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Thread: The quake menaces the ancient Qiang culture!

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[quote=KEVIN0518,293748]As well, younger Qiang who worked or studied in larger towns wear Western clothing, like the majority Han Chinese, making it impossible for rescuers to easily distinguish Qiang victims from others. But there is no doubt that the Qiang received a disproportionate blow.

"It is the Qiang who were most severely hit," said Huang Chenglong, a 40-year-old scholar and a Qiang from Mao County. The situation appears bleak, but there is at least some reason for hope. The Qiang's traditional houses are sturdy buildings made of stone. The Qiang survived another killer earthquake in 1933 in Mao, about 50 miles away. Whatever else is in their tradition, they have long experience dealing with a zidum - the Qiang word for earthquake.

On Sunday, Huang helped organize a gathering in Beijing of Qiang scholars and students to discuss how to help.

"The atmosphere was quite sad," Huang said. "There were five or six students who hadn't been able to get any word from their parents."

Colleagues in Beichuan setting up a Qiang research center were killed when a county government building collapsed, he said.

"The earthquake not only reduces the population," Huang said. "It will also have a destructive effect on the culture. During the rebuilding period, many people will move from their mountain communities to the big cities. This will present enormous difficulties for protecting their cultural identity." (Mark Magnier and Barbara Demick, baltimoresun.com)

The collapsed house caused by the earthquake.[/quote]

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