90 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



ing to Prof. Wen Yu, it is an early form of the Burma-Tibetan lan- 

 guage. In the vocabulary many words resemble words of similar 

 meanings among the Lolos and the Nashis. There are some peculiar 

 sounds, such as the Welsh double 1, the glottal g, and a consonant 

 resembling the sound a person makes when gargling and also vocaliz- 

 ing. There is no written language. Their language, customs, history, 

 and physical characteristics indicate that they belong to the Burma- 

 Tibetan branch of the yellow race. 



For many centuries the Ch'iang have been governed by the Chi- 

 nese, although they have occasionally rebelled, especially when the 

 Chinese government was weak. Their final great defeat was under 

 the emperor Ch'ien Lung, who reigned from A. D. 1736 to 1795. 

 They have customs and a religion of their own, having declined to be 

 absorbed by the Lamaism of Tibet or by the culture and religions of 

 the Chinese. They have, however, been much influenced by both 

 cultures. 



Since the Ch'iang have no written language, their road to literacy 

 and to advanced culture is through the Chinese language. They have 

 no modern conveniences such as the telephone or telegraph. Travel 

 is generally on foot, more rarely by sedan chair or on horseback. 

 There are no wheeled vehicles, and no boats on the rivers and streams. 



The only government is that of the Chinese, and the supreme ruler 

 locally is the Chinese magistrate or hsien chang. There are local 

 headmen, mostly Ch'iang but sometimes Chinese, who are appointed 

 by the Chinese government. Disputes are generally settled by the 

 heads of the families concerned, assisted by their friends, and when 

 this fails, the headman may take over. In case he does not succeed 

 in making a settlement, it may be tried in the hsien yamen, or the 

 court of the local magistrate. 



The Ch'iang have no tribal organization. They are an ethnic group 

 held together by a common language and common beliefs and prac- 

 tices. The family is the social unit and is patrilineal. The father and 

 husband is the ruler of the family and is responsible to the govern- 

 ment and to outsiders for their conduct. Property, including land, 

 houses, furniture, and tools and implements, belongs to the family, 

 while clothing and ornaments belong to individuals. For centuries 

 the money used by the Ch'iang has been that of the Chinese. 



Some marketing takes place in Ch'iang villages, but most of it is 

 done in Chinese cities and towns, and there is some bartering. Interest 

 is generally very high, varying from 60 to 300 percent a year. Some- 

 times the interest is paid in maize or in some other commodity. 



