In May 1922, Joseph F Rock, an American-born Austria arrived in Yunnan. An explorer and botanist, he set up base at the foot of Yulongxushan, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. And there he stayed for the next 27 years. Rock was 38 at that time, and was working as a photographer and writer for National Geographic Magazine....
In traditional Naxi clothing, the most unusual feature is the sheepskin shawl. It has a sun embroidered on the left side, a moon on the right and 7 stars at the waist. It symbolizes the wearer carrying the sun and moon on her shoulders and 7 stars on her back. In the past, Naxi men travelled regularly away from home on business, and their wives had to do all the work in the fields and home....
Heaven has purposefully chosen such a man as the king, a man who is able to pass blessing to his obedient and capable descendants, and to make himself an example for them with his faithfulness and kindness. This statement read by the Austrian boy, American Joseph F. Rock, appears on his book "The Ancient Na-Khi Kingdom of Southwest China". The author was writing in praise of Mubao Acong, a leader of the Naxi ethnic group at the end of the 13th century. His rule was the golden age of Naxi...
Dongba are the wise men of the Naxi people.They are not monks but ordinary farmers, they acted priests and special religious ceremonies. The Dongba are also responsible for keeping alive the thousand-year old Naxi culture, which is known as Dongba culture. Dongba culture includes Dongba script, the only pictographic-writing system surviving in the world today. The Dongba are wizards, doctors, scholars and artists. But above all, they are inheritors of Naxi culture...
The Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Nakhi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India...
The Naxi ethnic minority has a population of 308,839, most of whom live in concentrated communities in the Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province...
The Dongba culture is a most inclusive term referring mainly to the language and scriptures. The Dongba language is actually composed of 1,400 picture-like characters and symbols...
A crystallization of Taoist rite, Confucian ceremony, and the literary lyrics, poetic topics and musical tones of the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, Naxi Ancient Music has developed its own unique style and traits...
Watch Video >>
Mysterious Naxi
Ethnic Odyssey
