Dong people
Encyclopedia : D : DO : DON : Dong people
The Dong (}; }; own name: Gaeml, in IPA [kɐm]) people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, and are famed for their carpentry skills and unique architecture, in particular a form of covered bridge known as the "wind and rain bridge" (Chinese: 风雨桥). Their cuisine prominently features pickled foods and sticky rice.
They live mostly in Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces of China.
Language
The Dong language (own name: leec Gaeml) is a Tai-Kadai (or Zhuang-Dong) language.[link] When written, the Dong people sometimes use Chinese characters to represent the sounds of Dong words. A new orthography based on the Latin alphabet was developed in 1958, but it is not used very much, due to a lack of printed material and trained teachers.
The Ethnologue distinguishes two Dong dialects with the codes [kmc] for the southern dialect and [doc] for the northern.
Famous Dong
- Li Ting (李婷), gold medalist in the 10 meter synchronized platform diving at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece
- Wu Hongfei (吴虹飞), singer for the Chinese rock band Happy Avenue (幸福大街)
References
- D. Norman Geary, Ruth B. Geary, Ou Chaoquan, Long Yaohong, Jiang Daren, Wang Jiying (2003). The Kam People of China. Turning Nineteen? (London / New York, RoutledgeCurzon 2003). ISBN 0-700-71501-0. (The two main authors are affiliated with the linguistic and missionary organisation SIL International / Wycliffe Bible Translators.)
- Long, Yaohong and Zheng, Guoqiao (1998). The Dong Language in Guizhou Province, China. Dallas: SIL International and the University of Texas at Arlington Publications in Linguistics 126. ISBN 1-55671-051-8. (Translated from Chinese by D. Norman Geary. This publication was financed by the Cedar Springs Global Mission.)[link]
- Ōu Hēngyuán 欧亨元 (2004). Cic deenx Gaeml Gax / Dòng-Hàn cídiǎn 侗汉词典 (Dong-Chinese dictionary. Běijīng 北京, Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社). ISBN 7-105-06287-8.
External links
- [The Dong ethnic minority] (government website in English)
- [中国侗人网] (China Dong Net; in Chinese)
- Zhèng Guóqiáo 郑国乔: [Dòngyǔ jiǎngzuò 侗语讲座] (Lectures on the Dong language; in Chinese; pages are not correctly displayed in Mozilla)
- [Photo of Dong lusheng (mouth organ) parade]
- [Photos of Dong villages] (website in Japanese)
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