揭开瑶族发源地药姑山神奇面纱
Unveiling the Mysterious Yaogu Mountain, the Birthplace of Yao People
药姑山下的古瑶村 Guyao Village at the foot of the Yaogu Mountain
建在半山腰的吊脚楼 A Stilted House Built Halfway Up the Mountain
药姑山景区的瑶乡风情 Unique Yao Folk Custom in Yaogu Mountain Scenic Spot
极目新闻记者 董淑健 张盼
通讯员 毛新民
翻译 王平，严佳薇，卫拉/Lisa M. K （湖北大学）
Jimu News
Reporters: Dong Shujian, Zhang Pan
Correspondent: Mao Xinmin
Translators: Wang Ping, Yan Jiawei, Lisa M. K （Hubei University）
咸宁市通城县境内有座秀美的山，名叫药姑山，属幕阜山区名山之一，最高海拔1260余米。药姑山曾长期不被外界所关注，近年神奇的面纱被渐渐揭开，2001年9月被中国(广西)瑶学学会认定为中国瑶族的发源地。以垒石文化为特色的古瑶遗迹在药姑山上随处可见，北坡山下的通城县大坪乡内冲村被誉为“中华古瑶第一村”。如今，一个以重构“千家峒”、再现桃花源为主题的瑶胞文化旅游区正在这里打造。
Yaogu Mountain (with the highest altitude of over 1,260 meters), part of Mufu Mountain, is located in Tongcheng County of Xianning, Hubei Province. In recent years, the mysterious veil over this once obscure mountain has been gradually lifted. In September 2001, it was recognized by Guangxi Institute of Yao Studies as the birthplace of the Yao ethnic minority in China. The unique shale and rubble landform provides a favorable condition for ancient Yao people to form base stone culture. Currently, an ancient Yao village scenic area is being built in Neichong Village, at the foot of the northern face of the mountain.
11月6日，极目新闻记者走进药姑山，一探魅力独具的垒石奇景和瑶乡风情。
On November 6, Jimu News reporters explored the natural and human landscapes there.
走进通城药姑山，感受扑面而来的古瑶风情
Experiencing the Rich Yao Folk Customs
药姑山又名龙窖山，相传明朝时有李氏三姐妹逃难来此，结庐修炼，采药行医济世，普度众生。一方人为之倾倒，这座山于是更名“药姑山”。
Yaogu Mountain is also known as Longjiao Mountain. It is said that the three sisters of the Li family fled here in the Ming Dynasty. They made a living by collecting herbs and practicing medicine, which won them the respect of the local people and the mountain was thus renamed “Yaogu Mountain” (The Chinese characters that form the name Yaogu respectively refer to “medicine” and “young woman”).
11月6日是周末，许多游客来通城县大坪乡内冲村打卡。进村后首先映入眼帘的是千年广场，场中央是一块露天舞台，舞台上以铜鼓牛角为背景，四周花坛绿草相衬，似在召唤远去的瑶胞回家团聚，击鼓而歌。许多游客在铜鼓牛角前拍照，把瑶乡的风情一点一点贮存进记忆里。
With November 6 being a weekend, many tourists came to Neichong Village to enjoy their weekend at this must-see local tourist site. Standing at the entrance of the village, the Millennium Square comes into sight. The open-air stage at the center of the square, with the bronze ox horn as the background and surrounded by flowers and green grass, seems to be summoning the Yao people to return home for a reunion. Meanwhile, visiting tourists capture these memories of the beautiful Yao culture as they take photos with the bronze ox horn.
通城县古瑶文化学会秘书长黎权龙说，铜鼓是瑶民集会、战争、大型节日祭祀、庆典的响器，“铜鼓一响，全部到场”，铜鼓常与牛角号配合使用。牛角号是峒长联络龙窖山9洞主的信号，号音有十几种，分别传达敌情、呼唤、平安等。
Li Quanlong, secretary-general of the Tongcheng Institute of Yao Studies, said that in ancient times, the bronze drum was a ringing instrument used for assemblies, wars, sacrifices and celebrations during festivals. “When the bronze drum rang, everyone gathered in no time”. The bronze drum was often used with the ox horn which was used to send signals among the 9 headmen. It has more than ten kinds of tones each sending a different message including information about an enemy, convene a meeting, report safety, etc.
广场东侧有处青砖黛瓦的民居，是古瑶文化陈列馆。迈进陈列馆，可见瑶乡发源、盘祖传说、瑶民变迁、盘王塑像等，1700余件珍贵藏品是对先祖顽强奋斗史的详细描述。
On the east side of the square is the ancient Yao culture exhibition hall that stores over 1,700 collections, offering a detailed account of the origin of the place, the statue and legend of Panwang, changes of Yao people.
沿广场前行是三千米古瑶栈道，高挂悬崖峭壁，登上栈道拾级而上，两边绿树葱郁，植被茂盛。
Three-kilometers ahead of the square is a two-meter-wide plank road high on the cliff, decorated by lush trees on both sides.
瑶乡药谷是药姑山之南的一条峡谷，有百草园、当归桥、鹰嘴岩驿站、牵手桥、观景台等景点。一路前行，看到的是站台、溪水、清流、卵石与溪流两侧的栈道，栈道有近二米宽，每一段都能看到不同的风景。
Yao Valley, a canyon in the south of Yaogu Mountain, is dotted with scenic spots including Baicao Garden, Danggui Bridge, Eagle Beak Hill Post Station, Qianshou Bridge, Observation deck, etc. Just ahead the stream, flowing water, pebbles..., come together to help one enjoy different views.
登上药姑山顶，两省四县风光尽收眼底，微风吹来，树影婆娑，如向远方的人们频频招手；漫步谷底，潺潺流水如琴弦低奏，仿佛意在唤起古瑶乡人的千年梦。
On the top of the mountain, one can have a bird-view of the two provinces and four counties. As the shadows of the trees dance in the breeze it's as if they were waving to people in the distance; the burbling stream in the valley floor like the sound of a harp, as if to evoke the millennium dream of the people of ancient Yao Township.
瑶族发源通城获认证，“千家峒”就在药姑山
Recognized as the Birthplace of Yao Culture
中国56个民族之一的瑶族发源何处，历来众说纷纭。近年来，随着调研的深入和文物发掘成果的增多，学术界逐步达成共识，确认通城药姑山为瑶族发源地，早在2000多年前，古瑶先祖就将家安在这里。
When it comes to the origin of the Yao, one of China's 56 ethnic groups, opinions are widely divided. In recent years, with in-depth research and the increase of excavation results, the academia has gradually reached a consensus that Yaogu Mountain is the birthplace of the Yao people. As early as 2,000 years ago, the Yao ancestors settled down here.
11月6日，中南民族大学教授、瑶族学者李庆福告诉极目新闻记者，2001年9月，中国(广西)瑶学学会在湖南临湘召开瑶族研究专题研讨会，原广西壮族自治区副主席奉恒高、湖南民委民研所李本高、中国(广西)瑶学学会会长张有隽等通过深入调查和科学论证，确认药姑山为瑶族历史上最早的千家峒，并颁发了《龙窖山千家峒认定意见书》。
On November 6th, Li Qingfu, professor at South Central University for Nationalities and scholar of the Yao, told Jimu News that in September 2001, Guangxi Institute of Yao Studies held a symposium in Linxiang County, Hunan Province. After much discussion, Feng Henggao (former vice president of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), Li Bengao from the Minority Research Institute of the Hunan Civil Affairs Commission, and Zhang Youjun ( president of Guangxi Institute of Yao Studies), confirmed that Yaogu Mountain was the earliest Qianjiadong in the Yao history, and issued it the relevant certificate.
李庆福解释，瑶族一直以文化的独特和神秘著称。瑶族文化在一次次的迁徙中得到融合、滋养和沉淀，都把“千家峒”当成精神家园。
Li Qingfu explained that the Yao people had always been known for their unique and mysterious culture. The Yao culture has been integrated, nourished and perfected through repeated migrations. For the Yao, Qianjiadong is their spiritual home.
“峒”为类似洞形的山间小块平地。古代瑶族几十户或上百户为一峒，设峒长一名。每位瑶胞都坚信，祖先居住在一处人间仙境“千家峒”，那里自由自在、与世无争、丰衣足食。“千家峒”是全球400多万瑶胞心中的圣地，类似于汉族的桃花源。
“Dong” is a small flat piece of land in the mountains similar to a cave. In ancient Yao culture, one dong consisted of dozens or hundreds of households and one headman. In the Yao people's mind, they firmly believe that their ancestors lived in a fairyland on earth called “Qianjiadong”, where they were free, peaceful and well-fed. “Qianjiadong” is a sacred place in the hearts of more than 4 million Yao people worldwide, similar to the peach blossom garden of the Han people.
瑶族历代相传的长篇叙事歌谣《盘王大歌》和《千家峒源流记》歌词中，对“千家峒”这一理想家园这样描绘：“日头出早照青山，千家峒口雾纷纷。云雾飞散日当照，牯牛犁田早出门。”
The lyrics of the long narrative folk song “The hymn of Panwang” and “A note on Qianjiadong” described this ideal home: “The sun rises early and shines on the green mountains. The place is always fogged. When the clouds and fog scatter, the sun shines, and the oxen plough the fields early.”
由于瑶族早期没有文字记载，加上不断迁徙，“千家峒”的地理位置一度迷失。
Due to the lack of written records of the Yao people in the early days and the continuous migration, the geographical location of “Qianjiadong” was once lost.
近年来，经通城、崇阳、赤壁、临湘两省四县市政府部门、专家学者、民间人士多方合力，发掘到大量以垒石为主流的古瑶文化遗存，搜寻到一大批古瑶文物，尤其是内冲村一带。
In recent years, through the joint efforts of government officials, experts, scholars, and folks from Tongcheng, Chongyang, Chibi, and Linxiang, a large number of ancient Yao base stone cultural relics have been unearthed, especially around Neichong Village.
李庆福教授还参加了2014年10月16日在通城内冲瑶族文化古迹挖掘座谈会，会上众多专家学者一致认定通城县大坪乡内冲村为中华古瑶文化第一村。
Professor Li Qingfu also participated in the symposium on the excavation of Yao cultural relics in Neichong on October 16, 2014. At the meeting, experts and scholars unanimously recognized the place as the earliest Yao village.
李庆福说，通城境内药姑山是南向阳坡，根据粮食作物喜阳不喜阴的生长方式，瑶族的主要生产领域应在通城一边。从发现的古神台（案）来看，疑为瑶族祭神物，因神台（案）脚基上部有狗头，瑶族是以狗为图腾的。祭祀场所在附近，说明瑶族总部也极有可能在通城。
Li Qingfu said that Yaogu Mountain in Tongcheng is a south-facing slope. According to the growth method of food crops that prefer sun to shade, the main production area of the Yao people should be on the same side as Tongcheng. Judging from one excavated ancient altar with an engraving of a dog head on it which seems to have been used in ancient worship,the headquarters of the Yao nationality is also highly likely to be in Tongcheng, for dogs are their totem.
考察组还在山上发现多处原始山寨，寨前两山相夹，形成关隘，当地百姓俗称“夜合山”，意为每夜两山关合，白天开启。过了关隘即为较开阔的山峒，在山峒的水港两边垒石建成山寨。目前，保存较为完整的有鲁家山寨、漆坡山寨、古塘山寨、畲家山寨等。
The investigation team also discovered several fortified mountain villages. The two mountains (called as Yehe Mountain by local people) in front of the villages form a passage whose gate closes at night and opens during the day Beyond the passage lies a relatively open mountain cave, with stone villages built on both sides of the water port of the mountain cave. At present fortified mountain villages such as Lujia shanzhai, Qipo shanzhai, Gutang shanzhai, and Shejia shanzhai have been found to be relatively well preserved.
在海拔千米左右的畲家山，竹铺沟、胡巴坑、老屋湾、胡家屋场等地的山顶、山腰、山坡、山沟里还相继发现一排排的石头房屋遗址。畲家山乌鸦尖最为典型，乌鸦尖共有石屋10多间。
Rows of stone house ruins have been found in Shejia Mountain, which has an altitude of about 1,000 meters, on the tops, hillsides, slopes, and ravines of Zhupugou, Hubakeng, Laowuwan, and Hujiawuchang. More than 10 stone houses were discovered in Wuyajian.
药姑山每座山寨都建有古井。最具有特色的是鲁家山寨古井、竹铺沟古井、古塘山寨古井。
Every fortified mountain village in Yaogu Mountain has a well. The most distinctive ones are the ancient wells in Lujiashanzhai, Zhupugou, and Gutang shanzhai.
资料显示，春秋战国时期，瑶祖从长江下游地区溯江而上，迁徙到江西、湖北、湖南一带。秦至南北朝时期，称“溪人”，隋唐时期称为“莫徭”，宋、元后，方有“徭族”之称。
According to the data, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Yao ancestors migrated upstream from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan provinces. From the Qin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they were first called “Xiren”, and later “Moyao” in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was not until the Song and Yuan dynasties that they were renamed as the “Yao”.
因战争和朝廷追缴赋税，瑶民不断南迁，至明初，最后一批瑶民满怀无限眷恋，离开生活了2000余年的通城药姑山。他们先到湖南，后入两广。17世纪后，部分瑶民又转入贵州、云南和泰国等地，越战期间有小部分瑶民迁往欧美。
The Yao people continued to move southward due to wars and taxation by the imperial court, and by the early Ming Dynasty, the last batch of Yao people left Yaogu Mountain reluctantly, where they had lived for more than 2,000 years. They went to Hunan Province first and then to Guangzhou Province and Guangxi Province. After the 17th century, some of them migrated to Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province and Thailand, and a small number of them moved to Europe and America during the Vietnam War.
千家峒的认定，让瑶族先民的轨迹渐渐清晰。
The identification of Qianjiadong has made the ancestors of the Yao traceable.
垒石奇景记录瑶祖安家通城药姑山的历史
The History of Yao Ancestors are Recorded through Stone
李庆福教授说，这些年来，他去过国内几乎所有的瑶族自治县。他对通城县大坪乡内冲村最突出的印象是垒石文化。
Professor Li Qingfu said that over the years, he has visited almost all the Yao autonomous counties in the country, and the stone culture of Neichong Village left the deepest impression on him.
通城县古瑶文化学会秘书长黎权龙说，药姑山是一座浩大的垒石文化展览馆。石头既是古瑶生产、生活及军事工具，也是其文化、信仰的载体，全面融入了古瑶民族经济、社会、文化发展的各个方面。可以说古瑶文化史，就是一部用石头记录的历史。据不完全统计，已发现的垒石梯地8000多亩，垒石屋场186个，垒石墓葬36处2.5万余座，垒石沟渠20余公里，垒石小道40公里，垒石神台、神庙276座，垒石水井1300多口。其中集中连片的垒石文化遗存有100多处。
Li Quanlong said that Yaogu Mountain is a vast exhibition hall of stone culture. Stones were not only tools used among ancient Yao for production, daily life and military, but are also carriers of their culture and beliefs, which are fully integrated into all aspects of their economic, social and cultural lives. It could even be said that the history of ancient Yao culture is a history recorded with stones. Incomplete statistics show that more than 8,000 acres of stone terraces, 186 stones houses, 25,000 stone tombs in 36 locations, 20 kilometers of stone ditches, 40 kilometers of stone trails, 276 stone altars and temples, and 1,300 stone wells have been discovered. Among them, there are over 100 stone cultural relics.
黎权龙说，作为一个山地民族，古瑶民就地取材，匠心独运，一条条人工建造的青石沟巷，一阶阶石块铺成的台道，一垛垛石条垒成的墙壁，严丝合缝，不用任何粘合剂，历千余年还非常平坦，光滑如新，至今缝隙之间小草都难以生长，足见古瑶民改造和利用自然的非凡智慧和毅力。
Being an ethnic group that depends on the mountains, the ancient Yao people utilized materials from the local area and were so ingenious that they built Qingshi gullies and alleys, paved with stone steps, and walls built of stone strips. They were perfectly matched and have over the years endured the test of time as they still look as smooth as new even now. Hardly any grass canbeen seen growing in the gaps of wall. This shows the extraordinary wisdom and perseverance of ancient Yao people in transforming and utilizing nature.
通城构建全球400万瑶胞的精神家园
Building a Spiritual Home for 4 Million Yao People Worldwide
如今，通城县正按“重构千家峒、再现桃花源”的立意布局，打造文化体验游和乡村生态休闲游。
Nowadays, Tongcheng County is creating cultural experience tours and rural ecological leisure tours based on the local base stone culture to “reconstruct Qianjiadong and the Peach Blossom Garden”.
黎权龙说，该旅游区明确为文化生态游，以药姑山古瑶垒石文化为主，生态环境为辅，打造成在咸宁地区具有一流品牌效应的文化生态游，实现文化与生态有机融合，满足人们独特的旅游体验。
Li Quanlong said that the tourism is targeting a cultural and ecological tourism with first-class brand effect in Xianning area so as to achieve the organic unity of culture and ecology and meet tourists' demand.
为此，完善硬件，在大风塝、打栗坑等有较大规模和观赏价值的古瑶垒石文化遗址区，建设古瑶垒石公园。依据特色分别设立宗教垒石公园、梯地垒石公园和村落垒石公园等多个主题公园。重修部分石屋，全部按照古瑶风格建造和装饰，可用来开设农家乐，体验古瑶生活.
To do this, the county's hardware must be improved, the ancient Yao Stone Park has been built in the area of ancient Yao stone cultural sites with large scale and ornamental value, such as Dafengbang, Chestnut pit. According to the characteristics of the park, there are several theme parks, such as religious stone park, stone terrace park and stone village park. Some of the stone houses will be rebuilt and decorated in ancient Yao style, which can be used to open farmhouses and offer experiences of ancient Yao life.
美化区域环境。以通城县大坪乡内冲村为主，向景区延伸，广种桃树等水果及花木，营造恬静优美的田园情调，让游客产生恍入桃花源之感。
The regional environment also needs to be beautified. The village of Neichong, mainly in Daping Township, Tongcheng County, has been extended to the scenic area to plant peach trees and other fruits and flowers to create a quiet and beautiful idyllic atmosphere, giving visitors a sense of entering a peach blossom garden.
描绘山水画面。上山领略垒石之硬，下山品味泉水之柔。打造东冲、横岭、花果源水库娱乐功能，开展水上游项目，构建山水相依的风景格局，丰富旅游产品和旅游体验。
The local government also strives to bring out the beauty of the picturesque landscape so that visitors can appreciate the masculine beauty of the stone mountain and the feminine beauty of the spring at the mountain foot. Relevant water tourism projects will also be provided to enrich tourism products and tourism experiences.
通城药姑山这块沉睡了上千年的古瑶文化宝藏，新时期将焕发出夺目的光彩。
This treasure of ancient Yao culture, which has been dormant for thousands of years, will glow with dazzling brilliance in this new era.