"Jia" is a transliteration of the Miao language, which means "to talk, to comment, to discuss" in Danzhai Miao language. "Jia" is often translated as "Li Ci" in the academic community, and the most accurate translation should be "Jia Li". "Jia" is not only a general term for this type of oral work style that is both a poem and a song, but also a general term for a single work of this style, which consists of many relatively independent and complete chapters, with a total length of more than 10,000 lines. The Miao oral history literature classic "Jia Li" is widely circulated in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, which is located in the southeast of Guizhou Province, with a total area of 30,337 square kilometers. It governs Kaili City and 15 counties including Majiang, Leishan, Danzhai, Huangping, Shibing, Zhenyuan, Sansui, Cengong, Tianzhu, Jinping, Liping, Congjiang, Rongjiang, Taijiang, and Jianhe, as well as Kaili Economic Development Zone. The folk versions of "Jia Li" in various parts of Qiandongnan Prefecture have similarities and differences in content, each with its own characteristics. The same thing is that the first part of their stories all start with the creation of the world, the transportation of gold and silver, the casting of the sun and moon, the shooting of the sun and moon, the invitation of the sun and moon, the birth of all things from eggs, and the ancestors of mankind, followed by the battle between the ancestors of mankind and the Thunder God, which led to the flood that submerged the earth. After the flood subsided, the brother and sister had no choice but to get married, and humans were able to reproduce. Then, due to population pressure or ethnic disputes, the ancestors of the Miao people migrated in large numbers and the branches moved to various places. Only the Congjiang version is slightly different. Congjiang's "Jia Li" does not have the story of transporting gold and silver, or building pillars to support the sky. It believes that the sun and the moon are originally there, and there is no need to shoot down the extra sun and moon. Instead, they plant rocks to make a covenant, and a pair of suns and moons take turns to illuminate. These historical stories and legends about the origin and destiny of the Miao people are both the basis for ethnic identity and the basis for the creation and inheritance of "Jia Li". Although "Jia Li" will make corresponding adjustments to the original content of "Jia Li" due to social changes, it will never involve the above-mentioned classic content. The second part of the version has content about the evolution of the early marriage system, the branch marriage in the Middle Ages, the "Jia Li" coming from heaven, the use of "Jia Li" to govern the local area, the discussion of rams, the planting of rocks, the creation of drums to worship ancestors, and the invention and innovation of ancient knowledge. The difference is mainly reflected in the order of arrangement, the specific content is also different, and even very different. For example, the discussion of rams and the planting of rocks are covenant activities of the same nature, and they are real events. However, the "Jia Li" of Congjiang has a series of fictitious activities of planting rocks and making covenants between heaven and earth, between animals, between plants, between animals and plants, and between humans and animals, plants and even non-living things, which shows the rationality and wisdom of the Miao people in seeking harmonious coexistence with nature, and also shows the unique local characteristics of the "Jia Li" of Congjiang. "Jia Li" is an oral classic masterpiece that narrates and narrates classics, educates people's hearts, and integrates society. According to the published and to-be-published Miao-Chinese translations of Jiali, there are almost no Chinese loanwords. Its finalization period can be determined before the Qing Dynasty's land reform, and its initial stage can be pushed back to the middle period of the patriarchal society with a high degree of social complexity. The content about the origin of all things should be taken from the myths and legends that were produced and passed down in an earlier period. The rest of the content is selectively added by successive generations. Historically, the Miao people maintained the stability and development of the Miao society by means of Yilang (Zaiyan) legislation, Li Lao justice, and Gushe law enforcement. Yilang is an activity of making a covenant across different settlements, bloodline clans, and Gushe alliances. The resulting rules reflect the will and interests of the public and must be observed by everyone. The earliest rules are the earliest ancient rules and ancient principles. It is combined with the legend of the origin of the tribe, ancestor worship, and myths and legends related to the formation of heaven and earth, the birth of all things from eggs, ghosts, and human ancestors, and thus constitutes the prototype of Jiali. Later, with the evolution of society, the relationship between man and nature and between man and man became more complicated, and the confusion and problems faced by mankind increased. Therefore, mankind constantly adjusted its living environment, invented and innovated various knowledge and skills, and adjusted the discussion and interpersonal relationships. The content of "Jia Li" was also constantly adjusted and enriched. In particular, the Li Lao who was responsible for handling the case would often carefully process and refine the successful examples he handled and enrich them in the local version of "Jia Li". The Li Lao who was nearby followed suit, and there were more and more classic cases and reasoning. The traditional social order of the self-reliance of the Miao people in Southeast Guizhou was broken during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, but soon the Miao anti-Qing uprising led by Bao Li and Hong Yin broke out. Tens of thousands of Qing soldiers from seven provinces rushed to suppress it, and both sides paid a heavy price. After the war, the imperial court had to adopt the policy of "governance by customs". For this purpose, Emperor Qianlong issued a special imperial decree that "all disputes among the Miao people shall be governed by Miao rules and shall not be subject to official law". The so-called "Miao rules" should refer to the traditional practice of the Miao people to govern the local area according to "Jia Li". During the Republic of China, Dai Xingwu, a Han Chinese, was in charge of Zhouxi District (formerly Lushan County). He specially invited the local magistrate to the district office to handle cases. The situation was well governed at that time and is still praised today. After the founding of New China, "Jia Li" became a useful supplement to policies and laws. Many Miao village rules and folk conventions were formulated under official guidance, fully absorbing the reasonable connotations of "Jia Li". In some complicated cases, if the court's judgment was not accepted, the magistrate would use "Jia Li" to judge, and both parties would accept the judgment without any reversal. It is no wonder that grassroots cadres lamented: "If you only understand the policies but not Jiali, you can't be a good cadre." "Jiali" is spread in the central dialect of Miao language, and its popularity is limited to the central dialect area of Miao language. The users of "Jiali" are also limited to the Miao people in this dialect area. Therefore, its content, function, applicable occasions, expression method, and inheritance method all have distinct national and regional characteristics; it records the legends of the Miao people's branches and migrations in Southeast Guizhou since ancient times, as well as the exchanges between various branches and other ethnic groups. It can be verified by other Miao reputations and has reliable philological value; it concentrates on the Miao people's outlook on life, nature, culture, and values, reflects the Miao people's national will and fundamental interests, and is the fundamental basis for the Miao people to judge good and evil and the highest criterion for dealing with people; in the traditional Miao society, the langshe organization is based on "Jiali". The Yilang legislature, the Li Lao judicial system, the village elders or Gu Zangtou preside over public affairs and law enforcement based on the Jia Li, and the shaman presides over sacrifices and prayers based on the Jia Li. In the field of social management, the Jia Li is like the "Constitution" of the Miao people and has supreme authority; it is widely used to resolve disputes and judge cases. Even today when we are moving towards the rule of law, it is still a useful supplement to the national laws and policies and is frequently used for non-litigation mediation among the people; the Jia Li pays attention to the expression effect, and the meaning of one sentence is expressed in two sentences, forming a group of parallel sentences, with neat parallelism, high and low rises and falls, and ups and downs, which are full of rhythmic beauty. The sentence structure is mainly five-character, with a small number of long and short sentences, and the long and short sentences are used alternately. A large number of synonyms, antonyms, antonyms, metaphors, parallelism, personification, exaggeration and other rhetorical methods are selected to form its unique language expression skills. Jia Li records and reflects the development of the Miao people from the legendary era to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, involving literature, history, philosophy, classics, law, science and technology, religious beliefs, ethics, customs and habits, etc. In terms of knowledge, it can be regarded as an encyclopedia of Miao traditional knowledge; in terms of spiritual belief, it can be regarded as the Bible of the Miao people; from the perspective of social management, it is worthy of being the customary code of the Miao people, and therefore has a very valuable multidisciplinary research value. Among them, the myths about the formation of heaven and earth, the birth of all things from eggs to the formation of human society reflect the ancient cosmology, nature and society of the Miao ancestors, and are the cornerstones for exploring the primitive philosophical and social thoughts of the Miao people; the myths and legends about the animism of all things, the common origin of humans and gods, the struggle for the greatness of human ancestors, and the description of the origin of drum making and ancestor worship are the best entry points for exploring the primitive religious witchcraft and ancestor worship of the Miao people; the cases and arguments about brother-sister marriages, marrying men and women, branch marriages and a large number of marriage disputes are excellent references for studying the Miao marriage system and customs and related ethical and moral rituals. Jiali traces the reasons, destinations, and routes of the branch divisions and dispersals of the Miao people since the recent ancient times. It even clearly explains the branch names, names of other ethnic groups, names of people, names of places, and the blood generations that can be inferred. Most of them can be pointed out. It is a reliable oral historical material for the history of the Miao branch divisions, clan history, and ethnic group relations. It is difficult to find Chinese loanwords in it. Jiali has many ancient words with rich connotations. It is the best systematic material for the study of Miao linguistics. At the same time, it still has practical value: the ancient Miao calendar recorded in it is still in use in some places. It is mainly used to choose days, grasp seasons, and guide production and life; the traditional knowledge and skills recorded in it, such as agricultural techniques, craftsmanship, processing, and weaving, are mostly still in use today; in some areas, it is still used for non-litigation mediation with great results; many of its articles are still selected by some places as oral teaching materials for the dissemination of historical and cultural knowledge and ethical education. In the process of thousands of years of transmission and inheritance, "Jia" has formed a unique inheritance custom. These customs reflect the Miao people's high respect and piety for "Jia", as well as their solemn and serious attitude towards the inheritance of "Jia". Of course, due to the heterogeneity of inheritance, the details of inheritance customs vary slightly from place to place. "Jia" is passed down orally, and the specific forms of inheritance are mainly three: class teaching, family inheritance, and apprenticeship. Class teaching means that the well-respected Jia teacher systematically teaches the students in the form of training classes. Jia teachers and students are generally determined by selection, regardless of the students' wealth, beauty, age, disability, etc. Jia teachers and students are generally from the same village or nearby villages, and each class generally only accepts a few students. Class teaching was very popular in Danzhai before and after liberation; family inheritance means that the elders who understand "Jia" teach the younger generation in the family; apprenticeship means that those who love "Jia" seek Jia teachers for advice, and Jia teachers teach them individually. Some people learn through more than two forms. There are restrictions on the time, place and audience for the teaching of "Jia": the time for teaching "Jia" must be selected from the first month to the fifteenth day of the first or second month of the lunar calendar according to tradition, hoping that like the moon changing from crescent to full and brighter every night, the more you learn, the clearer your mind will be and the more you will understand; the number of days for each period of study can be more or less, but the longest period shall not exceed 12 days; if you cannot learn (teach) in one period, you can continue (teach) in the next year, but you can only learn (teach) for a maximum of 3 consecutive years. In some places, it is selected in the winter idle time, and the continuous study can end at most 10 days. Since "Jia" is frequently used in resolving conflicts and disputes, worshiping ancestors, praying and other occasions, students can often have the opportunity to learn and exchange with Jia teachers, which creates conditions for reviewing, understanding and mastering "Jia". The teaching location must be indoors. Women cannot participate in learning "Jia" and using "Jia". The ceremony of teaching "Jia" is solemn and special: the ceremony of worshiping "Dingla" god must be held on an auspicious day to start the teaching. Legend has it that "Jia" was first created by "Dingla" and other gods. The auspicious day is chosen according to the Miao calendar, for example, it is chosen on a day when there are otters on duty. In the past, each student had to give one tael and two qian of silver (later changed to 1.2 yuan silver in the Sui era) and a few handfuls of glutinous rice (about 10 kilograms) to Master Jia. Before the ceremony begins, each person first prepares a set of 12 bamboo sticks 1 foot 2 inches (40 cm) long, called "Jia sticks" or "Li Pian". Put 1.2 taels of silver (later changed to 1.2 yuan silver or RMB in the Sui era) on the rice, insert incense, and then Master Jia kills ducks or chickens, worships Dingla God, and then starts teaching. Master Jia teaches singing sentence by sentence in the method of "leading and following". After learning a paragraph or an article, sometimes Master Jia will ask students to "sing by heart". If there is any mistake in singing, Master Jia will remind and correct it. During the learning process, each person has the set of "Jia sticks" in front of him, and takes (puts) one stick for each sentence, and repeats it in this way. Obligations of the inheritors of "Jia": Those who learn and master "Jia" should remember it for life, have a sense of public welfare, and be willing to serve the masses with "Jia" as their obligation. If they play the role of village elder, wizard, etc., they should be enthusiastic to solve problems and worries for the masses, and do not ask for any additional compensation except for a meal or some traditional etiquette. There are about 100 inheritors of "Jia Li" found in Qiandongnan Prefecture, and they belong to 12 counties (cities). The pedigree of Liping County: Jiang Laozu's father Jiang Laozu Jiang Tongzhen; the pedigree of Leishan County is your father, your father, your father, your father Bao Tang Renyi; the pedigree of Kaili Long Shayi's grandfather Long Shayi's father Long Shayi Long Xiuguo; the pedigree of Danzhai County is Mo Jiwang's uncle Mo Jiwang, Mo Rugui, Mo Liangsen, Mo Jinghu, and Mo Liangwei; the pedigree of Congjiang County is Wei Gulai, Wang Jiafu, Wei Gaoming, Wei Laosheng, Wang Laoguo, Long Laoyi, Wang Qiangxi, Long Laozhou, and Wei Laobo; the pedigree of Jianhe County is Dong Jueyong, Jue Bao, Jue Bowang, Jue Jinleilu, Yejue, and Hu Chaofa. The representative inheritors are: Wu Zhengjie, male, from Gaotang Village, Yangliutang, Shibing County; Hu Chaofa, male, from Liupang Village, Censong Town, Jianhe County; Wan Wenjun, male, from Zhaitou Village, Tailie Town, Sansui County; Wang Chengwu, male, from Maopo Village, Xinzhou Town, Huangping County; Wei Laolo, male, from Biejiu Village, Jiamian Township, Congjiang County; Yang Xianba, male, from Baibei Village, Xinghua Township, Rongjiang County; Long Xiuguo, male, from Qinggang Village, Zhouxi Town, Kaili City; Wang Wenguo, male, from Xinhua Village, Tonggu Town, Majiang County; Long Yuhui, male, from Tongxing Village, Kaili Development Zone; Tang Bingwu, male, from Taoyao Village, Danjiang Town, Leishan County; Mo Liangsheng, male, from Fangang Village, Xingren Town, Danzhai County; Wan Wuxing, male, from Wujiao Village, Fangzhao Township, Taijiang County; Jiang Zhongwen, male, from Jide Village, Pingzhai Township, Liping County. At present, there are not many people in Qiandongnan who know Jia Li, and even fewer who know all of it. Most of them are already old and frail. Its endangered status is worrying, and rescue work has reached a point where it can not be delayed. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)