Himalayan Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies Open Access Review Article Kelao Cinnabar Myth and Development Path for Its Cultural Industry Yi Yang School of Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China Abstract: The Kelao nationality is one of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. As one of the *Corresponding Author earliest explorers of the Guizhou Plateau, the Kelao people has a long history. In the long process of the existence and procreation, the Kelao people has developed and enriched the history and Yi Yang culture of the Guizhou Plateau together with other peoples, which includes rich cinnabar myth. Article History This paper firstly reviews the history of the birth of Kelao‟s cinnabar myth. Then I analyze the Received: 30.04.2021 evolution and inheritance of Kelao cinnabar myth in modern times. Finally, according to explore Accepted: 10.05.2021 the development path for cultural industry related to cinnabar myth, this paper tries to show how Published: 20.05.2021 the traditional cultural resources and intangible cultural heritage can be integrated into the complete industrial chain of cultural production and consumption. Citations: Keywords: Kelao, China, Cinnabar Myth, Intangible Cultural Heritage. Humphrey Moseti Omara and George Ogochi, (2021); Kelao Cinnabar Myth and Development Path for Its Cultural Industry; Hmlyn J Human Cul Stud, 2(3) 8-13 INTRODUCTION The Kelao nationality is one of the 55 ethnic minorities in China.There were around 550,746 Kelao people living in Mainland China in 2010. Wuchuan country in Guizhou Province is known as the cradle of Kelao. Currently, the Kelao population is mainly distributed in Wuchuan County and Daozhen County in Guizhou Province. The rest of them live in Guiyang, Liupanshui, Zunyi, Tongren, Bijie, Anshun, etc. Only a small number of them live in Yunnan Province, Guangxi Province, and Vietnam. Those living in Guizhou take up more than 97% of the total. As one of the earliest explorers of the Guizhou Plateau, the Kelao people has a long history. There is a saying going around the Guizhou people, “Kelao are barbarians, they opened up wasteland.” The Kelao people can trace their origin to the Pu people in ancient China. Even to this date, “Kelao” is referred to as “Pu” in the Yi language of northwest Guizhou. Moreover, places where Kelao‟s ancestors once lived are named after “Pu”. For example, the Beipan River is known as “Pu Tu Zhu Yi”, meaning “a river dug by the Pu people”; Anshun is called “Pu Li”, meaning “a place resided by the Pu people”. The Pu people is an ethnic group with a vast distribution. In the pre-Qin dynasty, they were active in today‟s Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Hubei. Because of the large number of Pu‟s branches, the Pu people were also known as “Bai Pu”, which means one hundred kinds of Pu people . In the late Shang dynasty (1600 to 1046 B.C), the Pu people fought in the war against the King Zhou of Shang under the leadership of King Wu of Zhou. After the founding of the Zhou dynasty (1045 BC to 256 BC), the Pu people became its subordinates. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the society of the Pu people already entered the stage of tribal alliance. During the Spring and Autumn Period (771 to 476 BCE), the Pu people fought with the Chu State, which resulted in the narrowing of their activity scope, leading to its union with other people. Part of them were forced to migrate to west Hunan and the Guizhou Plateau, whose residents became the main residents of today‟s Guizhou. In the long process of the existence and procreation, the Kelao people has developed and enriched the history and culture of the Guizhou Plateau together with other peoples, which includes rich cinnabar myth. This paper attempts to come to grips with a set of widely ranging but connected problems concerning cinnabar myths: their relation to the history ; their validity and scope; the range of possible mythical functions in contemporary times. 8 Yi Yang; J Human Cul Stud; Vol-2, Iss- 3 (May-Jun, 2021): 8-13 Kelao’s cinnabar myth food. This is an early legend about how cinnabar was Cinnabar constitutes the main mineral ingredient to discovered. extract mercury. According to research of Professor Fang Hui from Shandong University, the cinnabar Princess consort set up the memorial tablet for culture of the Chinese nation can be traced back to the cinnabar for cinnabar saved her life. Yiducheng Beixi Site in Hubei. Almost around the Xia Jie, the last king of Xia, was profligate and same time, residents of Yuyao Hemudu Site in Yuyao devoid of principles. Many vassal states and the Da already used cinnabar as pigments to make colorful Yuan State founded by the Pu people refused to pay paintings. During the Yangshao Cultural Period, respects to him. Therefore, Xia Jie raised an army to cinnabar found its applications in rituals. In tombs of attack Pu but suffered a serious defeat instead. Then, the Yin and Shang dynasties, cinnabar was found to Xia Jie turned to attack Shishi Clan, the latter of which cover the bodies. was no match of the former, and had to marry Meixi, the beauty of the clan, to Xia Jie. Xia Jia liked Meixi a The Classic of Mountains and Sea, also known as lot. He was indulged in having fun with Mei Xi all day Shan Hai Jing, is a Chinese classic text and a long. People blamed Meixi for the disaster of the compilation of mythic geography and beasts. It is country. A person named Guoqing had a plan to let largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of Meixi leave the palace. The moment Meixi left the pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese palace, she was chased after by killers. Meixi‟s guards mythology. In this book, records of cinnabar appear sacrificed their lives to protect her. At this moment, more than once. For example, “Gui mountain has Guoqing shouted loudly, “The female with a black mole Danli.” “South mountain has Danli.” “Niaowei on her forehead is Meixi. Whoever kills her can get mountain has Danli.” “Yuyang mountain has Danli.”As handsome rewards.” Hearing this, Meixi‟s maid explained by Guo Pu, a geographer of the Jin dynasty, changed the clothes with Meixi, the latter of whom “Danli” is a kind of cinnabar with finer particles. drew a black mole on her forehead, while Meixi covered her black mole using cinnabar with her. The Shu Wen Jie Zi, the first Chinese dictionary that faked Meixi was hacked to death, but the real Meixi analyses the forms and origins of words, defines escaped and went back to the palace. The King of Xia “cinnabar” as “a kind of red stores in southwest was deeply attracted by the mole between Meixi‟s regions”. As rare resources in North China, cinnabar is eyebrows and named it “Beauty‟s Mole”. This marked distributed concentratedly in Southwest China. The the start of the tradition of creating the “Beauty‟s Mole” Kelao people were the earliest in the world to discover using cinnabar in China. Meixi thought that it was and use cinnabar. Ancestors of the Kelao people cinnabar that saved her life, so she set up a memorial collected cinnabar to make mercury. Back to the Taiwu tablet for cinnabar. Cinnabar was evolved into an King of Shang, Kelao could already extract mercury. In auspicious symbol and entered the life of the ruling the Zhou dynasty, cinnabar was made into a tribute to class. the King of Zhou. The Kelao people were experienced in mining cinnabar. They were capable of adjusting The Pu people from Wuchuan offered cinnabar to their digging and mining technology by the generation the King Wu of Zhou as a tribute status of veins. The mining tools include caps, Back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Pu hammers, drills, oil lamps, pack baskets, etc. Wuchuan people, ancestors of the Kelao people, became the was the earliest origin of cinnabar in the world, which dominant people of the Ye Lang State, and created the started mass production even from the Shang and Xia earliest King Bao myth of Kelao. It was said that King dynasties. Many Taoists of the Qin dynasty came here Bao was the head of the Kelao tribe, who was made a to make elixirs. Hnece, Kelao left behind a wealth of king for giving cinnabar to King Cheng of Zhou as a myths about cinnabar. tribute. “The Pu people, ancestors of Kelao, happened to discover sand grains (cinnabar) flickering with a How did Kelao ancestors find cinnabar in the bloody luster. They gave these as a tribute to King Wu Neolithic and Paleolithic era of Zhou. King Wu of Zhou regarded it as the most Around the Neolithic and Paleolithic era, a youth valuable treasure, and conferred the head of the Pu named “Wu Xin” in Daping Town, Wuchuan County people as „King Bao‟. After the death of “King Bao”, went out hunting together with several companions. the “King Bao Temple” was set up in Sankeng, They attempted to hunt down a beast, but the beast Banchang, Jinqianshan, Jinjishan and other places of fought back. Wu Xin dropped into a red puddle while Wuchuan that were abundant in cinnabar and mercury. running away. After standing on his feet, Wu Xin‟s face Inside the temple, there was the statue of “King Bao”. was red, which scared the beast away. The beast The local Kelao people placed their hope on “King Bao dropped down from the rocks in a panic.