苗　族

　　苗族是中国西南地区人口较多的一个民族。苗族分布很广，主要在贵州、湖南、云南、四川、广西、湖北、广东、海南等省区，大多数苗族人居住在贵州省。

　　苗族是个爱美的民族。勤劳的苗族人用他们创造的刺绣、挑花、织花、蜡染、银饰装扮自己的衣，美化自己的生活。苗族姑娘一般从五六岁就开始学绣花，能绣一手好花的姑娘，在苗族地区是最受称赞的。如果有贵客来到苗家，姑娘们会在敬酒的时候，把自己特意刺绣的一根花带送给客人。

　　由于苗族分布很广，各地苗族人过的节日也不太一样。苗族人的节日很多，主要有龙舟节、花山节、吃新节、清明节、赶秋节等。每到节日，穿得最漂亮的是妇女。她们身穿有银器装饰的绣花衣，头上、脖子上戴各种银饰，走起路来，银饰叮当作响，闪闪发光。在节日里，苗族人要举行各种各样的庆祝活动，其中吹芦笙、对歌、斗牛是最有特色的活动。芦笙是苗族人喜欢的一种乐器，据说已经有2,000多年的历史。

　　The Miao

　　The Miao form a relatively populous ethnic group in southwest China, and are widely distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hubei, Guangdong, and Hainan provinces, although most live in Guizhou Province.

　　The Miao like to be well groomed. They dress themselves up and beautify their lives with embroidery, cross-stitch work, woven patterns, wax printing, and silver ornaments made by themselves. Miao girls usually start to learn embroidery at the age of five or six, and those who become good at it are widely praised. If any distinguished guest visits, girls will present a patterned band specially made by themselves when proposing a toast.

　　Since the Miao are widely distributed, their festivals differ from place to place. The Miao people have many festivals, such as the Dragon-Boat Festival, the Flower-Mountain Festival, the New Crop Tasting Festival, the Pure Brightness Day and the Autumn Harvest Festival. On festive days, women dress most beautifully, wearing embroidered clothes with silver articles and varied silver ornaments on the head and around the neck; when they walk, these silver ornaments jingle and glitter. There are various kinds of celebratory activities, among which, playing the sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument), antiphonal singing and bullfighting are the most characteristic. The sheng is a musical instrument that has a history of more than 2,000 years as it is said.