Rice and Rhyme: Seeing Zhuang Rice-related Folklore through Their Folk Songs

Abstract

Rice is one of the world’s the most important staple food crops. The ancestors of the Zhuang, the largest ethnic minority in China, are among the earliest rice cultivators in the world. This study examines Zhuang rice-related folklore through their folk songs. Using a quantitative linguistic approach, we created and analysed the Corpus of Zhuang Folk Songs to obtain a profile of the rice-related folklore contained within. The results show that, as an important part of Zhuang folk life and folklore, rice is consumed, shared, exchanged, offered, and symbolized in their traditional songs. From the theoretical perspective of cultural materialism, we argue that rice cultivation laid the foundations for the Zhuang sociocultural system. Zhuang folk songs are set in a context of rice agriculture and are particularly involved in rice symbolism and identity-construction within a rice-farming community.