There are 192,573 Tu people in China (see the data of China Ethnic Population edited by Qian Xueyuan in 199). They live in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Minhe Hui Tu Autonomous County, Datong Hui Tu Autonomous County, Ledu County, Tongren County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Menyuan County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County of Gansu Province, Yongdeng County and Gannan area, and Xining.
According to legend, in a very early time, the ancestors of the Tu people all formed villages based on blood relationship, engaged in animal husbandry and lived by weeds. Later, he gradually became engaged in agriculture and settled down. Most villages of the Tu nationality are surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there are more than a dozen or dozens of households. The direction of the gate of the Tujia people's manor depends on the mountain situation. When installing the gate, special attention should be paid to choosing Zhaoshan, that is, the gate must be aimed at the highest, most majestic and complete mountain in front of it. If there is no ideal mountain, the wall should be erected as a barrier.
In the courtyard of the Tu people's house, the location of the house is determined according to the orientation of the gate, the five elements of Yin and Yang, gossip, etc. The main room of a well-off family is built with five purlins on the main ridge, two large rooms with seven purlins, and a hall with purlins in front and back. Most of the wooden pieces of the house are painted and carved beams. Other houses are small bungalows with civil structures. Except in summer, most of the Tu people in the alpine region sleep on hot kang. There are two kinds of hot kang, the one made of mud is called mud kang, and the one made of wood is called board kang.
Since the ancestors of the Tu people settled in the eastern part of Qinghai, they initially engaged in animal husbandry production, taking meat and dairy products as the staple food. After they turned to agricultural production, the traditional nomadic customs still remained, such as drinking milk tea, butter tea, fried noodles with butter, eating large pieces of meat and drinking large bowls of wine. Due to the high altitude and arid climate in eastern Qinghai, crops can only be planted with wheat, highland barley, broad beans, peas, potato and rape.
The Tu people pay special attention to etiquette. People greet each other when they meet. During the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives and friends take their own food to worship each other. Friends and relatives should be invited to congratulate you when you are building a villa, building a house, installing a gate, giving birth to a full moon, getting married and marrying a daughter-in-law. The Turkish people are warm and hospitable, saying that "when guests come, they will be blessed", and they especially respect their elders and distinguished guests. During festivals or when guests come, first, three glasses of wine are offered to the guests at the gate, which is called "three glasses of wine entering the door". Then, the guests are invited to take a seat on the kang in the main room according to their age or seniority, and the host should offer three glasses of wine to the guests. It's called "three glasses of lucky wine". Guests who can't drink can dip their ring fingers in the wine and play three times in the air. At this time, the housewife respectfully served the cooked food on a wooden tray and advised the guests to enjoy it. When the guests go out, they should toast three glasses of wine, which is called "three glasses of wine on the horse".
The Spring Festival is the most solemn festival for the Tu people. Before the festival, preparations are made from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, such as cleaning the house, sewing new clothes, slaughtering pigs and sheep, baking and frying steamed buns. Generally, the Spring Festival lasts more than ten days. On New Year's Eve, the courtyard houses are cleaned, money horses, Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures are affixed, and then New Year's dinner is eaten. Some tell stories in the evening. Some drink and sing until all night. On the first day of the lunar new year, men climbed the mountain to stew mulberry and "release deer and horses" ("stew mulberry", a Chinese-Tibetan word, means smoke sacrifice. "deer horse" is a kind of five-color square paper printed with flying horses, which floats in the wind at the top of the mountain, indicating good luck. Children and women begin to wear festive costumes, and when the East is hazy and bright, families and neighbors pay New Year greetings to each other. During the Chinese New Year, men, women and children gather in spacious alleys or threshing floors, turn round in autumn, kick shuttlecock, beat wool eggs (wool balls) and dance an Zhao, until the fifteenth day of the first month.
In addition to the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, Tujia people also have a grand time. On the fifth day of May, people drink realgar wine and eat bean jelly and cold noodles. Men, women and children should wear festive costumes and tie "locks" (tied around their necks, wrists and ankles with colored silk thread), and children should also wear sachets. Make big moon cakes one or two days in advance of the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the surface, moon cakes should be decorated with various patterns. It is better to be big and beautiful. The moon cakes must be given to friends and relatives. In the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival, a square table should be placed in the middle of the courtyard, moon cakes and melons and fruits should be presented, green oil lamps should be lit, and mulberry should be simmered to welcome the moon out. Now the custom of receiving the moon has gradually disappeared, and the whole family is mainly happy for reunion.
The wedding ceremony of Tu people is always expressed by songs, just like a brilliant opera and a dance drama, and the beautiful dance of "An Zhao" runs through it. The wedding of the Tu nationality is the overall reflection of its culture, religion, living customs and national characteristics, and it is an important basis for studying the material form and spiritual form of this nationality.