Chinese Language Book
Dorothy E. Ryder, Chief Librarian, in her report to Mr. E.T. Wiltshire, Supervisor of Public Libraries, Cultural Activities Branch, Government of Alberta noted: Of indefinite age is a Chinese book presented by Mrs. H.H. Sharples in 1952. Accordian-pleated, with exquisite illustrations, the book is of type which has been in use in China for centuries. (Dorothy E. Ryder’s scrapbook, The Library, University of Alberta, Calgary, 1957-1965)
In all references and articles, the donor of this significant gift is known as Mrs. H.H. (Mrs. Herman Hoopes) Sharples, reflecting the custom of the times in which she lived. Mrs. H.H. Sharples contributed to the cultural heritage of Canada, especially the musical heritage. Jeanette Mary Sharples (née Smith) was born in 1875 near Melbourne, Australia. She received musical training and by age 16 was singing with the comic opera company in Melbourne. This interest continued throughout her lifetime and was shared by her husband whom she married in 1896. On their wedding trip they sailed around the world. Without specific documentation to confirm the fact, one can only speculate that she may have purchased this exquisite book on that wedding trip.
Mr. and Mrs. Sharples came to Canada in 1912 and remained throughout their lives. She is quoted: It was 1912, and we were just coming to Banff for the summer. We’ve been here ever since, and I love Calgary more every minute that I live in it.(Calgary Herald, December 20, 1941)
Their only son, Eric, was killed during World War One. Mr. Sharples passed away in 1949. Jeanette Mary Sharples passed away in 1966. During her life-time she received recognition for many of her accomplishments and Her home [was] always open house as far as musicians and music lovers go, and there [was] generally a crowd of young people about, singing and playing.
(Naomi Lang, Calgary Herald, December 20, 1941)
The original covers of the book were in disrepair and the jade amulet which Mrs. Sharples had also donated became separated from the text. Courtland Benson of Victoria, British Columbia, restored the cover, strengthened the pages along the folds, and created a box which now houses both the book and the amulet.
As with so many early texts, one of the charms is to find evidence of other people through whose hands the text has passed. In this instance the verso of some pages contain images and words by unknown hands.
Jane Zhang from the University Archives has provided tremendous assistance by contacting Professor Li Qianbin, Curator of Guizhou Provincial Museum, China, who has indicated: that this illustrated book is a depiction of a minority people in Guizhou Province. In the Qing Dynasty, [1644-1911], quite a few such books appeared. They had various page numbers and different titles. Modern researchers generally refer to them as “One Hundred Miao Pictures” [Illustrated album of the Miao people in Guizhou].
Based on my preliminary investigation, this illustrated book might have been painted in the late Qing Dynasty. It depicts the lives, work, marriage, religion, clothing and customs of the Miao people at that time through paintings and poetry. The book contains rich material for research on Guizhou minority nationalities in the Qing Dynasty and provides important historical evidence of multiculturalism. Therefore, this book is valuable as an historical document.
From what I know, there are over thirty copies of “One Hundred Miao Pictures” recorded in the world to date. They are all hand-painted, different from each other, and therefore each copy is seen as a unique copy. Of those thirty, more copies have illustrations accompanied by prose text rather than being accompanied by poetry…[reprinted with permission of Professor Li Qianbin] Apollonia Steele, Special Collections Librarian
Web design: Robyn Herrington
Photography: David Brown
Front Page
In old days, Ji Huo was made king of Nan Yi,
His people, known as Luo Luo, spread west and settled down in Shui Xi.
It is a remote and barbarous area populated by superstitious people,
Whose written script is coiled and with root unknown.
- Luo Luo
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Forehead dotted with a flower and wearing a spiral-shaped bun,
A skirt with countless pleats trailing behind her.
Showily dressed on the horse that brightens up the village,
The "first lady" of Luo Luo passes by and the village boys strive for a good look.
- Luo Gui Nui Guan
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Black Luo Luo is an honourable title reserved for the upper class,
White Luo Luo from the lower class are not permitted to intermarry with Black Luo Luo,
Sitting around a three foot cauldron over the fire,
They cling to the old tradition of eating raw birds and animals.
- Bai Luo Luo (White Luo Luo)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Colourful new dresses woven of red silk,
A taboo day is observed in May.
Women are able to mediate men's fighting,
Hong Miao people are courageous, but also malleable.
- Hong Miao (Red Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
It is their custom to worship nature and ancestors when the new year starts,
They are regarded as different from others for their unique tradition.
Young men and women gather together to dance when the worship ends,
Some elope - a legitimate practice in their culture.
- Di Yang Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Ge Lao people are characterized by their haircuts,
They will not tolerate any short hair growing around their top buns.
They also observe an old tradition
Of collecting firewood in preparation for cremation after death.
- Jian Fa Ge Lao (Hair Cut Ge Lao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Shrine, Buddha, and worship,
Bo people are Buddha worshippers.
It is a common practice among them,
Their felt cloaks are worn as Buddhist vestments.
- Bo Ren (Bo People)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Yang Bao Miao people dispersed from Bo Zhou,
They are all shrewd and astute as is their custom.
They are different from other Miao groups,
Their wedding and funeral ceremonies are similar to those of Han people.
- Yang Bao Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Nong people are gradually changing their customs,
By having their hair cut and dressing like Han people.
But women's dress style remains unaltered,
Short top, pleated skirt, and coloured kerchief.
- Nong Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Husband and wife always keep each other's company going in or out,
Held in men's hands are either spears or crossbows.
Tong people can withstand extreme cold weather,
By using reed catkins as padding for their winter clothes.
- Tong Ren (Tong People)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Yao people originally came from Guang Xi,
They like to build their houses by the riverbank,
And enjoy going to the mountains to gather herbs in the spring.
A scripture titled Bang Bo has passed down through generations.
-Yao Ren (Yao People)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They wear white leathers on their heads and short black jackets,
Jiu Gu Miao are known for their rough men of great strength.
They hold powerful crossbows and are clad in armour,
With daggers held in their teeth, they can run very fast as if they are flying.
- Jiu Gu Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Wearing saddle-shaped head decorations of black cloth,
Long Jia people observe an unorthodox tradition.
Men and women wear white for everyday clothing,
But dress in black when mourning.
- Ma Deng Long Jia (Ma Den Long Family)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They live in caves cut on high cliffs,
And move up and down on bamboo ladders.
They dance and laugh to wake up the soul when one is dead,
And mourn for their lost beloved when cuckoos return next year.
- Ke Meng Gu Yang Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Year in and year out,
Zi Jiang people pass down their combative tradition.
Locking themselves indoors for seven days each year to help them remain peaceful,
But their fighting staffs get them into constant trouble.
- Zi Jiang Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Fern ash, natural water, and wide vegetation,
Picked vegetables stored in a jar to share with each other.
They live close to mountains and rivers and therefore have unique features,
All wear silver ornaments - to compete for a new trend.
- Hei Miao (Black Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Always seen busy at a melting furnace,
Men are hard-working people, making ploughs for their living.
With nothing in hand, women sit by the side wearing capes,
Wearing capes and colourfully-dyed fine wool skirts.
- Pi Pao Ge Lao (Cape Ge Lao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
In mourning, they insist on eating only rice gruel for meals,
This rigid observance passed down through history appears charmingly naïve.
Generally they wear strange ornaments,
Very long horn-shaped felt buns fastened on their heads with long hairpins.
- Cai Jia Miao (Cai Family Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
With hairpins and combs as head ornaments,
Girls wear close-fitting motley dresses.
Accompanied by beautiful reed pipe music,
Young men and young girls in love dance together on farmland.
- Hua Miao (Flower Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Liu E Zi Miao are divided into black and white,
Men wear pointed buns and women wear long skirts.
The most pitiful are those who are dead,
For their bones have to be washed again and again for years, as their custom goes.
- Liu E Zi Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Dog Ear Miao are named after their women's twin-pointed buns,
Every spring a "ghost" pole is erected around which young men and young girls court.
Girls' motley dresses are adorned with beads,
They dance happily in the spring wind and then chose their lovers.
- Gou Er Long Jia (Dog Ear Long Family)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
With diligence they raise oxen as sacrifices,
And set up bull-fighting to pick the strongest,
As the best sacrifices to offer to their ancestors,
Their popular clothing is a white top, black pants, and a short skirt.
- Bai Miao (White Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Men always gather in groups to go hunting,
women often wear tilted buns on the top of their heads.
What ornaments do they wear to decorate their low collars?
Very strange: silkworm cocoons and shells.
- Ge Dou Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Men wear long garments and women wear short dresses,
It is not unusual that both sexes wear hair clasps.
What people find strange is their tradition of the wedding ceremony,
Family members chase after the bride in a symbolic attempt to take her back.
- Sung Jia Miao (Sung Family Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
People gather together and a bull is offered as a sacrifice,
Local musicians are also invited to celebrate the autumn harvest.
Young boys and young girls are decorated with coloured ribbons,
And start to learn how to dance and how to blow reed pipes.
- Xi Miao (West Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They wear straw capes as if they were farmers,
Carrying crossbows and guns, they are skillful hunters.
They offer dogs as sacrifices at burial and wedding ceremonies,
That is why people always hear dogs barking when they enter their village.
- Ping Fa Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
A unique style of elelvated thatched house,
Hidden in layers of green fir trees.
A piece of cloth hanging around the waist,
Coloured in blue, white, floral, and red stripes.
- Ge Lao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They live an idle life in the wild field, letting time slip by,
Listen carefully - reed pipe music lingers in the air.
Do not say that it is too lonely to live in the bamboo house in the wild,
Fallen leaves fly around when the curtain of night falls.
- Yao Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Sometimes hunters and sometimes fishermen,
They live in deep valleys with thickly grown trees.
Do not wonder why they are called Yang Huang,
They are dressed differently from the Miao custom.
- Yang Huang Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Wearing blue kerchiefs, women are busy with weaving,
Cotton balls burst and they start to pick cotton,
At market, the cotton cloth they have woven is very popular,
Their products are well-respected, so are their customs.
- Gu Lan Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Mini-skirt Miao are named after their women's short skirts,
Women are heard talking noisily while picking wild plants in mountains.
If people are tolerant of them showing their waists and navels in public,
They cannot bear for them to wear their skirts too short.
- Duan Qun Miao (Mini-Skirt Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
A loop on the top of the head with traditional Miao dress,
Women are good at weaving twilled cloth,
A tiger head is made from dough, decorated with coloured thread,
Held in a bamboo tray to drive out evils.
- Guo Quan Ge Lao (Loop Ge Lao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They wear straight narrow wool skirts,
To prevent them from offending their husband's families,
Newly married wives all have two of their incisor teeth pulled out,
Such an absurd custom leaves all brides' smiles with two teeth missing.
- Da Ya Ge Lao (Teeth-Pulled Ge Lao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They wear multi-layered skirts but no pants - thus are laughed at,
Their cuffs are nicely stitched with coloured thread.
Sticky rice cakes wrapped in cloth held in baskets
They scoop up spring water with their hands to go with the cakes - very delicious food.
- Di Jia Miao
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Women are good at weaving flax,
Their hair coiled up with a blue kerchief as if wearing a Han people's cap,
Buns at the back of the head show that they are married,
And straw sandals and bamboo hats reveal that they are farmers.
- Qing Miao (Black and Blue Miao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
Shui Ge Lao people are skillful fishermen,
Fishing in the river, they never miss their targets.
Only women still observe the Miao tradition,
They continue to wear pleated skirts.
- Shui Ge Lao (Water Ge Lao)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang
They all wear flowered skirts and green straw capes,
Some go up to the mountains and some come down to the rivers,
To go bird-shooting or fishing whenever they have time,
And always come back with a full load of birds and fish.
- Man Ren (Reckless People)
- preliminary translation by Jane Zhang