A Study on the Design of Chinese Minority Li’s Tattoo

Abstract

There are 55 different minorities in China. Records on the tattoos of minorities in China include more than 14 minorities. Among them, the Li people in the Haenam area has a tattoo culture only for women, and the tattooing is preserved by the elderly women who are still alive today. This study analyzed the origin, symbol, method, and characteristics of Li’s tattoo. Ethnic minorities are divided into five dialects: the Loon(润) dialect area, the Mibu(美孚) dialect area, the Habu(哈) dialect area, the Chi(杞) dialect area and the Ce(赛) dialect area. You can see that tattoos vary from region to region. The Loon(润) dialect area has tattoos in the 5 parts of the body, while the Mibu(美孚) dialect area has tattoos in the 4 parts of the body, the Habu(哈) dialect area of the body in the 7 parts of the body and the Chi(杞) dialect area in the body in the 3 parts of the body. There are no existing tattoos in the Ce(赛) dialect area, and data are not preserved, but only records of tattoos have remained. The literary press of the minority Li people have developed tattoos according to five dialects due to differences in language and cultural characteristics, the formalization of tattoos and systematic methods are established, and the style and method of tattoos vary according to the dialect area. Therefore, it is hoped that the history of disappearing minority tattoos and records of various patterns will be recorded and preserved in research and literature before they disappear.