The clothing art of the Miao "Ga Nao" branch (the Miao branch calls itself) is mainly spread among the seven sub-ethnic groups of the Miao "Ga Nao" branch in Danzhai County. Danzhai County is a mountainous area where many ethnic groups live mainly in the Miao ethnic group. The Miao ethnic group accounts for 76% of the total population. It is located in the slope area on the southern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southwest of Qiandongnan Prefecture, east of Leishan County; south of Sandu Shui Autonomous County; west of Duyun; north of Kaili City; northwest of Majiang County across the Qingshui River. The people of the Miao "Ga Nao" branch have lived and worked in this specific and relatively independent geographical environment for a long time, forming their own unique clothing culture. The clothing of the Danzhai Miao "Ga Nao" branch has seven sub-ethnic groups. They have had the custom of wearing their totems as ornaments since ancient times. From the comparison of the ancient costumes that can be received now, the ancient costumes of the seven sub-ethnic groups are slightly different, and the one that can best preserve the original appearance is the "elegant gray type" bird clothes. As time goes by, the differences between the sub-ethnic groups become greater and greater, but they all have one thing in common: that is, they try their best to express their totems - bird patterns in embroidery or batik techniques, and develop bird patterns to the fullest. It is this extreme worship of birds that has created the artistic image and artistic charm of the clothing of the "Ga Nao" branch of the Miao ethnic group, and revealed the ethnic origin information of the "Ga Nao" branch. "Hundred Birds Clothes", "Golden Pheasant Clothes", "Batik Ancient Costumes" and so on have become the concentrated embodiment of bird worship and have also become the classics of the bird culture and art of this branch. The clothing culture of the "Ga Nao" branch of the Danzhai Miao can be traced back to ancient times. According to the Miao "Legend of Batik", "Miao Ancient Songs", the Miao oral classic "Jia" and the Miao "Marriage Song", "Creation of the World Song" and so on, the shadow of the Miao clothing culture is recorded or reflected. The Miao people have no written language. The record of Miao costumes in Chinese is the record of the "San Miao" bun in "Huainanzi? Qisu Pian", which describes the headdress customs of the Miao ancestors in the "San Miao" era. After that, the Chinese documents that record Miao costumes include "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Nanman Biography" and "Soushen Ji". The Miao ancestors in the present Hunan area, who were called "Panhu Man" and "Wuling Man" in the Qin and Han Dynasties, "weave wood skin, dye with grass, like five-color clothes, and make tail-shaped clothes with spots". This shows that the Miao ancestors paid attention to color and patterns in their clothing. The Miao "Marriage Song" in the Qing Dynasty has described the Miao clothing and dress very vividly, "wearing silver sparrow flowers on the head and red silk ribbons on the body". The "Hundred Miao Pictures", which was compiled based on the "Eighty-two Miao Pictures and Explanations" drawn by Chen Hao, the Tongzhi of Bazhai County (the original name of Danzhai County) in the Qing Dynasty, repeatedly recorded the Miao costumes in Danzhai area. In the third year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang Dynasty, Xie Yuanchen, the leader of the Miao people in Yingzhou (in the southeastern part of Guizhou), came to Chang'an to ask for a title. He wore a "hundred-birds costume", while his tribute team wore "flower costumes with bird emblems", that is, batik ancient costumes and embroidered "hundred-birds costumes". Yan Shigu, the Minister of the Imperial Academy, praised it highly, saying: "flower costumes with bird emblems are all gathered in the barbarian residence, which can be painted and given to future generations." Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, followed his advice and ordered the great painter Yan Lide to copy the painting, which was named "Wang Hui Tu". Miao costumes influenced the costumes after the Tang Dynasty. The "Old Tang Book of Five Elements" said: "In the Tang Dynasty, the official workshops were able to weave a hundred-birds costume. It was one color when viewed from the front, one color in the sun, and one color in the shadow. The shapes of hundreds of birds can be seen in the skirts", which was obviously influenced by the Miao costumes. As time goes by, the differences between the sub-ethnic groups become larger and larger, but they all have one thing in common: in the embroidery or batik styles that can be reflected, they all try their best to present the totem bird pattern and develop the bird pattern to the fullest. It is this extreme worship of birds that has created the artistic image of the clothing of the "Ga Nao" branch of the Miao ethnic group and revealed the ethnic origin information of the "Ga Nao" branch. The "hundred bird clothes", "golden pheasant clothes" and batik ancient costumes have become the carriers of the concentrated embodiment of bird worship. During the Qing Dynasty, the Miao people in this area wore clothes of different sub-ethnic groups, including the "round skirt" of the Bazhai type, the "golden pheasant clothes" of the hemp bird type, the "hundred bird clothes" of the Yahui Miao, the "batik clothes" of the Paimo type, and so on. In the long-term production labor and life process, the Miao people have also made evolutionary improvements to their clothing, changing from "long skirt" to "medium skirt", from "medium skirt" to "short skirt", from "round skirt" to "waist" in front and back, and tied a symbolic embroidered waist around the waist. From blue clothes to blue clothes, from homespun cloth to market cloth and colored cloth woven with wool, acrylic and tin foil. No matter how the Miao costumes evolve, their iconic bird patterns have not changed, but have been constantly modified and perfected. Some ancient costumes have no practical value, but they are still treasured by them. Miao women feel honored to have a set of clothes left by their elders, and they are given to girls as heirlooms as dowries when they get married. In the seven sub-ethnic groups of the "Ga Nao" branch of the Miao ethnic group, all Miao costumes are made by women. Making costumes for this ethnic group is a skill that every woman must have, a basic skill of life, and a collective inheritance from generation to generation. Every village and every era has a group of skilled folk artists. While inheriting the skills of their ancestors, they also boldly create and add a lot of content according to the times and their thoughts and feelings. The skills are passed down from daughters to daughters, and from daughters to the next generation of the village who are clever and skillful. The skills are passed down from generation to generation and constantly improved, making the "Ga Nao" Miao clothing art reach a variety of types, a wide range of themes, and distinct local and ethnic characteristics. The Miao "Ga Nao" clothing is a relic of the Miao history, especially the clothing styles and patterns that inherit a lot of information about the Miao history and culture. There are not only the general branch logo of the "Ga Nao" branch with bird patterns as the main branch, but also the logos of various sub-ethnic groups and regions. Its style, composition, and pattern all reflect the character and wisdom of Miao women. Each pattern is the crystallization of the continuous creation and improvement of working women for thousands of years, and has both high aesthetic characteristics. The "Ga Nao" clothing has rich patterns, exquisite craftsmanship, rich connotations, and unique composition. It integrates practicality and art, especially the decoration and beautification of life has reached a very high level. The costumes of the "Ga Nao" branch of the Miao ethnic group have been constantly evolving from ancient times to today. With the exchange of cultures and the impact of modern civilization, the awareness of protection limited to the branch has gradually faded, and the aesthetic concept is no longer constrained by the branch, but is moving towards open beauty. After the reform and opening up, young people went out and their values changed. Girls wore school uniforms or changed to Han costumes after entering school. There are fewer and fewer girls who inherit the skills of making Miao costumes. Some crafts have no successors, and the inheritance and development of "Ga Nao" costumes have been affected. Information source: Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) Information source: Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)