christians to the Qiang and Pumi C = Are adherents to any form of languages. They are Christianity considered the ‘language bridge’ between Tibetan and Burmese.”4 Differences in Midge Conner 230 JIARONG, SITU.