The Evolution, Inheritance And Development Of The Miao People 's Crossbow Culture In The Process Of Modernization

In the history of China, various traditional sports havebeen created by Chinese ethic minorities. These traditionalsports, originated from the working and living of the ancestorsof different ethical groups, are the reflection of both thewisdom and the culture of Chinese ethical minorities. Amongthem, the sport of crossbow is one of the representativetraditional sports of Miao nationality. Developed from thetraditional ways of living of Miao nationality, this sport isnow facing great changes, since the life style of Miaonationality has changed a lot with the development of societyand the process of modernization. In the place Haimachong,Guiyang city, Guizhou province, a place where the sport ofcrossbow is prevail, this traditional sport of Miao nationalityis also changing now. Therefore, in order to find out factorsaffecting the evolution of the sport of crossbow and both thecultural and social values of this sport, the current thesisresearches into the four stages of the development of the sportof crossbow in Haimachong. Respectively, the four stages arethe turning-point stage, the stage of transition, the stage ofdeveloping and the stage of reforming. After investigatingthese developing stages of the sport of crossbow, this essay concludes some suggestions for the further development of thistraditional sport of Miao nationality.In brief, crossbow was created as a war-time weapon in theancient times. As wars ended, it evolved from a military deviceinto an instrument for hunting. This is the turning point inthe whole development of the sport of crossbow. After that, itgradually became an instrument for communication as well as foramusement, mainly during the stage of its transitionaldevelopment. Then, in the stage of developing, it flourishedas a sport which shows the unique culture and characters of Miaonationality. Finally, in the stage of reforming, it is nowturning into a sport for competing, which is both amusing andmodern, since it requires the excellent skills of itsparticipants.Guizhou Miao crossbow culture can divide into threelevels,including spiritual culture, system culture andmaterial culture.According to the historical background ofHaimachong place in different periods, the modernizationprocess is divided into four stages of transition: turningperiod,transition period, development period, transformationperiod.The sport of crossbow is one of the representations of theculture of Chinese ethical minorities. It is of great culturalvalue since it is local and unique. At the same time, it is of great historical value since it is very traditional. Meanwhile,as a sport which amuses its participants and benefits the healthof its participants, the sport of crossbow is also of greatsocial value.At present, with the modernization of society, theintroducing of western sports as well as the changes in people’s attitudes toward traditional sports, the continualdevelopment of the sport of crossbow is now facing challenges.The lack of participants, for instance, is one of suchchallenges.The modernized life style has greatly threatened thecontinual existence of the sport of crossbow; however, thereis still a way to solve this problem, that is, to integrate thissport into various sport competitions. Though the solution hasbeen found, new problems are also inevitable. For example,athletes are now changing the working mechanism of thetraditional wood-made crossbows in order to achieve betterperformance in competitions, which certainly harms themaintaining of the traditional traits of the sport. Suchproblems need to be solved for better preserving thistraditional sport of Miao nationality.